RIP Jay Colton

Photographer - Editor worked with Time for over 20 years Jay Colton with brother and Sports Illustrated Editor Jimmy Colton taken at Palm Beach Fotofusion 2010

In Memory Of Joseph Farish

It was a very sad day for me when I found out Joseph Farish passed away. I haven’t known Joe and his wife Loreen that long, maybe a couple of years. But how long does it really take to call someone a good friend, who treats you like family.


I was a friend and I worked for Joe and Loreen. I was hired to photograph a wedding, events and even Joe’s new venture, a funeral home, ironically. The Funeral Home is listed on the www.page2live.com on the front page, which is part of the Palm Beach Post.

I will never forget the wedding I photographed at their home. The father of the bride was a friend of Joe’s. I think from the Rotary Club. Joes friends daughter, was getting married and they needed to have the wedding pretty quickly. As you see the bride’s mother was dying of cancer and she didn’t have long to live. Joe and his wife opened their home and took care of the wedding in detail. Photographing the event brought tears to my eyes as they are now, because there was a lot of love felt at the Farish home that day and not a dry eye in the room.

Joe Farish loved the Miami Dolphins. He had a suite every year and was glued to watching the game. I remember covering the Dolphin games and The Farish’s, would always invite me up to their suite. They wouldn’t let me leave on an empty stomach, before heading back to work. Joe was a philanthropist; he was a very giving man not just monetarily but with love and respect toward others. He will be deeply missed but my strong memory for him will never fade away!

Intuitive Photography

I mentioned in a prior Blog called Shutter On The Brain, how I shot approximately 30 shots from a concert. It's not how fast and how many images I could take hoping to get the one great shot.  For me it has to do more with being intuitive and finding that special moment.  Every shot I shoot is personal; it has meaning to me, plain and simple.  The two images in this post were taken from a Charity event back in 2009.  The couple walking away are Anthony Shriver(Kennedy) and his daughter.  They frame the picture holding hands, like the sign "Best Buddies.  It tells a story.  The second image, I loved how the couple fell to the center of the courtyard.  The whole picture shows a lot of movement and tells a story. 
Intuitive Photography, something to think about!

B.O.B. - Bombs On Baghdad

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. known as B.O.B. is a multi talented artist. Having heard a couple of his songs going into the concert prior, I had an idea it might be a good show. As a photographer covering the event I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of this 24 year old sensation. He is surely not a musician-performer to be reckoned with. Bobby Ray originally from North Carolina, is a rapper, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist. I would try to get to see his next performance when he is town and watch him move up the charts very quickly.

Bulky Camera Bags

A question came about that inspired me to write this next blog: What kind of camera bag do I use?


I usually use a messenger bag or a small back pack. I find them both, easy enough to get into and not bulky. Usually the only equipment I carry in them for the type of shooting I generally do is a flash setup and some other accessories like flash cards, batteries, pen & paper and of course business cards. When I am shooting for example an event, I have my camera or cameras around me ready to shoot with two different lenses attached and a bracket-flash if needed on one of the cameras.

Someone might ask, what about a monopod or tripod. For most shots I am able to handhold the camera or lean it up against something to get the shots I need. If I am shooting interiors, food photography or portraits it is different as using a tripod is a constant. If I was shooting with a minimum 300mm range lens, for example horse jumping, football, concerts from a distance, I would use a monopod as most of these professional events don’t allow tripods for safety reasons.

When I am shooting an event for example a wedding, it is key, to get those memorable shots. As a photographer you need to be ready and quick at all times. How would it be if a short distance away you see an amazing shot of the bride & groom caught in a moment, with an amazing reflection in the scene? Now you have to run back to get the lens that is in your camera bag. Or you’re not quick enough to run over to them to get the shot because of all the stuff you’re carrying. That moment is lost for a lifetime!

