What’s better than karaoke? BYOB KARAOKE! And bring we did…we brought the funk, soul, style, and steeze (with a little bit of sass for added flavor.) Not much more needs to be said, as the old Chinese proverb goes “a picture’s worth 1,000 renditions of Sweet Caroline”
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Thanks to the generosity of a pair of Elliotts, I finally took the dive into medium format. Oh, I had been wanting to plunge for a while now, but lack of a camera and technology to view the photos were a wee bit of a barrier. Enter Sarah and Rob, one graciously lent me her beautiful Hasselblad while the other passed down a scanner capable of archiving the larger negatives. So there went all the excuses, and over the weekend I was able to shoot and process my first real 120 roll. In the interest of honesty, I had one hell of a time learning to master focus and composition with the Swedish shooter, and though I am very much a work in progress I have started to feel more comfortable and am SERIOUSLY TOTALLY FREAKING EXCITED about the possibilities. I mean, the square format alone is love at first sight, but it’s the detail and awesome depth of field that have me drooling. I mean know I’m insane, but I probably trolled eBay for an ungodly amount of time today looking at medium format rigs for my own, and this was only my first roll! Well they say the first step is admitting you have a problem right?
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Ya I was jetlagged, ya it was early, but ya you’re damn right I rallied just 4 hours after touching down in LA to head over to Irvine Spectrum to check out the monthly car show with Robly in tow. The goods were out on display, and the variety of mufflers and mullets was gosh darn impressive. Sure there were Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, and Teeny Weenies, but it was the revamped classics that stole my heart. Despite the candy apple reds and fluorescent greens, I couldn’t help myself from seeing in black and white, highlighting vintage lines to place these automotive classics back in the era in which they belong. Oh ya, and there was a f***ing ferret…how’s that for a hook.
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“I’m going to tell you something to tell your sister…and its going to sound cold, and harsh.” His silky voice had our full attention, and he knew it. Lauren and I leaned forward in eager anticipation, the pleather towncar interior breaking the silence with awkward squealing. “You……..Are in Georgia Now.” I still have no idea what he meant (and I’m pretty sure he was a reincarnated version of James Earl Jones as the blind beast owner in The Sandlot), but the vexing advice kicked off an awesome move-in weekend and the first taste of college for Ansley and company.
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Due to the familial popularity of my last post, I just had to follow it up with another graduation extravaganza (not that I wasn’t going to do this anyway…but that’s beside the point.) The night started with a perfect dinner complete with homemade Ansleyism statues created by the great MOMMA. The gang (including a surprise visit from the Chloe-mo) then filed into the Pageant of the Masters and triumphantly found their “pre-reserved” seats in prime viewing position. The emotions immediately overflowed, and that’s partly due to the fact that Annie’s graduation was more entertaining/exciting/eventful that both Lauren and mine combined. After Mr. Todd’s top ten list and Ansley’s successful stage crossing, we elbowed our way to an open spot to snap off some matching graduate photos. Sadly, I do not have those photos, BUT I HAVE THESE!
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Watching the Olympics tonight made me realize that I had some old photos in the archives that document the holiest of holy Olympic competitions…PING PONG! While fierce young guns duked it out under the midday heat, a grizzled veteran re-entered the fray, returning to the sport he had forsaken so many years ago. The mama was on hand to officiate the proceedings, and the rocks were slobbery as Zorro maintained order.
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“The 800mm f/5.6 is the photography equivalent of a D cup – not a necessity, but wherever you go with it, you’ll make lots of new friends”
So how many new friends would there be if you doubled up to 1600mm? With a newly rented behemoth, Jehad and I hit the streets to find out with some less-than-inconspicuous street shooting. Making the attached 5D look like a cheap point-and-shoot, the fully manual “telescope” proved a tricky beast to tame, but with everything dialed in we simply sat back and waited…2 blocks away from our subjects.
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Check one off of the bucket list. After living in LA for the past four years, I finally made the pilgrimage to the Getty. But I would be lying if that was my only motivation, hanging at my side was the new Fuji yearning for some breaking in, and an awesome Herb Ritts exhibition was the icing on top of the proverbial cake. Walking around in the gorgeous sunlight, it took me a while to find my groove, partly because I couldn’t stop noticing how many people were sporting epic cameras (M9s and Hassleblads aplenty.) But a quick dose of Ritts inspiration cured the envy/intimidation, and helped me poke around with my new toy. Not sure if I love anything that I shot, but its always good to get out there and practice, especially with a new gadget in need of some major love.
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After two weeks and 8,335 photos, my first tilt-shift attempt came to fruition. Initially thinking of doing something like this anyway, my plans were cemented when I received an email from UCLA asking if I was interested in making a video about “What UCLA means to you!” Taking the not-so-obvious-but-totally-awesome-non-literal-interpretation-of-the-question route, I figured I could blend the two ideas together, and wrap it all up with a Wooden bow on top to add some Bruin legitimacy. To be honest, working within the contest guidelines was exactly what I needed, it gave me a deadline and time limit (though I didn’t exactly stick to the royalty free music aspect, the song was too good, so we will see if that bites me later.) But after some snags in post-processing, and many nights running my poor computer nonstop, I feel like I came up with something unique and goofy, and if they don’t like it well they don’t have style right?
On Saturday April, 14th, Spencer Dunn lit up Jan Popper theater like the Knux at Paddy Murphy. Playing in front of a raucous crowd complete with blown-up bobble heads (thanks to Erik and Mike), Spence rattled off an hour of classics and originals alike. Ending with an impromptu rendition of Calvin Harris, incorporating the infamous “DOW” effect to the delight of the crowd, he left the stage amid a shower of roses. For those who thought Spencer Dunn was nothing more than your run-of-the-mill “Face Guy,” think again.
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[gwu] Graham Whitaker Unterberger 