Miami - South Beach Poolside

Miami - South Beach Poolside, originally uploaded by Photomike07 / MDSimages.com.

As the sun started to set and the party started to kick in for an event I was lighting for the Food Network in South Beach, I decided to take the ole' camera and sticks and explore a bit of the area. You know, ya think your cool till ya wander around this uniquely hip area of South Florida! Dork with a camera.....here I come! LOL

A perfect night for a new beginning - Wedding at Turnberry

A perfect night for a new beginning - Wedding at Turnberry, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

As I type this post while glancing out at the deluge of rain we are getting here in South Florida, I am reminded of the risk one takes in planning an outdoor event here. On a great night however, there is nothing quite as special as a wedding outdoors. This one we worked on a few months ago was for a long time clients daughter. Just another from the stack of files I have yet to get to! I am often asked just after the event if I can forward my images. Sounds easy, but its really not. I shoot them, but its not really my gig. When I eventually get around to digging back thru to process them, its easy to get a bit overwhelmed. Take this one for instance. After merging 9 exposures in photomatix, I set the clock. After merging, tonemapping, cropping, blending in layers in photoshop, painting in a few sky textures, adjusting curves, and sharpening...well, about an hour passed. Yeah.....hold on a second.....I'll get to those images from your event soon....hang in there... LOL!

Temporary lighting on a HUGE waterfall - Turnberry in Aventura

Temporary lighting on a HUGE waterfall - Turnberry in Aventura, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

This cool waterfall on the golf-course was the backdrop for a wedding that we lit a couple of weeks ago.....pics to follow soon. About 100 yards off to the left was the ceremony. We used wireless DMX to control a rack that fed power to the lights that you see along the wooded cart path. Without these, the waterfall and surrounding trees were virtually in the dark. The effect worked awesome, all were happy, and I got this cool image :)

The process required a few exposures as the waterfall was quite a bit brighter that the foreground here. In fact, the foreground red flowers were in the dark! It was something like a 3 minute exposure to get the detail. As always, more to come!

Son et' Lumiere Sunday - General Session Lighting Looks

Son et' Lumiere Sunday - General Session Lighting Looks, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

This weeks Son et' Lumiere or Sound and light Sunday actually finds me on location. The summer season is usually the quiet one here in South Florida, but as luck would have it, I have three weeks of up and coming work. This week finds us on an event providing lighting for a corporate meeting and evening events for a company in the beauty industry. Our load-in today was quite smooth. Upon my initial walk into the ballroom here at Turnberry in Aventura, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my crew had already dumped the truck and were well on their way to organizing the sea of cases into organized areas. Ah yes, off to a great start!. Soon after the 8AM call for lighting and rigging, the audio and video trucks showed up. As this well oiled machine progressed thru the next 4 hours, the ballroom floor was cleared for the scenic and decor crew. An afternoon of touch up, cleanup, and patching took us to an on time dinner break. After dinner, a quiet lighting focus in a calm room void of all other departments. Just the way I like it! We even got a jump start on the install for tomorrow nights party lighting in another ballroom as well.

All in all, a great start to a great week. It was good fun working with my crew again. I am fortunate to have them join me on this one!

The shot above, or collage of images, is actually from the same clients meeting at this venue from 5 years ago. Wow, how time flys!

I am quite passionate about these events for the beauty industry as the producers create a very synergetic and creative environment to design in. As a creative eye in the look of the event, I am once again looking forward to the process over the next couple of days.
Events like these remind me of why I have been doing it for so long! More to come :)

A trip to anywhere

A trip to anywhere, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

There are few shows on television that actually entertain me long enough to sit through. No Reservations on the travel channel is however, not one of those. If you haven't seen it, Anthony Bourdain, previously a chef in New York, hosts a rather brilliantly produced travel show with a rather uniquely cynical and humorous approach. If there is one thing that would tempt me to absolutely change careers, it would be to travel with this crew. Zero Point Zero production crew...hint hint. Have passport, will travel!

Speaking of travel, this was shot at the Miami International airport. As I was making my way to the car upon an arrival from somewhere in the world, this colorful structure around the escalators caught my attention. Well, the seasons premiere of the show is on, gotta go!

