It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent. ~Dave Barry
How is it that one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire? ~Author Unknown
I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it…. People think pleasing God is all God care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.
~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982
Its been a very interesting past two weeks or so that has been both a kick in the ‘nads as well as a breath of fresh air. Its definitely been drama city over the last few weeks, but I think I’ll concentrate on the breath of fresh air part. To start with, last weekend, I took the opportunity to head to Death Valley and camp out there with some friends. So let me give a big-ups to Soibhan (pronounced, Shev-on), for arranging the whole thing for us campers. She still had several people RSVP and then bail on her at the last minute which is totally unsat in my book. She booked the camp sites for us and put this thing together and asked politely that anyone who had a change of plans to announce the fact early. All the slots filled and still 7 people no-showed or cancelled at the last minute. Ridiculous. But I’m glad I was able to be a last minute addition. I found out about it the day before, so I jumped on it.
Death Valley isn’t but about 2 to 2 and a half hours from Vegas, which is good. I plan on treating this place much like I did with Zion National Park when I first got here. I drove out there at least 5 times in less than 2 months. There was just so much to explore and I wanted to get to know the place. It’s so beautiful out there. I’ve still yet to do my main project of hiking the Narrows from top to bottom with a model, but it’ll happen. I may not do Death Valley every weekend like I did Zion, but I’ll be making multiple trips to explore the place. A car may suffice, but I’d much rather be in a truck. I rode with Soibhan who has a small SUV that was surprisingly roomy and comfortable.
This trip didn’t pan out as well as I had hoped. DV is the lowest place below sea level in North America. It boasts the hottest temperatures in the western hemisphere of 134 degrees, just shy of the wold record of 136. The place gets less than 2 inches or rain a year! Yet THIS WEEKEND, it rained on us almost the whole time. Our campsite flooded around us. Fortunately we were on higher ground at Furnace Creek, but the same couldn’t be said of some neighbors from India. Three of them were camped about 20 feet in front of us and found their gear and tents in a foot of water. On and off, the rains came on Saturday til about just after midnight on Sunday morning. Our potluck had to be quickly eaten, but we did chill by the fire…in the rain, but it wasn’t coming down in torrents at least. I still took out my camera to get some portraits of everyone, and it got wet enough that I had to let is sit for a few hours the next day to let it dry out. Mainly the lens and the settings LCD screen fogged up. I didn’t get any landscape shots until the ride home, but that’s okay. I’ll be back. And next time, I’ll have a rain bag to operate my camera no mater what the forecast. We knew it was supposed to rain, just not that much for so long. I mean, come on…it’s Death Valley!
(This has nothing to do with photos. I just thought it was funny!)
“I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers.”
– Mahatma Ghandi
I don’t know what all this funky weather is about. My family in Texas and Tennessee are seeing more snow than they have in ages. My sister sent me some pics of my folks house in Texas and I’ve just never seen that much snow there. I didn’t see that much snow til I did my first tour of duty in Germany. I went from having a vague knowledge of what snow was to being knee deep in it. I tease at times about the contrasting weather they have compared to here in Nevada. Today I was in shorts, T-shirt, and flip-flops. It was a reasonable 70 degrees here. Oddly enough, we’ve gotten our share of the oddity in weather too. We’ve had more rain here in the last few weeks than I’ve seen during the monsoon seasons of all 3 years that I’ve been here put together. El Nino? What the hell?
Now I thought it was pretty dog-gone cool when Unbearable Lightness was featured on The Sensual 7 Seconds Blog (a week ago). You can’t imagine my elation when Karl contacted me and asked me to participate in his questionnaire feature as well. That made my day. But now that he’s published it on his blog and I got to read the things that he said about me…well, let me just say its good to feel appreciated. I feel so good right now, I’m going to go spend some money. Drop by to see his interview with me.
Regardless if friends go with me or not, I’m heading to Death Valley in the next month or so and staying out overnight to catch some nice sunrises and sunsets, hopefully with a valley of wild flowers aplenty. If I can get a model to tag along, then that’ll be great too. But I haven’t had one model yet give me even any inkling of an idea that she’d be willing to camp out. Day-trip? Sure. Staying outdoors overnight? Kiss my boo-tay, okay…!
