Since78

Rabbi Gershon Zeffren zt”l

2012-01-13T10:58:00.001-05:00

It is with great sadness that an hour from now we must bury our dear friend and family member Rabbi Gershon Zeffren zt"l. He was a pillar of the St. Louis community as well as the Jewish education and kiruv community worldwide. A founding member of Chinuch.org, he was able to make an impact and touch the lives of those near and far. As my Mothers first cousin I was honored to know him and will always be honored to say that he was a member of my family. He and his wife Donna are two of the strongest, special, influential, outgoing, brave and well rounded personalities that I have ever known. Professionally, I have a debt of gratitude toward them for asking me to shoot their daughters wedding four years ago, where the above picture was taken. It was only the second large scale wedding that I had ever shot and by entrusting me and my team to manage it they took a risk. Within the weeks following the wedding he was diagnose with a brain tumor that he successfully fought for the last three and a half years. At my Grandmothers funeral a year ago he officiated and spoke very poignantly, as he always did. He was also in the unfortunate position of burying his mother, my grandmothers sister, a few months prior. He leaves behind a legacy of stellar Torah observance that is punctuated by his eleven children. Jonathan, as he is know to family members and old friends, will be very sorely missed.

A live feed of his levaya can be found here.

Comment Contest Winner

2012-01-11T00:06:00.001-05:00

ariw

"Who in gods name are these people and why isn't more of our daughter on here?"

Happy now?....Crybaby :)

In case you didn't already know, the girl featured in the Comment Contest Update post is his older daughter, the girl pictured here his younger. Makes a whole lot more sense now don't it?!

If Ari didn't have many sleepless nights worrying about who won he certainly spend many of them voting for himself. How many times, you ask? Approximately two thousand and eighty! That's right:
2,080 votes
The second place winner was Daniela G with a mere 1,350 or so votes - admittedly I estimated a bit as I tallied them all. Next time I may want to rethink the "I don't care who votes or how many times they vote" rule and use a captcha to keep voters and spammers at bay. And as much as I hate those darn forms I have a whole new appreciation after watching this video:

Anyway Ari your right, for a while this did feel an awful like Gore/Bush 2000 as you guys hashed it out several hundred votes at a time (how'd you do that anyway). But it was worth it as you are now the proud owner of one Portrait Session by yours truly along with a Delux Picture Package.

Congratulations my friend!

Comment Contest Conclusion

2012-01-03T23:18:00.001-05:00

And the Winner is...

UPDATE: Zealous voting had taken over this post!

I'm impressed by those of you who have taken the time to vote, either once or repeatedly. We have heard the opinion of past presidents and current football players as well as many regular followers of this blog :)
Rusi & I intended to sit down Saturday night and tally the votes and I figured we would count at least twice to assure accuracy. That is no longer an option as the task would probably take days. So I'm once again turning to you for help:

HELP ME COUNT THE VOTES

To make it more manageable please use the following guidelines:
A. We must count each single comment for votes. Each comment may count toward multiple finalists but only one time per comment. For instance, if "Anonymous said...1 & 2" then that is one vote for Finalist #1 and one vote for Finalist #2, TWO separate votes. But if "Anonymous said...3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3" then it only counts as ONE vote for Finalist #3
B. We need to keep track of how much we have counted. As votes continue to come in as well as the limited time people are able to help count we need to mark what was tallied. The comments/votes are listed as separate pages, in 200 comment blocks. Simply list the comment numbers that you were able to count.
C. We need to keep the tallies formatting consistent. After you are done counting please post your total as a new comment and write "COUNT" above the tally. Please also post your name below so I know who to thank.
D. We all know that honesty is the best policy!

If you are able to help count your new tally/comment should look like this:

___

Anonymous said...

201-600

#1/20
#2/145
#3/77
#4/850
#5/5,001
#6/60

-Joe
___

Thanks for the help!!!

...I can't decide! Until I started looking through the posts I hadn't realized the sheer volume of comments since this contest started, let alone great comments. One of the finalist consistantly posted so many good comments that I thought she was a shoo-in for the prize (see #4 below); if there was an award for "Most Great Comments" she would definatley have won. But this is the SINGLE best Comment Contest and comparing them one to one I was left with several that I think could win:

1. "I like the 'we'll work something out' part. Proud to be your first commenter on this post!"
- Dvora in Israel on Comment Contest

2. "The first photo I saw of yours was the one you sent me during your Yeshiva year in Israel. It was my brother playing guitar. It captured him so well and I missed him so much. I looked at it every day. Thank you."
- Shana on Comment Contest UPDATE

3. "I never really think about the fact that I don't have pictures from Daniels bris (it having taken place on shavuos), but only your work could make me a little sad about that three and a half years later... Then again, maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones kicking in (Doubt it though :) you rock at what you do!)"
- Aviva on Danny's Bris

4. "Can you throw in a free coloring book for the second place winner?" & "Its tiring matching your clothing with the decor"
- Daniela G on White Winter / BMOB Portraits & on Blogging Is Hard

5. "Who in gods name are these people and why isn't more of our daughter on here?"
- Ari W on Comment Contest

6. "only time ive ever heard a guy thank his wife for endlessly talking...."
- Sara Cohn on The Longest Night

-----------------------

If you haven't already figured it out I would like YOU TO VOTE FOR THE BEST COMMENT
Simply post a comment below with the number of the above comment that you think should win.
While I am curious to hear explanations along with your vote it will not help in deciding the winner. Whoever gets the most votes wins, end of story. And I don't care who votes or how many times they vote, I'm just going to tally up the comments after the voting period ends.
VOTING ENDS 4PM EST FRIDAY JAN 6TH

Trashed

2012-01-02T20:19:00.000-05:00

I feel like garbage. This photo was taken at the NYC New Years Eve celebration and I guess attending that, along with my entire last week has caught up to me. Please forgive me for keeping you in suspense, I hope to announce the Comment Contest winner tomorrow night.

LIVE FROM NY

2011-12-31T23:10:00.000-05:00

IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT

2011 / Fast Forward

2011-12-30T13:53:00.001-05:00

Typically I get pretty emotional when watching those year in review retrospectives. I considered making my own this year but decided that I'm not looking back this time; Lets start fresh and move rapidly forward this year.

