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Where I Stand #3

2010-04-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Death Valley National Park, California. Feb 2010

Musician, composer and my web designer, Steve Fentriss

2010-02-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

One Man's Ambition (Obsession)

2010-02-01T17:34:00.001-08:00

Bishop's Castle is a project of over 40 years for Jim Bishop who is building this castle single-handedly, stone by stone. It is located near the town of Rye, Colorado.

Where I Stand #2

2010-01-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

The second in a series, from the steps of Bishop's Castle, Rye Colorado, Jan 9, 2010.

Where I Stand #1

2010-01-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a series of photos called "Where I Stand". Since most of our travels start from home, this first shot is in my house. Other shots will be from various places I travel to for fun or business.

They won't tell much about the location, but you can tell a lot from just seeing "where I stand".

and now for something completely different...

2009-11-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

2009-08-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Here's my tribute to Les Paul who died last week at the age of 94. This photo was taken at the Iridium Jazz Club in midtown Manhattan in June, 2007. I only met him briefly while he posed for my photos, but what a warm, engaging man he was. We've lost a true genius, the inventor of the electric guitar, multi-track recording, tape looping, and other innovations. I think he was an underrated guitar player as well. RIP Les Paul.

After the Gold Rush

2009-06-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

These photos, part of my non-fiction story "The Time Machine in My Garage", are from my visit to the past in Silverton Colorado. In the photo above, you can see the town of Silverton in the reflection of the locomotive's headlight. Is it 1993 or 1923? Hard to tell but you can click on the photo to get a closer look.

The top photo is the Model T Ford that I photographed as it rushed to meet the train pulling into the Silverton Station from Durango.

Picture of the Day

2009-05-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

Model: Cecilia

Festival San Sebastien, Puerto Rico

2009-03-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Kind of Blue

2009-03-02T06:09:00.000-08:00

Today, March 2, 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the recording of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue", possibly the most influential LP recording ever made. Those who say that distinction belongs to The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" have a point, but in my opinion, it's a hard one to make.

In the 1950's, jazz had evolved from its role as the popular music of the 30's and 40's. Big band swing was replaced by smaller combos playing bebop, hard bop and free form jazz as pioneered by Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. The saxophone had replaced the clarinet, coronet and trumpet as the primary lead instrument. The sax even became the icon of the avant-garde jazz movement, being shaped as it is like the letter "J".

By 1959, those at the leading edge of jazz had intentionaly distanced themselves from commercial popular music. Hard bop was frantic, complex, unstructured (or may have sounded so) and difficult for all but the illuminated to make an emotional connection to. Songs had become improvisations based on chord progressions. If there was a melody, it was left to the listener to find it.

Then on March 2, Miles Davis, never one to be comfortable in the current vernacular of jazz, picked up all of the rests, half-notes and whole notes that others left on the studio floor and began playing and improvising off of melodies. Modal Jazz. Birth of the Cool.

Within a couple years, Miles moved on again, leaving modal jazz to Brubeck and the "West Coast Sound", but "Kind of Blue" remains as the highest selling jazz record of all time. And for good reason. Miles helped millions reconnect to jazz. I'm glad to be one of them

God bless you Miles, and thank you.

2009-02-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Model: Plain Jayne Jones

The Octave

2009-02-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

Musician and composer, Steve Fentriss

Mauna Kea

2009-02-16T10:34:00.000-08:00

Japanese climbers ascend to the highest spot in the Pacific Ocean, Mauna Kea on the island of Hawai'i.

My Hometown

2009-02-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

The old school house in Dixboro, Michigan

Paris, France

2009-01-28T20:31:00.001-08:00

Gallup Park, Ann Arbor, Michigan

2009-01-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

Photo of the Day

2008-12-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

Model: Plain Jayne Jones

How To Be A Successful Photographer

2008-12-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

1. Be cheaper than anyone better than you.
2. Be better than anyone cheaper than you.
3. Remove your lens cap.

From My Little Photoshop of Horrors

2008-11-26T06:10:00.000-08:00

Guitar: Memphis Jones
Mouth: Steve Fentriss

Picture of the Day

2008-11-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

If you're ever in Memphis TN, and have a couple of hours, take the Memphis Mojo Tour. If you're lucky, Memphis Jones will be your guide to the fun and funky realm of Beale Street and beyond. Even the bus is a trip. If you don't have a couple of hours, make the time. Seriously.

