Getting Some Time Away...Thanks To Some Good Friends

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." 

- Carl Reiner

Okay, so anything look a little different? Come on, guess! Yep, I've modernized my blog design a bit, but I'm not done yet. This is just one modification to kick things off, but its not my end design.

Last week was full of doctor visits getting poked and prodded every single day except for last Monday. I didn't get much of anything done from being in pain for one thing or another, but mainly this trick knee. As my last post detailed, I had some focusing issues. Well, maybe God saw fit to help me out a bit, cause a few friends from my church got me to go out to the Las Vegas 51's baseball home opener last Thursday. I did NOT want to go, but wasn't doing a darn thing when a friend basically told me she was coming to pick me up. So I went. Met some interesting new people, got antagonized and harassed by some kids who seemed to take to me fairly well, and watched the 51's beat a Utah team, 7-3. After the game, there was a tremendous firework display that seemed to last a half hour.

The next morning I went to Zion on a whim with my friend John who was also looking to get away. He pretty much negated every excuse I could muster. It was a good trip. We started out early and got back late. The Narrows was closed due to high water volumes, which was expected because of all the new snow melt. The water was very muddy and I wouldn't have wanted to be in it anyway, not to mention COLD. Being a Saturday, it was crowded as expected. People still walked the mile from the drop-off point just to watch the water. I was amazed at how many people had never seen a squirrel or a deer before. For a brief moment we thought about doing Angel's landing. I'm in need of updating some of my landscape work, but that notion was quickly put to rest when I started feeling the knee. I've got to get some new hiking shoes as well. My toes were rubbing in my boots which are just a bit too large. All in all, it was a good day. We stopped off at my favorite joint, the Cracker Barrel on the way back and for the first time, I had something other than either the pancakes or the Sourdough French toast. They had a grilled fish and shrimp dinner that was pretty darn good.

What's next? I don't know yet. Taking it day by day right now.

Focus

"Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along." 

- Og Mandino

Model, Joan

Its been easy to lose track of time as of late. I didn't even realize it had been so long since my last post. So what's been going on in the land of Photo Anthems, you ask? Well, I've recently closed down my deviantART account. Well, I guess I should say, I've taken down my images. I've more than 300 images up and I've put them all in the sites "storage" feature. For the most part, there's just an ongoing ill feeling I've been having of late. Its been cool getting to know people on dA, but there's more and more non-artistic nudes in the ARTISTIC nudes section. Mixed in with the great work of masters of the trade are more and more pollution nudes that just contaminate the good stuff simply by association. I can't peruse the art nudes without being inundated with tasteless porn, specifically more and more male close-ups that have no merit or warrant to being categorized as art. Yeah, I know...then you get into defining what art is. I'm not splitting those hairs, but those who post what they post know their intent and I am certain I could safely wager, artistic expression is far from their purposes. I got rid of my MySpace a while back too but that was more for lack of use.

Model, Dana

And that goes with many things on my agenda and regular rituals. Especially in these times, I've found it necessary to trim back things that don't contribute to my goals as well as eliminate those things that hinder them. I have to admit to focusing issues as of late. Sometimes, its hard to get mind mind trained on any one thing or task and then do it well. Like I said, I didn't even realize how much time had elapsed since my last post. So my goals right now are to begin the week more productively and get done what I need to get done despite how I feel. If I have to slap myself in the face, then so be it. I've got to gather my thoughts and execute my plans. I am better than this. Og Mandino once advised people to repeat to themselves, "Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better." I used to have my kids say that in the mornings. I need to take my own advice.

"I will act now.

I will not avoid the tasks of today and charge them to tomorrow for I know that tomorrow never comes. Let me act now even though my actions may not bring happiness or success for it is better to act and fail than not to act and flounder. Happiness, in truth, may not be the fruit plucked by my action yet without action all fruit will die on the vine." - Excerpt from "The Greatest Salesman in the World - (The Scroll Marked IX), Og Mandino

Happy Birthday Mr. Norris...So Long, Mr. Moore

Chuck Norris once kicked a horse in the chin. Its descendants are known today as giraffes.

 The square root of Chuck Norris is PAIN. 

Godzilla is a Japanese rendition of Chuck Norris' first visit to Tokyo.

