Practice makes (picture) perfect
After nearly 4 months of traveling the country working on my Occupy Wallstreet project, “Portraits of the 99%” I have finally taken a bit of a break to recharge and get the body of work seen by the world. Upon doing some non-occupy wallstreet work, I’ve noticed something has happened: I’ve become REALLY good at making portraits.
Now, I’ve always considered myself a portrait photographer so of course I MUST be good at making portraits, right? Since working on the “Portraits of the 99%” series I’ve become much more observant of the nuances of the human condition within the confines of my frame. Gesture, facial expressions, body language. When I was on the road I had to work really fast because more often than not I was working on limited time and with people who were on the move so I became very sensitive to all of those things. Now that I’ve got the time to slow down and work with my subject things are much different. It’s hard for me to call my 4 month long and counting occupy project “practice” but I think photographers are always practicing while on the job or off. It’s really worth the effort and has made me much more aware of what I am photographing.
So go out and practice, it will improve your photography in every way imaginable.
Portraits of the 99% on TV and now in COLOR
Quick post today, I wanted to share the interview that KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland did with me on the project last night. (I can’t post the video but you can click the thumbnail and watch it on their page)
Click the thumbnail for the whole story and the video!
I’m very excited at the opportunities that could come of this, some of you know that I have been shopping around for a gallery to hang these images in and this has already gotten me a few phone calls.
The other thing I wanted to share was the jump into color:
I’ve been working on a new promo to send to magazines showing that I am a portrait photographer. I thought what better way to do this then use some of my most well known work but something felt a bit off to me. So now I’ve been playing with really tight crops and color images from the “Portraits of the 99%” series. Let me know how you like it!
My 12 favorite blogs for pictures, industry news and a good laugh
My google reader has blown up in the last year. I personally hate getting my inbox loaded up with emails from blogs and RSS feeds, so when I discovered that Google Reader lets you put everything in one place along with providing apps for your iGoogle, android phone and tablet, I was all over it. So today I want to share my Google Reader list with you guys, the blogs I read cover a broad range of things from industry news to awesome photographers to hearty laughs. I won’t be sharing my ENTIRE reader list of course, because not everyone wants to spend the entire morning reading blogs as I get 40-50 entries a day. So, without further ado;
Pictures
500 Photographers‘ Pieter Wisse digs through archives and various forms of media around the world and finds the most unique photographers that I have ever seen in one place. The collection is eclectic ranging from fine art to documentary to commercial photography and is worth a look for anyone looking for some inspiration. As of 1/17 the list is at 427.
Feature shoot showcases a small body of work from various user submitted photographers. They also have a great section called “Photo du jour” which features a single strong image from user submissions. Alison Zavos, who runs Feature Shoot also works in the photo industry as a photo editor, photographer and consultant.
Industry News
A Photo Editor is hands down the BEST industry blog I have ever read. Rob Haggart is a former director of photography and he shares his stories, opinions and advice for all to take in and absorb. He shares interviews, magazine spreads, real-world photo job estimates and quotes from industry leaders. You’d be doing yourself a disservice to not read and subscribe to his blog.
Stella Kramer is in the same boat as Rob Haggart, she’s a seasoned veteran of the photo industry and she offers her views and advice on a broad range of topics. A large portion of her blog is dedicated to the politics of the industry, especially in relation to historical context.
Strictly Business is the ASMP’s industry business blog and is run by several established professionals. Obviously the blog covers business related topics but believe me, it’s not some boring business 101 class, it’s some of the most useful blogging I’ve read because the professionals who write for it are working NOW, rolling with the punches and adapting to change.
Technical education
David Hobby runs Strobist and he’s all about using small lights to shoot big assignments. Mostly the blog features tutorials on how to shoot certain subjects with speedlights but there’s also great advice on how to tackle the organization of a shoot and how to use your software to the best of it’s ability.
Weather you’re on a budget or looking to to test out your crafting skills, DIY photography shows you how to build any light modifier or tool you can think of, on the cheap and with things you can find around your own home.
Humour
Photoshop Disasters features so many hilarious “How did they get away with that?” moments that most of your time spent on this blog will be spent boosting your own photoshop confidence.
