Hellafied Gangsta Lean

Thu, 22 Apr 2004 01:53:20 GMT

Update on the Ofoto situation:

Apparently their automated system detected the copywrite I placed in the exif info for each of my files and caused their system to reject the "copywrited" work, even though it was my own. I had to fax over a form that required my signature to verify the images were my own.. no more (c)s in the exif from now on..

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 14:14:57 GMT

Ofoto has pissed me off. I get this e-mail today:

Dear Ofoto member:

Your order has been cancelled and will not be processed because it
appears to contain copyright-protected images.

The original photographer owns the copyright in any photograph, unless
the photographer has licensed or sold those rights. The copyright owner
of a photograph is entitled to control the making of any copies of the
applicable image.

What? I can't submit studio-quality work that's less than 48 hours old and get it printed? This is going to slow me down. I promised the bride she'd get her prints by the end of the week...

Mon, 19 Apr 2004 06:47:33 GMT

heh.. I get an e-mail tonight from a prominent local photographer (after I e-mailed him some jpegs of my work tonight), and he tells me he wants me working "under his umbrella".. wonder what that's all about. I do know that I'm going to make a few hundred this weekend working as his candidman at a wedding he's shooting. I do believe I might be able to make it in this business if I can hustle a bit more.

I already know how I want my studio laid out.. lot's of black of course, with some weird postmodern decor and some abstract crap lyring around.. with a Bose sound system throughout because I have to have the music.. I figure by then I'll have a dog or something, so it has to be pet-friendly. lol..

Mon, 19 Apr 2004 04:57:44 GMT

A full-length from this afternoon's shoot. I took a lot that looked similar to this. I have lost more sleep over this assignment than any of them for some reason. I used two lights. If I could have used more, I would have. I admit, I would have liked to get the bride farther away from the background, but the studio up there is too shallow. I had a 400 ws Novatron with a softbox for the main light, then a Novatron with a snoot to kick light into the veil. I used a large reflector for fill. I'm going to need to do some PS work to make it look a little crisper, but I like how it turned out.

Photographed a wedding Saturday: I learned several important lessons.

One, have an extra battery.. this should go without saying, but I had to resort to my EOS 1n film camera at the very end because the 10D battery blew out after 3 continuous hours and more than 200 shots.

Two, be ready to run. After the bride and groom kissed, I figured I would have time to get back to the end of the aisle to get them leaving. They bolted and I was forced to sprint through a wooded area to catch up. I nailed the shot, but just barely.

Three, screw the posed stereotypical crap. I got some shots with genuine emotion by just observing and using photojournalistic instincts.

Four, make sure to get the post-ceremony group shots immediatly. Too many groomsmen went off and got crunk right afterwards and I had a hell of a time rounding them up.

Five. Charge more.

Mon, 19 Apr 2004 03:53:27 GMT

Felicia and Cortney. I photographed the bride-to-be this weekend. Cortney is her friend.. she was helping frou her dress and do her makeup and stuff during the shoot. She seemed really familiar.. then I realized that Cortney and I went through the senior practicum in journalism at USC back in 1996. It was a really close knit group.. about 12 of us I would say.. and we produced a newspaper every week. Cortney turned me on to bands like Fugazi, Tricky, the Smiths, etc. Hehe.. I recall a group of us got high as hell on some cheap grass one night in the Village Idiot and she drove me back to campus. Forgot about that. Damn I'm old.

Sun, 11 Apr 2004 04:28:49 GMT

Christy and Steve....

Fri, 09 Apr 2004 08:41:59 GMT

Good lord. I've never seen so much fabric.. the Civichrome 10' x 16' hand-painted muslin came in today. I was worried it wasn't going to be big enough.. yeah it's big all right. I can't even unfurl it in my apartment. This piece is definitely meant to be setup in a studio and stay there.

The muslin is a bit of a work of art in itself. It's colored "Moorland Green" and it fades to black on the corners and edges to create a nice "old masters" effect. The portion that lies on the ground is a dark grey/black. It's more like a canvas because it's so heavy. I wasn't initially sure about the green, but I like it. It's rich and earthy. I think it's going to be perfect for the bridal portraits.

I picked this one up over at http://www.amvona.com and I will probably be using them again for other supplies if the business takes off. Highly recommended.

Thu, 08 Apr 2004 23:26:58 GMT

I had to turn down a request to shoot a wedding the other day because it conflicted with one I had already promised to shoot. I can't believe all this business. My Civichrome backdrop rolled in today also, but it's so large I need a small warehouse to set it up in.