When Bruce Banner gets mad, he turns into the Hulk. When the Hulk gets mad, he turns into Chuck Norris. 

Yes, We live in an expanding universe. All of it is trying to get away from Chuck Norris.

Model, Joan "By the Serenity Pool"

Last week I attended the WPPI 2010 Trade Show and got my hands on a few interesting new products that I think could be helpful in my arsenal of photo works. And then I also encountered a booth that promoted their wedding albums at every 3.2 stations I passed by. Good GRIEF! I think there should be a limit to how much of one product or service that we should be inundated with. They were like the porn card pushers you encounter on the Las Vegas strip.There's got to be some regulation on that sort of thing. Of everything that I came across, I think the most intriguing thing and funniest was the View-Master style reels and views being offered by Celebrations3D. Everybody had a View-Master when we were kids. To see one now, was both funny and a potentially great novelty to promote. It wasn't all that cheap though, but it could be well worth it to pursue. Check 'em out.

 

A few days before the WPPI trade show, I also did a certification training seminar for the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation, which is a special organization of which I have recently become a volunteer. The workshop proved to be very insightful for me. In a nutshell, this group was founded about 5 years ago to help parents deal with the grief of giving birth to a stillborn child or one who is not expected to be in this world very long. This is a nationwide foundation that collaborates with hospitals and parents to provide professional portraiture of these babies free of charge for the families as a remembrance that these babies were actually here and to confirm that they did indeed exist. A birth certificate is certainly a certification of proof of life. However a photograph truly announces to the world that a life existed today and has left an indelible impact on the world, even if that world only consists of a mother and a father. 

I've taken a personal interest in promoting this cause because they could use a few more photographers to lend a hand and serve this need. I understand that this is not for everybody. It's actually a good thing for you to know your limitations and accept them, if even just for the time being until those limits change. For those of you wishing to find out more about NILMDTS, you can visit the website,www.NILMDTS.org. A documentary has recently been produced on DVD entitled Capturing a Short Life. You can view a short trailer on the film by going to it's website and then selecting the TRAILER tab. www.capturingashortlife.com. If this is something you feel you have a heart for, please consider a closer look and become well informed before making a decision. I believe this to be a cause worthy, not only for consideration, but also service. 

You'd think that a person who's dedicated to his craft would know 90% about the history of their chosen field. Sort of like an actor who knows of all the notables who came before him; or the musician who has studied all the famous artists of her genre. I'm so not there yet. There are a whole bunch of photographers. I was talking to a lady on the phone today who asked me about a few photogs here in Vegas. I think I had heard of one. Vegas is chock full of photographers. Even moreso than a Chips A'Hoy cookie has chocolate chips that you are promised to get in every bite. Well, in a little bigger news, I was surprised to see a good friend of mine make a message board post about Charles Moore who passed away at the age of 79. This guy was the front and center photographer who was up close and personal getting many of the shots from the civil rights days. According to Wikipedia, he also covered conflicts in the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Venezuela, and also Haiti. He was all over, but he's mostly know for his shots traveling throughout the South.

I've seen his shots, but never knew who took them. The images were so powerful in nature that, I just never bothered to ask who the author was. You were too emotional about the images and the people in them. He's got the one image of the demonstrators being hit with  high-pressure water hose. Finding out who took the picture would have been the last thing on your mind unless you were a newspaper editor and needed it on your front page. No, in this case your heart would inevitably go out to the young black people being blasted with the water and then become so angered by such atrocities that you want to cry out. But you don't really stop to ask how the images came to be. Until my friend Scott, mentioned it, I never knew the man. The guy certainly put his life on the line to get these shots. It was one thing to be black during these days. But being white and supportive of black causes could have been even more appalling. You can see one of his books at Amazon, "Powerful Days: The Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore". Do a Google Image search on his name. 

These are images of Joan who wanted to see how I might capture her with a camera. I was humbled that she felt I was the right guy to do these shots and was very pleased that she enjoyed them. Being so uninhibited made her easy to shoot and I knew things were flowing well when we were interrupted by 3 hikers and her clothes were out of reach. There was no sense of anxiety. I even gave some directions to the hikers to help find a path up the canyon walls since I had been up there before and gotten stuck.We kept on shooting for another few hours and called it a day. AND she waited patiently for me to edit the shots. As anxious as she was, she never called me once about them to ask to see "some" of them. It was a cool shoot. Expect more. 

