The Mod Life...

The Sixties are alive! I had to do a shoot about a group that lives the mod lifestyle - 1960's music, european scooters, martini's, go-go boots, etc... They were a lot of fun!

Phone Calls...

I just spent a few hours of my Saturday calling members of the ASMP Dallas chapter to remind them about our upcoming events. Evening when I'm not working, I'm still working. I'm going to take a break before I start my evening shoots. I want to spend some time playing with the boys and wife. Life as a photographer really is 24/7 if you want to be successful...

It's a Lady Gaga Day!!!

Geez... this week started out a little slow, but today has more than made up for it! I will be having a Lady Gaga day that will be slam-packed with shoots. In total, I will have four different shoots to do at the Lady Gaga concert tonight: two pre-concert events, shooting her performing during the show, then shooting her post-show after party. How can I can complain about turning one night into four separate paychecks?!? I'm going to be one busy little shooter tonight! Thanks, Gaga!!!

Crazy Babies...

When I'm not shooting, this is what I usually have to deal with...

It can be a handful, but at least it makes the office days a little more fun!

New Science Projects...

I shot this cover story last year, but I don't think I ever shared any out takes from it. It was such a crazy night of shooting, that I thought it would make for a fun blog post. Dale Jones performs under the name New Science Projects around North Texas. It is part old school blues and part wild performance art... quite an interesting experience! He came over to the studio for this cover shoot, one I will probably never forget!

Florene...

While digging through recent photo folders on the computer, I ran across this shoot from the middle of May. The band is called Florene, and the duo is from Denton. The pics were for a story that ran in Quick sometime around the end of May, if I remember correctly. The pics looks great in print. I forget which ones ran and which were the out takes, but these were a few that caught my eye tonight...

Talk About Large Format Photography?!?

I used to shoot with my 4x5 Cambo Legend on a regular basis. Some of my clients had needs that required its use. Then digital took over. I haven't shot with it since 2005 or so... but, guess what? I'm breaking the large format camera out of storage and plan to use it again. Why? Because there's something about giant pieces of film that help unshackle the artist inside me. But, that's not all... I'm also going much, much bigger!

I just picked up an old 12x18 process camera for only $40 from a print shop that hasn't used it in years. My plan is to get it set up to take 11x14 film and do some head and shoulder portraits. I've made a lot of connections over the years, and I was thinking about doing a project that took advantage of all the people I've met and know. I was thinking about shooting what I will call "Faces of North Texas". It will focus on interesting, notable, famous and/or special people in the Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton area. All of it shot on 11x14 film! Wowzers!!!

We'll see how long it takes me to get this project up and running, but it should be a blast when I do. I can't wait to start shooting through film that costs $15 to $20 per frame (and that doesn't even include processing and shipping fees)! Am I crazy?!? Yes.

The Best of D...

I've got a couple images in the current issue of D Magazine. The tasty Slurpee cover is not mine, but the ones of Zeus Comics and Dallas Bike Works are. You should pick up the issue, probably hitting stands in the next few days and mailboxes right now! James Bland has a really fun photo of Good Records, and there is a ton of interesting stuff to read (I always love reading D's best of issue).

Contra vs. Kennis...

new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stopthepresses/231834/vampire-weekends-cover-art-contra-versy-model-sues-band-for-2-million/

The story is interesting to read from a photographer's point of view, but what really caught my eye were the insane comments left by other readers. It goes to show that the average person really doesn't get the idea of copyright. Many readers complained that Kennis is probably greedy and has no right to sue, and that she should be grateful the band wanted to use her picture. Many also believe that a found picture (or a picture bought in a thrift shop bin) is free game to use commercially. Enlightening the general public about copyright is definitely an uphill battle!

It sounds like Vampire Weekend isn't to blame, though. It sounds like this will come down to a battle between the photographer and Kennis. I am interested to see how it plays out...

Nice Work, Jonathan...

He's got some good stuff. Especially his video work:

www.jonathanchapman.com

BP Photo Scandal...

Be careful about altering your images, if they are for a news story:

news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100720/bs_yblog_upshot/bp-caught-using-altered-image-of-command-center

It's one thing to go crazy with Photoshop when you are doing an advertisement or editorial piece, but photo for news aren't supposed to be altered. It's supposed to be a "what you see is what you get" sort of thing.

