Mad Scientist (photo by Zach Whitman)

Last weekend my friend, Zach Whitman, came to town on a mission (for a wedding actually).  The company he works for in the SF Bay area was hosting a photography contest amongst the employees and he asked if he could borrow my camera and get some hints on shooting. Of course I love the idea of anyone new to the craft picking up a camera so I happily obliged. He told me the photos had to be of restaurants the company services.

You see, Zach had never picked up an SLR before so I thought the best way to teach him would to be to shoot the buildings at night on a tripod. We were scheduled to go out on Friday night and the day before he arrived he emailed me the "official" rules, one of which was the photos had to be taken inside the restaurant.

Rookie photographer, inside a busy restaurant on a Friday night? No way I thought. So, Zach and I sat down over some vintage barley wines while I explained the basics. Aperture, shutter speed, ISO, rule of thirds, camera shake.........the basics.  Still, in my mind, all I could think was no fucking way.

We get to The Squeaky Bean and get a seat at the bar. As we get some drinks and start talking I start pointing out opportunities being missed. Then, Zach grabbed the camera. He would take some shots and we'd review on the screen. I'd coach him on best practices (move the white plate out of the shot, it's distracting) and he'd get back to it, all the while I never touched the camera.

I've got to say, they turned out pretty good. The picture shown here is my favorite. It is of Johnny, the proprietor of The Bean, making some crazy concoction that tasted very complex. I love the shot and it is ten times better than anything I shot the first time I grabbed a camera.

When I text Zach to ask if I could put the picture on my blog he replied:
"Of course. Use my full name. Give yourself 3% credit."

If you'd like to check out The Squeaky Bean, book a reservation here:
The Squeaky Bean

If you'd like to see more photos by Mr. Whitman.....you'll have to encourage him to buy a camera.

France 2012 / Post II

While in Toulouse earlier this summer we had the opportunity to visit the Museum des Augustins in Toulouse. When we arrived it happened to be at the exact same time a group of kids out on a field trip arrived. Of course I am very thankful that my parents exposed me to museums as a kid and I think it is something that every kid should experience, but not while I am there....or so I thought. I think I was just as fascinated at the kids' reactions to the art and their involvement as I was with the art itself. Here are a few shots from inside the museum.

France 2012 / Post I

In June I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in France. Unfortunately, I have not had the time to edit any photos until now. Part of me wants to be able to finish them right away but another part of me likes to have the emotional detachment of time before seeing the end result. I still take film in to be developed from years ago and sometimes don't even remember where it was taken. Hell, sometimes I'm convinced it is not even my film. Of course one month is not the equivalant of seven years, but it does give you some time to detach.

When Garry Winogrand died, they found more than 2,000 rolls of unprocessed film in his residents. Unfortunately, time comes between me and the shutter and me and my review due to work and other things going on in life. For Mr. Winogrand, it was because he was spending more time with the shutter and less with the processing.

Just something to think about.

That said, this is a shot I took of Khammany walking through the entrance of the Louvre. As we were walking in one cold morning, I fell back and grabbed a few shots.

Enjoy.

Old Men In Brugge

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These are two shots I took while in Belgium recently. It wasn't until I was in the processing phase did I realize that both of these guys are walking in a similar manner. I find Brugge to be a great city for shooting early in the morning, although the one to the left was shot in the late afternoon. The light shines through beautifully and lights up the detail in the cobblestone streets perfectly. I really think when it comes to urban shots; Brugge has some of the nicest lighting.

Time for the Summer Sun

As the days get longer I think the one thing photographers love is how much slower the sun rises and falls. Lately I have spent way too much time in the office and not enough time on the streets. A friend contacted me to take some shots of her son who brought his skateboard. By far and away, the skateboard shots were the ones I enjoyed the most. I love the lighting in this photograph. The more I shoot, the more I like to have my subjects back to the sun rather than my back to the sun. It makes for some amazingly lit pictures.

Bikes & Panhandling....Two Denver Staples

Anyone who has spent time in Denver knows there are a lot of panhandlers. Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that Denver is really a crossroads from East to West which a lot of people pass through. Of course, if you spend any amount of time here you'd know this is a bull shit theory because the same people are on the same corners day in and day out. Clearly they are not traveling.

I typically wouldn't photograph a panhandler but I couldn't resist this one. Maybe because he was on the move or maybe because it doesn't show him as a "person". By that, I mean it doesn't capture his face.

So Denver has panhandlers and Denver has bikes. At least I love having one of them around.