Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Portfolio books?



Portfolio books - anyone use them any more? Here are some pages from mine - in need of an update!
























Friday, October 16, 2009

DAYS INN or A Room without a view

To be fair there actually was a view of an apt. bldg. parking lot.

Many hotels in the area were full so I stayed at the DAYS INN.

THE ROOM: fine, except it was 1/2 kilometer from the front desk, there was no elevator and I was on the 3rd floor. 3 heavy camera bags - some welcome exercise after a long drive. The bed was a king so I also had plenty of room to jog in my sleep. All in all not too bad.

THE FOOD: there was a $2 fee for room service but you had to go get it yourself!! I suppose they had to call a courier to pick up the empty plates next day. A good greek salad and an OK pork dinner with mashed and veg. Breakfast buffet - flashback to 1980's Cuban all inclusive. Eggs tasted terrible, powdered for sure. I made a joke to the waitress about the 3 oz juice glass and she returned with a normal size glass and in a good-natured way grabbed the little glass from my hand, poured the juice into the larger glass, then walked over to the juice table and topped it up for me.

COST: $171.04 with food and tax.

Would I stay there again? - sure, I've stayed in worse places.

Below is a photo from the job.





Sunday, October 4, 2009

Ringflash











Playing with ringflash as a fill light. I think I like it!!


Thursday, October 1, 2009

Light kit


My Profoto kit housed in an Airport Addicted case.

My ringflash and softlight reflector live in a much larger place. Its the case I originally bought for my Profoto Acute 2 kit. The Airport is a better home for the Acute2 and the Acute600b has its own teeny weeny little case. Love that kit!
The ringflash with beauty dish takes up too much space!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

WHAT THE....&*$%#@!


What's that grey blob creeping across my screen? It gets worse as the day goes on. In fact right now, (3 hrs after I shot this image), its a full 3/4 of the way across the screen


Ok, so here's what happens.
You call Apple support and they confirm who you are then do a little troubleshooting. The guy is pretty sure its a monitor issue and not a computer issue so he then sends you to the next tier. That guy may possibly do a little more troubleshooting...he asked me to plug the monitor into my laptop which conformed it was a monitor issue. He then sends me to a sales type who explains how the switch will happen. They email a courier label which I print and take to UPS. As soon as the label is scanned for shipping back to Apple, another monitor is automatically shipped to me.

All in all a pretty painless experience.

There is a full one year warranty and a 30 day return policy even on the refurbs. Buy the extended warranty on monitors for a full three years.


Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Apple 30inch display!

GEEK SPEAK....

Got an Apple 30", lots of real estate here! Don't know how I lived without it. Running both monitors from a G5 with the original GeForce 6600 LE graphics card. Calibrating both monitors with an eye one display for good color, gamma, luminance etc.
Seen here with my 24" monitor on the left with the 'eye one' calibration device.
Setting luminance is tricky and very important. 120 is recommended but I'm running at 90 and I think that may be a little too bright. Its about matching what's on the monitor to what comes out of the printer. I've got both monitors looking pretty good after calibrating a few times. 6500k, 2.2 gamma, luminance 90. The eye one calibrates color very very well. If you decide to calibrate w/an 'eye one display', make sure you download the latest 'eye one match 3' software from xrite.

Here's a tip: get a refurbished display and save a bundle but be sure to buy the applecare warranty. It gives you 3 full yrs. In fact, I'd get the apple care if I had purchased a brand new monitor.


Sunday, July 19, 2009

NEWS FLASH LA! Viagra, oysters & mechoui.









photos:

1/ Andre Mallet of Mallet Oysters wearing a tie ( that's the real news!)
2/ Mechoui, ( lamb & chicken on a spit)
3/ Julie beats The Oyster Boy in a shucking contest, (Julie 6, Oyster Boy 1)
4/ the chef
Forgive me for not including any photos of oysters but we were consuming them like all get out.


Viagra, Oysters, Lamb on a spit. Pick two.

