Guess I'd Rather Be Notorious than Famous

I was travelling the last couple of weeks, assisting a photographer on some portraits in Boston and Minneapolis. The art director from the Boston shoot knew we were going to Minneapolis later and asked us to get some photos of 'the famous bathroom'.

I think I don't understand 'fame' any more. Or maybe I never did. I'd have thought this bathroom would be notorious, not famous, but I guess it's a matter of interpretation. Like Paris Hilton.

We were on our way out of Minneapolis when we remembered the art directors request. Since the photographer is a woman, I volunteered to take the photos, helpful assistant that I am. I picked up her digital 35MM with the 24-70 zoom and headed over.

I got some views of the outside, and without really thinking about it, moved inside. I was just concentrating on documenting the thing, really, and it seemed some shots of the stalls in question were vital. Once inside, I picked up on some serious vibes. Like, "What the hell are you doing with a camera in the mens room?" vibe. Oh geez. I tried to be discreet, you know, pointing the huge lens at the floor if anybody was nearby, but it was only when I'd come back out that I realized how ridiculous my behavior was.

So, back to the photographer, showed her the pictures, all's well, and I'm repacking the camera. Suddenly, the long arm is right there, the real thing, not a rent-a-cop. He's talking to me in that weird way that's kind of addressing me, but kind of addressing his radio:

"So what's the deal with taking pictures of people in the mens room?" "Ha, ha, well you see....".

I explained, showed him the pictures, told him there were no people in the shots and that they were for nonpublic use. He asked for my ID, and wrote down my address. Said that someone had complained.

Pretty reasonable, all told. I would have done the same thing, I think, were I in his position.Next time somebody asks me for pictures of some infamous bathroom, it's one shot with a camera phone and I'm 5000.

Tricknology

I think this is done. It's part of this meandering worrisome project that's really interesting in my head but hard to get out, partly because I've been either moving or busy recently, partly because there seems to be two different tracks to it, and I keep trying to join them together.

I guess that's the meandering part: it's halfway about how technology drives us apart when it ought to be bringing us together, and halfway about our addiction to technology. The worrisome part is...well, I'd like to shoot for Apple some day. And here's this message, which is maybe not so flattering to Apple. I mean, they could take it in an unflattering light. I plan to have other high tech companies 'represented' in the project, but I notice I keep defaulting to Apple. Which, really, is kind of flattering I guess. And as I write about it here, I'm commenting not so much on the products and manufacturers as I am on the users. And hopefully the pictures are sympathetic, 'cos I feel sympathetic.

And I guess that's the interesting part, and why I'm going to keep making these pictures despite my worries about how they'll be received: what are we doing with all these gadgets, and what does it look like? It looks pretty funny, in my head.

My Friend the Septopus

There are dozens of idea in my book right now, but they all seem out-of-reach. I'm at the Whole Foods seafood counter and I see this big octopus. The clerk packs it up enthusiastically, and I ask him to pack it loosely so it doesn't crease the flesh.

Secretly, I love these slightly off requests. I once bought fifty spoons at a thrift store. I smiled the whole time, my secret purpose making me feel like I had some special mission, like I was getting to be weird, but with a reason.

I get the octopus home and rummage through my collection of glass to find a suitable container. I'm still fascinated by creepy objects in glass, apparently. I put the octopus in the jar, the jar in the fridge. I set up a black surface and background, some lights, camera.

I have a good idea of what I want by now. When I put the jar on the set, though, condensation forms. I decide I can roll with that, and I spray it down to increase the effect. I get the photo I want. Good.

But I'm having a good time, so I continue, playing. I spray water behind the jar, adjust the light to show it better. Suddenly, I have a much better photo than I had planned.

I have a friend who tells me, when I get stuck: "Go play."

Trains Are Heavy

I've begun to shoot the technology project. I did the train shot, which is one of the "maybe you should pay attention to your surroundings" types. It was great to work with a stylist, Sarah Jong. She brought all kinds of outfits and accessories, stuff I never would have thought of. The model, Davis, was killer, and he brought a lot of poses, again, stuff I would not have thought of. My assistant, Ching, was available the same day and was a real life saver.

Here's a rough version of it. There's a bunch of retouching to do and I'm not sure I'm capable of it - I took out a huge tree in the center of the frame, the tree around the signal gate looks weird, and I'm not sure about the train. In fact, I'm not even sure the train is necessary...

Originally, I wanted a composition that would have shown more of the front of the train, with the track receding into the distance on the left side of the frame. That put my camera about a foot and a half from the tracks. The trains at this intersection don't stop, they don't even slow down. So the first time a train came by, all 493287498237 tons of it at 23947329874 miles an hour, like six inches from my elbow, the racing of my heart convinced me to recompose.

Anyways

So the big long period of lots of assisting work is done for the moment. I have a couple small gigs this week, and a million other things to do. I am setting up the first shoot in the technology isolation project - the guy about to get run over by the train as he's fiddling with his iPod. And I'm subtly aware of the irony of this as I write this blog entry on my iPhone. Hm.