Wahlburgers Coming to East Orlando

(Photo: A&E)

Building off of the success of their first Orlando location downtown, the Wahlberg brothers could soon bring Wahlburgers to Waterford Lakes in East Orlando. Gina Buell, an entrepreneur and franchisee, says they are currently in negotiation with property management. If they ink a deal, Mark, Donnie and Chef Paul Wahlberg will bring their star powered burger house into the 6,700 sq. ft. space that used to house Amigos Restaurant.

In addition to full service and fast-casual dining, the restaurant would offer a full bar and merchandise sections. It's expected that the celebrity family will attend the grand opening, if a grand opening is in line. The restaurant would come at a great time, and should complement other new comers to the area such as Cooper's Hawk, Duffy's Sports Bar, Marlow's Tavern, ZaZa Cuban Diner and Little Greek. One of my favorites, Little Greek, has especially received a great response. Soon after opening their first Orlando location just a year ago in Waterford Lakes, two more followed in Kissimmee and Celebration.

Full Article: www.orlandosentinal.com

Website Redesign!

The new website is now live! I'm very excited to have my site completely redesigned. It is now cleaner and has more content, including still and motion photography. The colors are also much more inviting! Please take a moment check out www.PlaceProductions.com.

Most of my latest work will be posted on the website. In the meantime, I will begin posting behind the scenes, travel, interviews, articles and just fun stuff on the blog. The blog was always meant to be a personal outlet. It's just that at one time, Photography was all that I had to share. Now God has provided more, so I must give more. Stay tuned!

Hola Naguabo, Puerto Rico!

The past week has been phenominal. I'm thankful to be in Puerto Rico with family and friends, celebrating life. #WorkHard #PlayHard. The weather has been perfect and supplements every new experience. I love the island, and the historic authenticity of the cities. We've had the opportunity to go snorkeling with Paco in Nagüabo, sit under the waterfalls of El Yunque Rainforest and dining on "Mexican Puerto Rican" food at Lolitas restaurant in Luquillo (there's also a nice beach in Luquillo, and there are some local souvenirs for sale in the "kioscos" on the strip). Not to mention our stay on our own private beach, on a private island (pictured above)! We even got to visit the very island that birthed the first monkey into space! Some call it Isla de los Monos, or "Monkey Island." These monkeys have over 95% of the chemical makeup as humans, which is why they have become such high demand for various research studies.

There is so much to see, on and off land, that you will need at least a week. You can't visit here without renting a car. Traffic and poorly engineered/maintained roads leave some room for improvement, however it all adds to the experience. Try to rent from somewhere that has a location in the airport terminal like Avis or Budget, as some others are located off site and require you to take a shuttle (avoid "EZ" and "Allied" Car Rental like the plague!). Going off site to rent a vehicle can rob you of precious hours from your trip. Pay the extra $10 a day and fully enjoy your experience.

If you are not able to stay a week, then you may want to focus your time in the cities neighboring San Juan. You can snorkel and see Monkey Island in one trip (about 1 hour from San Juan, see Paco!) - http://lapaseodora.yolasite.com/. You absolutely should visit the famous El Yunque Rainforest. Beyond that, just plan accordingly before taking your flight. I would also recommend checking out Mosquito Bay in Vieques to see the dreamlike bioluminescent water and magnificent landscape (get there by sunset. yes, bring the bug spray!) - http://vieques.com/island-bioluminescent-bay/. If you want to actually get in the water, one of the best places to do that is at Flamenco Beach. You have to take a 90-minute ferry to get there, but is it worth it? Absolutely! Don't press yourself for time, though, there are plenty of fabulous beaches here if you want to go to one closer to the city. For more on Flamenco Beach, or other beaches in the area, USA Today put a decent list together a few weeks ago, so I won't recreate it - Best Beaches of Puerto Rico.

If all else fails, and you are simply looking for a relaxing, simple vacation without the full Puerto Rico experience and commutes, or maybe you have visited before, you can stay at one of the beautiful resorts such as Carabali Rainforest Park. They offer amenities on site such as go-kart racing, restaurant and bar, living quarters, horseback and ATV tours and more. I personally recommend the two tours.

