Portrait: South Beach tattoo artist
Tattoo Artist, Washington Avenue. South Beach, Miami.
South Beach characters
Today, on Ocean Avenue, in South Beach. We met him on the sidewalk, heading north. He danced in the street, and made himself known to the tourists. He’s either a female cheerleader or a Playboy bunny; I’ll leave it up to you.
The second portrait was a very striking woman who was walking down Ocean Avenue this afternoon. Her outfit was pink; her hair was blonde; but the heart-shaped glasses just struck me — like some scene out of a Garry Winogrand thing on Hollywood Boulevard, circa 1965. She was nice enough to stop for a portrait; I got off about a dozen frames. The glasses are just great, and I love the whole vintage feel of the light.
Ocean Avenue, Miami Beach.
Heart-Shaped Glasses -- Ocean Avenue, Miami Beach.
Humane Society Benefit: Hutton Hotel
Attended the Humane Society Benefit last night. Loads of fun. Imagine a giant hotel ballroom, filled with two hundred dogs, in costume, plus a doggie fashion show. At one point, leaving the elevator, it was like a Fellini dream — an elegant hotel lobby, but everyone in the lobby had a dog on a leash, and was dressed to the nines.
I’m sorry; none of these pictures are in focus or exposed correctly. It was just chaos in there; I had to just snap away and hope I got something.
Yorkie.
Sheltie?
Incredible face.
Great Dane. Heart of gold.
"Dog? What dog...?"
Largest dogs I've ever seen in my life. Not sure the breed. Very sweet. Eyeballs as large as mine.
Here's a side view. Mindblowing.
The Queen. I wanted this dog to arrive in a gold chariot. I love how her paw is saying "Back off, Mister -- you're in my personal space."
Another side view, to show scale. Siblings.
A mixed-breed Blue Heeler, (after my heart). (Reminded me of Little Dottie, passed on).
This woman was a Traveling Marilyn Monroe Treat Table. (Just accept it; don't ask questions).
"Who turned out the lights....?"
Half-human dog, stood on rear legs and helped himself to the Pedigree all-you-can-eat buffet.
His Blue Period...
Kristin knew this woman. She was fun. So was her outfit. Great smile.
This woman had an adult Pomeranian. I thought this one was a toy. It was in her purse. It was REAL!
Camera-shy chihuahua. He was SO over it.
Pearl Necklace.
Great ears.
Everything gold...
End of the night. "I'm pooped. Can we just go home?"
Part 1 of 3: Audrey helps herself to a nip of Kristin's martini.
Part 2 of 3: "Damn, that was pretty tasty!"
Part 3 of 3: "I ruv you! Can we go to Hermitage Cafe? But I'm sleepy..."
Art History: Can-Opener for the Mind
Quick frame of the window light falling on my basement floor. My own private Joan Miro.
So I’m taking some night classes at Watkins, just for fun, and to open up my head. The main class is this excellent class taught by Tom Williams, called Contemporary Art History, and then soon, begins a bookmaking class, and then a silkscreen and drypoint class. I’m just on fire with it all. Especially Art History, because of the way Tom sets up the context for how all these painters were influenced by WWII, and by the painters that came before them. Here is the textbook; a great resource.
Anyway, so I’m gutting my basement, to set up a printmaking area, and I came down the steps the other day and was reminded of these bizarre red/green blocks that are all over my 1930′s old house. Most of them are faded away, but the frame above shows them. Maybe another artist lived here at one time; maybe just some children, but I love these faded grid blocks. I also love the scratched floor in the basement.
Here are some Google Image links to some of the painters we’ve studied so far. Google Images does a pretty good job, but there’s no guarantee that every painting is accurate; who knows how the metadata is coded. The links to each artist are in bold type below.
© Arshile Gorky
Hans Prinzhorn
© Asger Jorn
Howard Finster show: TPAC
One of my pictures of Howard, at Paradise Gardens. Cropped detail of part of a Widelux frame, hand colored (with Marshall Oils), by Tania Owen.
Today was the final day for the Finster show; I had to get up there and pay my respects. As it turned out, the show was a massive collection of his work. I was overwhelmed by the volume. He must have painted every single night, after getting his spiritual calling.
