Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Small Victory




This week, I took the 5D out to go another round with the video function. I spent one afternoon just playing with the camera trying to get interesting shots and was pleased with what I got in some daylight experimentation.
But the real question was, "How can I get visually pleasing results in low light conditions?" I found out about Canon's new firmware from a friend and downloaded it. This allowed me greater flexibility when I shot. I now have the ability to choose ISO, aperture, and shutter settings. Here is the results I came up with. I am not there yet, but I am 1 step closer to a solution.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Fragments create Fiction



My process usually begins from the outside in. I've been told that it's uncommon, but that is the way that photographs speak out to me. It begins with a place I come across, without looking for it. As I drive home late at night, I will catch a strange light at the periphery of my vision that screams out to stop and take a look.

There is only a hint of story in my mind, just a foundation, an aesthetic, a stage for a drama to unfold. I then carry it in my mind and wait for an idea to formulate. I was told once that an interesting portrait begins with an interesting location. The question, is the frame an interesting one before you put someone in it. I work from the larger picture and if the story is to be told, the details reveal themselves.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Fixed Photo Adventure










Last sunday, I spent the day with a gang of teenagers obsessed with "fixie"s. Single speed, no brakes, balls out bike enthusiasts who want nothing more than a stretch of road to mash(speed down) or a curb to trick. I decided that it had been to long since I had got down with the local boys to shoot the teen throttle. I wanted to begin a series that took an inside look into the lifestyle of local teenagers who have passions of their own that revolve around bikes, music, and brotherhood. I didn't have any idea how grueling 25 miles on a fixed gear could be. The photo session was funded with skin of my backside, but I got what I think is a good beginning to a vibrant series. I plan to do a couple more rides and plan on shooting the boys rehearsing music in their make-shift practice spaces.

There bike club is the first fixed gear bike club in Long Beach. I helped them establish outreach to the community by creating a blog for "Ride Long Beach". Here is their link- http://wilsonridelb.blogspot.com/

Friday, February 26, 2010

Video Dreams and Noise Nightmares




Because of all the hooplah regarding "to motion, or not to motion", I took a couple of cameras that incorporate a video option and put them to a test in an extreme light situation. I went down to the train yard after dark with a friend to work on an idea for a music video incorporating a 5D and a Flip. When we went to shoot, it all looked great in the viewing screens. Even though we were dealing with a night situation using only existing security light, the screen gave the impression that all was working beautifully. The footage looked amazing as we shot it. Then I took it home. Upon playing it I found a sadly different story. The image was much more unstable and the footage looked hideous because of the digital noise. This was the result of both cameras. I expected this from the flip, but not the 5D. I was dissapointed and depressed. It seemed my hopes of having a camera that is capable of hard travels and extreme lighting conditions dissolved into the night sky.

I am going to try running another test this weekend with some sort of fill and hopefully a way to figure out how to get better control of the image quality while maintaining some sort of light and mobile system. Maybe the 5D wonder camera isn't as limitless as I had hoped. Or maybe, and I want this to be true, there is something that I missed, some information that will make my video dreams come true?

Chalk Hell





Last night a friend and I worked for another 12 hours on the second installment of the chalk-drawn animation episode of "Gun's Don't Kill People". We spent, what seemed like eternity slowly drawing, shooting, and then erasing each individual frame of the 10 seconds we had in the end. Animation isn't really difficult, especially if you are working with someone who is experienced at it. But it is extremely time consuming if you want the motion to look natural. We shot 200 hand drawn frames which now brings the total of the sequence to 720. We have one last installment to go which should bring the total to near 900. Stay tuned in dear listeners. I should have a link to the finished project in about a week.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Chalk Talk






I spent 12 hours in front of a chalk board to attempt to create an animated sequence to attach to a phrase for an experiment in motion. The idea was to use the chalkboard as a background to visually attach it to a schoolroom to make light of it. Because I am not known for my sketching skills, the rudimentary renderings lent themself well to the idea of a childlike message.

The treatment of the visual story was designed to create a feeling of the noir genre. The story will seem like a sort of french crime thriller that turns into a zombie movie all drawn as simple as possible. The phrase I am working with is- "Guns don't kill people, zombies kill people."

I will be working on this for the next couple of weeks. I will link it to the blog when it is completed, but here are a few stills.

