The truth of fashion photography

I was talking to someone the other day who said it "must be really cool to be a fashion photographer. All parties and fun and stuff."

I was like, "Are you kidding me?".

I haven't been to a party in like a month. Infact it's saturday night again, and despite having shot for six hours today, I'm still not partying. Nope. No parties. No fun. I'm back infront of this infernal computer clicking away.

I WISH this job was that cool.

Color

I'm loving this style. Alot. This is again, the lovely Katka D. Fabulous to work with.

In beauty

The model, Katka D. is gorgeous. Awesome face, super personality and fabulous to work with.

Sorry

Sorry, I'm behind in just about everything in my life right now. Everything. So, not much to post about. I'm too busy trying to work things out.

Onwards

So I'm in a planning mood. I'm trying to figure out the direction I should be taking with my work and with my finances. I've decided on getting a roommate again as the entire 3+1 and balcony with a view is a bit more extravagent than I can reasonably afford. Frankly, it's just too expensive.

The summer looms ahead of me. I feel some great change comming my way like a storm, but I can't put a finger directly only exactly what that change might be. I've always been one for having a good sense of destiney so while I'm giddy and excited about it, I'm also nervous. Big change is comming, and along with it, I feel myself changing. I'm moving away from a sense of security that I was starting to get used to. I'm feeling more restless. More creative. More everything.

In other news, I've been shooting lots of polaroid. But I decided to stop. It's not cheap. Very very, not cheap. I did find a cheap used digital camera with a wide angle lens. I now take this camera everywhere with me.

Also, I've almost finished John Phillips "Free Spirit in a Troubled World". John Phillips was one of the original photographers for LIFE magazine. It's pretty inspirational. I think photographers should really spend their free time reading about the photographers who came before us. Lots of people think we are just people with cameras taking pictures. But not so. Even those photographers who aren't etched into collective memory as a great (Ansel Adams) still live lives worthy of epics. Even those photographers who don't end up contributing to their society, contribute to their own memories. We are living so that we die absolutly full of the beauty life has to offer. Some of us travel, some of us stay in one place. But we do what we do because photography and being a photographer is simultaneously art and philosophy. It's also a way to experince life, *more*.

everything else

I'm a bit overworked, stressed and caught up in multiple things. It amazes me how sometimes everything can just-sorta-barely get away from you. There was a death in the familly last week and the anniversry of my friends death a year ago is comming up. I'm also looking for a roomate, contemplating moving, and trying to finnaly print out my portfolio. On top of that, I'm sick.

Anyway I've been shooting polaroid lately. It's an expensive medium (1.50 a shot) but has an asthetic you really can't get any other way.

Post

This ones had a few minutes of tweaking in photoshop. Surprisingly, this is all digital. But it looks really great. I've been putting together a little toolkit of tricks lately to essentially 'bring digital down' and make it a little bit more like the imperfectness we have gotten used to from film.

Another.

See?

Backstage for Elle

So I assisted my friend David again yesterday for Elle. It was a great shoot, out in the sand dunes of a quarry. Quarries are cool locations for shoots that's for sure, and it was a great day. Today I shot a viral video for Taco Bell. Keep your eyes open for that. The picture above is of Hanka, who is in town just for a week before she heads back to London. I took it for fun before the shoot started. I might go live with her and a few of her friends because they are looking for someone else to share a room in London. I really would like to live there. As always, Hanka is beautiful.

Immigrants

I've been reading some of the coverage regarding the immigrant rights movement that seems to be going on back home, especially on the west coast. It's great to hear about immigrants and native (or slightly less immigrant americans) getting together for the cause of immigrants rights. My father is an immigrant to this country while on my mothers side I am part native american and thus, part TRUE american as in, predating europeans by about 10,000 years. Yeah, no customs then.

Anyway, I firmly support the right of immigrants in america. I also support any process that would allow them greater freedom in american and any process that reduces the fear and danger they must endure to be in our great country. As a nation of immigrants I feel we have no right to turn anyone away. I was also a student of politics and economics and I firmly believe that immigration is essential to the strength both economic and cultural, of america. I'll say right now I support an open immigration policy. Whomever wants to come to america- I think should be allowed to come. So what if maybe spanish speakers start to outnumber english speakers. We aren't going to stop speaking english anytime soon. So what if there is greater competion for employment, the increased population means increased economic oppertunity for all.

In particular I'd like to state that Mexico is not our enemy. The history of spanish speakers and mexicans in particular is deeply a part of American history. So what if Mexico is much poorer than the USA. Rather than going wild foreign exploritory missions and wars, we should be spending our hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth on something usefull, like helping to modernize Mexico or forming a *fair* economic partnership that could eventually encompase all of North America.

And for everyone out west who can't figure out where all the mexicans came from, here's a hint. They were there first!

zlepsit

I think from now on I am going to try and get to sleep a bit earlier. Then in the mornings I will try to actually eat breakfast, and I will try to not eat it standing up and in a rush by the refrigerator. I will not leave the kitchen dirty each night and I will not leave food out. In the morning I will try to sit down on my balcony with a cup of tea like my mother and I will quietly try to think through my day.