When I was younger, I shot the pictures for a paper company promotion that Buddy Jackson was working on. We ended up renting a giant car and traveling across the south, looking for eccentric characters. There were four of us: Buddy Jackson, the AD; Mike Nolan, the copywriter; Paul Vozdic, my assistant at the time; and myself. I’m shocked that it all fell into place; I don’t think we really called ahead to any of the places. We just showed up and knocked on the door. Bessie Harvey in Knoxville; Howard Finster in Summerville GA; BF Perkins in Prattville GA; a fanatical preacher somewhere; Mose T in Montgomery; Jimmy Lee Sudduth in Fayetteville, Georgia; and a snake-handling Pentecostal preacher, somewhere south of Columbia, TN. Great memories. We were fine all week in the car, until I decided to bring up the topic of religion, with Mike Nolan, and then I turned into a total dick; I guess I need to add Mike to my Amends List. I’ll always feel bad about that.
Not sure what is left of the Finster operation any longer.
Front Cover of the paper promotion for Mead Paper
My picture of Jimmy Lee Sudduth, on his front porch. (Pardon the CMYK rough scan). See video below, of Jimmy Lee on harmonica.
Detail of frame of "Snake Handling Preacher". (We rolled down the window of the rental car, just enough to stick the lens thru the crack. The preacher brought the snake up to the 24mm lens, which was, uh, really close to me). Pardon the scan.
(From the book): Clark Byers spent his life driving across the south, painting the SEE ROCK CITY barns. If you ever saw one of the barns, Clark Byers painted it. (He also grazed buffalo).
Shot today with my iPhone, of Howard's "artist statement", at TPAC.
Below are some random YouTube videos that I located on these artists that we visited. This first video below is similar to how we experienced Howard — we just walked in, and there he was working, and he started preaching to us, just like this. My advice: make about four cups of strong coffee, and then turn the volume up loud on your computer, and then listen to this first video about three times, over and over. That was the feeling of being there with Howard — very “in your face”.
Cut-up Polaroids.
We set up a temporary studio in my den last night. Was nice to shoot real film again, and actually touch something, (rather than everything digital). The night started out as an Art Night, but turned into Chili Night, and then Campfire Night, and then Music Night, and then College Football Night, and finally, Giant Art Book Night. Really fun.
Jimmy Abegg, Kristin Russell, Amy Patterson, Buddy Jackson, Jimmy Abegg, John Deaderick, Erika Wright.
My mother’s new friend
My mother has a new ritual — she puts a chocolate chip cookie by the front door each day, and she waits for the little girl across the street to get home from school. When she sees the car pull into the driveway, she takes the cookie over, as a gift. They’ve struck up quite the friendship.
My mother and Tilly, sharing a cookie after school.
Woody Guthrie’s “New Years Rulin’s” (for 1943)
I’m a Woody Guthrie fan, (and Dylan, Seeger, Jack Elliott, and most anything Folk). I saw this a few days ago. He wrote this around 1943; amazing how many of the things still hold true today. Click image to enlarge.
Click image to enlarge, for better readability.
Red Eyed Rooster square dance / Hogslop String Band
The best way to view this post is to, first, go to the Red Eyed Rooster invite page, and make sure your sound is on, and then let the music play while you’re viewing these snapshots. On that page, there’s also a nice image of the band, shot by Lisa Elmaleh. Check out Lisa’s other images too; very nice wet-plate collodion technique. The “Rooted” chapter is especially nice.
Anyway… this was just a great night; the whole room participated, whether they knew the dances or not. That’s what made it the most fun. We got there early, and there was this one couple off to the side, very quiet, but once the music started, he hit the dance floor with a fury. His name is James Howarth, and he burned up the place. He said he was once a competition clogger. He says to me, “You know, I just go out now to have fun; sometimes I get out of time with the band, but I don’t worry about it any more; I just get out there and dance”. Good words to live by…
Clogging James, dancing with The Tallest Girl in Town. He seems happy here.
Fun and laughter, the whole night. About 1/10th of the people knew the moves; that made it better.
I have no idea how this girl "daintzt" in these shoes, but she pulled it off; in style.
"Shoot Your Partner". Hilarious.
Here's a four-up of James The Clogger. He went to the center of the circle. Fourth image shows his taps.