*City girls….*
As one who is a patron and proponent of the nude arts, you may find it ironic that I am also oddly drawn to freelance men’s wear journalist, Simon Crompton‘s “Permanent Style” Blog. I am not a true fashion person. I don’t even pretend to work in much fashion photography. I’d rather not even give consideration to succumbing to the latest trends of the day. If everybody’s wearing it, chances are, I am not. As a kid, I wanted to be like the popular kids. When Michael Jackson sported the red jacket with zippers all over the place, I wanted one. People were putting zippers in their collars! I couldn’t even get the popular Member’s Only jacket. If it didn’t come from Wal-Mart, Payless, or the local thrift store, chances are, I wouldn’t be wearing it.
Even as a kid, it wasn’t so much that I was into fashion as it was that I wanted to belong or at least not get picked on for what I wore. Actually, I think it was maybe my 7th grade year when I realized that I didn’t give a damn about fashion trends. I found a pair of bell-bottom pants that I pleaded with my mom to buy. Bell-Bottoms were NOT in style anymore. I got teased and since my mom spent money on them, she made me keep them and wear them. After that, I could give a flip-flam about fashion and swore, I would wear what I like regardless of the trend of the day. What I like about Permanent Style is that it covers clothing of a more refined taste. To me, its fashion that’s above trend. Simon presents clothes, clothiers, and materials that have a focus on the quality and classical wear. Class doesn’t go out of style. In particular for me, I pay special attention to his shoes. I’ve been so intrigued about what goes into the custom hand-made shoes. They have a look of elegance that cannot be denied. These are shoes that you can actually see the worth of $200 plus going into them. They don’t cost that much just because of the name or because they are in demand right now (and then be half that price or no longer made the next year). Simon presents us shoes that hold up 15 years later and are still considered fashionable. Its the same thing with suits and shirts. The man teaches you the art of wearing clothes. I like that.
I revisited images I did with a model two years ago. I went back over her shots and edited some that I hadn’t touched before and then some that I re-edited again. She goes by Tyler Aria now and has a OMP profile as well as one on Model Mayhem. She was one of the first models I worked with in my workshops and she’s definitely a performer. That’s right. Her modeling can be viewed as a performance. The girl simply has a talent for the camera and giving up what you want. She’s an adrenaline junkie so I hope you don’t try to take advantage of that. In my outdoor workshop, I left for a few minutes to scout the location we were getting ready to move to. I came back to find that the guys had her hanging upside down in a tree. Treat her right and chances are you’ll get what you want. Its probably your own fault if you don’t. That’s how good she is.
This past Saturday, I got to attend a photography workshop by Mark Wallace, sponsored by PocketWizard. Getting to meet Mark and his wife/business partner, Diane was actually quite extraordinary. I haven’t worked with PocketWizards that much with the exception of those that were supplied in a studio setting. I’d previously considered them to be simply an alternative means of firing off-camera strobes or flash. I use a Canon ST-e2 transmitter when I want to use my Canon Speedlites mounted on a stand (or by any means other than on top of the camera). Just as well, a Canon 580 exII can also be used as a master flash to fire any group of other slave flashes. I just figured the PocketWizards were maybe only more powerful, but the same thing. I haven’t had the need to got big on lighting. I am mainly hand held or natural lighting. I’m too mobile in most cases, but there are times when I have to do a group setting in which I need to set up my stands. Mark even showed one configuration using my ST-e2 sitting on top of a PocketWizard Mini, which was mounted on my camera hot shoe. This configuration can be used to control the ratio of light coming from two groups of flash.