Oh, Chuck Norris recently had a birthday and turned 70. Thought I'd share some interesting facts I found out about him from Chuck Norris Facts.com.

 

• James Cameron wanted Chuck Norris to play the Terminator. However, upon reflection, he realized that would have turned his movie into a documentary, so he went with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding. 
• According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday. 
• Chuck Norris CAN divide by zero.
• Police label anyone attacking Chuck Norris as a Code 45-11.... a suicide.
• Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and GOT one.
•  If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. FOREVER...
• Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you.
• Chuck Norris uses a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris' first job was as a paperboy. There were no survivors.
• Contrary to popular belief, the Titanic didn't hit an iceberg. The ship was off course and accidentally ran into Chuck Norris while he was doing the backstroke across the Atlantic. 
• Human cloning is outlawed because if Chuck Norris were cloned, then it would be possible for a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to meet another Chuck Norris roundhouse kick. Physicists theorize that this contact would end the universe. 
•  There are no such things as tornadoes. Chuck Norris just hates trailer parks. 
• Chuck Norris and Mr. T walked into a bar. The bar was instantly destroyed, as that level of awesome cannot be contained in one building. 
• Chuck Norris does not follow fashion trends, they follow him. But then he turns around and kicks their ass. Nobody follows Chuck Norris.
• When an episode of Walker Texas Ranger was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.

Death Valley First Visit

It always rains on tents.  Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.  ~Dave Barry

How is it that one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?  ~Author Unknown

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.... People think pleasing God is all God care about.  But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.  

~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982

Its been a very interesting past two weeks or so that has been both a kick in the 'nads as well as a breath of fresh air. Its definitely been drama city over the last few weeks, but I think I'll concentrate on the breath of fresh air part. To start with, last weekend, I took the opportunity to head to Death Valley and camp out there with some friends. So let me give a big-ups to Soibhan (pronounced, Shev-on), for arranging the whole thing for us campers. She still had several people RSVP and then bail on her at the last minute which is totally unsat in my book. She booked the camp sites for us and put this thing together and asked politely that anyone who had a change of plans to announce the fact early. All the slots filled and still 7 people no-showed or cancelled at the last minute. Ridiculous. But I'm glad I was able to be a last minute addition. I found out about it the day before, so I jumped on it.

Death Valley isn't but about 2 to 2 and a half hours from Vegas, which is good. I plan on treating this place much like I did with Zion National Park when I first got here. I drove out there at least 5 times in less than 2 months. There was just so much to explore and I wanted to get to know the place. It's so beautiful out there. I've still yet to do my main project of hiking the Narrows from top to bottom with a model, but it'll happen. I may not do Death Valley every weekend like I did Zion, but I'll be making multiple trips to explore the place. A car may suffice, but I'd much rather be in a truck. I rode with Soibhan who has a small SUV that was surprisingly roomy and comfortable.

This trip didn't pan out as well as I had hoped. DV is the lowest place below sea level in North America. It boasts the hottest temperatures in the western hemisphere of 134 degrees, just shy of the wold record of 136. The place gets less than 2 inches or rain a year! Yet THIS WEEKEND, it rained on us almost the whole time. Our campsite flooded around us. Fortunately we were on higher ground at Furnace Creek, but the same couldn't be said of some neighbors from India. Three of them were camped about 20 feet in front of us and found their gear and tents in a foot of water. On and off, the rains came on Saturday til about just after midnight on Sunday morning. Our potluck had to be quickly eaten, but we did chill by the fire...in the rain, but it wasn't coming down in torrents at least. I still took out my camera to get some portraits of everyone, and it got wet enough that I had to let is sit for a few hours the next day to let it dry out. Mainly the lens and the settings LCD screen fogged up. I didn't get any landscape shots until the ride home, but that's okay. I'll be back. And next time, I'll have a rain bag to operate my camera no mater what the forecast. We knew it was supposed to rain, just not that much for so long. I mean, come on...it's Death Valley!

A Few Points to Hit On

(This has nothing to do with photos. I just thought it was funny!)




"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers."