The Hogslop String Band, (with Tiffany Buchanan on washtub bass!).
The perfect mix of New Technology and Old Technology. Blackbird Studio meets The Hardware Store.
Erika and John fall right into rhythm.
Style.
Song List.
Kristin with James. He got his hat all cockeyed when they hugged.
Daintzin'.
The dance "caller" Daniel Allen Frazier, Jr. Even his voice sounded 1950's, Kristin said.
I loved this couple - she had a great skirt and killer boots.
Regions Bank: Competition Cyclists (and steel cable)
I went into my bank branch today and was reminded of a fun project that we shot last fall in Toronto. Regions Bank found these competition cyclists for their TV campaign, and then we cast for more gymnasts and contortionists in Toronto. The posters are all over the place in the bank, and on the ATMs. Haven’t seen any outdoor boards yet. We laid a plexi floor, on a soundstage, and had a rigging crew fly them around. Really fun project. Also, Toronto is a really amazing city, if you ever get the chance to go. Art Director: the truly original Rich Albright; agency producer: the unflappable Lizzie Holt; producer Brett Sahler; first-class production help in Toronto by Raff and Julie at FullServe.
Stefan hoisted into the air, on his way to the ceiling.
Posters and POP at the Regions branches.
The initial batch of images.
YouTube of competition cycling. (Amazing strength).
Recent Jack Daniels Calendar
Here are some of the images from the 2012 Jack Daniels Squires calendar. This year, the calendar block ran over the bottom-half of the images, so some of these compositions might not make sense. Just mix a drink, and squint your eyes, and imagine a calendar grid in the bottom half, overprinted. Thanks go to Nelson Eddy, creative director and storyteller; Jan Mattix, designer/AD/Good Spirit; Iris Baker, producer; Derrick Hood, David Johnson, and Joel Micah Dennis, assistants; Anna Webb, prop stylist; Randall Fanning, Getter Of All Things; and the entire town of Lynchburg, Tennessee, for being for kind and welcoming.
This one is called "Checking the Weather". This is our dear Randall Fanning, on top of Miss Emily Bedford's incredible hillside.
Leisure time in Lynchburg. Shot on a sloping hillside near the high school, on the main road. Joel is still in therapy, after being rolled down the hill (repeatedly), to get this picture right.
Bruce really does keep a miniature pony as a pet. We shot this at The Motlow House, while they shared a bowl of popcorn. (Thanks to the invaluable Ruby, for help with this image).
There's a long story about a dog that chases his own tail, but in this scene, he leaps over a long stick, at one of the barrelhouses. Jack Bateman also comes out of retirement to make a cameo appearance.
Earl holds court with The Coffee Club, at The Iron Kettle, on the square.
Chris Dickey and his dad, photographed down in Mulberry Creek, near the baseball fields. His dad makes these custom grills out of 55-gallon barrels.
Clyde Fanning, and his two canine helpers, tries to reassemble the tractor, way out Booneville Road.
Movie Night, with grilled burgers, in the big field next to The Funeral Home, on the main road. (Still unsure what image was stripped into the movie screen).
Mr. Carl Payne plots his next move, in a checkers match, inside one of the barrelhouses.
They pick on Mr. Phil Whitaker a lot. Here, he tries to enjoy his balogna sandwich, on his lunch break, but he can't buy a moment's silence.
Back cover image: Ron engaged in a game of MumblyPegs.
Front cover image: William Grogan strums an old guitar, on a fall afternoon, between The Square and Miss Mary Bobo's restaurant.
Road Trip: Asheville, North Carolina
We took a short road trip over to Asheville, North Carolina, over the holidays. Mostly to just get away and have some nice meals, and see some artwork. If you go there, check out Limones (amazing; ate there three times!); Tupelo Honey downtown; Table Asheville; Early Girl Eatery; The River Arts District; an odd combo of champagne bar and bookstore; and finally, a really great traditional bookstore. On the way home, Gina told me about some exciting new work by Kevin Bradley at YeeHaw Industries, so we stopped and met him, and bought some work. We kept this audiobook running non-stop the whole week; it’s mesmerizing — great novel called “The Night Circus”; the author is Erin Morgenstern.
Creepy kudzu area, near the River Arts District, in Asheville, NC. I love how the trees are like characters on a stage.