I just about fell out this morning as I watched the Condoleezza Rice testimony.. some photographer in the media circle was lugging around a Speed Graphic 4x5 camera.. and using it! That's what I need to start using around here. heheh..

Mike went to the Masters today and apparently he ran into Jesus.. well rather, Jim Caviezel, in the throng. ahah.. he said asked him "Whuddup?"

Tue, 06 Apr 2004 22:52:30 GMT

I've never ever wanted to be a wedding photographer, yet it seems like I'm becoming one without even trying. So far, in just the last month, I have been hired for four weddings.. one at the end of April, one at the end of May, one in July and one in October.. possibly more.

I'm also scheduled to shoot an engagement photo on Saturday, have a sitting with a bride the next weekend, take a one year anniversary photo for a co-worker and just this past weekend, I photographed a mother and child.

All of this business is from word of mouth. I sought none of it .. and there's liable to be more on the way. I know I'm not charging enough for any of it, but the day will come when I will.

I really want to get some strobes.. like some Novatrons and some backdrop stands to hold the small collection of muslins I'm accumulating. This is all very exciting I think. heheh

I spent 1.5 hours today talking with a 92-year-old portrait photographer here in town. His portraits are exquisite.. no one else around here can get the tones and look that he can. 92!!! I can't believe it. He should be famous, but he isn't. Back in the day, he did black and white and his business partner -- his wife -- hand-painted them.

He slowly relinquished some of his secrets. I saw his studio and it was much smaller than I envisioned. All his stuff was old.. lights from the 60s and 70s.. a backdrop that was made on demand by a local painter. Pretty low budget really. But damn.. the results..

I was an hour late to work listening to this guy. He wanted to talk about digital cameras more than anything else. heheh

Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:21:41 GMT

Wedding photography.. it's not an art, it's a craft.. I know this isn't eveyone's cup of tea -- it's certainly not mine -- but I have car payments...

Shot these on Sunday.

Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:17:06 GMT

To the hairy ogre-like rednecks who defiled my tennis game this weekend:

Thank you so much for invading my court wearing cut-off camos, steel-toed work boots and budweiser tees.. thank you for mentioning your farmer's tan and the fact that you needed to take your shirt off to impress your britney wannabee girlfriends. Thanks for taking off said shirt and forcing me look at your slimy, ape-like 300 lb bodies in the 80 degree heat as you played a choppy doubles contest. I think I have been scarred for life.

To my tennis partner:

I'm sorry I hit you in the groin with an 80 mph serve. Despite what you think, I didn't mean to. Even though you probably deserved it. lol...

Wed, 24 Mar 2004 03:28:15 GMT

Work has had me out taking a few photos last week and today.

14-year-old jockey.. raced at a local event and killed the competition:

AP All-American dude... more sports.. blah

And another of the same guy..

Wed, 24 Mar 2004 03:20:52 GMT

N*E*R*D - "Fly Or Die" came out Tuesday and that was pretty much the highlight of my day, aside from being called "Big Pimpin'" by one of the ladies that works in the Highway 601 Subway.

I've been waiting on this record for about a year and a half, so when it went on sale on iTunes early this morning, I forked over the cash and downloaded it.

It's pretty good. Not great.. kind of mid-range.. none of the raunch that made "In Search Of" really good.. there are no songs like "Lapdance", "Tape You," etc.. Unfortunately, It's not as far off the chain as Andre 3000's "The Love Below".

Still, it's growing on me. The best songs are either the slow ones or the grinding tribal ones. "Wonderful Place" maps out some "Andy Griffith Show" meets A.M. Gold territory that somehow works. I think it's my favorite song on here.

Some other highlights:

"She Wants to Move" is the current single and it gets better with repeated listens. I just noticed the great bassline on it.

"Fly or Die": Great retro feel. Good synthesizers. Curtis Mayfield meets the Police.. or something like that.

"Jump": I should be annoyed by this song and its mindless chorus, but the synths and counterpoint vocals somehow save it.

"Backseat Love": Has it's moments, but I'll probably be skipping it more often than not. For a better song related to this topic, see R. Kelly's "Ignition". And I can't believe I just referenced R. Kelly.

"Breakout": Nice mellow groove. I like this a lot. Chorus *sigh* needs some work.

"Drill Sergeant": This is actually a two part song, the first of which is really good and driving, but yet happy. The second part never gains focus and falls flat.

"Thrasher": Chaotic and lacks focus.

"Maybe": so-so.. chorus reminds me of "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Overall, not a bad tune.

"The Way She Dances": Great. Reminds me of some one-hit-wonder from the 80s.

"Chariot of Fire": meh.. plodding..