Occam's Razor

2008-11-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

I first became aware of Occam's Razor as a method of scientific research (bored already? Hang with me here. It does have something to do with photography, I promise). The idea is that an answer to a question is always the most simple of all possible solutions. Sherlock Holmes used Occam's Razor: "Eliminate all impossibilities and what remains, however improbable, is the solution".

In photography, I use Mr. Occam's Gillette to help me make better pictures. It goes something like this:

Every photograph tells a story or elicits a feeling or reaction. I look at an image and determine what story it tells. If it does not tell a story I delete it. If it does, I begin to crop it. As I crop I ask myself, "does it still tell the story? Does it tell the story better? Have I cut too far and made the story incomplete? I keep cropping. As long as the story is still there, I keep going. When the image no longer provides enough information to tell its story, I know I've gone too far. I reverse one step and my picture is complete. (I'm talking electronic croping of course. If you're using scissors and crop too far, you're pretty much screwed).

Simple is better, less is more, minimalism, call it whatever you like, I think it works.

Above is an example, albeit an extreme one. I feel the cropped image of the model holding the teapot against her vintage dress tells the story I originally intended. As far as I was concerned, the rest of the image was distracting and, quite literally, clutter. You may or may not agree, but I bet you'll find it a worthwhile exercise for your images. It works for writing too. Eliminate that which is not necessary to make your point, and your point is made.

Simple things are the most profound.

Model: Elise

Picture of the Day

2008-11-10T16:48:00.001-08:00

Street performance in the Latin Quarter, Paris, France. August 2007.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Halloween greetings from my Little Photoshop of Horrors. And don't forget that Nov 2 is the Day of the Dead. And don't forget to turn your clocks back on that day. An hour and a half should do it. And don't forget my lovely wife's birthday is Nov 2nd as well. Wait...I need to remember her birthday, you don't.

The Eggistential Scream photo is the first in my series of eggsperiments in eggsamining the faceless nature of post-modern society. If anyone knows what any of that means, please write!

Hard Boiled

2008-10-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

This is the second in my series of eggsperimental images. No eggs were harmed in the production of this image. What happened to the egg afterwards is a different story. You know what they say about making omlettes?

Model: Gregg Anderson. I kid you not. OK, I added the extra "g" to his name, but still.

Where I Spent Last Week

2008-10-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Northern Minnesota. No computers, no phones or TV. No blogs. Didn't even listen to the radio. No politics. What a relief. We split firewood and hunted grouse during the day. In the evening we sat around a fire, cooked dinner and sampled fine scotch.

One Republican, one Independent, and one Democrat. No politics were spoken, no debates or tired rhetoric.

I wish more than one week a year could be spent this way. I wish more people would spend time this way. The world would be a better place, no matter who sits in the oval office.

Now it's back to the "real" world. Jobs to be done, wages to be earned, votes to be cast, taxes to be paid.

Life is short, but deep. Go deep.

2008-10-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

2008-09-14T17:38:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

Model and photographer Mary40

2008-09-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

These images were taken at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix this Labor Day weekend.

What a Great Time To Be In Detroit...

2008-08-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

...at least if you're me. Not only is this weekend a long Labor Day break from the drudgery of nine-to-five, but I'll have a chance to flex my photography skills with two of my favorite pastimes (besides photography, of course).

This Friday through Sunday is the Detroit International Jazz Festival. It's the largest free jazz fest in the world. Some of the best jazz players alive will be performing at various venues; this year featuring players from Detroit and Philadelphia. Those that know jazz will know that these two cities have produced players that have changed the face of jazz music since King Oliver and his band, including Louis Armstrong, left New Orleans to spread the sound early in the 20th century.

On the same weekend is the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix; featuring roadracing sports cars (American Le Mans Series) and open wheeled racers (Indy Racing League). I will be covering and photographing the Grand Prix for a Canadian online motorsports journal; Race Family Motorsports (http://www.rfmsports.com/).

What do these two events have in common? Me, for one thing. I've been photographing motorsports since 1972 when I spent rolls of film shooting at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. My best friend and I were so taken by the spectacle of open wheel road racing, we spent the next 8 or 10 summers running our own Formula Ford in Sports Car Club of America sanctioned events.

