Miles & Max on Livewire

Todd and Tresa (waaaay down there)

Superman (Max)

More to come soon! Thank you Dexter, Todd, Max, Miles, Shanna, and Tresa!

These were just for fun and out of convenience. I leave the real pro food shooting to the likes of Lara Hata.

Work of Art Catering

WoA Catering's Housemade Nutter Butters

Vice Chocolates LTD Edition Lucky Lager Truffles

TCHO Chocolates' Sample Plate

Kung Fu Tacos

Kung Fu Tacos catered my friend's party

Foggy Sunrise

So much for posting one image a week. It’s a new year, and I have a whole crapload of backlog to work through from 2009, and already some for 2010. It’s like the photo above…the cargo ship, coming in from the distance, while the sun is rising. BUT…it’s foggy. Damn. In any case, here are some teasers:

Kaitlin

Bishop

Annnnnnnd….one more that I can’t show anything of, yet.

Happy New Year!

The London Eye

Of the five images that I entered, this was the only one that was selected to be display in the APA Something Personal Exhibition of 2009. I must say I was a little puzzled why this was chosen.

While I was in London last year, I took only a handful of snapshots of the London Eye as I walked under it. It was spur of the moment, I didn’t plan it, and didn’t even remember I took it until I returned home to review my images. And yet, such a forgettable image at capture time has come to have such a visual impact.

For those of you that have seen my main page, this is the first image that shows up. I picked it to have a “universal” appeal to those that stopped by. I selected it because at the time, I wasn’t sure what photographic specialty I’d like to market myself in. So, I thought it best not to pigeon-hole myself with a portrait up front. It doesn’t represent the overall style I claim to strive for, and I certainly don’t have any deep story or process to back the creation of it (see above). To this day, I don’t think much of this photo, yet I “feel” something every time I see it.

Of course, the image did not look like that out of the camera. It looked like this:

Original

It’s pretty flat, the background’s a bit blown out, and there isn’t much color in it. And, to put in its print-ready state, I took no more than 5-minutes of Lightroom adjustments and presets.

I think what I’ve learned through this process is that compelling imagery can be in essence, very simple. And, as the show’s name dictates, “something personal.” No clients, no art directors, no crew, just me…creating an image. I still enjoy the organized chaos of many talented individuals coming together to create something exciting. However, this reminds me of the ultimate part of the process of simply capturing the moment: whether contrived, serendipitous, or completely unintentional.

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SEE THE PRINT!

Of course, you’re all welcome to see this print in person at the APA Something Personal Exhibit (and Holiday Party!) this Friday, December 11th, 2009 @ Leftspace Studios, 6:00pm - 10:00pm. There will be 100 images on display there.

Click here to download and print an invitation to the show.

If you can’t make it to the show, it’ll also be on display @ Gallery 645 through January.

Thank you for all the support!

First stop, just outside Disher Sound

This past Saturday, October 10, was yet another Propville Dog and Pony Bus Tour. This time, Teri and gang set destinations around San Francisco-based production-related businesses. (more after the jump)

DISHER SOUND

Tom Disher @ his studio, Disher Sound

Paul Zahnley @ Disher Sound

Our first stop was Emmy-award winning Disher Sound, where Tom Disher & Paul Zahnley described their work in the often-discounted, but a very important aspect of media: sound.

Outboard Gear in Tom's studio

Tom is a composer and sound designer. He gave us a peek on his process of crafting the music and sound effects that influence our perception of motion pictures and video. From dramatic, whimsical, beachy, to “Batman-like,” Tom is capable of being extremely creative even with limited resources.

Paul's Studio @ Disher Sound

Paul Zahnley is an audio engineer and re-recording mixer. His job (in short) is to make sure that a video or film production’s audio is polished and read for mass consumption. From cleaning up clicks and pops, audio replacement, or mixing it all down, he’s the man.

Visiting Disher Sound harkened back to my experience and education as an audio engineer.  It was nice to see such a small studio thriving over the years. And now, with traditionally still visual mediums giving heed to motion, sound will continue to be a very important aspect of storytelling.

