A Quiet Eye

02/25/12

2012-02-26T19:18:00.002-08:00

....My disappointment was alleviated when she thanked me ever so slightly for showing her "another world ". We talked then about how we think of ourselves as Americans but there are many worlds in the United States if you stray very far from freeways and stay away from television.

True North, Jim Harrison. 2004.

Twin Peaks

2012-02-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

Watching David Lynch's more than twenty year old T.V. series Twin Peaks for the first time got me looking at some images from some recent trips in a new light. Maybe it's the comforting and familiar nature of certain objects and scenes that let's us let them transcend into being truly alarming and frightening.

January Road-Trip

2012-01-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

11/18/11

2011-11-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

11/04/11

2011-11-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

2011-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Kona, HI, 9/11/11

2011-09-16T06:40:00.000-07:00

Aberdeen, WA, 09/03/11

2011-09-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Getting out of town is not the same as traveling.

A long-weekend trip seems to be a chance to eyeball the scenery and that is about it, especially when you're going somewhere familiar.

The place seems to get reduced down to whatever happens to be running though your mind at the time.

It's like traveling though a coloring book, for the most part the outlines are already there while the colors you can use are determined by your state of mind.

Welcome to Aberdeen, "Come As You Are"…. thats what the sign says anyway.

Having just watched "About A Son" it's difficult to do much here without imagining a young Kurt Cobain drifting around these streets, biding his time, waiting for his chance to get out.

I'm currently reading my way through an account of a Kayaker exploring the Yukon River in Alaska.

It is filled with anecdotes of frontier bravado and self-reliant fortitude.

So my own suburban existence has been called into question as my mind leads some kind of moral interrogation of my essentially suburban character.

A fist got slammed down in that interview as I found myself in Aberdeen's Walmart at 11pm shopping for the can opener and other essentials I had forgotten to pack.

And as I searched the aisles I couldn't help but think that every straggly haired kid I saw was just biding their time, waiting to get out of here, too.

Lopez Island, WA, 08/13/11

2011-08-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Aberdeen, WA, 07/07/11

2011-08-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Allies Flyer.

2011-07-05T13:58:00.001-07:00

Delayed Flight

2011-07-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

I was down in the San Francisco/Bay Area for a few days for the show opening of Jason Griego's sculpture at Arata Gallery.

There are some prints from our South-West road-trip last winter in the show.

Leaving for home I was stoked to find out that the flight back to Seattle was going to be leaving 45 minutes late.

That little bit of time pushed me towards some great late afternoon/ early evening light.

The almost completely cloud free weather provided the chance to see Mt Shasta, Crater Lake, Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier.

Sodo, Seattle, WA, 05/28/11

2011-05-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

04/21/2011

2011-04-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Seattle 04/17/11

2011-04-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Broken windows. Oakland to Seattle.

2011-04-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Making the most of the weathered perspex window on the ride back from Oakland.

3/11/11 Cedar River Mouth. Fry Release.

2011-03-12T17:11:00.001-08:00

Christopher Hoff, Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA 02/13/11

2011-02-16T18:03:00.001-08:00

It has been said, by a sculptor, that all painters are frustrated they aren't sculptors, or at the least, that they want their work to be more sculptural.

With that being said, this photographer is a frustrated painter, or at the very least I want for my work to become more painterly.

Wanting my images to look more painterly is not the same as wanting to paint however, so photographing painters will for the moment have to somewhat satiate my curiosity.

At one point I also wanted to be an architect and perhaps it is that which leads me to find the work of Christopher Hoff so compelling.

His Plein-Air works capture a remarkable sense of time and place that is often lost in the techno-translation of photography. And I enjoy the negative spaces which are left void of detail, both because as a photographer it would be much simpler to edit out the elements that are distracting to the composition, as much as they remind me of my early attempts at orthographic and perspective drawings that seemingly floated on large sheets of drawing paper.

You can see Christopher's work at www.christopherhoff.com

Salmon-Redux, Marsh Creek, Brentwood, CA

2011-01-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

With the opportunity to get back down to California's Bay Area I decided to take a look at the completed Fish-Ladder in Brentwood.

This is a project that had been conceived by the Natural Heritage Institute to enable the upper reaches of Marsh Creek to become available to spawning Chinook.

The flow of the river had been mitigated by a drop structure which featured a concrete shelf on the downstream side that prevented the migrating Salmon from being able to generate enough speed to propel themselves over.

Now with a fish ladder they will be able to make it to the shady and gravelly upper reaches of the watershed, just the kind of neighborhood a young salmon family is looking for.

More from Texas Canyon.

2010-12-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

Northern California, I5 at Lake Shasta, 12/26/10.

2010-12-28T19:01:00.001-08:00

Santa Fe to Gallup, New Mexico.

2010-12-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

Texas Canyon, AZ.

2010-12-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

SF Bay Area to the Salton Sea.

