I first read about Kyle Dake, a collegiate wrestler, for Cornell in The New York Times . Dake is one of the few athletic champions the state of New York can call it's own.

Dake, is a three time NCAA Division 1 champion in three different weight classes.

I immediately called my photo editor at the New York Post. Joe Amari and said, "Joey this kid is a big deal.  We gotta get some coverage for this." Joe says sure it's yours.
That was the easiest pitch that I ever made.
Here is the gallery.  Needless to say they never ran the photos. However it was such a great experience observing Dake and other athletes of this caliber tactfully use their strength and prowess to compete in this event.

I shot this with my Nikon D3 and 200mm f/2.0 VR lens.

Kyle Dake: Grapple at The Garden - Images by Kendall Rodriguez

Between the day job at the phone and company and my nights and weekends at the New York Post. I've been quite busy. It's an interesting balance. Though most of you readers, albeit a small amount of you that actually do read this blog I've been trying to have fun with photography again. You know that feeling that most beginners have when they set out to the street of their hometown and unconsciously and subconsciously snap pictures of what ever they see. Well in my case when I started photography some 9 years ago, I was shooting with a Mamiya 500TL 35mm camera. So I had my share of mistakes. Of course I didn't now my f-stops from a shutter speed. All of that was a foreign concept to me. But that my friends is a great thing. The unknown. Not knowing if your picture is going to come out or just having that itch to always walk out the door to explore the everyday and mundane with an objective eye.

It was fun.

Fast forward some 9 years and a Nikon D3 later (yes I finally settled on shooting with nikons more on that in another post) and I'm bringing myself back to that sense of almost irresponsible carefree and light shape finding bliss. The challenge though is that my editors of the New York Post expect me to shoot a certain way on assignments. Some assignments don't lend much to creativity due to the fast paced nature of let's say a perp walk, or a celebrity running and taking off into a car and having to shoot through a window. So I've been yearning to make things look interesting because I love what I do. The beauty of this job is you can have a low point of creativity but you'll still love it. But when you begin to pull yourself out of that rut the job becomes more rewarding. The occupy wall street protests have been a great opportunity to attempt to make that scene look different though I've only been assigned there 3 times out of the two months the protests have been going on I've found my creative edge once again.

Ok I said enough.

Here are some photos that I added to my personal work section of my website.

My first video

December 24, 2010 Man hit by Car from Kendall Rodriguez on Vimeo.

I had shot this back on Christmas eve when responding to an MVA (motor vehicle accident) in the Bronx. After making my photographs of the scene and minutes before heading to the hospital with my reporter. I decided, "hey I've got a 5dmarkII let me shoot some video of the scene" and later on I'll piece the whole thing together in a 25 second news package. Well three months later I finally got the time and did my editing through Adobe Premiere and recorded my voice separately on my Olympus ls-10.

It only took me about a 30 minutes to pull off the editing for such a short piece. I have to say I like it and the 5dmarkII is a remarkable camera as all the lighting is ambient, but i'm sure a shoe mounted LED light would have helped somewhat. I do hope to find the time between shooting to be able to put together more pieces such as this and other's that aren't so gruesome.

Enjoy.

Carmelo Anthony New York bound!

Carmelo Anthony Collection - Images by Kendall Rodriguez

Like most New Yorkers you cannot escape the hype of Carmelo Anthony being traded to the Knicks he will of course be a welcome addition to the team as New York basketball gets the kick in the nads it deserves. For too long we've all been waiting for that special something to grace the those dimly lit courts of the world famous Madison Square Garden. So here it is 28 games left in the season for the Knicks who (k)nots up until right before the all-star weekend and we get a welcome suprise.

I thought it would be in taste and a great gesture despite my health right to dig through the archives of for pictures that I've taken of 'Melo on March 20 2007 when they beat the New Jersey Nets. These are just a few photos and of course the only ones that I've taken of this intense player on the court.

Enjoy!

Resurgence

Hello everyone, I've taken some time off from writing on this blog because I've been really busy with work. I've been covering breaking news for the New York Post newspaper (yes the print edition) for the last 8 months. I won't share any gripes or negative things here because I love the job so much. I've reached my goal to work for an NYC daily paper, and let me tell you it's quite the adventure. There are many long nights of listening to the fire and police frequencies on the radio scanner and many cold nights hanging out in the streets waiting for that infamous perp walk.

Here are a few photos that have made the paper over the last three months:

View the story online.


View the story online




View the story online at NYPOST.com

February Image of the Month

January Picture of the Month

2010 Goal: Shooting tighter.

Robert Rhodes (right) of the Boys and Girls relay team competes in the PSAL 4x400 and won at the 103rd Millrose Games.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II N Lens (mm): 400 ISO: 1600Aperture: 2.8 Shutter: 1/250



One of the things that I've been working on at sporting events is shooting a lot tighter instead of looser. This way I have less cropping to do in post production and I'm able to meet my deadlines with less frustration. Also the added benefit is that when I need to do enlargements say past 8x10 I don't lose any quality.

