Meeting the Man: Julius Shulman

Yesterday, I had a the honor of meeting the legendary architectural photographer Julius Shulman. I have been a longtime fan of his work, much of it produced long before I was born. Mr. Shulman is responsible for some of the most iconic images of the most iconic 20th century homes and structures in America and beyond.

Shulman was in San Diego at Design Within Reach promoting his latest book — or volume of books rather — called Modernism Rediscovered ( Taschen 2008 ). It’s a massive collection in both content and physical size. Three huge hardcover volumes boxed up and retailing for $300.00. I’d like to say that I bought the set but, alas, that would blow my entire year’s budget for books and reference materials. Sigh. I did bring along the favorite book I own by Mr. Shulman, released by Taschen and also called Modernism Rediscovered. This version was released in 2000 and is a very solid volume as well. Much of the work covered in the new books is contained in mine but without the whopping 29 pounds of heft and stunning 14″ x 17″ size.

Being a huge fan of mid-century modern architecture, this was a rare opportunity to shake hands with someone who has worked closely with the likes of Frank Loyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra and Albert Frey among others. Shulman is a master of the art form and laid the groundwork for many to follow. His mastery of composition and perspective control changed the way I take environmental photos and opened my eyes to the subtle forms that lay within every structure built.

Julius gratefully signed my book and posed for a photo with me. He looks great at 97 with his million dollar smile and a twinkle in his eye. I felt honored to be face to face with whom I would call the Ansel Adams of architectural photography. Thank you for all you have done, Mr. Shulman.

PS: Here is a great little video of Julius and Benedikt Taschen reviewing the book together for the first time.

Firefox Rocks (still).

Well, if you haven’t heard, Firefox rocks. Not only are they the best browser around there are some super cool plug-ins and add-ons to pick up. The latest one is called the “PicLens” and it’s a sharp little tool. It was developed and released by cooliris and allows you to view photos and vidoes from your Google searches, flickr, Facebook, You Tube and the like. It’s kind of like flying through your search Matrix style and then viewing the image in a 3D blowup with captions and all. It’s really kind of addictive. You probably won’t want to search images any other way.

Take a tour here or download the add on here. Surf photos and have fun.

Shoot! The Day, with Photoshelter

Photoshelter is cool. Besides being a photographer-friendly stock selling model they are hosting Shoot! The Day on Sunday, July 20. It’s a fun way to ignite some creativity. As a newly minted and proud contributor to Photoshelter I’m looking forward to the excuse to set aside a day to shoot new ideas or build from their shot list. Take a look at the official page and while you’re there check out the blog. Rachel Hulin has a knack for finding really compelling (and sometimes just plain fun) stuff. Always a good read.

In a Holga State of Mind

My Holga 120N came today. It’s pretty exciting considering it’s a $24.00 plastic camera. Basically a toy that shoots medium format film. I’ll be honest and disclose that the last time I used medium format was probably in the 9th grade when I had to build a pinhole camera out of cardboard and popsicle sticks (it worked!).

The Holga isn’t much different than that. It’s a plastic box with a fixed shutter speed somewhere in the area of 1/100 of a second. The f11 lens is reportedly closer to f13 and the manual f-stop switch is known to do nothing at all. Perfect! So, what to expect with this little bundle of imperfection? Just that; Artistic and quirky images that may or may not be in focus.

While I was ordering my new toy from the great people at Freestyle Photographic, I threw in a couple of rolls of interesting 35mm film into the cart. Namely some Ilford black & white infrared. I figured if I was going to start making trips to the lab for processing, I may as well shoot more film with the old Nikon too. There is a strange liberating feeling that comes with shooting film that I had forgotten. Using film feels like doing math on paper vs. using a calculator. I find that I am more focused but at the same time less concerned about the results. Is it because there are certain things that must be left to chance? That I can’t simply go back to the computer and tweak the exposure to my liking? I’m not sure. I have shot plenty of film in the past so maybe it’s just an old comfort and feeling of nostalgia creeping in. Whatever the case, I plan on having a “film day” soon and packing just the analog gear. Photos forthcoming, of course.

