by Anna Cox | Aug 27, 2012 | Anna Cox, Featured Articles
Hide and Seek with A Proudlove by Anna Cox
Anna’s Introduction
Andrew Proudlove is a jack of all trades. His feed boasts a painters touch, a eye for portraits, and touch a playfulness. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the man, father, and husband behind the camera.
A: Anna AP: Andrew
A: Alright mister Proudlove tell me about yourself.
AP: I am a husband and a father to three kids who wear me out every day and grow up to fast. I am originally from the UK but after uni I went to the USA where I worked and travelled for a bit before coming to Europe where I have spent the last 15 years living and working in the Czech Republic as an IT Manager in the legal sector.
I have always liked art, initially I used to draw a lot but for a number of years after I started travelling, I stopped drawing. Then about 11 years ago, I got my first digital camera, an Olympus C300 (I think, I don’t have the camera anymore), which got me interested in photography and the fact that I could see and work with the images almost immediately was just amazing. Not long afterwards I upgraded to a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 but I found that due to its size, I wasn’t taking it every where with me, so I would often miss things simply because I didn’t have a camera with me. This all changed with the iPhone 3G, as even though it didn’t have the best camera, I did have it with me all the time and so I continued to upgrade the iPhone going to the 3GS and then the iPhone 4.
Initially I was just using the iPhone as a snapshot camera, although I was trying to practise and improve my photography skills, I had no idea of the full potential of the device that I was carrying around with me. Then in February of this year, I discovered iPhoneography, after giving Instagram another go. I had initially signed up on Instagram the previous year but didn’t quite get it or see the point but afterwards I came across some amazing images on there that I couldn’t believe had been created on an iPhone, so I started trying to find out more and improve my skills. After googling iPhone Art, I came across the iPhoneArt.com Web site and from there I came into contact with other groups and web sites and met some really nice people, who encouraged me with my work.
Since then I have had work displayed on Pixels, interviewed by Joanne over at TheAppWhisperer for their A Day in the Life and Extension of the I series of interviews, featured in the Mobile Photography Awards showcase, in iPhoneographyCentral’s Apps Uncovered, LifeinLoFi’s faved on Flickr, been voted Artist of the Day at iPhoneArt.com and will have work featured in the upcoming Mobile Arts Festival that takes place in Santa Monica at the end of August. It has been a really amazing journey so far and it has been a real honour to have my work included with and shown next to work from such talented artists and photographers.
A: How does Prague influence your work?
AP: I have to commute into Prague each week day because of work, so while it’s a pain in the neck having to commute each day, Prague does provide me with some good opportunities for street or architecture photography. Whereas the town where I actually live is in a kind of rural area (for the moment, there are more and more housing estates springing up each week it seems), so when I’m home, most of my pictures tend to be of the countryside, landscapes, nature and my kids.
I think this is one of the reasons that I do a lot of collages and fantasy type images as well though because I often have ideas for an image that require something that I don’t have around me, such as the view from a skyscraper for example and so if I want to do those types of shots then I have to make my own, at least until I can afford to travel to some of those locations. This type of work though, also allows me to experiment and push the apps and try to accomplish things with them that are new or at least different to what you would expect to see.
A: What would you say influences you the most?
AP: To be honest, that’s a question that I’m not exactly sure how to answer. The iPhoneography movement in Prague hasn’t really taken off yet and most of the iPhone community here seems to operate abroad. I’m working with the admin of the site iPhoneArt.cz to try to change this a little though and generate some more interest in iPhoneography and iPhoneArt. Otherwise I am lucky in that Prague itself is a beautiful city and as such presents a lot of opportunities for photographers and the surrounding countryside is also beautiful, so I am quite fortunate to have that. What I find though is that work I see online from other photographers or iPhoneographers influences me a lot more, especially as there are so many great images out there. I really am amazed and some of the things that I see and at times I am sitting there looking at an image, thinking how did he/she do that or simply I just look and think that’s such a great photo. This always inspires me to try to do something new or better.
A: where do you see your photographing going in the future?
AP: Good question and one that I’m not sure that I know the answer to in all honesty. I think that like any type of art form it is evolving or at least I hope it is and I hope that is partly through me becoming better with the tools that I have, in essence, “knowing the camera”, partly because my eye is improving as time goes by and with practice and also because I am getting better at conveying the message that I want to or telling a story with my images. I’d like to think that’s all true as I think that if we don’t grow we stagnate.
The only thing that I do know for sure right now is that I don’t want to be pigeon-holed. I wouldn’t like for people to see my name or my work and associate it with one form or type of photography as I think that this would limit me creatively and I like having the freedom to experiment and try new things. Who know’s perhaps I will discover some niche going forward and end up working towards it but right now I like trying my hand at different styles. I tend to like and seek out opposites with my work, light and dark, right and wrong and so on, so for near future, I can see myself alternating between straight photography, almost photo-reporting style and more heavily edited, fantasy type pieces, as these two types seem to be the opposites of one another and each helps to scratch the appropriate itch in my brain when it arises.
Some days I just like to get as close to the subject as possible and just record what I see, whether its an interesting person, scene, the way the light falls just so across something, these times I tend to work in black and other days, my right brain goes into over-drive and I need to work in colour and push the boundaries of what reality depicts. I think if pushed though, I would say that I can see myself drifting towards doing a series of pieces in the future instead of individual, standalone images. Thats probably as much as I can say right now though, as it’s not something that I have consciously thought about really and your question has given me something to think on.
A: Tell me about your style
AP: I think that my style is still in the process of developing and I don’t think I have settled on any one thing yet. In one sense I hope that I never will and that I will continue to try different areas, topics, themes, styles and so on and so continue to grow. Something I have noticed though is that in the beginning I was mainly trying to just capture as good an image as I could and then bring out the best of that image in the processing afterwards. Over time though, I have indulged my fantasy a bit more and created work that is more iPhonic Art than photography but I tend to go back and forth from trying to create pure photographic images to iPhone Art and sometimes a combination of the two. I think that its a natural evolution of my ability to work with the apps improving and I hope a sign that my “photographic eye” is also developing. I am also a sucker for a good black and white, as I love the play between light and shadow, so I also go through periods where I tend to focus on black and white photography.
What I think fascinates me most in general is the idea that things have two sides or two extremes but that neither could exist without the other, right and wrong, shadow and light and so on. So where possible I try to play with and utilise this in my work.
A: The process behind someones photography always amazes me. Can you tell me a little about your process?
AP: My process isn’t really that complicated.
First of all in terms of capture, I tend to chase shadows and light a lot, I love the interplay between the two and any time I see a strong combination of the two I always stop and try to get something from it. Other times I am more opportunistic photographer and just walk around with my camera ready to capture anything that strikes me. It’s very rare that I will plan a shoot and go out with a firm idea in my mind of what I want to get. Sometimes when I am capturing an image, I can see the finished result in my mind, what I want it to look like and then it’s just a matter of using the apps to get there.
Once I have captured some images though, the next thing that I do is somewhere reasonably quiet (a very hard thing to find with kids), I will sit down and review the images. Sometimes one or two of them will jump out at me and just looking at them I will know exactly what I want to do with them, then other images, that on the initial run didn’t quite stand out, I find after a couple of viewings or letting them “sit” for a couple of days, I see something that I didn’t notice before, some part of the image itself or a way to edit it and then off I go.
From there it really depends on the image and the emotion or message I want to convey, sometimes, I like to keep things simple, other times I tend to use multiple apps on an image in order to get the desired effect.
A: And last but not least tell me about your perfect day with your kids.
AP: The perfect day with my kids… I think it would probably start off with them letting me sleep in until at least 8am, that would be a fantastic start and a nice change from the 5am usual wake up time. Then I’d make us all breakfast, usually on a weekend as I have more time I tend to make them something like scrambled eggs or muffins as opposed to toast and cereals. Afterwards, well it really depends on what they would like to do, at the moment its a little difficult as my eldest Elizabeth is 4 going on 5, James will be 3 in a couple of weeks and Charlotte is 1.5, so finding something that we can all do together without them getting bored or upset with each other can be a challenge. So there are usually a couple of options, the first being that we go to the zoo or out on a day trip or the second option, we stay home and play various games. Personally I tend to prefer it when we stay home as going anywhere is like trying to move an army logistically, especially with the amount of things that you have to take with you to cover contingency, so its nice to be able to just play (though seeing their faces does tend to make it all worthwhile). It tends to work out that after breakfast, we play for a little while either with the lego or with this wooden train set we have, which usually goes well until Charlotte comes through it like a tornado 🙂 Sometimes we draw or paint, which is good as its something that all of them can do.