If you really wanna see sappy stuff check out some things that others have put together starting with this Google Zeitgeist video on Youtube. Also, be sure to check out this great site by CBS or this one by Reuters as well as The Big Pictures: The Year in Pictures Part1 / Part2 / Part3 . Sports fans should check out this emotionless video by the Associated Press and SportsCenters Top 10 Worst of 2011 which of course makes a great intro to this video compilation of BEST TOP 100 FAILS of 2011.

I also discovered these fantastic and fresh resources for news and information from Allison Josephs and Philip DeFranco (NSFW/Yeshiva). Techies will enjoy this App Stat by GigaOM and this Video review of all this years tech news by IDG. Photographers will love this post at Strobist who's author, Mr. Dave Hobby, I had the honor of meeting at the 2011 PhotoPlus a few months ago. For business inept creatives like myself do yourself a flavor and watch THIS in it's entirety, then take notes, review and repeat.

This video of Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement was recently resurrected and should be savored more than once. In dark of his death it can obviously be viewed in a whole new light along with his biography which I'm currently reading.

Last but not least, this was My Favorite Video from 2011

-Word

Five!

2011-12-29T17:02:00.001-05:00

My Guy Shai turned 5 today!!!!!

He wanted to make a party at school so Rusi, Leora and I arrived in the middle of story time this morning. Leo ambushed him with a birthday balloon:

It took him a minute to warm up to all the attention. Even his custom made chocolate cupcakes with green icing and blue sprinkles couldn't bring out a smile...

...till he started to eat it...

...the BEST!

His classmates made him a special book. Each kid made a page dreaming up things they would like to give him.

He was very entertained.

Happy Birthday Shai!

Your Ima and I love you more than you can possibly understand. Thank you for being U.

Scanographs / Series3

2011-12-28T23:02:00.000-05:00

The saga continues...

Break out the Windex

The Next Day

2011-12-27T23:02:00.000-05:00

...how I long for you.

The Longest Night

2011-12-26T03:57:00.000-05:00

Day turns to night & night turns to day. Remarkably, I'm still awake since around this time yesterday, having shot a wedding and driven 450 miles in between. My kids are super phsyched but should b equally cranky by the time their uncles wedding rolls around tomorrow (this) afternoon, at which point I may b on autopilot. But today (yesterday, whatever) went far better than expected, the bride&groom were amazing and I totally got caught up in their happiness. I dunno if it was the 5hourenergy, brownies or my lovely wife who very graciously stayed up to talk me through the whole drive but it flew by and we made it here easily. Stay tuned for the full report when I'm back blogging from basecamp.

The Longest Day

2011-12-25T06:59:00.001-05:00

It's shortly before 7am and I've already been up for a coupla hours, I just couldn't sleep.

Let's hope my new friend, which I found a 24 pack of and discovered is kosher, can help me out...

Comment Contest UPDATE

2011-12-24T22:12:00.001-05:00

With a week to go in the Comment Contest I've decided to up the ante. Not only will I travel anywhere within the NY Metropolitan area, but I will give the winner a DELUX PICTURE PACKAGE which includes 10 SHEETS of your favorite images from the session. If you are not familiar with the contest please read the original post here or just read this:

THE BEST COMMENT ANYWHERE ON SINCE78.COM DURING DECEMBER WINS A PORTRAIT SESSION AND DELUX PICTURE PACKAGE

I want to clarify a few things from the original post. First, you may leave a comment ANYWHERE on my blog, not just below this post. Second, in order to qualify, you absolutely must leave some sort of identifier or contact information with your comment THAT I CAN EASILY USE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU. Leaving your first name or initials and assuming that I know who you are is not enough. I recommend commenting using the "Name/URL" selection in the dropdown and entering your Facebook profile address (e.g., www.facebook.com/MKruter) as the URL along with your corresponding Name.

You are encouraged to comment as many times as you like on as many separate posts as you like, both old and new. Below is a selection of my favs so far:

"Its tiring matching your clothing with the decor"
-Daniela G on Blogging Is Hard

"'the shining' part II"
-Mims36 on Scanographs / Series2

"M 2 Da Kruter Rocks my Wizorld Wha wHa WhAt!"
-YNG on Comment Contest

"Best giveaway ever in history of giveaways!!"
-Tova K. on Comment Contest

"I thought Feivish was busy with his auction?"
-The Bald Guy on Ringing in the Rain

"Hello! I have been following your blog for quite some time-prob since the middle of 2010, and was so psyched to see that you recently started posting on a consistent basis! I love your fresh viewpoint and great pictures. I was friends with one of the boarders at your parents house and met you during a Shabbos meal! And then you had an ad in the WWW and it really caught my eye. Thanks for all the great pictures!"
-ShoKrey on Comment Contest

"best part of my super yeshivish cousins outdoor wedding on December 25th? Finding out that the chuppah pictures would all end up having a HUGE cross in them since there was a church right behind the out door chuppah. Solution? Park the big monsey trails bus that ferried all the guests from brooklyn to silver spring md for the wedding behind the chuppah. AWESOME. That and the white fur poncho the bride got to wear while shivering through the chuppah."
-Sara Cohn on Ringing in the Rain

"I got married in December because I LOOOOOVE the winter. It was about 75 degrees and all the windows were fogged up because of the weather! The best laid plans..."
-Aliza on Ringing in the Rain

"My brothers wedding on the beach... Chuppah had to be held down so it wouldn't fly away. It was SO windy. And then there were all the bikini clad women and topless men standing on the boardwalk next to the chuppah watching :)"
-Yaeli on Ringing in the Rain

"This is a really nice photograph. I love how everyone in the picture is kinda doing the same thing with their legs but at a different angle, with one leg higher than the other. The little boy on the right is priceless! Also the contrast of their dark outfits against the light background is great it really makes the photo sharp and makes the family stand out really nicely. Love it :-)"
-Perry Neuman on Comment Contest

I'm looking forward to a flood of clever comments this week!!!

On a Forthnight

2011-12-23T14:48:00.001-05:00

This may seem a bit morbid to those unfamiliar but in Judaism we honor our dead on the anniversary of their passing. Tonight, the fourth night of Chanukah, it will have been 16 years since the day my Dad died.

Ok, so maybe posting a picture of his tombstone is a bit morbid after all.

Danny's Bris

2011-12-22T23:53:00.001-05:00

Seems like just a few weeks ago that I shot his parents wedding....

Happy 2nd Birthday DannyBoy!

