GEEK KORNER

FLASH

After about 12 years of constant service, my trusty Profoto Acute 600
flash generator bit the dust. And, of course it crapped out just as I had
fine tuned a very complicated lighting setup that required multiple packs,
set at very different power settings.

The subject had just stepped into the setup, we were about to start the
actual shooting and, at the very first frame, the Acute 600 blew up. A big
CRACK, like a gunshot, came out of the sucker, the subject ducked down
and ran away and we were back to square one.

Long story short…..made the shoot work another way and then I went and
got a spanking new Acute 1200. It’s shiny.

TORONTO

Then I went to Toronto to have a meeting at the gallery where I’ll be showing
work during CONTACT, the big foto festival there.

Towards Toronto

The show, which will open May 7th, will be at PIKTO, in the swell Distillery
District.

Distillery District, Toronto

Had a very good meeting with Johan, who runs the gallery, and then had some
time to kill. I was staying at a hotel on Spadina Avenue and got to do a bit
of sightseeing.

But, I hear you asking: “What’s geeky about that?”

SHOES

Well, nothing. But I did do a bit of shopping and scored a very swell pair
of distressed suede Converse Allstars, designed by John Varvatos. Now,
anyone who knows me will tell you I’m no clothes horse, and I certainly
don’t have a shoe fetish (at least not for my own shoes), but these babies
are probably the koolest shoes I’ve ever owned. Could I be turning into
a shoe geek? Time will tell…….

MY KITCHEN

Here are the images I have up in my kitchen:

August Sander poster. Hod Carrier.

Diane Arbus poster. Albino Sword Swallower at a Carnival, MD, 1970.

And the piece de la resistance, a sheet fed gravure, pulled many, many years
ago. This thing is gorgeous.

August Sander. Children in a home for the blind (Duren, 1930).

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OUTTAKE/PAGE/OUTTAKE

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WAY BACK WHEN……

Back around 1975, when I was coming up as a photographer (and as a man),
it was very difficult to lay your eyes on any serious amount of any serious work.
Photo books were few and far between and this interweb didn’t exist.

But every so often some photo thing would raise it’s head and refuse to be
ignored. The exhibition, New Topographics, Photographs of a Man-Altered
Landscape was one of those things. To say that this work, originally shown
at George Eastman House, in Rochester, N.Y., had (and remains to have) an
influence on me is an understatement.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has seen fit to remount this landmark
(no pun intended) exhibition. As well, they’ve put together a real swell web page
where you can see some of this work along with audio commentary from the
photographers who were in the show.

So, go here and have a look and a listen. You’ll need to choose a photographer
from the list and then just click on the little arrow there to hear what they have
to say. It’s almost all interesting.