What I miss most are the hot beats.. I like hot beats.. Despite the fact that NERD are the Neptunes.. and that the Neptunes make some of the hottest beats in the biz.. it's hard to believe there are no hot beats on this record.

If anyone else has heard this record, I'd love to know what you think about it.

Tue, 16 Mar 2004 03:36:48 GMT

ahhgggg!! I found a gray hair. A co-worker pointed it out. I plucked it out and it wasn't just gray, it was shiny silver.. as if I had just plucked a filament of metal from my head.. and there are more. damn..

Mon, 15 Mar 2004 07:25:29 GMT

So I played tennis for four hours straight today. It took a match that long to get my head back into the game. I swear I lost at least several pounds out there just from sweating. That's good. Best of all, I felt completely at peace with myself afterwards. I felt like I had just taken a drug or something to make me happy.

Of course, it's the science behind it.. 10 minutes into vigorous exercise, the pituitary gland releases endorphins.. I can feel them kicking in. It's amazing. I typically get winded in the first 10 minutes, especially if I haven't played in a while, then all of a sudden, I get this huge rush of energy. I start bouncing up and down to build up the energy and focus. Then I start hitting good shots.

It's great when I start incorporating the grunt into each shot and some sort of testosterone aggression kicks in and the game starts bordering on violence. I actually try to hit the other person with the ball and I'm pounding it as hard as I can, screaming. I don't even think about it. It's just something that turns on by itself. I love it. Then I start getting that vascularity, where veins start popping out of my arms.. and it's really cool.

Now that the endorphins have worn off, I feel like I have been bludgeoned.. my right foot is turning blue and my racquet arm is twitching.. I probably got a little sunburned too.. oh well.

Sat, 13 Mar 2004 08:18:32 GMT

And now for something completely different... (assumes cocky intramural frat boy voice) SPORTS DUDE!!

I was assigned to shoot the state high school championship games on Saturday at the Colonial Center, when I would have rather been kicking it in Columbia with Jenny.

I hate this type of stuff, but it's good that I can do it I suppose. It was kind of fun. Mike and I headed up there listening to Chronic 2001.. Clipse.. and some other militant stuff, Dead Prez I think.. to get the mood going. I even got a chance to use my 6-foot height to an advantage when I bitchslapped (figuratively of course) the shooter from the rival State newspaper and got this shot of "Mr. S.C. Basketball" himself:

Nice moment here after Calhoun clinched the championship...

Making it look easy...

Sat, 13 Mar 2004 07:45:17 GMT

the constant purveyor of pessimism..

Sat, 13 Mar 2004 07:11:38 GMT

BOO! (part 2, but not as scary as part 1)

Obvisously I used a little photoshop here (hey, it's a boring Friday night.. I leave work ready to shoot up the town and nothing's going on and no one is around to hang out... I was bored and I decided to play dress up).. because in reality I'm fairly pasty and I have bad skin.

Take a look at the before and after 100 percent crops if you dare...

Here's the "before"....

And the "after"....

And.. the full original file.. yes that is a shower curtain behind me.. I was standing in the bathroom...

I'm all hopped up on Tazo organic chai.. now it's time to watch some CourtTV...

Sat, 13 Mar 2004 05:19:27 GMT

She'll get mad if she sees this but....

hehehe.. taking pictures was so much more fun when I didn't know what I was doing.. when seeing the film come out of the canister with images on it.. when there was still some degree of chance behind technique and exposure.. now it's too predictable.. I love digital, but there's still something about the look of film..

This image was.. hrmm.. damn.. about April 1997 I think.

Wed, 03 Mar 2004 07:31:45 GMT

Boo!

Tue, 02 Mar 2004 21:34:39 GMT

lol.. I found out what professor's assistants really do today:

I had been working for about 10 minutes when...

Him: "Where are you parked?"

Me: "Out back."

Him: "Do you think you could go down to Starbuck's and get some coffee for me?"

Me: "Sure"

Then he hands me two Starbucks credit cards..

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 06:32:05 GMT

I'm going old school with my audio system. Went over to my mom's tonight and we got to talking about music, so I dusted off her collection of vinyl. I ganked her turntable and selected some records, including some old funky shyt like her Commodores records.. Donna Summer, The Tavares, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, The Hues Corporation, and The Sylvers.. and I got back my old Thelonius Monk records that I left over there years ago.

