Best of Boston Home 2011

Sometimes photo shoots are really easy to come by. An editor calls you and says "Hey Dan, there's this great story about kayaking in your pajamas, it's the newest craze. Can you shoot it?" and I say "Sure, sounds fun, I've never gone kayaking in my pajamas." The photos are then submitted, and then I see them 6 months later in a magazine.

But sometimes you really have to work at a story. You see something really amazing, and you don't know when, or where or who is gonna publish it, but you just KNOW that if you take the time to shoot it, it will get published.

I first saw the home of Randall Darwall and Brian Murphy a few years back when I was photographing them for an article about their woven textiles and "wearable art" fashions. When they invited  me in for a cup of coffee (which was the first of many cups in our friendship over the years), I got the grand tour. Through their extensive travels and visits to art colony's and craft shows, they had amassed one of the most interesting and eclectic collections of "stuff" I had ever seen under one roof. I knew it was magazine worthy.

I took some scouting shots, to get the ball rolling. But I knew I needed more if I wanted to submit it to a magazine. After bugging myself for a year (A YEAR!!) I finally scheduled a day to photograph the house, on spec. With a busy summer schedule on Cape Cod, it's a leap of faith to commit to a project, and hire an assistant, when you might never get paid for it.

It also takes trust on the homeowners part, when you call and say, "Can I come and invade your home for ten hours, move around all your furniture, and make a general mess of your valuable art. But I promise I'll put everything back." Then they say, "Great! Is it going to be in a magaizine!?" And then you come back with the confidence inspiring response of "Maybe. I mean, not right now...but someday. We'll try our best!!"

After exploring many avenues to get the piece published, a friend of mine, writer Jaci Conry was interested. She showed the images to Boston Home, and they too were interested. However yet another final photo shoot was needed. So about three years after my initial scouting of the house, I'm pleased to say that it appears in the newest issue of Boston Magazine's Home edition. As you can see, they even used one of the images for the table of contents page. I'm glad they chose that photo. It rewards the quest for perfection of myself and Bryce (photo-assistant extraordinaire), since we spent about 20 minutes adjusting the positioning on those dice, which were on the bedroom mantle, but were transferred to the dining room to be included in the photo festivities. So in this crazy world of instantly being able to publish anything you want (like this blog), sometimes, good things come to those who wait. Here is a slideshow of some of the detail photos in all of their un-cropped glory.

Cutrona Studios

It has been far too long since I updated my blog. Frankly I've been a LITTLE busy. As of May 21st we opened our doors to the public with a new space in the Mashpee Commons: Cutrona Studios. Here we have a gallery, a lush lounge area, an infinity wall for shooting, and an office. We are seriously thrilled with it so far. Pictures and more news to come. SO MUCH TO BLOG ABOUT! STAY TUNED!

The Decisive Moment

Pretty much every photographer worth his salt, sites Henri Cartier-Bresson as an influence. He coined the term "The Decisive Moment", and it stuck. The decisive moment can be anything from a tender caress, a change in light, or a straight up action shot. Even in the world of 8 shot per second digital cameras with 16 Gigabyte memory cards, it still feels good when you hit that "Decisive Moment."You don't have to be a cool French photographer from the 1940's to photograph them either. There are decisive moments happening all around you. Just reach out with your camera and grab one. (Cue the inspirational theme music)

I have a new website! www.DanCutronaHomes.com

There is so much to look at and read on this grand interweb that we surf (The phrase to "surf online" is about as 2003 as writing a blog)
Since there is so much already out there, I decided to add to it.
Without any further ado, I would like to introduce:

www.DanCutronaHomes.com

This web-site is dedicated specifically to my interior and architectural photography.
Easy. Straight to the point. No pictures of models lying in tennis balls. Just Interiors, and Exteriors.

Cape Cod Characters

An Indian Chief, a ship captain and a gallery owner walk into a bar....