Once it gets a bit warmer we go outside and play in the garden. Charlotte is addicted to the swing and so she just wants to be in the swing being pushed most of the time. James tends to play with his various tractors and diggers in the sandpit and Ellie likes to dress-up and play princesses or fairies and thinks up a lot of games. She is going through a frisbee stage at the moment and so we play that a lot together. We also sometimes play racing, I’m the starter and shout out three, two, one go and they race from one side of the garden to the other. As time goes by it tends to get more complicated with obstacles to run around, sections where you need to hop and so on. Another big hit just lately is hide and seek. That usually works out to them hiding and me finding them or me hiding and them finding me. 🙂
After lunch they all usually have a nap (me too if Ive got up at 5) for a couple of hours and then we go back outside, again depending on what they want to do, we can end up on bikes or in the garden or if their friends come over, then I basically just keep an eye on them while they’re playing and spend a bit more time with Charlotte or we do mass games of hide and seek. Our street is quite good and we were quite lucky in this regard, it’s mostly full of people who are our age, with kids all of similar ages, so it worked out quite well and the kids tend to move from one garden to the next in a mass mob depending on what they’re doing 🙂 They come to our garden for the swings and hide and seek, one of the other neighbours for the trampoline and so on. It works out really well.
Usually on these occasions when they are absorbed in what they are doing and so don’t notice me, I tend to start photographing them, I much prefer this to forcing them to pose somewhere and I think that it adds a lot more emotion and interest to the images. Just lately Ellie has started taking an interest too and she walks around with an old iPhone 3G photographing stuff, its really interesting seeing things from her perspective. She will also walk up to me sometimes and say Dad, I look like a princess, will you photograph me? Or can you photograph this flower? So either a future model or the next Ansel perhaps? 🙂 Out of all of them she seems to be the most artistic at the moment, loves drawing, painting, singing, taking photos, all stuff I try to encourage with her. James seems more logical, he’s good at working out puzzles and Charlotte is an unknown element at this point but shes very bossy. 🙂
We start winding the day down at about 7, we tidy up (or we try to get them to), have dinner and then its bath time, all three of them go into the bath together at the moment (at least while they can still fit) and so they have a nice time playing in the bath for a bit. From there we go to bed and I tell each of them a story, usually something that I make up as I go, which can cause problems if they like it and want to hear it again as I have to get the details right. If I slip up though, then Ellie usually reminds me, its amazing how good their memory is already. The only problem is when they end up liking a story then you can tell it to them for days and days and days and they never seem to get tired of it, for example I made up a story about a Knight called Sir Alfred who helps a dragon move house and have been telling it to them for ten days straight now 🙂
Once the stories are done, then my wife and I finally get to spend a few hours together in piece and quiet, so Mom and Dad take a break and Andrew and Soňa come out of their shells for a couple of hours at least 🙂
Im not sure I answered your question with this but really this for me is a perfect day in the sense that we get to spend time together and do things together as a family. I just enjoy spending time with them (though there are times like most parents when I wonder why we got ourselves into this 🙂 ).
Contact Info
Twitter @aproudlove
Facebook – aproudlove
Flickr – aproudlove
Instagram – aproudlove
500px – aproudlove
iPhoneArt – aproudlove
As you can see I was really original with the username 🙂
A: Thank so much for your time Andrew! Next time I’m on your street I’m coming over to play hide and seek.
by Anna Cox | Aug 14, 2012 | Anna Cox
There’s the bell! okay class settle down.
How was your weekend? Hopefully you all took pictures of strangers or really fantastic architecture at least? Did everyone remember their leading lines homework?
Remember that leading lines draw our eye to a subject or to where the lines meet. Here are some great examples from the #juxtschoolhouse
I took this at a meetup I organized at Eastern State Penitentiary. Eastern State was built in 1829, and was operational until 1971. It housed many notorious inmates over the years, including Al Capone and Willie Sutton. The prison was designed in a wagon-wheel layout, so that a central guard was able to see down the seven cell blocks. These long hallways are perfect for “leading lines” shots! Today, Eastern State is open daily for tours, but there has been no renovation or restoration since it closed 40 years ago, making it creepy and photographically interesting! (and supposedly haunted!) I’m definitely going back for “Terror Behind the Walls,” the haunted house held at the facility in October.
-@hhhbomb Heidi
This is Cortelyou Q train stop in Brooklyn, New York. We can find good perspective & lines in all subway stops, but this one is a bit different than usual MTA stops, with its curved walls, a special bridge house entrance on top and it is not underground, so you can see so much light & green.
-@li9ht7 Elif
This is one of my favourite piers and I particularly love the symmetry of it. This was my friend Rob who happened to be perfectly aligned while taking a shot himself. Even though he is in photo, he doesn’t detract from the lines that lead the eyes to the end. It was a fun shot!
-@joanna, Joanna
Let’s continue with expanding our compositional vocabulary with diagonal lines this week. I know all of this seems boring but it will all come into play once we move on to bigger subjects.
All of the lines we have talked about can create a dynamic composition and diagonals are yet another great tool. Now there are two ways of shooting at diagonals.
The first is just shooting straight up diagonal lines. Meaning, the lines enter and exit the picture plane at a diagonal. I know rocket science right? I’m dropping bombs over here people.
The second way is, before you shoot a subject, you mentally (or with the help of an app) divide the photo with three diagonal lines. The subject or focal point is the contained within those lines. Using the section of three diagonal lines you shoot accordingly framing your shot within the lines. Think of a rocky beach line. If you were lining the shot up to utilize diagonals you would make sure the beach line (where the waves meet the sand) travels at a diagonal through the picture plane. I, unfortunaly, do not have a beach. I have a horse. A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse! Wait this isn’t lit class. My bad *ahem*
So this marks the end of lines for now,we will come back to visit them soon. Remeber to tag your diagonals with #juxtschoolhouse. I have my gold stars ready for giving!
Next week we will be talking about points of view 🙂
by Anna Cox | Aug 8, 2012 | Anna Cox
I have been asking myself what it takes to raise a good man since my first son was born 8 years ago. There are so many questions, hopes, and desires poured into that little babe in the first five seconds of life. All the planning in the world, the color schemes and diaper bags matter naught when that first cry is heard. I literally thought my heart would collapse from the emotion brought on by that one small cry. There is a sudden fierceness you feel gnawing at your heart. There have been heart breaking moments and moments of pure victory. And times my heart collapsed under the weight of my joy. After a recent trip to photograph an abandoned bridge a thought started building. I was amazed that this bridge was still standing after all the years of abuse. It was overgrown and graffitied, cracks ran in the pavement like spider webs. But overall it was solid beneath my feet even after years of disuse.
The planning and execution of building a bridge amazes me.
So my thinking started with a basic question: What does it take to build a boy? When we first get the job of building a boy we stand back and look at the land. See what we have and how we need to change our personal landscape to make the boys life in the best place we are able. Whether that means removing deep roots or shoring up what we already have are the beginnings of a strong foundation.
Then we gather materials like discipline, love and understanding to lay the groundwork for the boy raising. Many times what we need to build a boy are hard things like iron, concrete and steel. But these things are important if we want the boy to stand in a storm. The early stage of boy building are crucial to the future strength of the framework. Once your ground is solid and the framework of the boy begins his life experiences create the joints that weave together to make the structure. The bolts needed to hold him together are most important. Bolts are the people he loves most and who love him back. These people are crucial just as the materials are. These people hold the love and discipline together and they need to be as strong as he is to withhold his weight. If the bolts are weak, so are the joints and angles I lovingly measured and applied.
Building a boy is never easy. It is painstaking work to craft a boy that will grow into a passionate, loving man. I have truly poured my heart into his design, from the materials I use to his every angle and bolt. When I am old and gray, wearing five different kinds of plaid at the same time with tissues stuffed up my sleeve, I will be able to look at my boy and say my design was solid. His lines are true and angles are still strong. And when the storm comes, as it inevitable will, his foundation will not be shaken.
I know that at whatever cost I will continue to build him into the man he needs to be even if he sways when the wind hits him from time to time. When he’s grown, I will be able to sit back on the edge of his life and admire his framework against the sky. I will see that my crafting will hold him together.
He will be my handiwork, my legacy.
by Anna Cox | Jul 31, 2012 | Anna Cox
Good morning and welcome back to the JUXT schoolhouse. We are still talking JUXT basics this week. I hope the nuts and bolts don’t bore you too much. I’d hate to think you were back there snoozing instead of taking notes. Yes, I mean you on the back row.
