At a Fifth Birthday Party

Sunday was my niece's fifth birthday party. She's growing up far too quickly is what I can say there. Well, I decided to take pictures of course and I think I got some good ones but what I learned from the experience was well worth the bending and the squatting and the kneeling. Kids are short!

Jos with Awesome Keyboard Cat my boyfriend and I got for her.

Nothing beats experience! Kids were running around looking cute; doing cute things and being pretty nifty all around. Of course, my main focus was on Jos and her two sisters but I managed to get a few shots of the other kids.

Like this little guy and the pinata which was way way too high for him to reach.

This one is probably one of my favorites; not for any kind of stylistic effects or great framing but for the fact that it has in it my eldest niece the middle niece and their mom all together. Poor Del just wanted a few more whacks at that pinata. I also learned that kids are savages! They completely destroyed that unicorn tearing it literally limb from limb and adorning themselves in the body parts like some kind of horrible Heart of Darkness-Vietnam-Colonel Kurtz-using a head as a soccer ball kind of way.

Scary.

It's hard to capture kids and it's hard to capture all of the moments that happen at a party all at once. You just got to focus on what is presented there and hope that the energy translates. It also pays to squirm your way into the circle of kids while presents are being opened. I regret not taking time to evaluate the setting though and realize just how bright the sun was shining that day or how open the venue was. Most of my shots lack a sense of intimacy because of this. Live and learn.

The Other Side

Still Life Snapshots Days 4 and 5

'Worn'

A shot of my bathroom door knob. I love the tones that the bathroom produces and it has become one of my favorite places to shoot.

'MirrorMirror'

Another one in the bathroom. Fun fact; I love any Star Trek using the Mirror Mirror universe (I mean I love all of Star Trek, but some of my favorites use the device). My favorite boss in Ocarina of Time was the  mirror replica of Link. 

Still Life Snapshots Days 1-3

I've been taking a picture of an item that I use everyday but take for granted. The goal is to force me to take a picture every day that Death's cold claw fails to touch me and not be lazy about it. (I am prone to laziness)

'End of the Month'

The entire project was devised while I sat upon my throne. I came up with the title first before I even conceived of how I want the photo to look. I think it went alright. 

'Must Be Right'

Not really about coffee, this one is about the coffee mug which I use every single day.

'AC'

Living in Florida, I use the thermostat every single day morning, noon and night, winter and summer and spring and autumn. You can not live in Florida without AC.

I have four days left in the project. Next I may go for something a little more intangible. 

Shopping Cart and Shopping Cart Wheel: A Tribute to The Road

My favorite book is The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Blood Meridian is a close second). I've read The Road at least five times and love it more and more with each reading. In it, a father and his son are traveling across a scorched Earth; one that the reader barely recognizes and is all that the boy knows. They use a shopping cart to carry their supplies; tarps, blankets, food; shopping cart is obviously a big part of their life; making it a bit easier on the father and connecting the man is a piece of life that he only sees in dreams.

They end up loosing the shopping cart, their supplies, everything they owned. The first time I saw a shopping cart alone and abandoned on the side of the road after reading the book I nearly cried. 

When I first snapped a picture of this shopping cart I didn't realize that my lens had fogged up. It had just rained and being in Florida, the humidity was disgustingly high. I had just stepped from inside my nice cool A.C apartment. I like the effect though; makes it seems a little ethereal.

This one I decided to desaturate to get at least a hint of the feeling invoked throughout The Road.

You Always Shoot the One You Love

<-------Harlock By Brick Wall 2010

We've been together for almost a year now, but I've been in love with him far longer than that. What started as a close and deep friendship became something much much more.

I love him more and more with each passing day, with each kiss, and with each touch. He is my inspiration, my muse, my man and I love him very very much.

You Know Who Rocks My Socks? Diane Arbus.

Diane Arbus rocks my socks.

Diane Arbus

When I first saw her picture, I thought Diane Arbus was just some apathetic photographer with a penchant for snapping the odd, offbeat, and taboo. I changed my opinion the more of her work I looked at. Arbus is best known for her captures of freak shows and transvestites along with portraits of the unusual people we all see in our daily life. I think that she captures the essence of humanity and is not afraid to show her audience what she's looking at. 

'Tattooed Man'

'Puerto Rican Woman With a Beauty Mark NYC, 1965'

Her portraits are stark and shocking often of people that many of us do not consider picture worthy by conventional standards. It is this willingness to show the truth that draws me to her.

I need to find the title for this.