Rock-For All Ages






Saturday was a milestone moment for a group of neighborhood teenage boys whose passion is music. The two of them have been pursuing a life that the internet has redefined, the life of a rock musician. This lifestyle has changed dramatically from the way it was only a decade ago. In fact the passion has actually come full circle from where it was three decades ago when the punk scene was emerging.

The defining moment for these two was their involvement in a music project with the San Pedro punk-rock icon Mike Watt. His first band the "Reactionaries" recorded their first album in 1979. To commemorate 30 years since it's creation, the S.P. community formed a collection of bands to re-record the album.

These two boys were chosen to play bass and drums in two of the bands. This is a small account of their experience of being kids in a grown-up world. I found the experience to be challenging, to walk the fence between a snapshot designed and a candid moment.

Monday, February 22, 2010

In God's Name?







This past weekend was one of unexpected photographic fulfillment. I live in Long Beach, a town which holds closest to its heart, its genuine sense of equality. It is something that the local citizens take quite seriously and guard vehemently.

This common bond of inclusive pride got put to the test this weekend, when a group titled the "Westboro Baptist Church", decided to bring their message of hate toward the Gay/Lesbian and Jewish communities. The weekend was packed with protest as the "W.B.C." set stakes at a high school, several temples, and the "Raggamuffin Festival".

You would think that such a campaign of hatred would incur anger and violence. But the town I live in is a special place, where people are much more level-headed. They are perfectly aware that the only appropriate counter-attack to hate is kindness. So a group which goes by the name of "Steal this Protest", devised their own protest with signs that were made to diffuse and confuse the poisonous message. Signs like-"cupcakes" or " we were promised donuts" were waved in front of the ones that slang slanderous debris at the citizens of a an otherwise tolerant community. The small group of soldiers in "God's" army were sent running back into the nether reaches of Kansas from which they came. Here is a photographic taste of what it looked like.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Thinking Green-2



Continuing to work on the "green" project and spent several hours rearranging the parts. I think I got some interesting results that fell in line with my concept. I was hoping to create images that were ad-friendly and text-ready. I liked the process of thinking out the combined image. I think I will use it to see if I can get some dramatic effect.

Here are some links to some blogs from a few of my friends.

http://alysesakai.tumblr.com/

http://ripitbro.wordpress.com/

http://emilymalan.tumblr.com/

http://mia-underthesea.blogspot.com/

http://sarahroach.tumblr.com/


Thinking Green



I was assigned a "green" stock project in which I was to produce a small series of images to introduce the concept of conservation. The easiest method would have been to photograph green objects, green clothing on people, green machines (wind turbines, solar panels and the like). But I decided instead to take a less nailed down approach and focus on the generation that will be handed the torch. This was a simple concept, but a not so simple execution. It took a series of portraits, looking for just the right natural visuals inherent with mood, and a few hours of retouching to pull it all together. I'm on the fence about the resulting images.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Last Night


Last night I went riding around on my bike and went looking for inspiration. There is on occasion, something that catches my eye screaming for attention. Tonight it was at a corner barbershop near my house. There I found a scene that had all the mood and narrative I would need to create a cinematic moment sometime in the near future. Here is what I found. We will see if I am brave enough to confront the owner about shooting something there. There wasn't many angles to get a decent shot, but I think all the photograph needs is a still figure to be complete.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Behind the Scenes






My last shoot I did for a stock assignment revolved around the simple concept of creating a "baby-boomer" portrait. The premise being that the generation of individuals over the age of 50 is a viable market in the advertising world, with free time and a disposable income.

I wanted to shoot someone in the age group with, what I thought of as a marketable look. Someone who looked aged, wise, but vibrant. I knew that the current imagery that was available for such a category attempts to make the elderly look playful. But usually does this by having them do things that are child-like. It generally makes them look ridiculous. So I wanted to try something different and make them look youthful by using lighting techniques associated with current youth culture. Currently this trend is done by using a flash on camera, snapshot look appropriated by the editorial, advertising and fashion world.

I casted the shoot with a man I had shot before who I knew photographed well. He is someone who takes direction well and has a handsome old-Hollywood look. I decided to shoot at his house, because secretly what I really wanted to try was to create a shot that I could include in my "draught" series that I had mentioned in a previous post. I brought along a makeup artist and decided it would be best if he wore his own clothes. I planned the shoot for the mid- afternoon, because I knew from being at his house before, that at about 4:30 the sun poured right into his front windows. I would get the shot for the "draught" series and then when the light was falling at sunset, I would work with flash on camera to get the other look I was after.