Here’s a quick recap of last week.
We talked about the horizon line. You can either have a true horizon line, where the sky meets the ground or a manufactured one like a row of windows or the base of a building. And sometimes, as my creative students from last week pointed out, a wacky horizon can work well in a composition. Normally, these wacky horizon lines need to be purposeful for the composition to work. So take that into account and weigh wacky against straight when deciding what would work best for your photo. Here are a few A+ students from last weeks assignment.
Gold stars for everyone that played along!!
Top Left: Mykel Landers @mykel
Top Right: Shannon Joyce @smjoyceindy
Bottom: Iris McCormack @iris_mc
Alright now grab your pencils and paper and let’s get to learning.
We are going to be talking about lines again. There are plenty of different lines to photograph and we will hit upon them all but this week we are looking at leading lines.
Have you ever wondered why you can look at 25 different photographs of a train track or a country lane and still find it pleasing? That’s because the lines lead your eye to a natural resting place. Leading lines play a trick with perspective. It seems that the lines, which are parallel, actually touch in the distance if they are allowed to run that far. If they aren’t our eye is drawn to whatever it is at the end. Sometimes leading lines aren’t physical lines like a street or a set of railings. They can also be implied by a row of benches or street lights.
So in the next couple weeks when your out and about keep your eye peeled for lines that lead. I personally am I sucker for leading lines so please tag me when you find some with #juxtschoolhouse. I’d love to drool over them. 🙂 go forth and shoot!
Class dismissed!
by Anna Cox | Jul 27, 2012 | Anna Cox, Featured Articles
Anna’s Introduction
Meet @denikv, I stumbled across Dennis’s feed and the glorious colors and textures made my jaw drop. The way he captures everyday objects is absolutely fantastic. As I scrolled through his feed I was treated to a cacophony of diverse subjects. He has posted series after series of abandoned objects, homeless, and signage that gives the viewer a poignant look into the Philippines. Every photo is flawless and you come away with a feeling you just walked down a back street in Dennis’s city. I do hope you will enjoy the view through this lens as much as I have in the last weeks.
A: Anna D: Dennis (Italics in Tagalog – One of many dialects in the Philippines)
A: Tell me about yourself outside IG.
D: I’m Dennis C. Villanueva. I live in Manila, Philippines. During the day, I work as a creative director in an advertising agency: Gallardo and Associates. I am married with one daughter who is 3 and a half years old. I have 3 Siamese cats. I love going mountain biking and sport fishing. I get fascinated a lot too with the design of chairs, architecture, and mid-century design and furniture.
I’m Dennis C. Villanueva. I live in Manila, Philippines. Nagtratrabaho ako sa isang advertising agency, Gallardo and Associates, as a creative director. I am married with one daughter who is 3 and a half years old. I have 3 Siamese cats. Mahilig ako mag-mountain biking at sport fishing. Na-fa-fascinate rin ako sa design ng chairs, architecture, and mid-century design and furniture.
A: When did you begin snapping with your iPhone?
D: I got my iPhone December of last year (2011) and that’s when I discovered instagram. Since then, I was hooked!
Nagka-iPhone ako nung December last year, tapos na-discover ko ang Instagram. Mula noon, hooked na ako!
A: What motivates you to shoot?
D: Well, there are a lot of beautiful things that’s just around us that we really don’t notice. I guess we just have to “LOOK” and appreciate the simple, little things that we take for granted. Capturing these things in a different perspective are what make taking pictures a lot of fun.
Well, maraming mga magagandang bagay sa paligid natin na hindi natin talaga napapansin. Siguro, dapat lang tayo tumingin nang mabuti para ma-appreciate yung mga simpleng bagay na we take for granted. Pag kinukunan ko ang mga ito sa ibang perspective, nakaka-aliw ang pagkuha ng letrato.
A: The Philippines seems like such a fantastic place to shoot. How have the Philippines influenced your work?
D: The Philippines is a tropical island country with a very colorful and mixed history and culture that offer a lot of interesting things to see. My snaps document all of the things neglected, rusty, worn out that I find interesting and beautiful. You will just see it all around here. It may not be beautiful to others, but as long as I find it pretty and beautiful, everything else doesn’t matter.
Tropical island country ang Pilipinas. Very colorful and mixed ang history at kultura namin kaya maraming interesting na makikita dito. Kinukunan ko ng pictures yung mga hindi pinapansin, kinakalawang, laspag na na sa tingin ko interesting at maganda. Makikita mo lahat yan dito. Pwedeng hindi maganda yun para sa iba, pero basta maganda para sa akin, bali wala na ang iba.
And I’m proud to say that the Philippines is a very beautiful country and we are very rich in natural resources. A lot of beautiful scenery, beaches, mountains and the most beautiful of all are the Filipino people. Come visit us sometime and I will show you around and you will understand what I’m talking about. The Philippines is progressive, booming, teeming with life! Everything is fast paced. And Manila is very cosmopolitan. As what they say in one of our tourism tagline: “It’s more fun in the Philippines”! And I can say hell yeah!!!
At proud ako to say na maganda talaga ang Pilipinas, at mayaman sa natural resources. Maraming beautiful scenery, mga beach, bundok, at pinakamaganda sa lahat yung mga Pilipino. Come visit us sometime tapos ipapakita ko sa inyo yung mga sinasabi ko. Progressive ang Pilipinas, booming and teeming with life! Everything is fast paced. And Manila is very cosmopolitan. Tulad ng sabi ng tourism tagline namin, “It’s more fun in the Philippines!”. Talaga naman!
A: I fell in love with the colors and textures on your feed. Tell me about some of the series on your IG feed. I adore how you shoot 5 or more in a row your feed flows so well. It is a feast of numbers, colors or textures.
D: Right now I have 15 different series going on. I started with my “Cola Loca” series – these are Coke signs that I see all around Metro Manila.
Sa ngayon,may 15 different series ako. Nagsimula ako sa “Cola Loca” series. These are Coke signs na nakikita ko all around Metro Manila.
And the others are:
1) “Cola Loca” – Coke signage
2) “Electric Meter” – Electric meters around the city
3) “Art through Vandalism” – Graffiti’s around the city
4) “Number Fever” – All about numbers
5) “What’s your Type?” – Anything typography related images
6) “Beautiful rim job” – these are the colorful rims of jeepneys around metro manila
7) “Knock! Knock!” – Doors galore!
8) “Chain Reaction” – beautiful rusty chains
9) “Roughing it out” – Anything with texture I put here
10) “Petty Pets” – Filipinos love pets. These are the cats and dogs that roam around the city.
11) “Just Sittin Around” – I love chairs! Anything about neglected old chairs, couch and sofa.
12) “Keyhole Peephole” – These are keyholes with colors and texture
13) “Between the lines” – All about lines and shapes
14) “Sleepyhead” – These are people that I see sleeping around the city
15) “Pick a lock” – is about beautiful rusty padlocks
A: Which out of the series are your favorites? Will you tell me a little more about them?
D: My favorite amongst the series that I’m doing currently are the “Cola Loca,” “Number Fever,” “What’s your Type,” “Just Sittin’ Around” and “Chain Reaction.”
Favorite ko sa series na ginagawa ko ngayon yung “Cola Loca,” “Number Fever,” “What’s Your Type,” “Just Sittin’ Around” and “Chain Reaction.”
“Cola Loca” is my very first series. Everyone in the Philippines loves drinking soda! It’s funny because you find the signs all around even in the most obscure places. Coke Philippines did a great job in doing that. It’s like Coke is ubiquitous. I also love the texture of the paint and the wall together. It creates a nice “look” to it that makes it really interesting.
Unang series ko yung “Cola Loca.” Mahilig ang Pilipino sa soft drinks! Nakakatuwa kasi nakikita ang signs all around, kahit sa mga obscure na lugar. Coke Philippines did a great job in doing that. It’s like Coke is ubiquitous. Gusto ko rin yung texture ng pagkakapinta at ng mga wall. Nagkakaroon ng magandang look na interesting.
“Number Fever” and “What’s Your Type” go together. It’s basically all around us. I like discovering weathered, peeled, textured, and rusted typography and numbers. There’s a certain charm and magic in each and every one of them. I guess I just generally love typography and numbers.