Dan Zaccariello of St Joseph's By the Sea competes in the Boys 1Mile High School Run.
Canon EOS-1D Mark II N Lens (mm): 400 ISO: 1600 Aperture: 2.8 Shutter: 1/320

Recently I shot the 103rd Millrose Games at MSG in NYC. I decided to bring my canon Ef 400 f/2.8. My goal in was to shoot tighter so I can get some great bokeh that you often times don't get when composing your shot loosley. I also took along my my 135 f/2.0 which gives me enough reach to get some finished lines and jubilation shots.

Latest work on NYPOST.COM

More sports images featured on NYPOST.COM

Sorry I haven't been writing regularly. Over the last 3 weeks I was called upon to provide coverage for high school sports here in NYC for the New York Post it's an awesome journey so far being that I love shooting sports no matter the level.
I thank God wholly for the opportunities that have come my way. Also my wife Farah played a huge role in this as well because about 2 months ago I was going to give up on shooting since finding work as photojournalist is a daunting task and she said to "stick with it and keep you're skills sharp." It's one of those rare moments that I actually did pay attention to what she says :) But again I thank god for giving me the ability to share how I see moments unfold with a huge audience. And for blessing me with the persistence to believe in what I do as a professional. I thank god for blessing with wonderful and highly supportive wife.

Sports images featured on New York Post.

Actor: Michael Beck aka "Swan" from "The Warriors

Caaaaan you dig it!!!!

Fitness Revelations

Here's some work I did for a personal trainer Allison Mcants of Fitness Revelations.
Visit the company website Click here to visit Fitness Revelations.

Executive Portrait: Chevaun Bailey

Executive Portrait Adeline Affonso

Executive Portrait Mariaelena Barbosa

The Young Professional

Greetings:

I’m initiating a casting call for a project called “The Young Professional”. This photography project will demonstrate and enhance my ability to take corporate photography portraits. Every shot taken will invoke a business-like aspect to the image. The images will have a head to shoulder view. My target market is small to medium sized law firms, real estate agencies, business management firms, and marketing agencies.

A young professional who meets the criteria for this project are individuals, male or female, between the ages of 22-35 who have recently made their mark in the industry in which they work and/or those who have just started a new career.

The nature of the portraits will be with a white back ground and the subject will be in business attire. Please keep in mind that men will wear a solid color shirt and suit that are not solid black. Female subjects should not wear blouses that are overly patterned. Clean shaven is optional, however if you plan to do a clean shave please do so within 2 to 3 hours before the shoot. Women should bring makeup for touch-ups.

If you’re interested in participating, reply back with your availability or call me at 646 879-8234. Most scheduling will take place on the weekend. This is a project that I’m truly eager to get started on next week. So if you’re serious about getting started, please don’t hesitate to call me. Also if you’re camera shy, come relaxed, the experience will feel as though we’re meeting up for a coffee at Starbucks or an after-work event. This takes about 1 hour of your time.
The incentive, for you, will be a retouched 8x10 to hang on your wall to show off your good looks and success.


Thanks

Executive Portrait: Emanuella Joseph

In continuing my project of the Young Professional I enlisted my friend Emanuella. She's mellow-happy transplant from the Bay Area. And resides in Harlem.

Here's a quick bio:

Industry: Healthcare
Full-time: Project Director of Emergency Medicine Research at Mt Sinai
Part-time: Program Director of General Electric/NMF Ghana Medical Externship Program and Board Member of Healthy Haiti, Inc.
Edu: UC-Berkeley BA -Ethnic Studies and Masters of Public Health in Health Policy and Management

Corporate Portrait: Arlington Gordon

As part of a new project called the "Young Professional". Arlingotn, who is a good friend of mine from our Tilden High Swim Team days agreed to be the first subject for my project. As usual we had lots of fun and his taste in wardrobe as u can see is top notch.

Here's a short bio:
Name: Arlington Gordon
Company: Bank of New York Mellon;Financial Markets and Treasury Services
Position: Senior KYC Specialist/Project Manager

Astoria Federal Savings Renovation Party.

See it bigger on Smug Mug

The Borough Park Branch of the Astoria Federal Savings Bank Recently underwent renovations. To show their appreciation, the bank held a celebration for their loyal customers. It's definitely not your typical day at the bank. This is the first of many multimedia projects that I have in store so stay tuned. This was a news assignment for Courier-Life publications in Brooklyn. I've decided to take along my Olympus LS-10 and my EV-RE50 microphone and gather audio on this assignment. In addition I shot certain sequences that would compliment the audio i gathered. Everything was put together using Adobe Premiere CS3, Lightroom 2, and Soundbooth CS3. I hope you enjoy it, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks