Chapter 138 - June 10, 2014

Hi everybody. Here's the blog where I talk about stories from the past. Things I used to think about when I was on my back for a couple of years. Let's call this blog "Photo Assistants, Animals, Cooking, Children & Labor." It's actually good for me to do this blog because it helps me remember the good times and the not so good times. Anyway, here we go.

Let's talk about Photo Assistants. I mentioned it before but I'll tell you a couple of stories. I was the worst photo assistant in the world. I remember we went down to Washington D.C. for a photo shoot with the Senators' wives. I had one job and that was to bring the stands down there. Well, after a few beers and joking around, I realized that when we got to the Capitol Building, I left the stands at the airport. The photographer I was working for was extremely pissed off. So I got in the rental car and I drove as fast as I could to the airport. I left the car running and door open and ran into the baggage claim and saw them back there. I ran outside to the car, threw my bag in. Ran past the police who were curious about the car. I shut the door, rolled down the window and screamed, "I gotta get to the Capitol Building right now!" and peeled out. I went through a yield sign and immediately got into a car accident. After checking on the occupant of the vehicle I hit, I wanted to make sure they were OK, I sped off, tearing out on my way to the Capitol Building. I made it there just in time. They were getting ready for the photo shoot. I'm not sure I should have told you that story, but you see what I mean, I wasn't a very good photo assistant.

But I've got some good ones of people I hired. Like the guy that screamed at my client. And the assistant who served the client piping hot coffee. The assistant who brought his parrot to the studio. I'll let you use your imagination. The stories go on and on.

Anyway, speaking of photo assistants, let's go on to my next category and that would be Animals. I got to see a lot of wildlife on my shoots. I saw dolphins, whales, mountain lions, penguins, elephants, wild camels, horses. It goes on and on. I was pretty lucky.

One thing I really miss right now is cooking. I love to cook. I learned how to cook from a photographer I worked for and my mother. When my mother cooks, I hang out with her. I guess I still cook, it's just in a different way.

I was gonna tell you some stories about children. It was actually gonna be about my childhood. Man, I can't believe I survived my childhood. Let's freak my friend out because she has a 14 year old and an 11 year old. Both boys. Let's see, one time I almost fell off a ship in the middle of the ocean. I was 11. I used to walk the train tracks and throw rocks at trains. Very intelligent. I used to like to put tape on the feet of the cat and put music on. I used to like to burn stuff. But that's pretty common for a kid. I used to like to go on long hikes. I had a dirt bike I used to ride around on, without a helmet, in my shorts, nothing else. I'll tell you a few more things, but I'm gonna give my friend here a break.

Let's move on to my last category and that would be labor. You see, I had a lot of different jobs. I was a bartender, a waiter who quickly got fired, I was a driver for a hotel. Don't ever mistake a power brake for a clutch. The passenger won't appreciate it. I was a bellboy at a hotel. I rented out boats during the summer. I worked on a farm in the summer. I found out pickle trucks do go 100 mph very well. Anyway, I had a lot of different jobs. I'll leave it at that.

We'll copy some cartoons, you know, some drawings from my journal. They're basically records of what I did in the past. I hope you have a good week. Here's a link to my present. Love, B. Nice

Chapter 137 - June 3, 2014

Welcome to the past. This is the blog where I talk about the past. I kind of fixed things up. I put in pictures from the past and I took the past blog and put in pictures from the present. Am I making sense? Anyway, I messed things up. But I'll go on. I'll talk about the past. Speaking of Past, I want to say hi to my friend Bugs and his wife and family. They're in Australia.

You know, when I was shooting in the past I used to pay close attention to light. It's so important to look at your subject. I mean take a step back and really look. Lighting is so important. So many people just go on shooting without really looking. Anyway, that's my opinion. I used to do that all the time, look at the light and the subject. I guess I still do. It's automatic. I remember, I used to get up really early to get sunrise then I'd take a long break in the middle of the day (which used to piss off the client) and then I'd go back to work in the evening to get the good light. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I would sometimes go windsurfing in the middle of the day. But we won't talk about that. (That would really really piss off the client.) The point I'm getting at is, you've got to shoot with really good light if you want to make a really good picture. It adds another element to the photograph.

The other thing I used to think about was location. Remember, location, location, location. It's actually really important. It sets the mood for the whole photo. At least that was my excuse to go to the Bahamas. But really, it's important to shoot in a magical place where everyone is happy. A place where someone looks at the photo and wishes they were there. You sure as hell can't get that from a studio shot.

My friend here was reading back to me what I wrote, and I forgot to mention something. I was in New Mexico shooting a commercial job. We got up at 4 am to drive an hour and a half to the location for sunrise. I got the feeling I was a bit extreme when the creative director came out and said to me, "This is insane! What are we doing here?" We kept doing that for about a week. We even called room service on the way back after sunset. Maybe it was extreme. Good photos though.

I feel like an old fart talking about the past. But one other thing that's so important about creating a good photo. You have to pay attention to hair and makeup. It can make or break a fashion photo. Especially hair. You have to have a good hair dresser. But you know what? keep it simple. Anyway, I'm gonna leave it there. I'm gonna include some pictures on my trip I did across America. They are recent photos. I don't do fashion anymore. I don't think anyone would understand me right now. I could do comedy shoots. Anyway, here are some photos and here's a link to my blog where I talk about the present. The drawings are from the past. Everything is mixed up, but you know what? What isn't these days. Talk to you next week. Love, B. Nice