DMZ Photography

Aerial photo shoot over NYC - door removed from helicopter!

2011-10-07T11:40:00.000-04:00

Was recently hired by creative director Andrew Panter of Panter productions to shoot
some aerial photos of landmarks around NYC for one of his clients in the aviation industry.
The caption says it all!
The door was completely removed before take off for optimum image quality! I have done some aerial work from small craft airplanes before but never from a helicopter, much less open air, no door.
(I was literally looking straight down at NYC from the side of a helicopter.) It was a great experience, we got some amazing photos and I hope to go up again soon to shoot more. This image gives a good viewpoint of where i was sitting in the aircraft; top of image where camera caught rotor spin.

New images - Studio d- Hearst publications

2011-08-10T17:36:00.001-04:00

Putting together some new images for a portfolio of images for studio d
located at the Hearst building in midtown Manhattan.
Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Esquire Fall 2010 - Men's fall fashion trends

2010-09-16T17:51:00.005-04:00

Recently shot these photographs for esquire.com

see editorial blog post and images here mens-fashion/trends-2010-fall

Art direction/production: Lisa Ocasio

Styling and Esquire.com blog posted by: Josh Peskowitz

It was nice to work with Lisa and Josh; I think they make a great team.

Now if i can just get a pair of these Nero boots to get me through the winter...

Nero calf boots ($1,200) by Bottega Veneta, bottegaveneta.com

Butoh inspired dance in mid-town NYC in a citibank lobby

2010-02-05T18:12:00.005-05:00

I have been working on a series of dance images loosely inspired by the Japanes Butoh style of dance.

(Butoh style dance a brief description: It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally "performed" in white-body makeup with slow hyper-controlled motion, with or without an audience. But there is no set style, and it may be purely conceptual with no movement at all.

I was asked by a dancer in this particular group if i would like to go and photograph this dance performance that was going to take place in a Citibank lobby in Mid-town New York City.
I thought that the strange juxtaposition of this type of dance in such a corporate and staid type of environment could make for some interesting and unique images.

I was very surprised that this particular bank lobby had beautiful wood paneled walls, very high ceilings and cathedral type lighting from the bank of skylight windows overhead and on 2 sides. In other words i got a little lucky here as the location turned out to be amazing. Natural light like this is a photographers best friend as everything was lit with this ethereal type light.

I am going to continue on with this dance/performance project indefinitely as i feel there are so many possibilities to explore with this art form.

For the complete history of Butoh check this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butoh

New jewelry photography with a "green" twist

2009-12-19T19:05:00.016-05:00

I am posting a few photos that i thought were of interest that i recently completed for a jewelry designer based in Santa Monica, CA
Lisa Marie Todd
The goal was to create some bold, contemporary images that reflected the "nature" inspired designs of the designer for the intro to her new website http://www.marietodd.com/

I ended up shooting the natural elements like eucalyptus branches, fresh leaves and interesting sprigs to use as elements in the compositions. I couldn't find what i was looking for at the florist and plant shops,
i just thought the things they had to offer were too generic or not interesting enough.
In the end i decided to look in my own neighborhood in Brooklyn.

I was pleasantly surprised that even in this semi urban landscape i found some really amazing things, i never thought of my neighborhood as being so plant filled and green, but there was quite a bit to choose from.
It just goes to show you that you never know where you can find your best props, sometimes what you are looking for is right outside your door.

David Michael Zimmerman promotional emails

2009-10-15T16:03:00.013-04:00

Sent out an email blast to NYC advertising agencies Thursday October 15, 2009
Good response to initial email promotion; will be sending out postcards as a follow up!

All DMZ promotional email images and personal projects will be archived here.