Re-Birth of the Cool

January 29th, 2010 § 2

Hey, I admit it. I Google myself every once in a while. It’s a good way to keep up on how my web site and my blog are being indexed. It’s also a convenient way to find out if photos of mine are appearing online. You never know what you may find…

A few days ago I came across this:

It’s the home page of an Austrian art gallery, Fotoforum West. They are having an exhibit of Miles Davis pictures, highlighting portraits of him along side his paintings and prints. Pretty cool. Even cooler is that that’s my photo as the lead image for the show. Cooler still is that I’m in great company – Annie Leibovitz and Anton Corbijn. You can’t ask for better than that.

The show is getting a lot of press in Austria and I’m even being lumped in with Annie and Anton as a starfotografen. Google translates that as a “star photographer” though it’s more likely a “photographer of celebrities” than the other way around. Not bad for an image of mine which is just over 22 years old.

There’s only one problem… I didn’t know anything about it. No one contacted me and asked me for permission. But what’s odder still is I don’t know how this gallery came up with a print. The photo has been published twice. Once in Rolling Stone (1987) and once in the book, The Art of Miles Davis (1991.)

Miles Davis, Rolling Stone, November 19, 1987.

I’ve never sold or given away a print of the image. So, as much as I am surprised to see the image re-surface, I’m curious to know what path it took. The only method I can think of is that someone copied the photo out of the book. I have begun to see if I can find out. The gallery in Austria has not returned my emails and a gallery in England (the exclusive agent for Davis’ artwork in Europe) knew nothing of the show nor my image.

An interesting side note to this – the portrait was taken within a few months of my having started out on my own. I was freelancing in New York and had fallen in with a publicist whose core group of clients was nightclubs. Davis had a show of his work at the Tunnel.

I remember getting a frantic phone call from the publicist telling me to hightail it over to the Tunnel to photograph Davis for Rolling Stone. Just like in a movie, I could be heard to say, Rolling Stone – this is my break! First problem was that I didn’t own any lights outside of a couple Vivitar flashes. So, I ran over to Lens & Repro, rented a Norman 200B, a stand, and an umbrella, and then cabbed it over to the Tunnel.

I set up my light and waited my turn. I was waiting a long time when I was told, “We don’t need you. Rolling Stone sent their own photographer.” I couldn’t believe it. This was my break, I was not giving it up. I don’t remember who I spoke with but I pleaded my case, pointed out the expense of having rented equipment (something the Rolling Stone photographer did not do), pointed out that I was already set up and ready to go, and asked for a minute or two with Mr. Davis.  They gave me one.

1o to 15 seconds of it was spent photographing.  I got off 6 frames in color slide on one camera, 6 in b&w on another. The remainder of the time was spent getting Davis to move back into position. He kept wandering over and standing directly under the one light. Long story short, the Rolling Stone photographer somehow messed up. His images didn’t come out so Rolling Stone ran mine.

In the end, I can’t say if this was my break (is there ever one?) or that it led directly to other assignments. A few years later, Davis passed away. I was able to see one of his last U.S. concerts. It was an amazing experience made all the more so by having had a few moments with him at the start of my career.

Miles Davis, November, 1987.

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Apple Announces the iCaplet

January 27th, 2010 § 1

San Francisco, CA, 1/27/10, 12:28PM EST – Apple Inc. surprised the world today unveiling its newest device, the iCaplet – a small pill embossed with the Apple logo. Media and fans were sent into a frenzy of excitement and confusion. The world had expected the iTablet – a thin netbook sized computer which would revolutionize print media the way that iPods and iPhones had reinvented music and smart phones.

Apple's iCaplet (actual size.)