Everything seemed so black & white back then.

Blogging Is Hard

2011-12-21T22:53:00.001-05:00

I'm Tired

It's seriously difficult to post something every day.

The above image is from the Kruter.com gallery Portfolios / Photography / Weddings / Shani & Ari

Scanographs / Series2

2011-12-20T23:59:00.000-05:00

Most sequels are inferior to the original. Not this one...

Notice after this next one how Shai's ear leaves a mark behind that kinda lingers for a few scans:

He discovered the time-warp button

...and dragged me into his portal...

Good Times.

Wedding Monograms

2011-12-19T20:20:00.001-05:00

With Chanukah starting tomorrow evening I was considering publishing a post relative to the theme for the next 8 days. Not for lack of material but I have decided against it this year in favor of all the other things I'm itching to get to. While thinking about the Chanukah flavored things I may have posted this week I was reminded of this particular monogram that I made about 7 years ago:

This is relevant not only for the obvious reason but also because it was for my wife's sister and her husband. That's right, the wedding coming up this Monday will be the second of my sibling-in-laws to get married on Chanukah. And if I recall correctly the Epsteins wedding was on the 6th night of Chanukah, hence the six candles in their monogram.

The above monogram doesn't impress me nearly as much now as I remember it did. I think it's because they printed it as a blind emboss, or for those who don't speak the lingo - it was on a white invite raised without any ink, just white on white - and it looks spectacular (I have a hard copy somewhere). Now the black and white version doesn't look good to me, it's not fancy enough.

This one for Moshe and (Malka? Miriam?) Sanders is interesting because it takes advantage of a loophole in my monogram making rulebook. The rules state that both the Bride and Grooms initials should have approximately the same visual value. I would never completely hide one of their names while giving the other the spotlight. But in this case, when they both have the same letter, who's to say which Mem is for who? :)

I really don't remember much about the above monogram. It may have been a proposal for a client or just something I did for fun. Had it been fully resolved I imagine it would have been a little different. But maybe not, maybe this is how it went to print. I dunno, I kinda like it. Do you?

This was for a sephardi couple and my intention must have been to give it a Middle-Eastern vibe. It's doubly interesting for me because of the two letter last name - Ben Zaquen.

The next monogram is probably my favorite:

A few of the details in it really turn me on. I wouldn't mind revising the Yud a little but I remember working on this one for a long time, and now that it's done, it's done.

Those last two were created together. First I stumbled upon the color one and I think it excites me as much today as it did when I first realized it. It's perfect. That compact little shape, the little flair on the top, the use of color! I begged my client to print it in color but it would've cost too much. Since then I have actually had a few of my clients print my monograms in color but I really hope one day to see this one in the mail. So, not wanting to disappoint my client (or myself) I struggled to adapt the color version and come up with an equally awesome B&W design. The two colors in the first version are used to distinguish the first initials and without using color I had to find another way to separate the letters while keeping them similarly positioned within the Shin. The final treatment used this angular design to solve the problem. While my heart will always lie with the color version of this monogram, I'm rather proud of the black and white version too (if I may say so myself ;)

Ringing in the Rain

2011-12-18T21:56:00.001-05:00

I'm kinda getting nervous for next week, here's why: Early Sunday morning I'm shooting a wedding in Monsey. I hope to be back home around feivish to light candles/shower/copy my memory cards/pack up the car and embark on the 8 hour drive through the night with my family to Cleveland. Maybe I will sleep a bit and then, around noon or so Monday, setup up and shoot my brother-in-laws wedding. If I'm luck I will get to sleep before 2am Monday night before getting up early Tuesday to drive back home. Wednesday I have to be in Stamford at 9am to shoot NCSY Yarchei Kallah for 12 hours. Thursday I'm shooting a local Bar Mitzvah and Shabbos we may go back Baltimore for Sheva Brachos. Other than fatigue or snow it should all be smooth sailing. Of course last night I was informed that the Cleveland chuppah will be outdoors! That's right folks, even if it's a clear evening it ain't gonna be too pleasant out there. Which reminds me of this wedding I shot last year in Williamsburg...

Outside, at night, in the cold pouring rain. The rabbi on the right says it all.

The chuppah was under a canopy, but it had seen better days and didn't really keep anyone dry. That was the job of the grooms brothers:

"I got your back bro"

Only a fraction of the wedding that I have shot or attended have been outside. Now that I think about it, while it wasn't raining, a few of them where in pretty horrid conditions, usually in the middle of the summer. Maybe I'll do a follow-up post about outdoor chuppas. If anyone else has any stories about an outdoor wedding gone wrong or right please share with us in the comments below.

Gift Guide / Modern Menorahs

2011-12-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

I did not take the above photo. Nor did I design that menorah. But I certainly wish I had.

Possibly my favorite blog (out of around 200 that I follow), Design Sponge published a post this past Tuesday about beautiful modern menorahs. Some of them are kitchy or not even kosher (like the one pictured) but they certainly are outta the box - and I love that.

Pretty Nutty

2011-12-16T02:19:00.001-05:00

I'm sure by now we have all heard about the restrictions in American Schools regarding foods with nuts in em. This post will not go into the history, medical research or any opinions one way or the other about the topic. The point of this post is only to notify the public of my findings. This is a tale of two boxes.

My kids are in nut free schools and we follow the rules, period. If we send them with homemade lunches we must adhere to the list of allowable foods. If we send them with packaged snacks we must check the labels, not only for the ingredients contained within the food but also for a distinct warning about the equipment used to process that food. Since most of the parents in our area live and shop at the same stores the teachers are aware of the common snacks that are approved and prohibited from each store. As the above picture already told you, this post is about Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. The box on the left is from Acme and the box on the right is from ShopRite. Our sons knowledgeable teacher informed us that the ShopRite bars are the only ones the kids may bring to class because the Acme bars contain the following disclaimer:

PACKAGED ON EQUIPMENT THAT PROCESSES PEANUTS, ALMONDS.

Considering one of my sons classmates actually has a nut allergy we are very respectful of the rule and cautious of what we buy. Since my kids do not have any allergies and they often eat snacks at home my wife will sometimes buy "nutty" foods that don't get sent to school. Well, that's where this got interesting. This evening my wife asked me to come to the kitchen as she was packing up some snack bags for the kids. She showed me this:

Yup, two very different boxes with identical contents!

In total fairness, the two individually wrapped bars are in slightly different packages. The Acme bar has a serial number and a QR code as well as a specification next to the words Chocolate Chip that reads "Naturally & Artificially Flavored"

Maybe they are indeed different. Maybe they are the same but made in different facilities and packaged similarly because its cheaper. I dunno, I'm just sayin...

Comment Contest

2011-12-15T23:56:00.001-05:00

As I anxiously await exchanging gifts with my family next week, I can't help but feel like those of you who follow my blog should get something too. I would love to give a little something to everyone but I just don't know you guys yet, you're always so quiet! So to encourage y'all to speak up I'm gonna give away a Portrait Session to whoever posts the best comment during the month of December. That's right, I will travel anywhere in the NY Metropolitan area to take pictures of you, your family/friends/pets or whoever and give you a picture package of your 4 favorite images from the session. And if you live outside of the NY Area don't feel left out, if you win I promise we'll work something out. So just to repeat myself:

THE BEST COMMENT ON SINCE78 DURING DECEMBER WINS A PORTRAIT SESSION AND PICTURE PACKAGE

To qualify you absolutely must leave some sort of identifier or contact information with your comment. I recommend commenting using the "Name/URL" selection in the dropdown and entering your Facebook profile address (e.g., www.facebook.com/MKruter) as the URL along with your corresponding Name. You are encouraged to comment as many times as you like on as many separate posts as you like, both old and new. Please note that this contest was not sanctioned by my lawyer and I'm sure some rules and restrictions apply ;) Holla Back

Scanographs / Series1

2011-12-14T23:53:00.001-05:00

These make me think of a disgruntled employee on a copy machine:

Linda Linn's Bags / Product Photography

2011-12-13T16:00:00.001-05:00

This is kinda a follow up from yesterday's post about my product photography. A while ago I met a super-funky-talented woman in my community who is not only an excellent seamstress but an über creative as well. Prior to the whole Boho-chick craze Linda Linn began creating luxuriously colorful & textured pillows using textiles she often would customize in her home studio. My wife and I, newly married at the time, bought as many of the pillows as we could afford. Recently, Linda has been working hard making these fantastic bags that are every bit as wonderful as those original pillows, only far more functional, detailed and complex. If you love purses, bags & fashion or just want something handmade and one-of-a-kind, these would make a perfect purchase this Holiday Season.

Bag bottoms:

More bags...

...and more bags...

The detailing and craftsmanship is insane

This is a diaper bag complete with a diaper pad - which I would be even more afraid to use then those fancy cloth napkins at a nice restaurant:

Here's another embarrassing behind the scenes photo of my setup:

This is my dining room table, with all the clutter pushed to one end so that I could shoot on the other end. I actually wanted the bags to cast shadows on the background so I placed them directly on a cheap white foam board. For lighting I had one strobe aimed strait up at my white ceiling that provided a nice diffused main light. The other strobe sat nested inside a vase on the table (always improvise) and was used to add dimension to the image, giving the bags a nice edge highlight and the shadow on the background.

Then the images were cut out and composited in Photoshop, like so:

...and so:

If you love these bags as much as I do you must call or text Linda at 973-901-6398 and tell her you saw her bags on my blog.

AZ Hangers / Product Photography

2011-12-12T23:40:00.001-05:00

There are times in the year that weddings & bar mitzvahs aren't very common. There are even times when family portraits are put on hold. But don't think that I sit in my studio with nothing to do, that my equipment is just collecting dust. Those are the times when I like to focus on product photography. The type of pictures that I can take in the comfort of my own space early in the morning or in the middle of the night. As a matter of fact these pictures were taken on my kitchen table:

It's not for lack of space that I decided to shoot these hangers outside of my studio. Sometimes the best way to shoot shadow free against a white background is on top of a clear surface. This round table perfectly fit the bill and it just made no sense moving it anywhere. So I setup my gear around it, using the walls as light modifiers and a white board as the background. Viola!

Slow Sunday / Portraits in the Park

2011-12-11T23:59:00.001-05:00

Sometimes work is slow. That's just fine with me.

SVA

2011-12-10T23:59:00.001-05:00

To be good is not enough, when you dream of being great.

Rabenstein Bris

2011-12-09T12:30:00.001-05:00

You may recall the Rabenstein Wedding from a couple of years ago. Several months ago the Rabensteins became the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy! The Bris (circumcision) took place at the iconic Shearith Israel Congregation, also know as the Glen Avenue Shul.

I had to step up my game when I saw the competition:

Did you notice it? Little things like a nervous father biting his lip make for a really powerful image.

I really like these next few. It moves me every time I see it, the way the concerned mom gets her precious baby back into her arms...

The bond between a new mother and her newborn baby can be so strong, I hope that comes through in my pictures.

And finally, the obligatory Father explaining the baby's name (although I have been to a couple of these things where the father decided not to speak...you didn't hear the guests complaining :)

White Winter / BMOB Portraits

2011-12-08T23:29:00.001-05:00

As we wrap up the outdoor portrait season I wanted to share some images from last winter:

Lots of adorable kids...

...and families too...

Just about a year ago a Shul (synagogue) in the Teaneck Area of NJ approached me about taking pictures of all their members. Since taking everyone to the park was out of the question we obviously had to create a studio indoors. I had many ideas but opted to setup a seamless white backdrop. Portraits on white are timeless, allow for endless creative options and are also easy to maintain. Plus, the consistency of the lighting and positioning of the subjects on the backdrop makes for efficient portraits sessions, which is a must when you have close to a hundred families to shoot! Ironically, last year it pretty much snowed non-stop, so other than their outfits these pictures would have looked the same had they actually been taken outside!

Anyway, this is what the space looked like when I arrived for the first day of appointments:

This is the same space an hour later:

On the other side of the partitions I had a slideshow running on a monitor and some coloring books to keep the kids busy while they waited:

I hope to arrange several more indoor portrait days this coming cold season. If you are interested in having me come to your neighborhood please drop me a line.

Snow or Shine it's gonna be a White Winter!

Albums

2011-12-07T23:29:00.001-05:00

For far too long I have not had any information about albums on my site. Without going into detail in this post I wanted to share a few pics of some of the albums I have done over the last few years.

Avraham After / Family Portraits

2011-12-06T20:59:00.001-05:00

Here's a real quick follow up to yesterdays post. How handsome is he now?!