Hard to tell from this vantage point, but there was this awesome haunted house on the hill, sitting above this abandoned tire recap store. I wish I'd had a cherry picker, to show how the haunted house was perched up there, like the Bates Motel or something.
Inside YeeHaw Industries, Kevin Bradley (on right), with customers. Posters on walls and ceiling; California Job Cases in every direction.
Posters on the wall at YeeHaw Industries.
Window display of wood-block letters, at Yeehaw, in downtown Knoxville.
Window display at YeeHaw.
Image of Popcorn Sutton, convicted moonshiner in East Tennessee, in the window of a liquor store on Gay Street in Knoxville. More info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn_Sutton
Portrait of Kristin, at The Indigo in Asheville. Great western light in this room.
Christmas: Kentucky
Some casual snapshots from a fun day in Kentucky yesterday. It was a gorgeous day; warm and sunny. All the family met at my brother Robert’s home; a menu of grilled pork, baked beans, corn pudding, and Amber’s homemade cookies for Santa. My niece is growing like a weed.
Amber doing her Titantic impression, from a four-wheeler instead of a ship. Robert's new dog, Booker, with a crazy look on his face.
Amber with her new bright-pink snow suit. Not sure what my mother is thinking.
Winning Entry for the Best Wrapping Job, for the Mystery Gift.
Amber trying to explain the Wii/XBox dancing game. Not sure my mother was very into it...
Sadie and Booker didn't hesitate to jump right into the (frigid) water.
My brother Robert and I show off our matching hoodies.
Amber and the very regal Booker, in my brother's back yard.
Jack Daniel Holiday “Barrel Tree”
Tricia saw some of the new Jack Daniels “Barrel Tree” ads in the subway this week. Below also are a couple of TV spots that were being shot at the same time. Each of us shooting over the other’s shoulders. Thanks to Art Buyer Andrea Ricker, and Art Director Corey Favier. Also below are some of the product shots that we did near the old Saw Mill Room at the distillery; you’d think we were in some fancy photo studio. Below are some images that have run; lots more in the can for later use. Here’s another link that talks about the Facebook game.
Edit/Update: Here are some interesting Jack posters, letterpress by Yee-Haw, that have nothing to do with this post, but you should see them. Also, an article in the paper yesterday, about bourbon. And I saw this too: still trying to sell this concept for a future project. Fat chance.
Posters on the C Train; Manhattan.
Giant Barrel Tree built in the empty field next to The Motlow House.
Cropped version of one of the product shots. Long, long banners for subway headers.
Just a fun little portrait of the hard-working barrelmen from the distillery. Great group of men, seriously. Giant snow machine from a crane, above.
Master Distiller Jeff Arnett, on one of the upper floors in the barrelhouse.
Alternative View, another angle. Motlow House in the background.
Link to one of the TV Spots.
Link to "Making Of" video. Behind the scenes.
Andrea on the barrel tree, on day one, as it was being built. Love her expression here.
Heidi Kirkpatrick article
I met Heidi Kirkpatrick in New Orleans last week, at Photo NOLA. It was so refreshing to see work that wasn’t just straight prints. The pictures in this article, show the strength of the work. Very refreshing approach. Good interview at the link.
Jen Deaderick’s Birthday Party
A small, sweet private birthday party for Jen Deaderick last night at The Basement. Great food, great cupcakes, and a custom playlist from 1973. Green Pea Salon was well-represented; and Kelly Mason showed his impressive collection of photos from his iPhone. (Don’t ask). Other attendees: Kristin Russell; the Reverend Charles Jackson; Amy Patterson; Allison Inman; Lisa A York; Erika Wright; Mindy Grimes. There were several heated discussions about “The Descendants“, and sleepless nights.
After the "Happy Birthday" song; Mindy Grimes gives Jen the pick of the litter.
Kelly Mason attacks Mindy Grimes, and she does a full-body take-down on him.
Kelly is infatuated with Jen's ribs. I have no idea the story behind this. But weirdly, I like this picture.
Jen, with her father Mike. Mike was eight when Jen was born.
Mike Smith and Kelly; Mindy and Jen convincingly demonstrate a very crude gesture.
The elusive and quirky Allison Inman told stories of documentary films, and embarrassing moments with her mother.
