The group is back in action after a few weeks of holiday hiatus. This week's Keep It Light assignment was to take us all out of our portrait realms. I love shooting other things besides people but its obvious almost all of us in the group favor portraits. I decided to take a photo walk and instantly was drawn to this 1960's Comet.
Here is a photo for today on this lovely ending winter days of 2009. My lovely Katie sporting my Christmas gift to her haha her new haircut and color =)
Also a link to my buddys The Maldives featured on NPR Today with my photo. Thanks to Abbey and Ben for letting me know about this today. Nice seeing more of a candid preparation shot of them all posted instead of our Final Shot that was used on their album
Merry Christmas and all that good stuff!
Mine was nice..quiet, relaxing, nice to catch up with my brother who was in from LA and eating lots of good home cooked food.
Here is a picture of my funniest gift and nice crisp winter day portrait of Michael Lerner Of Telekenesis.
I volunteered to help Katie's Mom with a special Xmas gift for the residents of The Morrison. They offer apartments for around 200 chronically home-less people suffering to overcome addiction, mental disease and financial troubles keeping them on the streets. These people were so excited to have their portraits taken for Xmas gifts to their friends/family.
That first photo is Skip. Although he normally is extremely quiet and doesn't talk much with other residents/volunteers he was soo excited to talk shop about photography. He shot sports for a living years ago. We talked about lens's, films, strobes and everything else. He didnt want a Christmas tree portrait but offered to let me snap a few against this wall.
It felt great knowing how grateful these people were for such a simple Christmas photo. Looking forward to spending more time @ The Morrison and doing more photo projects with the residents.
Thanks to Nas for helping out and assisting all day!
A few of my favorites from the afternoon:
Got some 35mm film back with a bunch of random stuff on it from my Nikon FM.. Forgot how amazing this bathroom was in color. The black and whites fit the whole concept much better but this image is close to my heart as well.
Also-Wanted to post a lovely poster from my friend Naomi She is a 2nd quarter Graphic Design student at Seattle Central and has really been doing some great work, especially for so early in her program. This Lou Dorfsman poster captures the essence of the legendary CBS designers style and look while also implementing a touch of her own. Looking forward to seeing her progress and post more work.
I am still fascinated with shooting abandoned things of all types. This series from Brian Ulrich is top notch. I felt it was fitting for this month of "Necessary Shopping". These were a couple of my favorites. check the article HERE for more
I love top10 Lists! and I love Sound on the Sound. Abbey's introduction made me blush =) haha Im proud to live in a city full of so much talent. Check out the link for my annual top ten live music photos of the year from others.
Article HERE
Flickr came in handy for this list of my favorite live shots in 2009. I had a blast re-visiting my favs and picking out 10 for the list. Props to everyone! Drop them all a line or add them on Flickr
Thanks to Patrick For the badass 70-200 polaroid mugshot!
I've been so anxious/excited for this to come out and the day is finally here. My first assignment with VICE Magazine. In the January 2010 Fiction Issue. Got to shoot Whidbey Island Author Pete Dextor.
Feels amazing to get my work in a publication that has featured so many of my favorite photographers over the years. You can read the article ONLINE or attempt to pickup a copy around town before they quickly disappear as VICE often does.
Its been a great month of art shows and there is 3 more you really should attend if you find yourself in Seattle this month.
First and Foremost.. Shameless Self Plug. Come check out a few of my prints as well other amazing NW Talent Andrew Waits, Aya Sato, April Brimer & Christine Hahn @ The Winners Circle this coming thursday night. Holiday Party/Photos.. Not sure what everyones showing but 1 of my favs from each photographer:
KJ:
April Brimer:
Christine Hahn
Andrew Waits:
Aya Sato
2nd-My buddy Robin from Flexions is also a very talented artist aside from his music. His photographic prints from his most recent project: Trace. A photographic journey through the Ohio River Valley and Appalachians following early American westward migration routes." are currently on display at the Ursa Minor Pop Up Gallery @ 3308 E Spring St. Seattle, WA until January 5th.
Lastly, my friend Jay Clark whose opinion/art i respect so much is showing at Moksha this coming Friday Night. Definitely swing by and see some work from Jay. This guy is full of ideas and knowledge and puts much more real thought into a show than most people I know. No samples to show of what hes showing yet...