Large Format...

I haven't been to this forum since 2004, according to their records, but I think I'm going to start hanging around there again:

www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/

Why? Well, I'm going to start shooting some 4x5 again. The last time I shot some film through my Cambo Legend was probably 2005. I'm also looking at picking up an old 12x18 process camera for $40, and I plan to convert it to shoot 11x14 film. This will be a lot of fun, if it works out like I planned. Film isn't dead!

The turntable...

I often spend my Sunday nights up in the studio... late into the night, working on photos in Photoshop and sending them off to clients via FTP. I usually have my turntable and a stack of vinyl to keep me company. It's a varied collection, with a little bit of everything. One night it could be Joe Jackson (like tonight), another it could be Ferde Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite.

Sometimes I wish I could just fall asleep to the record player and wake up in the morning to the sound of an old record slowly spinning at 33 1/3 rpm... the needle still skating over the center, waiting to be lifted off the album. I don't know why I romanticize about vinyl so much.

I grew up in the late 1970's and 80's when vinyl was still king. We had some good records, mostly The Beatles, Elvis and other bands from the 60's and 70's. And, of course, there was the Fisher Price player and a giant stack of scratched up 45's that I would play in my bedroom.

I was more of a cassette kid, though. We played a ton of 8-track albums, and most everything I bought in the 80's was on cassette. I eventually moved to CD's in 1992 or so, and I have a massive CD collection. But, nothing can beat vinyl for me now.

I guess one big advantage to vinyl is that it forces me to take short breaks from the computer, as I get up to flip the record or change to another album. If it weren't for those frequent breaks, I'd wind up sitting in a chair for hours at a time, as I process all my photos. That can't be good for the body! So, thank you vinyl.

The Southern Sartorialist...

An interesting street fashion blog was brought to my attention the other day. It's based in New York and it's called The Sartorialist. This may be old news to all you trendy fashion followers, but it was something fresh and different to little old me. It's basically fashion snaps, with a raw and edgy urgency. It reminds me of what might happen if Henri Cartier Bresson was working for Glamour Magazine's blog today.

So, it looks easy enough. I've done similar stuff for publications like FD Luxe and Quick. I've had to attend events and get snaps of people for the "who's who" type pages. However, the Sartorialist blog takes it a step further. It's like a mini, impromptu fashion shoot in the middle of the street, all done in a few frames or less.

Well, I decided to try it out for myself, doing a sort of Southern version of The Sartorialist. I decided to capture a slice of Dallas' Mockingbird Station on a recent Friday evening. I knew it would be a place where a mixture of styles would converge and mingle, and this is what I caught...

I liked this simple, yet trendy look. Of course, being a guy, I'm going to gravitate towards simple and comfortable clothing. It was hard to just press the shutter button and not turn this project into full-blown "photo shoot". I had to resist, though, as The Sartorialist style seems to be very spur of the moment. It appears like there is little to no art direction and the whole shoot happens in a matter of seconds.

This guy was dressed right! He was dressed up, but nothing looked constrictive or uncomfortable. His girlfriend was in perfect summertime clothing, too. I think you need to balance high style with comfort during Dallas' hottest days.

This is retro rockabilly perfected. I think he looks cool! Maybe I'm biased, since I love styles based around music.

This feels very Austin to me. Or maybe Denton. Both cities seem to lead Dallas on the newest indie-hipster trends, so expect to see this style more and more in Big D.

Classic punk pop look. I've shot a lot of bands at the Warped Tour dressed like this. I bet he's a musician. Or, at least someone cooler than me.

Anyone who sports a good metal t-shirt is OK in my book!

I want to find out more about that little pouch attached to his leg. I haven't seen those before (well, except for the drop leg bags that military and police use), and I'm sensing a new trend!

OK, so my stuff is nowhere near the quality of The Sartorialist yet. Of course, he's been perfecting this type of shooting for five years now. Maybe my street fashion pics would be as good or better after five years of doing it?!? Either way, it was fun to capture a slice of the city's real life fashion. I might just try this again. Watch out Sartorialist, you might just have some southern competition!