Landscape without a subject

Landscape without a subject, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

The most challenging part about traveling across the state via "Alligator Alley" is just that, the gators. I quite often find myself scanning the canals like a little kid, lookin' for gators. The designers of this speedway of sorts, in their infinite wisdom, placed very few turnoffs to actually pull over and appreciate the vast and seemingly infinite beauty of the Everglades. Having said that, you can likely envision the options I had as I crossed this little bridge and noticed a photo op. You got in! Swerve off the road as to prevent the jackass that was doing 90mph behind me from slamming into my vehicle. I then backtracked a few yards running awkwardly with the tripod and D3 bouncing into my side as the dust, dirt, and road debris from the oncoming traffic blew into my face at hurricane force. Not really the image you might have had in your mind while looking at this serene landscape, but there ya go :)

On the way to Key West

On the way to Key West, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

Every time I drive to Key West, I am constantly scanning the sides of the road (head in the clouds style I guess) for possible photo opportunities. Of course, as I am doing this scan, I also unfortunately have to pay close attention to the rear view mirror, as most everyone else seems to be in an insanely urgent hurry to get somewhere! Isn't that always the case though? Well, as soon as I caught a glimpse of this spot, swerved off the road as not to get rear-ended by some closely traveling jackass, slammed a U turn in the road side sand, and waited for the dust to clear......I calmed down and "got into the moment." I knew I wanted the wading man as my subject and was patient for him to walk into the scene. Just a nice little slice of time :)

Looking for George Jetson

As we were leaving the Fontainebleau Hotel (the incredibly new and improved Fontainebleau Hotel) after the YPO event, I glanced over my shoulder at this. The over the top LED lighting encapsulated the whole area giving a feeling of The Star Trek Enterprise meets George Jetson!

Fountaineblea event - just before doors

In my world of events and the illumination of them, my part is varied. For most events, especially in South Florida, we provide everything...design, equipment, labor, delivery.....the whole enchilada. We do this quite flawlessly I am proud to say. This has always worked out well....a full lighting "toybox" to play with with a great support crew.

For this event, however, we were chosen as mainly design and direction of the final evenings festivities. I worked closely with another production company to over see the design of the general session rig as to incorporate as much as we would need for our final night. I enjoy this challenge and "out of the safety box" experience. It's also nice to just design and direct and as a result, wear a few less hats!

The entrance to the event was classic Bruce Sutka design......wow them as soon as they walk in. The challenge was how to create a "Backstage at the latin dinner show" experience in a ballroom. Here we are, just outside of the faux backstage entrance.





We used various up lights and task lights to accomplish a low key and colorful look. The fresnel stage lights with barn doors on stands helped to sell the "backstage" feel. Chris's great idea of placing battery operated low profile flashlights inside them enabled us to have a slight glow in each high powered stage light. A very "Disney" approach and a great idea as the powerer was kinda limited.


All servers were at attention as the guests arrived. Just after I took this, I started to plan my move to sneak a plate!


Another signature "Bruce Sutka" effect is to create these really cool seating areas within the room. Here is a shot of one of those hip hang out areas.

One of the few things the privileged guests never see is the condition of the room just an hour from the event. Soon after this was taken, the room was magically transformed to its original condition. Just another day in the event world!

The New Fontainebleau Hotel

On a recent site survey and meeting at the All Newly Renovated Fountainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, I couldn't help but try to capture some of the "feel" of this hotel. We have been doing events, every now and then, for the last 20 years here. What a dramatic change for the better. Very hip, cool, slick, and South Beach. Certainly not the old crusty hotel I remember thats for sure!

I decided to post these as we are doing an event there this weekend. As was the case at the gig I posted last night, we have a severely limited window between when the morning session meeting ending and the doors opening for our event. Nothing like looking forward to an afternoon of acute stress and chest pains! Hahaha!

Anyway, check out the following images from the lobby and new pool area. I hope to catch a few more this week when I am down there this week :)

Near the South Tower and valet area, they have these huge doors that open up to the new pool area. What a great day for swim!

Just down the steps from the old Grand Ballroom is a pretty funky "chill out" area near the North lobby. A perfect candidate for the 10mm fisheye lense. Incidently, the new name for the renovated ballroom is called the Sparkle Ballroom......a nice name for a fresh look.

Just after I captured the pool area, I did a 180 to capture this as the valet was bringing the car up. Not sure how all the pink got in this shot during my processing, but oh well, you get the picture :)

Lighthouse at Key Biscayne

Upon arrival to this location, on a Sunday mind you, I was a little disappointed by the crowds of people. What should I expect on a Sunday.....right? Looking for a clear shot became a recurring disappointment, except for on my way out. As I looked over my shoulder at the canopy of palms, I decided to stop. I held the camera to my eye, tilted up, and bingo....no people!

Art Basel in Miami

As I flounder around a bit this evening searching for an image that grabs by attention enough for a post, I am reminded of a short time ago as I was floundering around in Miami. I didn't have time to check out the art show called Art Basil in South Beach (one of the largest and most prestigious on the country if not the world), but had just enough time before a load-in of one of our events to stumble upon this installation down near the port.

There are many photographers that constantly debate the capturing of other peoples art....and while that debate whines on and on, this photog sneaks in for the capture. Actually, if you look a little closer at the reflection in the center, there he is! Quick, send in the tripod police!!!