Hoops
April 13th, 2012
I’m going to be working on catching up on posting things I’ve shot over the past few months for quite a while. I’ve made it to mid-November when Lindsay Nova and Justin Middlebrooks came to the studio for some photos of them dancing with hula hoops. I had met them both at Ohio University where they were students in the School of Dance. I regularly photograph the dance productions down there at my alma mater. And I like to help out OU dancers whenever I can. I started photographing dance there in 1969 and it has been an important part of my life ever since.
Justin is still at OU doing graduate work, but Lindsay has moved to Columbus, Ohio, where she is performing and teaching hooping and yoga and other things. You can learn more about what she is up to at her website linked above.
It’s kind of funny for me to watch the current popularity of these hoops because I can remember when they first became a fad back when I was a kid…oh so many, many years ago. Strange how things cycle through our culture.
More From Pittsburgh
April 9th, 2012
Here are a few more of Kelsey Dylan and Artistic Physique from our time over in Pittsburgh for the Outlaw Artisans show in November. Just some figure photos in the nice light that was coming through the window in that room.
In other news I’ve been notified that one of my photos has been accepted for the Seattle Erotic Art Festival again this year. I keep wanting to go out there for this show, but once again this year it is not going to be possible because of other commitments back east. Maybe next year. But if you are in the Seattle area you can go and see at least one of my photos in the show…and probably some more loose prints for sale in the store.
Reflections On Two Nudes
April 5th, 2012
I’m going to be working my way through all the shoots I’ve done since getting back from last fall’s trip out west. I haven’t been super busy, but there are several shoots backed up and unedited.
Not long after returning home I took off for a quick trip over to Pittsburgh to attend the opening of a show at a gallery there. That was the Naked In Pittsburgh show.
I had four prints in this show, all of them featuring a great model who I love working with, Artistic Physique. She was so pleased to be featured in my work in this show that she came in for the opening. Another of my favorite models, Kelsey Dylan, also went over for the opening. Of course, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to do some photos while we were there. The motel room where we shot happened to have a lot of mirrors, so I decided to play with the reflections and the shallow depth of focus of my 50mm f/1.4 lens.
I’m not sure if we made any art that day, but we did have fun playing around with the mirrors. Mirrors are always fun.
For those of you who care about technical stuff, I processed the RAW files from this shoot using ACDSee Pro 5. I like this program for lots of things and it seems to have a lot of capability when it comes to processing RAW, but after using it this time I’m thinking I’ll stick with Nikon View NX2. I didn’t see any real advantage to ACDSee for this task. I have used one version or another of ACDSee to manage my photos pretty much ever since I started doing digital photos. It does pretty much what Lightroom does, but has been around a lot longer and costs a lot less. I tried Lightroom when it first came out and have not seen a reason to switch to it.
Athena
March 30th, 2012
Athena is a lovely young woman, a talented photographer, a graphic designer and a beautiful model. I’ve known her for quite a while and enjoyed working with her. She’s the model in some of my favorite photos. But a couple years ago she got married and had her first baby. That pretty much put an end to her modeling and she has been a full-time mom ever since.
When I returned home from the trip Athena was pretty far along in her pregnancy for her second child. I did some family portraits for them and Athena graciously agreed to pose for a few nudes as well.
One of the wonderful things about photography is the ability to catch moments in time like this so Athena will always have a reminder of the time when she was carrying her new daughter. It’s sometimes hard for us to remember that only 200 years ago having images to remember times like this was not even something that could be imagined. Photography really has changed the world we live in…in more ways than we know.
One Last Time
March 25th, 2012
Well, the last time for this trip, anyway. I expect that Brooke and I will be working together many times in the future. At least I hope so. After the stop in Denver where Brooke modeled for wet plate photos by Mark Sink and Kristen Hatgi, we headed for home…well, for Brooke’s home in Minnesota anyway. We were like a horse headed toward the barn after being on the road for three weeks and weren’t planning any photo stops, just making time down the highway.
But as we were driving through Iowa I noticed the nice clouds in the sky. They are the kind of clouds that I use for the series of photos I call my “Magritte Skies” photos. Then I saw some of the new white windmills that are popping up around the country. I asked Brooke if she minded a quick stop for one last photo. As usual, she agreed.