Great kid from a great family.

Avrahams Upsherin

2011-12-05T23:26:00.001-05:00

It's probably about time we followed up with our little friend to see how his haircut went.

He's looking at those scissors the way I watch my dentist as he grabs the next tool.

Zaidy (Grandpa) gets to cut the first locks. Avraham is the youngest after three girls, look at the pride on his fathers face!

Who's next? Its Mom's turn, followed by his sisters.

Good job Bud, you were really brave. After the ceremony and the party he went for a proper haircut. Then it was time for some "After" portraits with the whole family, so check back soon...

Bar Mitzvah Monogram

2011-12-04T23:45:00.001-05:00

This is a simple monogram that I created for a Bar Mitzvah that I will be shooting in a coupla weeks. The client didn't want anything fancy, just Tikun style type with a little extra flair.

Autumn Portraits in the Park

2011-12-03T23:46:00.001-05:00

Well, the leaves certainly didn't waste any time this year. After an early snowstorm caught them off guard and brought down many of the trees in the area, it seemed like they decided to all fall at once. And with the City struggling to clean up the storm aftermath, the leaves became an afterthought. They fell & fell this fall and the kids had a blast running & rolling in the deep carpet of foliage.

I couldn't let their parents escape without a few quick shots of the whole family.

We really lucked out that day. After some nasty weather we had a bunch of mild days that were just perfect for Portraits in the Park.

Gurock Family Portrait

2011-12-02T11:08:00.001-05:00

This past week I had the pleasure of taking a portrait of the entire Gurock Family. When I moved to Passaic over 18 years ago they were one of the first families that I met. Their oldest son and I were in high school together and we shared a carpool for a couple of years. Those were the days.
With kids living out of state it's not often that they are all together and, regrettably I am only in touch with them via Facebook (it's a new fad, you should check it out). But this past Thanksgiving weekend I was excited by the chance to photograph them together and the resulting image is above.

Often when I am asked to take family pictures the goal is to get a variety of shots of the family sitting, posing, playing and just being themselves. The images from those sessions may each be beautiful independently but make a compelling story when told together either in an album, as a collage or just a series of framed pictures next to each other - check out these family portraits from a couple of summers ago. The Gurock's on the other hand wanted a single great shot of the entire family; anything else I could get (and I did take other pictures) was icing on the cake.

So my assistant Aryeh and I spend a short while scouting the best location and posing each of the subjects in the picture. The real work however, came in post production. As you can imagine getting 16 people to all look good in the same shot is nearly impossible. So I set my camera on a tripod and took four shots, making minor adjustments to the posing while doing my best to keep everyone engaged and smiling at the camera (when dealing with little kids that usually involves me making a fool of myself). Below you can see the four pictures next to each other along with the printout I used to markup which faces and body positions I wanted to use for the final image

It's a little hard to see in the smaller version here, but trust me, the subtle differences in expression of each person can make or break the picture (but sometimes that can add to the character of the shot as well). Notice how the guy sitting on the right side of the picture is slouching in the first shot, while the tall guy standing in the middle has his hand in his pocket for all the other shots. Things like that don't always matter as much as the two examples below. The three shots of the boy and the three shots of the girl are both chronological. While she is perfect in the first picture he takes a few tries to get comfortable. Kids will be kids.

Anyway, as you might have guessed it's very time consuming. Unless your group shot has more than a handful of people in it and your know you intend to make a large copy (this shot on canvas with some brush strokes would be really sweet) it's not necessary to go though all this trouble. Your family is perfect just the way they are!

BroLaw / Wedding Photography

2011-12-01T12:44:00.001-05:00

Considering I'm shooting my brother-in-laws wedding in a little less than a month, it's probably time to share some images from brother-in-laws wedding a couple of months ago. Confused?
My wife is one of a dozen children and her last two single bros are getting married within 3 months of each other. Makes it a lot easier on the incoming sibling. I remember being the new guy in the fam and quickly going from rookie to veteran as our wedding was soon followed by a few others. So before this is old news lets take a look at some of their images:

We kinda got in a little trouble for taking the next picture. The building behind the bride is an all boys school for some super religous kids. Apparently, women are not permitted too close to the building and as we wrapped this shot the manager of the wedding venue came out to explain what we were doing wrong. Silly me, I should have known better. I'm so modern.

This was a funny moment as the veil fell of the brides head.

NO PEEKING!

I think this is my favorite image from the whole wedding. LOVE the look of intensity on his face.

This wedding hall happens to be fairly easy to shoot in but is a nightmare under the chuppah. It's nearly impossible for me to get consistent lighting in my shots under there, but every once in a while it works out.

That's right...a marching band. The Mesivta Shaarei Arazim Marching Band, and that cute guy on the sax is the brides bro!

Welcome to the family.

Tisha B'av

2011-08-09T11:31:00.000-04:00

Rabbi Mordechai Becher & Rabbi Yaakov Glasser delivering presentations
at Congregation Eitz Chaim & the Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton,
respectively.

Lag Baomer / Upsherin Photography

2011-05-20T11:38:00.001-04:00

It's almost Lag Baomer, you know what that means? A lotta little guys getting their haircuts!

Yesterday the rain stopped just long enough to take some before pictures of Avraham. On Sunday he, along with countless other little boys, will get their first haircuts as they hit the milestone of their third birthday.

Avrahams hair is not too long but it sure is curly. He was a real pleasure to take pictures of, easygoing and ready to smile, the camera loves him.

He's super excited to start wearing a Kippah and Tzitzis.

Y'know its not easy holding up those three fingers...that's his sister showing him how its done.

He only stood still for about 10 minutes - but thats all we needed!

Emmie & Yitzy / Video Preview

2011-05-09T10:16:00.000-04:00

Jason has outdone himself once more with this short video. I really love how his video footage matches my still shooting style. Check back soon for a full post-wedding-post with lots of still images.

Emmie

2011-05-02T22:20:00.000-04:00

Fierce

& Yonder

Esther Chava & Ben / Images

2011-03-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

There was certainly no shortage of dancing at this wedding. One of the assistants on my crew had never been to an orthodox Jewish wedding before. He was completely in awe of the emotional explosion he witnessed that night. If you have never seen a couple hundred Yeshivah guys celebrate together, drop me a line and come crash the next wedding I shoot. It was a crazy-fun night to be sure...Mazel Tov!

