According to police reports stemming from the well attended NAPP (National Association of PhotoShop Professionals) Convention in Orlando, Florida, this man, David Ziser, shown above, has allegedly not returned a Tri-grip “borrowed” during the event to its’ rightful owner. The owner has duly reported it to authorities as theft. Ziser, a well known wedding photographer from the little town of Edgewood, Ky., has apparently left Florida.
Joe McNally, the owner and operator of the tri-grip, was too emotionally distraught to speak directly with reporters, and simply offered this statement via an intermediary. “I have a few of them, but that one was my favorite. I used it to fan Michelle Pfeiffer. The gold reflective side still had baby oil on it from a Maxim shoot. I mean, I could get another, but honestly, I feel like some of my memories have been torn away.”
Drew Gurian, who is, according to police, “close to the situation,” spoke with the crush of media outside Orlando Police Headquarters. “I really sympathize with Joe, frankly. This is no small thing. He loved that tri-grip. He made some of his best pictures with it. There was this time, during an annual report for a band camp, he used diffusion to take the edge off the highlight on a tuba hoop. It was a moment that the job could have gone either way. And Joe saved it with that move, and that tri-grip.”
Back in the individual’s home town, people are coming forward. Neighbor Betsy Loopenwhopper stated flatly, “I knew all that squeaky clean, Mr. Nice Guy Wedding Photog stuff was too good to be true. There was something off. I mean, anybody who actually cuts the grass wearing a suit and tie is just flat out weird.”
Some feel it is a marketing ploy, plain and simple. Ziser, originator of the popular “Zumbrella” light shaping tool, may have economic goals in mind.
“Definitely, ” said RC Concepcion, who claims to know both parties. “He thinks that if he deprives Joe of his Tri-.grip, Joe will have to resort to a Zumbrella on his next job. I don’t see that happening, but it might.”
Likewise, Scott Kelby, President of NAPP, said, “A few weeks back, we had a couple of strobes, and some spot grids go missing from NAPP’s photo studio. David hadn’t been there in a while, and nobody actually saw him with the strobes, but…you just kinda knew it was him. He’s slippery like that.”
Ziser and his wife LaDawn, whom authorities have described as a “person of interest,” have yet to surface. Unconfirmed reports indicate they are in Mexico, where one of the poolside attendants at an unnamed luxury resort described a woman matching LaDawn Ziser’s description cooling her self with a “extremely large and unusual fan, gold on one side, white on the other.”
Most, though, feel there is no nefarious intent on the part of Ziser. In fact, some feel he may just be swept up in the euphoria of the success of his new book, Captured by the Light. Dr. Otto Focus, of the PsychoNeurotic Institute for Anxious Photographers (a division of the PsychoNeurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous) feels this is unquestionably the case. “Mr. Ziser says it himself, in the title of the book. ‘ He is “captured by the light.’ He obviously feels that he has this kinship with light, a direct line of communication to all things luminous. This will pass.”
Meanwhile, McNally remains in Connecticut, hoping Ziser will reach out to him. “Maybe if he sent me, like, a dozen zumbrellas. I’d feel better.” More tk….
Had a great time in Philly yesterday. Nice folks, packed house. They even put up with me while a camera exploded in the first hour. Seems it was the one from the sandstorm last week, and it just gave up the ghost right there on stage. Always an interesting moment when you have 600 people in the room with you and your exposures are 3 stops hot. Oops! But here’s the thing. It’s nothing new. It’s camera work on location. Stuff goes wrong. Folks were interested and patient with me while I worked it out and pulled things back on the rails. I also got some offers from audience members to borrow a Canon camera:-)
Did this in about 3 or 4 minutes with Isidor. Two flashes two tri-grips.
And we did a quick “commercial” looking shot with Kate, who is a dancer with the Philadelphia 76ers. (I’m a Knick fan, but we got past it. Honestly, there hasn’t been much to argue about in the last few years about either team.) Bright white background, Ezy Box Hot Shoe softbox up front, with some low fill. All TTL.
Move pretty quick on these Kelby days. Got a couple on more on tap, Denver and Sacramento. I talk fast all day, and try to get as much done and as much info out there as I can in the 5 hours we have together. Yesterday was a hoot, good bunch of folks in the audience, though Drew, Lynda and I were pretty zapped at the end of the day, which made for an interesting drive back up the Jersey Pike….more tk….
