Last May, Allie and I photographed a wedding on the beautiful island of Maui. (I must say, we miss Maui. A lot!) Anyway, a few weeks ago those clients, Matthew and Heather, asked me if I would be interested in photographing GENESIS—a benefit for The Art of Elysium, a charity which is near and dear to their hearts. The Art of Elysium is a nonprofit organization that brings the arts into the lives of children who are inflicted with life-threatening illnesses.

It was held in the loading dock and warehouse of HD Buttercup – such a cool space. It featured New York’s finest mixologists from Death & Co. NY, a complimentary “jean bar” provided by Current/Elliott and very special musical guests: DJ Brent Bolthouse, DJ Menelik, Chris Pierce, Ringside and Fight From Above. Artist Christopher Cuseo did a live art installation.

As a photographer who does much charitable special event photography, I was impressed by this event. It was star-studded with lots of gifts, laughter, entertainment and great people. I can’t wait for next year!

For more information on how you can become involved, go to The Art of Elysium.

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This was one of those experiences which will last a lifetime…

Peter Fasseas is a Chicago-based banker who has a summer home in Three Arch Bay in Laguna Beach. His wife Paula decided to throw him a birthday party on the beach – with a surprise….

She hired the BEACH BOYS to be the entertainment! WOW! Allie and I had such a blast photographing this event.

The party started at the house where the guests were greeted with refreshments and a photo!

The house is located on a cliff, so the guests enjoyed a small party upstairs. This is their daughter Alexis…

Everyone then made the walk down to the beach… It is important to note that the stage, and all of the equipment had to be carried down the cliff by hand – it took 2 days, and I would imagine it will take 3 days to carry everything out…

Paula Fasseas  introduced the guests to the BEACH BOYS! Let the GOOD VIBRATIONS roll!!

Even the neighbors stopped by…

This is one of my favorite shots…

And then, it was time for dinner…

Special thanks to my old friend Jeffrey Best of BEST EVENTS. He pulled off the most amazing fete!

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***   If you a good, I’ll show you a picture of Cameron Diaz, but you must read first   ***

Eric Hirshberg, President of Deutsch Advertising, and his family and friends celebrated Eric’s 40th birthday at their recently remodeled home in Santa Monica – which is BEAUTIFUL! Eric’s wife is an art dealer, and there was so much impeccable beauty on the walls and in attendance.  This was truly a night to remember – I was honored to photograph the evening for the Hirshberg’s.

I have become a huge fan off multiple off-camera strobe’s. This picture illustrates the effect (notice the flash in the upper-right corner):

As you can see, Eric is a huge Talking Heads fan. He had words from the song, Once in a Lifetime, projected onto the walls on the exterior of the house. Here is another shot with the words, “You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife…” An excellent location for their portrait… (another example of two off-camera strobes)

Here are some interior shots:

This is one of my favorite all-time photos. I don’t know why, maybe is is how the composition is split right down the middle. I love the way she is looking out into space, maybe thinking, “How did I get here?”

An exterior:

And finally, Cameron Diaz (licking a childhood photo of Eric):

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