The pictures in this blog was one of those rare moments I used a monopod and it wasn’t mine because my monopod was in the car. It belonged to a photographer friend standing next to me. I grabbed his monopod and used it to get the attention of the cheerleaders.  I wanted them to look up to get these shots. My photographer friends next to me from the Miami Dolphins, Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel appreciated it. I would have used my whistle, but unfortunately I somehow lost it.

Feel free to contact me with questions or to book your next event at info@micheleeve.com

ZUMA Pictures Of The Day: News, Sports, Celeb images and more

ZUMA Pictures Of The Day: News, Sports, Celeb images and more

Happy my image got selected as Picture Of The Day!

Rock On!

Personal Work At The Tattoo & Car Show

This past weekend I had a bunch of photo shoots lined up but in-between I had some time to shoot some personal work. I couldn’t ask for a better assistant than Tony. He is not only an attorney, a computer genius but also a photographer. I was so happy to have him as my assistant. He assisted me with my equipment, lighting and just all around was a big help.

Some of my personal work from the car show with model Billy.  From Police Arrests, to cooling off with Italian Ices, to Army Trucks.  The public was more interested it seemed in my photo shoot than the car show for a while..It was a real hoot and an overall great day!

The Police Car in the Shoot was a 1984 Dodge Diplomat California Highway Patrol Police Cruiser.  The Army Truck was a 1983 M-35.

Working for Free vs. Not

Getting Published


First let me speak about getting published as so many photographers strive to do for exposure. Okay you get photo credit in a publication. Did you get paid for it or did you just give it away because that you think would give you a feather in your hat. Were you afraid to ask to get paid? In most circumstances you should have gotten paid. Just starting out it doesn’t have to be big dollars but it should be something. Many photographers give their work away and not only are you shortening yourself but you’re hurting the industry. The publication is making money so why shouldn’t you. Even if the publication is making money on advertising and it’s a free subscription they are still making money and if they are not that is not your problem. Would a doctor give away his services for free or restaurants give you free meals in most cases not. Basically you are providing a service that service is your work and it should not be free. Regarding my personal experience, I have been published hundreds of times all over the world and only once did I not get paid. Why did I choose not to get paid? It was early on and It was for a site that gets millions of viewers on a regular basis and it is for one of the most well known billionaires in the world and yes I got photo credit.

Regarding being published however there are a few instances you might offer your image for photo credit. One reason is it’s the cover of a publication and that publication will not only get you noticed by its readers but it is in an area of the business that your are trying to move into and the cover you could use to build your portfolio. A second reason might be for example you shot the opening of something for a paying client and that client asked if you could submit a couple of photos in the local publication. This is a service to your client.

Portfolio Work

Too many photographers spend endless time shooting models for free in exchange for a CD...Is it a hobby or do you want it to lead to something? Doing exchanges is fine in my opinion only with two possibly three instances. You are doing test shots on something specific to personally advance yourself in some way to ultimately make money in that area or you’re starting out in a specific area and building your portfolio. I could go into this further but I will leave it for now. Basically like anything in life you have to have a direction and follow it. Photographing models endlessly because you think they are pretty is one thing but you have to think to yourself , is this how I really want to spend my time or do I want to take it to the next level. Is it about building portfolios at this point or confidence!

If you have any questions regarding anything I spoke about you could email me at info@micheleeve.com

Fast Shutter On The Brain

I was shooting a celebrity event the other evening with some other colleagues of mine and after the time permitted to shoot, we had a discussion outside. Everyone was looking at their images and viewing the outcome and the question came about! All ears wide open. The question was how many images did you shoot?


For me this question brought on a whole topic of discussion with another colleague and doing some personal thinking that inspired me to write this blog.

At major sporting events it is important to shoot many shots per second not only to catch the action but for anticipation of something to come. For many photographers it is a main reason they purchase a fast camera. I can’t speak for other photographers but for myself so here I go.