JIM BALDWIN

Jim Baldwin, Location Scout

Back on the bus, we were presented with Jim Baldwin, Location Scout for Baldwin Production Services. His job, in a nutshell, is to find you that perfect place for your production, and get it ready with permits, police, parking etc so that all you need to do is show up with your crew and equipment and shoot. I’ve tried doing my own location scouting and booking before (though not as thorough as Jim) and it’s quite a chore. Give him a call, and many of your worries will be put to ease.

GAIL STEMPLER

Gail Stempler, Location Manager

After Jim does his part, he hands it off to someone like Gail Stempler. Gail is a Location Manager for the Trauma TV series. In essence, she’s the one on location to make sure that everything that needs to happen, does happen. She discussed the challenges of working on short timelines of episodic TV and importance of relationships in getting her job done.

On location with Gail Stempler

Gail was also kind enough to show us a location where they shot part of this week’s episode of Trauma. See if you can spot it in this week’s episode.

SCRAP

Rachel (left) guides Propvillians into SCRAP

Our next stop was SCRAP (Scroungers’ Center for Reusable Art Parts). SCRAP is essentially a non-profit, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” center. There is a plethora of supplies and pieces here for your next creative or simple houseware project. They also host workshops to help get those creative juices flowing.

Fairly well organized

Karima finds something useful

Jenny's blob of yarn

So scary, I couldn't focus

LUNCH BY SMALL POTATOES CATERING AND EVENTS

Lunch @ Purebred Studios, catered by Small Potatoes

Ah lunch…I get hungry again just looking at the photos. Lunch was held at Purebred Studios, and catered by Small Potatoes Catering & Events. They source local and organic whenever possible, and are simply fantastic. I’ll let the photos talk at this point.

The Menu

Butter Lettuce Salad

Dill-Djion Crusted Wild Steelhead Salmon

Tofu Veggie Brochettes

Pineapple Mango Agua Fresca

Housemade Artisan Candies by Small Potatoes' "Sweet" Kitchen

Michael Jennings (left) of Small Potatoes

PUREBRED PRODUCTIONS

3-wall Cyc @ Purebred Studios

After lunch, we sauntered into Purebred Productions and rental studio. It’s not quite finished, but from what Jason Mitchell and Stacey Ransom describe, it’ll be a helluva nice place to work. In addition to have a large studio to work in, it’s also sound insulated for your motion capture needs (a must as commercial jetliners frequent nearby).

Jason and Stacey describe their green initiative

Jason and Stacey have enacted a very cool green initiative. In an effort to reduce waste, they ask that you do not bring and use plastic water bottles and plastic tableware in their studios. They will provide reusable aluminum bottles, dishes, and flatware as to minimize landfill waste. All drinking water taps are filtered. Furthermore, they ask that you separate your waste accordingly (recycling, compost, garbage). Follow the conditions listed and you’ll be eligible for a $100 refund! Just for being green!

Reusable bottles are part of the initative

The rest of their facility is green-minded as well. Recycled rubber flooring is used upstairs in the office, as well as recycled denim is used as insulation. Room lighting is on occupancy sensors, toilets are double-flush, and automatic faucets and hand dryers are in use in their restrooms.

Denim insulation

Yes, it's a photo of their restroom.

PETER WILLIAMS’ MOBILE PRODUCTION UNIT

Peter & Teri, in front of a 40ft Tiffin Phaeton production vehicle

Just outside Purebred Productions, was Peter Williams’ 40ft mobile production vehicle. In addition to bringing this super-posh mobile home, Peter was also kind enough to provide an afternoon pick-me-up of coffee, which he does for ALL of his clients.

MmmM....boost

Plenty of room to spare even with us all in there

Espresso, anyone?

Room to lounge

DEANNE DELBRIDGE

Deanne Delbridge

Back on the bus, we had the pleasure of having Deanne Delbridge run through a quick exercise with elevator pitching. I had the privilege of hearing Deanne speak a few months ago with APA. However, it was nice to get her attention in a small-group. Also, her simple concepts prove to be quite effective, even though we loosely executed them in the 15 minutes she spoke. Yes, you had to be there to know what she said.

