I went to the LACMA yesterday

And I love Donald Judd, on a Florida to California trip to visit Tara before we were married I stopped in Marfa Texas which was ... well if you get a chance just go.

Funny Cosplay

I found this amusing.

I'm not really into cosplay, I suppose I'm geeky enough, and mostly what I see is fat geeks in Star Wars costumes, drooling over booth babe Wonder Woman ...

Okay men drooling over booth babes is a time honored convention tradition.

Friday fan letter #3: Guy Bourdin

Preamble ... since this is my photo blog I'm writing these fan letters to some of my photographic influences (yes Robert Smithson was a big influence on my early photographs), and since I'm a chicken, I've been sticking to dead ones.  It might be weird to write a mostly unintelligent letter to David LaChapelle (and honestly I like his work, but not a big influence on mine) and actually have him read it.  I bet he has a google alert set up for his name.

I'm not sure when or how I stumbled on Guy Bourdin's work, but it was in the last couple of years.  Any who here goes number three.

Mr. Bourdin:

I wanted to write you a little note, letting you know that recently no other photographer has inspired my work as much as your fashion photographs.  I've masqueraded as a photographer for 15 years then three years ago started making a living with a camera, and when ever I get in a funk lately I check you out on Google for a little inspiration.  I love that your work is about the girls, and the garments, not about big productions.  Yeah it's a little kinky, and I'm a dude so I dig that, but it's a fun kink, like Helmut Newton an appreciation for what was in from of the lens, not a objectified object.  Yeah a feminist might kick me in the balls for that, oh well.

 Another thing that draws me to your work is probably a product of the time you worked.  I like photographs that are photographs, what I mean by that is when I look at contemporary fashion images they aren't photographs any more.  With all the retouching and photoshoping I think fashion photography has become fashion photo based illustration.  I'm over perfect plastic looking skin, porcelain white eyes, not a hair out of place, perfect symmetry, and liquified bodies.

Thanks for making great photographs for a long time so I have a bunch to look at, I hope you enjoyed it.

Sincerely 

David Cutts

Felisha From Tuesday morning

I met Felisha at a "park" in LA I've been shooting at lately.  She was looking for a couple of new shots for her agency, which we nailed.

I dig this third image, I struggled a little bit getting it how I saw it while shooting, I am happy with how it turned out.

I love this last one.

Friday Fan Letter #2 Richard Avedon

Hey Dick:

I know you are dead, so you'll never read this, but I wanted to let you know I'm a big fan.  Like most former photography students I studied a little art/photo history while we looked at your early fashion work, and some of your "art" what I enjoy most are your portraits.  As we expect they are technically

perfect, and in the digital age, I appreciate the craft.  It's the connection the subjects make with me, the viewer, that I am in awe of.  Make me a beautiful portrait thanks, make me a beautiful portrait that connects me with the subject ... LOVE it.  Go further take a risk and photograph not so beautiful people  and make me care, that's bold and I'm at a point where I don't care about "beautiful" or "important" people we see them idolized to often in the media.  I'd like to think you felt the same way, because when I look at your In the American West I see you giving your subjects the same care you would a    

big budget fashion shoot, or celebrity portrait.

Anyway thanks for making pictures for sixty years so we have a lot to look at.

Sincerely 

David Cutts

New personal work ... maybe.

So I got this great idea laying awake in bed one night, unfortunately not a rare state, so I had to go shoot some tests.  Now the light hasn't been great the last few days and we might not have interesting skies for a while here in Sunny SoCal.  Even so I'm liking how these first few tests (they are tests I know they are not perfect) turned out ... if you are one of the three people who read this you'll probably see more.

My wife is pretty awesome!

We've been married for 11 years, dated for five years before that (well we still date because a woman needs to be treated right), and we are expecting our first this December (it's a girl).  So this woman continues to amaze me she's smart and funny and beautiful.  She makes great photographs, mostly because she suffers form a disorder I've labeled excellent to perfect.  Which carries over to every thing she does.

Today I want to share a art project she's working on:

Tara has been making these shadow boxes with stuff she collected from her family.  I know she thinks of them as craft projects for our daughter, but I'm going to call them art.  What I love is the autobiographical nature of each box. The little stories she's telling about her grandmother, mother and her self.  The bottom box is for her mother and my grandmother who made tea for us as kids.  Jeanie (Tara's mom) bought the little tea set for our daughter , Annika, five years ago before she died, and  we were pregnant.  We also have three two dollar bills Jeanie made sure to give us for each of her grandchildren ... Annika might get all three.  

So for today that's why my wife is awesome.