Jen and Mindy. Jen wears her very pretty coat.
My visit to PhotoNOLA: New Orleans
A couple that I met in a diner on St Roch. She said she was born in Nashville. I love her face.
Just returned from PhotoNOLA in New Orleans, last night. It was a whirlwind trip — they keep you running, non-stop. Day One started with a video workshop with Dave Anderson. He’s super-talented, and definitely a one-man-band. He knows his gear. Day Two was a nice day with Mary Virginia Swanson, titled “Bringing Your Prints to the Wall”. The first half of the day was chock-full of great information from Swannie; the second half was a panel discussion. Personally, I could have done the entire day with just Swannie talking. She’s enthusiastic, and forthcoming, and a wealth of knowledge, and exudes very positive energy to everyone around her. To me, she’s the best in the business. Time well spent, for sure. Day Three was a trip to Joshua’s gallery on Chartres Street, to see Josephine Sacabo’s new photo-polymer gravure work, and some gorgeous Salgado prints on the second floor. Day Four was the highlight though — a full demo of the gravure process by Josephine Sacabo, at her studio, and then a wet-plate collodion demo at HomeSpace Gallery. Unrelated a bit, but I found this work at Joshua’s gallery. I was not really moved by the prints, but I was impressed by the imagination on their site.
Next year, I’m signing up early, in order to have work reviewed. (I’ll also go a little lighter on the horseradish, at Acme and Felix’s).
Many photos below; just keep scrolling down.
Links within this post:
* Photo NOLA 2011
* Gayle Stevens
* Euphus Ruth
* Dave Anderson
* HomeSpace Gallery
* Mary Virginia Swanson
* Bruce Schultz
* Josephine Sacabo
* Joshua: A Gallery
* Acme Oyster
* Felix’s
* Jenny Sampson
* Heidi Kirkpatrick
* Jody Ake
* Quinn Jacobson
* Dale Bernstein
[ Note/Update #1, after original post: Several issues that I have with collodion. Maybe we can open up a conversation about it in the Comments Section below:
* The limitation of the size of the final. I guess Gayle Stevens dealt with that by combining multiple frames together, to get a larger final image. A full-plate image, if left pure and uncopied, can only be about 8"x10". To me, in this huge-print-reality of the current art world, the collodion just seems physically disadvantaged.
* The low ASA of the collodion pretty much forces a portrait exposure to be between two seconds and six seconds. This, to me, forces a very distinct similarity of portraiture, no matter the photographer.
* I just wonder if anyone has discovered a way to shoot a digital file "in", but then somehow do a copy stand or some other way to then rephotograph the image onto collodion, to eliminate the whole "hold still for two seconds issue". ]
Not sure the story on this guy, other than he had a large dog, and a great face.
Door in the French Quarter.
Magical entry to a hotel on Royal Street, in the Quarter.
Love the old neon in the Quarter. This is neither Acme, nor Felix's, but I still love the neon.
Covered door on Royal Street.
Josephine Sacabo's (awesome) studio on Franklin Avenue.
Josephine and Elizabeth loading the gravure press.
Entryway to Josephine's studio.
Elizabeth preparing for the gravure demo.
Gravure plate burner in Josephine's workroom.
Meticulous step-by-step instructions for Josephine's plates. Don't bother copying it; it only works for her specific process.
Test strips and notes, (and my favorite Josephine image), on the wall in the workroom.
Josephine inking the plate, before it goes on press.
Josephine showing the finished gravure, and Elizabeth holding the inked plate.
Euphus Ruth's volvo stationwagon, converted to wetplate collodion darkroom.
Euphus Ruth, showing a recently-made large glass plate. Euphus is a character; great guy.
Back of Euphus' volvo wagon. I love how he just crossed out the Sangria label and converted to developer. Gayle Stevens insists this is her bottle of Sangria.
Euphus' box of glass plates, ready for coating.
Work area, showing Euphus' images.
Euphus' camera; I'd assume this would be called a "full plate camera". Approx film size: 8x10"
Euphus holding up a glass plate to the sky for inspection.
Various chemistry next to Euphus' set up.
Another recent image in the tray.
Bruce Schultz shooting a wet-plate portrait, inside of HomeSpace.
Bruce varnishing the plate over a burning candle.