We’ve all had difficult clients and Clients from Hell lets you vent about them and read about some of the most ridiculous requests, fits and naivety that you can’t even imagine unless you’ve been there.
Miscellaneous
If you’re looking for inspiration for your next promo look no further than No Plastic Sleeves. The feature some of the most original and creative promo pieces I have ever seen ranging from a simple series of post cards to box sets with branded disposable cameras in them.
Everyone loves gear so Nikon Rumors is my go to place for upcoming Nikon equipment. The author finds, through various tips and speculation, new Nikon Products and news and presents his findings. It’s really interesting to see how often speculation becomes truth. For those of you non-Nikon users there’s also a Canon Rumors.
This is another really important blog especially for those just getting into the industry. Photo Attorney has articles about copyright, contracts and laws and situations that we will all find ourselves involved with in some way or another.
Thanks for taking the time to check out these great sites. They have been a huge help to me and my own work in Photography. What are some of your favorite blogs?
The places I grew up
Some of you may know that I grew up in a small town named Abrams in Wisconsin, just a few miles north of Green Bay. Recently I visited my home town again with the intention of documenting the places I would go to regularly when I lived here. The economy has not been very nice to these cities, with a lot of buildings abandoned or something else entirely now. Things change, and while change can sometimes be sad it can also be beautiful.
Portraits of the 99% – Madison and Milwaukee WI
Over the holidays I made my way out to the Midwest to visit some friends and family and also made contact with some of the Occupy Camps in Wisconsin. I ended up combing their photos because there was a disproportionate amount of people at both camps, but I also managed to catch the “Solidarity Sing-along,” which is a group of about 30 to 50 people who every day come to the State Capitol in Madison and sing anti Governor Walker songs. They all consider themselves to be supporters of the 99%.
I’ve also started working with Marcel Kuemmet of Wisconsin Confidential. We’re working on a video piece about myself and the project for promotional purposes as well as documentary purposes. He’s been filming the shoots and travels as well as assisting me.
Soon the images will be for sale at Portraitsofthe99.com printed by me on Archival Matte paper to the highest professional quality. If you buy a print all proceeds go back into the project for travel and furthering the project. You can also buy a poster, a book will be out soon and you can just donate a few bucks. Every little bit helps.
Down on his luck
I’m taking a break from my Occupy wallstreet posts this week, there will be more of those images for sure because I’m going to LA tomorrow. I wanted to show some images I shot last week, more for myself than anything;
Nic is a 20 year old concept artist who lives in San Diego, CA.
His father, a digital consultant, was the primary bread-winner in the family. His mother worked as an administrator at a low income school. Last year, his father passed away and due to the loss of a larger income Nic was forced to drop out of school and move back in with his mother. There wasn’t enough money however, and their nice SoCal home was forclosed on. After a few months Nic’s mother got a job at a private school that came with a large paycheck and a nice pension. After some negotiation with the banks, they got the house back. The house was empty however, because they had sold off all of their furniture and electronics. The yard had grown weedy, their pool had been drained and their deck is all rotted out. Nic’s mother had a several hour commute each day so he was given the responsibility to take care of the property, quite the load for one young, 20 year old.
The tragedies and stress in his life has forced him to go to therapy but he seems to be managing. He hopes to go back to school in San Francisco because San Diego “Just doesn’t suit me,” he says.
I wish I had more time with Nic, the home he was caring for is beautiful on two acres complete with an orchard and a little creek. I’ve found that some of the best imagery comes from the hardest times, despite the discomfort that may come from holding a camera to your eye in the situation.
Portraits of the 99% – San Diego, CA
San Diego was an interesting location to photograph. There were no tents, as they were considered illegal to be pitched in the Civic Theater, so there were many people who protest all day, go home for the night and then come back the next day. It is my understanding that San Diego CA has the 6th highest arrest rate for the Occupy movement, which is crazy because it’s so small. Everyone was very friendly and enthusiastic about the project and they were eager to contribute and get in front of my camera. (Images will be posted on Portraitsofthe99.com shortly)
The IndieGoGo fund has been going great, and we’re almost out of time. With the launch of Portraitsofthe99.com you can donate at either or, and it will go to the project if you wish to support it, it’s greatly appreciated.