So, with a bit of gaffers tape, some fresh rolls of Fuji Pro 160C and low expectations I’m off to play. For those interested in seeing how to make some quick “adjustments” (read: hack) to your Holga, here’s a quick and informative video I found:

The Great Possum Hunt

I was recently in Seattle for a visit to friends and family. My first day up, I went into town to see hotshot photographer Chase Jarvis and crew and have lunch in their supercool studio space in Wallingford. Turns out timing was really good because the next day he was off to another far away place to shoot for 3 weeks. I can’t disclose in case he does one of his ever popular Room With(out) A View blogs where he shoots one random shot from his location and the readers have to guess where it is.

As I was taking note of the well stocked bar, Chase pulled down a bottle of vodka I had never seen before (rare, I know) and told me the story of the “possum hunt” cocktail. This particular vodka is from New Zealand and this flavor is not sold here. It’s called 42 Below and it’s feijoa infused. What the hell is a feijoa, you ask? I asked the same thing. It’s some kind of fruit that grows in NZ. I ask what it taste like and the best description he could come up with was the “good part of cough syrup.” I’m intrigued. He mixes me a Possum Hunt with the stuff. Basically, when he and the crew were shooting in NZ, they came up with this drink and had to give it a name. Apparently there the possum is a sort of love/hate thing so the name seemed appropriate. I taste it and yep, it’s got an odd medicinal edge. But not in a bad way. It’s dry but citrusy, clean but flavorful. These could grow on me.

It reminded me that I had a bit of a run in with a possum recently. We had a little possum hanging around the backyard raiding the cat food dish. Though not cute in a traditional sense, he was kind of fun to watch as he clumsily waddled around the patio. Then one evening he slipped into the garage while the back door was open. Not knowing any better, I closed up the garage and went off to bed that night.

Possum are night creatures. I found out the hard way. The next morning, something was wrong in the garage. A few things were misplaced, the cat food bag was missing and there was a funk. Like a gamey animal smell that was certainly not cat. Great. Something now lives in the garage. After a brief strategy planning session I venture into the garage and open up the doors and make a clear path to both of them. The path, I realize is meant for either me or the possum, whoever should need it first. Then I methodically eye the garage and decide, If I were a possum, I would hide . . . over . . . there, in The snowboard and hiking gear of course. So I begin moving the bags and gear piece by piece.

Sure enough, there he/she/it is. Curled up and snoozing under my duffle full of winter gear. I give it a poke with a stick and I’m surprised that it doesn’t do much. Not even look up at me. This may be harder than I thought. Another poke, this time a little harder. It’s head is up and it’s looking a little dazed and confused. This is my chance I think. Startle it and get it up and running toward the light of the door only that’s not what happens. The possum turns toward the dark recesses of the garage and runs. “NOOOooaaaarrrhhhahhhhrrrg!!!” comes out of my mouth and actually surprises me. What the hell? Did I just channel Ted Nugent? Then I see that it actaully had an effect on the little guy.

He’s looking intimidated and I am not relenting. I begin to growl and bang on nearby paint cans with my hand, all the while poking at his hindquarters with a stick. Possums are tenacious. He stands his ground and bares his catlike teeth. They are way longer and sharper than I’d imagined and are a bit menacing. I am suddenly wondering if possum can leap. I pick up an Igloo cooler lid to shield myself just in case.

More yelling and banging. He’s slowly making his way toward the back door and I am just waiting to get him close enough to give him a good slapshot out with my stick. Instead he does something I hadn’t thought of: He climbs straight up the shelving and disappears into the rafters of the garage. Now I am very cautious because he has the drop on me. I grab a step ladder and pull out a flashlight. He’s gone. Really. Like illusionist rodentia, he’s vanished and all is still.

This is when I realize that my entire knowledge of possums is limited to hearsay or cartoons. And I’m standing below a magical disappearing possum that is feeling threatened. I look down at my hand and it’s bleeding. I examine the cut and it’s deeper than I think. Great, now he can smell my blood. I scan the rafters from the step ladder and still see nothing. I am hoping to catch the gleam of its eyes with the flashlight but I see nothing but dusty wood. Then I hear something come from a shelf near the door. I bang furiously on the shelves while growling and hissing and jabbing my stick around at nothing. If any of the neighbors were walking past at this moment, they would certainly have reason for concern, or to walk away faster.

