Style Art Life

Two Harvard business grads (Beri Meric & Philipp Triebel) came up with a more interesting way to date. IvyDate is making a lifestyle out of  dating by cross-breeding the online date scene with glamorous events to bring dynamic singles together. A step above Match.com, it’s a members only dating network bringing together the cream-of-the-crop in Ivy League graduates, ambitious entrepreneurs, interesting artists, doctors and individuals of the academic profession. The vision is geared towards individuals too busy with their career to meet people of a similar dynamic outlook.

As the official photographer for the first of IvyDate’s Summer Series social-mixer thrown at the Hudson Hotel Library & Sky Terrace, I got to witness first hand the great turnout of individuals. In conjunction with their online social-dating website, IvyDate will be throwing a series of mixers (by invite only) throughout posh locations of Manhattan to bring all the dynamic singles into one place.

IvyDate is a great concept for the growing majority of career focus singles who want to meet other great singles without having to sacrifice their career to do so…in fact, the concept could possible enhance their career through the networks of individual one gets to meet in one place!

Pictured above are the masterminds behind the Ivy League level dating network of IvyDate. They focused on making the event high-end providing a great band for the right ambiance and energy, and later brought in a DJ to spin into the late night. It was an honor to be considered amongst the vendor of quality as they chose me for my style of photojournalism and editorial appeal verses a typical event-photographer.

Scroll through the slide show at the beginning of this post to view all the singles of this brilliant event. If you’re single and are interested in the next social event, you can go directly to the www.IvyDate.com to join. Or follow me on Facebook to stay posted on the next IvyDate event for this Summer.

I had the honor of photographing an interview with a high-profile athlete…if you follow the NBA or are a sports fan in general, there’s no mistaking who Carmelo Anthony is. Thanks to SportsGirl and her sports news website, a fashion person like myself actually had a clue whose presence I was in that day. Just a simple web search alone will paint a picture of all that Carmelo has accomplished at such a young age, which includes leading the USA Olympic team to a Gold Medal in the 2008 games.

The NY Knicks made a big investment this Spring to bring a superstar like Carmelo to infuse new energy and hope back into the New York basketball scene. Being more of a life & style photography site, I’ll leave the real sports info to a friend and fellow blogger, Heather Brooks over at www.ilovesportsgirl.com who did an interview with Carmelo at Milk Studios.

Below are images from the interview & behind the scenes:

Carmelo off the courts is also quite the impressive gentleman.  In addition to possessing superstar status and good looks, he is articulate, engaging, completely down to earth and drew us in to his “melo” energy.  He dedicates a large part of himself to various charities which speaks volume of who he is as a person.

From talking to his rep for Johnson Products Company, maker of Ultra Sheen Men’s hair care line, which is Carmelo’s preferred product choice, he also takes his personal fashion style seriously. Being 6’8″, he has no choice but to get most of his clothes custom-made. Hey Carmelo, if you’re reading this (or if you help dress Carmelo), consider  Stephen Seo, master in bespoke suits of the Savile Row league who also does suits for Entourage.

From talking to the Creative Director of Johnson Products (different from Johnson&Johnson and SC Johnson), I learned what an inspiration this company truly is and how it deserves a lot of credit for the way the firm operates. They were the first African-American based company to be listed on the NY Stock Exchange. Even more interesting is that this was the company which kept Soul Train alive, at one point, becoming the sole sponsor of the telecast before the show gained recognition and eventually gained additional sponsors. Without the backing of the Johnson Products Company, we all would have missed out on secretly copying a few soul train moves in our living room while growing up…or was that just me…