Is this the start of a REALLY bad joke, or is it a Saturday night in Hyannis? Only on Cape Cod could this be a viable possibility.
From an outsiders point of view, Cape Cod has a "hoitey-toitey" reputation that can be attributed to its fair share of Sperry Topsider and over-the-shoulder-sweater clad men and women that can be seen on any given Main St.. However, contrary to popular belief, "Hyannisport is a ghetto," (to quote Vampire Weekend, even though it is not really true) and there is a LOT more diversity to the people of Cape Cod than their preppy reputation that precedes them.
This fact is pretty clear in the portraits I shot for the latest issue of Cape Cod Life. For each town that is highlighted in the Annual Guide, a person was chosen to represent that town. It was so much fun to spend time with each and every one of these people. Being in the captains quarters on the Hy-Line fast ferry with Captain John Lynch felt like we were going 100mph. Listening to all of Chief Earl Mills' stories of Mashpee, you'd think he was 300 years old with the amount of "life" he has packed into his life. It was truly a privilege for these people to let me in, so I could come away with some photos that I hope represent them well. Here is a slideshow of the people with a few extra pictures that were not included in the magazine. Be sure to check out the magazine so you can read Jeff Harder's fantastic interviews as well.

BOURNE- Captain John Lynch, Hy-Line

SANDWICH- Barbara Gill Town Archivist

FALMOUTH- Eric Turkington- Former State Rep

MASHPEE- Chief Earl Mills, Wampanoag Chief

BARNSTABLE- Bob DeGrace, Hyannisport Native

YARMOUTH- Caroline Ellis, Artist

DENNIS- Paul Endres, owner of Sundae School

BREWSTER- Charlottw Fyfe, Candleberry Inn owner

HARWICH- Gregg Winston, Winstead Inn

CHATHAM- Ben Godspeed, former selectman

ORLEANS- Bill Quinn, photographer and author

EASTHAM- "Nick" Nickerson, owner of Arnold's

WELLFLEET- Mac Hay, Mac's seafood owner

TRURO- George and Janet Mooney, lifelong farmer

PROVINCETOWN- Berta Walker, gallery owner

MARTHA"S VINEYARD- Kenneth Vincent, artist

NANTUCKET- Joan Bunting, Nantucket Island Tours

Why Doesn't MY house look like that?

When people look at home magazines, they always say, "Wow, my house doesn't look like THAT!"

Coming from the production side of these magazines, I have a secret to reveal to you. Are you ready? Lean in a little closer, I'll whisper it so none of my editors can hear: NO ONES house looks like that!

When we walk in to a house to photograph it, we can tell immediately what needs to be taken out. Lets think about your kitchen counter for example. Bread box, dish rack, dish soap, ugly toaster, toaster oven, coffee mugs, Mr. Coffee coffee maker: GONE. What about the bedroom? Alarm clock, box of tissues, old magazines: GONE. The list goes on and on. Often when we are shooting, there is an entire stockpile of items that we have pulled out of the shot, and when the home owner walks in they wonder, "Why doesn't my house always look like this?" Adding to the removal of unwanted items is the beauty of working with a stylist. They arrive at the photo shoot with an SUV chock full of perfect little red pillows, Simon Pearce vases, antique bowling pins, fresh flowers, red peppers, green apples, and the obligatory lemons and limes. (If you look at kitchen photographs closely, you would think that the only thing rich people eat are green apples and limes) Check out the photos that I took in the recent issue of Home Remodeling. The styling was done by Bernadette Pothier, and it was fantastic. The home which was built by Chris Childs and the team at Patriot Builders was newly remodeled, and the homeowner hadn't quite finished furnishing it. For the cover shoot, the homeowner did not own anything blue that was in the picture, which ended up being the color theme for the cover. It is amazing what a few bold accessories can do. Aside form hiring a professional stylist, the moral of the story is, if you are looking to make your home look like it is straight out of a magazine, don't look for what you can add, look for what you can take out! And a well placed bowl of limes in your kitchen can't hurt.

 

 

Jacob and Katie in Corvallis!

My wife and I just flew out to Corvallis, Oregon to photograph Jacob and Katie's wedding. Here is the slideshow that played at the reception from earlier in the day. Congratulations guys!