For many reasons I do not shoot continuous for long periods of time don’t get me wrong, if I was shooting springboard diving, when you want to capture every split second of the diver jumping off the board and going into the water, then I would trigger away. Another example would be anticipation of the last shot of a tennis match and capturing the raw emotion on the winners face.

My touchdown shot at the Super Bowl, I anticipated a straight run toward the end zone bent down and shot the player, wide angle, diving into the end zone suspended in the air in one shot. Was this luck, was it anticipation or a little of both? Either way if I was shooting continuous from the start of the play towards the end of the play, the question is would my brain be doing the thinking and would I have gotten the shot? I honestly think information would have been lost in the image.

The image above was taken at a PETA demonstration. There were many photographers at the event from many major publications. Most of them were just standing in one position most of the time and shooting. Hey Guys, you want to be a professional photographer, well let me tell you it can be exhausting work if you shoot the way I shoot! From the start of the shoot I got there early and walked very quickly around in the heat looking at the lighting, the angles and finding the best shots. I am thinking nonstop because I want something unique on every shoot not only for the people I am shooting for but for myself. I am not in one position shooting continuous. For me the best shot was watching this police officer. He was there for one main reason to see some nudity and make an arrest! From the looks of my image above he didn’t terribly hate this demonstration. PS Photos from the event were published on line and in hard copy for New Times.

Back to my original question above: “How many images did I shoot? Well before I answer, one photographer shot 900+ images, one photographer shot 300+ images and all eyes were wide open when I told them I shot 30 images. To conclude the images were what I needed and I didn’t want to do a whole bunch of editing when I got home :).

JImbo's Place - The Best "Location" In South Florida

Jimbo’s Place


The Best “Location” In South Florida



The best way for me to describe Jimbo’s Place would be a combination of Armageddon, meets Woodstock in the 60’s, meets Southern California in the 50’s. Does that sound interesting to you? Well it does to directors of music, film and TV, photographers and many other people that are looking for something visual, different and fun to do or capture.

I decided to write this blog because Jimbo’s Place, owned by Jimbo Luznar since 1954 had a vision and decided to not follow everyone else and decided to open up a little dive shack for the locals. This is a place where boats could dock have a very reasonable priced beer, eat some fresh smoked fish and play some Bocce ball.

Located on Virginia Key, the city has tried to close the spot for quite some time and Jimbo’s Place has continued to survive. Exactly 6 months ago Jimbo’s Place had a fire which killed the electricity. Jimbo’s is currently working off a generator. I had the opportunity to visit again and wanted to share some of the photos with you. I hope you will stop by and keep places that are so unique like Jimbo’s alive!
Follow the link to the photos below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flasporty/sets/72157624317602754/

"It's Like One Big Tailgating Party With An Awesome Close Up View Full Of Action And Excitement"

AVP Tournament - Fort Lauderdale, Beach Florida


April 16 - 18, 2010


I am a person that doesn't like to rise before the sun comes up and on Saturday morning with a full day of work ahead it was no different. Waking up to darkness and a radio blasting U2 it was time for a pot of coffee, finish up packing my camera gear and head off to Fort Lauderdale Beach.

I didn't really know what to expect being this was my first pro volleyball tournament.  When I got to the tournament early on in the morning staff were still setting up for the event. I find it's always good to get to sporting events as a photographer at least 30 minutes before the scheduled time. Leaving ample room for check in and getting familiar with the layout. For the Super Bowl it was a couple of hours early.

Being positioned pretty close up to where the match would be, made it pretty easy to use a lens that put me in the range of 70 - 200mm. At times I would stand on high podiums with my wide angle lens as well. Podiums, speakers, scaffolds, roofs where ever I need to position myself to get the shot is where I stand.   I feel a full frame camera is the way to go when shooting sports. I used two different cameras and I was much happier with the full frame shots even if it was a touch slower. A full frame camera is much easier when you want to fit the player, including feet and the ball in the shot, shooting tight..Simply put.