OK, now you know why the good people of Northern NB don't need viagra.
For a moment, visualize one of those great viagra tv spots. Now visualize the sound and picture fizzling away and the logo for MALLET OYSTERS moving across the screen.
You know what I'm talking about.
They can also cook up a mean lamb on a spit. Its called a mechoui. We recently had the great pleasure of attending the grand opening of Mallet Oysters in Shippagan NB. It was a great affair with media scrums and all. The town has never seen so many tv cameras, photographers and radio types all in one place. These people know what they're doing when it comes to oysters. Its a family affair and they grow the best in the world. People from all over attended. Even 'The Oyster Boy" from the great city of Toronto made the trip. He says, 'people in Toronto know how to eat'. Well, that may be true but people in the East know how to ph&#%ck. Go ahead and google up the stats, and then thank Mallet Oysters. The Oyster Boy is one of the top distributers in Hog Town and he knows his oysters and his market, that's why he made the trip.
And Mallet Oysters know how to grow the best. If I had to describe the whole affair in a few words I'd say, family, community, nature, science and love. In fact if I owned the joint, those words would be on every box, business card and email tag that left the plant. While the rest of us proceed to blow ourselves to smithereens, these good people will inherit the earth and from them will grow a better world. And in that world everyone will eat Mallet oysters and lamb and pig and chicken on a spit.




Monday, June 22, 2009

Lost at Sea


My newest post card designed by Ed Fung, ed@edfung.com
This will also run as an ad in Applied Arts magazine.

The photo was shot for Readers Digest to illustrate a story about a fishing boat that went down in a storm off Nfld. This guy was the only survivor. He lost his father in the tragedy. In the background is his grandfather who just wandered out on the wharf while we were shooting. There in front of me was what's left of generations of fishermen in that family.

Monday, June 15, 2009

For Sale! Vintage Gon Bop's circa 1960


Got 'em on ebay. Sanded them, cleaned them up, put new cow skins on them.
There are a cpl cracks where the 50 year old glue is giving way. Nothing a little epoxy won't fix!
You have to admit they are beautiful drums.

Westcliffe Diner


$3.50 Burger and Fries, (home made burger)
$5 fresh Haddock and Chips (really good, fresh every day fish)
A great clubhouse, cheap breakfast, etc.etc.
Bev and Tyler treat you well at the Westcliffe Diner.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Dumb and dumber...

Here is the youtube link of Danny Bonaduce hanging off a rooftop with one hand while smoking a cigeratte.

This was a shoot for Philadelphia Magazine. The photographer was Shea Roggio, an editorial and wedding photographer.
I ask you this, had he fallen to his death or ended up in a wheelchair, would the photographer or the magazine be sued?


Sarah Small...some crazy shit!

If Diane Arbus was alive today her name might be Sarah Small.

Check out Sarah's portfolio here: sarahsmall

Very interesting, disturbing, hilarious stuff.


Monday, March 23, 2009

Profoto 600b portable strobe



I LOVE my Profoto 600b. So portable. No extension cords, built in pocket wizard, small enough to carry on an airplane, it fits snugly into its own little case. Very fast recycle times. Small battery. I use a 3 stop piece of neutral density gel so I can shoot at wide apertures. Pics are from an assignment today.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

A Room With A View


Adela got her risotto at the Asaggio restaurant in the beautiful Italian North End Boston.

WHERE:   Boston for a Celtics game
HOTEL:    Holiday Inn Express, 280 Friend St., right across the street from the game. Room 210
COMFORT: Not bad
PRICE:  $210usd. Parking 2 blocks away at the reduced rate of $30usd, (normal rate was $68!)
FOOD:  Free breakfast in the lobby but we didn't partake. Lots of pubs right outside the hotel and plenty of choices within a 10 minute walk.
COMMENTS:  The room was small but location ruled. Hotel looked recently renovated and was very modern and comfortable but there wasn't a chair in the room it was that small. Not a hotel room you'd hang out in but why would you with North End Boston and the Quincy Market a 5 minute walk away.