Rock Rock Rock

So I went scouting today. My plan was to hit up a beach town in NJ, however, when I realized it was gonna cost me roughly $100 just to get there and back, I opted for a free trip on the subway to Rockaway Beach. It takes about 2 hours to get there, but it was actually really cool once I started to do some exploring. Most of the cool, worn/distressed stuff I like was at Jacob Riis Park. The building itself has gone through somewhat of a renovation, and you can tell they've been working on improvements, but the untouched areas are the ones I like so I took some photos and here they are. Remember, this was just a scouting trip, so these pics are meant just to remind me of what was there, no fine art criticism please.

Here's Your Future

When you listen to The Thermals and you do your edit you get this. A sneak peak at an upcoming ed. (Remember, most songs I reference can be found on my playlist).

A Rainy Sunday

Too bad I'm already done with all my post-production on my shoots. I do have other work to do however, (there is always other work to do). But, before I tackle those monsters here are a couple shots of Cindy.

Home. Home Again. I Like to Be Here When I Can.

Last night I completed, (for the most part), re-touching all the images from my previous 10 shoots here in Chicago. Obviously from the title, I was listening to Dark Side Of the Moon by Pink Floyd during that process. I find that the music I listen while re-touching dictates the direction the images take. The darker the music, the darker the feel of the images. I'm not sure how it is for other photographers, but I have to get in this whole zen-like state, especially for the initial edit. If I'm not in the right mood I'll totally overlook images that could be amazing with the right crop etc. On a side note, for some reason Pearl Jam's "Given To Fly" is like the best song for editing "on-camera" flash images. I don't know why, I haven't really listened to Pearl Jam since the album 10, but something about that song fits the feel of "on-camera" flash edits. I put it on repeat and edit away, the next time I look up at the clock it's about an hour later, and I've been listening to the same song that whole time. . . . . . . I'm weird.

Location Scouting

Here are some images from my trip yesterday to location scout for an upcoming editorial. Notice the writing on the barn and the creepy crosses in the yard. Something tells me they are not going to be receptive to my ideas for the story.

Birthday Bowling Bash Redux

Yesterday we celebrated my nephew Erik's birthday with a good old fashioned bowling party. Here is a shot of my nephew Karl and I as I teach him my "mad" bowling skills, (I was on a league ya know), as well as a shot of him sans me with his own unique finishing form. Today I'm off to scout locations for an upcoming editorial. Monday I'm scouting some old hotels along the once famous Route 66 for another shoot that I hope to complete this trip.

NIA Backstage

James from New Industry Arts asked if I would contribute to their backstage collection. Click here, then click launch in the backstage section, then click me!

;-)

On a cold, dreary, snowy, Sunday evening in Chicago, out-takes from Katie's shoot make me smile.

My Niece Would Love This Sweatshirt!

Too bad it only comes in adult sizes. But it looks great on Katie, who is half Cherokee half Polish. Which means not only can she go to any University she wants to, she can also probably make a mean Pirogi! After our shoot I dropped her off at the airport where she is flying back to Florida. Am I jealous? Yep! It is supposed to snow here for the White Sox home opener. . . . . . I hear that you can get a great deal on a condo down in Miami. . . . . . I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Knight Cat

I'm here to divulge a little secret. Sometimes, in a pinch, I have to style my own shoots. So I look to the web for inspiration on what's current and I always check out Knight Cat's blog. Her style seems to be my style: jeans, tank tops, cut offs, vintage and a little rock and roll. So how flattered was I when Cat asked if she could post some of my images on her blog! You can check it out here.

Finito

Yesterday concluded a round of shooting at my "vintage" apartment in Chicago. What a way to complete the send off than with Shara who is half Indian, half Irish, and 100 % sweet! I went all "film noir" with her last look, capturing what I think is how the apt should have been utilized in the first place. Dark, moody, yet somehow dreamy (or nightmare-y). Thanks to everyone who made this week such a success. As previously stated, if you need me, I'll be on the computer.

Not Polaroid

"Don't call it polaroid", I keep telling myself. "It's instant film". Fuji makes and "instant film" camera that produces a nice 4 by 6 format image. Drawback, even though you tell it not to use flash, it uses it anyway, and as far as I can tell, there's no way around it. On the plus side, when it uses the flash it produces a pretty cool result, (in my opinion). Here is part of my "instant film" experiment with Cindy yesterday.