2010-12-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

Salton Sea, CA, 12/5/10

2010-12-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Day One from a road-trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico to shoot images for Sculptor, J.Robert Griego. These shots are from the Salton Sea, an inland sea in the California desert.

www.griegostudios.com

Cedar River Mouth, Lake Washington, Renton Wa 11/12/10

2010-11-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

Cedar River Hatchery 11/12/10

2010-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

Cedar River Hatchery 11/12/10

2010-11-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

Cedar River, Renton, WA 10/31/10

2010-10-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Cedar River, Renton, WA 10/24/10

2010-10-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Cedar River, Ravensdale, WA 10/24/10

2010-10-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

These Salmon became quite curious about my attempts to get closer and closer to them, I had to wipe the lens clean a couple of times as a result of all the splashing. The bridge in the background is WA-169 near Ravensdale.

Cedar River near Cavanaugh Pond, 10/23/10

2010-10-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Underneath Seattle Freeways.

2010-10-15T14:06:00.001-07:00

Washington State Fish and Wildlife Officers from the Cedar River Hatchery release a Female Chinook Salmon. This Weir, which is situated underneath the 405 freeway near Downtown Renton, traps a small percentage of the migrating Salmon on their way to spawning grounds further up the river. The trapped salmon are taken to the hatchery where eggs and semen are harvested.

Cedar River, Renton, WA 10/10/10

2010-10-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Cedar River, Renton, WA 10/03/10

2010-10-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

Cedar River Salmon Weir, Renton, WA 09/27/10

2010-09-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

Portland, OR 06/17/10

2010-06-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Seahurst Beach, WA, 06/14/10

2010-06-16T07:09:00.001-07:00

Vashon Island, WA, 05/01/10

2010-06-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

Seattle 03/31/10

2010-04-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Alki, WA 03/16/10

2010-03-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

2010-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

2010-01-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

2010-01-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

2009-12-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

2009-10-14T11:25:00.001-07:00

Shooting Cyclocross

2009-09-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have been contributing to the coverage of the MFG Cyclocross series held in and around Seattle, Wa.

This race at Ft Steilacoom near Tacoma was the second race in the series.

www.mfgcyclocross.com

Chilli Cook-off

2009-09-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked to shoot some stills for California Senator Tom Torlakson's campaign for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The job was to shoot still images in support of the television commercials so I was expecting to see them reproduced in magazines and brochures. I guess that with this I can add Chili Cook-off invitations to my growing portfolio of tearsheets.

I just need to figure out how to get invited as a guest judge for these kind of things. Let me know if you ever need any help for that Tom.

2009-08-29T09:21:00.001-07:00

2009-08-24T20:13:00.001-07:00

Iphone lens flare

2009-07-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

2009-06-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

A Poster for the Wyeth Show at the Seattle Art Museum shot through a glass window reflecting the city.

2009-06-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Seattle

2009-05-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

I will be relocating to Seattle in June and am really looking forward to shooting in that area.

Anthony Trucks

2009-05-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

One of the magazines that I regularly shoot for called to ask if I was available to work with them on a story about a Pro Footballer who runs a training facility in their area.

I was kind of busy. I had just been loaned a copy of the directors cut of the new Miami Vice movie.

I didn't mention that I would have jumped at the chance to have shot the story, maybe even jumped over a burning case of Miami Vice DVD's to have scored the job.

I was eager to try out my new extended TTL cable as well and came up with a lighting scheme that would take advantage of this great new bit of gear.

The lighting is from a Speedlite thru an umbrella slightly forward and above the subject with two Speedlites coming in from the rear of the subject on both sides.

I came up with the idea for him to be doing a push-up on the football....actually I can't remember how this idea came to me, but I wish I could get in touch with letting those kind of thoughts flow more freely. I have been spending a lot of time considering how to spend more time in this frame of mind recently. I have been getting into the deep complex areas of my creative mind and really finding that getting ideas on paper....whatever they happen to be....is a good approach. Basically just letting the wheels turn with no real care for the destination and when the time seems right throwing in a few job specific thoughts.

I'll keep you posted on this...It is a work in progress after all.

Blood Diamond...How to shoot a girl in a car.

2009-03-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

The art-director called me at 9.15 on Friday night, the day after the deadline....."You know that story we talked about last week for the next issue", Yes, I replied...."Well we need you to shoot it tomorrow morning and its going to be the new cover story"......"I'll need you to have it to me in the afternoon"..."The writer has her contact info and is going to interview her after the shoot"...."Give him a call"

So a quick call to him revealed that she had been living in her car in L.A. and had given herself two more days at her acting dreams before she was going to quit. Fortunately she got a call to work with Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Honsou in Blood Diamond.

Her name is Benu Mabhena and thats not her car.

Another call...this time to the Cadillac wrecking yard...

"Hey can I shoot a girl in one of your cars tomorrow"

........"HUH".....

