landscape of the body

Gotta plug my son's play, Landscape of the Body by John Guare, opening tonight at the San Francisco Playhouse. The play is set in NYC in the 1970's. It's a gritty, dark story and my son (in the black leather jacket*) plays "Donny", a homophobic hood. The cast has been working very hard on this show. My husband saw a preview and said it's pretty intense.

Here are some links to reviews:
sf theater blog (see February 1st, 2009 post)
forallevents.info; sfexaminer
sf bay times, artssf

If you like John Guare, Rich and Famous has another week at A.C.T. here in San Francisco. John Guare wrote the play Six Degrees of Separation, which is where we get the expression. Six Degrees was also made into a feature film with Will Smith.

* these are production photos provided by the theater for media use; I am not the photographer

SCRAP

I swung by SCRAP this week after a shoot and there was all kinds of new graffiti up across the street. This one contains a message to the store. I felt lucky to have my camera with me. The thing with graffiti/tagging is that people are always going around painting over it, so you never know how long it's going to be there. I've been wanting to get a compact camera to have with me when I'm out running around so I can take shots of all the things that catch my eye.






And what is "SCRAP" you ask? Well, SCRAP is an acronym for:

Scroungers'
Center for
Reusable
Art
Parts

I think the name says it all. I was there looking for backdrops for my studios and for props for an upcoming shoot. For $1 I got two old Simplicity patterns for kids, a plastic Bavarian doll, and a child's size straw purse. I resisted the 45's for 25 cents each and the buttons that were 75 cents/scoop. I didn't find any good backdrops, but, as it always happens when I go to this place, I bumped into someone I knew.

jungle cat

While working on the computer this afternoon I turned around in my chair and saw my Siamese cat poised behind my giant Ficus tree. She seemed to be imagining that she was a wild cat in the jungle.

client reunion

I took two of my children to a request casting for the mini boden catalog recently. Did anyone else go to that? We went to an all-boy day. I have no idea if they are casting girls here or not. Anyway, in the hour I was there I saw four of my clients- it was like a little reunion. Check-out these gorgeous faces!

















photo courtesy of baby couture magazine

diary of a wimpy kid

A client of mine passed along this casting notice to me. It's for a 20th Century Fox feature film doing a national casting search for the lead character. They are looking for a boy aged 10-13. For info to go to : iamthewimpykid.com

poetry cafe

I attended a poetry reading last weekend at a packed Maxfield's House of Caffeine, put on by the Creative Writing Department seniors at the San Francisco School of the Arts. Event photos are always interesting because typically photographers have almost no control over the situation. You have to deal with whatever is dealt to you in terms of lighting, background, etc., and try to find the best vantage point in a crowded environment. Still, that's part of the fun. The worst thing for me about taking these photos is that they got in the way of me just sitting back and enjoying the poetry. In fact, I only took a few shots of each artist so that I could do just that- enjoy the show!

sunset

This shot was taken at sunset by the lighthouse beach in Santa Cruz, CA.

silver lining

I met with this terrific family early this morning for a session. Guess what happened? My brand-new camera malfunctioned. Something very weird is going on with the mirror. Now, I know a good photographer always has back-up gear, but the thing is, I love my new camera so much that I don't want to shoot for clients with my old one! They graciously agreed to reschedule after it became clear that my camera wasn't going to behave. Actually, we came up with a whole new location/plan for the next shoot that we're all really excited about. This shot is my favorite from today.

watching them grow

I've been shooting in the Bay Area long enough to start having clients come back to me. This little boy I shot as a baby. I was astounded at how much he'd changed in such a short time! Same face of course, but on a toddler body and with lots of hair!

doggone

My client's dog waited patiently in the car while I shot her toddler yesterday. This, obviously, was shot through the car window. Look at those soulful eyes! I've been cooking up an idea of doing a coffee table book of dogs shot waiting tied up to parking meters, telephone poles, and waiting in parked cars for their "owners". I mean, I see these dogs every day and there is something very compelling about seeing them just out there on the street or in cars, waiting...

beautiful baby search

Parenting Magazine, in conjunction with Regis and Kathy Lee, is having their annual Beautiful Baby Search.
Winners could appear on the cover of Parenting Magazine and get a $125, ooo to be used toward a college fund.
Some suggestions for winning entries: keep the background simple, shoot in natural light, don't have your child wear sunglasses, a hat, or dressy clothes...no food on the face or silly costumes. KEEP IT SIMPLE, folks!

summer haze

These shots were taken back east over the summer. My UV filter didn't put a dent in the thick haze. I still haven't solved the haze problem. I'd love to hear from anyone with some suggestions. I find it's harder to get crisp images, detail is lost, and the eyes just want to be a blob. Is a fill flash the answer?

Perfect Picture Contest

The Perfect Picture School of Photography is having a monthly photo contest which gives a prize of cash and products to the winners. I received information about this contest from Adorama, so I'm assuming it's a legit contest. There is no entry fee, so that's a good thing. If anyone knows anything about this contest, please comment.

all-around great kid

I'm home sick today with a wicked cold/flu. You know, the kind that actually leaves you unable to get out of bed! I watched the entire John Adams HBO miniseries today. I was supposed to shoot a family at the beach early this morning, but I had to cancel. It's something I rarely do but there was no way it was going to happen with this funk I caught.

So, looking for something to blog I pulled out photos for a compcard shoot I did a few months back. I shot this boy at his beach house. I love the shots, but lament that I didn't use the interiors of the house for the shoot. It was a true California artists' haven. Guess I'll just have to go back!

double duty

I shot siblings this week, ages 6 and 4. I'd worked with the boy about a year ago for his compcard, and also shot him for Baby Couture Magazine. He was ready for new cards and his sister had decided to give modeling a try, so we did both their shoots in the same session. Mom brought tons of clothes and we had things spread all over the studio, trying to decide which outfits to shoot them in. We ended up using the same sweater and scarf on both kids! Both items were fabulous and although the scarf might be considered a "girl" thing and the sweater for a boy, I'd like to think we made it work. We also turned the sweater inside-out and tied it around the boy's shoulders to give him a preppy look.

Sam I Am

Yesterday I tested-out the new studio and the new camera with the help of a good friend and her actor son who needed a new headshot. It took me a little while to find my groove as I typically shoot outdoors, but with some experimentation and patience, I think we were able to get some nice shots. Of course, this young man is super photogenic, so he makes me look good.

portrait of the photographer in crayon

oh, brother!

These twin boys were double trouble. Very smart, creative children with loads of personality. One of them even drew a picture for me of me with my camera - that's a first for me! In looking over their gallery, I see mom and I went a little nuts with the hats, but then again, the boys are French!