I had an opportunity to photograph Megyn Kelly,  the anchor of “America Live” on Fox News for a New York Times Style Section profile piece. I’ve always enjoyed shooting on the sets of television shows,  whether they be sitcom,  news,  or dramas. It’s interesting for me to document how television is made.

I met Megyn on set a few moments prior to her live newscast. I wanted to get a good mix of documentary and portraiture,  so I only spent a few moments on set taking her portrait,  rather I wanted to document her while preparing for her show and delivering the news On Air. Normally when I shoot on a set,  I can only roam and take photos freely during commercial breaks or through the glass of a control room because of the camera noise. This time,  I was able to shoot continuously though the broadcast on set because I was using my new Leica M9,  which is super quiet…just love that camera!

Her show is three hours long and afterward we rendezvoused in her office where I took more relaxed portraits. It was a small,  but nicely decorated traditional office incorporating many photos of her family,  her large shoe collection,  and a comfy lounge chair set dozens of floors in the New York City sky.

Poor Megyn was suffering a mega cold the day of our shoot having to suck on lozenges and bear through awful coughing spells during commercial breaks. She has a tough job,  especially when you’re under the weather!

I had a really nice time over at Fox News. I found their PR team,  stage manager,  cameramen, and Megyn herself were more than accommodating and super friendly. I also made my dad and grandfather proud having steeped foot in their favorite news channel’s headquarters!

Last week I received an assignment to photograph a preview of a new Chinese Circus “Bai Xi” that is now playing at the New Victory Theater right in Times Square. Since it hadn’t yet open, the performance was basically just for me! Well, of course it was a practice run for all the circus actors, some of whom were adolescent girls age 12 and up…. The theater itself is quite small so no matter where you sit, you feel right up in the action. There’s only about 2 dozen acts ranging from contortionists, to Cirque-like flying, to clown acts, and ending with the rare “Wheel of Death”.

Enjoy the photos and read more about the circus in the New York Times.

Yesterday I had an assignment to photograph a press preview of the brand-spanking new Apple Store which is opening tomorrow in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. I was amazed when I found that the store wasn’t tucked away in a traditional retail location inside the terminal, rather the store is perched overlooking the main hub and busy concourse .  As in most Apple stores, there are sections devoted to handheld devices like the iPhone, iPod and iPad, as well as accessories, desktop computers and the company’s signature Genius Bar. But there will also be express pickup stations where people can pick up Apple products that they’ve purchased in advance. Apparently it’s the biggest store in their international chain and will employ 315 workers. I’ll let the photos do the talking. Too bad Steve Jobs wasn’t there to see it!

As a freelancer, I’m always waiting for the phone to ring because a ringing phone usually means work’s calling. It’s always nice to hear the familiar voice of a photo editor on the other end asking my availability. The only thing that spoils it is when they pre-empt the assignment pitch with “So you’re an early riser, right?” delivered in a tone closely associated with a mischievous grin . I answered with “Oh boy…what’s the assignment and how early?…”

As it turned out, the next morning was the NYC Triathlon and the New York Times wanted one nice photo of the event for the paper. Given triathlons consist of swimming, biking, and running; we figured swimming would be the most visual portion to photograph…especially since it took place in the Hudson River!

So I found out I needed to be to my assignment by 5:50AM as that’s when the swimming portion for the pros was scheduled to begin. Unfortunately when I woke up at 5AM, the weather was rainy, hot, and humidity was at 99% according to the forecast. Yuck. With an oversized umbrella and rain-jacket, I made my way to Riverside Park along the Hudson on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, down to the dock where all the triathletes would soon be exiting the water, and waited. The race had been delayed about 30 minutes. Hurry up and wait. In the rain.

After passing the time under my umbrella, I could finally see the flapping arms and faces of swimmers popping up, down, in, and out of the water. Moments later the pros and elite athletes first approached and stormed out of the choppy, brown Hudson River gasping for air and pulling themselves out or the water, some with the help of lifeguards. Up the ramp and down the dock barefoot they clambered down the bike path where they jumped on their bikes and headed north along the West Side Highway continuing about 24 miles before ending in Central Park with a near 6 mile run. Woah.

It was my first time shooting or even witnessing a triathlon and I was truly amazed at the determination and strength of its competitors. It’s even inspired me to work towards a goal of someday competing in a race like that myself…though we’ll see if that ever happens….

Big congrats to my triathlete/photographer pal Jason DeCrow for completing the course!