The tournament players came from areas to include California, Brazil and a lot of locals from Florida. I have to honestly say what a genuinely nice bunch of players to include the Olympic Gold Medalists that participated in the event. Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, Misty May Treanor, partner Nicole Branagh and reigning world champions Jen Kessy and partner April Ross. One of the tallest women I met at the tournament was Kelly Schumacher at 6' 5" she was in the WNBA and MVP in Basketball, Volleyball and Soccer. Talk about good genes, Kelly lives in Florida and so does her partner Capri Hilgendorf.  All the players were very open to getting their pictures taken and being interviewed before and after their matches.

The tournament was broken down like a Pro Tennis tournament with a stadium court, where the top seeds play and then all the other courts located around the perimeter. Most of the action on the first and second day rounds were on the courts outside the stadium. This was mainly due to open access and a huge fan base cheering on the local teams. It was great to watch as well as photograph and I have to say the athletes are so fit, showing off mostly skin and some tats! What’s always nice are that the fans can really feel connected to the matches by being up very close and personal on the smaller courts. "It's like one big tailgating party with an awesome close up view full of action and excitement"

Its interesting having grown up in New York City, it took me a long time to get used to living in South Florida. I compared living down here to New York for so many years. Then one day I just stopped and appreciated South Florida for what it had to offer which is actually a lot! As a professional photographer I have covered most of the major events down here. Probably in excess of over 200 events last year so I can tell you there are a lot of diverse things to do and things to see. I look forward to seeing and or meeting you soon at my next event : ).

Pictures are copyrighted..All rights reserved
(c) Michele Sandberg/Zuma Press

Fashion With A Twist at Kevros

Fashion With A Twist At Kevros Art Bar

Off the main avenue in Delray Beach, Florida and just off the train tracks in a remote location is an Art Bar. Not just like any bar but more of a dated back bar you would find in the 1960’s possibly in Southern California. Artists, artist types plus a bunch of cool and casual people know about this place. It is one of my favorite places to kick back and relax.  “Expect the unexpected at Kevros.”


Every couple of weeks there is a gallery showing. I showed my work their a couple of months ago, some of my more edgy work called “Fashion with a Twist”. This week there was an art show plus a really cool-unique fashion show.  I say expect the unexpected because you never really know what to expect when going to Kevros. Walking in, the place was packed.  As I walked to the outside area there was a very cool old station wagon parked in the back and girls wearing slinky little outfits serving shots and wearing bright red wigs. There was also a Tea Party going on and women with fangs walking around with costumes made of vintage fabrics and lace. Black Candelabras and graffiti set up as the backdrop. The costumes and fashions were all from Pink Slip Threads designs.


I actually didn’t know about the event till the same afternoon when I was showing some friends from out of town the place and heard about the event going on that night. I decided to come back and check it out with my camera of course. Usually for fashion shows I don’t use on camera flash so I decided to leave the flash at home. At first I was a bit disappointed because the light at the event was minimal and I hand held the camera with the shutter speed being very low. This reminded me of the days playing the game Operation. Using a pair of tweezers and having to have a very steady hand so you don’t touch the sides of the machine when operating. If you touched the machine you got a loud noise. Boy did I suck at that game. But thankfully my steady hand has improved with age.


Theatrical photography as I call it is one of my favorites if not my favorite to shoot. I love very edgy and eye catching people. Blend this with eye catching fashion it’s a win – win combination. I look forward to covering your next event. 

The Life Of A Media Photographer - Vanilla Ice

Yesterday I did a celebrity photo shoot with Vanilla Ice - Rob Van Winkle. He is involved in a new venture The Car Loft and will be at Supercar Weekend to market the venture.



It was an interesting experience and I had the whole scene set but unfortunately it didn't work out as planned but still worked okay. The gang and I met at Dr. Feelgoods in West Palm. Getting a car to the spot I wanted wasn't going to happen today so I needed to go for plan B.