XXL Freshman 2015

Things are moving quickly! Congrats to Carlos Ferragamo for landing two spots on the XXL Freshman Tryouts 3 mixtape. This third volume of the highly anticipated mixtape by DJ Just US is hosted on LiveMixtapes. Click here to download the mixtape.

Full article.

Carlos Ferragamo "Love Me" Official Video

"Love Me" featuring Carlos Ferragamo.


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Artist: Carlos Ferragamo
Track: Steven Gif Collier
Directed by: Curtis Harper
Produced by: Place Productions

Carlos Ferragamo "Love Me" Video Drops Today!

Music videos have always been a huge part of my production portfolio. I love music and the first footage I ever shot, some behind the scenes footage, I turned into a very UNofficial music video. But at the time, it was enough to get me to believe in myself. No matter how large the portfolio grows, I'll always come back home.

This time I linked up with long time friend and client Carlos Ferragamo. We have worked together for the past 5 years and built a relationship on trust, work ethic and an aligned vision. Carlos' music is reminiscent of what this generation calls "old school" hip hop. In other words, today hip-hop is reduced to entertainment. Without dropping names, there are several artists that still believe in the artistry (several that get rotation, of course there are many more!). Let's be honest, if the industrie's focus is to be "entertaining," or distracting as I call it, then that sounds off a call to those that truly believe in the art form to make authentic music that resonates in people's soul. People who accept their purpose to deliver a message, to inspire, rather than to be entertaining. Carlos Ferragamo is one of those artists, and has been since I've known him. That being said, I love 2 Chainz. But he is more Deshawn Raw to me than 2 Pac.

More here. Stay tuned for the drop!

Hello, Emotion... | Spoken Word Video for Rick Rude

Here it is! The official video for talented artist Rick Rude performing his title, "Hello, Emotion..." Keep up with Rick Rude at Instagram.com/ImRickRude

Artist: Rick Rude
Directed by: Curtis Harper
Produced by: YEP and Place Productions

"Hello, Emotion" Spoken Word Video Preview

It's funny how God works. Back in January, I was at dinner with a close friend. We ended up having a conversation about this talented guy we went to highschool with ('02 by the way). Weeks later, I get a phone call from someone asking about directing a spoken word video. Guess who's the talent. Rick Rude is a Spoken Word artist out of Orlando, Florida. In this piece, he welcomes the emotions that so many people run from or get caught up in. Life isn't about what you go through, it's about how you respond. Video drops 3-20-2015! Produced by YEP, linky. #ChristUP

Update

2013 updates coming soon!

Carlos Ferragamo - Rise and Grind [In Studio]

Linked up with Recording Artist Carlos Ferragamo again!! This time go behind the scenes with the Bronx native as he records his new record "Rise and Grind."

Lowel Lights - Lowel DP

Image from Adorama Camera



I'm about to add an additional light to my kit, the Lowel DP. Lowel lights are known for their ruggedness and relatively affordable power. The Lowel DP sticks to that same methodology. This compact, powerful light is often overlooked by videographers, but is very popular in Real Estate. Looking at the exterior, you will notice it is very similar to the Omni by design. But the real kicker is the power. The Lowel DP is able to accept up to a 1000w lamp, and if you haven't guessed it, DP stands for Double Power. This light is very inexpensive, and is available in several different kits on the Lowel website.

Another great thing about this light is the versatility. You can easily set this up as a fill light. Or, if you need some powerful directional light, you can purchase these barndoors for less than $100 bucks!



Add a gel frame to the kit and for around $400 you have a 1k ready to be balanced for daylight or incandescent. You can also pick up some ND filters to further soften the output. For someone that needs to move around quickly and may be on a limited budget, it is hard not to have at least a couple of these in your kit. I say no matter the budget this is a light worth having.

Dwight Howard Interview

Press session with Dwight Howard during All-Star weekend. Dwight was at the Adidas outlet to promote his new sneaker the Adipower Howard 2.

