stuck.

this is the result of having run out of ideas in a roomful of props. We picked out of the mess a machete and a coolie hat (which I picked up in chinatown. one of those little tourist gift shop dealies.)

Anyway, I denno what to do with this. I'm open to suggestion.

Work Hard, Play Hard

....that's my boy Geoff's motto, lol. I've known this guy forever, since the Darqcyde days of college and the Great America airbrush crew. Tho we've never been close, we've always been buddies, so it was an honor and a rare opportunity when he asked me to shoot his and Angela's engagement photos. The shot above is from the first attempt, and we're probably going to run around and shoot a few more times just to get a nice variety of fun photos.

Engagement photos are generally fun, just for the fact that you can be sillier, more intimate, less formal, essentially than conventional wedding photos. Any idea I can think of gets thrown to the wall to see if it sticks.

There's a set that I had Mike shoot, with the two of them pillowfighting on the bed, that should yield some amazing stuff as well.

tough job.

behind the scenes, it's not all gorgeous women, tiny outfits, drugs and alcohol. I mean, it's mostly that, but not all.

No pictures.

Just wanted to make sure I didn't forget about last night. 

At the Playground, you KNOWWWWWW

So this was back when I first discovered Dave Hill, Dragan, and all their spawn. I like the style....bold color, dramatic, over the top imagery. Not for everything of course, but it lends itself well to a lot of the cartoon violence type of imagery that's always in my head.

So for this shoot, Cantria flew in to shoot with me and the weather in the Bay was its usual winter gloom. So we shot entirely indoors, with a gray backdrop I believe . (and yeah, both subjects are CANTRIA. I think I was going for a boys vs. girls on the playground theme. Or maybe some kind of cool dualism of man's nature theme. Hard to say, this was back in December, and silly ideas flow in and out of me like crazy. Anyhow, the ideas required Cantria to reeeeally overact, and she was pretty badass at it. It was a lot of fun.

Jerome was assisting. Shoots with Jerome are always fun. He's got this utterly engaging and funny personality, that keeps models and crew comfortable and relaxed. And it lets me participate in that vibe, but be able to pull back and just do what I do. I can be the quiet one for a bit, and concentrate on the image.

Technical notes, lessee......ring light, and one fill light, camera left i believe. 20mm prime Nikkor lens attached to my trusty ole d70

The playground backdrop was lifted from the StockXchange stock photo site.

PS notes, some level adjustment, dodging and burning, nothing crazy.

leftovers

this was essentially an attempt to exorcise a few weeks worth of reading computer arts and design magazines. The main image is from a shoot i did in Vegas with Marylou at Nerio's place (good times. Darkside reunion). And the sketch and design elements above it are just random little bits to fill space. Scans of a camera lens' leaf shutter sequence scattered to good effect. At the bottom a sketch of giant japanese robot rampaging through a major metropolitan area.

Essentially this image has a couple of things I really like. Cute girl. Meaningless symbolism, and giant robots.

"here sheepy sheepy!!!"

at my cousin's house/ ranch/ several acres in Petaluma. This shot of my niece, Malaya, was a two man venture, as my brother in law Brandon and I alternated holding the camera and coaxing my niece into feeding the adorable farm animals.

I'm not sure what to write about my niece, except that she constantly makes me smile. She alternates between cute and heartwarming to nonstop crazy in the blink of an eye. On this particular day, 'bout five seconds after her dad told me she was afraid of the sheep, she grabbed my hand and dragged me back, intent on feeding them (and by feeding, i mean throwing food on the floor in front of em).

Hm, and while I'm at it, did i mention my nephew can almost walk on his own???? he gets about fiiiive steps, with the proper momentum.

Serious photography-type stuff next post, i swear.

Parting shot

after all the time prepping. Coming up with ideas, composing images and stories in your head, finding props, and getting things just so...it's those sudden flashes of silliness that seem to create some of the most memorable images. It's both frustrating and gratifying. Sometimes I think moments like that are as close to real joy as it gets.

Mars Attacksploitation!!!!

...told Robert I'd get this up tonight:) From Sunday's shoot with Afua. Can't show you the balls out over the top image yet, cuz I haven't figured out what to do with it. But this one is pretty iconic and a lot of fun:) Afua's wearing a great wig, her sunglasses, a bikini that's too small for her, and cocoa butter, i think. In her hand the Mars Attacks Brain Disintegrator Ray Gun that flashes lights and makes THREE DIFFERENT SOUNDS!!!!

I knew Afua was an amazing physical specimen, but the fact that she was willing to jump whole heartedly into my silliness made her a rare pleasure to shoot.

Lessee, one AB800 to her left, pointed at the backdrop, and one just above and behind the camera, shooting through a white umbrella:)

Afua

Amazing shoot. Went in with a jumble of half conceived ideas, and came out with so much. Afua's energy and personally galvanized me. Going on a couple of days with no sleep and high activity, I wasn't expecting to be able to knock out so much goodness. All thanks to Afua and Jerome. We just kept throwing out crazy ideas and characters and Afua would jump right in and completely OWN those roles. Here's a quick peek.

i'm tired.

basically haven't slept since Thursday.  Rob got married on Saturday, and (finally) got a chance to work with Afua on Sunday.  As much of a total goddess as she appears in pictures, she is a superhuman ball of energy to work with.  Combined with Jerome's own enthusiasm, and my ability to press a button, it was an amazing time.

But more on that later.

Sex is bad. Violence is good.

this shot's proven to be pretty popular. it was taken last December at my boy Megafunk's warehouse/studio in LA. Lotta fun. the two in combat, Gizel and Jessica Rabbitt (i kid you not) were in town from NY and asked if i'd be interested in flying out to shoot with em.

Got to hang out with Megablaze and small talk, meet with a new friend, Gaylord of Raw-R Photography, who graciously let me abuse his lighting gear, and go some great photos.

Not much to tell bout this shoot...once I'd been informed of all the people involved, I pitched a quick idea, and everybody came through. The guys totally threw themselves into their roles. And the ladies complemented each other well. What I thought was gonna be an interesting yet not particularly creative shoot, ended up being a pretty strong image and a totally enjoyable experience.

First Rule, on your first night, you gotta fight

I think at the Gallery show, i had one of these images up, and someone commented on my misogynistic tendencies. AWESOME!!!! Nah, it was interesting. What I'd always viewed as two warriors battling it out, was quickly reduced to some kind of domestic violence display. Context is everything.

Fun shoot. I'm not sure how well each image would stand up individually tho. I ended up adding and subtracting images where I could to pace it out a lil better, without going overboard.

Bonus: Which picture was taken in a completely different area, then PS'd.

Which body has a whole new head?

More Marie (yayyyyy)

I really really really like this image of Marie.

lazy ass updates

Will Springfield is a good cat. He's already an amazingly accomplished photographer AND a model. He's also one of the first people on Model Mayhem that took a shine to my work, and had me considering doing different things....applying my ideas to different subjects etc.

He's also one of the first people to trust in my craziness, ahahah. I remember two years ago saying that I had an image in my head of him TPing a house. And here we are, two years later. Mike Lapid assisted with the lighting...actually he helped me out the entire long weekend of shooting. Totally invaluable...just the opportunity to think out loud about what i want helps the entire process.

Been getting some positive feedback on the image. But I'm thinking this is just the initial run at it. Will actually suggested he wear a shoot, but it was muuuch too late by that time to accomodate.