Then it’s quiet. I wait for movement, pull a few things away from the shelves and see nothing. Vanished again. But this time I have a feeling he made his way out the door. I walk out into the bright daylight and Rufus the cat is looking into the shrubs of the backyard with great alarm. This is a good sign. I assume that the little guy ran out of the garage and into the bushes up the hill in back and Rufus saw the whole thing. It would be great if I could get some kind of confirmation from him but he just looks at me and blinks.

The possum returned for a couple more nights but could only raid the cat bowl. I have been diligent about keeping the garage closed up since. After having experienced both the cocktail version and live-action version of the “Possum Hunt” I’ll take the libation any day.

Apple Releases Super Mega Exclusive iPhone! Oh, wait…

Today I was heading back home form a shoot and I stopped off at the local mall for a quick bite. As I was walking up to the very mediocre and underwhelming food court (although currently better stocked than my own kitchen) I was reminded that the new iPhone 3G dropped today. The Apple store, looking like a red carpet event, had a line of people wrapped around the building. ‘Oh, yea’ I thought. Hm.

It made me wonder what was really at work here. Did all these people think that Apple may have not produced enough iPhones for all of them? Steve Jobs telling his production department “You know, I’m not so sure about this one. Let’s only make a few and see how well they go over…”

Nope. There’s a lot of them. Thousand and thousands. Did anyone experience a difficulty getting their hands on the first version? No. I had a friend that said he went to the mall to get his, saw the line then went over to the AT&T store down the street and was in and out in minutes. What’s really at work here is a kind of micro-exclusivity. For today, Friday, July 11, all those people will be the only people with the new phone. There’s no profitable black market on eBay, no margins to be made by scalping the things in the parking lot, only that cool moment when you know you are part of a select few; a conversation starter at happy hour this afternoon.

While eating my [marginal, at best] Mandarin bowl, I saw a guy bring his freshly minted iPhone out of the bag, fire it up and make a bunch of calls. “Hey, guess what I used to call you just now…” One of the lucky few for a fleeting moment in this fast paced history of technological milestones.

Awash in Pixels

This is my camera menagerie. It’s not all of them but it’s pretty much the A-Team and it’s what always goes with us on a pleasure trip. The little Sony takes some great video and some pretty nice snaps. The Olympus is the water-cam (I have a scuba housing for it) the Coolpix is the one that easily stashes in my pocket and then of course the big daddy that goes with me just about everywhere.

I just got home from a week in Seattle. We spent the 4th of July holiday with family, did a little boating and crabbing, had lunch with Chase and the crew at his studio, and saw some impressive tall ships on parade. I’ll be editing the many gigabytes of images we brought back and posting up a few fun shots here this week

My crystal ball is showing a new version of Aperture 2.0 in the very near future but until then I am stuck editing my RAW files in Capture NX which is the slowest and most cumbersome program I have ever used. Since Adobe has neglected to update any of the new Nikon Camera RAW for their previous programs I have decided to make the switch to Aperture within the month. Seeya, Lightroom.

Check back in soon to learn how to catch a crab and to mix up a “Possum Hunt” cocktail.

Seattle, Tall Ships, and the Sky Above

I have a mild infatuation with clouds. Well really, the sky in general but I prefer to see a few clouds hanging around too. Nothing against a clear blue sky but when there are few focal points, it just makes for a more interesting view. I found this awesome photo by Jorn C. Olsen on this site. It was linked to Rachel Hullin’s excellent and always interesting Photoshelter blog. I’m a sucker for cloud photos and I find myself snapping a lot of them. We don’t always get very rare clouds occurring here in San Diego but once in a while it gets interesting. Check out the rest of the photos on the Cool Things blog. There are some amazing things happening up there in the stratosphere.

