Official Blog of Jeffrey Scott French

NYC Marathon – 2011 New York City ING Marathon on Nov 6th

Jeff — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:14:29 +0000

I realized last week that I practically lived on the marathon route for the 2011 New York City ING Marathon. So I resolved myself to get up and go shoot it, regardless of the weather or how tired I was – if these people were running the thing, then how could I possibly have an excuse not to walk the 3 blocks to the park and watch them as they approached the 12 mile mark? This morning was a gorgeous, gloriously sun-soaked morning, the perfect amount of crisp Autumn bite in the air, and the first day of Standard Time so I even had an extra hour of sleep as a freebie. I got to the route about 5 minutes before the women’s elite group came through, and after the pack of leaders came by it was mostly singles and pairs for a while. Then the men’s elite came by in a very tightly grouped pack, followed by a slightly more steady stream. And then there was a slight lull just before the massive flood of runners came down the quiet, sunny, tree-lined streets of northern Brooklyn. I was blown away by how many people there were, and the varying degrees of seriousness with which they took both the race and themselves – much respect to all who ran, even more to those who finished with a smile on their face. All in all I was there for over an hour, and once the mass of runners that make up the bulk of the marathon’s participants had streamed by in front of me for a good 40 minutes and still no end in site, I was then confronted with the fact that I was on the opposite side of the route from my apartment. Turns out I ran in the NYC Marathon after all – about 15 steps to cross the street and then hurdle the tape so I could get home. These are some of the shots that I brought home today – enjoy!

Central New York Landscape Photography – A Last Glimpse of Autumn

Jeff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:30:22 +0000

Nearly missed Autumn in Central New York. Very thankful to have been able to grab these last few moments, snow covered as they were at times, this past week. Went out looking for the grand vista, but fell for the details. It was a nice change. These three came to the front first, but I may have more soon. Hope you enjoy them. I’ll be printing at least one of these soon.

My Other Camera

Jeff — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:24:49 +0000

So as most of you know by now, I shoot Nikon and love it. My other camera, however, is made by Apple, and since it seems I have been using that camera quite often lately I’ll post up some of my favorites for you to see here. All shot and edited on the iPhone. Hope you enjoy, and follow me on Twitter or Instagram for even more square photo goodness.

Patrick Stewart for WNYC – The GreeneSpace

Jeff — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:29:55 +0000

Last Thursday I had the honor of covering an event at WNYC’s The GreeneSpace featuring Elliott Forrest having an intimate conversation with Sir Patrick Stewart about his life in the theatre. Aptly it was titled “Life In The Theatre” – the same name given to his current project on Broadway. There is a full write up on the event by BBC America here, so I’ll let you read their full coverage of the event. Below is a screen capture of one of my images on the BBC America blog Anglophenia written by Kevin Wicks. Enjoy!

Montauk

Jeff — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 02:14:51 +0000

After what seems like a long time I’m finally ready to share a few new photographs here. The first will be the most recent, taken just this weekend. Sunday I drove to the edge of the island, climbed down to the shore and stood watching the Atlantic. Just a year ago – almost to the day – I did the same thing, wandering my way to a beach in Maine for my first real good look at the western edge of the North Atlantic, camera in hand. This time around I found myself in Montauk, walking below the eroding bluffs and balancing my tripod upon a narrow strip of rocks worn smooth by relentless swells. I am so glad I pushed myself to go, choosing the destination for the sole fact that I had yet to see it.

Lake Placid Mini Vacation

Jeff — Sat, 29 May 2010 02:45:35 +0000

Last weekend I had the pleasure of accompanying a very close friend of mine to a wedding in Lake Placid, NY. If you have never been to the high peaks of the Adirondack mountains, you are missing out. It was exactly what I needed after 5 months in the confines of NYC and Long Island. Friday afternoon let concrete give way to conifers and the most beautiful greenery I’ve seen this side of the western Great Plains. Jaclyn and I made it into the village of Lake Placid late Friday, after a minor vehicular incident (a tire blew out on the highway, ya’know – no big deal) and dinner with an old friend in Albany. We woke to a serene landscape of water and mountains, and fresh, crisp air sprinkled with a healthy dose sunshine and gentle breezes. Spent the day wading in Mirror Lake, sniffing the still-in-bloom cherry and crab apple trees, and getting some ice cream as well as a sunburn. The second half of the day was devoted to celebrating friends Margo and Patrick’s wedding, but the following morning we woke early and managed to sneak in a few more of the most beautiful sights the Adirondack region has to offer before heading back to the concrete jungle of Manhattan. The Empire State Building just didn’t seem quite as tall to me as we sat in traffic on the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel. I love the wilderness, and being in Lake Placid made me just want to go back to Montana that much more. Maybe August I can swing something; a long weekend perhaps. We’ll see.

Dusk, Rain, Clouds and Lights

Jeff — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:08:09 +0000

Sometimes you just catch a moment in time that seems like you were meant to see it. And sometimes you were smart enough to leave the house with your camera. Last night was one of those nights for me. I managed to at least get one good frame out of the evening, mostly due to mother nature and the people who decide when to turn on the lights on a certain building on 34th street.

Midtown Skyline

Jeff — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:40:38 +0000

Short post, but just wanted to mention how beautiful a day yesterday was here in Brooklyn. Enjoyed the afternoon and then explored with my camera and ended up down at the edge of the East River. Pretty good view of the eastern section of midtown Manhattan. Brought home some new ideas, the start of planning for my next project, and these frames.

Headshot Session: Andrea

Jeff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:06:43 +0000

On a recent trip back to my hometown of Syracuse, NY (Go Orange!) my friend Andrea asked me to take some headshots of her. She needed some updated shots for the myriad of social networking sites she is on (for business purposes, of course) and specifically for the couture letterpress blog that she writes for, Gwyneth Paige. I was certainly happy to oblige. We took a quick 10 minutes in her living room and came back with roughly a dozen amazing shots that showcase her seemingly never failing good mood and smile. I thought today being St Patrick’s day would be a good day to post these up, since after all her maiden name is Joyce, which is perhaps as recognizably Irish as last names come. That and these are perhaps the greenest pictures I have taken as of late. Check out her posts over on Gwyneth Paige while you enjoy that radiant smile and sip your Irish Coffee, or Guinness, depending on when you’re reading this.

If you’re interested this was shot Nikon CLS with a Lastolite EasyBox, my go-to setup for quick on location portrait light.

Greenpoint Is Winter White

Jeff — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:45:50 +0000

As most of you who live here in the states and watch the news – or pretty much any media outlet – already know, the east coast has had a couple serious snow storms lately. The first one a few days ago didn’t do much here in the greater NYC area, but this second, current storm is dropping lots of wet snow all over the place. Now since I grew up in a town that got an average of 180 inches of snow a season, a foot of snow or so doesn’t get me too worked up. Obviously a different story here in the Big Apple. Most activities, including work for many, were suspended due to transportation snafus from the weather, and most people stayed home all day. Luckily there is a park roughly 2 blocks from my apartment here in Brooklyn. I grabbed my camera and a couple lenses and walked down to McCarren Park, which sits snuggly between Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Here’s what I brought back. Hope you enjoy!