 - Mahatma Ghandi

I don't know what all this funky weather is about. My family in Texas and Tennessee are seeing more snow than they have in ages. My sister sent me some pics of my folks house in Texas and I've just never seen that much snow there. I didn't see that much snow til I did my first tour of duty in Germany. I went from having a vague knowledge of what snow was to being knee deep in it. I tease at times about the contrasting weather they have compared to here in Nevada. Today I was in shorts, T-shirt, and flip-flops. It was a reasonable 70 degrees here. Oddly enough, we've gotten our share of the oddity in weather too. We've had more rain here in the last few weeks than I've seen during the monsoon seasons of all 3 years that I've been here put together. El Nino? What the hell?


Now I thought it was pretty dog-gone cool when Unbearable Lightness was featured on The Sensual 7 Seconds Blog (a week ago). You can't imagine my elation when Karl contacted me and asked me to participate in his questionnaire feature as well. That made my day. But now that he's published it on his blog and I got to read the things that he said about me...well, let me just say its good to feel appreciated. I feel so good right now, I'm going to go spend some money. Drop by to see his interview with me. 

Regardless if friends go with me or not, I'm heading to Death Valley in the next month or so and staying out overnight to catch some nice sunrises and sunsets, hopefully with a valley of wild flowers aplenty. If I can get a model to tag along, then that'll be great too. But I haven't had one model yet give me even any inkling of an idea that she'd be willing to camp out. Day-trip? Sure. Staying outdoors overnight? Kiss my boo-tay, okay...! 

*City girls....*

As one who is a patron and proponent of the nude arts, you may find it ironic that I am also oddly drawn to freelance men's wear journalist, Simon Crompton's "Permanent Style" Blog. I am not a true fashion person. I don't even pretend to work in much fashion photography. I'd rather not even give consideration to succumbing to the latest trends of the day. If everybody's wearing it, chances are, I am not. As a kid, I wanted to be like the popular kids. When Michael Jackson sported the red jacket with zippers all over the place, I wanted one. People were putting zippers in their collars! I couldn't even get the popular Member's Only jacket. If it didn't come from Wal-Mart, Payless, or the local thrift store, chances are, I wouldn't be wearing it. 

Even as a kid, it wasn't so much that I was into fashion as it was that I wanted to belong or at least not get picked on for what I wore. Actually, I think it was maybe my 7th grade year when I realized that I didn't give a damn about fashion trends. I found a pair of bell-bottom pants that I pleaded with my mom to buy. Bell-Bottoms were NOT in style anymore. I got teased and since my mom spent money on them, she made me keep them and wear them. After that, I could give a flip-flam about fashion and swore, I would wear what I like regardless of the trend of the day. What I like about Permanent Style is that it covers clothing of a more refined taste. To me, its fashion that's above trend. Simon presents clothes, clothiers, and materials that have a focus on the quality and classical wear. Class doesn't go out of style. In particular for me, I pay special attention to his shoes. I've been so intrigued about what goes into the custom hand-made shoes. They have a look of elegance that cannot be denied. These are shoes that you can actually see the worth of $200 plus going into them. They don't cost that much just because of the name or because they are in demand right now (and then be half that price or no longer made the next year). Simon presents us shoes that hold up 15 years later and are still considered fashionable. Its the same thing with suits and shirts. The man teaches you the art of wearing clothes. I like that. 

I revisited images I did with a model two years ago. I went back over her shots and edited some that I hadn't touched before and then some that I re-edited again. She goes by Tyler Aria now and has a OMP profile as well as one on Model Mayhem. She was one of the first models I worked with in my workshops and she's definitely a performer. That's right. Her modeling can be viewed as a performance. The girl simply has a talent for the camera and giving up what you want. She's an adrenaline junkie so I hope you don't try to take advantage of that. In my outdoor workshop, I left for a few minutes to scout the location we were getting ready to move to. I came back to find that the guys had her hanging upside down in a tree. Treat her right and chances are you'll get what you want. Its probably your own fault if you don't. That's how good she is. 

Congrats to My Friend, FELIX GONZALEZ!!

"Security is mostly a superstition. 


It does not exist in nature. 


