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What?

Zorz Studios’ blog is turning one year old! About a year and 70 entries ago, on July 23, 2008, the blogosphere heard a hiccup announcing the birth of yet another opus. To me, however, this turned into an entertaining and successful initiative. I also realized that I managed to attract a modest group of followers to whom I am sincerely grateful.

To celebrate blog’s first anniversary and to express gratitude to my devoted readers, I am announcing a new contest, BloggEd. Read more

At the beginning of this long holiday week-end, we covered a two-day Indian wedding of Mena and Ashwin. Our connection was a perfect example of a long-distance booking. Mena, who is from California, found me about a year ago via one of the online listings that I employ and where I am periodically featured, WedPlan.net. As she wrote to her wedding webpage’s guests,

“I [...] fell in love with his work immediately!  I told Ash the minute I saw his photographs that I had found the perfect photographer to capture the days details and events.  Aside from being a talented artist Ed is extremely personable and a pleasure to work with.”

Although we haven’t met until about two weeks before the wedding, we have had no problems sharing our vision and expectations. The entire booking process was smoothly handled by Zorz Studios’ online booking system, integrating e-mail, billing, and legal components along the way. Read more

Few months ago when I discussed an artistic nude session for one of the clients, an idea came to me to involve a body art painter who recently moved to the US and came across my way during a preparation for another elaborate session. The idea was enthusiastically accepted and soon Olga and I started to prepare, choosing a theme of a little dragon (phonetically, the word “little dragon” in Russian is almost identical to “DragonChick”, hence the name of the series). Read more

As our partnership with a couture millinery atelier Anya Caliendo continues to flourish, I had an honor of photographing her newest collection, “Russia Divine. Tribute.” The session was conducted as a product shoot with no models involved. This vibrant collection, filled with memories, love, and pride, is scheduled to be unveiled on June 30, 2009 on Mrs. Caliendo’s website.

It is remarkable to note that Mrs. Caliendo was invited by Stephen Jones, one and only milliner for the House of Dior, to work for him on the Fashion Week in London. She will also be in the team of designers for the House of Dior, a privilege given to a few from thousands of applicants… Our dear friend will spend months in Paris and London and we wish her a full hat of inspiration, excitement, and productiveness!

We invited Anya Caliendo to join one of our art projects, slated for Spring 2010. She graciously accepted and we already had a concept meeting. The project will be as huge and deep as spectacular… and as nothing done by us so far…

We drew attention in a couple of places in the past week or two…

First, Sarah Johnson, the founder of Seeking Designers came across my mailing on underwater and body art maternity and immediately put us on the top of their Newsflash (not to mention an “advanced” booking). Seeking Designers is a service provided to both consumers and professionals, connecting them within the design industry, as well as sharing the insiders’ press opportunities.

Second, Our Wedding Day recently launched a new series of articles highlighting wedding services in New York.  Each article focuses on one vendor category, ultimately resulting in an amazing resource for local brides. I was pleasantly surprised when they informed me of having Zorz Studios featured in an article on NY Wedding Photographers (ironically, although we are NY-based, the photo that they chose was actually shot when covering a wedding in Pam Beach, FL, with palm trees in the background…) Read more

Our friend and extraordinary artist, Anastasia Durasova, had a gig last night at Greenhouse. Recently moved from Moscow, Russia, this talented and renowned body art painter showed off her skills at Made in Russia party, produced by SashasPromotions and Anastasia’s husband, photographer Michael Bernadsky. We had a pleasure of watching her masterpieces created on the bodies of three models, a process taking her and her three assistants 11 hours.

Right before the models hit the stage and rocked the crowd, I grabbed my camera, few portable lighting pieces, and did an express 5-minute photo session with just one of the models. The good news is that tomorrow we are having a dedicated session with Anastasia in one of our studios. There, we will have several hours to explore the beauty of body, art, styling, and photography. This will be our first such a project. Stay tuned. (06/18/09 update: More details on this session are now available here.)

