gopho blog

2011-12-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

Dr. Karen Cassiday on avoidance and panic attacks:

A new clip from the upcoming film "Face to Facebook" by gopho films. This is turning out to be a very important and inspiring film about panic, anxiety, the internet and conquering fear. If you have a moment, pledge what you can on Kickstarter and please share this link. Thank you for your support. We wouldn't be able to make this film without you.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gophofilms/f2fb-face-to-facebook

www.f2fb.net

2011-10-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Face to Facebook

I've been directing a documentary feature:

this film is getting more and more attention each day. Please take a moment to check out the website www.f2fb.net

We are up on kickstarter right now and need your help to make this film possible.

Thanks for your support.

2011-08-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

I'm tremendously excited to announce the launch of gopho films. Our first film is a documentary feature entitled Face to Facebook. This is about a woman with agoraphobia and anxiety who has challenged herself (by way of a New Years resolution) to meet all of her Facebook friends within the year. As of December 31st she had 325 friends and 11 more were added to the list on the 1st. She has 365 days to do this and the kicker is that she must travel all over the world to meet them. She must face her worst fears and conquer her anxiety to do this.

Face to Facebook will be an inspiring and incredible journey and I'm so excited to be a part of it. View the trailer on our website www.f2fb.net and spread the word. We are counting on the support of our friends and their friends to get the word out and make this film possible. We have the project up on Kickstarter. Any and every donation makes a huge difference.

Here's a link to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune about ArLynn's resolution and the film.
Tribune Feature Article

Thank you for your support and for helping us get the word out on this important film!

2011-06-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

photo of the week

What do you see beyond the horizon? What's on the other shore? How far would you go to find out?

2011-04-12T10:33:00.001-07:00

Photo of the week:

What has been bricked up, closed off, hidden for a long time? What lies behind those doors that have been closed for so long in your life? Even though it may be out of sight, it's still there, waiting to be rediscovered.

2011-03-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Please pardon the delay, for some reason, there's been some technical difficulties on the site and none of the galleries are loading correctly. We're working on it as well as a new site. Hopefully we'll have this resolved faster than I can post this message... nope, it's going to take a little bit longer.

2011-03-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

WINNER BEST PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY!!!!!!!!
Illinois Meetings & Events Magazine

http://il.meetingsmags.com/article/illinois-meetings-events-readers-choice-best-2010

>>Photography/Videography
THE WINNER IS:
GoPho

The photography pro behind GoPho is Ben Gonzales, a Southern Illinois University Cinema and Photography alum. With a great eye for capturing moments and scenes of beauty, Gonzales’ work has been featured in The Onion as well as advertisements for Pepsi, Jose Cuervo, and more. GoPho offers personal, commercial, travel and event photography services and is based out of Gonzales’ home studio in Chicago.

// GoPho, Chicago, 847.372.1871

RUNNERS UP: Edward Fox Photography, ProMax Productions Inc.

2011-03-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

Photo of the week:

Perspective

What do you really see? How much of your vision is blocked by lack of knowledge, understanding, emotion, desire? How can you chip away at the edges of your perceptions, opening that view wider and wider until you can see the bigger picture? And if you could, would you want to?

I try to find ways of opening that aperture, exposing more light, shedding a greater hint of truth. I want to be able to break down the walls around us so we can see the world for the way it is, but I fear, that even with our amazing capacity for understanding, our limited scope of perceptions will still inhibit our ability to gain real perspective.

2011-01-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

No photo today...

This morning, I got on the bus and a woman sat down next to me with her toddler, all bundled up in a pink, hooded, down jacket with a bright pink hand knitted scarf, tied loosely around the girl’s face. I only saw the back of her head as we sat in the very front seat right behind the driver. Her tiny hood obscured part of my view of the bus door as people filed in, one by one on to the bus from the winter cold. Each one peered up at the meter, then at the seats. A few stopped and gazed at this adorable child and just smiled, sometimes at her and sometimes just to themselves. I cracked a grin every time.

Having my own spawn has definitely changed my perspective on children in general, but I think there’s something intrinsic about children that engenders a smile, whether it’s physically manifested or not, in everyone. Sure, there are times when a child can drive you friggin nuts, but overall, you see a random kid, just sitting there all bundled up and you have to just grin, inside or outside.

