Last fall I took this photograph of my friend Susie’s baby, Nathan. Looking back, even though it is radically different than the majority of the subject matter found in my other work, it has to be one of my favorite pieces ever. This was even further cemented when I got Daily Deviation over on Deviantart which can be seen here.

Amazingly enough, it was one of the simple photos I have ever taken in my life! I had only spent around 5 minutes taking around 50 shots of the baby and this one is the shining beacon out of all of them. It was probably the simplest setup of any shoot I’ve ever had in my life.

First, I took a futon mattress I had and slumped up against a wall and threw a black pillowcase pillow down. Still with me?
Then I took my Alienbees B400 with a fairly large softbox and placed it above where the infant’s head would be. It ended up creating such rich shadow and contrast to the skin that it just makes it feel like you’re looking at reality on your computer screen.

Such success with this infant photograph endears me to want to continue to photograph infants once in a while and just keep my online display of photographs a wee bit more varied. It makes me wonder if I have a parental instinct, afterall.

A few years ago, I stumbled across a strange fella by the name of Normal Bob Smith on the internet. At first, he was very strange artist that donned makeup to masquerade as Satan. After exploring his website, seeing him play around in Union Square (located in New York City) and in a section named “Amazing Strangers” which made me really discover the magic that is Normal Bob Smith’s website. He has very anti-religious views and has based his graphic artist career behind the mocking of primarily Christianity. But, his wit and creative artistry had me coming back.

In fact, NBS’s website was one of the first sites I ever felt the need to bookmark. Over the course of the next few years, I’ve explored the art, and later talked to Bob on Myspace. This lead up to Bob recently hiring me to photograph him while he flew in for ASU’s Freethought Society’s events.

I had the opportunity to use Boo’s Warehouse and really get some cool shots.

My friend Jordi offered to be the bride and she pulled it off well.

Probably my favorite of the bunch..

Then after the photo shoot was concluded, I decided to get an impromptu interview with Bob on my Mac Book Pro:

Thanks so much to Normal Bob Smith, Jordi, Levi, Amber, and Boo for all the help for making this shoot a rousing success! Until next time, this is Chaz.. poof!

Last Friday, I photographed a local Phoenix painter - Barry Sparkman.

He stated that he was really nervous but I didn’t let that hold me back. Most people that don’t “model” or appear in front of the camera often think they cannot be photographed. But this isn’t true, everyone has a good side, everyone has real emotions that are worth being captured. This is the joy of being able to make this a job, having fun while pulling some emotion that might be otherwise hidden away and putting it into a photograph.

While taking the photographs, I offered to make a short video of him painting and he went for it.. it turned out really well, he is really animated and fun! It should be noted too, that the background in both are entirely his paintings!

Barry Sparkman Paints from Chaz Carlson on Vimeo.

Lillian Lottie Couture had their grand opening tonight! When I drove up; I was seriously shocked at how much the place had changed in the last month since I had visited Jenny Pinto and Meghan Lawlor in their store. It was fancy before but now it was just cutting edge glamor and was fantastic! From the cupcakes, to the “candy table”, the fantastic food that was served, the magicians, and the Foto Cabina booth that was present really made the night a fantastic grand opening. Far grander than I was honestly expecting.

For all of your bridal needs:

Heather, who runs Eventfully Yours, Heather was the fabulous event coordinator and totally made sure things went smoothly. Very nice and very laid back/friendly.

Floral arrangements were provided by Terrace Floral Design Group in Scottsdale.

Brian with Ambiance Catering not only provided great food, he was very friendly and very delightful to work with!

Richard Steele was a great magician and was very entertaining for all the guests. Totally recommended for a fun way to spice up an event!

A very interesting Creative Candy Table was provided by Sandy B:

Some great wine/champagne was provided by Barefoot Wines! I, myself, had the Pinot Grigio and it was fantastic!

Something that EVERYONE seemed to love was the photo booth; provided by Foto Cabina! It was used almost 100% of the time! A great way to get instant gratification and provide added fun for guests!

Espresso Subito provided the espresso catering service, I enjoyed a lovely Caramel Macchiato(though someone cleaned it up while I was pulled to photograph some people.. I really wanted to finish! Argh!)

Last but not least: Let Them Eat Cake, Inc provided the delicious cupcakes!

To conclude: I’d like to wish Meghan and Jenny great luck with their bridal store! I very much appreciate them inviting me out to photograph, have a cupcake and use the photobooth 3 times in a row! They’re badass! :) Until next time.. this is Chaz signing off…

Access Zero is a local Phoenix, Arizona area band that has a unique sound that I enjoy. It was a very hectic day: shooting at a location I had no idea about and a location I didn’t have time to scout previous to our shoot. Things turned out far better than I had expceted:

Last Friday, I was a guest of Jennyvi Dizon of Jenny Dizon Coture (www.jennyvi.com) at the Scottsdale Fashion week and I photographed their main runway show that was sponsored by Fox 10.

All the following designs are by Jenny Dizon Couture:

Voltaire is a gothic guitarist/vocalist from New York! Recently, he played at “The Sets” in Tempe, AZ, I was lucky enough to be invited by 13th Floor Entertainment to photograph him and his humorous style! He is truly a great musician and person; he took time to really talk to all his fans, have fans on stage and really make everyone feel welcome at his show! I can’t wait to see him again!