More Environmental Portraiture

One thing I have always found interesting is artists working in their environment.  When I stop and think about the artists I have known, their workspace is usually merged with their living space.  This is a shot I did of my friend Christian, an artist living here in Denver, while we were photographing his work for his website.  If you want to check out his work, you can see it here:  http://www.christianespino.com/

Seattle Again

Last November I got the chance to head up to Seattle for work.  Typically I bring my camera along on business trips, but sadly enough I usually don't take it out.  On this particular trip I took some candids of my friend's daughters while in Portland but apon arrival in Seattle I only shot about three frames.  This is one of them.

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

T

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.

Wonderful Colfax

About a mile from the house has to be the most colorful street in Denver. Otto Schulze and I headed out yesterday to get some shots and the trip definitely had some interesting moments. From sipping a Guiness on the patio of The Snug while some kid who was still up from the night before was trying to convince me to shoot an underground fashion show to the liquor store owner who demanded I let him see my camera after I snapped a shot inside his store, there was never a dull moment. Ok, I'll admit photographing the inside of a liquor store on Colfax is probably against someone's rules but in my defense there were no signs stating I couldn't do it.

The above photo makes me laugh. One of the things that really pisses me off is when people cross Colfax in the middle of the street. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to run out into the middle of the road to capture this image.

Here is a link if you'd like to see a shot Otto got: http://twitpic.com/7rj6x1



Film not seen in six years!

Ok, so I'll admit it. I still have some film sitting in my fridge from when I shot film exclusively. I picked these up about a week ago from the processing shop and was surprised to see that they still had image on them considering I shot this in Taiwan in October of 2005. It did take a little adjustment to bring back some contrast and blacks. Other than that, I didn't do much at all. I miss that about film, the whole "anti-instant gratification thing." Enjoy!

Greg Harris Vibe Quintet

These are some shots I did a while back of a group called Greg Harris Vibe Quintet. I have been out twice to photograph these guys but the lighting is always a bitch, which actually makes it a bit of a fun challenge. My buddy Ido plays percussion, making it a bit more fun to shoot when you know someone in the band. But in all honesty, I really like shooting the lead guy Greg. He is easy to photograph and reminds me of a young Tom Waits. Not so much in his sound, but just his look.

If you want to check out some of their music, you can do it here:  Vibe Quintet

Taos

I find something very comical about a caffeinated man skateboarding down the middle of the street early in the morning with his accordion. Just not sure what it is.

Cyclocross

So, I got up a few weeks ago to shoot a race finally. It is tougher than it looks. One, it was cold as hell and I wasn't dressed for the occasion. Second, they move fast and I wanted to shoot mostly with 30mm which made be have to be pretty close to the action to fill the frame. The whole time I was waiting for someone to fly off the course and hit me but luckily it never happened. I plan on getting to a few more races this fall. It was a good time.

Cyclocross!

Ok, this photo has nothing to do with cyclocross but is actually a picture of my neighbor Mickey who seems to have super lungs. Yes, I believe the rule Vizzini forgot to mention during the discussion over iocane powder was, "Never get involved in a conversation with Mickey when participating in a cardio intense sport."

Back to the photo. It falls somewhere between environmental portraiture and a straight up candid. Mickey was running behind and my buddies Chris, Nick and myself were waiting for him at Green Mountain to go for a bike ride. When he pulled into the parking lot and opened his door I snapped this photo. I love the expression on his face of, "Ok, there's a camera in my face. Should I smile or just keep doing what I'm doing?" I got the photo right at the moment where he hadn't decided yet.

So, where does cyclocross come in? Mickey joined a cyclocross team and I plan on doing a series of cyclocross photos this fall. I'm sure some of the photos will make it to the blog so stay tuned.

9/11 Final NYC Post

This shot was taken in the financial district of NYC. We walked around Wall Street in the rain and then back up to the World Trade Center. I had taken a photo of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks a few months after it happened. I wanted to go back and take a picture that would show how much progress has been made since then. As I was photographing the half finished building I thought I really didn't just want to capture an image of the building but also of those who are around it daily. I squatted down, pointed the camera up towards the building and snapped this photo when the two gentlemen walked into the frame.

NYC Post IV

Here are a few more shots from NYC:

NYC Post III

     Technically speaking, neither of these photos are great in my opinion but there is one thing about them I find very interesting and that is the difference in color tone in the exposure. I was walking up 6th Ave at 50th St and as I looked up, Radio City Music Hall looked very monochrome. For a place that is usually very colorful, I found it eerily creepy like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. This is where I snapped the first picture.
     When I made it up to 51st St, I turned back around and snapped the second picture which turned out to be extremely colorful for being taken in a rainstorm. The time between these two photos was about one minute. The only adjustments made post production was a very slight adjustment in contrast and a slight adjustment in exposure.

NYC Post II

This shot was taken while coming back from The Bedford in Brooklyn. We transferred from the L to the 6 but then something went terribly wrong. While trying to get back to the 33rd St. Station the train started going back the other way. Apparently, not all of the trains continue straight on late at night. While "sweating like sardines in a flop house fraternity" waiting for the 6 train going uptown I was able to snap this photo. Typical, "I'm tired, where the fuck is the train?" type of picture. All this while I'm three sheets to the wind.

NYC Post I

Ahhhh....I love this city, especially when it comes to street shooting. I bought my first SLR (yes young people, there was no "D") about a year before my first trip to NYC. It was quite an experience walking around the city setting up a tripod and trying to capture long exposures of traffic lights. Since then, I'd like to think I have learned a lot, so here I am back with camera in hand.

The great thing about NYC is the fact that half the time when you shoot people, it is so busy that the subjects usually don't notice they are being photographed. When they do catch you, they hardly seem to care. It is one thing that I miss about living in a big city. Try standing ten feet in front of a stranger and taking a picture of them in Denver. First of all, they will notice you. Second, they probably won't be happy about it. It makes shooting here much more pleasurable.

Here are a few images I shot in my first 24 hours here. More to follow, I'm sure.

Impromptu Environmental Portraiture II

A followup to the previous post.