I've spent the better part of the past few days indulging in the work of other photographers. That's two weekends in a row that I've managed to set aside some time to appreciate artistic endeavors.
I'm sure that's a good thing, but it still frustrates me a little. It's always in the back of my mind that I should be paying closer attention to my own work.
No matter how much I do, I always feel as if I should have done more.
This past week I did accomplish one thing which got me out of the comfy chair and made me feel as if I was at least making an honest attempt to stay out of my comfort zone.
I had to pick up my truck from the station (long story, not important) and instead of making it a two person drive, I voluntarily made use of some of that "public transportation" you sometimes hear about.
This was about 9pm, so it wasn't without some concern for my safety. That still goes towards the whole "getting out of the comfort zone" thing.
Sanity did prevail in that I decided not to take the big camera and documented the adventure with my much more concealable Nikon P9000.
There are lots of street photographers out there who can engage strangers and form connections with people that lead to honest heartfelt images.
Mostly (and I tweeted about this) I was just hoping to not get stabbed.
The people I photographed looked harmless.
There were people behind me who looked like baby killers. No, I do not have any pictures of them.
And just to clarify, no, they did not look like babies who might kill people.
Anyway, we all got on the train.
All I could think about were all the cool shots I've seen that people have taken while on public transportation.
To be fair, you never really see how many bodyguards are backing up the photographer.
Could be half a dozen bodyguards standing behind the person behind the lens.
That's what I'm going to believe.
I probably could have taken a shot of the street vendor at the Universal City station who walked up to me and started talking to me in Spanish.
Honest mistake on his part.
So, to recap my route, I traveled on the Green Line to Willowbrook Station. From there I took the Blue Line to the 7th Street Station in down town Los Angeles. That's where I caught the Red Line to North Hollywood and transferred to a bus for the last couple of miles left in my adventure.
The bus transfer is always kind of tricky for me, but I managed to arrive at the station a mere two and a half hours after my journey began.
Not exactly a grand adventure, but it felt good and gave me a chance to clear my mind. This was just after I'd gotten back from vacation, so it gave me a chance to get my head on straight before hitting the mean streets of LA news.
The dilemma was that my truck was at the station and I needed to pick it up for Dellis to use to haul some educational crap (That's why I have a truck instead of a sports car). I could have had my lovely wife drop me off at the station.
Instead of doing the easy/smart thing, I decided to take the Metro train and do a little late night street photography.
Getting out of my comfort zone was the ultimate goal.
Mission accomplished.
. . .and I got my truck home.
Riding the rails is a lot more fun when there's a nice meal or beer at the end of the line.
I'll do it again when I've got a few more guys with me. I mean, come on, who wants to be stabbed alone.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Late Night Risks
The dilemma was that my truck was at the station and I needed to pick it up for Dellis to use to haul some educational crap (That's why I have a truck instead of a sports car). I could have had my lovely wife drop me off at the station.
Instead of doing the easy/smart thing, I decided to take the Metro train and do a little late night street photography.
Getting out of my comfort zone was the ultimate goal.
Mission accomplished.
. . .and I got my truck home.
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Shreveport, LA
It wasn't a vacation.
My mother was experiencing some health issues that were not seeming to get better. In fact, quite the opposite. Her health seemed to be getting worse.
That's why I spent the better part of this week visiting my folks in Shreveport.
I'm cautiously optimistic, but everything does seem better now.
I'm not sure if it was anything that I did. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a combination of the care she was getting and just possibly the added boost to her spirits from my visit.
I did a lot of praying early this week, because I am so inclined.
After just a couple of days, there was a measurable level of improvement in my mother's condition. I was still a bit of a wreck, but at least there was cause for optimism.
There wasn't much time for me to relax and enjoy the regular activities that I look forward to when I visit.
Late in the week, I did push myself to take a drive by myself to try and snap a few shots to share.
I'm sure it's odd (to some) but even in uncertain times, I find myself unable to just sit and observe without feeling that urge capture my surroundings with my camera.
My folks wouldn't appreciate me posting photos of them from this week.
Well, my dad might not care, but my mother would have a fit.
I'm going to just leave that part of the trip alone.
I had about two hours to capture what I could. I also needed the time to clear my head.
There's a lot I'd have done different if I had a little more time. It was actually difficult for me to get warmed up.
It wasn't as much time as I needed (to get a good sense of where I was, let alone clear my head).
But the purpose of the trip wasn't to take pictures.
I was visiting my folks, because i thought they might need me and because that's what children do.
My thanks for the good thoughts and prayers sent our way from the people who knew about my trip. It was never my intent to exclude any family or friends, but it wasn't an easy trip to make.
I didn't want discussion.
I just wanted to do what I needed to do.
(Also, there's no significance to the b&w; processing choice on some of the photos. I just felt like it.)
Friday, January 06, 2012
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Rhinestone BeFrank!
I'm not sure how I got tossed into the mix on this particular shoot, but seeing as it was an easy (no possibility of a live shot) HFR, I was extremely gung-ho to do it.
Glen Cambell lives!That's how my mind reacted to the news that Serene Branson would be interviewing him for a profile story set to air around Grammy Time.
I once worked with a girl who was buddies with Tanya Tucker. She and Glen Cambell were together in the early eighties. That must have been at a more tumultuous time in Glen Cambell's life. The girl I worked with never had much to say nice about him. Honestly, that actually cast a slight shadow over my interest in helping out on the interview.
It just goes to show you though, you should always keep an open mind. Glen Cambell and everybody around him were all just some of the nicest people.
We met and talked to his daughter and also his wife.
After the interview, Glen and his daughter sat down to play for the cameras.
Can she play? Let me tell you, the daughter played the heck out of that banjo. Their little impromptu duet was an awesome experience.
You never know how celebrities will behave towards the crew. After introductions had been made, Glen Cambell asked me how I was doing.
I told him, I was doing pretty good. A lot of people went to work that day and didn't get to meet Glen Cambell.
He smiled at that. I think the comment made him feel good. With his health issues, he's got some difficult times ahead. I'm glad I got a chance to meet him and talk to him at relatively good point in his life.
Sometimes the people we interview do turn out to be nice.
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