Camera Op: Curtis Harper
Media Company: VladTV

Beezy Bux - Realities

Beezy Bux
Realities
Directed by: Curtis Harper
Place Productions, LLC

Behind The Scenes Photoshoot - Alla

Jim Mazza, 30 year vet Photographer, and I have the opportunity to work together ever so often. He's a Nikon guy. Here is the behind the scenes footage of the photoshoot with talented model Alla. She is from Czech and was awesome to work with. She pretends to be a little quiet, but is a true natural, and even with the language barrier speaks volumes with her subtle, natural movements between poses. Big thanks to Jim and Alla for inviting me out!!

DJ Romi Photoshoot!

Last week I met an awesome new friend and client, her name is Romi. She is a DJ from Czech. She currently spins at Cleo's every Tuesday night. The theme of the shoot was simple, DJ! As I work with talented individuals like her, it only makes my job seem less like work. Romi was basically the Art Director for this shoot! I gave some very basic instruction early on, and the rest of the shoot we talked about music and her hometown.

I chose to use two small flash units to light the talent. This enabled us to move quickly and I could place the lights almost anywhere I wanted. I used an umbrella to soften the fill light and left the key as a bare flash. After taking some test shots, I turned the power up a little more to drown out the ambient light, which was a mixture of sun and incandescent lights. Stay tuned for more!

Live Broadcast of "Let's Chat"

At My Christian Films, we are excited to receive another blessing, and using this blessing to bless others! One of our newest shows "Let's Chat" has been chosen for television broadcast. This show just began it's first season this year and is already picking up very quickly. On August 31, 2011, we will be shooting a live show, which will air on DoersTV.com at 7:00p EST. It will be syndicated to Jesus Daily.

For more info, check out MyChristianFilms.org/.

Chrish Johnson Interview

Interview with Tennessee Titan Running Back Chris Johnson.

Website Progress

Rather than have a splash page up for months, I decided to release my new site in phases. These will be rough phases. Really you will see the site as it is being built. As of now I do not have a date of completion, as I have other things to take care of. I actually agreed to hire a developer to create a site for me, but the day of, he didn't return my call, or email. So here is the site so far as developed by yours truly. This is the background, which was inspired by another design but I can't find it), and the video player (unstyled). At least now when you go to the site you can check out some dope videos. Thanks for your time and patience guys! PlaceProductions.com.

Sometimes a Task List Doesn't Cut It

For quite some time, I was the guy that never wrote anything down. I know what I had to do, and I did it. Who knows, maybe back then I wasn't doing much of anything. I thought I was. A few years ago, I started writing things down. Before, I would look at people odd, thinking to myself, "do you really need to write everything down?" Well, one major benefit of writing things down is that that is one less thing you have to keep on your mind. You can now use that "space" for something else.

Creating a task list is something that has helped me visualize what I need to do, but still I rarely refer back to it. I write everything down, and then usually just complete it as normal, without ever referring back to it. My task lists usually looks similar to:

- Mail xxxx DVD
- Finish xxxx edit
- CC xxxx video
- Clean desktop

and so on.

Now, a task list just doesn't do much for me. Today, I started creating a schedule. It only make since, every major corporation does it. If you work a 9-5, you are on a schedule. They made it that way for a reason, it works. If you are trying to manage a large amount of data, or people, you need a system (also known as management). So, now my tasks all must be completed by a certain date. This is also beneficial to the client and will aid in your overall business process.

- Mail xxxx DVD --------- 7/17 by 5pm
- Finish xxxx edit ------ 7/17
- CC xxxx video --------- Submit by 7/19 to xxxx.xxxx@gmail.com
- Clean desktop --------- 7/20

It's great to get things done as you get to them, but if you want to grow, then your business model needs to grow as well.

Chelsey Fatula - EPK Revisited

Some of you may remember my last shoot with Model, Hostess and Reality TV star Chelsey Fatula. This time, we got together to discuss re-visiting her EPK [electronic press kit]. We had a great shoot and I am excited about the new release.