Bagay magkasama ang “Number Fever” and “What’s Your Type.” It’s basically all around us. Natutuwa ako pag nakakakita ako ng mga typography at numbers na pinagdaanan na ng panahon, yung mga kumukupas na, kinakalawang na. May magic at charm yung mga yon. Baka gusto ko lang talaga ang typography and numbers.
“Just Sittin Around” – because I love chairs! I love all the Bauhaus and mid-century chair designs. I love Marcel Breuer, Giancarlo Piretti, Le Corbusier, Hans Wegner, Jean Prouve, Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, George Nelson and the list goes on. And I really find a lonely, forgotten, neglected chair just sitting around sad. It is very interesting to shoot specially if it’s really worn out and weathered and peeling and you just “feel” the love that that chair gave to whoever owns it and used it. Things are going to get old, tired, weak and eventually lonely, especially if you don’t take care of it. Again, there’s a certain magic and feeling in capturing those chairs. It gives me some pleasure and excitement that I can’t really explain why when I find one just sitting around. Happy and sad I guess.
“Just Sittin’ Around”–because I love chairs! Gustong gusto ko ang mga Bauhaus at mid-century chair design. I love Marcel Breuer, Giancarlo Piretti, Le Corbusier, Hans Wegner, Jean Prouve, Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, George Nelson and the list goes on. Pag nakakakita ako ng mga lumang upuan na nakakalat lang, parang nakakalungkot. Interesting sila kunan ng letrato lalo na pag sobrang worn-out and weathered, kasi nararamdaman mo yung pinagdaanan nung upuan. Pag hindi inaalagaan, maluluma lang at masisira ang mga bagay. Again, there’s a certain magic and feeling in capturing those chairs. Natutuwa ako at na-e-excite pag nakakakita ako ng isang nakasalampak lang. Happy and sad I guess.
“Chain Reaction” – It’s the texture, shape and form that interest me when I shoot chains. Even if it’s all weathered and rusty, it still gives you the feel of “strength” especially when they are all linked together and being “one”.
“Chain Reaction”– pag nagkukuha ako ng letrato ng mga kadena, interesado ako sa texture at shape nila. Kahit kinalawang na at luma, parang may tibay pa rin, lalo na pag linked together at iisa.
Thank you for chatting with me Dennis and thank you so much for sharing with us! I can’t wait to see what your next series.
To find out more about Dennis:
Instagram: denikv
Twitter: Ski43210
by Anna Cox | Jul 17, 2012 | Anna Cox
It’s JUXT basics here at the JUXT schoolhouse. Grab your chalkboard and leave Susy Jane’s braids alone! Don’t make me tell you again!
Alright class lets talk basics. Now there are plenty of basics we could discuss: basic training, basic cooking skills, or your basic white t shirt. But what I really want to discuss are the basics of photography. The nitty gritty, down and dirty compositional elements that make a good picture great. Way too often I see a good picture that could have been great if the photographer had only shot from a different angle, lined the photo up a tad straighter, or utilized the natural light.
So twice a month grab your lunch bag and meet me back here to get some tips to use next time you shoot. Now, none of this is earth shattering. I’m not going to turn you into a professional photographer but I can make you feel a little bit prouder about your work. Plus the best part- The better the original picture the less editing afterwards!
So put your editing apps away in your desk for a bit. Let’s talk composition.
First things first, let’s talk about horizon lines. It’s exactly what it sounds like- the line where the sky meets the ground. Why is this important you ask? Because for your homework your going to have to chase a rainbow and the horizon line is a good thing to know. Pot of gold anyone!? But really. Next time you line up a photo, line up your horizon line to be perfectly horizontal across the frame. If you’re in a city or shooting a building and can’t find the horizon, use the base of the building or a door frame. I know it sounds silly but making sure your photo is “framed up” straight really helps in post processing. {Most in app cameras have some sort of grid in the veiw finder}
So there you go kids. Your first tip. It didn’t hurt at all, did it? Now I expect to see lots of perfectly aligned photos in the coming weeks.
If you decide you want to try tag me on IG @annacox or +annacox on G+ and add the hash #juxtschoolhouse OR email photos to anna@juxters.wearejuxt.com. I will be posting A+ assignments before our next lesson.
Class is dismissed
by Brad Puet | Jul 10, 2012 | Brad Puet
From the late 1970’s through to the early 1990’s, my Uncle Paul would record wrestling onto tapes that he stored in my Auntie Joy’s walk-in closet. There were boxes and boxes of betas and VHS tapes full of wrestling videos taped from NWA (National Wrestling Alliance), WWF (World Wrestling Federation), AWA (American Wrestling Federation) and GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling). It was great. I swear my brother and my cousins would go to their house and never fail, sit in front of the tube watching tapes that he recorded earlier that week for hours.
My brother and I loved the Rock and Roll Express. You see we grew up in the South somewhat and so, it was great to watch a specific alliance and we were both pretty loyal to the NWA. We would always pretend we were the RnR Express and would wrestle our cousins and friends who would pretend to be the arch-nemesis team, The Midnight Express with Jim Cornette (he was the manager who always carried around a tennis racket, and it was assumed that it wasn’t a tennis racket but a crazy weapon used on unsuspecting opponents when they fell on the ground and the referee was caught not paying attention.)
I remember rooting for the Road Warriors, Animal and Hawk. A LOT! I mean shit it was the 80’s and the Cold War propaganda was in full effect. The Road Warriors would always be battling The Russian Team, Ivan and Nikita Koloff, Krusher Krushev, and some other one I don’t remember AND of course they were from the Soviet Union. The Road Warriors also feuded with the Four Horsemen. Now let me tell you, if you’re about wrestling and wanna fight about this, even though I’m a grown ass man, I will fight you. The Original Four Horsemen were the best branded group in professional televised wrestling. They had their own gang sign. They had the women. They had the belts. They had everyone trying to knock em off their blocks. They had the fans that booed them but deep down inside, actually loved their wrestling technique and style (that’s right I said it, wanna fight?) The Original Four Horsemen (and the only one that matters, what, wanna fight?) includes Ric “I’ll take you to Space Mountain…WHOOOOO” Flair, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew – Ole and Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard.
It was (at least I thought when I was younger), all about the South. I remember when Magnum TA fought Tully Blanchard for the Intercontinental belt…BUT in JAPAN. I was sprung. JAPAN? Really? That led me to learn about the Great Kabuki and others like The Samoan SWAT team…and one of the greatest pacific islander wrestlers EVER, Jimmy “Super Fly” Snuka. Outstanding! We are talking about wrestling is taking over the world. I was young. I didn’t know that wrestling had taken the world (pre-cable television, Vince McMahon) already. I didn’t know much about the Luchadores. I didn’t even know about the whole idea of Lucha Libre.
Fast forward to switching between “Saved by the Bell” and WWF, and BAM – Rey Mysterio Jr. “HOLY SHIT!” that guy is AWESOME! He was the novelty in mainstream wrestling. I didn’t know about the history until I was too old to care about even watching it. Lucha Libre huh?!? OK! The high-flying, acrobatic, jump way high off the top turnbuckle really made wrestling more exciting. It became, dare I say, compelling. It was now an international flavor. It had more complexities than before. Before it was blood, submission hold, chair across the forehead, blood…with the addition of other cultural and ethnic fighters…it became…more entertaining. YIKES. Again a novelty. The purpose of this post isn’t for the race relations in the world…but come on…there’s a connection (what wanna fight?)
I realized recently, how much wrestling carved out a lot of what I know today. I seriously loved the fact that I thought it was real until high school (what, wanna fight?). I believed in the camel clutch BUT not as much as the figure four. You wrestling fans know what I’m talking about. I used to force my brother to lay out so I could put the figure four leg lock on him. I used to suplex my brother the same time my boy Mark would suplex his baby brother (I love Mark but that guy liked the Ultimate Warrior way too much).
Another fast forward: I get a text from @gotgoat talking about, “We are going to take the kids to South Park.”
“WHOA! South Park? for what?” South Park is a neighborhood in Seattle, well known for its gang problem, its graffitti, its crime. Why would you want to take your kids there? (such a conditioned response from me…I actually love South Park for its cultural and ethnic diversity, aint that how it works though…cultural and ethnic diversity equals “gang problems, graffitti, crime”…anyways, wanna fight? disclaimer done, still wanna fight? let’s wrestle!)
“We’re going to take the kids to go see the Lucha Libre”
“LUCHA LIBRE!!! We’ll meet you there!!!”
