Wednesday Morning Business Group

Every week for over 20 years the four of us extremely wise businessmen have gathered around a local greasy spoon (sometimes not) to discuss the opportunities the world may have presented us since last we met. Sometimes, maybe too often, we discuss politics. The lines are fairly evenly divided in that arena. Bob and I are the sensible clear thinkers of the four. Kip and Ed are not, usually. As you look at the image you'll notice "I look the best". That's because it's my camera and my blog. I'll let you all know if and when any of them get their own and you can see if they look any better. Yes, we have fun and most certainly support each other through the occasional times of crisis and despair.

My Latest Girlfriend

This is my newest gal friend, Ann. She is the mother of a couple of my best friends and will soon be 85. She allowed me the privilege of trying to capture her warm and wonderful spirit.

Seen here with the lamb from her children's early years, I'm not sure whom or what is the more gentle.

I must say, I thought I was going to have wrestle away a particular prop I have in the studio that she became very attached to.


It was an old settee that I had recovered and she was so enamored with it I could only promise to leave it to her in my will.

My Pride

Up til now, most of the postings on this blog were fairly lightweight. However, this image represents the work that is closest to my heart. My black and white portraits reflect the inspirations with which I've grown up. They strike me as a combination of several of the past Masters of the Trade; Josef Karsh and Victor Skrebneski to name a few, the latter I consider a good friend having made an indelible impression on my psyche. It is not my intent to emulate or copy either of these great men but rather it is their soul within me that find its way onto my canvas. Fifteen years ago I would not have gone in this direction but with the advent of new technology and a renewed perspective that apparently comes with age; I find that this work comes quite easily to me now. The young man in this post is Marcel Salinas. At 95, he is the last living collaborator of Pablo Picasso. Initially a lawyer by trade, he transitioned to an apprentice lithographer and developed into a master of that art and then to a painter of significant repute in his own right. Now, failing in both sight and hearing, I try to find time to spend with him whenever possible. The man is a walking history book, from his birth in Alexandria, Egypt through his days with his friend Henri Cartier-Bresson. I have mixed emotions as to the best way to approach a portrait. Most of the time I think I would prefer to have some contact or conversation before I begin a session but in this case there was little said before the shutter began to click. I think the results were excellent and I fear that had I known much more beforehand I may have tried to steer his poses in a different direction. This was pure Marcel. If time will allow I want to schedule another sitting and see just how the results might change, now that we have come to know one another. Giving direction in this case is very difficult because his hearing has diminished so. I will post more from that first session as time goes by.

Sister Act

Not having posted anything for a bit, I remembered how much I loved this image. It strikes me as a bit of a contemporary Mona Lisa. This lovely lady is the sister to the lady in the Red Gown. Another endorsement for good genes.

ART

Here is a very informed and amusing link sent to me by a good friend of mine. People who know me get really tired of hearing me say "Yeah, but is it ART?" Well, now I know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDo_vs3Aip4&feature=related

25 Years Past

Back when I was really a newbie in the industry, this young lady was a friend, office manager and muse. What a beauty she was, and still is I would think. I haven't seen her in some time.
I was sorting and purging images for about the 1,000th time and I ran across this image in negative form. Since I had newly acquired a very nice pro-scanner, I decided to bring her back to life. What a pleasant surprise. Didn't remember having it in me back then.

iSee

Couldn't resist. Just got a new point and shoot camera and was looking for subject matter to test it's close-up mode. Not bad, huh? Shoulda maybe cleaned up some of the character surrounding the eye.

Around the Block

I absolutely love the neighborhood that surrounds my studio. Mid-town Saint Louis is on the rise and it doesn't seem like the housing market or the economy has slowed it's progress.
Though the Design Periods vary from building to building, all the materials are elegant and artful.Many years ago I started out to be an Architect, and still all these years later this kind of stuff fills my soul.


I'm sure I'm not the only photographer here that finds this subject matter absolutely intriguing. But for now, I'll continue my personal quest to capture it's essence.

This is going to be one of those post that will never do justice to the subject matter because of the size limitations.

The Nine Most Welcome Words of Winter

"Spring Training Starts Next Week, Pitchers and Catchers Report."

Never Ending Search

My Portrait series is in a constant state of flux. I'm always searching for improvements.

I was working with a small group of images from my session with Lou Donaldson and got onto a process that I found closely resembles some of the fine old 35mm images from the late 40's, 50's and 60's.

It's a departure from the very high resolution images I have been generating for the portfolio. I am not sure if one can appreciate the technique by viewing it on this blog. I'll run it out there for you and see what you think.

The Red Gown

Here's an area I haven't been active in for some time. There was a time when this was more common place. My friends have a pair of beautiful young daughters and this is the oldest as she appears ready for the debutantes ball. She's a sophomore at George Washington University and is interested in Politics. WOW, a Miss America with brains. It was great to think in terms of Glamour again.

No two Clouds are alike

I have recently become pre-occupied with shooting and saving clouds.  They make wonderful and useful stock images from time to time. I find them fascinating and ultimately mysterious.  Living in this part of the state it's sometimes very hard to get to a place where you can have a completely unobstructed shot at some of the more interesting configurations.  I do have a marvelous vantage point on the 23rd floor of my studio building. The problem is that the pollution from the city tends to destroy the purity of most formations.  On a clear day when the Barometric pressure is high and the pollution is low, there aren't many, if any clouds to be found.  In this case, I couldn't get a clear shot, having chased them for nearly 20 minutes but when I did stop I found that power lines brought yet another dimension to the image.  This one is a keeper.

Another "Dad" Story

The Corbetts, Jim and Jim have a sad but interesting story. I'll not go into detail but rather hope you'll read younger Jim's Live Journal entry below.

http://themonkeybear.livejournal.com/281122.html

Hmmm

I think the hardest part of being a mentor may be knowing when to stop.

Sigh!

I miss my Dad. It's been over two years now
and I still expect him to show up and say "Gotcha".

He would have been 86 yesterday.

A reflection on the city

We had a chance to spend a little down time in Chicago this summer and found the new park to be just fascinating. There are many fine image to come out that visit but these are of particular interest to me. There have been millions of shutters snapped from here, nonetheless I'm found of these. As I examine them closely, I find it impossible to see the shooter. No Photoshop here.

PAR LAY VOO FRAWN SAY

C'est un petit excersise idiot où j'ai tapé la copie dans le widget de traducteur sur mon tableau de bord d'imper. J'ai voulu voir si n'importe qui attrapait le blog et savait assez pour trouver n'importe quelles erreurs dans la traduction. Si vous parlez ou lisez français, peut-être vous pourriez présenter ses observations sur lui est exactitude.

Merci.

Beauty in the beast.

Saint Louis is right on the Ice Belt in the winter. It can be devastating but it can also be a thing of beauty. This was shot from the Skinker-Highway 40 overpass. The city lurks as if it were Oz in a different time.

NOB4K

Everyone ask. What is NOB4K and what the heck am I looking at? Well, New Orleans Before Katrina is the acronym. And the image, it is the bell of a street musician's French Horn. What you can see in the reflection is Jackson Square and of course the blogger himself shooting the photo with a little traveling point and shoot camera. I found it obviously abstract, yet compelling.
At the time, our Wednesday morning business group had issued a challenge to create an image suitable for the "Mirror Project". It never got posted on their page but still remains a favorite of mine.

Hmmm

I've learned something from almost everyone I have ever known.