Riding 25,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina which will take approximately 2 years, Adam Biel is not your average, recent college graduate! He’s riding to raise awareness and $1 million for Autism. You can learn more about Adam’s journey at www.adventureforautism.com.

I met Adam at the southwest corner of Madison Sq. Park. I’m sitting on a park bench waiting, I look up and I see a well dressed, young man who is obviously looking for someone. The wardrobe was not at all what I expected from a guy who literally lives on a bike. So I ask him about the clothes. He laughs a bit, and proceeds to tell me the only thing that he’s wearing that he owns are his socks! He then tells me he was staying with a male model who is basically his size, and Adam is wearing his clothes.

We spent the day with Adam learning a lot about why is doing this, and where he finds much of his motivation. It’s an amazing story, and much more will come soon.

A couple of the top selects from a roof top shoot with Paul Ramey the other evening.

I had an amazing day trip down to Baltimore to document City Uprising 2009. Above are portraits of two women I met while running  around the city. It’s amazing who I have the pleasure of meeting. And I’m amazed at how so many different types of people can come together for one cause … To love and serve those in need, with no strings attached.

Aida is from Colombia, and Amberlee is from the suburbs of Baltimore. Very different women from very different worlds. But both were out in Baltimore sacrificing their time to serve those who may, or may not have HIV/AIDs … Regardless of the cause of the disease, we must all learn to embrace those affected.

One of the many missions of City Uprising 2009 was the Arts Renegade Projects on the streets of NYC. And one these Arts Renegade Projects followed one of my recent, personal projects … Purity in the City, the 25 white helium filled balloon project.

On Monday afternoon I followed one of the many groups that descended on the city with 25 white helium filled balloons, and we went up on the Highline. We had a great time … Short-lived, but lots of fun. We spent about 30-45 minutes walking down the Highline, and I took a handful of portraits in the process.

So, I know the coolest 12 year old in all of New York City … Noah R. And he recently had this killer idea that ended up being called “12 Second Sketch.”

It all started one day in Central Park when Noah decided to sketch the Dakota building. For those who don’t know, that’s the super-famous building where John Lennon resided, and was shot just outside. Anyway, Noah decided to sketch the building in 12 seconds, because, well … He’s twelve!

And today, Noah, Paul, Jenny and myself set out to make a short film that explains all of this. We interviewed Noah, so that he could explain his concept. However, we didn’t want the visuals of the film to explain the concept. We want the visuals of the film to represent Noah’s perspective. So, that’s what we set out to accomplish. We headed downtown to the Meat Packing district to the Highline. We shot video, shot some stills, did a quick audio interview, and took some audio clips from the streets of NYC.

Looking forward to seeing the final piece. Paul’s supposed to be putting it all together tomorrow and it will be used at City Uprising this year in NYC. Over 400 volunteers are going to be running through Manhattan trying to get New Yorkers to participate in a 12 second sketch of “anything that comes to mind.”

Pretty cool, no?

I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with a young couple & their daughter who are from Sciliy, here in NYC on vacation visiting family. It was a glorious afternoon following weeks of rain. It was a perfect day for this. A few selects above.

A while back Jen and I shot some before pictures of a soon-to-be renovated  apartment at One 5th Ave. And as we were leaving, we took a couple of silly snaps with the camera remote control in hand.

A still life shot Jen and I set up for the Gallery Church … Fruit.

So, what would purity in the city look like? How visible would just a small amount of purity in the chaos and distraction of New York City? That was a recent question in my mind. Through a somewhat strange, off beat mental journey I came up with white balloons filled with helium. You don’t usually see a big bunch of balloons in the ciy. And when you do … Well, there is something refreshing about that sight.

I walked around Manhattan for a few hours toting my 25 balloons, camera and some light gear. And let me tell you … What an experience! I had more random conversations, smiles, giggles, waves, gestures, and hellos in those three short hours than any other three hours in my life!

New York City is such a surprising place.

I’ve been digging back through photos for Jonathan, and came across this beauty! J Rich is a super-laid back guy, but this portrait is just intense.