I wonder what it is. Is it our connection to that time when we, ourselves, were innocent and aware? Is it our hope in the future of our own species? Is it some memory of our erstwhile wonderment, or some hope to reclaim it? Why do we lose that sense as we grow old? Why do we become disillusioned by our world and our interactions?

As the mother and child exited the bus, I could see her face. She looked at me and I waved. She waved back and smiled. I waved again, she did again. I don’t think it was an autonomic response. I don’t think it was just what she thought she should do. I think there’s something ingrained in us that wants to connect to another person, that wants to remember that we are all a part of each other. Somewhere down the line, I think most of us lose sight of that connection, but when we’re children, it’s not even conscious, it’s just always there.

I read a quote today that rings very true to me. “Don’t believe everything you think.”

It means, don’t just live in your head. Get out of the world clouded by your own thought and be aware of the reality that is all around you. It’s a very zen thing, the idea that we are constantly clouded by our own thoughts. That our own minds are interrupting our experience of the wondrous world around us. It’s all there, in the cold wind, the snow, the ground beneath us, in every edifice we’ve been able to build, every device we’ve invented. The wonder of this amazing place is always there. Try to remember it and smile, that’s all it takes, just a smile.

2011-01-04T18:58:00.000-08:00

Photo of the week: refraction

I'm not a subscriber to any faith. I'm not beholden to any written truth. I'm not limited in my opinion or my belief, however, there is something greater than all of us. It's not out there, it's here and everywhere. It is refracted in everything that we experience in our brief wondrous lives.

You can label it and you can try to define it but, what I'm describing is infinite in its scope and we are still finite.

In this new year, I encourage everyone not to reflect but, rather to refract. Let whatever it is that binds us all shine through and change hue.

2010-03-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

Photo of the week:

Density

So much to say in so little time. At least it feels that way these days. Hours pass like seconds. You turn your head and the whole world changes in front of you. Like a dense fog, there are the vague outlines of what is in front of you that get clearer and clearer with each step you take.

2010-01-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year

These little piggies belong to the one and only Desmond Marcus Durbin Gonzales. Welcome to the world little man. You just made my year!

Heck, you just made my life!

2009-11-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

Photo of the week:

Autumn.

The leaves are falling, and temperatures are dropping. Those last bits of precious sunlight are dwindling, getting dark earlier and earlier.

Birds have started their migration Southward and the burrowers have fattened themselves for the winter ahead. The gray and white are here to nest for a while.

This time of year is one of reflection and growth for me. I always become a bit of hermit, shutting myself in, reviewing my work and my images, preparing a new leaf for the spring, planning and plotting the activity for the warmer months and this time, especially, preparing for a new born child coming in the dead of winter. I'm not one to normally have this, but my nesting instinct is in full gear. New digs, new goals and, certainly, new motivations are guiding me now.

I look into to future and see only a fog but right before me, I can see each wave breaking at my feet with intense clarity.

2009-10-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

photo of the week:

you have my heart in your hands

art in public spaces can be so evocative and powerful. I wish I could transfer my photos on to some of the drab gray concrete walls that overpower most of this great city. Fortunately, there are some artists who have been good enough to share their visions with us all for free. This is art for it's own sake. An idea to be shared, not sold.

Who are your favorite street artists? Where can we find their work?

This image was taken at Hubbard and Milwaukee. I don't know who the artist is.

2009-09-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

I got published!

This is from the September issue of Chicago magazine. This segment highlights mixologist Daniel De Oliveira of Boka for winning the Jose Cuervo Platino mixology contest this summer.

I referenced this a little while back and well...

here's the article.

YAY! I got published. YAY!

2009-08-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

Vacation

This is my nephew standing by the lake in WI. Spending a week with the little guy was incredible, to say the least. It reminded me of when I was young, experiencing the sand between my toes for the first time, my first sunset, feeling waves crash over my feet. I remember how magical everything was. I still try to relive that feeling.

What do you remember from your youth? What memories, sensations, experiences shaped you?

2009-07-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

The Barkeep.