Announment: Portraitsofthe99.com
After all of the hard work I’ve put into my “Portraits of the 99%” project (With still a lot more hard work to come in the future) I’m proud to announce the launch of www.Portraitsofthe99.com, a site dedicated solely to the project. The IndieGoGo page is what initially got this project off the ground, but it’s going to expire soon – so I wanted a more permanent place that people could go to donate, buy prints and posters or just look at all of the photos. The site not only showcases all of the portraits but it also has a schedule of my travel and a press section to show when and where the images have been published.
If you’re interested in purchasing a specific print go and check it out. The portraits are sorted by city so if our photo is on my site or your friend’s photo or you’re a collector choosing a favorite this is the place to do that. All of the money goes back into the project (After shipping/printing costs etc) and will contribute to me traveling the country and documenting this massive upheaval of people across the world.
Thank you once again for all of your support. It really has been amazing and while it’s a little late it’s looking to the be one of the main things I am thankful for this year.
Portraits of the 99% Published in the SF Chronicle
After a few back and fourth phone calls and some meetings, on Saturday November 19th the SF Chronicle dedicated not one, but 2 whole pages to the “Portraits of the 99%” (even though they didn’t use that title) and a story about me and the project. The datebook is the Chronicle’s most popular section where it features gallery openings, movie reviews of course, the comics. The Chronicle has a circulation of 1/4 million and is distributed all over California. After it was published I received a slew of emails, phone calls and donations to the IndieGoGo fund. The feedback on this project has been so wonderful and now with the fund raiser in full swing I can do this project right. I’m going to San Diego on November 29th, LA in December and New York in January. I’ll be setting up meetings with various big name publications in New York and LA and I’m talking with galleries about doing a show.
I’m so thankful that this opportunity has come to me and that I’ve been able to do just the things I have done already. But now, I get to take it that next extra step. Thank you, everyone who has donated, everyone who has been spreading the word and everyone who reads this blog. These photos are about you guys, not me. Thank you.
The little portrait of me on the upper left corner of the 2nd page/image was shot by my friend Bonnie Rae Mills. My favorite part of the article was the mention of how cool I think Dinosaurs are and that I wanted to be Indiana Jones.
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (Berkeley)
Occupy Berkeley was definitely the smallest occupy protest I have shot thus far. But like a small, midwestern town the people were absolutely wonderful. Only got about 20 portraits total, but I’m happy with the quality of the individuals we’ve captured today.
Don’t forget you can donate and help make this project happen by donating at the Indie GoGo page. Donations go towards travel expenses and you’ll get some cool free stuff out of it like signed prints, posters or even a book!
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (Oakland)
Oakland was by far the most difficult city to shoot in. People were much more weary of me, especially since no one had responded to my emails or calls. So I showed up and introduced myself to the people there, told them what i was doing and showed them some pictures. I was also working with a writer so that seemed to intimidate some people. As the day went on, people warmed up to us, and we got enough photos to be satisfied.
If you want to donate to this project, mostly to get me flying around CA click HERE.
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (San Jose)
San Jose was the third city I visited to continue my portrait series on the Occupy Wallstreet movement. I actually got the most portraits here than any other city, but the whole process is exhausting for both me and my assistant so we can only do so many in a few hours. If you’re interested in helping me travel to other cities to do portraits there, go and check out my indie go-go page. Anything helps.
Occupy California: Portraits of the 99% (Santa Rosa)
Today I made my to the Occupy Wallstreet protests in Santa Rosa, CA. It was a HUGE event, well over 1000 people showed up for it. It was a little overwhelming to say the least. I shot as many people as I could before the march started. Tomorrow we make our way to San Jose…
Note: This project is beginning to span all of California and possibly all of the US so if you want help out in the form of a donation, you can do HERE. Thanks for the support!
Portraits of the 99% Project
Many of you I’m sure are aware of the Occupy Wall Street protests, whether your with them or against them makes no difference to me. I saw the protest as an opportunity to photograph a variety of passionate people from all walks of life so I recently set up a mini photo studio on the block near the OccupySF protests and took over 60 portraits of the individual protestors. Feeling very satisfied with the results of the shoot, I thought it was done right there.
