Chet Gordon • Photographer
Chet Gordon • Photographer
Chet Gordon • Photographer
Chet Gordon • Photographer
Chet Gordon • Photographer

Blog

“On the Air…” Warwick, NY. July 24, 2015.

Got to do a live segment this morning on local FM radio promoting the exhibit, “Travels”. The exhibit at the Green Light Galley in Cornwall on Hudson, NY runs through September 13th.  ~ cg.

Yours truly during a live broadcast of “Greenwood Lake Radio” at WTBQ-FM in Warwick, NY on Friday July 24, 2015. I got to talk about my exhibit “Travels” currently on display at the Green Light Gallery in Cornwall on Hudson, NY. The exhibit runs through Sept. 13th.

“Travels” Photo Exhibit: July 13 – Sept. 13, 2015. Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY.

A selection of some of my longtime favorite images made all over the world are on display now thru Sept. 13th. at the Green Light Gallery in Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY. I will also be presenting a morning lecture at the gallery on the work and my experiences as a working photojournalist on international assignments and for personal work aboard: Saturday, July 25th., 10AM – 12 Noon.  ~ cg.

“Using Strobes in Location Lighting” @ Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY 10•July•15

I’ll be speaking tonight at the Westchester Photographic Society​ meeting: 8PM in the auditorium of the Tech Building on the Valhalla Campus of the Westchester Community College (park in lot #11). Free & Open to the public. My talk entitled, “Using Strobes in Location Lighting” will include a slideshow and display of some of the camera & lighting equipment I use on assignments. A good time should be had by all…  ~ cg.

“Travel & Work…” New Orleans & Hattiesburg, MS • March 2015

I was recently in the Deep South, or where I’d prefer to call “The Bayou” to photograph a wedding for friends. One challenge of the event was that I made the round trip drive to New Orleans (NOLA) and southern Mississippi in less than a week. The foundation of my career has been built on travel and / or daily life imagery and returning to New Orleans (NOLA) again meant I’d have a welcomed opportunity to make a few personal images for my editorial agency, The Image Works. (I was in NOLA and the Gulf states 10 months or so after Hurricane Katrina back in 2006.) Whether it be the next county, a cross country assignment or some far flung international assignment, I really like those quiet and almost introspective moments where I get to just truly observe the everyday. Even if it means heading out into the pouring rain early on a Friday morning in the French Quarter of New Orleans to just roam and make pictures. And oh yea, there was a wedding to be photographed the following day up in Mississippi as well. I’ve included a few of my favorites from the trip in the slideshow here…  ~ cg.

“Back at West Point..” 18•Feb•15

Had a wonderful assignment last week for the NY Daily News to work again at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. (So many fond memories for me covering events the last ten years or so there on post). The upcoming story is a feature piece on their top player and leading scorer Kelsey Minato (left). She was the Patriot League Player of the Year last season and is one of the top scorers in women’s college basketball this year. Working a game like this also meant I’d have the opportunity to work with three camera bodies, utilize a full set of arena strobes and mount one of the cameras as a remote on the backboard stanchion (right) in an arena I’d grown to be very familiar with through the years. The whole game I was secretly hoping to make a nice image of Minato driving down the middle of the lane for an airborne layup that I’d have on the remote camera & strobed, but it just didn’t happen with her. What made the game especially fun was that I could concentrate on mainly getting images of her in various game situations, as well as on the bench, during warmups, and of course in the post game press conference. Here’s a slideshow from the night’s game coverage, including a few fun images of the gear required to cover a game in a Division I arena. Many, many thanks to my colleagues Ed Diller for loaning me a lot of his gear, including a set of four arena strobes, and Chuck Stewart for always being an extra set of invaluable hands and eyes for me while he was shooting the game too… ~cg.

“Another Cover…” Westchester Magazine. January 2015

Meant to post this earlier. My image on the January issue of Westchester Magazine, where I was their first photo editor & staff photographer last year:

“Martin…”

Touching the engraved words, “I Have A Dream” in the marble steps on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on Wednesday, May 31, 2006. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the speech from this spot on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington and it’s words are considered the defining moment of the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. during the 1960’s. King was born on this day, January 15, 1929, and would have been 86.

“Tè Tremblé…” Remembering the Earthquake in Haiti. 5 Years Ago ~ Today. 12•Jan.•10

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI. Interior of the collapsed National Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Archbishop Serge Miot was killed when the 18th. century cathedral was destroyed in the massive 7.0 earthquake on January 12th., killing upwards of 300,000 people. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

Today is the fifth anniversary of the massive earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. Upwards of 300,00 people were killed and thousands are still living in camps under miserable conditions. There is a very special place in my heart for Haiti and the Haitian people. My first self-assigned international shooting trip was to Haiti in 1993; just 5 years after beginning my newspaper career, and I’ve returned to the island nation two additional times. Haitian photographer Daniel Morel is a good friend, and I’ve known Daniel since that first trip in ’93. I will add a slideshow here highlighting my week’s work after the earthquake, where I was summoned with one day’s notice to accompany humanitarian client Operation Smile, as they sent a team of trauma surgeons to treat the injured. Note: (I’ve decided to re-edit the original hi-res files and use them in B/W here. The strength of the B/W imagery really makes the take have sort of a timeless feel to them…) Stay tuned. ~cg.