“Dilenia’s Plight for Fame”
So in this workshop, I understood that I underestimated the power of the PocketWizards. I’m pretty sure that when I need to get an alternative transmitter, I’m not going cheap or generic. It will be a PocketWizard. Mark did a lecture on lighting and then loosed us on either of 4 stations where a model was awaiting us to come practice what we learned. Most of the lecture was on basic lighting. I had that part down. I did learn about rear curtain syncing which I plan on looking for an excuse to use now. Mark was entertaining as he spoke which kept our attention on the hard ass floor. That part sucked. Seating would have been pretty nice. Diane and Philip, one of the Pocket Wizard Ambassadors to the US…(Regional Manager), came around to our stations to work with us and see if we had probs or issues. I’m not naturally a studio guy. I like on-location gigs. That’s my thing, but I still took advantage of the workshop. All of this went down at the Avrio Studios. Its the largest one I’ve ever seen. You can fit aircraft in this thing and its all green screen. Of the four models available, I only got to work with two of the four models, Dilenia and LaRonna and I am not disappointed in that fact. Both these two models were more than enough and I gotta get a rematch with both one on one. Dilenia brings that total package to the table while LaRonna gives you that distinct exotic appeal that lets you know you’re about to do something really good. Kudos to both of them. Be sure to check out their links if you need a model in Vegas. I fully recommend them both.
And lastly…hold on a sec. I’m trying to figure out how to say this without being so crass as to blurt out, “I TOLD YOU MUTHA-FUCKAS FELIX WAS THE SHIT!” That would simply be uncouth, undignified, and simply boorish. You might think me to be a simple-minded person of limited intellect, who’s not entirely well-versed in the grammatical parameters of language. That being said, let me put aside the political correct speech and come to terms with the fact that there are indeed times that the most simple, albeit emotional expressions can still be most appropriate. Let me just prove my point here first. Almost a year ago, I told you all of his freakish talents on Univers d’ Artistes. You may want to check out that post here. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Well, now the whole world nows and its only going to get bigger for him in the next moments of time to come. I said moments because this will happen quickly.
“An Artist’s Feast”
On the Canon Professional Network, you will find that “Monica Allende, picture editor of The Sunday Times Magazine, has picked her shortlist of images from the photographs submitted to the fifth edition of Editor’s Choice – an entry that highlighted the work of talented photojournalists from the USA, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and many other countries.”
Felix is among her selections. His is the second one documented in an audio-visual presentation of each of her selections and WHY she chose them.
So mosey on over to the Canon Professional Network site and select the news tab. Scroll down a bit and click the Editor’s Choice Results for Monica Allende. Then click the red “presentation” hyperlink in the second paragraph to start the presentation. Okay, fine… let me just give you the direct link. CPN: Editor’s Choice – Monica Allende. We’re talking over 80,000 submissions. She picks like 13 and Felix made the ranks among that .0162%.
“I believe all artists, if they are not lying to themselves, must believe that the best part of their work, or even their life, is in front of them. To look only to the past and to say ‘those were the best years, when I was young’ is to say that in the future there is nothing.” – Jan Saudek
I know I want to make some changes to this blog, but I’m not exactly sure just what that will be. Not so much in content, but rather in its overall look, feel, and appearance. Its been this same format since it began, pretty much and I’ll soon be on my 3rd year of trying regale you with my musings. I think it is indeed time for a change. Part of it will be looking at some new Blogger formats, but I want to make sure I know what I’m doing before I go altering HTML code too much. I’ve done a subtle code adjustments on this blog, but nothing that really gets your attention, analogous to getting a hair cut and telling the barber, “Just a little off the top, please.” Its also good that people have found my blog again. My numbers dropped off significantly after I changed the URL for Photo Anthems. Visitors dropped off below that of my website around this past October, but now, my blog has twice the viewership of my website again. That’s about what it was before I made the change.
I bought a small Wacom4 Intuos graphic tablet a few months back and I gotta say, its pretty good. Its still taking some getting used to however, but its changing the way I do my edits. I waffled back and forth on the small 4×6 vs. medium 6×9 and finally settled on the small. For one, there was a huge price difference between the two, something like $140. To me the added features just didn’t justify. At the most, I could see an additional $50 – $75…maybe. But not $140. I also think I like the size. Had the medium been cheaper, I think I may have jumped on it, but the small is okay. The smaller version takes up less room in my work space and its much more portable. The total dimensions is 8×12, so when I say 4×6, I am referring to the actual area available for pen use for editing. Its still way different from using the mouse and you still have to keep the keyboard handy for adding text in your edits. It has a nice sleek black design and very ergonomic, built for both the right-handed and lefties. The biggest advantage the medium has over the small is the illuminated ExpressKeys and wheel. I still have to play with it at times, to recall what ExpressKeys my alt or control functions are on. Any of these tabs can be programmed to any function you wish which is cool for customizations. I like that. So if you get the small, be prepared to have a label-maker handy for a while. It also took me a while to remember I had it. When not in use, I store it behind the monitor. Several times I’d start on on edit and get 5 layers deep before I remembered I should be using my stylus rather than the mouse. So like I said, it takes some getting used to.
