1. Popping open a bottle of Veuve Clicquot is best done outside.
2. I rock a boring pony tail more than I care to admit, despite the fact that I usually start the day with a bangin’ hair-do.
3. My pug is more photogenic than I am.  But I’m ok with that.
4. When we hand the video camera to clients it results in very scandalous footage involving all sorts of debauchery.
5. I’m just kidding about the last part…or am in (plays dramatic squirrel look music in head).

Behind the scenes video for this post and a few others will be online in about one weeks time. Cross my heart. In the meantime (great album by Helmet, who remembers them?) check out GO RADIO. Mayday Parade fans will fall head over heals for their record, Do Overs and Second Chances. Right now they are on tour with A Day To Remember.

Anyone who really wants to go hunting, check out the Entertainment and Black and White sections on my website for additional takes from our shoot. One of our setups was on Eminem’s fire ravaged tour bus. Seriously Slim Shady, what did happen to that thing?

For any PC users that can’t view the version here, you can check it out on YouTube.

On a side note, the location we shot the band’s performance was recently used in a photo shoot challenge for America’s Next Top Model. This location is a hot spot for production in Williamsburg. Only a few days before we were set to film a major motion picture production was happening. So NY, gotta love it.

This week has been a great one from a work standpoint. So busy in fact I haven’t had time to read my RSS feeds. Just now catching up (sort of). Seems I’ve been missing out on a lot of hubbub going on thanks to a recent New York Times article on photography.

Heather Morton Art Buyer Blog had a niftily little commentary on the times article. One statement caught my eye: Think back on the jobs you did last year. How many of them utilized your true vision? How many jobs asked you to creatively interpret an idea instead of just executing a layout?

It made me pause for a moment and guess what, I’ve been pretty darn happy with the work I’ve created last year, this year, last month, this week, this morning. Maybe I’m finally getting it but the whole point of where I plan to go with my work is to execute my vision. Shooting rockstars, yes, its creative and I’m pretty lucky to be around other dreamers of dreams. But even when I’m working with an advertising agency and a national brand campaign, guess what, they are using my work for their mock-ups. Apparently I’m doing something right if my work can give inspiration to others. This all comes down to passion. Yes, I make a living pressing a button. However, I would still be pressing that button if I didn’t get paid to do it. When I work with people I get on a natural high, the give and take, the push and pull and guess what, its infectious! The only way I can get my vision is to give a part of myself to my subject. They need to feel it to, and when that happens…MAGIC.

Creating magic, I think that is a perfect way to describe the work that has been pumped out of my brain, through a camera and into the world lately. Case in point here….meet Raptile, Lionezz and Viper. They were troopers with the mud. After we captured what we needed I had Lionezz put a little mud on my face. I was overdue for a trip to the spa and I didn’t want the mud to go to waste…

Apologies for not including behind the scenes video on this shoot. Everyone at Team Pifer is working on other projects. Welcome to our busy season. Speaking of, we are seeking summer interns. If you’re into slave labor for school credit inquire within. Just kidding about the slave labor part. Thought I should clarify in the event that you aren’t picking up on my sense of humor.

Addis, formerly Raptile, for a big shot he’s a super rad dude. I feel blessed to have clients this cool. Behind the scenes video will be posted eventually….awesomely busy here. Gotta get back to it. Namaste.

I’ve had some really dope shoots lately and trust me, I can’t wait to share, but the schedule here is pretty stacked. Not enough time in the day, yadda, yadda, yadda… Here’s something to tide you over. Peace out.

Is it really March? Seriously where does the time go? When I think back to being a kid, lazy days of summer, going rogue around the neighborhood on my big wheel time really did stand still. Now as an adult with the heart of a kid it blows my mind how the days seem to fly by. Not just the shooting days but the non-shooting days too. This is not a complaint by any means, just an observation.

With father time getting the last laugh on us all, don’t you think its time you think about what it is you want to do? I ask you, what makes you happy down to your core?

Holding a camera and making photographs of the music makers and the dreamers of dreams, thats it for me. I know this business is sometimes crazy, many times overworked, but loving what you do with every inch of your soul trumps the long hours, gives you the steam to push forward and provides incredible job satisfaction when you finally do get some ZZZZs.

We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.
– Willy Wonka

Coming attractions….shoots with rap royalty and a music video announcement. Peace out.

We launched a new website, loads of new work, including tearsheets and ads like the ones you see here, please enjoy!

http://brookpifer.com

Prior to Kait’s shoot I had a walk-thu at MTV for pre-pro regarding locations, logistics, shoot day scheduling, etc. This really played to our advantage because Viacom takes up the entire building, MTV’s offices take up multiple floors, all of which translates to moving from one setup to the next can eat into valuable shoot time. Keep in mind we have not just my crew and gear to think about but also hair, makeup, wardrobe, Kait’s peeps, MTV peeps….pretty big production. Then top it off with part of Broadway in Times Square is closed to traffic therefore load-in can be hectic too.

No worries though. All the legwork put in before the actual shoot day paid off tremendously. Actually we were ahead of schedule at one point in the day to where we could, dare I say, take our time with a couple of the setups. The entire crew’s synergy was so A-game it helped fuel the day’s creative juices. The Clients kept saying over and over how smooth everything was going and how great everything was looking. Mission Accomplished!

Not only was Kait a bad ass but a total doll to work with. You can check out her music in the upcoming MTV movie Turn the Beat Around. She has a ton of other fancy stuff going on in her life but I’m going to let you discover that. Enjoy the behind the scenes!