My POY (Pictures of the Year) for 2014. 31•Dec.•14

Wanted to finally get this slideshow posted before the year that is 2014 actually ends in a few hours. It goes without saying that it’s been some kind of year for local, national and international news, sports, feature and documentary photographers working all around the world and some of us right down the street in familiar neighborhoods and surroundings. Professionally for me the year offered up three more trips to Washington, DC as the Hudson Valley Honor Flight’s official photographer, a return trip to East Africa (my tenth) for longtime non profit client, AmeriCares, a brief stint as Westchester Magazine’s first photo editor and staff photographer, assignments from the NY Daily News, and another separate day trip to the nation’s capital to photograph the rally and march against police violence. Also added the Canon G15, a wonderful little 12 MegaPixel pro-grade point & shoot camera, that also shoots in full manual controls, produces RAW files, and HD video with wonderful audio. Had a lot of fun with working with that camera since the Fall, particularly on the Tanzania trip. (above left). So once again, it’s an opportunity to examine the year just passed, and start looking ahead at the same time. I sort of hope that some of my work has made a difference in the lives of people. Here’s a selection of what I consider my year’s best images in no particular order. (the image captions can be viewed in the full screen mode of the slideshow.) See you all on the other side & Happy New Year…!  ~ cg.

David Burnett on The Photo Brigade December 2014

David Burnett is interviewed by NYC freelancer Robert Caplin on The Photo Brigade. Recorded in December 2014 at Adorama in New York. Definitely worth your time to view this for all the insights into Burnett’s remarkable career…   ~ cg.

“The Card…” (Delivered.) 25•Dec.•14

This year’s card has already been delivered to an extensive mailing list. One may already be in your mailbox! In keeping with a long standing tradition, I was able to photograph a scene right here in the neighborhood last Saturday morning while working on the cards. (I was actually way behind in the production of this year’s version and was all set to use a file photo from a previous year during the design and layout phase.) At the time I heard the blasts echoing from the fire department’s engines moving slowly through the neighborhood and hustled to leave my desk and make a few images of this Santa Claus greeting children and adults alike, handing out candy, small toys, and posing for photographs. I knew I had to come up with something at this live scene, otherwise this year’s card might’ve been a bust in using a canned image from a previous year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all and all who follow my work here on the blog and sister website…  ~ cg.

(Inside text): “Fire Department Santa…” Saturday December 20, 2014  11:34AM

(Back of Card text):  Bob Whytock as Santa made an appearance with other volunteer firefighters in Greenwood Lake, NY on Saturday, December 20, 2014. Whytock is the captain of the village’s Fire – Police.

Justice for All Rally & March. Washington, DC. Saturday 12•13•14

Brought my “A – Game” to Washington, DC yesterday as I just knew that I needed to make the effort to finally get involved in documenting the ongoing demonstrations and struggle against police brutality here in the U.S. It was really good to run into a few old newspaper and agency colleagues in Freedom Plaza, just a few short blocks from the White House. This isn’t the place to get into the politics of this national situation lately, only my take on making the full efforts and what it takes to make these images. A slideshow of my day in DC is below…   ~cg.

“Back on Point…” West Point, NY. 24•Nov.•14

Army cadet Dion Hart photographed in Crandall Pool at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY on Monday, November 24, 2014. Hart, 22, of Phoenix, AZ, is a senior on the Army swim team who was born to a 14-year-old mother and endured every possible hardship, including surviving homelessness, living in crack houses, and spending most of his life on welfare and food stamps.  © Chet Gordon for New York Daily News.

On Monday I had the honor and pleasure of meeting and photographing a fine young man and Army cadet Dion Hart of Phoenix, AZ at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. It was all familiar territory as I’d covered USMA for nearly eight years while on staff at my previous staff job at the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, NY. That time included numerous Div. I sporting events, including full seasons of Army Football and Basketball, Presidential visits, Army graduations with upwards of 1,000 cadets and their famous “hat toss”, and all sorts of other assignments on all things ARMY. Ironically, I’d also worked at USMA for the NY Daily News to photograph the Superintendent at the time in front of this very statue (below).  A simple search here on the blog of my work at the academy is some of the work I am most proud of in my career. Returning to West Point on assignment for a new / old client, The New York Daily News was kind of special too. It was if I was working among friends… ~cg.

Army cadet Dion Hart pauses in front of the General Douglas MacArthur statue and MacArthur Barracks at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY on Monday, November 24, 2014. Hart, 22, of Phoenix, AZ, is a senior on the Army swim team who was born to a 14-year-old mother and endured every possible hardship, including surviving homelessness, living in crack houses, and spending most of his life on welfare and food stamps. © Chet Gordon for New York Daily News.

“Happy 239th. Birthday to All My Marines…!” 10•Nov.•14

The United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. For every Marine that ever carried a rifle… ~cg.

The United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon perform in front of the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, VA on Saturday, September 21, 2013.  © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

 


Assignments:

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“Back at West Point..” 18•Feb•15

Had a wonderful assignment last week for the NY Daily News to work again at the United States Milita…

More in Assignments:

Travel:

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“Travel & Work…” New Orleans & Hattiesburg, MS • March 2015

I was recently in the Deep South, or where I’d prefer to call “The Bayou” to photo…

More in Travel:

Personal Work:

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“On the Air…” Warwick, NY. July 24, 2015.

Got to do a live segment this morning on local FM radio promoting the exhibit, “Travels”…

More in Personal Work:

My Hardware:

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“Really Digging the GoPro Camera…” Spring 2013

A couple of recent favorites with my GoPro Hero3 camera. I’ll get around to writing more on us…

More in My Hardware: