Vegas!!! / EATPARTY!!!

So I came to Vegas on Monday for photo shoot on Tuesday.

I stayed with Erik in his awesome new downtown pad.

The apartment itself is already epic. And then there's his closet, which is like the biggest apartment walk-in closet I've ever seen. It's the size of some NYC bedrooms.

These pictures don't even accurately convey how big this thing was. It's messy because Erik just moved. At least that's his excuse. But I bet you it will still be this way when I return. (Sorry Erik!)

Pretty!

The building also features a two-level gym.

And a pretty lap pool.

And is just steps from Fremont Street.

But who cares about all that. Let's talk about what really matters. Which is FOOOOOOOOD.

I've been trying to be good lately. Been eating lots of salads and Whole Foods.

But when you're in Vegas, you just have to Treat Yo Self.

And the great thing about Vegas is that these resorts are CONSTANTLY trying to outdo each other by having the latest and greatest amenities and attractions.

So when I heard about the brand new Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace and how it is supposed to be EVEN BETTER than The Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan (voted #1 in Vegas in 2011), I just had to see for myself.

Caesars is such a pretty resort!

And of my god, they weren't lying. This buffet is f*cking EPIC.

It's so EPIC you don't even feel guilty about pigging out. In fact, you'd feel bad if you DIDN'T taste everything because it just feels like you will never ever see this kind of assortment of incredible food ever again and you are just so privileged to even be in its PRESENCE.

CUPCAKES!!!

Seafood Shooters!

Fresh squeezed juices, including Watermelon, Pineapple, and CARROT! We LOOOOVES a carrot juice!

Mussel mania!

Other assorted seafoods

It was so pretty...

Salads and couscous-ery...

Even random assortments of honey...

I'm not even close to finished.

So much DESSERT!

Cake pops!!!

Meatballs!!!

MEATS!!!

CHEESES!!!

Even the CONDIMENT bars looked amazing!!!

And there was an amazing dim sum station that was Chinatown restaurant quality.

Honestly, each station was its own little restaurant. It was as if they'd had hired the best Mexican chefs to handle the mexican dishes.

Chinese chefs just to make the best dim sum ever.

They even had SOUP DUMPLINGS!!!!! And they were GREAT!!!!!

Everyone please just stop what you're doing right this second, lean back in your chairs, raise your hands to the sky and scream with me, "SOUP DUMPLINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(That is pretty much what I was doing while the quiet little elderly couple next to sat there daintily sipping their tea.)

There was tons of delicious pasta...

They even had Artisanal Bread. (I don't know what kind of idiot eats even a single slice of bread at a buffet like this, but whatevs.)

LOVES a tater tot and fried chicken station!

MMMMMMM chillllld, FRAAHHHD CHICKKKEN!!!!!

Pizza!!!

MORE SOUP DUMPLINGS

And for dessert, cakes, and pies and ice creams galore!!!

I didn't even take pictures of a lot of it. The sushi bar, the curry bar, the taco zone, the carved meat stations. You get the point. Caesars Buffet. You HAVE to go if ever you're in Vegas. It would be a crime to deprive your tummy of such glory.

That's all. After my brain and stomach exploded, I went and played a ton of poker. Made about $250 doing that...

And now I'm currently in-flight back to NYC.

Breast Cancer Fundraiser tomorrow.

Wedding in NJ on Friday.

Wedding in upstate NY on Saturday.

Asia on Tuesday!

WoooooOoOOoOOOOO!!!!

Usher - "Numb"

This video and song are pretty awesome.

Smathers & Branson WIN

UPS man came today and made me very very happy. Mr PeterSmathers hooked me up with an amazing customized EggFury wallet and keyfob!!!!



Because they now have the design in their system, these are now available for purchase from Smathers & Branson (their website still blows and still features NONE of the photos from our amazing Spring Island shoot, wtf?).

But they still seem to doing insanely well so I guess there's no big push to update yet...

I loooove a keyfob!

Justin Bieber - "Beauty and the Beat" Music Video

This video is AWESOME. I also just really like the song. I also just really love Bieber. Especially with all those flash mob proposal and flash mob proposal knockoff videos that have been popping up on the internet lately. This is how you do it.

24 hours in NOLA!

I went down to New Orleans for 24 hours on Wednesday. Literally landed at 10am and then flew back at 10am on Thursday.

Originally I was going to go Monday-Thursday, but Hua emailed me last minute and was going to be in NYC hosting a press event for his company Sincerely for the launch of their new holiday card app "Ink" and needed to hire a photographer.

Also he mentioned there was going to be a "nice" Santa and a "naughty" drunk-hunk Santa, so, I mean, how could I turn that down?



So I landed in New Orleans the next morning. (Took a 7am flight that landed at 10am.) Grabbed my rental car. And headed over to Semmesey and Katie's to meet my former headshot client Randall (I shot him about 3 years ago when he was 14), who needed updated shots now that he had his braces off and had just starred in The Campaign as Will Ferrell's son!

Randall has a great look for all those "school bully" roles, even though he's actually the nicest kid ever!

After the shoot I took a nap.

And then I met up with Semmesey and Amy and Jeffy (Katie was away on a business trip, sadface) for a delicious dinner at Bouligny Tavern.

Everything was small plates. And delicious plates.

MMMMMM pesto tomato.

MMMMMmmmm truffle fries.

Mmmmmmm fake meatball...

MMMMM bruschetta thingy

Mmmmmm calamarys!

Just a wonderful time with wonderful people.

Mmmmmmm that Jeff boy is such a hunk.

Brides are f*cking NUTS!!!

And I LOVE IT!!!!