With the crowd at the Yerba Buena Center both cheering and booing, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, held sway saying, “Now, this is the coolest thing I have ever done! This device is amazing and it will change your life! I know you expected a tablet based computer but the more we studied it the more we couldn’t see the value in something bigger than a cell phone and smaller than a laptop. I mean, come on, WTF?! You don’t need that, trust me, I looked into it. What you need is the iCaplet. You swallow this, wait a minute for it to boot up your system, and then the whole world opens up. It enables you to read books and magazines, it helps you turn pages. Music, what about music? Yes, it does music. All the music you have ever heard in your life, brought with you, where ever you go. You can sing it at the top of your lungs or if in a crowd and discretion is advised the iCaplet will enable you to hum it inside you head. That’s right, I did just say that – it creates a world where you can hear music inside your head without others around you hearing it. Amazing, and only from Apple. That’s the iCaplet, our first product that lets you take a bit of Apple inside you, where ever you go.”

Jobs then brought out Jonathan Ive, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, who explained how Apple was able to get all of its technology and expertise into a device the size of a pill of aspirin. Won over, the crowd couldn’t wait to get out and get a taste of this new device. But, as is usually the case, there was Jobs’, “… and one more thing.” What was it? The iCaplet not only lets you leave your computers, interact with people, and go out into the world, it also can cure the common headache.

The iCaplet is available immediately at all Apple stores. It will be sold in blister packs of two, six, and eight. It will also be available in bottles of 50, 100, and 250 next month.

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The Incredible Shrinking Man

January 26th, 2010 § 0

Princeton, NJ, January 26, 2010 - Click Image for Larger View

This morning, before work, I was in our basement crawl space on leg three of replacing the battery backup sump pump. An odyssey which began two days earlier and required no less than three trips to Lowe’s.

It should have been simple. I already had a battery backup sump pump in place. Swap it out with a new one and move on.

Leg #1 to Lowe’s – get a new sump pump kit to replace the one that was at least ten years old. I already had a relatively new battery to use with it. Leg #2 to Lowe’s – get a new battery because the new kit is not working. Leg #3 – return the new kit because it’s still not working with the new battery and swap it out with another new kit.

This morning’s work went quickly and was a relief on two fronts. The second new kit was working and nothing blew up. Not that anything should blow up but working with a lead-acid battery and all its warnings of dire consequences is not fun. In the midst of this it dawned on me to open the small window in the crawl space. Let in some air as to avoid working with the battery in an unventilated space. I stood up as best I could, hunched over in the 4 foot high space, and opened the window. It pulled in and down, revealing all the grime that a ground level, rarely opened window, can hold. Quite pretty in its own way but instead my attention was drawn to the screen and out the window. The past two days of rain had cleared, a spike of morning sun was raking across the lawn, and a couple of birds flitted about here and there.

Instantly, I was thinking of the movie, The Incredible Shrinking Man. I had seen it on TV as a kid. The great b&w, the oddity of his marriage as he grew smaller, living in the doll house, the fight with the cat, trying to find food, killing the spider, and finally the twist at the end – the imprisonment caused by his size inverting itself to enable his freedom. He became small enough to fit through an opening in the basement window screen and walk out to freedom.

Still from The Incredible Shrinking Man

Maybe it was the window screen and ground-level point of view, the morning light, or the birds outside that sent me flashing back to the movie. Maybe it was sharing one of the movie’s themes, the frustration of feeling out of control. In my case through another hardware store project where I was at the mercy of incredibly bad quality control. Last summer I tried to buy a power washer only to give up after two of them were defective. The summer before it took four trips to two different hardware stores to find a hose which didn’t leak on its first use. Regardless of the reason, it was refreshing to pause and think about something completely different for a moment, to be drawn back to another time, and to see the world anew from the perspective of this forgotten window.

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Bowling for Jersey

January 21st, 2010 § 0

Well, the Jersey Shore must have been getting too much attention lately so the Pinelands decided to reclaim some for themselves. Dateline: Vineland, NJ, 1/21/10 – the police have arrested a man, the lessee-manager of a bowling alley, for contracting the torching of a rival alley a few miles away. The accused’s business has “Family Fun” in its name.  I guess we can add arson to the list of family activities.

I photographed the exterior of a Jersey bowling alley this summer for myself – a place I wanted to capture just in case I went by one day to find it gone for a new development. Here’s another view.

West Hunterdon Lanes, Frenchtown, NJ, July 11, 2009

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Pick a Team

January 16th, 2010 § 0

Team Fordham wins the Partriot League, 11/17/07.