As luck would have it, the spot I found to do this photo happens to be the location of the James Gang’s first train robbery, near Adair, Iowa. And, yes, I do carry derby hats and an umbrella around with me for those times when I spot a good sky for another of these photos.
Thanks, Brooke, for a beautiful ending to a great trip.
Wigwam
March 21st, 2012
I guess it’s about time to post something new so I don’t frighten all my regular readers away with that scary photo of me all bloodied. I’m doing very well, recovering and watching the red go away to be replaced by some serious black eyes. Still limping a bit, but my ankle is almost back to normal and everything is healing up.
So, back to the account of the trip out west. Brooke and I left Kat in LA and headed back east. First stop was at a Route 66 icon, The Wigwam Motel. We, of course, could not resist doing a few photos there. The place is “decorated” with old cars, including the one you see in front of our wigwam.
The rooms are actually very nice, well maintained, nicely decorated and clean. It was a great place to spend the night. I shot these interior photos with my 12-24. I don’t remember if I tried the fisheye and decided it didn’t work for the space, or if I just decided to go with the 12-24, but it did work fairly well to capture the feel of the room.
And, when I planned the trip I noticed that we’d be at the Wigwam on a night right before the full Moon. That’s the night that is best to shoot Moon photos with something on the Earth in the foreground because the Moon rises about a half hour before the sun sets. That means that the foreground on Earth and the Moon have the same light on them…direct sunlight. The Photographer’s Ephemeris allowed me to see that there was some possibility I could get a camera angle that would allow me to use a long telephoto lens to get a nice big Moon in the photo. It didn’t tell me about that chain link fence, though. Wish it hadn’t been there. There were obstructions and other buildings that prevented me from being able to get as far away as I would have liked, but I did the best I could with what the location allowed.
I also regret that I was too far away to ask Brooke to turn around for a shot with her facing away from the camera. That, of course, would have allowed me to shoot “Two Moons At The Wigwam.” Maybe another time.
Ouch!
March 19th, 2012
Never try to steal girlscout cookies from a motorcycle gang.
I thought I’d go ahead and post this here for those of you who haven’t seen it on facebook. I had a little accident yesterday. I wish it were a better story, but it is pretty mundane.
I went to the grocery store to buy stuff to make a special Irish stew for dinner Sunday night. On the way out of Meijers with my hands full of grocery bags I stepped in a small hole and twisted my ankle. That made me lose my balance and I couldn’t catch myself. I did a major face plant into the asphalt.
There were some great people getting in their truck right beside me and they immediately pitched in and helped me. Then some folks came out from the store and did a really good job patching me up and taking care of me until Emily could get there and take me to the ER.
Three and a half hours at the ER, a dozen X-rays and they wiped me off, smeared on some cream and sent me home. Nothing serious. It doesn’t even hurt much. Most of the pain is in my ankle, which is badly sprained, and in the knee above it which hit the asphalt hard enough to tear my jeans. Went to Eyemart today and got new glasses. The old pair were toast. I’m fine, really, just a little tired. I’ll be taking it easy for a few days, but all is good.
I’ve really got to come up with a better story…
Which Side Are You On?
March 18th, 2012
No photos today. Just one of my rants. You’ve been warned.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”
It’s hard for us to realize, nearly 250 years after Thomas Jefferson wrote those words, just how radical a statement that was at the time. That was the age of the divine right of kings. Those were words that could get you executed in much of the world. Those words were the beginning of theUnited States of Americabecoming the beacon of freedom to the world. Those words represent the ideas that made this a great nation. Those words make me proud to be an American.
But theUnited Statesis a human institution and from the beginning it has had the flaws that are a part of every human creation. We have always struggled with the truth of those words in the Declaration of Independence. We started out as a nation where slavery was legally recognized. Of course, from the start there were those inAmericawho saw that slavery was wrong and worked to end it. It took nearly a century and a horrible civil war, but eventually slavery was ended and we moved closer to being the nation we set out to be.
The struggle wasn’t over, of course. There always seem to be people who want to claim their superiority over others…to repress and discriminate against groups of people for no good reason…for the color of their skin or the place they were born…and, fortunately, there always seem to be another group of people who see how wrong that is and work to end it. That has been the story of our country…and it still is.