Arbus was taking pictures of transvestites and transsexuals way before the issue was even muttered about. Some interviews about her talk about her ability to put people at ease, to make them comfortable enough to be natural even when in front of the camera lens. That ability is something that I strive for. Diane Arbus cared about who she shot; she wanted to know them, to be a part of their lives and reflect those lives to the viewers.  

A Variety of Links:

Some dude's Flickr Account with a bunch of Arbus pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/likeabalalaika/with/4416945646/

A Kind of Virtual Photo Album. Worth the flip through: http://diane-arbus-photography.com/

Wiki Page (of course): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Arbus

An Interview about Her: http://www.masters-of-photography.com/A/arbus/arbus_articles3.html

Some Abstracty Urban Stuff

'Support with Obvious Vignette'

'Fire Escape'

Taken around back the Polk Theatre in Lakeland, Florida. 

Light Play 3

Taking these photos was a real learning experience for me and really strengthened my love for photography.

'Portrait with Glasses'

My favorite shot, 'Portrait with Glasses' was not really intended to be anything more than Harlock sitting around doing a variety of activities; talking and playing with the tarot deck while I shot. And it was in those actions that I was capable of catching the softness of the man that I love. My favorite thing to capture is the candid moment. The laugh, gesture, look that isn't meant to be immortalize but by some blind luck made it on film...erm...on the memory card of the camera.

'Tarot'

'Thought'

The elaborate make shift turban is clear to see in this picture along with the beaded necklace that acts as decoration for it. This was taken near the beginning of the night; he still has his glasses on. 

'Four of Cups color'

Another rare colored picture. He chose the Four of Cups for a few reasons. One of those reasons is that The Kid from Blood Meridian picked the card around the campfire. 

I'm hoping in the future to do something like this again. 

You Know Who Rocks My Socks? Irving Penn

Irving Penn rocks my socks.

What I like about Mr. Penn? Well, it's hard to put into words really. There's just something about his style and the way he shoots that draws me in.

'Tennessee Williams New York, 1951'

His portraits are usually up close often cutting off bits of the head. He went through this period where he stuck his subjects into corners. One of those subjects happened to be Georgia O'Keeffee whose expression is somewhat quizzical and even skeptical in my opinion. "Is this really going to work?" she seems to ask.

'Georgia O'Keeffee New York, 1948'

'Three Asaro Mud Men New Guinea, 1970'

Penn revolutionized the fashion photography world but he also took plenty of photos of people off the runway. I love the textures in this picture.

His works on still life and found objects are striking and even surreal. Giving the viewers a glimpse of everyday objects in completely new light; just what a photographer should be doing.

'Street Findings New York, 1999'

'Still Life with Watermelon New York, 1947'

I love the fly!

A variety of links discussing Irving Penn:

The NY Times article after Penn's death: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/arts/design/08penn.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

A short overview on his works: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa393.htm

A collection of photos: http://arttattler.com/archivepenn.html

Another collection: http://www.masters-of-photography.com/P/penn/penn2.html

A short article about Penn's photography with flowers but it includes an awesome picture; Woody Allen as Chapman which is worth a gander: http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/irving_penns_human_vases/

Light Play part 2

'Depths of Madness'

The costuming used was pretty simple but incredibly awesome. Harlock (my boyfriend) has an extremely long monks robe that was made for him years ago. His turban is a combination of three scarves; one of those scarves has skulls all over it which you can see here and there in some of the photos. In 'Depths of Madness' you can get a glimpse of the robe's long sleeves.

'Four of Cups'

'Judgement'

'Plot'

Light Play part 1

My boyfriend and I got together and shot the following pictures. We were hoping to catch the use of darkness seen in Apocalypse Now. I was impressed by the introduction of Colonel Kurtz and blown away by the use of shadow and light all throughout the movie especially during the interactions with Kurtz.

'Arm Rest'

If memory serves 'Arm Rest' wasn't really an official shot but a moment of contemplation. The initial start up of the shoot went slowly but after this moment things went much, much smoother.

'By the Light'

The set up overall was pretty simple. One light source positioned off to the side and a tripod was used to compensate for the long exposure times that were needed to capture each shot. There was some post processing but mainly to accentuate areas with light and to convert the images into black and white. Other than that there was nothing fancy done to any of the images; save one: 'At the Wall'.

'At the Wall'

Probably one of my favorites from the entire shoot, 'At the Wall' is one of the most processed images I have ever done. I suppose to the folks who venture more on the visual art side of photography my use of simple layers and a filter is nothing, but I like to try to keep my stuff as natural as possible. (Nothing wrong with photoshop art...just not my cup o' tea.)

'The Heartbeat of the Jungle'