When I first arrived, I gave him his hamburger, fries, and chocolate shake as promised. What I forgot to mention was that another reason he is a great model, is because all he asks for in payment is fast food. As soon as he was done eating, we went upstairs to get him dressed, and while I set the camera, the makeup artist checked the wardrobe and powdered him. I also had her stand in so I could set the composition and get the exposure. The light was perfect just as he entered the room. He was backlit and the rays of sun streamed toward the camera giving the photograph a nice flare. As I positioned him in the frame, I realized something was missing to balance out the image. I thought the photo needed a bit of color and a prop to assist the narrative. I saw a glass chess board that was perfect because it didn't compete with the glass table and I filled a small glass with Coke and diluted it to give the impression of an alcoholic drink.

I shot a couple of variations of body language and, of course, found that the subtle change I had him make on a whim, was the image that looked the best. From there, I could see I had about another half hour of light so I moved fast and decided to make use of the last light in the room. I used the broken shafts of lights to get some closer dramatic portraits that featured his rugged face and piercing eyes. I wanted the portraits to look natural, so I let the makeup artist talk to him as I shot. When I do this, I usually get some unexpected expressions that have a thoughtful taste.

When I got what I thought was a good variety, we went outside to his yard and experimented with on-camera flash. I tried to explain what I was going for, a bit of attitude mixed with some teenage angst. It was hard to get him to understand what I was getting at. I had to actually physically direct him to get what I wanted. I shot until the sunlight dropped on the horizon.

When I looked through the photographs, I was pleased to find that there were images that succeeded to convey the initial visual concepts and a few extra surprises. A few days later, I showed a representative from "Blend" stock images my photos. "Blend" is a company that prides itself on being current and ethnically diverse. She said that the images were interesting. She especially liked the one with the window light because it rested on the border between advertising and editorial. But, she also said that my use of current technological trends (flash on-camera) was not an acceptable way to capture the elderly. She said that elderly people have tot be shot in a certain way that keeps them dignified and respectable. What she finds acceptable, I think is boring and is what perpetuates the status quo. Not a place I want my images to live.







Sunday, February 7, 2010

Draught- a Candid moment Created


A few months ago, I had set out to strip myself of the technical crutches I had been wobbling on for the past year. It seemed that scenes I tried to create were always over-stylized and production-heavy. It's not that the images were bad images. They just didn't sit in the real world.

With this new project, I set out to give myself some ground rules. I would use real locations, real people, in somewhat real situations. I would try to use the individuals own wardrobe and minimal make-up. I would use simple props, simple compositions, and available light with a subtle flash if necessary to bring your eye to the subject. The project initially revolved around the concept of "draught". A feeling people have when they pause and ask themselves, "How did I get to this point in my life?"

The first idea for an image in this series came to me when I was walking my dog. Every day I would walk by a neighbors house who had stopped watering his lawn. The lawn was the deadest section of controlled greenery I had ever seen. It was the most muted brown grass, the furthest from life before it disintegrated. At the time, I had noticed a trend in people giving up their yards for more practical, native landscaping.

The first thing to do was to ask the owner of the house, who I had never spoken to, for permission to use his yard. It took me a while to get the courage up to confront the man. It is for some reason scary to confront people you live in proximity to, probably because you are eventually going to bump into them again. When I finally got the courage up to knock on the door, I asked the man about the state of his lawn. He responded to me as if he thought I was some kind of landscaper looking for business and told me he was satisfied with his gardner. When I told him what I wanted to do, I don't think he knew how to respond. He agreed because he didn't have a good enough reason to say "no!".

So now having permission, I had to figure out how I wanted to light it. I had noticed on one of my walks very early in the morning that the early morning light was warm, created mood, and didn't create any shadows the first hour after it rose. So I knew it had to be 7AM. Next I had to find a subject who had the right character, a tired look about him, and someone who could portray an expression of "draught". My neighbor was perfect because besides having all these qualities, he also lived close enough to get him there on time. I spoke with him and tried to make plans, but he left for work early and gave me a very narrow window to shoot in.

We planned for the following week. Unfortunately, the weather for the following week was not cooperating. What was even more unfortunate, was that the owner of the house told me when he agreed, that the lawn was going to be torn out that saturday. I wasn't sure I believed him because of his reluctance to let me shoot my project. So I woke up every morning that week to look at the weather as the sun rose and kept the neighbor on call. Every morning I woke up to cloudy skies. There was one morning, there was sun, but I missed my neighbor as he left for work.