Came home and hooked up the turntable to my digital audio receiver and got this horrible hum through all the speakers.. tried grounding the table, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Then I discovered the back of the receiver has a nifty little thumbscrew for hooking up ground wires. That killed the hum, but I noticed the gain from the turntable was really low.. I had to crank the system up to 50 before I heard any sound, and then all the lows and highs sounded muted. At that volume, the windows should have been blown out of the place. Pulled out the manual for the receiver.. alas.. the phono inputs don't have a built-in preamp.. might have to hit Radio Shack in the morning.

The most surreal moment of the weekend happened at a house party in Hotlumbia. It just doesn't seem quite right to hear a chorus of inebriated female partygoers singing the chorus to Little Jon and the Eastside Boys' "crunk" anthem "Get Low".... the line goes something like "'till the sweat drops down my balls (my balls)".. I heard little squealy party girls shouting this refrain.. it's just not right... to hear girls or guys singing about sweat dropping down their balls. gross..

Sat, 21 Feb 2004 03:25:11 GMT

Telefon Tel Aviv.. their new album, "Map of What's Effortless" is probably the best iTunes purchase I have made to date. I wish I could describe their style, but I really can't. It's electronic/IDM.. yes.. but it has some hip-hop/R&B beats over stark electronic soundscapes.. some of their songs are -- I can't describe it in any other way -- very glitchy sentimental slow jams.. In fact, I might even be able to play this while getting my groove on and not get laughed out of the bedroom, like playing the Isley Brothers usually does. lol...

I'm also pretty happy with the Kelis "Tasty" album. I got that one on iTunes also. The intro makes me fall out every time I hear it. I'm kind of digging the retro vibe on a couple of her songs. The Neptunes' production is crisp as always.

I have a couple photo gigs coming up that might pay a little. Did I mention I really want to learn to play drums? I was so tempted to go over to Mark's today and bang on the demo kits they have in there. I would also like to learn how to arc-weld. And I would like to learn turntablism.. I hear they teach a music class in that at Berkeley now.. ahaha lol.. so much to do, so little time.

Thu, 19 Feb 2004 04:17:04 GMT

god what a funny day at school.. the drama.. the students that hate the teachers and vice versa.. the teachers that hate other teachers.. the teachers that broadcast their social life all over and then get pissed when someone remarks about it.. the backstabbing! ahah lol.. all of that and more today!

One of my classmates was in a funk.. I swear she was about to cry she was so frustrated... because she had just engaged in a vicious quarrel with a member of the media arts faculty. The quarrel began for the reasons already stated.

This is all par for the course. I've been yelled at by this prof. on at least two occasions for virtually no reason. The woman is an emotional roller coaster. So H. got caught in the crossfire today. I felt bad for her, yet I also thought it was incredibly funny because it was so ridiculous.

Anyway... Walt let me play with his new Kodak 14n today.. I'll just say I'm plenty happy with my 10D. I didn't get to see any images up close from the 14n, but the camera itself seemed unwieldy, slow, cheaply made and with dubious firmware.

Finally got to see my work hanging in the gallery today and I think it turned out OK. There weren't many photos this year, everyone seems to have developed a pinhole camera fetish. The two photos that received merits were utterly .. bad.. quite frankly. One looked like a poorly executed vacation snapshot.. very poor, printed at about 4x6 on bubblejet paper and not even matted.. the other was a picture of a redneck standing in front of a mobile home.. very cliche.. and not even well composed, printed or anything. very shoddy work. How the judges overlooked Beca's photographic installation is an enigma. She put a $2,100 price tag on that bitch and I thought that was low.

What else.. oh yeah.. iTunes is digital crack.

Mon, 16 Feb 2004 22:08:54 GMT

Well, I discovered on Friday that both of my submissions to the student art show got accepted. The reception is Tuesday evening, but I probably won't bother going.

Jenny is probably so sick of hearing me talk about it, but I discovered the world of chai tea last week and I've been going crazy ever since. I was at the prof's house Friday helping him with his book. He offers me some tea and warns me that all he has is chai.. like it's a bad thing. One cup and I was hooked. I was nearly quoting that scene from Pulp Fiction.. ya know.. "Damn Jimmy, this is some gourmet shit!"

I left his house and went to the gallery, confirmed that my works were accepted, then beat a path over to starbucks and got the biggest cup of chai they sold.. it was so good I had to have a cigarette afterwards. I just went on amazon and ordered enough Tazo chai concentrate to make two gallons of the stuff. lol..

hehe.. on another note.. the photos I shot last week were censored by our publisher, who allegedly told my boss that my shots were "generally provocative" and in fact, two of the ones we were going to use were removed and replaced with inferior shots. Honestly, this is a load of crap. Yet, I feel somewhat happy that I was able to annoy the publisher and shake things up in my own minimal way.