Life is either a grand adventure 


or nothing ...." -Helen Keller

Dilenia 

"First Capture"

This past Saturday, I got to attend a photography workshop by Mark Wallace, sponsored by PocketWizard. Getting to meet Mark and his wife/business partner, Diane was actually quite extraordinary. I haven't worked with PocketWizards that much with the exception of those that were supplied in a studio setting. I'd previously considered them to be simply an alternative means of firing off-camera strobes or flash. I use a Canon ST-e2 transmitter when I want to use my Canon Speedlites mounted on a stand (or by any means other than on top of the camera). Just as well, a Canon 580 exII can also be used as a master flash to fire any group of other slave flashes. I just figured the PocketWizards were maybe only more powerful, but the same thing. I haven't had the need to got big on lighting. I am mainly hand held or natural lighting. I'm too mobile in most cases, but there are times when I have to do a group setting in which I need to set up my stands. Mark even showed one configuration using my ST-e2 sitting on top of a PocketWizard Mini, which was mounted on my camera hot shoe. This configuration can be used to control the ratio of light coming from two groups of flash.

"Dilenia's Plight for Fame"

So in this workshop, I understood that I underestimated the power of the PocketWizards. I'm pretty sure that when I need to get an alternative transmitter, I'm not going cheap or generic. It will be a PocketWizard. Mark did a lecture on lighting and then loosed us on either of 4 stations where a model was awaiting us to come practice what we learned. Most of the lecture was on basic lighting. I had that part down. I did learn about rear curtain syncing which I plan on looking for an excuse to use now. Mark was entertaining as he spoke which kept our attention on the hard ass floor. That part sucked. Seating would have been pretty nice. Diane and Philip, one of the Pocket Wizard Ambassadors to the US...(Regional Manager), came around to our stations to work with us and see if we had probs or issues. I'm not naturally a studio guy. I like on-location gigs. That's my thing, but I still took advantage of the workshop. All of this went down at the Avrio Studios. Its the largest one I've ever seen. You can fit aircraft in this thing and its all green screen. Of the four models available, I only got to work with two of the four models, Dilenia and LaRonna and I am not disappointed in that fact. Both these two models were more than enough and I gotta get a rematch with both one on one. Dilenia brings that total package to the table while LaRonna gives you that distinct exotic appeal that lets you know you're about to do something really good. Kudos to both of them. Be sure to check out their links if you need a model in Vegas. I fully recommend them both.

LaRonna Kelly

"All Day Repose"

And lastly...hold on a sec. I'm trying to figure out how to say this without being so crass as to blurt out, "I TOLD YOU MUTHA-FUCKAS FELIX WAS THE SHIT!" That would simply be uncouth, undignified, and simply boorish. You might think me to be a simple-minded person of limited intellect, who's not entirely well-versed in the grammatical parameters of language. That being said, let me put aside the political correct speech and come to terms with the fact that there are indeed times that the most simple, albeit emotional expressions can still be most appropriate. Let me just prove my point here first. Almost a year ago, I told you all of his freakish talents on Univers d' Artistes. You may want to check out that post here. Go ahead. I'll wait. Well, now the whole world nows and its only going to get bigger for him in the next moments of time to come. I said moments because this will happen quickly. 

"An Artist's Feast"

On the Canon Professional Network, you will find that "Monica Allende, picture editor of The Sunday Times Magazine, has picked her shortlist of images from the photographs submitted to the fifth edition of Editor's Choice - an entry that highlighted the work of talented photojournalists from the USA, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and many other countries."

Felix is among her selections. His is the second one documented in an audio-visual presentation of each of her selections and WHY she chose them.

So mosey on over to the Canon Professional Network site and select the news tab. Scroll down a bit and click the Editor's Choice Results for Monica Allende. Then click the red "presentation" hyperlink in the second paragraph to start the presentation. Okay, fine... let me just give you the direct link. CPN: Editor's Choice - Monica Allende. We're talking over 80,000 submissions. She picks like 13 and Felix made the ranks among that .0162%.

Now say it with me....

CONGRATULATIONS, FELIX!!!!