ANOTHER friend of mine from high school just emailed me to book me for her wedding after getting engaged on SUNDAY.



(Not to mention my other good friend who actually booked me for her wedding next summer BEFORE she even got engaged...)

Eeeeee!!! Brides make me so happy!!!!!!!!

I think this week's windfall is all due to good Bieber-karma.

What is Bieber-karma you ask?

It is when really good things happen to you after you spend a retarded amount of money on front row Justin Bieber tickets. (Yes, I did that the other day because I, too, am F*CKING INSANE.)

He's performing on my 31st birthday at Madison Square Garden. It's fate I tell you.

And because I couldn't find a friend crazy enough to spend $800 on a concert ticket and I didn't want to go by myself, I went and bought two. (Dad, if you're reading this, I know it SEEMS like a lot. But it's really only two headshot shoots. Or 1/3 of a wedding shoot. I'm still saving money to buy a place in LA soon. Promise!)

TREAT. YO. SELF!



Some of you may recall the Spice Girls Saga of 2008.

It's kind of like that.

You only live once!

YOLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

October Wedding Mania

People keep asking if I'm glad my summer wedding season is over. Wedding season for me is just starting to pick up! October is probably going to be my craziest month this year.

I shot a LOVELY wedding for an awesome couple over the weekend down in Maryland.

Maggie was probably the easiest-going bride I've ever had. And clothes came off during the danceparty, which is almost always a sign of a great time.

Late Saturday night I got a text from a friend of friends, Kristin, who I got to play with at Morgan's Epic Wedding, and who is newly engaged and was contacting me about my availability for next year so she could start looking at dates.

A beautiful bride even thinking about planning her wedding around MY schedule? Most flattering thing EVERRRR!

These next few weeks are going to be nuts.

I'm going to New Orleans for a shoot on Wednesday. Back on Thursday. (Though I might stop in Chicago to take some photos on a movie set for a day.) I have a wedding this weekend. I'm going to Vegas next Monday-Weds. Then have two weddings next weekend. Then I'm flying to Hong Kong for a day before heading to Phuket for TL's wedding. Stopping in Bangkok for a night to try Tee's new restaurant, Little Beast, then Tokyo for Halloween, and then back to NYC for DannyHong & Tevia's wedding! Whew!

Did I forget to post my favorite engagement photo of theirs? (Sorry Danny!!!!)

They are going to be a beauuuutiful bride and groom!

Best job ever!

On Monday I did a photoshoot for Carolyn, this lovely, but slightly nutty, 40-year-old lady who somehow found me on facebook and has been commenting on my posts and scheduling and rescheduling her shoot for over a year.

She just wanted a simple one-look shoot. And kept warning me that she's the least photogenic person ever. (From her emails and messages I could tell she was just a LITTLE neurotic and just wasn't comfortable having her photo taken, even before I even met her.)

Every couple weeks or for over a year I'd get messages like:

"Hey, Dennis! Let's get something going! Call me to schedule something. Again, I need magic because I"m old and blech looking!Look through my pix and come up with ideas. I'll pay you well. xo C" November 7, 2011

"Fabulous Dennis! Call me before that week to confirm a shoot: 917-xxx-xxxx. You'll need to do magic. I'm not exactly a looker! :-)" May 11, 2012

"Hey, good sir. What time and where next week? Would Central Park do later in the day and can I bring my dog? What about hair and make up? I'd rather do my own unless you insist otherwise. Professional make-up artists make me look plastic. Give me the deets. Again, it's just one look. Thx. I think the look I'm going for is just "really pretty 45 year old woman." Not professional or sexy, but happy and glamorous. Elegant ala my fav, Grace Kelly. I think I woud do 1 look. Thanks! C" June 6, 2012

"Darling, talented, Dennis. Can you ever, ever do a weekend? If so, that or late on a Friday afternoon would be ideal. Totally want to reschedule. Let me know. Need a killer glam shot to blow my college friends and ex-boyfriends out of the water. Meow!!! :-) Only you can do it." June 20, 2011

But she would never follow through with the shoot. So eventually I stopped taking her seriously. (Not a big deal, potential clients schedule and then flake, and then string me along all the time.)

From her fb photos I could tell that she was actually quite pretty and would photograph just fine as long as she were comfortable, and more importantly, SHOWED UP.

Well FINALLY on Monday she showed up for her scheduled shoot. It was just a one-look shoot and it was so easy. She looked great. We got everything done in less than 20 minutes. I showed her some of the pictures right on my camera before I dropped her off and she was thrilled.

It's funny how worked up people can get leading up to a shoot when it really is the easiest thing ever.

She gave my makeup artist Kelli a $100 tip (on her shoot rate of $150) and then gave me a $125 tip (on a one-look shoot rate of $575).

Kelli, by the way, is a makeup goddess.

Truly, she's the best. Puts all my clients at ease. Makes them look and feel beautiful, which then makes my job a breeze.

Sometimes I can't believe how fun and easy my job is. It really is the best job EVER. And I could probably train a gifted monkey to do it.

No time. Low pressure. Slightly crazy clients. Super high reward.

I'm really lucky.

And then on top of it all, I get instant feedback like this:



You can bet that's going up on my testimonials page!

"F*ck You, Felix!"

babaFelix and Connie just moved into their new Battery Park apartment.

To say that it is epic would not be doing it justice.

Their private patio is literally the size of a battleship.

Outdoor furniture arrives this week.

I suspect we will be spending lots of time here!

**The "F*ck You, Felix!" line comes from a massive group game of Kings we played long long ago (on this night, I believe) where every time you drank, you had to remember to scream, "F*CK YOU, FELIX!" or you'd have to drink double.