Disclaimer: Smoking is bad. I never smoked and do not endorse it. Read more

My trip overseas right after a 2-day photo tour to California in mid-May caused a delay in posting a sneak preview of this magnificent session. So here it is now. More details and samples will follow.

06/19/09 update: The session was conducted in a similar way with our iconic Heirdom of Atlantis project so I will not go into  technical details. Only this time, I shot in higher 22-megapixel resolution with my new Canon 5D Mark II body which still fits in my Ikelite housing. And to avoid a trouble with building a roof over the pool across the country, we bought a large canopy from a local store and mounted it right in the pool. Read more

We are pleased to announce that Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine has chosen to list Zorz Studios on their invitation-only Platinum List, a directory of top wedding professionals from around the world.

Wedding Style, the wedding world’s premier magazine, is a breathtaking publication that showcases the “best of the best” of the wedding industry in the U.S. and around the globe. Synonymous with innovative, elegant, luxury weddings, Wedding Style, is an absolute inspiration to photographers. For a bride and groom planning their nuptials, both the magazine and its companion website provide the very best resources available to help them create meaningful, one-of-a-kind weddings. Read more

The afternoon of May 9th, 2009, the Day of Great Victory, was spent in Manhattan shooting two sessions.

I started with driving to our studio on Broadway where I soon met Alina and Radion whose wedding I shot two months ago. Hmm, that was also a notable holiday, International Women’s Day. The guys must love holidays… The setup was pretty formal, full wedding attire, studio lighting, some traditional poses, followed by more intriguing, as usual… Lovely couple! Read more

The world of divine mother in the harmony of water…

Pregnancy is an exceptional time in woman’s life. Now you have the ability to empower your experience on this path and bring your image to the new depths. We invite you to step away from the ordinary and submerge yourself into the ancient source of life — water. Sharing the experience with your sacred wonder hidden in your belly will turn this emotional voyage into art. You will become a creator of a masterpiece for generations to come, marveled and cherished by your growing family. Read more

Zorz Studios’ artistic universe started to feel too tight… Expanding presence to a Manhattan studio on Broadway helped partially. Keeping all the surrounding beauty and excitement within their current boundaries felt restraining… It is time to push the horizon even further. I am pleased to announce that Olga Mironova (left) joined Zorz Studios’ team as a set designer, stylist, and photographer.

Coming from the artistic community in Belarus, Olga encompassed visual arts through the study of philosophy, with her Master’s thesis at the European University concentrated on the philosophy of  photography. Read more

It gives me a great pleasure to announce the expansion of Zorz Studios’ presence and opening operations in the heart of New York City, Manhattan’s Flatiron district. In a special collaboration arrangement with virtuosi and celebrity makeup artists Anne DeMarco and Charles Douglas of Rouge Makeup Studio, we now offer a new convenient location to meet with clients, as well as shoot our bridal, artistic, boudoir, and maternity sessions in a lush atmosphere. Our recent session commemorated the beginning of a new stage in Zorz Studios’ fast development. Remarkably, it coincides with another strategic step, to be announced soon!

Our new shared space is a spacious, glamourous retreat that offers its clients unsurpassed photography, styling, design, makeup and beauty services in a regal, luxurious environment. The space is inspired by the cross-cultural imagery of films like Moulin Rouge and Vanity Fair, the décor is an eye-popping mix of French Empire and Bollywood chic, and exudes a warm and welcoming ambiance. Read more

I was invited to attend Brides New York networking and cocktail party last night at the New York Public Library. The magnificent ballroom gathered top wedding professionals for an opportunity to network and meet Julie Raimondi, Editor of Bride’s New York Magazines. Thanks to the crew for an amazing night! The food by Sterling Affair was phenominal! While mingling, Olga and I made new contacts and were excited to find potential collaborators for some of our future artistic projects. Time productively spent!

As much as I want to say about this image and the others created past Wednesday, I am holding on to the story until a news release. My preparations to a bridal show in two days and a need to finish one project stop me from elaborating just yet… Check back in a few days.

04/13/09 update: The news is out – Zorz Studios is establishing its presence in Manhattan and the image on the left is among those shot on the first day in the lush Broadway studio.

Credits:

Makeup: Anne and Charles of Rouge Makeup Studio
Hair: Roseanna of CosmoNY
Setup styling: Olga of Zorz Studios

Right upon returning from Jamaica and landing in the JFK airport, I rented a car and drove into the night, continuing my day that started with shooting my couple in sunrise on a sugar cane plantation. My destination was The Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY where I finally arrived at 3 AM, tired but stirred up (hmm… that makes it a 23-hour day for me…). The hotel is a fabulous place and a pleasure to shoot in, such as during my 2-day workshop through Canon Digital Photography Forums some time ago. This time around, the Professional Photographers’ Society of New York State (PPSNYS) 3-day convention is less about shooting to me but more about industry insight on business practices – marketing, sales, customer relationship, etc. Read more

Two recent destination weddings offered an opportunity to do first quick edits right at the airport, unfairly stepping over a cool wedding that took place right before them, of Alina and Radion, a beautiful Russian couple. Here are my highlights of the day, happened to be on International Women’s Day, March 8. (Ironically, this global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women originated in the US and spread overseas whereas now only few in the emancipated America know about it…) Read more

Writing while in Albany attending Professional Photographers Society of NY State convention. Here’s a glimpse of my 3-day trip to Jamaica to shoot the wedding of Maya and Stan. The length of stay and the environment offered a plethora of photo ops, from picturesque to risky… there went trash-the-dress and a local variation of their engagement session (with an elaborate primary engagement session shot two weeks ago). Check back for more details and photographs. Read more

Just returned from Florida where I shot a spectacular wedding of Erica and Elkin, whose engagement session in Miami last year caused some locomotion… Below are just a few quick picks, lightly processed. More details and properly done photographs will follow.

Read more

This is a sneak preview of an elaborate retro photo session shot past Saturday. I am so ecstatic to be able to organize and pull it off! The session, based on our own script, develops a dramatic love story in 1930s’ Brooklyn. A great amount of effort, passion, skill, equipment, and investment was put into its production by everyone involved. And involved were about 10 people. Read more

Another public sample from one of my Married and Sexy campaign sessions, offering boudoir sessions primarily to married ladies. This is Julia, a wonderful person and mother of two. She was one of the most prepared clients, scoring an A for her homework. Her husband joined for several shots as well.

The only regret was that the makeup artist did not show up, nor communicated with us afterward, yet. I just hope she’s ok… Gathered what we could find in my studio and her purse.

The session, nonetheless, was smooth and enjoyable.

 

It is now official… As the next milestone in my photography career, I earned my certification from Professional Photographers of America (PPA), becoming Certified Professional Photographer, CPP. What I thought would take a couple of years to achieve, happened sooner.

As the leading certifying agency for imaging professionals, the Professional Photographic Certification program is recognized throughout the industry. When you see a photographer displaying Certified Professional Photographer seal, you can be sure that he or she is among the less than 3% of all imaging professionals who have successfully completed and maintained our requirements.

Those who have earned the Professional Photographic Certification have passed a comprehensive written exam measuring their technical expertise, and have successfully submitted their work to a panel of judges for review and approval.

Professional Photographic Certification Commission
http://www.certifiedphotographer.com

Read more

As if I didn’t have enough of Hensel… I already have a 4-head monolight studio set with Hensel’s lightboxes and softboxes, sized from medium to huge. This set has been serving me great in studio and on location indoors but here comes my first project requiring same studio quality outdoors. I’ve been eying their new portable lighting solution, Porty 12 Lithium powering two EH Pro Mini 1200P flash heads. A retro engagement session that I am planning for this coming Saturday presented an opportunity to jump on board (UPDATE: session posted). This versatile and rugged German equipment offers some remarkable for nowadays specs such as lightweightness (5.9 kg), 1200 J of energy, max 1.95 secs recycling, up to 230 flashes at full power, flash duration up to 1/5100 sec, 7-stop levels, and full radio control. Read more

Olga and I did a Married and Sexy boudoir session for a lovely couple, Alena and Aleksandr. Part of the session reflected their love for Japanese culture. Noteworthy, Aleksandr is a master of martial arts and a businessman. His physique is quite contrasty of that of his petite wife Alena, who is a mother of a 3-year-old girl.

