The way I see things, There’s gonna be a whole lot of Reapin’.
Karma’s a Boomerang
Oh, How We’ve Grown
Back in May I purchased the Canon 15mm wide angle lens from B&H with the explicit intent to incorporate it into my concert photography. I opened the box and attached the lens to my Canon 7D with the same child like enthusiasm and glee a kid who’s just come downstairs to see all of his gifts spread in piles under the tree gets. I searched every nook and cranny of the apartment in search for that perfect exaggerated view point. I took a handful of shots, one of which was the newish piece of furniture I had gotten from Ikea. At the time I had just started collecting/purchasing records again. It had been ten years since I sold all of my vinyl and cassettes on Ebay to help pay for a trip to Japan. At the time, I can honestly say it was worth it. However, as the years passed I realized I had put a monetary value on something that was very valuable to me emotionally. So in May of 2011 with a living room and a second bedroom filled with CD’s I embarked on rebuilding my vinyl collection.
It started innocently enough with a 7 inch here and a garage sale LP there. But has suddenly turned into an animal all it’s own. Now, I’m not complaining. No, not in the least. I really cherish crate digging and hitting my favorite vinyl spots with friends. I’m not worried about space either. I’ve got plenty of cubicles to fill thanks to Ikea. I am however amazed at just how much I’ve amassed in a matter of six or seven months. I started this blog in part to chronicle my history and progress as a photographer and of course an individual. Though this might not exactly be considered progress, it sure as hell can be referred to as growth.
Maria Edible – A Beautiful Woman, Tattoos and Hot Dogs.
Here’s a clip from a recent episode of N.Y. Ink which features the beautiful Maria Edible. Maria and I have worked together in the past and I give her total credit for helping take my work to the next level. When I originally worked with her I was still doing straight up portraits. She gave me the kick in the pants I needed to take my work out of the comfort zone I had kept my work in. Her beauty and personalty speak for themselves in this video and our work together. A model, competitive eater and all around bad ass. Check it out.
“How Do You Measure Success?”
Earlier this evening I was interviewed for a project a friend of mine is working on. As her small crew (two people) went about setting up and making me feel beautiful I had a pretty good idea of the line of questioning I was in for. The interview went pretty much as planned. Being that I was being interviewed by someone who looked as nervous as I felt relaxed me a bit and made me feel a lot less self conscious. Then came the question that just took the train right off the tracks, “How Do You Measure Success?”. I sat there, reaching deep, like the scene in “A Bronx Tale” where Calogero is in the back seat of a stolen car with his friends and a case full of Molotov cocktails, “Someone was pulling the chain and I was going down the toilet.” Okay, so it wasn’t that bad but it was a question I felt needed the right answer. I stumbled and staggered for a moment before pulling myself from the abyss before referencing Henry Rollins and Ian McKaye as two individuals who became great successes both creatively and monetarily on their own terms.
In retrospect it was the easy answer. As I look back on my life I’ve had my share of successes and failures. I’ve cheated death a few times and fought back from what I was told to believe were insurmountable. Growing up I was taught to believe that success was gained by money and fame. It was a road I never really traveled. Regardless, I feel that I’ve experienced plenty of success in my life. Part of that success comes from the fact that I love what I do. I love the people in my life. Both inspire, energize and influence the feeling that I did something right with my life and I treated people as I wanted to be treated. I’m living life on my own terms. Booyah!!!
New Photo Background and Tasty Vinyl
Wednesday afternoon I headed to Calumet over on 22nd Street to pick up a few extras for the studio. I’ve been looking into getting a new muslin ever since my cat threw up on the rather large white one I had for so long. Although I’ve been using seemless for the most part. I like to mix it up from time to time. Seemless backgrounds are great but getting a couple of nine footers on the train back to Hoboken can be a bit of a haul. I picked up a nice black one that just happened to be on sale. I like the fact that I can take them down easily, roll them in a ball and toss them in the washer when needed. Once I started to use the black consistently in my shoots I didn’t want to shoot any other color again. The black adds a certain drama to B&W photos while adding pop to color. How can you go wrong. I learned early about placing the lights and the model a bit further from it to avoid weird circles and flare ups in the background. Once I got past that it was all gravy. Here’s a picture I took with my new copy of the New Breed compilation. The Wild Style version is a limited pressing of 200 and I was lucky and grateful to get 1/200. The compilation was originally released as a tape comp. in 1989. It featured the absolute best NYHC bands of the time. It’s just be reissued for the first time on vinyl through Freddy Alva’s Wardance Records.
Bring Your Friend Along
Every now and then I work with someone who wants to bring along a friend or chaperone to make them feel safer and give them more of sense of security. I honestly don’t prefer it, you know what they say,”Three’s a crowd”. Third parties can get in the way and become a distraction at times but for the most part, my experience has been pretty damn good. I’ve had friends and even boyfriends that helped the model to let down her hair a bit or just lighten up the mood by making her laugh and feel less conscious. While at other times, just plain joined in the fun.
