All posts by Zac Clark

Zac Clark is Brooklyn's Rock N Roll wedding Photographer

LOOK WHO PLANESWALKED IN—THALIA DOROTHY SCHWARTZ

Friday Afternoon, I met up with Tyler and Jessica, brand new first time parents. I know Tyler through playing Magic: The Gathering and we also share a love for Hearthstone. You could say Tyler is a professional gamer. He runs a company called Chess at 3. They teach your children to play chess. Pretty rad actually, I’d venture that most of his younger students (they start at 3!) could beat me without much effort. It’s really neat stuff.

So like I said, I met with them Friday afternoon. Tyler’s parents let me in and I got a shot or two with Gramma and Thalia. Jessica gave Thalia a change and while we waited I helped Tyler with a solo mission in Hearthstone he was having trouble with. So it was a totally solid use of time!

Thalia is only a month old so I wanted to make this shoot as non-intensive as possible for her sake. She was a total ham for the camera! Light began to fade in the apartment and Jessica suggested we take a stroll over to Washington Square Park for shoots. I was, of course all in, as golden hour was just taking hold. Edie, the family dog, came along too.

I have to say I’m really please with how this session turned out. Thalia was pretty interactive, she was definitely interested in what I was doing with the camera. The light was excellent. Check out those catchlights!

I Ate all the Food: Raval JC Menu shoot

Last Saturday, I made a trip into Jersey City to see my old pals Mike and Geza. They just opened a brand new restaurant on the Newark Ave Pedestrian promenade. Raval JC is a Barcelona inspired restaurant. Signature cocktails, surf, turf, sky… you name it, they’re serving it up. So, Victoria and I took a day off from the weekend grind and swung in for a casual food shoot. It started simple just a few apps maybe 2-3 entrees and some cocktails. “If you shoot it, you gotta eat it!” Mike tells me. I think he thought I had a smaller stomach, food just kept rolling out. I kept shooting it. Then of course I ate it. When the owner sets you up with that kind of deal you arrive hungry. You wouldn’t believe it from looking at us but we put back 2 Brunch items, a couple of appetizers, 5 entrees and then a few cocktails. Afterwards they just rolled me home. I was so stuffed. The food was amazing though! if you live in Jersey City, or you just like eating you should definitely give Raval a look!

Welcome to Earth: Charlie Kirk Broder

Last weekend I took a trip above the city limits to get in some quality time with my brand new cousin, Charlie Kirk. Only two weeks old, this is officially the youngest human I have ever shot! Victoria made a sign for him. The little dude even indulged me for a first tummy time! I didn’t even know tummy time was a thing! You learn something new everyday. He was pretty awake for the first half of the shoot. After Tim and Laura (brand new parents) swaddled him he passed right out.  It’s funny how much personality someone can have being so new to the world, Charlie Kirk lived upto his middle name by boldly exploring the couch we had him set up on! I can’t wait to have Tim and Laura invite us over to teach him games. How old do you need to be for Candyland?

Lucky 7 Rock N Roll BBQ

Great food, great music, great friends. I make sure to get out to Jersey City at least once a year for the Annual Lucky 7’s Rock N Roll BBQ. I lived in JC for 3 years when I moved up north. In some ways this town will always be a part of who I am. I can’t step foot in Hoboken without groaning and I still miss ordering from Bubby’s Burrito on a lazy Wednesday. For 2 of those 3 years I worked at Lucky 7 Tavern. It was a non stop party… well I guess it was a 2 year long party. I even lived above the bar for a while. Eventually my photography career became more important than party rocking my nights away, and I moved. [insert “Traitor” comments at the bottom of the blog please]

Each year Lucky’s host the Rock N Roll BBQ. It’s a block party of ginormous proportions. Local Bands play all day, BBQ is feasted upon and generally everyone I ever knew in town comes out. It’s sort of the perfect time for me to come out of the wood work. Between seeing old friends and watching the bands, it kind of reminds me of my days slinging drinks behind that long stretch of wood/linoleum. Those hotter than lava days in that tiny kitchen I could do without though.

Anyhow this year was no exception. I was out in force with my camera and  a smile for everyone that passed. Don’t worry Jersey City, I’ll be back again sooner than you think. In the mean time here are some of my Favorite shots from the Day.

David and Angela—Way Down South

Last weekend I bolted down to Virginia Beach for the wedding of my friends David and Angela. If you look back far enough in my archives you’ll see some really great engagement photos I did with them last summer. It’s awesome to see that they loved those pictures enough to hire me for the… main event, as it were. They had a really special and very personal wedding planned. So personal in fact that Angela did the bulk of the wedding planning, and the location for the ceremony/reception and after party was at Angela’s parent’s place. A huge under taking, no doubt, but Angela had a lot of help. She requisitioned the help of her co-workers and friends to pull it off. David, no slouch in the entertainment sector himself, pulled together friends for the evening’s entertainment. Easily one of the best wedding bands this old timer’s been privileged to work with! It’s impossible to fully explain how fun the night was. Of course, I was there snapping away for some of the best party photos on either side of the Mason-Dixon line.

