Vietnam Redux

I visited Vietnam three and a half years ago. Vietnam was a very intense place and I used my camera as a way to make sense of it. Shortly after returning, I took the images from the War Museum in Ho Chi Minh City and made a short video. The museum and parts of Vietnam are heavy places and the slideshow reflected that. The images from that video were mainly shot on the first afternoon of the trip and until now I had done nothing with the bulk of the images. Two weeks ago my agent Gregg Lhotsky needed an image to use in a pitch for a job and I thought there might be something appropriate from the Vietnam images. After finding the Image for Gregg I was inspired and a few hours later the rough draft of the above video was finished. This is happy Vietnam, condensing two weeks from the north to the south and everywhere in between into one minute. This video is a perfect bookend to the first. In the end the camera did help me understand Vietnam better.

The War Museum video: http://vimeo.com/13189788

UJA

Last week I started working on a project for the UJA, United Jewish Appeal, to restock their photography library. Over the next few months I will be photographing at various organizations that are recipients of UJA funding. I knew that this would be a great project, but after only one shoot it has already exceeded all of my expectations. The first assignment was at a monthly gathering of Holocaust survivors organized by Selfhelp. There are four separate groups that meet once a month, so once a week the staff stages an operation of amazing logistical proportions. Fleets of car services are dispatched to all points in Brooklyn to transport the participants to and from the Flatbush Jewish Center for lunch and a musical program free of charge. For some it is the main event of their month, a way to get out and connect with the only people who can truly understand their pasts, for me it was an amazing treat. I have met Holocaust survivors before, but never so many at one time. My feelings can best be summed up by quote from one of the Selfhelp community workers Joe, “You could write a book about anyone in this room!” He was so right.

Colors

When I first started incorporating video into my work the simple goal was to bring my still images to life. This video is not only an example of quintessential Josh photography — high color and a blast of fun— but hopefully it will make you laugh.

Jersey Shore

A lot has been written about the cast of the Jersey Shore in a short time and now I feel compelled to tell all about my experience. The real inside story is that they are all very nice! I enjoyed talking with each of them and could not be happier with the images; it was a great day of photography.

AARP Reluctant Entrepeneurs

For a while I have been saying that I have morphed from a photographer into a “visual handyman” a hybrid director/photographer. Over the past couple of years I have been adding video to still shoots and shooting stills to accompany my video work, now it has all blended together. This shoot was a milestone because it was a true hybrid, the still shots were just as important as the video and vice versa. This is the future, where the content is cohesive regardless of whether it is still or video.

The Impostors Daughter

The blending of worlds: I photographed Laurie for the jacket cover of her illustrated novel The Impostors Daughter. A couple of weeks later she called to see if I could make an author video to coincide with the launch of the book. An author video you say, what is that? I had the same reaction. Much like the world of photography, the publishing world is changing as fast as I can type. The author video is now an integral part of a book launch, a virtual book tour. Laurie’s amazing drawings and video are a perfect match. (The video is a big file, it will take a second to load.)

The Cheese State

As a slightly less coordinated, shorter, 12 year old, complete with toupee inspired hair, my parents accompanied me to Madison Wisconsin to celebrate my sister’s graduation from college. It was great fun; I witnessed my first protest, saw the band of the moment STYX in the hotel lobby, sailed on the lake and ate cheese. I came home with a t-shirt and my sister came home with my awesome brother in-law Dave. 28 years later while touring the country on a job for AARP, I noticed things have not changed much, my sister still loves Dave and Wisconsin still loves cheese. Well maybe STYX is no longer the band of the moment!

Street Painting

I have lived in New York City for the past 16 years and now more than ever consider it home. Even so, I still roam the city as a tourist and see something new everyday. For a while I have been photographing interesting pieces from my travels, so it was natural to photograph pieces of my backyard. To see more of my travel slideshows visit my main site: www.joshuakessler.com.

The Audi Q5 Weekend

For some reason or another just when I need to get out of the city, something comes up. In this case it was the Audi Q5 Weekend. I was fortunate enough to tag along with my girlfriend Joanna when she attended the press launch for the new Q5. This was so exciting on many levels; a weekend away with Joanna in a new car, a chance to be surrounded by people talking about cars and oh ya some spa treatments. Did I mention I would be able to take an extended test drive and then talk about cars with the Audi people over drinks? Heaven! This would be the realization of my lifelong fantasy to become a car journalist. The Car aspect of the weekend was fun but the real test drive was of my new Canon 5D MKII. I received it the week before and was dying to try the video capabilities. This camera has been like hearing the Beatles for the first time, a game changer. I have dreamed of being able to shoot video that has the same quality as a still image and this is the beginning. I really enjoyed driving the Q5, but I loved using the 5D. The above video is a document of both test drives, the Q5 and the 5D.

www.joshuakessler.com V3

I am proud to announce the launch of the redesigned www.joshuakessler.com. In addition to great images, there are now expanded sections for videos and my travels. To learn more about each image just roll your cursor over the image.

To coincide with the launch, I've also made two new portfolios in book form. People You Know, for celebrity images and People You May Know, for real people.

Please check out the new site and if you would like to see a portfolio just let me know.