On this particular occasion my communication with the model I had wasn’t very good. I don’t recall what it was in particular but things just weren’t clicking as I had planned. At one time I photographed them together perhaps put the model at ease. The addition helped a lot as the strong friendship provided the chemistry I was unable to. As the shoot came to a close I pulled aside the second girl and managed to take a few solo shots. Her eyes, lips and attentive look were incredibly sexy.
Weeks later we talked about working with one another but before we were able to schedule anything concrete she had moved to South America. Though disappointed I feel rewarded that I was able to get handful of shots.
The Cookies Stay in the Jar.
I had already photographed Jay on several occasions and had developed a very good working relationship with her. I was really just starting out on my own at the time and only had only shot a handful myself. Gingerly, I asked her if she would have any interest in working with me on this new venture. With a confidence I had rarely seen before she reared back and like a general
about to lead the troops in to battle she crowed, “The cookies stay in the jar”. It was an answer that not only made me laugh uncontrollably but eased the anxiousness I would have otherwise felt do to both the nature of the question and the rejection that followed. Even now, a few years later, I have to laugh whenever that innocent exchange comes to mind.
I’ve photographed
a lot of cookies since then. Some small, some large, all beautiful in their own size, shape and form. I’ve grown more comfortable lighting and photographing the nude. I don’t think I ever saw it as something dirty. A woman’s body is the most beautiful thing there is. However, the perception and how it’s looked at by outsiders could use a little more maturity. All you dirty son’s a bitches on Flickr should take note.
Writers Block And Cracked Eggs
Tonight, just like every other night, the moment I sat down to write, my wife started her nightly ritual of calling out my name from the other room. This ritual is part comedy, part tragedy. We could sit in the same room for hours without her saying a word to me but the moment I sit down to write or work on photos the cat calls start. I could swear to the heavens that she has a special listening device that knows the moment my ass hits the seat. The calls are rather urgent, kind of like the scream who just walked into the room to find the dead, bloated body of a stranger lying on the bathroom floor. It’s jarring to say the very least. An hour later, my nerves are frayed and I’ve all but given up being able to write anything. Tonight it was the news. Something about American Idol and Steven Tyler having Jennifer Lopez’s ass surgically fitted to where his face used to sit. Then there was her dropping a hard boiled egg. That was a real emergency. What a cleanup that was. I hope the Fire Department didn’t mind bringing the Jaws of Life up three flights of stairs to free the poor thing from it’s cracked shell. So I’ve given up. I was planning on writing that Pulitzer Prize winning article on picking up hot chicks and having them pose nude for you but, I guess that will have to wait. She’s singing now so I’m just going to post this and say goodnight.
I Really Hate The Doors But…
A couple of years back I wrote this article “Why We Hate You” A record store clerk speaks out. Having been on both sides of the counter I thought it would make for an interesting piece. What turns most record store clerks into snobs or in some cases, complete assholes. (Being that “I too” may have been considered a snob or complete asshole at one time or another excludes me from being insulting here.) All in all it was pretty tongue in cheek but my interviewee brought up some interesting points.
One thing I found particularly funny was his opinion that Doors fans were basically a bunch of knobs. It was something that really made me think. As a kid (I’m talking 5th or 6th grade here) I loved The Doors. It was part of the Classic Rock catalog. How could I shit on The Doors. However, as I got older (8th grade older) and left the limited focus and small minded restraints of FM radio and the “Classic Rock formula. Thus bringing me to the conclusion that I “hate the fucking Doors”. Fast forward a couple of decades and a few extra pounds and I come across this incredibly creative stairway to heaven…… um, I mean staircase to second floor of Lower East Side tenement building. I had to stop and take a picture. It made me think that something good actually came out of that drunken buffoon Jim Morrison.
Adding Color to my Concert Photos
I’ve shot countless shows for various media outlets over the years. I absolutely love being in front of the stage trying to capture that note, emotion or moment. As in my studio work I almost exclusively shoot B&W. It’s my personal choice. Working in that trade I’ve tried to learn from the best while applying my own style. I am constantly checking in on work on various websites and music media outlets. I have to shake my head when I see a lot of the work that’s published and considered professional. I’ve seen more than my share of burnt out, unfocused, blurry and over exposed images. Most of which are in the form of color. I never want to disrespect any one’s work or approach and I fully understand the challenge of working with certain lighting issues including “No Flash” policies. A lot of what I’ve seen has scared me away from shooting color at shows.
Well, I’ve grown some cojones along the way and forced my self to see what I was missing. I’ve incorporated color into my show images and though I’ve found some challenges along the way, there was nothing that a little adjusting of the flash, your vantage point or a little post production won’t cure. “Watch out for those hot spots.” I still scratch my head when I see these images and wonder, sometimes aloud, how this is accepted and why an editor would even approve it for copy. That instruction book that came with your camera goes a long way when learning your cameras functions.
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