I still got the shot but I had a backseat driver involved, Rob - Vanilla Ice. One time he took my camera from me and pointed out different angles I should shoot from. I told Rob, sounds great Rob I will try it but your next concert I am taking your Microphone from you and singing Ice, Ice Baby. He then mentioned I was on stage with him at the Hard Rock with the camera and we both laughed. Several shots later Rob was at it again, playing back seat driver and I basically said with a strong voice let me do my job that is what I am here for. There was silence and nothing else was said after that. After the shoot we all wished each other a Happy Valentine’s Day and I headed home.


Whatever the situation and whoever you are photographing what it comes down to is you are the photographer. You the photographer set up the shots and you need to be in control of the situation.

The Life of a Media Photographer - Tiger Woods

Well you remember in my last Blog I mentioned I always ask the person I am photographing for a picture, well this might be one of those exceptions, if it's Tiger Woods who has been M.I.A

It was a rainy windy cold day here in South Florida and I got an early morning call regarding Tiger Woods from the paper. Woods might be at his boat Privacy and I needed to go check it out. I was not happy about this. First thing I did was open the computer and find out where his boat is. Great, it is over an hour away. I packed up my camera and off I went. With my wind shield wipers on, I trekked up to North Palm Beach. I didn't realize there would be a guard gate so I tried my best but couldn't get in. If Tiger Woods was at his boat and I trekked up here in the rain I was not leaving without a picture of him.


I took a drive around the marina and parked my car pretty close by. I walked over to an area and noticed from a distance a gate around the marina. Holding an umbrella in one hand that kept blowing backwards from the wind, a bag with my camera in it in the other hand I walked thru a large field of shrubs. My pants getting quite wet from the rain, and cursing under my breath I was not giving up. I noticed my pants getting all the spiky thorns on it that feel like needles. I was getting quite frustrated, quite wet and concerned about the camera. At that moment I noticed the opening in the fence. I slipped thru to the marina and with the wind blowing, I held on to the fence to make it all the way around without falling in the water. I walked thru the open parking lot with a little bit of difficulty but talked my way through it.

In the distance I saw Tiger Woods boat Privacy. How did I know it was his boat, it was the only boat with the sign covered: 0. I saw the ladder was down but didn't see any people on the boat. There were people loading things on the boat near it but no luck. I waited around hoping to see a fancy car pull up or a big black SUV with dark windows, or possibly a car with a window crashed in from a golf club but no luck.

I walked around the Marina still holding the umbrella and pulled out my camera from the bag. I noticed all the Paparazzi in front of the boat in the water on little boats that they rented. It actually looked like they carpooled together. I thought to meet Tiger head on coming on or off the boat or out of a car but no luck.  However, I was successful in that I didn't give up and I did get a few shots of Tigers boat Privacy.  Heading out I walked straight out the main entrance and didn’t look back. Dried the droplets of water off my backup camera and headed back home.

Super Bowl XLIV - My story

I can't tell you how excited I was to photograph the Super Bowl and it was an amazing experience. But it wasn't a day where you just point the camera and shoot.  Expect the unexpected.  I am a person that loves moving around and catching the action and that's what this 16 hour day was all about.

The day started out carpooling with three other photographers from the paper to the game as we were given one parking pass.  We all had a different assigned job at the Super Bowl.  Two of the photographers I was with are field photographers, meaning they stay on the field and shoot the game with 400mm lenses and they wear red vests. Their was a third person that assists the field photographers and helps with the editing of the pictures and what ever else they might need. He is called the messenger.  Then their is me.  I had pretty much full access to the stadium and was allowed to shoot on the field and the suites and did all my editing if needed and uploading of images. I was there mainly to photograph celebrities but shoot the game too if I liked.

