New Site

It's a long time coming but I finally put up a new site for Virgil Stephens Photography. Couldn't be more happy with the results!

Suzanne Doig is greatly talented designer who I met working for the NYPL a few years ago. We became friends, and for some time she has been suggesting to me to redo my photography business' image/ branding. Early this summer we began meeting, discussing what the site should do, and how to showcase the photography best. Shortly after she worked up a few different looks to try, but I think the one settled on was the hands down winner.. A good look and an very easy interface. Katie Senft is another designer who worked with Suzanne to build the site. Along with this new website we've got new graphics and promo materials to share with prospective clients. The site went up just in time for Labor Day Weekend. Nice job Suzanne and Katie!

Summer Vacation

Just got back from a great summer road trip with Malissia & our dog Luna. We drove a big loop from Hoboken through North Carolina, stopping in Chapel Hill, and Waynesville in the Appalachians. On the return leg we went back up through Virginia taking country roads and checking out Charlottesville before wrapping up with a 4th of July cookout at our friends the Thomas' in the DC beltway town Oakton, VA.

I did a lot of shooting in the mountains and at the road stops.

hazy view from Whiteside Mountain
under the falls, Pisgah National Forest
Pisgah National Forest
view from the Waynesville homestead
an ancestor? Red House Presbyterian Church Semora, NC
wake me when we get there..
Asheville from a hilltop
downtown Semora

Semi-refreshed, or extremely road-weary I returned home to Hoboken New Jersey appreciating all we have going on here.

Engagement Party in VA

On Sat. April 24th I was in Alexandria, VA to shoot a couple's engagement party event photos and portraits. Thomas and Momo are planning a wedding in Okinawa, Japan this October and the event was to celebrate their engagement and get the friends and family all together. Tom's sister is Vicki, a good friend of mine and I'd met Tom and his bride to be at Vicki's wedding 2 years ago in Jamaica. They loved the photos I did there, so asked me to come out for this party and do an engagement photo for them. Best wishes to the couple!

River Monsters Party

Animal Planet threw a party for the press Wednesday April 21st at the restaurant A Voce in New York City’s Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The event celebrated the new season of their most popular show River Monsters. I was hired to do the event photos for Animal Planet thanks to my friend Laura whose a Photo Editor for them. I’m an animal lover and a fan of the channel, so these events are always something I enjoy.

Arriving at Columbus Circle the first thing I saw were a half dozen Smart Cars painted to look like the show’s mascot piranha fish. They had professional drivers looping around the circle keeping the little gas-savers in tight formation like the predators they resembled on a hunt for blood. I have to imagine a dreaded reaction when cabbies looked in their rear view mirror to see a school of these quick little killers, fangs bared closing in on them. Maybe we should all be using electric cars..

Upstairs on the 3rd floor A Voce had a private section decorated with pictures from the show, a 12 foot billboard with it’s name, and each wall played HD video of River Monsters on large flat televisions. They had fishbowls on the tables containing those brightly colored Japanese fighting fish you see at pet stores. All the tropical flowers and colored lights gave the ambiance of jungle.

The guest of honor would make it to the party only by skype. Jeremy Wade's flight was canceled like millions of other passengers due to a natural disaster that shut down a great amount of air travel in mid-April 2010. A volcano in Iceland had erupted and shot a cloud of smoke and ash into the earth's atmosphere forcing trans Atlantic air travel to a halt. The show must go on though, and Jeremy was able to interface with NYC party guests through the hi-tech screens and audio system. With a q&a about his adventures, and a toast with the guests he was virtually there at the party with us. Otherwise guests mingled, refreshments were enjoyed, and Animal Planet looks forward to a successful new season of it's highly rated program.

Friends Auction Holiday 2009

12-01-09 Friends Without a Border had their charity art auction. It's one of my favorite nights in the city. I see artists whom I print for at Griffin Editions, and others whose work I admire. It's organization behind it is a creation of photographer Kenro Izu.


It's a positive fund raiser and excellent showcase from world-class photo artists. They print a gorgeous catalogue of the pieces for sale, and in the past few they've put my ad in it. I've done the event photography of this since 2003 working with friends Fumiyo and Akiko from the Friends group.

If people who like photography and the people who make it can come together and give back to the children who need it most, it's a wonderful thing!