Jared Castaldi Photography

Early to shoot...

2011-09-08T04:23:00.001-07:00

Sitting in an empty parking lot in Delaware. It's raining. Again. About to shoot some physical therapy.

Camera surgery...

2011-09-07T14:52:00.001-07:00

So about a month ago I put a P.O.S. hot shoe cord on my camera and it got stuck on there. I've used this cord a million times before with no problems except for this one time.

Believe me when I tell you that I tried everything short of a saw to get it off of there but with no luck. Well today I used a saw. I took a saw to my baby. A hack saw.

I was hesitant to do this until yesterday when the hot shoe built into the top of the cord adapter stop working with my radio. So I had to do something since I have a ton of shoots coming up and I'll be damned if I'm going to use a sync cord. Oh hell no!

So I basically decapitated the adapter then cut down the top of it to get as close to my camera as possible without hitting it. Then I put a flathead screwdriver between the hot shoe and the adapter and turned it until the piece cracked in two. Worked perfectly! Not a scratch on my camera and my radio is working again! Praise Jebus!

(top and bottom split pieces)

I think I have to credit my plumbing background for this repair. Basically the same as splitting a tub flange and chopping it out. Go me!

Location:Home

Ordered chaos...

2011-08-24T16:18:00.001-07:00

What a whirlwind past couple of days it's been. My car has been in the shop for past week but we're still managing to get some work done somehow.

On Monday, I shot some soccer stock shots with the big man himself, Chris Crisman, up at Red Bull stadium in New Jersey. I can't wait to have a minute of free time to sit down and take a look at them. So stoked on those.

Then today we were up in Hackensack shooting a heart warming story for New Jersey Monthly.

All this while juggling my normal workload for my magazines that I shoot for locally. Whew!!! *wipes sweat from forehead* I'm tearing through some hard drive space...

So I don't like making blog posts without posting some sort of picture but since I'm on the train out to pick up a loaner vehicle for the rest of the week and all I have is my phone, I'll leave you with this - my fantasy football starting lineup.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Early to shoot..

2011-08-12T11:05:00.001-07:00

Washington Square Park at 2:01pm. About to head into Talula's Garden to shoot some food.

..and this is my gear for today. I'm on a bike today so I had to pack light.

Going green...

2011-08-12T08:24:00.001-07:00

So we here at world headquarters of Jared Castaldi Photography are going green. This is how I'll be getting to my next shoot. By choice? No way. But hey, we're getting the job done. Guess I won't be taking strobes on this one! That's green too. Haha going au natural today.

On the road again...

2011-08-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

So to the right you'll see a little window. That would be my new project that I'm trying to get off the ground. I'm looking for backers to put me back on the road again. My plan is to motorbike around each state in the union for an undetermined amount of time collecting photos and stories of the people, places, and scenery that each state has to offer. After each trip, the photos will be brought together into a photo book for each state. Pretty cool, right? Yup.

So even if you're not interested in backing my project, please just share my idea with everyone you know. I bet you know a lot of people. And I bet all of the people you know probably know a lot of people. So help me to at least get the ball rolling and spread the word!

Thanks!
Jared

Me in Nova Scotia in 2008 on my old 1976 Honda CB750.

Early to shoot..

2011-08-05T09:42:00.001-07:00

City Hall Park in NYC at 12:41pm

Early to shoot..

2011-08-03T03:02:00.001-07:00

6am in Newark DE.

My best friend is named Ranger...

2011-08-02T12:27:00.001-07:00

I can't express in words my love for my Elinchrom Ranger Quadra setup. Thing is a beast. It's extremely light and lasts for freaking ever. I sometimes do 4 or 5 shoots in a day and it never skips a beat. I tend to mix natural light and strobes so I usually shoot pretty light on power and that really helps the life of the battery. But even at full power shooting it lasts all day and recycles fairly quickly. Sigh...love.

Early for shoot..

2011-08-02T04:47:00.001-07:00

Lionville on Route 113.

Early to shoot..

2011-08-01T05:30:00.001-07:00

Early to shoot this morning. Being in my car for 3 hours does horrible things to a thrown out back. Still have to drive home too. Why am I still driving down here?!

Bushes and shed in Lewes DE.

Phone home..

2011-07-30T20:21:00.001-07:00

This is my home screen on my phone. I'm always curious to see other people's home screens. Whatcha got??

Lazy..

2011-07-28T09:49:00.001-07:00

So while I sit here editing photos, I have to stare at this lazy freeloader all day long. She's got it all figured out...

Early for shoots...

2011-07-28T06:34:00.001-07:00

So here I am... early for another shoot this morning. Again. In this business, you can't be late for anything so I usually leave early enough to make up for any curveballs that might be thrown at me. But when things go smoothly and 76 has pretty light traffic at 8am on a weekday (for real!), I sometimes have some time to kill. So here's my view while I wait for my shoot.

Route 202 in Devon PA.

In the kitchen..

2011-07-22T08:19:00.001-07:00

Just wrapped a shoot with Jennifer Behm, contestant on Fox's Master Chef. We had an awesome time that involved knives, whole fish, and throwing of fruits and whatnot. Jennifer was a total pro and great in front of the camera.

The show is done filming now but it's still on air so Jennifer couldn't say if she won or not. Guess we'll just have to keep watching!

On the job training..

2011-07-21T07:53:00.001-07:00

Today I had a shoot with PGA golf pro, Elizabeth Granahan. She is president and director of instruction for The G2 golf group located at the Chester Valley Golf Club in Malvern PA. Elizabeth along with managing partner and CEO, Michele Gajderowicz, have a beautiful brand new facility at the golf club with all the high tech gadgetry you can think of. High speed cameras from all different angles, monitors for instant feedback to students.... Awesome!! It's based in it's own building with a huge retractable door so you can still train even if it's raining. Just the perfect set up.

Anyways, after the shoot Elizabeth was kind enough to break down my swing on their system step by step. It was so cool to see my 15 handicap swing in slow motion and to actually see some flaws. I'll need to get out on the range soon to hopefully have some of her instructions sink in.

If you're interested in getting your own horrible swing in shape, drop Elizabeth and Michele a line.

855-4G2-GOLF
www.theG2golfgroup.com

People I work with..

2011-07-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

This is Kelly. She's the art director at Delaware Today magazine. Ass kicker... And by ass kicker I mean she'd probably kick my ass for posting a picture of her. Haha

2 more from today's fashion shoot..

2011-07-13T13:10:00.001-07:00

More from today's bridal fashion shoot..

2011-07-13T07:57:00.001-07:00

Great day for a bridal fashion shoot.

2011-07-13T06:53:00.001-07:00

August Esquire cover..

2011-07-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

Love it. Who's needs fonts and whatnot? Blue sharpie is good enough.