In less than 24 hours after I posted the images they had 4,100 views. My servers crashed. The images started popping up in various places, facebook and social media, news sources and more. People contacted me and told me they were inspired. This project suddenly became much bigger. I have setup a fund to raise money to fly to various other cities around California and do the same thing there. The images will be donated to the Occupy Wallstreet effort, in an attempt to raise awareness of the individuals involved. The money donated will go towards getting flights, train tickets, hostels and fuel to make this project happen. Donors will receive limited edition prints, posters, cards, books and more.
http://www.indiegogo.com/Occupy-California
If you don’t want to contribute, that’s fine. But please, unless you are deadset against this movement, spread the word. Forward this to a friend. Post the link on Facebook. Go and “like” the indie-go-go page. This project means a lot to me, and I want to see it through.
Thank you for your time.
The 99%
The Occupy Wall Street protests have been expanding nation-wide, and even internationally in the case with Occupy Toronto.
During the Occupy San Francisco protests I saw an opportunity to photograph a variety of passionate people in a very diverse city. So I hauled a c-stand some white foam core and a reflector over to 101 Market st (in front of the federal reserve bank building) and my friend Kevin helped me out some mad reflector holding skills.
I’m considering turning this project into a broader “Occupy Calfornia” type thing and hop around the state and do this same setup at all of the protests. LA, San Jose, San Diego, Santa Cruz… you get the idea.
A slide show of the photos is below, followed by an image gallery.
{Edit} I have set up a fund to further this project by visiting other cities and states and doing the same thing. You can find the fund HERE. Thanks for your support!
Clown shoot on Treasure Island
This week I did a shoot on Treasure Island with my friend Chris who actually let me dress him like a clown.
Now I know a lot of people are scared of clowns, or just plain don’t like them. The point of this shoot was all about juxtaposition, and since we were on Treasure Island I thought it would be cool to shoot a clown in an abandoned place.
Sure the photo is creepy, especially so if you’re scared of clowns but the feel I was going for was less “Oh my god scary!!” and more “What the hell is going on??” and I think I succeeded.
We also shot a little short, titled “Mr Diddles goes to work.” If you’re scared just from reading that, I take no responsibility for whatever happens when you actually watch it.
BART Protest, Powell St Station 9/8/11
The only reason I did not stay inside the station when they shut it down was because I did not have press credentials because I don’t usually do this sort of thing. I was simply at the right place at the right time. Some will say that I’m taking sides with No Justice No BART but to be honest I don’t agree with how either side handled this situation. I Think it was very foolish of No Justice No BART to think that they could get away with blocking the turnstiles or that it would even make a difference beside anger and inconvenience hundreds if not thousands of commuters.
I also believe that the SFPD were far too aggressive – I was shocked when they locked everyone inside the station and surrounded the protesters. I saw at least 2 people get beaten up and dragged away. The protesters were all very young – 18, 19, 20.
Gathering for the protest
SFPD preparing for what's coming
The arrival of some masked protesters
Banners arrive
Police forming a peremiter around the turnstiles
Protesters rushing the turnstiles
Locking up the station with the protesters still inside
A girl calling to her friend who is inside, being arrested.
Stuff the Streets Mission art fair photo-booth
Over the weekend I was asked if I could run a photo booth at an art fair being thrown by local Antiques dealer Stuff. They had food and music and plenty of artists selling their wares, but they wanted something fun, something more interactive. They got in touch with me and I was invited out to run a photo-booth, and I could sell my own wares as well.
I don’t often get to do these sorts of things, so I decided to run with it. I grabbed some old prints and got a small table and set up shop. I sold a few things and people had a blast at the photo booth. Here are some of my favorites:
For those of you wondering, I used a Polaroid Pogo printer, which prints unique 2×3 images that double as stickers. It’s battery powered, works with most digital cameras and is loads of fun to use.