"I mean can I photograph an actress in one of your cars tomorrow"

"Is she hot"

"Yes"

"Then OK"

After that it was cake.....Throw up a white seamless behind the car.....shoot with the door open for that lovely subdued daylight look.....leave some space for the masthead and some text...barcode goes in the bottom left corner....

Jason Miller, Performing Arts Principal

2009-03-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Jason Miller is the Principal, for lack of a better word to describe his role, of a Performing Arts High School that I had the chance to shoot recently. I have had the chance to shoot Jason's wife Josie in the past, she is the director of their theatre company and Jason doubles as the Lighting Director.

I shot Jason with a 430ex up high directly behind him. It was snooted with a home-made black straw grid. The grid really helped to keep the spread of the light narrow which creates that spotlight-theatrical feel when shooting directly into it.

The rest of the shot was taken care of with another 430ex this time in a large shoot thru umbrella.

The metering on this shot was a departure from my normal methods....I usually stick it all on manual....camera, flashes, everything....this time I gave Ettl a chance....mainly because I have been experimenting with the high speed sync capabilities of the 430ex's when slaved from the master 580ex.

Delta Academy Performing Arts High School Principal

2009-03-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

MIME Theater, Oakland, Ca.

2009-03-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

Apple Orchard burn, Brentwood, Ca

2009-03-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

Marsh Creek, Brentwood, Ca

2009-02-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Brentwood, Ca

2009-02-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

Tracey, Ca

2009-02-23T20:47:00.001-08:00

Muriwai, New Zealand

2009-02-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

Brentwood Ca

2009-02-16T19:21:00.001-08:00

Moonrise on the road to Yosemite.

2009-02-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

I knew it would be rising soon, I had been watching it rise and grow, the week before, together we were anticipating this little jaunt.

It did come from below, like this time it really was rising, like this was the time I could know why I had always said rising.

This road was going to the moon, the headlights wouldn't have been seen on its surface, lost in its brush-strokes. Tungstens and oxides and halogen all slapped onto calico, ochres and rust and brighter for its immediacy to the horizon.

The gas gauge was pointed up, the warm air from the heater mixing with the cool night and cigarettes.

And soon the gauge was up again...feet slapping on concrete and linoleum of a gas station floor.

Written in my 2002 journal.

Iphone for location scouting

2009-02-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

It always comes down to the very best camera for the shot is the camera in hand...so I have been making the most of my Iphone. It's great for recording the co-ordinates of a location that may look better in different light. I can drop a pin or record the location as a bookmark and return when the light might be better.

The Chase Jarvis Shoe Project

2008-12-31T11:38:00.000-08:00

Seattle based photographer Chase Jarvis was speaking at a Photoshelter event in San Francisco...he implied that his success was achievable by anyone who "walked his walk"....he went on to say that it took a lot to fill his size 11 shoes......

I wrote to Chase saying that it would be easier to walk a mile in his shoes if I actually had his shoes....being the all around good guy that he is...he sent me a pair of his shoes....

I have had them at my place for a while now and came up with the idea to shoot a picture of them and to have as many other photographers as possible shoot them as well....

I came to know of Chase's work through the Strobist Blog of Photographer David Hobby...So i offered up the shoes to subscribers of his blog... and the Project seems to have really blown up....within hours more than fifty photographers have wanted in on the project.....

Chihuly at the DeYoung

2008-08-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

I have been a fan of Chihulys work for more than twenty years now and can't believe I almost didn't find out about what is possibly his largest exhibition to date........in my backyard.

KQED which carries a bunch of PBS programming in the Bay Area played "Chihuly in the Hotshop" last week to promote the exhibition which is at the De Young Museum......It is essentially Chihuly working with his teams to recreate works from his previous series'...in front of an audience at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

It was so interesting to hear him talking of finding Japanese Fishing Floats washing up on the shores of Washington when he was a boy.....the floats are blown glass spheres attached to nets with what are essentially rope baskets....the floats get away from the nets and become trapped in a large circular current system in the Northern Pacific until storms set them free.....

www.chihulyatthedeyoung.org

Dr Patel for 110 Magazine

2008-07-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

I was really expecting to see this image used across two pages....with the right side having the title and initial text of the story laid down over it...it went unpublished....who knows what goes through the mind of Art Directors sometimes.....

The red in the foreground is the on-camera gelled 580ex......the Doctor's face is lit with a snooted 430ex and he is somewhat seperated from the background with another 430ex directly opposite .

The shadow from the machine that can be seen above his head is really beginning to annoy me...next time I'll need to get the 580 off camera....coming in from the left.

Into the bus

2008-06-09T22:25:00.002-07:00

Just finished Jon Krakauer's account of Chris McCandless's bus ride in Alaska......there is so much in this book that just wouldn't make for a good movie.......However, the So-Much does make for a good read.....If you have seen the film, pick up a copy.

Into the Wild.

Jon Krakauer.

Anchor Books.

ISBN 0-385-48680-4