The ‘09 to ‘10 jump has been a time of teams. If you have teenage girls in the house then late this fall it was Team Edward or Team Jacob. Apparently, Team Jacob ruled the roost but considering that I couldn’t even make it through the first movie, it was well off of my radar.

Lately, in the press it’s been a battle between Team Jay and Team Conan, pushing Team Tiger vs. Team Common Sense out of the news. None of this, of course, matters in the scheme of things. Looking at world events in the past week there is one team everyone should be on – Team Haiti.

Fortunately, there are many ways to help and be a part of Team Haiti. These are but a few:

American Red Cross or text “HAITI” on your cel phone to donate $10. You can also donate to the ARC in Apple’s iTunes store.

Yele Haiti – Musician Wyclef Jean’s Foundation, or text “YELE” to donate $5 via your cel phone.

American Jewish World Service – AJWS provides support to native NGO’s. They have long-standing partnerships with grassroots organizations in Haiti.

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund – formed at the request of President Obama and led by past-Presidents Clinton and Bush.

Community Coalition for Haiti – a faith based NGO, based in Virginia, which has been working in Haiti providing medical care and building schools for many years. My friend, Cameron Davidson, is on their board. For more information Cameron has posted a few recent entries on his blog.

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P-P-P-Polaroid Face

January 9th, 2010 § 0

I’ve seen this popping up on photo blogs (H2H, APE, and PFI) – Lady GaGa has been named Creative Director at Polaroid.

How can we bridge what is so tangible about the instant film Polaroid camera with what is so, um, kind of immediate about the digital camera?

Hmm, if Polaroid knew the answer to that they’d still be a manufacturer not just the ghost of a brand name.

And, if their new creative director is just now asking this question…

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Fresh Portraits

January 8th, 2010 § 0

These were shot last month during my Berkshire jaunt.

James Pethica, English Professor, Yeats Scholar.

Frederick Rudolph, History Professor emeritus.

Mike Glier, Art Professor, "Along a Long Line," paintings project based on longitude.

Jennifer French, Spanish Professor, Center for Environmental Studies leader.

Gretchen Long, History Professor, author "Doctoring Freedom."

One quick story, Fred Rudolph, pictured above, is eighty-nine. He was a pistol to work with; kept me on my toes and kept me laughing the whole time.

Here’s one exchange:

Fred – Too bad you’re not shooting film.

Me – Film? Why?

Fred – Well, then you’d be done! You’d run out and have to leave.

On that note…

–

Related post: Berkshire Juggernaut.

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2010: This Is Who I Am and This Is What I Do

January 5th, 2010 § 0

A few days ago the New York Times ran the story of Louis Mendes, New York City street photographer. At age 70 he does what he has done for forty years. He creates portraits with a Speed Graphic and Polaroid film. While others, working the same crowds, require crews just to round up people and find paying customers, Mr. Mendes is able to work on his own, do very well, and charge twice as much. What sets him apart is his experience, presentation, and control of his craft.

Louis Mendes by Ozier Muhammed/The New York Times

He dresses the part, always looking dapper and inviting to his subjects. His product looks different because of his eye and because of the tools he uses.

This is not a film vs. digital debate. It’s not a paean for the cameras of yore. Every photographer needs to find the tools that suit his or her goals and style. I found David Gonzalez’s profile of Louis intriguing because there seemed to be some great business lessons in between the lines. These lessons apply whether you are creating $20 street portraits or $200,000 large scale productions. Know who you are and what you do, dress the part as a means of encouraging your subject or your client, put a value on your experience, and have something unique that sets you apart and gives clients a reason to hire you.

Ultimately, there’s nothing new in this. The guides I just cited would work at any time. But with the start of a new year, in a profession and an economy which are challenging at best, it seems a good time to say, “This is who I am and this is what I do.”

When meeting with a new client, “This is who I am and this is what I do.”

When sending out a promo let it shout, “This is who I am and this is what I do.”

When working with long-term clients, “This is who I am and this is what I do.”

Welcome to 2010.

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