Gayle Stevens giving a talk about her large-scale wet-plate assemblages.
Close up view of Gayle Stevens grid piece.
More images displayed inside of HomeSpace Gallery.
From the skateboarders series, by Jenny Sampson. Gorgeous image, up close.
No Mark Tucker post would be complete without a dog image. This little sweetheart was inside Homespace Gallery. Incredible little dog named Dot; licked me non-stop in the nose.
Holiday Barrels
Crew shot from a recent ad project; these fellows designed and directed the assembly of a giant “holiday barrel tree” in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
Rainy Sunday Afternoon Drive
Fogged window, Hermitage Cafe, First Avenue South.
Gigantic Highway Construction Tarps, Interstate 40.
Painted-Over Graffiti Walls, (or world's-largest Kit Reuther painting), Hermitage Avenue.
Austin, Texas
Austin vacation — great (liberal) city; great street vibe on South Congress. Kristin found the Saint Cecelia Hotel — one of the best. View of the city. Cupcakes. Butternut squash. French press coffee. Blue tile baths. Turntables in every room (Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison). Other highlights: Casa de Luz for vegan meals; Uncommon Objects for great finds; South Congress Books for great used art books; the mother ship of Whole Foods makes our Nashville version seem like a Circle-K, just the TrailMix and Cheese section alone; the food trailers on SoCo; the bats that come out from underneath the Congress Street Bridge, every single night — magical. If the Saint Cecelia is booked, try The San Jose, which is equally nice.
Kristin in the giant spanish oak; front yard of the hotel.
Reflection of neon sign "Soul", in the deep end of the pool.
H.L. in the midst of a giant chocolate cupcake, on South Congress.
H.L.'s photograph of the daughter of a street musician on South Congress. She shot one frame and nailed it, (just like Eggleston).
Kristin thru the windshield of the old Citroen in the front of the hotel.
Kristin's photograph of me at the hotel, one night before dinner.
Kristin in the front yard, with giant leaves.
Kristin's photo of me, in the back of some vintage store on S. First Street.
Back yard of Thrift Store, on South First Street.
Cicada season in Tennessee
I’m not sure whether it’s a 17-year cycle, or a 13-year cycle, but whatever the case, they’re back. And I love them. They’re everywhere, and the sound, in my wooded neighborhood, is music to my ears. And here’s a great video about them. Fast forward to time code 2:40 and watch it til time code 3:10.
Two Tearsheets: Book Covers
I received these yesterday in the UPS. Two book covers, printed, for Harpers Collins Publishers. The Melissa Marr book, we shot in a studio in Manhattan, and the Gwendolyn Heasley book, we shot in the country, in New Jersey. (Yes, New Jersey has country). Art Director: Alison Donalty; Designer: Ray Shappell. Go buy them for your teenage children.
Nice mention by Rachel: Photography Post blog
Rachel Hulin wrote up a nice little article today about the MyDayWith project, and John Minnicks, and his customized Graflex camera. I was hoping there’d be a mention that the legendary David Burnett is using one too.
Photo: Jon Morgan; me photographing Bell on the sidewalk at International Market.
Starting new blog; side project
Today, I made public the first stage of a new blog. This is an experiment to loosen up, to shoot with less gear, (to shoot with more Polaroid), and to connect more on a human level. And since I’ve been working out of town mostly in the last two years, it’s also an attempt to reconnect with the interesting people in my home of Nashville, Tennessee.
I haven’t added the stories yet in some of these posts, and some of the posts in the new blog were stolen from this blog, in order to show potential photo subjects what I wanted to do. So this blog might be a tad slow in the next few weeks, as I put all my attention into this new project, called MyDayWith.com.
Sample page below. Maybe, in time, this will evolve into a printed magazine or book.
Wonderful Baby
Today, I worked with a sweet mother and tiny tiny baby. This image below is just a part of a much larger image that’ll come later. I shot it with this tiny ringlight; wanted it to feel like a suspended reality, almost like still in the womb.
detail from a piece i'm working on...
Valentines Day: Alexia
I remembered this old 4×5 Polaroid, from years ago. Alexia Abegg, somewhere out in Mount Juliet for some reason. Must have been a job. Nice feeling.
Alexia.