Finally it was the "now or never" point. It was the following saturday and the light was perfect. It was the day the lawn was to be taken up. I ran up to grab my neighbor and got my camera equipment. We got him dressed, stumbled over to the location and waited for the light. People walking their dogs looked curiously at us standing on the dead lawn. I didn't see a gardner in sight, so I was sure the owner was just trying to keep me from wanting to shoot in front of his house. At one point I saw him pull away in his car not to happy to see me. The light came in and it was perfect. I got my subject into place. I began by shooting the setup I was sure I wanted. I tried different things and staged any way I could think of with subtle variations. The light was moving fast. When I thought I had enough, I packed up and let the neighbor go back to bed. Shooting all film, I hoped it turned out as well as it looked in the camera.

An hour after the shoot I took my dog around the neighborhood on his morning walk. On my way home, I passed by the house with the dead lawn. As I walked by I noticed a couple of gardners pulling some heavy equipment out of their truck. I confronted one of them and asked, "You guys here to tear out the lawn?". The man looked to me and nodded. The next day there was nothing left but tilled dirt.

It final frame wasn't the one I was sure was the image. It was from one of the variations I decided to try to take a chance on. The photograph, I feel, was a success. Not just from my pre-planning and pre-visualiztion. But because I kept it flexible and was fortunate that on that saturday, the universe decided it wanted to cooperate.





Draught- A \andid moment created

Friday, February 5, 2010

Burden of Dreams


I am a wanderer. I have spent my life with dreams that I seek to materialize. These aspirations have lead me to a photographic life. An existence that revolves around voyeuristic instinct.

In the course of my life thus far, I have traveled, experienced, survived, and tried to observe what passed around me. I find it a challenge to live in the moment and absorb all the visual stimulis the world has to offer. This is where my camera has come in to rescue me. It is a device I have used to catalogue the world around me, so that I may remember what I have seen and how I have seen it.

It really comes down to a method of control that began with a 110 minolta box camera.
When I was young, my family would travel to far away places. I've seen more slums and museum walls filled with religious art than I think any child can palette. My father catalogued in great detail every trip we took. Many years we returned to the same exact locations and he would take the same exact picture. I don't know if he had any real artistic intent. He just felt the need to catalogue things. Now you can go to my parents house and ask them to see a picture of the pyramids and they will tell you they don't know where it is. This is because the photo library of all this cataloguing has amounted to a mountain of boxes crammed away into the closet of the extra bedroom.

I think by default of the prescence of a camera in what seemed a large part of my youth, I have found the object a comfort that is inseperable from my life. It could be because, the way I was able to have a commonality with the quiet man who was my father, was the camera. Therefore, it is how I have learned to observe and confront the world.

When I ventured into my own journeys around the world, I traveled with nothing but this object as a confidant to share the experiences with. My memory is famous for its short span, and so I have depended on it as a friend to remind me of the most intimate moments and adventurous experiences. Over time, I shot thousands of bad photographs, but in this process (that had drained my bank accounts), I learned how to see.

What I think I have learned, that my father had not, is that the pictures that we have seen of places that made them look so inviting was the result of a chosen perspective. Perspective is what makes the world an interesting place. There are those moments when something ordinary has a little detail that sends it to another dimension. These are the things I either search out or try to create. I have developed an insatiable love of light and how it dramatizes the ordinary.

What I got from my mother, other than a Central American ancestry, is a love for movies. She gave me the beginnings of an appreciation for narrative. Our one bonding point is the many hours we spent watching movie classics and discussions about the power of a good story.
These two elements, a love of light and story, are what motivate every photograph I take.

There is nothing like the feeling of throwing together a scene and finding an extraordinary moment captured in a still frame. It is my greatest passion and my greatest frustration. Because even after many hours of preparation, there has been failure. Then in times of a mindless snapshot generated from instinct, there are those successes. I think what I would define as photographic success would be the ability to create such moments on command. I know I can create a visually pleasing image. But making a photograph that is arresting and will make people look beyond the frame with some kind of inquiry, is another thing entirely.

There are more practical paths and more secure careers. But my ambition, this addiction to capture or create some wonderful truth with light and drama, the successes, achievements, frustrations and mistakes are all ingredients to my burden of dreams.

The photograph I have attached, is one of those moments I could had never forseen. I just happened to be in India, sitting at the base of this building on the edge of the Ganges River and pointed my camera up.