Horse Feathers

Tractor Tavern. 4/15/2010. 

Horse Feathers 

 

 

Megafaun

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Behind The Scenes

This weekend I had the opportunity to be a photo assistant to filmmaker Erik Hecht, of Arcade Films.    We shot for a little over 11 hours, in which I had an amazing time working with their cast and crew of friends and dancers.  It was a cool experience to be present as a video was created, piece by piece and take by take.   If you are in Seattle, the showing is this Saturday at 9pm with the Washington Dance Club.    It's free and a dance will follow the screening of the films... wait, what was that??  Movies and dancing, that just sounds like a perfect night out doesn't it?

During the second half of filming, I picked up my camera and played with a little behind the scenes shooting.   Now you can vicariously experience the creative process as an idea and vision was transformed into a film.    There were many, many talented and great people on the set.   Check out the Arcade Films site later for the video and scrolling credits to see who was involved.   

Erik is on the far right, next to him is Arcade Films producer Celeste Olds; a lady with a quick whit and mad jazzy dancing skills.  

Trucker hat and juice box enthusiast: Michael Alm

Creator of light, tall and wearing plaid: Alex Walsh  

 

The Easter Bunny

 Above:   My first attempt at "Blue Steel."  It may be more accurately described as "Le Tigre."

The Noerrs Program recently employed me as a photographer on the Easter Bunny set in Seattle.  It was my first professional gig since moving to the big city.   I figured if David Sedaris could be an elf on a Santa set, I could photograph EB.    I cannot share any of the images, as they are the property of the company and the individual families who purchased them, but I thought I would share a few candid stories.  I don’t know how many portraits I took in the 17 days I worked, but I did photograph 102 sittings on Saturday alone.    Say Cheese!

A child was walking down the hall of the mall, completely unaware that his world would soon be turned upside down.   He stared off in the distance, his small shoes double-timing to keep up with his mothers heels.   As the child turned, his eyes met that of the Easter Bunny.    A large, 6 foot furry rabbit with cute glasses and a blue overcoat.   However, the child was not prepared for this encounter and without missing a beat, turned to flee, screaming at the top of his little lungs and ran right into his mother’s legs, fell flat, helplessly crying on the floor just wishing for life to be normal again.   Sans bunny.  

Each step is precise, slow and calculated.   An inch closer, still safe, a foot closer, nothing has happened.   His movements pause after each step as his small statue like figure evaluates the safety of further advancement.    His fear begins to subside until, at about three feet, the looming size of the rabbit becomes too much and the promise of a blue sucker no longer holds value as a bargaining chip.   This is when all the weight shifts to one orange pivoting tennis shoe, as he makes an escape through the white picked fence.  Maybe next year. 

In general, little girls had no problem with the bunny.   They would run with their pink, purple or sea foam green dresses flowing and bear-hug the bunny, big smiles. 

I had an elderly man, in his late 80’s at least, approach me and ask if I saw “him” too.  I looked at the bunny and said “why yes, I do see him.”   The man raised his eyebrow and gave me a wry smile and said, “oh that is great, I thought it was Harvey paying me a visit.”   He made my day!   Harvey is a 1950’s James Stewart movie about a 6’ 3 1/2” tall rabbit.

I found one of our Styrofoam carrots from the set garden with a perfect bite mark, rows of top and bottom teeth.   I wonder how shocked the kid was after he/she chomped the prop and realized the carrot was not as tasty as imagined.

My favorite photo of the week was a couple in their early thirties who posed with the bunny.   The girl leaned in with her feet together, heels popped to kiss the bunny.   Her boyfriend, in a western shirt and cowboy boots had his hands on his hips and a “bunny you are in deep, deep trouble,” look on his face.    

All in all, it was a great experience, if anything it taught me how to get a good image in less than one minute and also sharpened my reflexes for catching quick smiles and fleeting expressions.   Also, if you are having a hard time getting a kid to smile I find having them say “cheese and macaroni” works better than just plain old “cheese.”   Honestly, who doesn’t love macaroni?  

Beaches and Bands

In moving to Seattle, I was a bit taken aback by the size of the city and the rows upon rows upon rows of houses.   For my own sanity, I decided to scale the city down and focus my exposure of it on small elements of culture and nature.     Thus, resulted in a Monday of beaches and bands.

People often leave behind personal traces to mark their existence, to record their experiences.   "I was here, I lived, I saw, I am."   One of my favorite examples of this practice is the careful stacking of rocks; the creation of a cairn.    Cairns are often used as trail markers in the backcountry, but are showing up more and more in urban areas as an expression of life and art.   I photographed this beach-bleached log and its population of cairns at Carkeek park.

Seattle is known for its plethora of live music and its draw for creative and unique work.   I have the lucky fortune to know Tommy Panigot of Garage Voice (above) and have been introduced to Seattle's music scene through a web of new friends.   The Head and The Heart (below) headlined the show.    They are worth checking out.  Although I don't believe I will become a band photographer anytime soon, I have a bit of an aversion to high ISOs, I had a lot of fun shooting throughout the night and working with unfamiliar light.    Plus the music was great, so you really can't go wrong. 

Move to Seattle

I’m from Minnesota, so I’m nice.  

This was my craigslist slogan for about a month of house hunting.  I eventually gave up the catch phrase and found my current home.   A small house decorated with art and instruments from past and present housemates, a visual history of an eclectic community of artists, musicians, and overall welcoming and generous people.  I may even go, as far as to say, they are nice.       

For those of you who know me little, I recently moved from Minnesota to Seattle to seriously pursue a career in photography.   Photojournalism, documentary and conservation projects are my hopes and dreams.   I decided that Seattle would be a great area for networking opportunities as well as the occasional coffee date with professionals in the industry.    I even decided to start blogging my photographic process and write down a few of the stories behind my images.   Luckily you, the reader, have this opportunity to gain an insight into the tangents and observations that make up my life.  

Since coming to Seattle, I have had the chance to help hang an exhibit with the Photographic Center Northwest titled Critical Mass, a fifty-piece exhibit from Portland.   If you don’t have the opportunity to stop by the gallery in person, you can check out the images on the PCN website. Critical Mass

Also, I would like to place a plug for a friend of mine, a wonderful nature photographer, Paul Raymaker.    His images are on display as part of the Ballard Art Walk.   His reception is March 13th from 7-9 at the Aster Coffee Lounge:   5615 24th Avenue Northwest.   Paul Raymaker

Please check this blog often for updates on my work, experiences and the stories I have the privilege to share with you.    Thanks for reading.