Jeremiah Blum / Bris

2011-02-09T12:05:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday Jason and I had the opportunity to shoot our first Bris (circumcision) together. Jerry is not only his parents first child but also the first grandchild on both sides of the family. We were honored to have been asked to document this special day. Below is a preview, let us know what you think...

Esther Chava & Ben

2011-01-31T14:12:00.001-05:00

Check out this awesome Video by my new crew:

I have to give a big shout-out to MojoMaster Jason Aron for bringing this to fruition. His shooting & editing style are a perfect fit for Kruter Photography.

New Year / New Site

2011-01-01T23:59:00.012-05:00

It's kinda half baked but tastes great anyway.

Bubby

2010-12-26T23:36:00.000-05:00

My Grandmother, Pauline Schneider
January 7, 1916 - December 22, 2011
"All good things must come to an end"

Crocodile Maccabee

2010-12-03T15:36:00.001-05:00

That's not a menorah...Now that's a menorah!

Compliments of The Brody Brothers at Chabad of Park Heights, Baltimore.

Chanukah Bar Mitzvah

2010-12-02T13:36:00.025-05:00

Happy Chanukah!
These images are from a few years ago and this kid has probably graduated high school already. Gotta love his little brother...

Under Construction

2010-11-23T18:36:00.004-05:00

Finally! I'm finally getting around to updating my website with a revised design and lotsa new content. If you would like notification when the site is complete please leave a request in the comments. Otherwise check back soon and lemme know what you think.

Thanks,
Housekeeping

Elisheva & Yosef

2010-08-17T11:36:00.002-04:00

Toras Aron
Lakewood, NJ
August 12, 2010

32

2010-06-01T12:36:00.009-04:00

Has it really been an entire year since I committed to regularly update this Blog?!

Many, many apologies to my family, clients and friends who have put up with me during this tumultuous year. The "To Do" list is overwhelmingly long but will be conquered!

Yosemite

2010-04-01T22:36:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the Kruter clan will be moving out west for a while. I recently received a govt. grant, in association with the Ansel Adams foundation, to do some uber secret research involving high tech cameras and imaging technique. Correspondance will be limited, if you would like to be kept in the loupe please post your request in the comments.

Summer Clearance Sale

2009-09-02T12:36:00.001-04:00

One week without a post is barely excusable but a month is simply unacceptable! I got an email the other day from the GAP informing me of their Summer Clearance Sale. The Summer is not over yet, is it?! Man it's been a hectic 8 weeks!

Below, in chronological order, is one image from each of the 16 jobs that I shot since my last post on July 31:

Goldberg Upsherin

2009-07-31T01:36:00.002-04:00

Since everyone is running to get haircuts today I thought it would be nice day to share images from an Upsherin that I shot last month.

Schindler's List

2009-07-29T18:36:00.010-04:00

Historically, this has been a very rough week for the Jews. As is customary I went easy on the indulgences and spent a bit of time learning and reviewing relevant topics. In addition to spending a lot of time reading Jewish History (from my sister-in-laws mint condition 11th grade textbook) I borrowed my Father-in-laws DVD of Schindler's List. The first and last time that I saw this movie was shortly after it came out in 1993. TABC, my high school, actually thought the movie was so meaningful and well done that they paid a theater to have a special showing and took the ENTIRE school to see it. Surprisingly, despite a fair deal of nudity (as well as the obvious, horrendous atrocities), I don't think any of the parents objected. I remember very clearly how moved I was when I saw it.

After more than 15 years the movie, thankfully, still holds up. No. It remains a benchmark film. Not only is it a remarkable piece of filmmaking (from an objective, artistic standpoint, the movie is well executed in every way) but it is a historic necessity. As any New Yorker will tell you, "Never Forget" is easier said than done. As a witness to the events of 9/11 I myself am at fault for allowing it's significance to diminish over the last several years. While we cannot let the weight of these great events stop us from living we must take them with us every day.

When the film was over I watched and read every bit of the extra features. The main extra was about an organization formed by the films director, Steven Spielberg, called the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. The foundation was built and is maintained by the University of Southern California. Through a remarkable effort the foundation has collected video testimonies of over 52,000 witnesses. The record is comprised mostly of Jewish witnesses, but also includes other persecuted groups as well as soldiers, politicians and civilians who saw the Holocaust with their own eyes. Among those interviewed is my ex-landlady Mrs. Hammer.

"Mrs. Hammer" taken five years ago for my as of yet unpublished Frum Faces project.

During our six years living in her house Mrs. Hammer often referred to her interview with Spielberg's crew. Until last night I never really knew what she was talking about. Now I know that her testimony can be seen at any of the numerous locations that have access to the Foundation's archive (in the NY area the closest three are Columbia University, Syracuse University and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C.). You can view a very brief bio of Mrs. Hammer online by searching the Testimonies Catalogue, but I urge you to visit a location near you to see the video. Use the search phrases "Yera Hammer" or Interview Code #18278.

Having never seen her video I decided to sit down with her myself to hear her first hand account first hand. It was exactly one year ago tomorrow (on Tisha B'Av, according to the Hebrew Calendar) that AY and I had the privilege to not only listen to her stories but ask her questions as well. As the great Jimmy V once said "There are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

I agree. If you don't already laugh, think and cry every day why not give it a try tomorrow. For all those participating I wish you an easy and meaningful fast.

Goldstein & Zeltzer Families

2009-07-24T01:36:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I made a trip up to Nyak, NY to shoot the Goldstein & Zeltzer families and we had a blast! The adults were pretty cool but the kids were amazing. I'm sure you can tell from the pictures that these four cousins, Page, Justin, Sara & Miri are all very comfortable in front of the camera.

The goal was to get a few formal shots and a whole lot of candid portraits of everyone just having fun - do you think we succeeded? My camera was happily blasting away for almost three hours and I wish I could share all the final images with you, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing...

...Anyway, enjoy a handful of my faves:

Baby in a Box

2009-07-16T12:36:00.002-04:00

It's been a month since I last posted any photos of Leora and several people have been bugging me for an update. Well, to be honest with you, in our haste to move out of our old apartment we misplaced the box that we packed Leora in!

Little Lost Leo finally turned up this morning, in great condition (whew, thank G-D), and I will hopefully get her in the studio for a modeling session over the next few days.

