These are portraits of Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton (left) and Hubby Jenkins playing backstage at the 2010 Black Banjo Gathering. These guys are great musicians and so fun to be around. Neither one has a CD out, but you can listen to them on myspace. I photographed a few other musicians including the wonderful Carolina Chocolate Drops who put on a high-energy show. If you are not familiar with them, this video is a good introduction. You can click the image to see it larger.
I was in Palm Springs this past weekend for a meeting of Blend photographers and decided to piggyback a personal trip into Joshua Tree National Park to make a landscape photograph for my portfolio. I had only one night, but I think I made the most of it. I really wanted to capture an RV in this crazy lunar landscape. This is a single 38 second exposure. No compositing. Click the photo to see it a little larger.
Joshua Tree National Park at night
Earth Day is April 22nd and I plan to send a promo to people I’d like to work with. As with the last time I did this, I’m looking for a funny caption or copy to go with the photo in this post. I was thinking of including some seeds in the envelope (maybe basil?) as well. The person whose caption I choose will receive a free print of their choice (10×15 or 10×10 depending on format). The last time we did this, it resulted in some pretty good laughs!
Before an assignment two weeks ago I was roaming around the Shenadoah Mountains and came across this hotel under renovation and under much snow. I found this perspective I liked and after a few minutes this guy drove by. You have to go out of your way to go through this parking lot. It was odd but it made for a more interesting photo. The car creates a triangle for the eye. Were it absent, the viewer would be left with two static elements. Afterward, I spent a bit of time on the computer making sure the whites are neutral. And after all that, it probably looks super yellow on your computer! This image is best when seen big. Click on it for a larger view.
Our dog Moe stepped on something that hurt his paw. He has been gnawing and licking it non-stop for a week which is preventing the healing process. Enter this wonderful cone-of-shame the vet recommended. To be honest, I was excited to get this so I could photograph him in it, and I almost asked if they had a more colorful version. You can see this version by 3M is perfectly clear, not to obstruct his vision I guess. But a more opaque disc would be better for photos I think. Although it did allow for both eyes to be visible in this sad, head-turned portrait.
This is Lani and Tony. They are kind friends to model for me last minute during a little winter snow storm here in Norfolk. Lani was in from LA and was truly captivated by the snow as you see in the photo at right. Thanks to both them for some nice photos. These pictures will be available for licensing through Blend Images in a few weeks.
My brother sent me this video of a group called Mumford and Sons singing a song called Little Lion Man. I had never heard of them, but I love this song. This group has what the Spanish call duende. It’s soul. It’s authentic emotion. It’s tough to find, and when one finds an artist with it, you should support it. I’m going to buy this music right now. Also, it’s a simple but cool video.
My wife sent me this story from the Rumpus that loosely fits with a few other posts I’ve written about photo manipulation in the 19th Century. There is a show right now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York featuring collages made by women in the 1860s. This is 50 years before Picasso and Braque are credited with inventing the form. I love the colors in these old collages. The one below is by Constance Sackville-West. It reminds me of a song (Jerusalem) by Dan Bern in which he sings:
She believed collage was the greatest of all the arts And was busy pasting pictures of horses Next to ads for laundry soap Next to Mohammed Ali
We received about a half foot of snow back on January 30th. In an effort to get a new portfolio picture or at the very least a stock image, I coaxed my wife into walking our dog in the snow storm. We gathered some colorful, though not completely weatherproof clothes and set out.
I’m going to mail a promo to Art Buyers for Valentine’s Day with this photo. Hopefully, most people will find it humorous or odd and not offensive. What do you think? Feel free to add a caption or dialog. Whoever makes me laugh the most will get a 5×5 print, and I may ask to use your text in the promo. I’m not kidding. The MOMA captions were really funny. And Cluadia Mazur truly will receive the Grand Prize (I’m re-gifting the $10 Chili’s Gift Certificate my dentist sent me for a client referral) for best MOMA photo caption. Share this with your friends. It’s time for me to add some buttons to this site for making sharing easier.
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