Speaking of clouds, I will be traveling to Seattle this week (which is not always cloudy, BTW) to catch up with the family, hang out with some friends, and see a little Tall Ship action. That’s something else I have an affinity for; big wood boats. The tall ships are in the Puget Sound for a hootenanny (take that! spellcheck!) or whatever it is that tall ships have when they gather together for a celebration. I plan on spending a little time on the water, doing some crab fishing and generally relaxing for the Great American Holiday.

Happy Fourth!

Art in Commerce

I often get questions or suggestions from friends and family regarding my work. Usually it refers to some kind of photo show, call for entries or a contest. “You should enter/show/submit your work for this!” Then I have to explain to them the focus of my work isn’t really fine art, it’s commercial.

Then I started to think about it. Is it truly 100% commercial? Not really. That would imply that its only worth is to convey the essence of the product or brand that it represents. That’s not quite what I’m trying to accomplish. Without going deep into the whole emotional branding concept, what I want to achieve is a balance of communication and emotional response with my photos. So, essentially, I want to create art.

Is this approach any different from that of a fine artist? Not really. Is art created in the name of commerce worth less than art created solely for the purpose of art? Why is it that when the line gets crossed artists on both sides become so critical?

Art in commerce is nothing new — think Warhol here — and yet the controversy over what qualifies as true art is still burning. Take the new digital media into consideration and you’ve got an inferno.

To my point: If you discovered a photo/painting/etching/poem/prose that really spoke to you on a deep level and then later found out it was created for Apple or AT&T or Microsoft, would you feel somehow cheated? Or, when viewing photos at MoPA and learning that they were all shot in digital capture and printed with an Epson Pro 9880, would think less of them? I don’t have an answer. I’m somewhere in the middle ground having been a graphic designer for most of my life. I guess to me, there is art in everything. Even commerce.

Austin, does indeed, Rock.

I had the chance to get out to Austin, TX last week and I really have to say, what a great city. It came as no surprise really. I have not heard anyone speak poorly of the town. What’s not to like? Nice people, truly world class music, fantastic nightlife, some really great history and it all sits along a lake with miles of trails and beautiful shoreline.

The first night was spent in the very historical Driskill Hotel. Built in 1886 an rumored to be haunted, it was exactly the kind of place I wanted my first night to be spent. The bar downstairs, all dark wood and leather furniture, had an old west charm accented with Victorian era architecture. Sean the bartender, a relocated Irishman made us happy with his expertly crafted cocktails.

Being that the main purpose of the trip was business (at least the first couple of days) we couldn’t expense the Driskill for the remaining nights. That kind of history doesn’t come cheap so, it was on to the Hyatt Regency across the Congress Birdge. Not a whole lot to say about the Hyatt other than the prime location on Lady Bird lake. From there it was an easy walk to most of the places we wanted to go.

A few highlights were the Star Bar, The Belmont and Hi-Lo, all on W. Sixth St. The Warehouse District seems to be a newer area with still a lot of urban dwellings being built up. A shop on Second called Mercury was especially fun to browse. An eclectic mix of furniture, jewelry, and decor with a bit of Kelly Wearstler vibe. Next door is Paciugo Gelato which was a life saver in the upper 90’s heat.

Another standout near the hotel was the nightly bat flight. Yes, bats by the thousands fly out from within the Congress St. Bridge every night to feed. I was slightly disappointed to learn they feed on insects and not the innocent bystanders watching, but still, it was an incredible sight. They are free-tailed Mexican bats if your were wondering…

A trip along Town Lake to the west led us to Barton Springs which is a natural spring feeding a giant pool. You can pay a little fee and have access to the dip for the day. We kept moving along Barton Springs road and found a recommended place called Shady Grove. Giant glasses of lemonade accompanied big plates of barbecue and southern fair. Super friendly service, a laid back vibe and obviously a local favorite.

Of course I tripped around town taking a ton of photos. There’s no shortage of photogenic people or places and If I had to scout for a spot with great locations, active healthy people and a diverse culture, Austin would sit at the top of the list.

You’ve made yet another fan, Austin. I’ll be back.

Photo description from left to right: City Terrace at the Long Center, Drinks at Kenichi Sushi, Purple Martin habitats, Pool cues at Hi Lo Lounge

Photos © 2008 Gary Allard, ThesisDesignLab.com