Elizabeth, Darkroom manip
The Sensual 7 Seconds blog, run by Karl from somewhere near San Fran details some of his escapades while he’s away in Rome. I first saw U.L. post about his trip and when you visit his blog, you get greeted with some excellent travel photos that leave me in envy. One shot in particular that I was most inclined to had nothing to do with the art deco, architecture, or Italian landscape. Rather it was of an Italian couple walking hand in hand in the rain as seen from behind. I like that shot. I need to get back on the road myself. Since my visit to NY last August, I had made several plans to visit spots of interest around the US, but…..that was when I was gainfully employed. So well done, Karl.
Another blog of interest is one that I’ve been following and REALLY appreciate is One Pix Art headed by the famous .mosa out of Cali. (His Blog & deviantArt profile). I had been following his work every since I saw a shot of his done with the venerable Goovacious K. My jaw dropped and all I could do was star at it. For me, he has a style that fascinates me in the way of Jan Saudek, the Czeck photog. When I first switched over to digital only a few years ago, I was hesitant to do so because I respected the artistic craftsmanship that came with film. At the time, unless you were a graphic designer, using a computer to manipulate shots just usurped the craft from the trade. One of my influences was .mosa who demonstrated that craftsmanship did not have to be a trade-off in the digital art. I made a recent comment on his blog that I had been following his work but had yet to at least say hello and give the man his props. I’ve even taught my own kids to give credit to those who have some impact or influence on them. So let me take some of my own medicine. Here’s to .mosa! Much props, my brotha… And you know he’s a good man because he likes Miles Davis.
“I drifted into photography like one drifts into prostitution. First I did it to please myself, then I did it to please my friends, and eventually I did it for the money.” Philippe Halsman
Model, Dana 2007
I love that above quote as much as I love the author’s work. It so truthfully fits my dilemma. Things have definitely been different around here. Challenges abound, which is not uncommon with transitions. It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Part of that has simply been due to time flying by without realizing how fast. Part has been due to my inability to edit photos because of some software issues. But then there’s also been things going on that just make you not feel like writing. Looking the horrific tragedy in Haiti, for example. You hurt for people like that. But even in my own community, unemployment abounds still for Las Vegas. I lost my job when it was about 13% unemployment in the city. Trust me, it hasn’t improved. People are hurting.
City Center opened up last month, before Christmas. I got to visit the place the day before it opened and got some great artistic architectural shots. Its a magical place. I wish I could see into the future a year down the road, however. It will prove interesting to see exactly how City Center will affect an ailing city. The plans for City Center were in place long before the bottom fell out of the economy in Vegas. I was surprised they still went ahead with the project. Hotels on the Strip have already slashed prices to fill as much vacancy as possible, yet CC will add another 12,000 or so hotel rooms to the mix. All the restaurants and retail outlets on the Strip can’t be happy either. All of these casinos have retail outlets. The more notable Forum (at Caesars) and the Fashion Show Mall aren’t that old. CC has added about another 500,000 more square feet of retail outlets that they’ve added. Up to this point, MGM -Mirage has had hiring freezes and laid off a good chunk of the management team, as of August of 2007. That’s exactly how I got wooed and then dumped. I moved here in June with the expectations of an excellent job following my graduation from college. They were impressed with my GPA and the fact that I was earning two Master degrees…a MBA and a MS in Telecommunications. And in the 3 weeks it took for me to finish school, clear out my apartment, load up a moving truck (towing my car), and then drive the 28 hours to get here, all hiring had ceased. Then MGM-Mirage laid off 400 mid-level managers. CC just hired another 12,000. So how long will they be able to keep them all?