So let me tell you about South Park. South Park is nestled in between West Seattle and Georgetown/Boeing Field along the Duwamish River. I know that before when I used to play a lot of Texas Hold ‘Em, the only way to get to the casino without having to take a 20 minute detour was over the South Park bridge that connected South Park to one of the main thoroughfares in Seattle’s Industrial District. South Park was well known for having really bad water and pollution problems because they had/have top soil contamination and the lack of city support to upgrade a lot of the underground water systems. Property value in South Park is SIGNIFICANLY less than any of the other neighborhoods in the city. When you mention South Park to a local, you will probably get the same response I gave @gotgoat, “Really…you’re going to South Park?” Again, it was a conditioned response for me…yeah, I’m a jerk, wanna fight?
My boy lived there in the early 90’s and he would talk about at least every other night he would hear gunshots. The day of the Lucha Libre event, I witnessed drug deals in plain sight/ daylight. Cops at a city neighborhood event? Nope. Nowhere to be seen. It was wierd. I ask my wife if she noticed and she said, “well even the cops are scared of this hood…PLUS there are luchadores here. No one’s going to mess with anyone because there’s a whole mess of luchadore’s here.” True that!
They’re like superheroes! The cops know that luchadores are like Batman and Superman to some folks.
Anyways…the event:
The beauty of this event is that it was for the positive aspects of the neighborhood. It’s a strong cultural and ethnic community. It’s long time residents who refuse to leave and actually fight to be heard to the city council. For instance in between matches, they would hold raffles and when a kid would win the raffle and they were from South Park of another adjoining neighborhood, the crowd would cheer wildly. It was great. It was a community proudful of itself and of course trying to tell the world that they love themselves and their hood.
We get there a bit early. They are still putting the ring together. I talk to one of the organizers and he tells me that at least this year, we were able to secure a real wrestling ring and that in itself is a big accomplishment. It’s first year (last year) they had to use a junior boxing ring which is too small and way too different for the luchadores to do their thing. I go around and take a few shots and notice the neighborhood and try to capture those moments even though I know I really just wanted to shoot some luchadores. Luchadores who were traveling and who were also local started to stream in. The crowd started to grow larger. Our kids and all the other kids were running around the street wearing luchador masks or painted luchador masks.
Everyone did forget about the stereotype of the neighborhood. It was like people didn’t believe that this event could happen without something going down in light of all the bad things happening around the city this year.
Needless to say, the event was a success. All I heard from folks there, “I can’t wait until next year. This is going to be one of the best festivals in the city.”
It’s true. It will be.
I’ll leave you with some more photos and hopefully for some of you in Seattle, I’ll see you next year in South Park!
PS. I love the fact that I was able to get a “press pass” to shoot with my camera phone. I hope the big camera folks shooting ringside find my shots are cool enough to hangout with them. =)
@bradpuet (Twitter, Instagram)
by Brad Puet | Jun 28, 2012 | Brad Puet
Well another awesome parade and festival has come and passed in 2012. This time it was Seattle’s Pride Parade. I’ve asked some contributors from the event to turn in their shots. At the end of this post I’ve included my own shots.
I must say this year it was pretty political. I’m pretty sure it’s because it is an election year and everyone is shooting for a spot or an agenda. All rightfully so at this parade. As an ally, I totally believe that “love is love” and who am I or anyone else to say different. IF two people loved each other and wanted to be together in the eyes of their/our Creator, why do we need to be in the way of that? Needless to say, I wouldn’t want anyone telling me who I want to happily marry. Noone is telling me how to love or love someone else. APPROVE R-74!*
Either way, the pride parade was real eventful. BIG THANKS to the contributing shooters to this post! Enjoy these great shots from @jasminewoo, @paulrule, @donnnic, @starrush360, and *SEATTLE, let’s give a big welcome to the town’s new citizen* @adamsvisuals!!
Happy Pride from Seattle!
@Donnnic (1-5) and @Paulrule (6) (Photos below)
Possibly the best crowd ever, and a true family event. Watched most of it on 4th and Stewart, then moved up to the Pacific Science Center. Was impressed by everyone in the parade wishing us “Happy Pride” and posing for pics during the parade. Had some friends with us that had never been before and they had a blast.
I loved the variety of groups in the parade and it was really great that the governor was able to be one of the Grand Marshall’s.
@JasmineWoo (Photos below)
Ain’t no parade like a Gay Parade to bring out the crowd. Even the rain couldn’t bring itself to come down on it… As if that could stop the 4 hours of partyin’ down 4th Ave! Rainbows for everyone! Cheers!
@adamsvisuals (Photos below)
I just moved to Seattle from a small Illinois town where I was the photo editor of the daily newspaper. My wife and I selected Seattle because of the free attitude of the city, the mild climate, and the beautiful scenery of mountains and ocean.
I started to use Instagram a lot when I started to pack up to head out to Washington State. I documented my week along 2,000 mile plus trip across the nation. Since then I’ve been kind of hooked. I’ve always carried my camera along with me, but this gets me another tool to do street photography.
Before I left my job, I was photographing assignments almost seven days a week, and going down to all self assignments has been hard, so I’ve been trying to dive head first into any events in Seattle.
I enjoyed using the iphone at the Seattle Pride, most of the time when I raised the camera to capture a real moment the person would stop and smile at me. I’m not interested in those kinds of photos. I’m able to shoot from the waist, trying to plan out the composition, timing, layers, exposure is always hard, interesting and challenging.
@starrush360 (Photos Coming Soon)
and here are my shots (below):
*The opinions expressed in this article does not represent the opinions of We Are Juxt or its contributors. Just me BP, let’s , make that clear. If you have any questions regarding my personal beliefs, please direct to me as an individual. Big thanks!
by Brad Puet | Jun 21, 2012 | Brad Puet
WHATS HAPPENIN’ YA’LL!!!!
HAPPY SUMMER everyone! Here we go, 2012’s Summer, may be the last of our lifetime if we let the Mayan Calendar and all other future-see-ers tell us…and if thats the way we go out, let’s start it out with a fun filled welcoming in of the summer solstice in Seattle’s awesome and crazy, artistic and revolutionary neighborhood called FREMONT aka The Center of The Universe.
The Fremont Solstice Parade kicks off the neighborhood’s weekend long celebration. Along with the parade, comes the fair and other festivities. THE most memorable of which (at least for me) is the parade. Let me pre-empt this with…there are going to be some long johns and pillows in this article (if you know what I’m sayin). DANG…was that warning to late? =)
I’m not going to talk too much as I’ve asked some Seattle mobile shooters to also send in some their shots and possibly write some text. Have fun viewing these shots! OH by the way, did I mention that my first time actually meeting an IGer who wasn’t someone I knew before Instagram was at this event a year ago. Mellow aka @threetree and I celebrated our bromance this year again and so, I’m sure you’ll enjoy his view of the Summer Solstice by way of the Center of the Universe!
The Words
Let Your Freak Flag Fly! – Mellow L. @threetree
High praise to the Seattle Weather Gods! Was it just me or were there more naked cyclists this year? Either that or they couldn’t resist looping and looping and looping… not that I’m complaining. I always enjoy this chance to witness the kooks and free spirits celebrating the beginning of summer in Seattle and will be right back on the sidewalk next year; rain or shine. – Jasmine W., @jasminewoo
As a long time resident of the Wallingford/Fremont area, I am a little embarrassed to admit that this year was my first visit to the Fremont Solstice Fair. I’d always heard it was a great time, filled with the celebration of life, art, and the free spirited culture of Seattle I’ve always been in love with. The Solstice Fair definitely lived up to expectations! What a blast! – Brad Hefta-Gaub, @zappoman
“Fremont has been one of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods ever since the I was a teen in the mid 80s and I would shop at at Deluxe Junk for retro clothes and get a cheap lunch of pork humbow at Yak’s Teriyaki…ah, memories! And even though today we only live a couple of miles away, it had been ages since I went to the Solstice Parade and Fremont Fair. I got out of the habit when my kids were little and then it always seemed to coincide with other family commitments. So, I was psyched that everything aligned this year and we could go…the whole family…and it was fantastic! I feel so fortunate to live in such a vibrant city where I can walk down, take in all the weird and wonderful sights, shop for handmade items, support the arts and be truly inspired by the creativity that abounds in the Center of the Universe!” – Adrien Hefta-Gaub, @ella67
I have lived in Seattle for three years now, and this was the year I finally decided to see what the /Summer Solstice/ celebration was all about. I had heard about the event but thought it was simply a few folks streaking through town in the middle of the night, Tour De France style… naked.