Photoshop & you – 2 weeks of free awesome
For those of you who live in San Francisco who haven’t yet been to Adobe‘s Photoshop & you event at 550 Sutter St: Shame on you. Even if you’re not big into photoshop, or still shoot film – you should go. The event takes place over the course of 2 weeks from July 23rd to August 6th. They offer classes, lectures, demonstrations and raffles – all for free. You can view the full calender of Events at their website.
I’m really busy over the next week because I’m working on 2 films that are being submitted to Sundance, but I was able to make it to some of the weekend events – WOW.
Scott Kelby, if you don’t know who he is, is an educator, photoshopper, founder of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and an excellent photographer as well. He also tours the world giving his famous “Light it, shoot it, retouch it” seminar which he normally charges hundreds of dollars for. At the Photoshop & you event, he gave it to a room full of people for free.
It was an amazing talk, he worked with 2 models and did exactly what the name of the seminar says: He lit it, shot it and retouched it, all live. What was different about this session was he was working with continuous lighting so he let the crowd photograph the models as well. Personally, this is not something I did because I like to create my own things rather than work on something that has been done for me but it was still a blast.
After each shoot he demonstrated some retouching techniques in both Photoshop and Lightroom, and in the end did an amazing composite with the above model by placing her into a grungy alley and making it seem like she was really there, all in a matter of minutes. It was very educational and entertaining, Scott is a great presenter and a pretty nice guy as well.
After his seminar he agreed to do an interview with The Candid Frame’s Ibarionex Perello, which should be coming out next month.
Like I said, even if you’re not a photoshop junkie you should go. Go check out the calender of events, there are some great things happening there until August 6th. There’s some great people there who are happy to meet other photographers or retouchers and the chance to see and experience all of this for free is a really great opportunity.
Fantasy still life
My friend Katie Small has commissioned me to shoot her products for her up coming Fantasy Boutique “Dreamers Gate.” Now I’m not normally big on still life photography, I tend to be very people oriented but I try to never turn down an opportunity to grow as a photographer. We’re shooting more stuff like this in June/July in LA and we’ll even do a short video but we’ll have more people and lights etc. This was lots of fun, and I’m really looking forward to continuing to work with Katie. Keep an eye on her Etsy store if you want to purchase these beautiful, hand made, one of a kind pieces.
Out of my comfort zone
So my new website has recently launched and I was very happy with it. The only thing I needed to do was to get an image for the landing page, it allowed for one horizontal photo to the be the main image. I went into my hard drive to search for a recent image that would work. What I found was rather shocking.
I have almost NO horizontal images. I always knew that I liked shooting things vertically, there’s just something very formal about it. But this came as a huge shock to me and I knew I needed to do something about it. I started to set up shoots that were designed to be shot horizontally. I had to completely change the way I think about design, composition and even lighting. At first it was really hard, and I was very frustrated and even bored with shooting in this format. But after the first portrait sitting (Which was the hardest) I started to get a groove on. It felt good, I was mixing things up, changing how I work. Since there was no pressure from a client or a deadline (Besides one set by myself to have images for the new website done) it was very liberating. Keeping things fresh with yourself and your work is very important, it really opened my eyes.
Dogpatch Days
I’ve been working on a series of landscapes and portraits in the dogpatch neighborhood in San Francisco over the last 2 weeks or so, and I started shooting video-interviews alongside the portrait sessions. This is something I have been getting into the habit of lately, and I’m really enjoying the work flow. Hun (pronounced “Hoon”) ran away from home when he was a teenager to pursue his independence. He hitch-hiked across the country until he settled into San Francisco and bought a car. He assures me that he is satisfied with his decisions.
Check it out:
Drunken Portraits
The following portraits were shot with a very specific concept in mind: How we look, act and emote when we are under the influence of alcohol. I brought some friends into a photo studio and took their portraits on a plain white backdrop. Then over the course of about 30 minutes to an hour, I gave them all in the area of 8 to 9 shots of rum. Needless to say, they were all pretty loose when they sat down for the second portrait. The results were exactly what I was going for, and the models had a great time as well. I’ll be continuing this series, and I don’t think I’ll have any problems finding volunteers for it. Who doesn’t love free booze?
Be sure to check out the Behind the scenes video after the pictures!