Seriously though, a few days before we had to be out of our apartment (a few days after she was born), when we should have hastily been packing up I decided that I just had to spend two hours setting up and creating the above image. It is indeed a real image and those are actually boxes that we had either already packed up or were waiting to be filled. Had I gone totally insane I would have prepared and stacked enough boxes to fill the background behind her but instead I chose (wisely, as I think I had already exhausted my wife's patience just after telling her about my "Box of Leo" idea) to just tape some collapsed boxes to the wall. Set up was around 1.5+ hours and Leora was only subject to my flashing lights for about 10 minutes. Many thanks to my lovely ladies for their continuing tolerance of my nonsense!

Below is a detail shot of the final image along with a few behind the scenes photos.

Strobist: Canon 30D/EF-S 17-55 2.8 @ 160 sec / f6.3 @ iso 100. One AB800 with shoot thru umbrella triggered via a Pocketwizard Plus 2 mounted on the camera with a pre-trigger motor cord. That allowed me to hold a PW MiniTT1 in my hand and maneuver Leo, step just out of frame, and fire the camera without having to stand behind the tripod.

For post production notes click on the final image above or click here. See the unedited version here.

Liquors Galore

2009-07-16T00:36:00.002-04:00

Late last week I got a call from my friend Dan at U Productions who asked me to take some shots to be used in a TV commercial they are working on. The 30 second spot is for a really beautiful new liquor store on avenue J in Brooklyn called Liquors Galore. Most of the shots that the video crew took were tight close-ups of bottles and the actors, but the viewers never got a feel for what the entire store looked like. I was asked to take some still images that could be used in the commercial to demonstrate just how vast the store and it's selection of products really are. The images needed to include as much of the store as possible. The editors would then briefly pan through the shot so that it matched the motion shots that made up the rest of the video.

Below are the five shots that I presented to my clients as well as a quick video that I put together demonstrating how each image could be panned within the spot. Both of my clients, the U Video Team and the store owner, were thankfully very pleased with the result and are considering using the fifth shot for the commercial.

Liquors Galore from M.Kruter on Vimeo.

Strobist info (tech notes): Canon 30D/EF-S 10-22 on a tripod for exposures of around 1 second+ @ f11. Pocketwizards were used to fire one 580ex on a lightstand, one 285 on a lightstand and one 285 either handheld or on the floor (the foot is broken). Each image is a composite of several shots that were taken with the lights pointed at different points within the scene.

While I had two AB800's with me as well as two WL800's there was absolutely no place to bounce any light and it would have been a hassle to set up cords, diffusers and large lightstands since the store was open while I was making these images. Considering this is basically a still life I decided instead to use a tripod and slow shutter speed and combine shots when necessary. Initial editing was done in LightRoom with final composites and corrections done in Photoshop.

Rabenstein Wedding

2009-07-10T16:36:00.000-04:00

Here are a few from my cousin Chaim's wedding this past Monday, July 6th. It's been a while since I have been to the Liberty Jewish Center in Baltimore and, WOW, they did a terrific job renovating the Synagogue. Too bad it didn't look like that when Rusi and I got married there six years ago on the same date!

Storage

2009-07-08T23:36:00.001-04:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Everything "they" say about moving is true - it's miserable! Out of the dozen or so trips that I made to a storage facility that we rented, these images are from my favorite. Just a few days after Leora was born Rusi came along to help me move some of our delicates, a couple of heirloom lamps from her grandmother.

How could we resist taking this shot?!

Never miss an opportunity to make a classic portrait.

Ever wonder what it is like to be inside when the door is closed?

My Team

2009-06-22T01:36:00.001-04:00

Several months ago I took some portraits of a family and it turns out the father is commissioner of our local little league, or Yiddle League as it's called. He called me up shortly after and asked if I was interested in sponsoring one of the teams; I jumped at the opportunity.

It's always questionable to spend money on advertising since you never can tell how much revenue is generated by your ad dollars. Not that direct revenue is always the goal. Some businesses advertise to hook new clients, others simply to strengthen name recognition and then there are those that want to support the community. Me? I couldn't resist the chance to purchase my very own pro sports franchise. Ok, so these guys aren't pros...yet, but you gotta admit they look good!

The Curious Case of Leora Gittel

2009-06-20T23:36:00.002-04:00

Two names. That's what we did with Shai, so why change the formula (x+y)? The second would be after my Fathers mother (c) and the first would just be something that we liked (a+c). We happened to like several names and managed to narrow it down to two earlier this week (t/l). We decided not to settle on the first name until after she was born, but felt that one of them sounded better with the second (t+c). Then she popped out.

When the Doctor held her in front of us I had the most unexpected feeling- the baby looked just like my Father-in-laws mother (g). She did not simply resemble her. She did not look the way she might have 90 years ago. My daughter looked like my wife's Grandmother did just a few years ago, like my wife had just given birth to a 90 year old baby. Like her Grandmother had just popped out. This baby was indeed going to be named after a grandmother, but not mine. She was even doing this thing with her tongue that Rusi's Grandmother used to do. It was downright eerie.

As I wrestled with the change of her second name I wondered if the first one was appropriate either. I imagined calling her (t) and just didn't feel that it fit. It felt far more comfortable, more natural, to call her (l). During the first few moments of her life I had realized her name was not (t+c) but (l+g). I wondered what my wife thought.

The next three hours I concerned myself with the health of my two ladies and did not worry about her name. Since I would not be naming her until two days later it wasn't something that I needed to discuss with Rusi at 1am. But of course I was curious. So right before I left I asked Rus if she gave the baby's name any thought. She said she had. She said that she had in such a way that I knew something was bothering her. I knew that she had not only decided which of the two names we liked she wanted to use (t/l) but that another name, a name that was never on the table, was fitting. It was late and Rusi suggested talking about it tomorrow, anticipating that I may be upset with her new suggestion. But I was curious. I assured Rusi that it was ok, that she could tell me what she thought. That she could tell me the name that she had in mind. So she told me-

"Leora Gittel"

In Judaism we have a concept called Ruach Hakodesh or Divine Inspiration. Back in the day it was widespread and many worthy figures often received secret information via this holy communication (Tweets from G-D). Nowadays we aren't up to snuff. We don't have the direct contact that our ancestors once had. It is, however, believed that there is a little bit of this Divine Inspiration left in the world. That parents receive Ruach Hakodesh when naming their children. I have no doubt that is what happened to us this week.