Yes, there were lots of bike riders sans apparel, wearing nothing but a coat of paint (think Sports Illustrated painted swimsuits, but on bodies of all shapes and sizes). Some were even bold enough to join the party completely au naturel.
Sure, some may think this event is creepy, but in this case, maybe it’s the spectators and looky-lous that are creepy. Afterall, we are the ones gawking and taking photos. Ha! But amid all the amusement and visual distractions, I found these three quiet moments to be my favorite. I also have a thing for superheroes, so these guys round out my top four shots from this event.
Fremont, you truly are bizarre. The Summer Solstice pre-show bike ride and pomp and pageantry of the parade were a visual feast of totally random weirdness… and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Does that make me creepy?
What a way to welcome Summer! — Cat R., @visualchemist
I love so much about this city and the Solstice Parade is one of my favorite events all year, I’ve been attending for along time. This year, I decided that I wanted to immerse myself in the pre-parade preparations. I love the juxtapositions, people in body paint, giant bees, Storm Troopers, butterfly wings, and magical creatures. Who says you have to be a kid to dress up and have some fun? Happy Solstice! – Ari S., @rupee_mama
The shots!
Adrien Hefta-Gaub, @ella67
Ann P, @annubells
Ari S., @rupee_mama
Brad Hefta-Gaub, @zappoman
Cat R., @visualchemist
Jasmine W., @jasminewoo
Mellow L., @threetree
…
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER everyone!
by Brad Puet | Jun 15, 2012 | Brad Puet
Slick Watts, Seattle Supersonics (1974-1978)
I don’t play basketball.
I don’t have the footwork or the shot to merit me to play that sport. I used to play football. I used to play a lot of volleyball also. In my senior year of high school I had a pretty lax schedule with a late arrival and early dismissal. 2nd period was advanced team sport and my fifth period, I was a TA for advanced team sports. Yea, it was really relaxed. Every sport we played during that time I played except for basketball.
I’m writing based on my memories as those are what tied me into the Sonics. Chapters of my life (as corny as it may sound) revolved around what happened with the Seahawks and the Sonics. Not so much the Mariners, but I gotta say that in 2001, Ichiro Suzuki was given some award in a magazine and it also listed the top 100 folks after him, and the group that I was a part of at that time, was like #67 or something.
I remember watching John Coker, who was the tallest guy at our high school post up and straight kill folks in the paint. I remember hi-5’ing folks next to me for every blocked shot. It was good for me to pass time watching basketball in high school and college during the football off-season. The Sonics at the time had Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniels aka the X-Man. If I remember right, when I first moved to Washington State from the East Coast, Seattle was in the playoffs and made it to the Western Conference Finals.
Shawn Kemp (Seattle 1989-1997) and Detlef Shrempf (1993-1999)
In college, I played a lot of intramural volleyball even playing against the college team players. I was a lot shorter than them, but boy could I get them a perfect set for a crazy smash. Meanwhile Seattle traded Ellis and McDaniels for Kemp and Payton.
After college, my fraternity brothers and I organized a 3 on 3 basketball tournament in the city to raise money for a local domestic violence service provider. One of the brothers in the fraternity, had domestic violence significantly alter his life. We felt as a brotherhood that raising money for the agency that helped us help him and his family through that ordeal was the least thing we could do. That tournament has been running since 1996. I remember trying to figure out how are we going to get Payton to host one of the tournaments. I mean shit, he was such a big name that it would help to raise more money for the cause. We didn’t get Payton, but some high schooler destined for the NBA did play…some of you may know him, Jason Terry. Obviously after he signed up and played, we had to change the rules up. No team organized players can play the tournament. Terry just made fools look real dumb on the court.
I used to watch the Sonics in the Key and on TV lots. It was definitely something that was a must-do in my house. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Detlef Shrempf, Nate Mcmillon, Hersey Hawkins, Sam Perkins, Steve Sheffler, Eric Snow and the rest of the 95-96 team was awesome to watch.Even though they lost to Jordan and the Bulls that year, you just knew the team was gonna make The Town proud.
AND PLUS we had The Glove and The Reign Man!!! Payton/Kemp was one of the best duos in NBA history. Damn they were dope. The duo dubbed THE SONIC BOOM.
Gary Payton aka The Glove, (Seattle 1990-2003)
The Sonics means a lot to a lot of people in Seattle. Despite the losing seasons, the breaking up of that ’96 team, Kemp leaving to the Cavs and us getting Vin Baker, Mcmillon retiring, Karl leaving and getting replaced by Westphal, Payton going to the Bucks…a whole bunch of shit happened that made the Sonics become real mediocre. But we still loved em.
Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis brought up the morale a bit by getting the city a division title in the ’04-05 season, BUT it wasn’t enough. In 2007, Seattle decided to trade Allen and brought in Kevin Durant. KD was the Rookie of the Year that year so the trade was great, but he didn’t have the supporting cast to help the team get past 20 or so wins. Terrible!
I remember talking to my brother and his homies (who were much more knowledgable about basketball than I) over a whole mess of cigarettes and drink, regarding the possible loss of the team.
“No way bro”
“AW hell nah”
“Seattle ain’t that dumb”
“Why would they do that shit, we just got Kevin fuckin’ Durant…HELLO, DURANT-ULA”
“If they do leave, it’ll be because of Starbucks”
Jason Reid, Director of Sonicsgate
Well the couple years heading into the relocation to the other city garnered a lot of local coverage. Through this coverage we could hear and see the lies right before our face from the new owners from that city. These fuckers purchased the team under GOOD FAITH, that they would not leave Seattle. I really won’t go into too much detail as I’ll leave you to watch SonicsGate: Requiem for a Team. Jason Reid and his crew has been at the forefront of bringing a team back to the city. They have been the ones to make sure that folks do not forget that not only do we not have a team, but that the team was stolen from us. I think you’ll be quite impressed and just as maddened at the whole idea of how it all went down. If you are not from Seattle, think about your hometeam or your favorite team leaving you, leaving your city, leaving your memories homeless. I mean I am buying old Sonics gear to explain to my son what the team used to be and what it means to me and our family. Yea there is a bunch of us who are salty. There are a lot of people who say get over it. What do I say to them? You’ll understand when this happens to you. When you get the rug pulled out from under you. When you have to explain to your son (or daughter), that there USED to be a team in the city, it used to be called the SUPERSONICS, then you’ll understand. Some of ya’ll say we should root for Durant now, since they are in the playoffs. Well, I read a tweet that was the dopest rebuttal to that, “If they win the championship, the first person to hold the trophy isn’t going to be Durant, it’s going to be the owner.”
What’s happening now? Well Seattle got a new dude in town who is trying to bring a team back to the city. Chris Hansen along with the Sonics Arena crew are not only trying to being professional basketball to The Town, but also professional hockey. Yesterday the Sonics Arena crew, threw a Sonics Rally, brought over 5000 fans to Seattle’s Pioneer Square Neighborhood at Occidental Park. It was so dope! Green and Gold everywhere. Music from The Presidents of the United States to local hip hop favorites the Blue Scholars. Speeches given from Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, SLICK WATTS among other noteables.
It was a great day for Seattle. Green and Gold all over the place. People honking at people all over the city wearing Sonics gear and waving Sonics flags and banners. It felt like we were in the NBA finals this year.
It felt like GP threw Kemp 50 alley-oops. It felt like Calabro calling another excellent game.
It felt like The Town had an NBA team called the Seattle Supersonics.
For those 3-5 quick hours, Seattle felt like 1996 again.
Chris Hansen, Spearheading the return of the Sonics with a new Sonics Arena
These shots represent not only the city coming together again under the Green and Gold, but also marked the increased hope and possiblity to have another team come back to The Town. In no way does the fans of the Sonics wish to take away another city’s team or history. It is recommended to the NBA that an expansion be granted. Let’s hope they listen. What we do know, is that Chris Hansen and the crew aren’t looking to lie and cheat to get another team to the Emerald City and the Northwest. They are looking to have the team in Seattle and do exactly what Clay Matthews and that crew didn’t do – lie to a fanbase of their cowardly plans.
Bring Back Our Team.
BIG thanks to Geologic @prometheusbrown from the Blue Scholars for the All Access.
These are photos from my brother @pahliewalnuts on IG.
by Anna Cox | Jun 13, 2012 | Anna Cox, Featured Articles
Frankensinatra: The Art of Capturing Grunge and The Derelict
Anna’s Introduction
Mike Hill (@frankensinatra) has blown me away time after time with his view of the world. His grungy style and architects eye for detail always deliver a strong photo. Mike explores not only his everyday environment but seeks out abandoned sites to shoot also. He captures these derelict places like only someone who is moved by them can. His edits add color and whimsy back into a place that is lifeless. I have really enjoyed getting to know Mr. Sinatra over the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy meeting him as much as I have.