Deviled onions
I made a salad a few weeks ago. Cut an onion in half, and set the other half in the window sill. It stayed there for forever. It started changing. It started turning into a face. It started talking to me when I’d get up and make coffee in the morning. Funny how things will start to take on a life on their own. Two nights ago, I started photographing it; it was becoming human. Reminded me of that scene in Coen Brothers film with William Burroughs, with the typewriter, when things started coming alive.
I thought it was going to be part of a project that we’re all working on, but I don’t think it’ll make the cut. Even though I find the face pretty interesting. (Full retouching disclosure: it had the one ear, on its own, and I cloned it and made a second ear).
I shot this with this old funky Nikon f1.2 lens that I bought recently. I don’t even mount it on the camera — I just hold it up to the camera body, about a half inch away. It’s amazing how it still makes a picture, even though the lens is not even touching the camera. I just move the lens in and out, with my left hand, to focus it. Surprises me that it doesn’t flare more, since there’s light entering the mirror box all around the lens opening. Just move the lens around with your hand; your own homemade tilt lens.
YogaCarnival: Bellydancers and Yoga strength
Dropped by Gillian’s Yoga Carnival last night, in the old Whiteway Cleaners complex. It was a warm night; they had fires built in the courtyard, and it was a packed house. Henna applications, bellydancers, music, and an amazing display of strength, discipline, and commitment by Gillian, Jessica, and their friends.
Yoga Carnival. Click to enlarge.
Homemade Cameras, (carrying the torch).
(Caution: This post might get a bit geeky and technical). Tonight, I took a little trip back down memory lane. I have been talking over email to David Burnett, about a mysterious hand-made camera that he’s buying. David is not someone I’d call a friend, probably because I’m too intimidated by him. He’s always been more like a mentor to me, but we’ve always connected in the shared interest of old cobbled-together 4×5 cameras. David is obviously a photo legend, and he shoots either a Crown or Speed Graphic with that old radioactive Aero 178mm f2.5 lens, that weighs as much as a safe. He shoots it on actual paying jobs, even today. I’ve always admired him for sticking with his vision, especially in these “We need it now” deadline mentalities.
Anyway, David is friends with John Minnicks, and I talked to John tonight for over an hour, through David’s introduction. John, it seems, is a part-time woodworker, and part-time photographer, (and part-time mad scientist!). He takes the body of an old Graflex RB, and somehow almost guts it, and alters the mirror and the light traps and the bellows, and then mounts a tilt-shift mechanism onto the front standard, and then mounts the Aero 178 onto that. What’s most interesting: the RB is not really a 4×5 camera, but somehow John has mounted a Graflok 4×5 back onto this body, and it works. I think there are three of these cameras in existence now, and if I’m lucky, and nice to him, I might get to own one of them. It will shoot 4×5 film or the Fuji 4×5 pack film; either one. Check out some of John’s other creations. John is a true craftsman, which is getting pretty rare in these new “just download the new firmware off the web” kind of times that we live in now.
Years ago, I remember talking for hours on the phone to Mr. Peter Gowland, out in Malibu. I had purchased one of his crazy 4×5 GowlandFlexes, and we’d talk forever about crazy camera designs. He was in his late 70′s even at that time, and still going strong. I always wanted to stop out there and meet him, when I’d be out there doing a job, but it never happened. (He died in March of last year).
At some point, I began to make this ugly lens contraption out of a Fuji magnifying loupe and some rubber gasket material. I called it The PlungerCam. It mounted onto a Hasselblad 202 or 203, or anything with a focal plane shutter in it. I think something similar to this somewhat evolved into that LensBaby thing. Then I trotted it out of retirement a couple of years ago, and made it again from scratch, but this time mounted it onto a Contax 645 body, with a Phase P45+ back on it. I was shooting a job with it, in Brooklyn once, and it began to fall apart in the middle of the job. It was a bitter cold day, and we were shooting outside all day, and the glue began to crack. As it turned out, the light leak actually made the pictures better, so sometimes, you just go with the surprises, and trust that it’ll work out. There was no actual focusing of this lens — you just grabbed the rubber gasket and moved it around, in and out, with your hand, to focus it. Very Fred Flintstone, but it worked. Here are some of the contact sheets.