VELOCITY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

In an unassuming house in San Francisco...

You probably wouldn’t think twice when passing by this San Francisco home. But inside is a magnificent and immersive experience of art and fantasy.

Gregangelo Herrera (standing, right) in the Solstice Room

Velocity Arts & Entertainment creates custom art installations to envelope your senses. The house, though impressive, it is just a taste of what Velocity is capable of. In addition to creating wicked art, they also give back to the community through CUE (Children United by Experience), their non-profit organization aimed at enriching youth through arts. In any case, here is just a small peek at some of the rooms and details. I could have easily posted hundreds of photos of the place.

MENDEL’S FAR OUT FABRICS

Propvillians gathered on Haight St.

We eventually made our way to Mendel’s Far Out Fabrics. In operation for over 40 years, and originally starting as a housewares store, Mendel’s now offers unique art supplies and fabrics for whatever purpose you can come up with.

Furry fabrics are their specialty

As well as other unique printed ones

Owner Bette Mosias (center) chats it up

RAYKO PHOTO CENTER

Rayko reception

Our last stop of the day was Rayko Photo Center. Rayko offers darkroom, digital, and studio rental services. In addition to showing us their facilities, they also demoed a classic technique and medium called tintype where I volunteered to model.

Michael Shindler prepares a tintype plate

Somehow, the ladies in the group convinced me to go shirtless

"Fixing" the plate, final stage of development.

Mia shows off Rayko's swanky digital facilities

WRAP UP

Thank you to Teri, Propville, and all facilities and presenters for putting together another fantastic event. In case you missed all the links, here they are again:

Propville Directory
Disher Sound
Baldwin Production Services
SCRAP
Small Potatoes Catering and Events
Purebred Productions
Peter Williams’ Mobile Production Unit
Deanne Delbridge
Velocity Arts & Entertainment
Mendel’s Far Out Fabrics
Rayko Photo Center

Nikon D200 28mm 5.0s @ f/7.1

How about some street photography?

This is in Paris, August of 2008.

On one of my last nights there, I make my way to the Montmartre, hoping to get one of those cool fine art photos of the long stairways. While I do have a few of those attempts at fine art, I found this image to be the coolest. I mean, how often do you see a firedancer just down the steps of the Sacré Cœur? For all I knew, he might have been there every night. Hmm…but, this was fresh and exciting to me! In any case, I plopped my camera on a beanbag-like camera support called The Pod (since I didn’t bring a real tripod), and draaagged the shutter.

Hasselblad H3DII-31 1/320s f/11, filled with Hensel Porty with softbox

I’ve been procrastinating on images I shot on Memorial Day weekend. Yes, May. And this is one of many.

As you know, I was experimenting with the Hasselblad on Memorial Day weekend. This was the second shoot that I scheduled. I was hoping to tell the story of Brandon and his adventures as an urban bicycle commuter. I had big plans of rolling/tracking shots, and perhaps some stunts. Well, first off, the Hasselblad’s tracking focus isn’t very good, and the shutter lag basically made it nearly impossible. Well, and I didn’t want to break Brandon’s neck. So, after a revision of plans, and lunch at Perry’s, I had Brandon strike a pose around various spots along the Embarcadero.

The day was actually overcast, so we had really soft light all around. Cloud cover did change throughout the day, which had me switching settings up and down and around. I had a Hensel Porty 1200 pack with a Chimera XS soft box just for a bit of pop on Brandon. I probably would’ve needed it more if I was trying to balance for bright skies. To tell you the truth, it was dialed down quite a bit. I have no idea if it did anything.

Big ups to Brandon, Quin, and Van that made this shoot possible.

And, why do I have this blog? Sure, Photoshelter would say it’s an SEO machine. Ultimately, it’s an outlet for me to share whatever’s going on creatively, technically, or whatever. A recent criticism from my brother pointed out that he wanted to see more of my work. That was the subtle wakeup call I needed. So, I’m going to start making an effort here by starting small: One image, twice a week. Today I share an image I took when I was out and about in San Francisco a few weeks ago. No story, just a photo of my coffee.

Blue Bottle Coffee Gibraltars @ Piccino