S L A M

Yesterday I had a shoot for S L A M Magazine. I really enjoy shooting for them, especially when you meet people like "HOMICIDE". What a great guy. So Scott (my assistant) and I headed down to La Familia Rec Center. First we have to make a stop for some gin and juice. Actually a Latte. It was Scotts idea. He paid. I had nothing to do with it. But everyone should get a good coffee before shooting in the hood, right? I had seen the place before, but never payed much attention to it. We get there, park the car, and start looking around for a guy that looks like he could be named Homicide. I see a group of guys across the parking lot and head over to talk with them. I think Scott was stayed at the car. I yell out to them, "hey any of you guys named Corey" that's his real name. There were a few stares from the group and one guy shakes his head no. So i take it I have the wrong group of guys. So Scott and I stand around waiting to find our guy. We keep looking in cars as they drove by, making guesses at who it may be. I figured Corey would have an easier time spotting me than the other way around. So we see some guy driving slow looking out his window back at us. Scott is sure it is our guy and waves frantically back at him. So much that they guy must have thought he may be mentally challenged. The guy gets out of his car and yells at the group of guys i originally went up to. We look like total idiots. A few minutes later I get a call from Corey. He is there at the center and he just happens to be that guy in the car. So Scott was right. I think Corey was expecting someone else. We made our way over to his group of friends and shouts out, " you must be thinking i am up to something, walking around the hood with 2 white guys" They all laugh and then come the rounds of handshakes and hugs. I guess Corey used to play ball with these guys. They always had a standing Saturday game. It had been that way for years, and didn't look like it was going to change. It was nice to see the respect they all had for each other. No egos, no shit talking, just true friends. Even with Corey being on the verge getting his shot at the NBA, they were all equal. It was nice to see.

SMART GUY

So have you ever met a genius? Well I just did the other day. I shot a photo for a Vancouver magazine of Carl Wieman. He was the 2001 Nobel prize winner in Physics. When I made it to C.U. the other day, I was very curious to see what this guy was like. Was he going to be working on formulas as we were shooting? Would he be the type of nerdy guy that wouldn't come out of his office? Or was he going to be smart guy that knew he was smarter than everyone else around him, especially the photographer? Well he turned out to be a very nice guy. He was busy, calling people, reading papers as I was setting up. You could tell he was working in his head, and couldn't wait to be done so that he could get back to his office and write it all down. I did get my 7 minutes with him in front of my camera, so that was good. I guess the main thing I figured out while I was there was that I am really glad that I went to Art school.

REAL PEOPLE

There is something about shooting photos of real people that really makes me enjoy what I do. Hiring models from an agency and setting up a nice shot has its place as well, but its just different. This last week I worked on a job for a company called Knudson. I wont go into all of the details of what they do, lets just say they make machines. The job came up quick. Talked about it on Friday, propped and cast over the weekend, started shooting on Tuesday, and finished it up on Wednesday. We did 3 sets of portraits and about 70 detail/shop shots. This job was a little mix of editorial and advertising, it was kind of nice that way. We did end up shooting real people, but not all of them worked for the company. I guess what is nice about the people we shot the other day is that they are who they are. I doubt that you would find these people at an agency, at least not here in Denver. They are real human beings with real stories. Getting the chance to meet those real people is what keeps me interested in photography. I am glad I got the chance to work on the project.

Did you ever see deliverance?

Super scary movie starring Burt Reynolds. I just shot a story for a local magazine where the guy that I shot may have looked like he came from the movie, but that is about it. The story, or at least the parts I know, is just a profile story about a large animal vet in Longmont, Colorado. Super nice guy, quiet. Maybe just a thinker. He grew up on a farm, lives on a farm, and mostly works out on a farm. I am sure it takes a special person to do this kind of job. Even though I thought i heard that banjo song playing in his truck, he was a really great person to photograph. Here are just a couple from the shoot.