The Name Game

2009-06-18T22:36:00.004-04:00

Anybody have any suggestions or guesses?

Krutet

2009-06-18T20:36:00.003-04:00

My apologies to everyone for not clearly specifying the baby's gender - It's a Girl! I had thought that the pink flyer included with the last post would make it obvious...oh well.

For those of you who need me to spell out all the details - here goes:
• She was born on Wednesday, June 17/9:50pm at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ.
• Her beautiful, perfect little features, weigh in at 5 lb & 12.6 oz at 19 inches.
• Rusi's labor went very well and the delivery was very, very quick.
• Mother & daughter are both doing great B"H, and are expected home for Shabbos.
• We will be naming her this coming Shabbos at Bais Ment and will be co-sponsoring a kiddush following davening.

I must tell you how impressed I was with my wife for her strength and patience throughout. She was and remains an inspiration to me and our children and I simply cannot express how much I love her. Thank you Rus. You deserve this.

There really isn't anything else to say except - HODU LASHEM KITOV, KI LE OLAM CHASDO!!!

p.s. oneg at the victors frinite

Since09

2009-06-17T21:50:00.002-04:00

Mazel Tov!

It's nice to meet you. I'm moving to Baltimore for a while but you can follow me right here at ~~www.Since78.com~~ www.Since09.com

Thank you.

Frumi & Noach Preview

2009-06-17T16:36:00.000-04:00

A few more from another wedding that I shot right before Passover.

Toby & Yitzy Preview

2009-06-17T15:36:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of images from a Wedding that I shot right before Passover. More to come!

Feiner Bris

2009-06-16T09:36:00.005-04:00

Last week I had the privilege of shooting a family Simcha. While it's always nice to see family it's even nicer to see them on a happy occasion. Better yet if you get paid for it ;)

AY and the oyPhone

2009-06-12T17:36:00.004-04:00

It is with great pleasure that I introduce my good friend AY to the Blogosphere. In his honor check out my first photo of the week, taken at an engagement party in Brooklyn (no that's not the new iPhone 3G S).

Tetris turns 25

2009-06-06T21:36:00.005-04:00

Mazel Tov to Alexey Pajitnov and the entire Tetris family on the occasion of your 25th Anniversary!

Tetris has always been my favorite video game and I continue to play it the way it should be played - on my vintage late 80's green screen Game Boy. Check out this picture I just took of my old friend.

Over the last two and a half decades Tetris has seen many adaptations and iterations but has generally remained unchanged, as it should, since it symbolizes perfect simplicity. It annoys me to no end that my spell check does not recognize the word Tetris. Celebrated by tens of thousands, Tetris has spawned it's own subculture complete with virtual communities, competitions and commemorative techno art projects. Two of my favorite homages are Guillaume Reymond's Human Tetris and Tetris Building by two students at Brown University. Enjoy!

UPDATE:
Check out Googles home page today!

Meet the Family

2009-06-05T13:36:00.003-04:00

We've been going out for almost a week now and I think that it's finally time for you to meet my family.

March 2007

June 2007

January 2008

June 2009

Admittedly, as a professional photographer myself, it is not easy to pay someone else to take pictures of my family. It's a whole lot easier though. My experience as a client at the two studios we commissioned, Kiddie Kandids and Portrait Innovations, has my head spinning and you can bet I will share my thoughts about it soon.

Still Video

2009-06-04T00:36:00.002-04:00

One of the things that I have been experimenting with lately is editing video and timelapse photography (two things I guess). Video has always intrigued me; I am the guy who watches every bit of extra footage on the DVD as well as watch the movie again with all the commentary. I find cinema to be the perfect unity of image, sound and story. It was always a working goal of mine to eventually purchase a descent video camera along with some video editing software. Somehow I recently discovered that my computer came with Apple iMovie, simple but perfectly good software for editing basic videos. At the same time I also discovered that I can use images taken with my still camera as frames in my movies.

If you don't know what that means check out this bit of technosmarts: a movie is a series of still images presented in rapid succession to give the appearance of motion. Video cameras do almost the exact same thing as still cameras. A still camera takes a high quality image every once in a while. A video camera takes lower quality pictures constantly. Once in a while & constantly, and high quality & lower quality, are all relative terms. But you get the basic idea.

Practically speaking a "movie" is a sequence of about 25 images displayed in succession every one second. At that speed the human brain is unable to distinguish the transition from one image to the next. When recording motion in "real time" our camera only needs to be able to capture 25 images per second. Because each image is viewed for such a short period of time it is unnecessary for the image to be of a very high quality. This explains a typical video camera. But just because we want the viewer to watch a movie at 25 images, or frames, per second does not require us to capture those images at 25 frames per second. If we are taking pictures of something that does not move it makes no difference how long we take to capture our frames. And if we capture something that moves very slowly we are able to speed it up significantly by playing it back at a faster rate than it was captured. Imagine I take a picture of myself each day for 25 days. The first day I shave right before taking the picture and do not shave for the remainder of the project. At the end of the 25 days I make a movie using those 25 images. The movie is only one second long but in that one second I have grown a full beard! The creative potential is endless.

Over the last few months my mind has been spinning with the myriad ways I can utilize this technique. Over the next few months I will share with you snippets of many project that I am working on, many of which utilize timelapse photography. Below is a video I wanted to share with you today that demonstrates how I embellish a limited edition giclée canvas print of one of my paintings. I believe timelapse is the perfect way to showcase the amount of effort that it takes me to transition a print from start to finish.

Please let me know what you think. Let me know if you can even see the video below. If you can't please click on the link to watch the video at it's source. Let me know exactly how smoothly it runs on your computer. I look forward to your feedback.

Thanks!

Embellished Giclée from M.Kruter on Vimeo.

31

2009-06-01T23:36:00.002-04:00

Today this blog turns 31 years old!
Well no, this blog has not been around since 1978, but I have. And for most of the last three decades I took advantage of sharing/harassing the small number of people/victims willing to put up with me. Recently I have been excited by the prospect of reaching out to a wider audience. After starting this blog a couple of months ago I think today is an appropriate time to commit to update it regularly.
I hope that excites at least one person.

So please spread the word, check back often and comment always.

Thank you, drive thru.

Since78

2009-04-01T00:36:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my life.

p.s. it may be funny but it's no joke!