Controllerism by Moldover

So, last night I dusted the cobwebs of my digital camera (that can almost be taken literally) and went down to the DNA Lounge for the bi-monthly BOOTIE SF mashup party. Not normally my bag I know, but I was shooting a very interesting DJ. You have heard of turntablism? Well, Moldover is all about Controllerism. He uses hacked controllers to digitally mash up and mix tracks live and on the fly. Really cool shit I must say, and he was awesome - lightning fast hands.

Here is a rad little clip MTV produced for Moldover called the How To Show on how to build your own hacked controller, followed by a few shots from last nights gig at BOOTIE.







PEACE to you all!

A photogs paradise.

If you are a photographer and you shoot a lot of film - then San Francisco is your city. Of course the city, and for that matter the entire Bay Area, is totally beautiful and photogenic. But what makes the city so fantastic are the photographic facilities, Newlab, Rayko, Photo Epicenter (Hamburger Eyes), and so much more.

I have taken a liking to Photo Epicenter, which also serves as the home of the Hamburger Eyes photo zine (check it out). The facility has a few enlarger rooms for both color and B/W, a few scanners, and a gallery space.. I bought a package of hours and spent the better part of the night scanning some negatives, unfortunately I am not super happy with the results. The sleaves that hold the negatives don't allow you to scan the whole frame, but I have a feeling that I can just put the negatives on the glass and get the full scan I am looking for.

Here are a few scans from last night.





PEACE to you all!

I am alive, and still making images!!!

I think it is just hitting me that I have been on the road now for two months, both Magera and I living out of our suitcases and crashing with friends and family. We spent the entire month of June in Hawaii, which buzzed by WAY to fast. Then, from there we flew to San Francisco to spend a week and try to find a place - which we accomplished. From there it was off to Austin to stay for two weeks at the Co-Op. After two weeks in Texas it was time for a road trip, so Magera, our friend Camilla and I hopped into our whip (UHAUL) and drove across country, taking our time and hanging out in Santa Fe and Phoenix.

But now, we are home. Nestled into a lovely brownstone chock full of history right smack in the middle of San Francisco's coolest neighborhood, the Haight.

So many stories to tell from this past two months, and so many images! I think a fundamental change has occurred in me in the way that I create images. I no longer see an image as a string of 1's and 0's, the photograph is now to me a very physical thing. Negatives and prints filling up boxes and notebooks, tangible items that can be handed down for generations, not just a few integers on a memory card. While we were in Austin I spent every night in the darkroom often working myself into exhaustion during the wee hours of the morning developing film, making contact sheets, and making prints. I would spend hours crafting a single image - really making a truly personal connection with it, not just moving a few sliders with the mouse.

Aside from the rant here are a few images from the light table. The quality is poor, as I just laid down a few slide negatives onto the table and snapped a few pics (yes, with the digital, HA!). These shots were all from Hawaii, if you look closely at the second one (the jellyfish shots), you can see one of digital's major downfalls - the inability to handle absolute color. When I was shooting a lot of live music, I would always run into this problem when the stage lighting would be purely red, blue, orange or purple.

Anyways, I have about 20 more rolls from Hawaii, Austin, San Francisco and the road trip that still need to be processed, hopefully I will be purchasing a scanner soon and posting some images.



PEACE to you all!

LA

Well, in case you haven't noticed it has been sometime since I have posted a blog entry, which is quite unlike me. I will post sometime soon about why - mostly it has to do with an artistic crisis/block. But, I am doing my best to work through it.

I just got back from a fantastic business trip to LA, I was a panelist and exhibitor at the ASCAP "I Create Music Expo." Here are a few shots that I snapped.

LA metro.
My hotel room.
Self portrait.
Shadow box.

peace and love!

Dirty Laundry

peace and love!