Photography hasn’t been a bed or roses either. I struggle with the fact that I’ve never really wanted to make money with my photo talents. Sure, its been cool doing a few things on the side that people have been willing to pay for, but I didn’t truly want to depend on it for a job. I just like doing what I do whether it sells or not. Right now, everybody’s got a camera, but that doesn’t mean I sell myself cheap. But I don’t mind the competition. Competition is good. I’ve always felt that way and I’ve always believed I’ve been up to the challenge to be a great, not just good, competitor. I’m good at what I do. I care about my art and I’m great when it comes to working with people. So, I’ll get it done. That, I’m sure of. I’ve got a few things in mind that I believe can allow me to create the art that I love, yet do so in service to others. I read in a book once that the richest man in the world is the one who is a servant to the most people. What an excellent concept…Help yourself through helping others. (U.L. expect a call…)
Dana contacted me recently to say hello and ask how I was doing. She’s the model accompanying this post and she is a most astonishing character…fascinating to the nth degree. She was one of the last models I worked with while still in grad school shooting film. There were two models in particular who were god-sends to me and she was one of them. I say that because she was indeed an immediate answer to prayer. I had just finished my year-end final photo project for school and had a desire to do one last project just for the sake of shooting with no pressure or endless hours in the darkroom. Up to this point, with so little time left in the semester, I didn’t think I could find a model on such short notice and still have time to shoot. I woke up with that prayer on my lips. I went to my office (as a grad assistant, I had my own office) and between the time I left my apartment and walked through the campus, I received an email from a girl who had heard about me and asked if it were possible to do a shoot with me.
She wanted some tastefully artistic photographs for her boyfriend who was going away for a while. A former pageant queen who loves the outdoors, THIS my friends is proof there is a God. Dana is a lover of life, nature, and is not afraid to get dirty. I love that she’s got my buddy, the sometimes scruffy outdoorsman, Jacob by her side. You can see pics of them in the mountains, deep in snow, or paddling down the river in a canoe, or camping out and living off the land. Jacob’s got it like that and Dana’s a straight up mountain girl. You gotta love ’em. But yeah, I miss shooting Dana. Our work was short and sweet back when I was still just learning to press the shutter. I’d like to see what I could do with her now. She doesn’t belong in a studio. I need another shot in the mountains and out there in the wild green/white/blue yonder! Who knows, maybe I’ll get up there in the mountains with them at some point, or maybe we could hike the Appalachian Trail with a couple more models, (Hi Elizabeth. Hi Katherine!). Grizzly Jacob would be the perfect guide for something like that. Like I said…Who knows?
And while I’m at it, Congrats to St. Merrique for making the cover of Nude Magazine. Oh how I wish I could have gotten to work with her a few months ago when she was here. Yeah, I’m thinking her fees just went through the roof.
“Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.”
~Garrison Keillor
I can’t always spend Christmas with the family when I live so far away. Its the hardest time of the year being without the kids and I miss the smell of my Mama’s kitchen. So this Christmas, I figured I’d do something different and head out into the wilderness for a while. I went camping on a dry lake bed Christmas afternoon. I still have a tradition with the kids where we watch two movies back to back on Christmas Day, so my first movie was at 9:30. Sherlock Holmes wasn’t as good as I thought it might have been, but I guess I can say I got my money’s worth. My next movie was Avatar. Granted it came out a week or so before Christmas, but I held off seeing it. My kids were doing the same thing only in Tennessee. I’ve already seen Avatar once more and will likely see it a few more times. I do that with movies I like. I saw 2012 three times, but my record is the final Lord of the Rings, which I saw 8 times. Avatar is high on the list of my all time favorites. There was simply more imagination in that movie that I think I could have ever conceived. In LOTR, Peter Jackson had Tolkien’s books to work from and Tolkien was so descriptive, you honestly didn’t ever need a movie. You could visualize everything. James Cameron was operating from scratch, as far as I know, and he surpasses my wildest imagination. Yeah, I’ll be seeing that a few more times.
Then it was a race to get back across town to finish packing up and head out to my camp site. It was sort of a spiritual thing for me being out there alone, but at the same time, I didn’t count on the distraction for the need for company brought on by a campfire. That’s the only time I felt alone or like I really wanted somebody else there. As soon as my campfire was roaring (and trust me, I like a roaring fire), I felt an immediate sense of aloneness. I was cool chilling out in my tent, afterwards, but while sitting out in the open air staring at the flames as they licked and bit into the wood, you miss having another person there.