Carousel: I took this in an area called Old Town in Orlando, Florida. Just a random Saturday out with my chick. There’s a full version of the whole carousel, but I liked this one for the details. This was a patient edit, going around each one of those light bulbs with color splash on a iPhone can get tedious, the horse itself wasn’t so bad. But I’m glad I did, I love how it came out.
A: Anna M: Mike
A: Hey Mike, why don’t you give us a quick intro into who you are and where you got started with mobile photography.
M: I live in Orlando, Florida. I moved here about two and a half years ago, originally I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana. I came here because I met a girl who was home visiting family and friends in New Orleans and after about 7 months we decided that we needed to be closer. And because she still had to finish doing her licensing from her job, she needed to stay in Florida for another year. My type of work would allow it so long as I was at the dock when it was my shift every couple weeks, I worked offshore in the oilfield industry at the time in the Gulf of Mexico. Florida is not really my kinda place… let me rephrase that, Orlando is not really my kind of place. I’m a Louisiana boy. The culture here, what little bit there is, doesn’t suit me. Being from a place like New Orleans, that’s bursting with rich culture and cool people is more my style. So most of my work is of places I’ve photographed there. When I go back to visit, I try and spend as much time as possible collecting photos of any and everything I can so that I’ll have stuff to edit until my next visit. Last time I was home I think I got close to about 700 photos, most were of the abandoned six flags theme park that has been rotting since Hurricane Katrina flooded it in 2005. So much more to see there then in Orlando, unless you’re into giant talking mice and busy touristy theme parks, but I prefer my parks derelict and abandoned. We do however have giant rats in New Orleans, haha, but they don’t talk… yet. I’ve lived in Hawaii, Colorado, New York, other areas of Louisiana and states in America. Backpacked through Western Samoa for a few months sleeping on beaches and in fales (grass huts), visited Japan and other places, but there is still nowhere else I’d rather be than back in New Orleans. HOWEVER, haha, it’s because of my boredom with being in Orlando that led me to find Instagram. I was so bored, and it was hot as hell outside, so I started looking around in the app store and saw it, I figured, since I hate and don’t have Facebook or any other social network, I would try it out. I never edited a photo before that in my life, I had like thousands saved in my external hard drive from the past few years, but could never be bothered to learn Photoshop or any of that stuff. Now I’d rather stay home on a Friday night and edit a photo then go out to like a bar or something like I was doing back home. So I guess, in a way I’m glad I did end up here, because it’s like a sleeping beast has woken up inside me. A hobby I can be proud of.
Mans Best Friend: This photo I took while at the vet with my dog Voodoo. She had a mild ear infection, and had to get a few shots. She gets nervous at the vet so like any good dad I held her paw. I love this one just for obvious reasons, I mean, who doesn’t love their dog? She’s a miniature bull terrier, and if you ask anyone who has ever owned one, they’re just like having a three year old in a dog suit.
A: I love the way you edit your photos, it is so far removed from my own style. Will you explain your style to us?
M: The grunge thing, for me, is kind of like a bridge between editing and minimal processing of a photo. I’ll never do anything that actually changes the structure in a photo, cause then in my opinion it becomes digital art and not photography anymore. Which is fine for some people, that’s cool, just not my thing. Adding texture, changing color and making a photo look aged just fits my interest more, like it was found in one of the abandoned places I shoot in, under some debris and kind of scratched or molded. I’ve kinda slacked off on using it as much lately, though. My evolution of editing is backwards than most people. When I started they were heavier, now I’m starting to take a more subtle approach as my “style” matures. I’ve been doing this for less than a year now, so I figure I’ve still got some more evolving to do. You’re not likely to see anything in full color from me, it’s pretty rare, if at all. Either black and white, or black and white with a spot of color. That’s just how I roll. Color photos bore me, it’s like I can always look at something and see it in color, to view it from another person’s perspective is much, much more interesting to me. As for my process, I usually edit at night, when the house is quiet. Most of the time while editing, I listen to music, usually Pandora Radio or Last.fm. Something down-tempo, trip hop-ish, like Nightmares on Wax, Portishead or Dj Krush. One of the first things I always do with a photo is camera+ clarity then black and white, or color splash, then either camera+ clarity or dynamic light. Then I just experiment till it looks right.
Old Mausoleum: I took this one on my last trip back home to New Orleans. It’s in uptown nola in one of the many above ground cemeteries, the place was so unkept that this mausoleum actually had a tree growing out the top of it. Made for a perfect pic, only it ended up getting messed up from the sun rays. So, since I really don’t know what I’m doing, I enlisted the help of a friend to fix it up so I could edit it. It went from completely unusable to one of my favorites thanks to her.
A: We both love to shoot abandoned sites. Can you tell me about your love for them?
M: I don’t really know why I like shooting abandoned places. Maybe because it’s just one of those things you don’t really see a lot of and the possibility that it’ll be gone soon. They have history. Everybody can walk outside and see clouds or trees, I prefer to sneak into an abandoned theme park or building and risk falling through a floor or getting busted by the cops to get that unique shot. Sadly, where I live now, there’s not a lot of abandoned spots, plus I haven’t lived here long enough to know the area so I look online a lot for places, but it’s pretty weak here haha. Disney shut down a few parks when they came and staked their claim on the area, and I’m just starting to get a list together of some spots to hit up. They are hard to get in and are heavily watched by guards though, but I’m vigilant! So look for those soon.
Gypsy: A lot of times I ask people to send me portraits to edit when I’m in the mood to do one, so a friend took this one and emailed it to me. I really love doing portraits, but it’s one of those types of edits I have to feel like doing. This one pretty much represents exactly what I look for in a portrait. I hate when people look at the camera, it bothers me so much that I usually won’t even edit it. I prefer for it to look more candid and deep, like they have something going on, it shows more emotion I think. This girl nails it every time so I’ve done a few with her, I think this is my favorite, so far.
A: Who do you look to for inspiration with the photography world?
M: One of my favorites has always been Thomas Barbey. I saw one of his prints in a store one time called “O Duomo Mio” and bought it. Although I don’t really do stuff like that, it’s still one of my favorites. It’s of a dude in Venice on a gondola, inside a church, with pews on each side of him. Look it up and you’ll see what I mean. Scott Mutter is another and has a similar image that I use as the background on my phone. It’s of a old church, but the isle is of a street with cars and people. I don’t read or look through photography magazines so besides those two, I don’t know of any other photographers other than the people I’ve met through Instagram or IPA. Mi hermano Jose ( @jr_el_nota )aka “The Dude”, has some of the best work I’ve ever seen and is just an all around good dude. Craig Corbin, ( @heavycoat on IG and IPA), has beautifully dark mixed media combined with photography, definitely a favorite. Marie Matthews, ( @kaphinga on IG and IPA ), who I’ve just recently met but has quickly become a favorite. Her photos are perfectly edited, I love her New Orleans work. Those are just a few, but anyone I follow you can pretty much throw on that list.
Ghost Playground: I took this in a Looney Tunes playground area of the abandoned Six Flags theme park in New Orleans. Kind of a surreal experience being in that place, it was like when you see those models of a nuclear town. It was so quiet, but when the wind would blow you could hear things like rusty sheet metal moving from the breeze. Everything was rotten and contaminated from flood waters.
A: In your self portraits. I am always struck by the amount of ink you have. As I have tattoos myself I am always curious about the meaning behind them.
M: Growing up, I was always around people who had tattoos. My dad was mostly covered, my mom had a lot, her back, upper arms and some on her legs. Most of their friends had them also so for me being 5 years old I never saw it as a big deal, and this was back in the 80’s when it wasn’t as accepted and mainstream. Now there’s a tattoo shop on every corner and reality shows about it… ridiculous. So for me it came as natural as someone getting their hair dyed or piercing their ear, I just thought that’s how people were supposed to look. I started getting them when I was 15, and have continued consistently, I’m 33 now. Some of them have meaning, most don’t. Some are just meant to be a joke, I don’t care, you’re only young once right? People used to ask me how all that’s going look when I’m older, my answer was nothings going look right when I’m old anyway! Haha. Maybe I won’t look like all the other old boring dudes.
A: Where do you see your mobile photography going in the next five years?