Intro to HDR

Although I have been aware of HDR (High Dynamic Range) Imaging for a while, it was not until last night that I first attempted it for myself. True HDR images combine two or more identitcally composed images, each exposed for a different area - for instance one exposed for the sunset and one for the darker foreground. Once these images are combined and tone-mapped, the new image can be stunning, with rich details in the shadows and highlights of a normally high contrast scene.

I created these HDR images using only one RAW image, but I duplicated the image and exposed each instance for a specific area. Although this works well, it is best to use two or more images (shot using a tripod) and combine them. The original image is on the left, as exposed with no correction. The HDR version of the same image is below. Even though I only used one RAW file, you can see there was a lot of information that was stored in the file not being used to it's full potential.


Original.

HDR version.

peace and much love!

best of SXSW

well, i survived sxsw and now i shall tell the tale. i saw 50+ official showcases, countless street bands, attended several day parties and so much more. here is my rundown of the best of the best!

Best Japanese Act
Avengers in Sci Fi from Tokyo.

Best Surprise
This one is a toss up between street band 1 and street band 2.


Best Former RATM Member Solo Performance
Tom Morello!

Best Brit Band With a Wicked Long Name
Joe Lean and the Jing Jang jong

Sexiest Bassist That is Not Kim Gordon
Kamara from Earl Greyhound, and I love her.

Best Local Band That is Not White Denim
Grady

Only Band(s) Worth the Effort to See Twice
Another tie, this time between White Denim and Black Mountain.


Best In Show
Hands down, Thurston Moore and band. One encore just wasn't enough, the second time around Thurston had some help from the audience during his guitar solo which made me pee a little.


much love and appreciation to all those who made sxsw so wonderful

lush life austin/jules
meow poww media
the lovely magera moon
marc urselli
diego (and driego)
old friends
new friends

peace and love

missing in action

what a busy week it has been! i have been running around all over town shooting venues and resteraunts for lush life, working my day job (eSession.com), launching a podcast, and preparing myself mentally and physically for the madness that is SXSW.

speaking of the podcast, make sure to go to freeradioaustin.com, we just posted our special edition mess with texas fest edition podcast in conjunction with transmission entertainment. make sure to check out the mess with texas fest during SXSW - featuring NOFX, the breeders, islands, and about 20 other bands. aside from music, the fest will feature comedy by janine garofalo, human giant and so much more.

so kiddos, here is some home work for you:
Mess With Texas Fest!
Free Radio Austin!
Lush Life Myspace!

here are a few shots from the last few days.

enoteca vespaio.
south congress cafe.
peace!

turbulence

after a long night of less than peaceful travel i am bleary eyed and weary, but i am home. all i can say is thank you.

i am thankful for quality time with family.
i am thankful i can up and take off for 10 days at a moment's notice.
i am thankful to be home with the one i love.
i am thankful.


peace!

dark swirls

peace!

sunset in the shipyard

peace!

lost

peace!

honolulu fixies

though cycling is huge in hawaii, until today i had never seen a single fixed gear. turns out there are only about 25 or so people on the island (oahu) who ride fixies, making it a small community of riders where everyone knows each other.


peace!

variations on a sunset

tonight's sunset proved to be a veritable photo orgy, here are four of the 100+ images I captured within only a few minutes. i waded out pretty deep to get these, my camera barely above the water!





peace!

wide angle

peace!

down is the new up

peace!

surprise!

i arrived in hawaii this afternoon for a bit of a last minute trip. my father's 50th birthday is coming up, so i flew out to surprise him. i will be here 10 days, LOTS of photos to come...

the old pali highway...
mi madre at dinner...
honolulu harbor...

peace!

behind the scenes

as i mentioned in a previous post i just started working on a new project (Lush Life), a website about whats hot in austin - music, food, events, and so much more. we spent nearly all day yesterday working our way up and down south congress shooting at various locations for the trailer. the site will be launched during SXSW, so i will have a lot more information soon.

here are a few shots from the day.





peace!