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| enter blog > "photography, commerce, floss" |
| latest news / February 2012 |
| latest news / February 2012 |
| McDONALD'S / OLYMPICS: It’s in the bag – so to speak. I just wrapped up a shoot for McDonald’s and the 2012 Olympics. Creative Director, Dana Parker and Art Director, Joshua Storm from The Marketing Store Worldwide (Chicago) gave me a good workout. (“Good”, meaning delightful, intriguing, and action-packed.) The 4-day shoot involved 35 energetic . . . UCLA - BRUINS IN LOVE: UCLA Magazine (the official alumni magazine of the University of California, Los Angeles) did this story on several alum who met and fell in love at UCLA – for the February (Valentine’s Day) issue. My assignment was to photograph 3 of the featured couples . . . FISHBONE - EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: “Voyage To The Land Of The Freeze Dried Godzilla Farts”. It was in my high school photography class that my friend Laura told me about this local band called Fishbone with a song by this title. This sparked my interest (as it is sparking yours) and I was soon indoctrinated . . . STAGEBRIDGE - "COUNTER ATTACK!" Marlene, an aging waitress, is discovering that her lifelong position at the counter is suddenly under attack. It’s being threatened by none other than. . . the young hot waitress. Old fashioned diners may not change their menus that often, but you’d be surprised . . . THE HIPSTAMATIC > A TREND IN NON-EXCELLENCE AND CREATIVE NUMBNESS: But these are some cool shots. I wish I didn’t like them so much. Why do I? Why should I? How could I be such a sucker? Pop culture! So the blues and cyans are more “gunpowder blue” and the darker neutral tones have gone yellow/green. Okay. And “they” programmed in digital dust spots to make the photos look like the photographer never cleans his / her lens . . . MY FIRST "PHOTOGRAPH" EVER: . . . It was then that I went on a river rafting trip with my family on the Rogue River in Oregon. On each of the 4 nights along the heavily wooded river, we’d stay in a different rustic cabin. And at the start of each day I’d take my dad’s Nikkormat out into the misty, dripping morning - after a night of typical Oregonian rain . . . SUNSWEET PRUNE JUICE: (Shoot for advertising, web, collateral, etc.) This week was a milestone for me. I had never seen a woman drink 9 glasses of prune juice in one day. Hot dog eating contests are common, and I've seen a couple oyster woofing competitions, too. But this was and honor to be . . . CAPITAL ONE BANK: January, February and March were busy. I was contracted to shoot a library of images for Capital One's small business division. The photographs were (and will be) used for advertising, point of sale (in-bank displays), and the web. . . THE DEVILETTES: San Francisco's own, "The Devilettes" are a lost breed - but we just found them, I guess. These good 'ol American ladies are masters of historical dances from the hey-day of 1960's Go Go, including (but not limited to) the Hully Gully, the Jamaican Ska, The Frug, and The Watusi. Performing regularly in San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Los Angeles, they've been featured in. . . JELLY BELLY: Creating an advertisement while everyone is high on sugar. "Alright, I'm just going to have 5 more - and that is it," uttered everyone on set several times during the day. Forget about the effects of too much sugar in the bloodstream - we were all (crew, kids, and me included) nibbling away at the props as well. Have you ever nibbled props? Even Susan and Eric from . . . ZIP REALTY / LANNY BAKER, CEO: Today I photographed Lanny Baker, CEO and President of ZipRealty, formerly CFO of Moster Worldwide (the global leader in online recruitment). Very warm, very approachable, we both have this in common (among other things): we both passionately detest the stale, classic "corporate portrait". And art director, Nancy Duckworth is also in the same club. She agreed that California Association of Realtors magazine could do without an image of a guy with his hand stuck to his . . . ZEPHYR REAL ESTATE: For more than 30 years, Zephyr has been one of the most respected real estate firms in San Francisco. They're the most successful independent real estate firm serving the city - with over one billion dollars in gross sales annually. (Good Lord!) Bill Drypolcher is the owner and founder. Jet lagged but jolly, Bill got some work done as I did mine. This was an assignment for California Association of Realtors Magazine - art directed by the lovey Nancy Duckworth. I'll just say it: I love taking . . . . . SERJ TANKIAN / SYSTEM OF A DOWN: Cover shoot for Electronic Musician Magazine. In his studio I tripped over a 1/4 inch cable, pulling down both a Fender P Bass and a stack of Mesa Boggies. They fell on his mixing console and also cracked his Apple 32" cinema display. "Don't worry about it brother" he said like a waiter who had to clean up a downed glass of wine. "I'm endorsed by all these folks. Really, no worries. They'll send new stuff out tomorrow." . . . THE BLUE LADY: Every Saturday I take my 4 year-old boy to his swimming lesson at the local community swimming pool. It's an indoor body of water with divine natural light. Being fairly crowded most of the time, the pool is divided into numerous sections: A section for the little kids (complete with mobile underwater elevated platforms to ensure their safely), an area for expert fast-swimming fishes, and a designated lane for (and I'm very serious) "THE BLUE LADIES". The remarkable thing about . . . . . CAMPING TRIP TO POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE: Point Reyes National Seashore encompasses 72,000 acres of wilderness, beach and ranchland from which one can see San Francisco (not exactly from our campsite - Coast Camp). The ranger at Bear Valley trailhead told us that 3 black bears had been spotted around a close-by trail a couple weeks back. I suppose they're getting a bit to comfortable around our species - most likely due to lack of habitat and/or safe natural corridors. Still, I wish. . . . . BOOK COVER > THE PHILOSOPHICAL BABY / by ALISON GOPNIK: Published in Spanish by publisher, CIRCULO DE LEITORES, Alison Goptik's, The Philosophical Baby - What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life explores the answers that new science holds to some of the deepest and oldest questions about what it means to be human. The book is published in over 5 languages. . . . . Photographed Dr. Abbas Ardehali, director of the UCLA Heart and Lung Transplant Program, for UCLA Medicine. And I shot him in the O.R. To be admitted in to an operating room, one first needs to be tested negative for TB. (I'm happy to say my test had such results.) As I was testing my strobes I casually looked through the little rectangular window, and in the room just across the hall, I could see a man in the midst of a double bypass surgery. We've all got a job we go to every day, I guess. Does your dentist's office look like a museum? Well, I just shot one that does. Architect, David Montalba (Montalba Architects) created such a space for Washington Square Park Dental. It's a refreshing space where public and private areas of the office breathe the same air and share some of the same views. Lines and light and glowing walls and an atrium with greenery and crushed glass make you feel as if you just stepped into a world-class museum. Go to the blog to see my architectural images. Enter the blog to read more. Click here or on the logo at the top of this page. |