It got cold. Daaamn, it got cold. I was bundled up nice and snug, but I can tell you that you don’t want to move around much. Outside of camera gear, I think I need better winter camping gear. My little hooch kept the wind off, but I know I’ve got to get another sleeping bag. I trust the Gortex sleep system that I had in the military, so that’s my aim. I’ve been in 40 below in one of those things in the open air and was as snug as a bug in a rug. And I was a little more concerned for my laptop and camera too. I hadn’t had the foresight to check the operational temps on the laptop. My camera’s limit is right at freezing, but I wasn’t sure about the laptop. Since it was just below freezing, I kept the camera at my feet in my bag and the laptop between two pillows that I slept on. I also kept it on in sleep mode, (no pun intended, there.)
The sun came out and it warmed up quickly, but I built a fire anyway. I love a good fire. Too much since I ran out earlier than I had anticipated. My need for a big fire and the fact that the winds would kick up every now and again, consumed my firewood supply quicker than I wanted. Oh well. I’ll know better next time. All in all, it was a cool experience, and I plan to do it again. Maybe I can find a good Gortex sleeping bag on eBay or something. I will be looking. I hope everyone has a joyous and wonderful holiday. Tune in next time when I startthe year off with another self-interview!
“Kissing a man with a beard is a lot like going to a picnic. You don’t mind going through a little bush to get there!”– Minnie Pearl
Me, with as much hair as I have ever had on my face
I’m glad there is no Decembeard…at least that I know of. Having that much hair on my face was just a complete oddity for me. I kept thinking my nose was running until I went to the mirror and noticed I had one mustache hair curling up and back into my nose. I had never heard of the thing, but apparently its [Novembeard/No-Shave November] growing in popularity. My daughter put me up to it. She said all the boys back in TN were doing it, which consisted of her hubby, his brothers, my son and a few of his friends. I figured, what the hay, so I told her I’d commit to it. I don’t think I look that good in a beard, if you can call it that. Its the most hair I’ve had on my face, but I don’t grow facial hair that fast. For me, all that was actually about 6 weeks worth of growth. At the time she told me, on Nov 1st, I was just getting ready to shave off two weeks of face hair. It still took me about another week after Nov 30th to shave it all off. The place I normally shop at was all out of my depilatory cream I use to remove hair on my face and head. I can’t use a razor. The “Brothas” tend to bump up too much with a razor. I often had to have a shaving profile in the military which was a doctor’s excuse not to shave.
Mary and I kicking back some cold ones in Crested Butte, CO
So what’s ol’ Big T, been up to lately. Well, Photo Anthems.com has been revamped, big-time. In an effort to cater towards more weddings and other events, I’ve redesigned the site to reflect that a little more. Almost nothing on the site is as it was last week. Many a nights was spent taking down HUGE loads of my art nudes and other images that just didn’t cut the mustard. I’ve got to go back to work on my landscape images, in both re-edits and new pics as well.
Mary, off the edge of a cliff in Black Canyon, CO.
That’s a couple thousand feet free-fall below her.
My good ol’e bud, Dave Rudin was in town over last weekend. He was the only one to get pics. We met for breakfast along with Wolf189. It was really good to meet Wolf. I think we share some commonalities in styles and approaches. He’s been around for a while and really knows his stuff. As usual, when you put a gaggle of photogs in a small space together, time flew by as we discussed everything from camera gear, to classic films. Not film like, TMAX, well…we did discuss that. Wolf only shoots film. However I was referring to classic movie films, particularly foreign films. He and Dave were much more familiar with many of the more notable ones and the actors/actresses of the day. As Dave and I always do, we had breakfast at the Original Pancake House and about three hours had passed before we knew it. Wolf had to head out for a photo gig, otherwise we could have helped close the place. As of this moment, I didn’t see any of the shots he took, but I am sure DaveR will have pics of us posted on his blog, Figures of Grace, shortly. In the meantime, pay a visit to my new friend Wolf189 at his web site, www.Wolf189.com and his blog, www.Wolf189.blogspot.com. Oh, and here is his profile on Model Mayhem. Trust me, you are in for a treat.