This wedding was particularly special, not only because I was there to witness two great friends (and individually dynamic persons/musicians) come together in love and family, but it was the first wedding with a brand new assistant! My girlfriend, Victoria has taken up the lens and camera for this wedding. I’m super proud of some the shots she took and it’s so interesting to see how different our eyes for images are. In the future, I’ll be having her along on a lot more weddings, I can’t say how great it makes me feel that we’re building a future together in this business. She’s been an amazing support for my return to event photography and … well there’s not a lot more to say than that it feels good to share this with her.

Back to the wedding, Angela had us a in house for the the weekend to share with some of her friends while we traveled down. Angela’s friends were a total riot. I’m really glad she decided to mix it up and put us with her friends. I’ve known Dave for a bit longer and by proxy I’m friends with many of his friends. I love those folks, but the idea of making a bunch of new friends is just such a great way to spend a weekend at the beach. Just get a look at some of the shots from the wedding!

Jacquie & Bill—New Brunswick in Spring

You might remember a few months back I helped Bill surprise Jacquie with a proposal. It finally got nice out and they wanted to do a formal engagement shoot. I was excited for a few reasons.

Reason 1: Brand New Lens. I could not wait to show off the photos I took with it.

Reason 2: I rarely get to see Bill. My trips to New Brunswick dipped off drastically after I moved to New York, and I regret not seeing old friends. Catching up with Bill is always kind of a blast. We have a couple beers, talk about Post Rafferty’s Stress Dreams that still wake us up on the odd night and just remember those late night poker games or those SUnday afternoon trips to Best Buy after particularly great Saturday Night shifts.

But I’m getting off topic. I met Jacquie and Bill at the Harvest Moon in New Brunswick. We all loosened up with a drink and some convo. Afterwards we took a walk around New Brunswick. It was all pretty casual. I really love the shots I got. I think the ones where they’re laughing at each other are the best.

Ally—Hit me with your Best (Head) Shot

Last weekend Ally, an old coworker from the bar, hit me up for headshots. You might recognize her face from various background work she does when she’s not slinging drinks and posing for Tattoo Magazines. Ally’s expanding her portrait portfolio for some upcoming auditions. We turned my apartment into a studio rather easily and got to work! I’m pretty pleased the results. I hope the casting directors are too! Anyhow, We had a lot of fun, a few cocktails and some great conversation!

Jacquie and Bill—I’ll meet you at the Castle

Bill called me up a few weeks back and he told me he’s going to propose to his girlfriend, Jacquie. Not only that but he wants me to capture it as its happening. This is a first for me. I have to figure out where to be and not be too obvious until Bill drops the question. Jacquie met me once while I was shooting another wedding. On top of that Bill wants me to choose a location. No Problem on that end. I know this city like… well I know it pretty good, let’s just say. So the day comes. Bill feeds Jacquie some line about wanting to go to Central Park to see the location of a scene from Home Alone 2. It’s kind of the perfect cover. Bill and I are corresponding back and forth during the morning and I give him a good old fashioned “You got this!” pep talk. I mean its the least I could to, he did teach me how to bartend afterall. I chose the castle near where they do Shakespeare in the park. Jacquie walks right passed me and doesn’t recognize me, they have the balcony all to themselves. I even caught them on the bottom of the castle as they took a selfie! Afterwards we went out for a drink and a few more pictures. The night was over for me, but Bill had one more surprise. He had two tickets for Mariah Carrie at the Beacon for her Christmas show. Needless to say Jacquie was overwhelmed.

Christina and Brandon—Wedding in Wine Country

Typically I don’t think of New Jersey as Wine Country, but then again I’m more keyed into the bourbon hemisphere of the booze map. This set is really special to me because I got to see an old friend tie the knot. Christina originally booked me for her engagement photos last winter/spring and she was so pleased with them that she wanted me to do her wedding as well. Obviously, I said yes! Brandon and I had only met for a few hours but we had so much in common and got on so well during the engagement shoot, seeing him at the wedding was like seeing an old friend. They chose a nice little winery in South Jersey for their ceremony/reception. It was really great to catch all the family moments for a family I’ve known for so much of my life. Her parents joked about the “goofy kid from down the block that used to play flashlight tag every weekend”. I told them not a lot’s changed. Without further ado here are the pictures from that very special day. Christina and Brandon thank you so much!

David and Angela—Love is a Rollercoaster

 

David is a friend of mine from the rock n roll blog days. I stuck around one night at Jersey City’s now defunct Automata Chino venue after Roadside Graves played and saw The Press (his band) play. I dug the heck of their band and as time wore on I became friends with the guys, even booked them a few times. Ancient History, though.

Fast forward to the present and I’m looking for a couple to shoot for my blog and David tells me he’s just a few days away from proposing to his girlfriend Angela. TOO PERFECT! I’ve been saving a special location for just the right couple… Coney Island! We wandered around Surf Ave looking for a few great spots to shoot and scoured the Boardwalk for some neat backgrounds.

I dig Luna Park, but the old park has the really grungy rides and a really cool nostalgic vibe. I decided to focus on that park of Coney. We walked by the Wonder Wheel and around the Haunted House over to the Cyclone. David mentions the last time he was years and years back when he first moved to the city he wanted to go on the Cyclone but was short on cash. Bummer, Well now I couldn’t help but tell them my treat for coming out here with me was to put them on that ride!

Afterwards we walked back around the boardwalk and got some great photos from the beach. As the sun was coming down we made our way back to the car. David and Angela’s photos came out awesome! I can’t wait to shoot here again!