Daniel DeOlivera is the senior mixologist at Boka. A talented young man, quick witted and charming, not to mention, a master of the habanero! His spicy sweet concoction, "Arana de Amor" recently took 1st place at a Jose Cuervo Platino mixology contest, and with good reason, it's remarkably delicious!

Get your self down to Boka and try one or any other of his signature drinks. You're sure not to be disappointed. Oh, and keep a look out in Chicago Magazine this September for an article on Daniel featuring my photos. YAY!!!! Publication rocks.

Kudos Daniel.

2009-07-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

Independence.

What are we celebrating? Why do the bombs burst in the air? Of what did these bombs give proof through the night? Our flag is still here. Where are we taking it? What are we doing with it? What have we done to it already? Do we celebrate our solidarity, our citizenship, our freedom?

I think this independence day, this time of celebration, we should remember why this country was founded, the principles so lost in the rhetoric that they are all but forgotten. We are free, free from oppression of thought, speech, religion, belief. Free. Let's, in the next year, see exactly how free we really are.

2009-07-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

Something else.

I wonder if we were meant to see something else. Would it be as beautiful as what we see now? Would we ever know the difference?

2009-06-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

Gone fishin'

first, let me thank everyone who came out to the 3rd annual Humboldt Park Art Fair. It was a great success. I sold a number of prints and made some great connections there. I'm looking forward to being a part of it again next year.

This photo is from a couple weeks back. Sunset on the lake. Some friends got together for a barbeque up in the boon docks. Look, you can see the edge of one at the bottom of the picture. It was a long drive involving arguements, getting lost and eternal frustration with traffic, but it was completely worth it.

Nothing relaxes me like a fire by the lakeside, a nice sunset and a good beer. It's one of my favorite things in the world. In a month or so, I get a week of that straight. I'll be sure to share some photos. Keep an eye out.

Next week, HDR.

2009-06-12T04:53:00.000-07:00

Humboldt Park Art Fair

Yeah, I'm there.

doors open at 10am tomorrow

Saturday, June 13th

at the boat house

1400 N. Sacramento (Humboldt Blvd.)

Come on out! There's bands, artists, films, food, beer and fun. It's free admission and the weather should be great. You have no excuses.

I'll have some prints to buy and a catalog of prints available to order. 20% of my profits are going to Graffiti Zone, who is hosting the event. It's a great cause. Check them out.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Tell all you friends.

2009-05-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

The Book

It's a fading memory, a relic of someone else's life. The rotted cover, cracked open just enough to give you a glimpse of what's inside, yet making it harder to open, harder to search through the brittle pages without destroying them.

The shelf this came from was full of books in some state of decay and this was hardly the worst of them. The space was all but abandoned, and apparently in a hurry too. I promise, there will be many more pictures from this place.

2009-05-12T05:11:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

ACen: Anime Central Convention

I had the privelege of getting a press pass to the Anime Central Convention at the Rosemont Convention Center this year. The photos were published on the Windy Citizen. Unfortunately, I was only able to spend a day there. Next year, I'll be there all three days if I can.

There were booths from vendors of manga, anime, hentai, weapons, costumes, props, artists, comics, art schools, toys, videos, and a ton of other gizmos, gadgets, and anime gear. However, this year, like most others was all about the costumes or 'cosplay'.

I took a ton of photos of these elaborate and creative costumes. Here's a link to the entire set on Flickr, just this once, so you can see all the characters. Enjoy!

2009-04-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

Photo of the week:

The Mistress.

The Dominatrix. She's plotting your demise. She sits there, judging you, carefully calculating every motion.

This isn't my first time shooting with Miss B, and it won't be the last. Her expression and her edge are cutting. It's so great to capture that stare.

2009-04-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Photo of the Week,

Fishlips!

I went exploring around some abandoned places in the city and came across this. So there's this street artists, posting up drawings almost everywhere. I've seen his/her (I think his) work all over town, even across the street from where I live. For once, I had my camera out while I was passing by.

I love it. I just love it. I want to know who this person is, I want to see his/her process, influences, ideas. It's some of the most oddly interesting art I've seen, and I love that it's just out there in public. I love that it's temporary, these posters degrade and fall off or get washed away. If you live in Chicago, try and find some. They're hiding in some of the most familar places.

Oh, no, I'm not going to tell you where they are... that would spoil the fun of it.