Sometimes still photography doesn’t seem like enough to tell the whole story. I’m shooting footage at 24p with a real garden gnome, and this story is unfolding as part of a feature documentary film I’m directing about people living consciously in a society that often makes something simple, seem radical…
via: Nick Koudis Photography Blog
This is number four in my Ironic Death Series – Hit and Run by an Ambulance. I guess it’s self explanatory. Sometimes, I like to draw the viewer into an image and make ‘em work to find the joke, or the story. This one, hopefully is a quick read. (that’s read read) Here’s the finished image. (click image to see bigger)
Special thanks to Brittany Furlan, our dead girl.
It started its life as a sketch. Working from sketches has its advantages, of course, but it actually can prevent you from thinking about other solutions to the problem. For example, as I was shooting and assembling the elements, I noticed that the white line intersecting the woman’s neck added a macabre element. So I left her there on the side of the road.
The whole idea reminded me of Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World (1948). So I thought I’d add that level for an extra bit o’ funny.
Downtown LA has a desolate industrial district that would be great to shoot in, if there weren’t so many damn location vehicles are in the way. Desolate, my ass. Seriously, everybody shoots there. Everybody. It’s like the Costco of locations. Anyway, it’s got nice light.
This is a final plate for the image. Notice that the background is in soft focus. I focused on the foreground which will be her location in the shot. And of course, the Dutch angle helps sell the anxiety of the scene. We’ll create the ambulance in modo 401. And shoot the unfortunate girl in the studio.
And now comes some serious progress. After four solid days of modo-ing an ambulance, I’ve got this render to show for it. This is a gorgeous render straight out of modo. I’ve attached the background image to the render camera, then resized the render to be pixel for pixel to the background image. The ambulance model is sitting on a “shadow catcher” groundplane. ( Sounds like something you buy in a New Mexico gift shop. I wish I had a shadow-catcher for my real life! ) It’s an almost perfect scenario, but in the end, I’m going to have to render the Ambulance separately, so I can blur it to match the background in P-shop. I’ve got some minor tweaks on the model to do before I’m totally done. That means ANOTHER four days of work.
Have a closer look at the ambulance. Still very rough, of course, but modo renders so beautifully, it looks delicious. It’ll be a shame to blur, but sometimes, that’s what sells an image. (click image to see bigger)
I do a lot of things simply because they are fun or interesting, which includes doing my own laundry. I suppose I could have my laundry picked up by a service, or drop it off and have some one else take care of it, but I prefer to do it myself. It usually takes me about two hours, and I use the time to meet new friends, observe customs, and form opinions based on observations. It’s a difficult process meeting new friends in a Laundromat, mostly because everyone is trained to be on guard at all times.
The Laundromat I use is in an ethnically diverse area of Chicago. On any given day I might be the only white person in the building. That by itself is an interesting aspect of the chore; I get to understand what it might be like for a minority person to be alone in a completely white environment. A less traveled person might find the experience uncomfortable, but I’ve found it to be rewarding because the people are so diverse and interesting.
The people that come to the Laundromat are loud and full of life, or quiet and reflective, or brooding and sinister. The kids play like they own the place, and maybe for a few hours they actually do. Girls just barely old enough to blow their own noses are chaperoning siblings or children of their own. Old men shuffle down aisle ways while their families keep a watchful eye on them. Old women, beaten down by the trials of life, stoop to their tasks next to perky young things just beginning their trek into responsibility. It’s a kaleidoscope of life, and it’s great fun to participate.
Unfortunately, the people in the Laundromat are very camera shy. Some feel it’s an intrusion, others are afraid I’m from Immigration, and the gang bangers… well I think you can understand why they don’t want me taking their picture. So I use my iPhone to take pictures of innocuous stuff. Still, when they see me pointing that thing anywhere near them, I get the beat down stare. But, at least when you see me you’ll know I’m wearing clean underwear!
via Nick Koudis Photography Blog.
i love a sexy cup
These are my three most often used photographic tools; a Mac, espresso, and a camera, in that order. I find that I use the camera less and less, and as I use the mac more and more, I invoke the magical power of good coffee more often. It’s the Photographic Trinity, really.
But when I say good coffee, I’m very serious. I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur, but I will say that I’m a coffee snob. In 1999, when I selfishly installed an espresso machine in my NY studio to power up my team, I triggered a never ending search for the next best thing. I unwittingly began a near spiritual walk towards coffee heaven. A $300 cappuccino maker started a cycle of returns to Whole Latte Love, until a $2500 Jura S9 super automatic arrived. You may snicker, but the price of Starbucks sludge still was enough to justify this thing.
( Purists will pooh pooh a super automatic machine, and they may be right, but for a business, nothing beats a fresh ground espresso or latte in 60 seconds. Now get back to work! )
Anyway, this is where I’m going with this. Los Angeles may be culinarily challenged, but we do have two shiny little diamonds of coffee perfection. Intelligentsia Coffee – one in Silverlake and one in Venice.
Going there is like a visit to café-mecca. Most Americans don’t sanctify their coffee enough to really appreciate what’s going on here. There’s an important part of the coffee ritual that shouldn’t be ignored. It should be enjoyed in a ceramic cup, and savored for a few precious moments. Coffee is one of the things that makes our lives beautiful. And for that, it should be appreciated while sipping. Sit down, relax, and let the coffee caress you. It’s a precious moment, really. Don’t waste it on a f\_/cking paper cup with a plastic lid.
So, after trying every bean in creation on our Super Automatic, I’ve found that loading the hopper with Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Project espresso beans has been the best investment in my “Photographic” arsenal to date.