I’ve gotten a good laugh out of a few things lately, but none really so much as getting to see my friend, Jodi (with no “e”), do a tandem sky-dive. The girl’s got guts. But that’s not the only reason I love her so much. Outside of being a good friend, she’s a strong believer in doing things the natural way, as nature intended. I love her hippie-style and the way she has a genuine care for people. She’s a great mom, very spontaneous, and will take on a challenge with vigor and courage. This is the first time she’s ever exited a plane while airborne. At no time does she ever flinch, hesitate, or even carry a distressed look on her face. Yeah, the girl’s got guts. Enjoy the vid below or click HERE. And I thought I’d reacquaint you again with pics of my friend and once model, Mary since she said I looked like Kimbo Slice!
“Edward and I both agreed with the view of a Greek friend of ours, Jean Varda, who was fond of saying there were three perfect shapes in the world … the hull of a boat, a violin and a woman’s body.”
– Charis Wilson
I’ve spoken highly and often about my most influential photographer and the model who quite possibly had the biggest impact on photography as an art form. Charis Wilson has by far been the most inspirational art model for myself and the art world. She died just a few weeks ago. She was 95. For myself, she was the consummate model, perfect in every way. I know, I’m sure she had flaws, but I can’t help but to enjoy the woman’s spirit, drive, ambition, talent, and her devotion. Most of us know her as a model, but she was a prolific writer, as well. In fact, the reason I say she quite possibly had the biggest impact on photography as an art form is due to her role in helping Weston get a Guggenheim Fellowship.
“The Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those ‘who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts’.”
As I am sure most of you already know, it was Charis who wrote the four-page narrative that won the Fellowship for Weston, despite the fact that Weston assumed credit for it. And it was also Charis who did all the writing and documentation for the 180 day, sixteen thousand mile trip they made throughout the western U.S. Weston’s talent had nothing to do with writing. Charis therefore took up much of his work in editing articles and even wrote in his name. I guess it was about a year or so ago, when I finally got my own copy of the DVD, Eloquent Nude: The Love and Legacy of Edward Weston and Charis Wilson. You can do a search on my blog for my initial reviews of this DVD. To listen to Charis give the details of her experience in her own voice was amazing to me. I loved her recounts of her first meeting Weston. She provided vivid detail as to her feelings and emotions and could recall many of the circumstances surrounding all of those special events. She was honest and raw. She did not try to be “pretty and lady-like”. She told it to you straight. You gotta respect a woman for that. And at 95, I felt grateful that she was so forthcoming in sharing. Amazing woman.
I was wondering how this would play out. I’m sure you remember Kathleen “K.C.” Neill who was arrested in August during photographer Zach Hyman’s shoot at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, right. He had also been doing the public subway nudes. Well everybody thought he was taking this one too far, perhaps rightly so. She was arrested, but prosecutors finally reached the conclusion that they may not have been able to prove reasonable doubt. Its not illegal to be topless in NYC. Neill, however, was butt-naked. I knew there was the potential that they may try to make an example out of her and Hyman, but the question is really in defining what the law says is illegal and what isn’t. Public Lewdness is the apparent legal term which really obscures the line. The defense can and did argue that she was not lewd in a room full of artistic nudes and that nudity does not equate to lewdness…per se.
So the girl got off, but you have to still wonder what doors this might therein open. Can Hyman now walk into a elementary classroom in PS 234 and commence to shooting? Can he now stroll into Bellevue Hospital and do as he wills? I can understand his need for his artistic expression. I hold true to the same thing. Public nudes is also concept I’d like to explore, but I’m not for being around kids. I guess that’s where I draw the line. There were kids in the museum the day he and Kathleen Neill were working and I think I’d like to respect a parent’s right to not have a kid in that atmosphere. You can see in the top photo, above, that there is a young boy getting full-frontal staring him in the face. If I’m the kid, I’m not so sure I’d be complaining. But if I’m the MOM standing next to the kid, I’d be looking for my mace. Viewing painting are one thing. Its a finished work and you still have the element of choice there. Hyman’s gig was a work in progress and there was no reasonable sense of expectation for parents that their kids would be subjected to this scene. I’ve shot in a museum before. I had a nude model in the Erotic Heritage Museum during normal business hours. A lady was startled to discover my nude model was indeed live and not a mannequin. I will admit, that was a funny thing to witness. HOWEVER, no kids were in this museum. There was already depictions on erotica all over the museum. My shoot was for a non-erotic workshop, and my party were the only ones allowed in with cameras. The pics you see here are of Model, Brandi Bottoms as she worked that session. Talk about a fabulous model! If you get the chance to work with her, don’t pass it up for no reason whatsoever. Make sure you get her well in advance, though.
