Photo taken in the skies above San Jose. Currently in town working on a personal photo project. This might taken longer than I imagine at first. Thinking now I can finish it by perhaps summer of 2010.
B l o g
San Jose
Photo taken in the skies above San Jose. Currently in town working on a personal photo project. This might taken longer than I imagine at first. Thinking now I can finish it by perhaps summer of 2010.
Moments
Today I did some beauty shots and after the gal left, I started looking through the images, I realized the photos I liked the best aren't the posed typical beauty ones but the quiet moments such as quick jump on the bed or the simple twist of her back (that shot is so sexy to me) or the girl just laughing at a bad joke (yes, I tell corny jokes)
The jumping is one of my favorite thing to do with people. Jumping is such a free movement of joy. You can't help but let your true self through. I admit, I did not discover this without the help of Philippe Halsman's 1959 book called "Jump Book" which he gathered 178 celebrity jumpers from Monroe to Nixon to Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Yes, the image of Nixon jumping is burned in my brain :)
...when we look at somebody’s face, we don’t know what he thinks or feels. We don’t even know what he is like. Everybody wears an armor. Everybody hides behind a mask…. [But] in a jump the subject, in a sudden burst of energy, overcomes gravity. He cannot simultaneously control his expressions, his facial and his limb muscles. The mask falls. The real self becomes visible. One has only to snap it with the camera.
Hmmm...I think when I get home tonight from the office, I'll look through that "Jump Book" again. Perhaps in the future I should photograph myself jumping with the folks I'm photographing ? Could be interesting, yes ? !
Curious to find out more about Philippe Halsman and "jumpology" ? Read this article in Smithsonian magazine about it !
Two Shows, One Night !
So this is my official posting. I'll have two shows at June's Downtown Art Walk (that is June 11, 2009). Yes two....and here's the story behind this. For about a year now, the management of my office building have egged me on showing my work in the lobby. They know I do production stills and behind the scenes and I've been tinkering with an idea of documenting "life below the line" so finally after 8 or 10 months, I've decided to just do it. So when you walk into this 1920s Art Deco office building, my images will be gracing the walls of the lobby.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Todd/Browning Gallery (yes, I believe this is a tribute to THAT Todd) around the corner had seen my series I did on folks who dressed up at anime conventions and been pushing me to show it. I feel flatter, seriously because they usually don't put up unpublished photographers and I don't have a book out. The images were shot at the Anime Expo convention from the summer of 2008. I used to be into anime when I was younger but stop going a while back. That summer Anime Expo happen to be at the LA Convention Center so I decided to bring my camera, lights and a backdrop. 3 days and 250 portraits later, I had a series :)
The Todd/Browning one is a group show with another photographer and the show itself is called "East to West".
June 11, 2009 noon to 9 pm
"East to West"
Todd/Browning Gallery
211 West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
"LBTL (life below the line)"
Spring Arts Tower
453 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles CA 90013
Don't worry, they're only around the corner from each other so you won't have to walk too far. For those who don't know about the Downtown Art Walk, it has grown so much in the past few years. Attendance is usually around 3,000 folks and can feel like a street fair. Local restaurants and shops have specials going on during the event and last month the Kogi Korean Taco truck made an appearance ! I suggest getting here early to snag parking. It usually gets going closer to 7:30/8 pm.
Drinks afterward at The Crocker Club (don't worry, the bar is situated right between the two spots). Dress up a bit, they got a dress code like The Edison.
Full detail at downtownartwalk.com
Anyways, hope to see y'all there !!!
Print, print, print !
This week, I've been using Translight Photo Center over at the Brewery for my prints. Though Translight is known mostly for their black/white & color darkroom rentals, they also do have a self-served Epson 9800 large format printer. Christine, the manager over there is a cool gal and been helping me with my prints.
It's a bit frightening to see one's work at a 40 x 30 format but at the same time thrilling ! I rarely see my work at the size...well, the last time was Interscope's poster for Queens of the Stone Age that used 4 of mine images but those were cut out and reconfigured. If you scroll down you should find a photo of the poster.
The sad thing is I don't think the posters ever got used but at least the director was nice enough to give me a copy. (I think the producer and the gals in the video got the other copies)
In any case, I'll post more about it later and I'm cringing to see my next credit card bill - printing large format and mounting ain't cheap !
It's a bit frightening to see one's work at a 40 x 30 format but at the same time thrilling ! I rarely see my work at the size...well, the last time was Interscope's poster for Queens of the Stone Age that used 4 of mine images but those were cut out and reconfigured. If you scroll down you should find a photo of the poster.
The sad thing is I don't think the posters ever got used but at least the director was nice enough to give me a copy. (I think the producer and the gals in the video got the other copies)
In any case, I'll post more about it later and I'm cringing to see my next credit card bill - printing large format and mounting ain't cheap !
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