My father once said that a swirl of hair on a baby’s crown meant the baby would be intelligent...

A few shots while driving home from DC at 65 mph after dark. The grain is strong, but the pictures have a kind of filmic, Ed Ruscha feel.

Any lens can do this, but these were taken with the new, creamy Nikkor 50f1.4G with 9-blade aperture.

Max on my iPhone, seen through a glass of water.

More on the way from our photoshoot to mark Max’s 12th week on earth.

I really love the fall colors under the street lights!

The nominees took some time out from their busy campaigns to stroll with the crowds in the Park Slope halloween parade.

Meet Joe, the Peeler. Joe Ades is his name and he’s as charming a salesman as you’ll ever meet. I’ve seen the sartorially splendid guy a lot throughout the years, but like most characters on the city streets, you don’t see them for awhile, you start to get worried. But there he was the other day shaving carrots and working the crowd. For more info, read the Vanity Fair profile from two years back.

I had the honor of shooting some of Alex Katz’s work for an exhibition catalog. While I was there, the artist let me snap a few shots of him working in his studio. It was quite a thrill watching him make his iconic, colorful work.

More pix of Max here.

The first intentional smile is supposed to make its appearance at around 4 weeks. In my book, Max’s expression counts as a subtle smile.

The view of the lights from Flatbush and Bergen, a very similar view I had of the towers when I left for a photoshoot and the first plane had just hit the north tower...

Screwing around with fingers and lights...

We gave our little Yoda a chance to get aclimated in the car seat and he quickly fell asleep.

All ready to go to the pediatrician. The appointment went well.

After the baby’s born, the mother delivers the placenta. Often the butt of many gross jokes, the placenta is actually an amazing part of prenatal life. It forms the barrier between the mother and baby and allows nutrients to pass to the baby via the umbilical cord. In some cultures, the parents eat the placenta, aka placentophagy, after the baby’s born. We did not do that. We are freezing it, to either pulverize at some later date for medicine for Max (need to research this further), or to plant with a new tree somewhere outside of NYC. I guess my fascination with this organ comes from my father who probably would have loved these photographs. For placenta eating tips, go here, or for recipes check here.

The baby’s side, above, with the umbilical cord.

The mother’s side, which is attached to the uterus.

Above, detail where the umbilical cord begins.

Closeup of the umbilical cord, which I cut about forty-five minutes after Max was born. Shortly after that the placenta was delivered and put into a round Chinese food takeout container which we kept in the refrigerator until I took these pictures.

His was a water birth, at home in Brooklyn. Born auspiciously on 8-22-8 at 3:33pm. We’re still debating his name. Stay tuned for many more pictures...

Two days past due...

A perfect night of good vibes at Prospect Park with an African Guitar Music festival, barbecued chicken, and a rainbow...

A night of rain, thunder, and lightning...

An extra while finishing up at Alex Katz’s studio...

Led by the seller to a discreet doorway where DVDs, CK1, and Louis Vuitton knockoffs await...

I can't get enough of the skyless grids of downtown skyscrapers. I like the compression of space, the flattening of textures. The landscape becomes a carpet.