(Best Viewed Large)
This weeks Keep It Light Assignment was "Pick an Era.." I decided to combine my love of shooting fashion with my love of classic Furniture Design. The Chairs are 60's Herman Miller Eames Designs and the outfits were both 60's as well.
A serious thanks to all my friends that helped make this shot happen in the 6 days I had before wednesday nights group meetup. Osiris/Katie-Clothing Howard-Studio
Jenny-Filling in for the model who had to cancel (12 hours before the shoot) Jerry -Lighting Equipment
Stumbled across this series by French Designer/Photographer Duo HELMO. The Animal/Human portraits lit with various gel's and superimposed on each other are so impressive yet so simple. I really love these!
Took a nice hilly ride with my buddy Zach of ZLOG Blog yesterday on my day off. I love the feel of riding a bike on these crisp clear winter days. A few shots from the afternoon.
Our Group (Whose Blog is Finally UP) took a two week Break due to the TurkeyDay Holiday. Our two assignments were:
1. To choose a book you love and create an image out of a paragraph in the book. The book I chose was Always Running By Luis Rodriguez. It is the true account of a man who grew up in the latino gang life in Los Angeles during the 60's and 70's. He explains the book was made in hopes of making sure his own son never went that route. His son Ramiro did end up in the LA Gang Life and is currently serving a large prison sentence because of it. My portrait was supposed to be Ramiro, in a paragraph where Luis talks about how much pain and scars his son hides underneath his skin. He has finally reconciled with his son and they both have found a relationship after all this time.
2. The second part of our assignment was to step out of our "cool camera" comfort zone and use a disposable documenting our Thanksgiving. My camera was definitely hit or miss as I remember about disposables but I ended up getting a few images I really love. I de-saturated the bw images but the rest im posting are as is.
One of my favorite parts of this time of the year is thinking back on my favorite music memories. I'm going to do my year end wrap up of my Top 10 Albums as well as Live Music Photos by other photographers on my friends Sound on the Sound Blog. I figured I would post my own personal top ten live music shots on my own blog:
1. Girl Talk's set wrapping up the long weekend of amazing music and sunshine at Sasquatch Festival still is fresh in my mind. This photo is one of my favorite live music shots ive ever taken and such a good memory of 09. Plus it was one of the first times I shot any film at a concert
2. Its David Byrne..In a tutu.. Enough Said.. This man is a genius in all respects. It was really cool getting to shoot him live and an honor having his web people contact me about using the photos on his official website
3. My buddy's in MADRAD have been doing their thing for as long as i've known them. Its exciting seeing them getting a lot of attention this year.. Buffalo getting on top of this stage at Sasquatch was yet another reason why their live show is worth seeing.
4. Ahmir Thompson aka ?uestlove is my favorite member of The Roots. Dude can drum! He can DJ, write, photograph. A real inspiration for any creative person. This was the first time I got to shoot a Roots show after seeing over 6 strictly as a fan. I love how this shot of Ahmir came out
5. Spencer Moody's epic showing at Sasquatch Festival.. If you didn't hear about his rant/wild performance definitely google it haha
6. I have had the pleasure of meeting/shooting The Avett Brothers at KEXP this year but their recent show at the Paramount Theater was really memorable. The larger stage suited their energy and sound. They have some of the most loyal fans ive ever heard or seen at a show.
7. The Mighty Mos Def, up close and personal. Although I haven't been as into his musical projects as of late.. Hes a true performer and ill always love those first albums that really got me into hiphop.
8. The Flight of the Concords know how to perform music and be funny..simultaniously. I didn't expect to get to shoot this show, so it was a really pleasant surprise and a fun memory.
9. These Arms are Snakes headlined the John Spalding Benefit show at the ChaCha early on in 2009 (RIP John) The night was super fun and way more crazy than most shows have gone down in the chacha basement. I love that you cant see singer Steve's face in this shot
10. Damien Jurado's music can be hit or miss with me depending on my mood. Its defintily great when you need it and Its amazing to experience live. I think this photo really captured the mood of Damiens tunes. I also have had the pleasure of getting to know him better as a person and still owe him for this publicity stunt at our mutual friend/photographer Jenny Jimenez photo show
