Those Delaware Kids!

Aunt Teresa and Uncle Bob. Two of my most favorite people in all the world. They have a really cool place over in good ol' Delaware. Feel free to just pop in...unannounced! They love that kind of stuff! Heh-heh...

Seriously...I'm now just trying to type out pretty much anything to make this a longish post so that Teresa won't have to accidentally see the photo below.

Once upon a time there was this really cool dude who took lots of pictures and one day found himself actually making a modest (WAY modest) living at it. His friends and relatives were very tolerant. They allowed him to shoot them whenever he felt the mood hit. The two above photos are a small testament to this. Thanks all of you...but in this particular case especially Teresa and Bob!

Much love,
Mike

P.S. Don't look any further down!

Bambi Meets Chevrolet.

It happens.

Drunk and Crazy and Laughing and Wired and High and Shooting Like Mad!

Photo by David Alan Harvey.

Who says photographers can't party? One last time, thanks to all at the Look3 Festival for an amazing time in Charlottesville. Catch you next year.

Thanks David for letting me use your pic!

Jammin'

So I'm doing a job downtown, near Pennsylvania and 17th. It's a short little in and out. 6 photos. 4 exterior, 2 interior. Takes about 20 minutes to complete. Across the street I hear...hmmm what's that, Louis Armstrong? Miles? Dizzy? Groovy sounds drifting my way.

On the corner is this fellow with a white Redskin's cap. A bucket with an American flag in it. Trumpet case open, coins and bills scattered within. I'm not much of a "street photographer." Not my bag. But this looked to good to pass up.

I'm still on the other side of the street at this point. I pull out the flash, set it on 'remote'... I'm going to hold it off camera and trigger it wth the on camera pop-up flash. Zoom the flash head out to 105mm to get that spotlight look. Under expose the camera's meter by about a stop and a half and then I'm just waiting for the "walk" signal.

I decide I'll just stand there and watch for a little bit. Groovin' to the sounds. Here I am with an orange safety vest, hard hat, work boots, torn jeans, etc. Camera over my shoulder, green canvas bag with the flash in it. He's got to be wondering what this guy's all about!

So I'm boppin' to the tune he's layin' out there...(ya kickin' with my "jazzy" talk?) and I fish out a couple bucks. He catches this and without missing a beat pulls his hat off his head and holds it out to me. I deposit the dough and he flips it back on. Keeps blowin'.

I groove a little bit more then casually pull the flash out of the bag, kneel down in front and take a few shots. He's down with it. No problem. I nod, say thanks. He nods back. Never stops playing.

Look3. 2008. Charlottesville, VA.

"Three days of peace, love and photography." That's Look3. The Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, VA. That's where we were this past weekend. A beautiful town... great restaurants, good wine; warm, wonderful people and amazing (and some not-so-amazing) photography. Ran into some good friends and some random blogging acquaintances and shared stories and ideas and even talked the occasional technical crap. Rachel was very patient!

But enough about all that. Let's hear about the weekend! Alright.

The first day was pretty much getting acquainted with the surroundings. Where are all the galleries? (everywhere!) Where do we sign in? What are some good places to eat? Hey is that William Albert Allard? (yes it is!) Anyway, each night there was a big presentation of work and interview at the Paramount Theatre. First night was Mary Ellen Mark. Second night was Joel-Peter Witkin. Third, James Nachtwey. Liked the first. Loved the third...tolerated the second. I might blog on all that at a later date, but for now, let's get to the good stuff!

OK then, through various past circumstances and meetings and occasional blogging, I've had the great pleasure and privilege to meet and be mentored by David Alan Harvey. The man is, as they say, a force of nature. His energy knows no bounds! He will invite you to his home, tell you to send him your latest work for critique, run and/or take part in several workshops and all the while keep pace with the craziness that comes with being a photographer for Magnum and National Geographic.

Well, Charlottesville is a small place, especially the old town area, and sure enough we run into Dave and are invited to the house he's staying at for an after-show party and well...yeah! Some things will have to remain private, but suffice it to say a killer time was had by all! Here are a few photos from that night and the weekend in general.

David Alan Harvey, shooting like mad!

David and Cristina

Sean Gallagher (left), some random dude (right).

William Albert Allard.

Alex Chadwick of NPR interviews Mary Ellen Mark.

David introducing The EPF Essays.

Rachel's Jack on the rocks!

Rachel with tea bag.

Rachel listening to my pal Panos Skoulidas.

Panos.

Get this kid a Kilt!

Spent some time with the Penberthys yesterday. We met at Ri-Ra, a little Irish pub in Bethesda. The place was nearly empty. (Perfect!) A half dozen patrons at the bar, and a small group of musicians partaking in an Irish Seisiun. Fiddle, guitar, flute, banjo and bodhran (wooden framed drum). Quite the festive atmosphere. Made all the more so by the young Talan dancing in his own Cornish/English/German/Celtic/Groovy/Breakdance way. Spinning, twirling, falling down (on purpose!), getting back up, shaking his hips. He clearly had himself a blast! And so did we all.

I used only the on-board flash for these shots. Panned a couple of times as the tiny dancer zipped past me. As usual, a 1/4 cto gel over the flash to help keep the light balanced with the interior lights. That is all.

Cheers.

Jeremy Wade Shockley

This is Jeremy. I met him a couple years ago at a workshop in Jackson, Wyoming. His photo-essay of the Meade Ranch was well received by all. And I'm talking people like David Alan Harvey, Jodi Cobb, William Albert Allard, and James Hill. His work is sensitive, thoughtful and moving. Everyone out there quickly learned he was a great talent.

He visited the east coast recently and we had a chance to hang out and shoot. It was great to hear his thoughts about photographing people. I learned a lot. You can check out some of his work... right here.

As a thank you for sharing some of his insights, I took him out to the Falls--in a driving rain storm with crashing thunder and cloud-to-ground lightning no less! But hey, that's just the kind of guy I am! Luckily, it blew through fairly quickly and we were able to get out to the overlook for some shots.

I chose to focus mainly on the man. (We don't often get to show up in front of the camera) In the first image I just threw a little fill light on him, 1/2 CTO gel and a slightly underexposed background. In photo #2, I lifted the camera above my head and tripped off three or four shots, hoping for the best. I like how his hat stands out against the whitewater below. Last shot was at the house. Simple window light... nothing better than that.

Anyway, it was a great visit. Thanks Jeremy. Catch you next time in Durango!

Wildlife Series. #6

Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura

Want to hear a Vulture? Well, just click here. And, yes, it sounds just as beautiful as it looks!

Again, we're out over Great Falls. The first shot is an adult. (note the red head) The second, immature. (grey head) You very rarely get to hear vultures in the wild. The sound above was taken from an injured vulture in captivity.

These birds, like the herons in a previous post, never fail to give me an opportunity to practice my panning technique. Elbows in, eyebrow pressed to the viewfinder, steady breathing, turn at the waist, don't twists your wrists. And, oh yeah, hold the shutter button down for LOTS of shots! (don't forget to edit!)

You can see these creatures soaring (and not too far overhead) from the observation deck on Olmstead Island within the C&O Canal National Historical Park in Maryland.

This post concludes (temporarily, at least) our wildlife series. Will try to get back to posts of greater variety next week. Hope you enjoyed this brief venture into the wild.

Later!