M: All the way to the top! haha no, I’m kidding… That would be cool, though. I don’t really know, I guess we’ll just have to see where mobile photography goes as a whole. Right now I’m having fun with it, but who wouldn’t want to be successful doing something they love? I’ve seen mobile photography, even in the short time I’ve been involved, make a few big moves. Things like the MPA (Mobile Photography Awards) and last years IPA (iPhoneArt.com) grant, books being put out from all kinds of different places and more blogs and websites popping up all the time. All are a big help to promote it as a legitimate art form. I still consider myself a novice, but I’ve had a few things in galleries, exhibitions, etc. and would love to get more involved with stuff like that. I don’t see myself getting tired of it anytime soon, I mean, when I look at things now, I start to think what apps I could use to do this or that. It’s consuming. So I’ll be around in the game for while, and we will just see what happens. Short answer: Still around.
Website: michaelhillphotography.com
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Email: frankensinatra@gmail.com
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Juxt thanks you for your words and your art.
by Brad Puet | Jun 4, 2012 | Brad Puet
“Everybody remembers their first car, family driving vacations, a sports car they fell in love with as a teenager,” says ACM CEO David Madeira. “Personal experiences with cars are at the heart of the American experience, and we’re going to showcase more than a century of automotive lifestyle and history as well as the future of transportation.”
Harold and Nancy LeMay amassed the largest privately owned collection of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, other vehicles and related memorabilia in the world.
At its peak, the LeMay Collection numbered in excess of 3,000 vehicles and thousands of artifacts and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest privately owned collection in the world; impressive if accomplished by King, but jaw dropping, awesome when accomplished by a local businessman from Tacoma, Washington.
LeMay – America’s Car Museum (ACM) spotlights America’s love affair with the automobile. Featuring a nine-acre campus – with a four-story museum as the centerpiece – ACM, situated atop Tacoma, Wash., 30 minutes south of Seattle and in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, will be one of the world’s largest auto museums and attractions when it opens in June 2012.
“Harold would love the design, the way it suggests a car, and most importantly, that it is designed to become a gathering place for the community. I believe this is a great vision and that we can and will get it done”.
The above text was taken from the LeMay Museum website.
So. Cars. Love em.
When I was born my pops had a Chevy Nova. In 8th grade, my pops sold that beautiful ride for $10 to my uncle. I remember telling myself, “one day you’re gonna get that ride back.” I love the Nova. Actually there are three chevy’s that I want; ’63 Nova SS, ’69 Chevelle SS, and either a ’64 or ’67 Impala SS. Is that too much to ask?
My pops would drive my brother and I in the Nova all over San Diego, CA and Charleston, SC (he was in the Navy, thus the 2 largest navy stations in the US). We didn’t have a great system, so when we got into music, we brought along our double tape deck Sanyo. It was tedious to rewind the cassette tape especially if you wanted to repeat the same song. Of course it was the MJ Thriller tape that we had and it was always about repeating tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 (Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin, Baby Be Mine, The Girl is Mine, Billie Jean, and PYT). I had the original cassette tape and then copied it over to a Memorex 90 min (That’s right…”Is it live or is it Memorex?”…ummm, its a cassette tape and I had to rewind it sometimes with a #2 pencil when my damn Sanyo would eat it up…and what was up with the pastel triangles on the clear plastic on the packs of 3 that ya’ll would sell…huh Memorex, what’s up with that!).
Cars are for all – young and old alike.
We had some great memories with my pops in that ride. One in particular was when he took us over to the Cooper River (many times), and I believe it was right by the bridge, well the older bridge, and he took us out low tide fishing and so we went out into the flats. Not with poles because I still don’t know how to use a rod and reel…but we would go out in our shorts, wade out to about chest deep, break out our net and circle a huge perimeter, then bring it in. We would have to watch out for puffer fish and other poisonous things, as well as look out for water moccasins that would cross the river BUT we would get a whole mess of flounder and trout. My cousins and uncles who came with us (back then we didn’t have to wear seatbelts so of course, the Filipinos would pack as many people into a Chevy Nova as they could) were out in a rowboat and they would get us the big fish, the Spottails. These fish were awesome and I remember how much adoration I had for them when they brought them in. It was great. A day of fishing out with my dad, uncles, and cousins (at this time my brother was still too young to come out and I was the youngest).
My pops Nova was the shit. My uncles all had Chevy’s as well and so when ever there was a family gathering we were out in the street either talking about the cars or talking about the fish we caught.
The Sonics Guy – Save Our Sonics! and enjoy the LeMay!
To this day, I wish my pops didn’t sell that Nova. Especially when we moved to Washington. We moved into a development where there were other Filipino car enthusiasts. All of their pops kept their vehicles. One uncle right across the street had an AMC Javelin. Down the street, Darvin’s dad had a Baracuda. Across Fairgrounds road, our boy Pedro…his pops had a ’71 Monte Carlo, ’68 Monte Carlo, and ’67 Corvete Stingray. YUP. All the fellas had some type of classic or muscle or both in their garage because their pops kept theirs. I on the other hand, got to look at 2, thats right COUNT it two cherry red vehiculars. The first was a 1982 Toyota Corolla hatchback. The second was a 1985 Nissan 200SX. I’ll say it again, both were cherry red. To top it off, both had black louvers. GREAT for when I started driving and I put some bass speakers in a box and traded between the two, and boy did those black louvers stay quiet. There wasn’t a rattle heard when I would play some of my bass cassette tapes from Miami. OK so I lie. The louvers were so loud that even though the bass was turned up nice and loud, you could still hear that crispy rattle. It was terrible and embarassing.
Whats the point in me telling you all this?
Well. No point really. Figure I would introduce some pictures with some life back stories. Now a days, I love to shoot cars with some of the other car enthusiasts in Seattle. Last year a few of us went to the LeMay Auction and it was Auto heaven. Fast forward to June 2, 2012 and BAM, heaven has got membership dues and my boss (wife) let me have a card. Unlimited entry into the museum equals a lot of car photos on the photo social networks that I am on.
A volunteer next to the vintage Mercedes line.
If you are on Instagram, check the hashtag #lemay_igers_seattle. Also be on the lookout for the “Autography” Show including 4 great woman photographers from Seattle and @jayzombie from the Instagram community team. It’ll be a great one as it is in conjunction with the local Greenwood Annual Car Show which is their 20th Anniversary this year.
Also, watch out, the cars are coming out, so my feed is about to get inundated by vehiculars. I’m looking for my Nova, Chevelle, and/or Impala. Please email me if you see them on the street. OOOH another shameless plug if this post got you interested, check the #whipsinthewild hashtag on IG. AND if you are on Instagram and you have taken photos of vintage, classic, and/or muscle cars tag @joanna and hashtag it #juxtcars.
With that, here are the photos and a couple stories from the Grand Opening on June 2, 2012 at the LeMay Auto Museum: America’s Car Museum.
Meet Mac
Mac is a proud of owner of this 1948 Chrysler New Yorker. It has been in his family for 40 years and is one of a few that his family has owned. As you can tell he is a PROUD owner and rightfully so. For some of the owners, I typically didn’t find them by their vehicle. Mac and his family were sitting in the ride with smiles all around. I approached him and told him how beautiful his ride was and he obliged with a great smile and a bit of history on the car. I asked him the worth of the car, and he stated, “It’s not the same as the Cadillac of this year but it’s my car, and that’s worth a lot.”
Mac is also the neighbor of a friend of ours who we didn’t know about until we were in line. It’s great to know how small the world truly is. Gita we met a few years back when her son was only 9 months and our son was yet to be born up in Orcas Island. We shared quick stories about being new parents and learned lessons thus far. It was great to see Gita and even more so, great to know that because of Mac, they are becoming automobile enthusiasts.
Meet Jim and Carol
Meet Jim and Carol and their beauty of a road machine, a 1950 Chevy Coupe. Ya’ll remember up top when I said I love Chevrolet, well I waited for about 20 minutes to let this couple and their family settle before approaching them about this vehicle and of course them. They had some great stories about the car but I’m gonna switch it up a bit and tell you more about the interaction.
Of course Jim was very receptive to taking a photo and being put on the blog but even better, when I asked him if he was the owner and if he would take a shot with his car, he said, “Of course!” then immediately called Carol over and said, “he wants to take a photo with the owners, get over here and take a photo with your car!” I absolutely love it. Carol and I talked real quick about it. This may be Jim’s hobby, but he also knows it’s his hobby because his boss agreed to let it be his hobby. Gotta love the queens of our world!
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