I can’t remember exactly how I came to know Chris.  I’m sure that Flickr had something to do with it.  But, I do remember when I first met him in person last summer, and spending that day getting some very opportune shots both inside the Trinity Church in Boston, as well as a nearby fire house.  The best shots from that day were heavily dependent on timing.  Because of how we times our visit to the Trinity Church, we were able to get access to the entire area, including parts that are normally blocked off.  Same with the fire house.

And timing is what Chris is about.  Or, at least, what his photos are about.  Chris has found his place in my book of epic landscape photographers.  Look, anyone can time it right to go outside and shoot the sun rising or setting.  But, it is another class of photographer who scouts locations, determines exactly where to go and exactly when to get there.  Granted, the two times that I went to shoot the sunrise w/Chris, he either failed to set his alarm correctly or had missed a key turn while driving to our location.  Both almost cost us the shoot but both were handled with precision by Chris and we came away with some memorable scenes.

I’m glad to know Chris some of the times but I’m always psyched to shoot with him.  :)

You can follow Chris on Twitter, Flickr, and his Portfolio

Untitled – Chris Lazzery

My name is Chris Lazzery. Since moving to New England in 2007 and picking up my first DSLR shortly thereafter, I have been fascinated with photographing the sunrise and sunset.

“You’re crazy.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Why?”

A few common replies I have heard when I tell others I am going to bed early so I can get up at 3:30am in order to give myself enough time to witness and subsequently photograph the sunrise the following day. Sometimes I feel like agreeing with them. After all, many people are just going to bed at that time. And there I am, packing up my gear and departing Boston — sometimes traveling hours, sometimes in the dead of an unbearably cold winter — to experience maybe twenty minutes of perfect lighting.Several hours of a day gone for a handful of photographs. And, why, you ask?

Because I’m a photographer.

I find the sunrise to simply be an amazing experience, each and every day I am able to witness it. Most times I’m on a solo jaunt, but even with fellow photographers around, I just have an undisturbed, harmonious sense of calm. Just my camera and me in a state of catharsis. Almost a camaraderie between myself and our star. It is in this tranquility that I feel I work at my best to capture the beauty of the world around me. I strive to reproduce these feelings in the photographs I take in the places I visit.

An idea that which some readers may not find as much lunacy is my equal obsession with sunset. I find just as much beauty and amazement in it as I do sunrise, and the same aforementioned ideas above apply. Shooting the sunset is certainly a more common activity to most photographers, and it’s because of this that I try to provide a more unique view of our world.

Lately I have been utilizing and attempting to master the use of a fantastic tool called the 10-stop neutral density filter. Almost entirely opaque, the filter allows for extraordarily long exposures. During sunrise and sunset, this allows the camera to saturate the image with those few minutes of incredible light. It also provides an interesting effect on water, rendering lakes and rivers into virtual mirrors, and even the harshest waters into calm cascades of mist. Combined with a love of travel and seeing new places, to me, the recipe is a perfect storm of ingredients.

Now, what’s so crazy about that?

I’ll end this piece by thanking Brian Matiash for giving me the opportunity to participate in Alt Perspective and give some thoughts with everyone via his blog. Over the last year, Brian has joined me on many a pictorial voyage, and has inspired and encouraged me to be a better photographer every step of the way. His passion and talent is not rivaled by many, nor is his friendship. Thanks, Brian, and thank you, readers, for letting me share with you.