Artist Spotlight: Victoria Will

We had a very special visitor last Friday. Photographer Victoria Will stopped by the rental department to show us her most recent project: tintypes. 

Victoria has been making waves with her new series, having shot more than a hundred photographs of some of the world's most adored actors and actresses at the Sundance Film Festival. Her haunting photograph of Philip Seymour Hoffman, in particular, has been getting a considerable amount of attention as it is the last photograph of the actor before his untimely death earlier this month. The amount of care given in each tintype is incredibly apparent and we are so very excited for her! Check out a few images from this series below, and be sure to visit her site to see even more! 

We're hoping to put together a gallery show for Victoria some time really soon, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the date and time!  

Meet the staff: Ryan

Ryan Billings works in the rental department of Foto Care. A Foto Care employee for 5 years, Ryan has become a huge asset to the rental team. 

Photo of Ryan taken by Daniel Orren at Highline Stages

In rentals, Ryan's responsibilities include packing orders and providing support to rental customers for both still and video equipment. Most of his time is spent speaking with clients about the right gear for their shoot and coming up with solutions for all sorts of problems that can arise with a shoot. "It's sort of like being on 10 sets at once, but the guys I work with make it much easier," he says. 

Before joining the rental guys, Ryan freelanced for  two commercial photographers, assisting with location lighting, fine art printing, stuffing mailings, painting cycs, milling frames from fallen trees, "recycling the darkroom water to flush toilets" for the most eco-friendly photographer on the planet, among other tasks here and there. That is a wide variety of photography experience!

"My photography has progressed from shooting bands and environmental portraits, to wedding photography. I really enjoy shooting weddings because it is fast-paced and fairly diverse. I use just about everything I have learned shooting still life, portraits and landscapes to give the bride and groom a romantic perspective of their special day."

And speaking of special day, Ryan just got married!

We're so excited for these two lovebirds! 

"I just got married and it was an amazing day, I never expected it to go so fast and be so fun."

So if you've got gear questions, be sure to stop by the rental department and ask Ryan. And, throw a congratulations his way! 

Special Offer from Parlay Studios

Back in March, we featured Parlay Studios. Located in Jersey City, just minutes from lower Manhattan, Parlay Studios is the perfect place to shoot if you want to avoid the New York City hustle and bustle. This August, Parlay is offering photographers a discount on studio time and equipment for the entire month of August as part of their Open Studio Program. Click for more information.

“Helping grow and develop creative talent and expression is part of our mission,” says executive producer Adam Himber. “We feel that supporting new talent, and established artists, is a great way to grow our business and the artistic community in this area.”

With over 10,000 square feet of studio space, three different stages and ground floor, drive-in access, Parlay has been host to shoots and campaigns by clients like ALDO, BMW, Top Gear, MTV and Nordstrom. The studio is configured for photo and video shoots, has and extensive in-house inventory (supported by Foto Care) of lighting and grip equipment and is currently expanding into providing location services for film and television.

To take advantage of this great offer, copy and paste discount code: OSKSTRE8459 into the subject of an email message and send to studio@parlaystudios.com when you book a studio time or equipment rental.

The Cartwheel Initiative Gallery Show

Last night, artists from The Cartwheel Initiative came to Foto Care for a gallery show. The show was a great success and quite eventful! There were silent auctions, a stop motion booth, food and drinks. The group was able to raise money for their trip to Sri Lanka later this summer to work with kids through a series of workshops in storytelling, filmmaking, photography, multimedia visual arts, and music composition. But, they still need your help. Visit The Cartwheel Initiative website here to donate to their cause.

Cartwheel Initiative artist Deborah Feingold talks with guests

Sri Lankan food was on the menu for the show

Cartwheel Initiative artist Ashok Sinha talks with a guest

Ashok Sinha makes a speech

A stop motion booth was set up to keep guests entertained during the show

Jay Maisel's Light, Color and Gesture

Jay Maisel

On Tuesday night, photographer Jay Maisel gave a talk at Foto Care on his latest work. It was great to hear from such an accomplished photographer and learn what elements are important to creating his work, like the use of light, embracing color and gesturing in photographs. After the talk, Jay took questions and attendees were able to talk to Jay one-on-one and take pictures.

Jay Maisel with Iranian photographer Kimia Rahgozar

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend this event!