We got to the stadium at 12pm, nice and early but you could never be too early because of security checks and learning the policies and procedures.  We then all went to the photo media room where we set down our laptops.  It is the area where their is WIFI and we transmit.  It is an interesting room the way it is laid out.  Right when you walk in is the Sports Illustrated Spot "Well Excuse Me", across from them is The New York Times section, and the spots go down the line from their.  Yes, the South Florida papers were a little away from the main door.."Something wrong with this picture".

After setup I was very excited to go check out the field.  It was already busy with camera men and commentators setting up.  I had some time to kill so I had to get my first hotdog of the day and buy a couple of souvenirs.  Wearing two cameras around my neck all day and a backpack is not that easy but it is part of the job.  Then the fun really started to begin!

I got on the field and started shooting at about 1pm.  Being interviewed were several past Heisman trophee winners on one side of the field and Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade on the other side.  At first I didn't know the celebs were on the other side of the field but after speaking with the makeup lady who was powdering up Deon Sanders shine on his forehead, I struck up a conversation with her and she told me about the break down of people being interviewed for that day.

A big part of getting the shots is not only finding out who who is attending the Super Bowl but possibly where they might be.  Well it didn't take me long to figure out that most of the big movie stars were on the 3rd level but even knowing this, with the very tight security it was tough.  I knew some people I wanted to photograph will need to go to the bathroom and take cigarette breaks.  I decided to constantly move up and down the halls on the suite levels and go thru the seats in the stadium..I was on a mission to find every celebrity at the game.  I found most of them meaning dozens and they were quite pleasant.  I am a photographer that prefers asking nicely for a picture and let the person know who I am shooting it for.  After all, how many of us have untagged pictures of ourselves on Facebook because we didn't like the way we looked.  Celebrities deserve that too and thousands to millions of people might see the picture you took of them.  At least this goes for close up shots.

One of the craziest things I did at the game was spotting Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore walking on the side of the field. I spotted them from half way on the other side of the field.   During play I ran along the side of the field bending all the way down, knowing I needed to get a picture of them..Several video cameras followed behind me at that moment..It was too funny.  I got the shot and even then I asked Ashton first for a picture.

Their are a couple of tunnels thru the stadium and during one time around I spotted Laurence Fishburne in the tunnel and asked for his picture.  I got several tips as well during the game.  Like Miss America being in a certain suite and Condoleeza Rice .  I think it was time to see who might be on a cigarette break and that is where I spotted John Mellencamp.  Cool guy, I actually cooked for him a number of times at a restaurant when I was a Chef  in NYC.

I can't say it is easy to find my way around the stadium and knowing exactly where the elevators and stairs are at all times so during the Who performance, I got stuck up at the suite levels.  But I think that is when I ran into John Travolta, very nice guy and very personable.  He told me he flew his jet to the game but then again you probably new that.

I think it was after half time when I decided to go back on the field and then dump my 3rd round of pictures up to cyberspace to get posted live on the Palm Beach Post website.  No time to edit them, because I could have missed opportunities.  During the time on the field I was right near the end zone and the players were pretty close.  I then realized I better bend down low and get ready to get the shot because Saints were about to score a touch down.  I couldn't believe I shot the touch down with the player diving right into the end zone in front of me. Freaking awesome experience!

Photographing Brad, Angelina and there son Maddox was not fun.  I thought one of the security was my friend and I had a hunch they might be going one way but I was tipped they would be going the other direction.  I should have went by my gut feeling.  They made a dash for the elevator and I made a dash for the stairs and got the shot of the three of them.

I caught the end of the game, the award ceremony, lots of shots of Kim Kardashian, her mom, Reggie Bush and a lot of emotional moments with the Saints and ther families.  Those moments will always stay with me.  It was a great day, a great sport and I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to be apart of it.
My 4th batch of images I uploaded to the paper, grabbed another hotdog from the media tent on the way out and carpooled home.

My pictures from the Super Bowl posted in the Palm Beach Post hit an unprecedented record for the paper.  280,000 hits in two days.