But,I guess even I have my limits. I applaud Hyman for his efforts and his choice of expression. I just wish artists didn’t feel the need to … well, I’m not quite sure how to articulate this statement. “Push the limits” was how I had initially intended to end that sentence. But isn’t that what we are encouraged to do. We all want to push the limits. That’s how we differentiate and distinguish ourselves. I’m just bothered by it a little. No, I didn’t want to see the model go to jail. I just wish the photographer had chosen a different forum or venue for his expressions. I’d have a healthy respect for those artists who allow me the opportunity to decide when its okay for my kids to be exposed to nudity. I thank them for letting it be on my terms and not forced upon them unawares. Yes, I know there are so many other darts of exposure shot at them from movies, the internet, and video games. I’m not so naive to believe otherwise. However rarely are you surprised to see it in a rap video. You realize there’s the possibility of seeing it in a movie because of the rating. But in the Metropolitan Museum is not an venue that I would expect to see it. My kids are all grown up now. But I’d have been a pissed off individual had I walked in to my Wells Fargo bank with my young ones and have an artist expressing themselves in like manner.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Good gracious. I’m trying to use the time I have to organize and do some re-edits of some of my older photos. At some point, I’ve really got to update my landscape work. There’s been so much that I’ve learned over the last year that its difficult to now go back and try to apply it all. I’ve touched on this before in a previous blog entry. Things like updating meta-tags on my images are on my mind. Getting my next batch of images in the right format for copyright registration is also paramount. I need to figure out how I’m going to update my back-ups procedures based on some more efficient tools and processes. Being jobless has posed some strict limitations on what I can do so prioritizing is of utmost importance.
“Oh, by the way…How’s the job hunt going, Terrell?”
Model, Clarissa
Thanks for asking. Its going is about all I can say. I’m in the process of updating materials and seeking new ways to market myself better. All in all, I gotta tell ya…I’m doing okay with this. The job I had was really consuming valuable time that allowed little room for recuperation. I’ve been able to focus on my photo work, and despite the challenges, its still fun for me. The one thing that hasn’t been so fun is the pinched nerve I’ve had over the last month. Vicodin and Flexeril don’t even touch the pain. I’m serious. X-rays revealed nothing, so its basically a suggestion to add Ibuprofen to the mix and go home. I’ll do some physical therapy next week. Its been a while since I’ve been in this much frustration from pain. Who’s had a pinched nerve before?
I got to meet another up and coming business woman in my area. Lillie Kleemeyer is the proud owner of the new photography studio, Xquizit Pix, located here in Henderson, serving the Las Vegas, Clark County area. She’s got a nice setup, complete with a 1300 square foot studio space with 14 foot ceilings, a kitchen, model changing areas, and space for a MUA. She rents her studio space for $30 an hour! Sweet, huh? Yeah, I’ll be spending some quality time there and I think you should too, especially if you’re on a budget like me. She’s got props, wardrobes, lights, seamless and muslin backdrops, the works. Or you could just go to her website and check all this out yourself. I was there for several hours til I got kicked out so she could do a private model shoot. But then I just came back later. I’m looking at doing some of my Las Vegas Art Model Group gigs there. So go see Lillie and check out her facilities next time you’re in Vegas needing an indoor shooting arena. Give the girl some love.
Model Katherine, her dog and hawk
Lastly, I’ve missed working with alternative editing techniques. As a film purist, I had really just begun mastering the print process and then exploring new techniques when I moved to Vegas and no longer had a darkroom. The top pic is my first ever Polaroid transfer. I think I did that in back in 2006 or 2007. Basically we took slide film and made a Polaroid from the processed slide. Then we used another process to lift the emulsion of the Polaroid substrate and apply it to something else. I transferred mine to a piece of watercoloring paper. Here’s a tutorial on how its done. The other shots are more experiments with the distressed style similar to scratching negatives like I used to do back in the day. Enjoy.