Anyway, it was great to talk to John Minnicks on the phone tonight. It was like one of those Separated At Birth stories that you’d seen on some bad “Dateline” show, where some villain kidnaps one of the brothers when he’s four months old, but they reconnect later, in the parking lot of some WalMart store, in a tearful reunion, and they find that they had similar hobbies and interests, all through the years. Hopefully, this camera thing is going to work out, and then I can begin the real task at hand — finding someone who’ll actually process C41 4×5, in the year 2011.
I actually did buy an old Graflex RB Super D off of ebay, years ago. Some guy in Manhattan had painstakingly mounted a 665-type Polaroid back permanently onto the back of the Graflex, and had done a great job at it. I used the camera for years, and then lent it to my old assistant, Roger Gibbs, who took it back to his home country of Curacao to do a personal project. Roger bonded to the camera, and so I just sent it to him last year, in one of those fits of rage (and gratitude to Roger) of cleaning out unused stuff. The RB is much smaller than the traditional Super D 4×5; much easier to carry around.
It’s always interesting to connect with someone who shares these eccentric interests. And i hope, one day, to meet face to face with the King of Eccentrics: John Coffer, in upstate New York. He lives with no running water and no electricity, (and no Twitter). You want to talk to him? Then pull up a chair, find a pencil, and write him a letter, and walk to your mailbox. If you attend one of his tintype workshops, bring your sleeping bag, because you’ll be camping out (just heard that there’s a B&B that’s close to his land, with nice breakfasts, even). There was this character in the Coen Brothers “True Grit” this year — a guy on horseback, wearing a bear head — yeah, that’s my picture of John Coffer.
Update: Another link for adaptors, sent to me by David Grover of Hasselblad. Thank you.
A page from John Minnicks' Facebook page. His RB next to a camera like David Burnett's.
Baby Bear Bird.
Shot this yesterday for my friend Diana. We had a wonderful child to work with. Brent was with his mother, in a Cracker Barrel somewhere, and somehow, somebody knew somebody, and he met this child and her grandmother, I think. Not sure about the specifics of the story, but on some level, it doesn’t matter, (but doesn’t Cracker Barrel have to be involved in every story that happens in The South? Really). She is so poised and well-spoken, all for three years old. And these incredible birds were flying all over my house; at some point, they’d get bored from sitting in her hand, and they’d fly off, and Brent and I would climb a ladder and get them down off the seamless or the window sill. They are tiny little doves from Petsmart, and I want a couple for myself, along with a victorian bird cage. They make a soothing little cooing noise.
Click to enlarge.
(Edit): Here’s a second image too; just playing around with the window light.
Iris’ Birthday Party.
Birthday party for Iris Baker-van Turnhout last night in East Nashville. A warm home, lots of friends, a chocolate cake, some weird cinnamon whisky, kids and dogs and cats running everywhere, and good conversation. Tony was the perfect host.
Podcast recommend: Tara Brach
Highly recommended. Free subscribe. I just download it and let it play in the background, while I’m retouching. Let it wash over you. Go to iTunes Store, and do a search for her name.
“The Contributor” benefit last night.
My new neighbor Julie Lee asked me to come down to The Contributor benefit last night, at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. I was honored that she asked me to help out. Here are some images from the event. I had to leave early for another thing, but I shot as much as I could. There was a very nice spirit in the room last night. There was an art show downstairs, with framed photographs for sale, shot by the homeless on disposable cameras, and then following, a music performance upstairs in the sanctuary.
Click to enlarge.
Window light.
I have this candle that’s not really a candle. It’s really just an incense holder. The wax is soft, and you just can jam them down in there. It’s taken on this ritualistic voodoo quality now, with all the leftover wood sticks of burned incense. It’s sitting on a piece of scrap sheetrock, that I’ve so elegantly converted into a tabletop to hold a lamp.
Last night, I went to two art openings, and I think I got up today, inspired to work with a still life. Not sure this is really the final image, I think I’m going back up there and reshoot it. Reshot it.
ASA 6400, (my new love ASA), with the 45 tilt, stitched, wide open. ASA 100, with the 45 tilt, stitched, wide open.
And then, below, a portrait of a friend of a friend’s child, today. Pretty, soft window light, with the Mamiya contraption.
second try at it.
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