Women were excluded from the definition of equal in that original document. The subservient role of women was so ingrained that it’s doubtful thatJeffersonever considered that his language excluded them. It took us even longer to fix that flaw, but eventually we did.
And the struggle goes on. We’ve gone from a nation with enslaved blacks to a nation with a black president. Women, once considered the property of their husbands, are now equal to men in law, if not yet in fact in the world of work. We had to have the civil rights movement and the suffrage movement to get to where we are, but we have always moved in the right direction, toward the goal expressed in that original document so long ago.
Why is it such a struggle? Because there are two sides to the struggle. We always have a force that doesn’t want everyone to be equal. There is always a side that is against progress, against freedom, against equality. They have been with us from the beginning and they are with us today. But they are the losing side. They are the wrong side.
Sometimes the wrong side gains temporary victories and the world suffers. That’s what happened inGermanyin the 1930s leading to World War II and the concentration camps and attempted genocide. The struggle is important. We can never relax and let evil win, even if only for a short time. The cost is far too great.
How could anyone be in favor of slavery? How could a position like that be justified. Why, with quotes from the Bible, of course. And with arguments about the economic consequences of freeing the slaves. And, of course, with arguments based on bigotry.
And, surprise, the same basic arguments were used against the equal treatment of women under the law. The Bible says women are not equal to men, even blames them for all that is wrong in the world. And what will happen to our society if women don’t stay home and cook and clean and care for children? And besides, women are too delicate to be involved in politics and work outside the home. Always the arguments against equality are the same bigoted lies, just adjusted to the current group to be oppressed.
So, what’s this all about? Well, while those battles continue even after the major victories, there’s another battle for equality going on right now. I’m talking about the fight for equal rights for couples in same sex relationships. I’m talking about equality for people regardless of their sexual orientation. The time has finally come for this nation to move forward and end another kind of legal discrimination.
The arguments against this next move toward the society we set out to be are the same old arguments that were used to defend slavery, justify killing millions of Jews and against giving women the right to vote. Those arguments are wrong, as they always have been.
I confess that I have a very hard time understanding how people can be against equality. I suppose it is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of change. Fear of not having anyone they can feel superior to. Fear of the “other.”
But I certainly know which side is right. I know which side is moral. I know which side wins, always, in the end. I know which side Jesus would be on if he were here today. If you don’t think that’s true, read the Sermon on the Mount and get back to me. And I know which side Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius and the other great wise men/prophets/leaders of the past would chose. The good and the wise and the kind are always on the side of progress toward greater freedom and equality.
How do we feel today about George Wallace standing in the doorway or Lester Mattox brandishing his axe handle to stop black students from entering a school? How do we feel about those who murdered Freedom Riders? Do any of us think that bombing a church and killing innocent young girls was the right thing to do? The day is coming when we will look in the same way at those standing in the way of equality for all regardless of sexual orientation.
Equality, freedom, respect, consideration, love…those are the path to the future. That is what this great nation is about. That is what makes us great. That is what makes us an example to the world.
It’s time for us to take the next step toward what we ought to be. It’s time to end another form of discrimination, another way that a group of people have been kept from equality. It will happen. It is inevitable because it is right.
Which side are you on?
The Last of Kat
March 16th, 2012
A few more photos of Kat from our shoot in the LA apartment. These were the last photos I took of Kat because she stayed behind in LA when Brooke and I left to drive back home. I need to figure out a way to get together with Kat again to do more photos sometime soon. She is a wonderful model and a fantastic person. I love working with her and I am very happy to have her as a friend in my life. I know we’ll be working together again in the future.
Even though there will be no more Kat photos from our trip out west, I’m not finished with trip photos yet. Brooke and I did a couple more shoots on our drive back east across the country. Those will be coming to the blog soon.
More Fuzzy Kat
March 14th, 2012
Well, they really aren’t all that fuzzy. My 50 f/1.4 is really pretty sharp, especially if you close it down a stop or two. But it does nice soft things to the background and sometimes to the subject, like in the last photo in this post. Kat, as always, did a great job modeling for these. Still just wandering around the apartment in LA seeing what we could come up with. More to come in the next post.