Just returned from the Middle East. Was very honored to be invited by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage to work with regionally based photographers. What it meant for us here at the studio is that Drew and I bounced to the Middle East twice in the last month, first to GPP in Dubai, and now, Abu Dhabi. Hectic, but fun. The class was terrific. Good group of folks, and talented shooters. It is an area of the world that is endlessly fascinating, and I have always been received graciously, and I learn a great deal. Doing stuff like this re-convinces me of one thing–travel is the graduate school of life.
Amin leaps in the lobby of the Emirates Palace Hotel. Quick impromptu shot done off the cuff in the middle of the lobby of a 7 star hotel. Try this without insurance, permissions, a letter from the Governor, and a 5 month email paper trail at The Plaza in NY. Uh, that would be no.
Mariam bouncing light.
Shua frames a shot.
The off camera TTL flash gang in the desert.
Amin, a break dancer from Morocco, is inexhaustible.
Sahar shows Eva, a fashion model, how to pose.
Cool Kholloud. (aka, David Hobby plant)
Flipping in the desert
Sheikh Numnuts and Sheikh Drew of the Desert
Shot this pre-dawn on Monday, about 6am Abu Dhabi time, in the second largest mosque in the world. Back home, it was still Easter Sunday. What an amazing world. More tk….
In Abu Dhabi, as the guest of the AbuDhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and their wonderful emissary, Bader Alnomani. Teaching here to coincide with the Emirates Photo Competition under the auspices of the ADACH and the FIAP (International Federation of Art Photography). Having a terrific time, seeing portfolios, teaching about light, and in general enjoying Abu Dhabi, which is a city where, previous to now, I had only visited the airport. I see the above scene from my hotel window every morning. It is an immediate reminder that I am not home.
Lessee, my work flow on this one might be instructive.
Wander jet lagged through hotel room in pre-dawn dark. Look out window. The Sheik Zayed Mosque. Also known as the Great Mosque. Nice. Pretty.
Let eyes wander upward to…full moon. Stand there slack jawed, toothbrush hanging from lower lip. Put two and two together. (Not easy for me even on 8 hours sleep.)
Race around hotel room, grab Gitzo, D3X, 200-400 zoom. Look again at moon. Disappearing behind clouds. Curse.
Open patio door. Setup tripod, camera and lens. Hope no one notices I’m still in my u-trou.
Make rushed, bad exposure of moon. Calm down.
Dial in minus 2.7 EV. Make another exposure. Better. Swing camera to Mosque. Adjust EV to minus 2. Make shot. Looks okay. Clouds closing in.
Program camera to DX format to get bigger moon. Program 2 shot multiple exposure. Make shot of moon, swing camera to Mosque. Make second exposure. Doesn’t work. Why? I thunder thumbed and programmed the multiple exposure wrong. Curse.
Do multiple thingy button on D3X properly this time. Zoom. Get big moon. Place in upper left. Swing camera to Mosque. Zoom out. Make another shot. This time both exposures pop up in LCD. Say thank you to St. Jude.
Repeat. One more frame. Moon gone.
Sit. Launch card into Aperture. Cool. Push some sliders. Saturate, contrast, sharpen. Got a preset for blog. Go click. Pic on desktop. Put into blog.
Go to breakfast. Try to remember to put on my pants.
More tk….
The Gulf Photo Plus gang has just posted the video from the shootout with David Hobby, Zack Arias, and Joey L. It’s a hoot. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the crowd was the real beneficiary of all the humor, sweat and photographic expertise that was on display during each shooter’s allotted 20 or so minutes. I hadda boogie to the airport, so I missed the processing of the Polaroid with Joey L, but I was privileged to kibitz a bit while David and Zack knocked it back. It was, at the end of the day, after all the “I will crush you” bantering that occurred, just an event based on mutual respect and friendship amongst all the instructors. That of course, and treachery, skulduggery, pocket wizard frequency manipulation, swiped Canon cameras, model mayhem (in the sense there were two, instead of the assumed one), and some dip in the audience with a microphone offering inane commentary.
Check it out HERE.
More tk….
