OMG

From the Archives...another hundred years ago, 1983 to be exact, I began doing a trendy calendar called "The Saint Louis Crackerjack Calendar."  At the time, I often referred to it as my Junior Achievement project.  The original idea was conceived before the famous "Chippendale Calendars" but after a few enterprising college students had done it as the men of ______ University.  My intention was to do a local women calendar but I got very little support.  The men version or as they became called, "Beefcake", ran for four consecutive years and while I really never made any money on it, I did learn a bunch about getting free help with marketing and the stories that came from it could have filled a couple of volumes.  This week I had occasion to dig out the leftover calendars and copy a few images for another use.  I have had several suggestions to do a reunion version but no one has stepped up to take the reins on that project.  It was a huge undertaking and while I'll never regret it, I don't have the steam to go it alone again.   BTW this dashing man is Steve Ruzicka and I haven't heard from or about him since.

Just for Impact

In today's world of cameras and computers you can really add impact that might have eluded you in the film world.

For example, this image of my friend Ed, (see below) depicts him maybe as a strong, rugged warrior or a weathered salty, sailor, where age and sun have taken their toll.  In real life he's a sweet, kind, intelligent man.

As much as I loved the old film days, the control one has now is nearly without limits.

click on image for closer view

Not so fast, Eddie

This is one of my best friends and his name is Ed.  It's not the first time Ed has appeared on this blog, however it was never under these circumstances and I must say this image nails how he feels these days.  Without going into detail, I will tell you his last 10 years have been extremely exhausting and when I look at this image and think of all his trials and tribulations, I just wanna give him the biggest, most secure hug, one man should ever give another. In his prime Ed was a world class designer and most everything he touched turned to gold.  We, his friends, are confident that, the good lord willing, he will bounce back to his previous form. 

I'm sorta responsible for the beard in that, after a brief illness, this scruffy brush forced it's way out of his normally clean shaven face.  I suggested that he keep it, at least until he could be properly photographed. Not one to pose for any such attention, I think the premise of the beard shot got his juices flowing. Now he's considering letting it grow into a full monte of a beard, if you would.  

God love you Eddie and thanks for patronizing my need to capture your essence.

clicking on the image will give you a slightly better quality view

Oh, the indebtedness

As I prepare to renew my mini exhibit for the month, I find myself choosing this image, an image that should have been up front in the very beginning of the blog.  Here, I give you my best resource, supporter, fan, editor and friend, Laurie Shoulter-Karall.  This woman adopted me, in an artistic sense, probably 15 years ago and hasn't for a second allowed me to waller or hesitate or despair or procrastinate-well not for very long.  Maybe patron saint is the best description for this fan spectacular.  Now mind you, I'm not the only one to be taken under her wing but there is a special connection that we share.

I must tell you what an honor it was to have her sit for me.  She has very stubbornly disallowed anyone to capture her image until this setting. Not only to capture her likeness but exposing her early onset Arthritis was a huge hurdle to overcome.

We have shared many an artistic moment and I'll be forever indebted to her.

I must be dreaming

I must have been dreaming but I went out this weekend to shoot schtuff and I think I may have be kidnapped and taken aboard a space ship of some kind.  I don't remember much but this morning I found this image on the last frame of a memory card. Still that doesn't explain the tiny autographed photo of Sonja Henie pinned to my T-Shirt?

OK, it's a silly little story but I had nothing else to say about this shot that I spotted a couple of months ago.  I finally found the right time to shoot it and this is the results.

Hmmm...

I generally don't post serious images of myself but in absence of a muse, I became the subject of a light test.

10,327 frames later I found this technique that intrigues me. Aside from the subject, I see some strong possibilities for this light.

I hate to ask for opinions because some folks will take it as fishing for a compliment but if you have strong feelings one way or another, please feel free to comment.

I was just thinking

Sometimes I should pretend to be more pretentious.

Before Life in the Fab Lane there was...

Almost a hundred years ago we had a job for an exclusive line of shoes and the hook was, various models wearing the shoes, all jumping on a trampoline.  Mind you, they were all wearing high heels, some extremely high.  We covered the nylon surface of the trampoline with canvas so the heels didn't puncture and catch.  That worked well except when the canvas became clumped together and it made for an unstable landing, so to speak.  

One of the models was a young 15 year old beauty who had already captured the eye of the high profile fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld in NYC. If you don't know, Karl was a force to be reckoned with, one of the elite designer of the time and is still very engaged in that field. Big Money there. Well, this young model, then know as Kimora Perkins, wasn't the most athletic of the lot.  Her tall spindly frame didn't necessarily feel at home with her long arms and legs. Picture a six foot 2 inch 15 year old not totally grown into herself.

I ramble...   
The story goes on with an Art Director brought in from California specifically to direct this shoot.  Nice enough man and surely talented but with a strange sense of humor.  When Kimora was jumping he tried his best to get me to encourage her to go higher and higher.  Totally unnecessary for our goals but a sadist nonetheless. I turned to him and said in no uncertain terms that this particular model was earmarked for fame and I wasn't going to take a chance on her falling from that height and risk a career ending injury. He persisted, but then so did I.
  
I found these shots mixed in amongst the thousands of other poorly filed images from my archive. Not the best from my memory but graphic as to what we were doing.  I'll look harder for better examples and post them later. 

Oh, the model moved to New York and flourished, married Russel Simmons, all the while building an empire in fashion design labeled, "Phat Fashion" and extended to Baby Phat and KLS.  Her name, Kimora Lee Perkins Simmons.  You may know her from, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane  An regular series on Cable TV that documents her daily life.  

This is the last time I'll tell this story. I've told it many a times but as the people who hear it are getting younger and younger and they have little clue as to what I'm going on about.         Kimora, way to go girl.

Kimora has remarried recently and those details are available on her website.

Winter's Melancholia

It was in the waning moments of winter when I snapped this shot of the girls swing and it struck me as such a lonely, quiet place. Absent the laughing and giggling.  Absent the big eyed delight of their daddies swinging them higher and higher.  It was so melancholy at the time yet now with the return of spring, my heart lightens and the joy of laughter is upon me again.