With Respect to .MOSA

"I believe all artists, if they are not lying to themselves, must believe that the best part of their work, or even their life, is in front of them. To look only to the past and to say ‘those were the best years, when I was young’ is to say that in the future there is nothing."  - Jan Saudek

I know I want to make some changes to this blog, but I'm not exactly sure just what that will be. Not so much in content, but rather in its overall look, feel, and appearance. Its been this same format since it began, pretty much and I'll soon be on my 3rd year of trying regale you with my musings. I think it is indeed time for a change. Part of it will be looking at some new Blogger formats, but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I go altering HTML code too much. I've done a subtle code adjustments on this blog, but nothing that really gets your attention, analogous to getting a hair cut and telling the barber, "Just a little off the top, please." Its also good that people have found my blog again. My numbers dropped off significantly after I changed the URL for Photo Anthems. Visitors dropped off below that of my website around this past October, but now, my blog has twice the viewership of my website again. That's about what it was before I made the change. 

I bought a small Wacom4 Intuos graphic tablet a few months back and I gotta say, its pretty good. Its still taking some getting used to however, but its changing the way I do my edits. I waffled back and forth on the small 4x6 vs. medium 6x9 and finally settled on the small. For one, there was a huge price difference between the two, something like $140. To me the added features just didn't justify. At the most, I could see an additional $50 - $75...maybe. But not $140. I also think I like the size. Had the medium been cheaper, I think I may have jumped on it, but the small is okay. The smaller version takes up less room in my work space and its much more portable. The total dimensions is 8x12, so when I say 4x6, I am referring to the actual area available for pen use for editing. Its still way different from using the mouse and you still have to keep the keyboard handy for adding text in your edits. It has a nice sleek black design and very ergonomic, built for both the right-handed and lefties. The biggest advantage the medium has over the small is the illuminated ExpressKeys and wheel. I still have to play with it at times, to recall what ExpressKeys my alt or control functions are on. Any of these tabs can be programmed to any function you wish which is cool for customizations. I like that. So if you get the small, be prepared to have a label-maker handy for a while. It also took me a while to remember I had it. When not in use, I store it behind the monitor. Several times I'd start on on edit and get 5 layers deep before I remembered I should be using my stylus rather than the mouse. So like I said, it takes some getting used to. 

Elizabeth, Darkroom manip

The Sensual 7 Seconds blog, run by Karl from somewhere near San Fran details some of his escapades while he's away in Rome. I first saw U.L. post about his trip and when you visit his blog, you get greeted with some excellent travel photos that leave me in envy. One shot in particular that I was most inclined to had nothing to do with the art deco, architecture, or Italian landscape. Rather it was of an Italian couple walking hand in hand in the rain as seen from behind. I like that shot. I need to get back on the road myself. Since my visit to NY last August, I had made several plans to visit spots of interest around the US, but.....that was when I was gainfully employed. So well done, Karl. 

Another blog of interest is one that I've been following and REALLY appreciate is One Pix Art headed by the famous .mosa out of Cali. (His Blog & deviantArt profile). I had been following his work every since I saw a shot of his done with the venerable Goovacious K. My jaw dropped and all I could do was star at it. For me, he has a style that fascinates me in the way of Jan Saudek, the Czeck photog. When I first switched over to digital only a few years ago, I was hesitant to do so because I respected the artistic craftsmanship that came with film. At the time, unless you were a graphic designer, using a computer to manipulate shots just usurped the craft from the trade. One of my influences was .mosa who demonstrated that craftsmanship did not have to be a trade-off in the digital art. I made a recent comment on his blog that I had been following his work but had yet to at least say hello and give the man his props. I've even taught my own kids to give credit to those who have some impact or influence on them. So let me take some of my own medicine. Here's to .mosa! Much props, my brotha... And you know he's a good man because he likes Miles Davis. 

An Inconvenient Quote...

“I drifted into photography like one drifts into prostitution. First I did it to please myself, then I did it to please my friends, and eventually I did it for the money.” Philippe Halsman

Model, Dana 2007

I love that above quote as much as I love the author's work. It so truthfully fits my dilemma. Things have definitely been different around here. Challenges abound, which is not uncommon with transitions. It's been a while since I've posted. Part of that has simply been due to time flying by without realizing how fast. Part has been due to my inability to edit photos because of some software issues. But then there's also been things going on that just make you not feel like writing. Looking the horrific tragedy in Haiti, for example. You hurt for people like that. But even in my own community, unemployment abounds still for Las Vegas. I lost my job when it was about 13% unemployment in the city. Trust me, it hasn't improved. People are hurting. 

