..September 2009 New York..
Shot an assignment for Kerrang! on the band Down.
Feels like I’ve taken this photo before, Perry Farrell in 1997, Marilyn Manson in 2003, and a couple more in a very similar pose….
Archive for September, 2009
Kerrang! Assignment
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009Gallery EF, Tokyo, Japan
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009..March 2006 Tokyo, Japan..
When I first walked into Gallery EF I felt the private side of my imagination. The vulnerable and fragile thoughts, the photos I wanted to take. It’s a place where I could tell you my secrets in trust. And not be embarrassed.
It’s is the only place I’ve felt an attachment or emotion while in Tokyo. It’s completely different from what I’ve seen and felt in barren Tokyo.
The place in my imagination and heart that I’ll only admit myself. Is that what a Home feels like?
If this is the apex, I can’t see much….
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
Lukki (part 2)
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009..August 2007 During a 100 degree heat wave, Beacon New York..
This portrait of Lukki was taken in an abandoned factory along a small stream in Beacon, NY. It was a convenient escape from the blazing 100 degree sun attacking us outside.
The factory was bath in shade. You could smell the moisture and touch the musky air. The factory floors were lined with sporadic patches of green moss and random metal debris hanging off the ceilings. Broken glass sprinkled across floor added the human element.
The soft light and green moss complimented Lukki’s green costume and yellow wig. This was the last series of the day and most effective. It seemed to come together at the end of the session. The empty space, the emotion, the vivid colors, the soft light, the costume….One of those photos you can’t plan for.
The first shot was a part of the Striptease Burlesque exhibition shown at Jukka Male Museo in Helsinki, and the Underground Photo Gallery, in Iisalmi, Finland. It wasn’t shot soon enough to include in first version of the exhibition at Gallery EF, in Tokyo or JIBO Arts in Shanghai.
This is still one of the cooler shots from the project. The second shot made it to the final edit.
Lukki
Monday, September 21st, 2009..July 2006 Beacon, NY in 100 degree heat wave..
I drove past the balmy clouds over the NY skyline and up the spine of the Adirondacks 200 miles from the Canadian border. I could see the Indians camouflaged in the green pines lining the New York State Thruway.
Led Zeppelin 1 screaming out of the 1992 Altima didn’t soothe the ears of the natives. I couldn’t see them hidden in the green pine but arrows pinged off my black hood. Close up the moon roof before I have a stick shooting out my eye. What do they want from me? Sweat filled the pores across the winkles in my forehead. These fuckers mean business. There still fighting the French Indian War up here.
One of those moments of sanity hit me in a time of despair. Rolled down the window, thought “Liberate me. Take me away from Dick Cheney. Please take me!” A barrage of arrows fell across the front end of the car. Ironically the shrieks of Communication Breakdown blew out of the stereo into the ever long green valleys. They didn’t care about my problems.
Two hours later, I steam into the tiny hamlet of Beacon, NY. Main Street was lined with American flags, yellow ribbons, and two elderly folks meandering into a Salvation Army. On the corner Bob’s General Store sported a sign “America: Love it or Leave it.”
Somewhere along the way to my assignment 200 miles outside of New York I stumbled upon the 1950’s except this bizzaro world was in color not in B/W. Bob’s General Store, who lived here Davie Crockett and Ward Cleaver? This is the place where Bush Sr. had to get support 15 years ago. I locked the doors and rolled up the windows. I’m more scared of them than the Indians shooting arrows at me. I came up here to photograph a burlesque dancer and I’ve found Pleasantville.
Fragile
Saturday, September 19th, 2009..September 2007 New York..
Fragile
Friday, September 18th, 2009..September 2009 Shinjuku Gardens, Tokyo..
1 year gone. And if I must, I will carry on without you….
Felt like 1998 for a couple of minutes….
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009..September 2009 New York..
I finished a big assignment for a British magazine. The shots were approved this morning and now a feeling of relief. I washed and waxed my car to relax after.
Feels nice to make money. Felt like 1998 for a couple of minutes. The days when pay checks came in the mail 3 times a week from several different companies. The phone rang constantly for work I wasn’t looking for and we didn’t even have cell phones back than.
The sun seemed to shine brighter 11 years ago. Maybe because I was still in my 20’s….
Now finding the next assignment.
New York
Friday, September 11th, 2009..September 2001 New York..
Shot from the 65th Street fishing pier in Brooklyn. About 5 or 10 minutes after the second plane hit. A warm sunny azure blue morning. Was at home getting ready to cover New York fashion week.
Headed to the fishing pier because of it’s view off the coast from the south. The pier became packed with people. People running out of their homes and fishermen who had already been fishing. Fishermen continue to fish after the buildings fell. Was like a suspended reality. Life continued that day and night in a strange space.
My pregnant downstairs neighbor worked at the World Trade Center and escaped in time. A Chinese man down the block never came home. A candle burnt outside the apartment building he lived in. Next to the candle a small photo of him. A candle was lite for many months after. He never returned home.
I live 5 miles away from the World Trade Center. I could smell the fire smoldering in my neighborhood until the middle of December. Was a bizarre time in New York. For months the streets seemed solemn. Everyone in a suspended disbelief. Bombarded with 24 news coverage for 3 months also didn’t help. Regular tv didn’t resume for 2 weeks. Even than it was kind of hypnotic.
I left for a weekend trip to Rhode Island 5 weeks after. It was the first trip I took after September 11th. Was good to get out for a day. Just 15 minutes outside the city I could smell a crisper air. The sunshine seemed brighter and landscape endless.
Seems like 10 minutes ago but also a very long time ago. 8 years.
Faces Magazine (Switzerland)
Thursday, September 10th, 2009..September 2009 New York..
A tear sheet with a couple of my photos from the August issue of Faces Magazine (Switzerland). My shots are the street fashion series.