The session was conducted in their home. This was a debut for my honey-combed Hensel’s beauty dish, bringing Olga to ecstasy.

Thank you for the wonderful time filled with gentle love, as well as hospitality! Enjoyed the tea!

Later that day, we met with my dear model and discussed a new fine art project… body art. The day culminated with signing a contract for another fashionable wedding. What else to expect from a fashionista and owner of a trendy bag store? Read more

I want to leave a trace in this world… through photography which may turn into a historical record or a work of art, inhabiting someone’s heart — beating faster and feeling warmer, outliving mine… through my volunteering for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS), a national group of elite photographers healing trauma of parents who lost their children… through my participation in Operation Smile, donating the entire proceeds from the Family Portraiture Month sessions to support plastic surgeries for children.

I want to make giving back an integral part of who I am and the way I do business, regardless of economic conditions. Zorz Studios is proud to announce a new “Feel Bigger in Heart” program. Within its framework, part of the proceeds from every wedding package will be donated to charities that are making a difference. During Zorz Studios’ experience, clients will have an option to select one of the charities listed below, otherwise determined by the studio. My initial goal is to donate at least $3,000 this year. Read more

In a new and exciting venture, I am participating in the Behind the Veil Bridal Show as platinum sponsor and exhibitor. Organized by Monica Tolbert-Jackson and April Chapman, event professionals with over 20 years of event planning and project management experience, the show will be held on April 5, 2009 at the The Hilton Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ (map).

Besides exhibiting my studio at a booth and taking a full-page catalog ad, I will also sit in and advise on the pre-show casting call for the bridal fashion show segment and provide photographic coverage of both the expo and the fashion show. Come see us there!

Few days ago we visited our friends, Anya and Dima, who had a baby girl three months ago. Working in my niche market, I do not specialize in family portraiture nor advertise such service. With all the equipment and experience, however, it was impossible to refuse their kind and excited request for my service. This was my first baby portraiture session… filled with joy and life.

Setup was shifting from comprehensive studio lighting to minimalistic and dim. In the first outtake above, my vision was that of a contrast between masculine and feminine beauty, fused into a tender and vulnerable beginning. Blessings!

Zorz Studios is excited to announce a new addition to the current studio’s album lineup, Couture Collection.

By offering this collection, our mission is to offer luxury, one-of-a-kind, handmade coffee table books. The highest standards of integrity, creativity, quality, and innovation are applied to create the most beautiful books in the world. These books will unlikely hear “Ah yeah, seen this type…”

Simply stated, this book collection combines old-world binding techniques coupled with the latest technology in printing to create stunning, one-of-a-kind, heirloom books. The most beautiful fabrics from around the world, used in design and handcrafting of each book, will appeal to the likings of the most sophisticated customer. Each Couture Collection book piece stands alone on the strengths of its design and artistry and reflects Zorz Studios’ standard of superlative quality and care. Read more

After delivering the images of Je Ne Regrette Rien collection to Mrs. Anya Caliendo, couture millinery atelier, at the end of the last year, I continued working on them for my version of the slideshow. The original, featured on Mrs. Caliendo’s website, only had color images whereas my copy embraces more of post-processing experimentation and slightly different selection of photographs.

Click on the video window below to play. A link to the blog entry covering this fashion shoot is located next to the video.

I thank everyone involved in this laborious session. A special thanks goes to Mrs. Caliendo for the honor of participating in her debut. I am looking forward to our continuous collaboration and new exciting collections! Read more

Much of the time this week is devoted to intensification of my search for partners to match the quality of my studio’s service, products, expertise, and customer care. In an ongoing series of meetings, I find those vendors whom I could refer to my discerning clients with pride and confidence. Read more

It is with great pleasure that I announce being chosen to receive a 2009 Bride’s Choice Award from WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings franchise provider. The following is the press release.

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Zorz Studios, Inc. has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards! Read more

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