City Center opened up last month, before Christmas. I got to visit the place the day before it opened and got some great artistic architectural shots. Its a magical place. I wish I could see into the future a year down the road, however. It will prove interesting to see exactly how City Center will affect an ailing city. The plans for City Center were in place long before the bottom fell out of the economy in Vegas. I was surprised they still went ahead with the project. Hotels on the Strip have already slashed prices to fill as much vacancy as possible, yet CC will add another 12,000 or so hotel rooms to the mix. All the restaurants and retail outlets on the Strip can't be happy either. All of these casinos have retail outlets. The more notable Forum (at Caesars) and the Fashion Show Mall aren't that old. CC has added about another 500,000 more square feet of retail outlets that they've added. Up to this point, MGM -Mirage has had hiring freezes and laid off a good chunk of the management team, as of August of 2007. That's exactly how I got wooed and then dumped. I moved here in June with the expectations of an excellent job following my graduation from college. They were impressed with my GPA and the fact that I was earning two Master degrees...a MBA and a MS in Telecommunications. And in the 3 weeks it took for me to finish school, clear out my apartment, load up a moving truck (towing my car), and then drive the 28 hours to get here, all hiring had ceased. Then MGM-Mirage laid off 400 mid-level managers. CC just hired another 12,000. So how long will they be able to keep them all?

Photography hasn't been a bed or roses either. I struggle with the fact that I've never really wanted to make money with my photo talents. Sure, its been cool doing a few things on the side that people have been willing to pay for, but I didn't truly want to depend on it for a job. I just like doing what I do whether it sells or not.  Right now, everybody's got a camera, but that doesn't mean I sell myself cheap. But I don't mind the competition. Competition is good. I've always felt that way and I've always believed I've been up to the challenge to be a great, not just good, competitor. I'm good at what I do. I care about my art and I'm great when it comes to working with people. So, I'll get it done. That, I'm sure of. I've got a few things in mind that I believe can allow me to create the art that I love, yet do so in service to others. I read in a book once that the richest man in the world is the one who is a servant to the most people. What an excellent concept...Help yourself through helping others. (U.L. expect a call...)

Dana contacted me recently to say hello and ask how I was doing. She's the model accompanying this post and she is a most astonishing character...fascinating to the nth degree. She was one of the last models I worked with while still in grad school shooting film. There were two models in particular who were god-sends to me and she was one of them. I say that because she was indeed an immediate answer to prayer. I had just finished my year-end final photo project for school and had a desire to do one last project just for the sake of shooting with no pressure or endless hours in the darkroom. Up to this point, with so little time left in the semester, I didn't think I could find a model on such short notice and still have time to shoot. I woke up with that prayer on my lips. I went to my office (as a grad assistant, I had my own office) and between the time I left my apartment and walked through the campus, I received an email from a girl who had heard about me and asked if it were possible to do a shoot with me. 

She wanted some tastefully artistic photographs for her boyfriend who was going away for a while. A former pageant queen who loves the outdoors, THIS my friends is proof there is a God. Dana is a lover of life, nature, and is not afraid to get dirty. I love that she's got my buddy, the sometimes scruffy outdoorsman, Jacob by her side. You can see pics of them in the mountains, deep in snow, or paddling down the river in a canoe, or camping out and living off the land. Jacob's got it like that and Dana's a straight up mountain girl. You gotta love 'em. But yeah, I miss shooting Dana. Our work was short and sweet back when I was still just learning to press the shutter. I'd like to see what I could do with her now. She doesn't belong in a studio. I need another shot in the mountains and out there in the wild green/white/blue yonder! Who knows, maybe I'll get up there in the mountains with them at some point, or maybe we could hike the Appalachian Trail with a couple more models, (Hi Elizabeth. Hi Katherine!). Grizzly Jacob would be the perfect guide for something like that. Like I said...Who knows?


And while I'm at it, Congrats to St. Merrique for making the cover of Nude Magazine. Oh how I wish I could have gotten to work with her a few months ago when she was here. Yeah, I'm thinking her fees just went through the roof.