As far as jazz goes, I've been fascinated by it since I was 12 or 13 years old and I asked my dad for a Dave Brubeck album for my birthday (Brubeck, in his late 80's, is appearing at this years Jazz Fest).

Jazz and roadracing share other traits. Both require the ultimate in concentration and mastery. Both reward those best able to control their instruments as extensions of themselves, while improvising within a structured framework that tests both the right and left brain. Both reward their practitioners (and their fans) with the joy that comes from the supreme expression of what it means to go to the edge and dance on the precipice.

The choruses are straightaways, the verses are turns, improvise your way through them and I'll meet you at the bridge.

A Fashion Statement

2008-08-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

This concept was originally done as a band promotional shoot for a Minneapolis rock band I knew 30 years ago! The statement is just as valid for the fashion industry as the music industry. To add to the irony, the models and the make-up artist are the opposite of fashion industry wannabe's. The models are art and artistic nude models of extraordinary skill and beauty. I never expected to have to persuade models to let me shoot them with clothes on, but they were both great sports and accomodated my request. Next time we shoot ladies, no clothes. I promise!

Plain Jayne Jones and Iris Dassault (check out my link to her "Women of Avalon" blog) were gracious enough to get up before dawn on a Saturday to drive many miles for little compensation to work with someone they'd not met before. What pros they are.

And a special thanks to Lee Radcliffe who was our MUA, wardrobe stylist and reflector holder extraordinair! Her enthusiasm for the project was as great as mine and I can't wait to work with her again. She's also a very talented photographer in her own right.

I got many great shots of this particular concept, but the one above was the very first shot I took. A tribute to the professionalism of these ladies. Nailed it on the first shot!!!

Picture of the Day

2008-08-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Photos of Scottish model Danni Paterson.

Back? Again?

2008-08-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a few shots from my recent trip to Ireland and Scotland. I had a chance to shoot some travel/tourism photos as well as a model shoot with an aquaintance that was gracious enough to be my unoffical guide to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

I came back with some kilt-lore that Handygirl might find interesting if not useful. I'll just say you can't believe everything (or anything) you see in the Braveheart movie. Plus, I found out from a Highlander himself what they wear under their kilts.

Gone? Again?

2008-07-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much since I returned from vacation 2 weeks ago. The problem with vacations is that the work still piles up while your gone and you spend 2 weeks catching up from a 1 week vacation. We should do like many Europeans (and Chrysler Motors): all take vacation at the same time so we aren't creating work for each other and we can ALL enjoy our time off.

The point of this largely pointless post is to tell my readers (both of you) that I will be gone again, from July 22 until about Aug 1. I will be in Ireland and Scotland taking pictures. Travel industry pictures as well as some model photography I have set up in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Until I return, I'll leave you with two photos from my last trip to Brussels and Paris.

Au revoir, until August! (click on the pics to see a bigger view, especially the panorama of Grand Place in Brussels)

Picture of the Day

2008-07-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

Michigan is a beautiful place this summer.

Picture of the Day

2008-07-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

What I did on Summer vacation, by Neil A

Blah Blah Blog, will be on vacation!

2008-06-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

I am taking a much needed vacation. I'm not even going to bring my laptop, and my cell phone won't work. Needless to say you won't see anything new on this blog until I return the first of July. I hope I return with a lot of great images and a few new ideas for blog posts. In the meantime, here's an image from my last vacation to Puerto Rico.

Buenos dias, amigos!

2008-06-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Model: Chrissy Hill

"Want What You Have"

2008-06-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

What a shame that we always want what someone else has. I read a post on the photography forum of Model Mayhem in which the poster lamented the fact that she met someone who was not even a serious photographer, yet owned very expensive camera and lenses.

She admitted she was jealous, and she seemed resentful that someone should have better equipment only because he had the money to buy it.

My response to her was the title of this post: "Want what you have". What I really wanted to say was there will always be someone with a better camera, a nicer car, a bigger house. No matter how much you have there will be those with more, and if your happiness depends on having the most, best or biggest, you are sure to be very unfullfiled.

Why is there such resentment towards those that have the means? It seems there's almost a sense of entitlement; that no one should have more than me, and if they do, they don't deserve it. What a sad way to go through life. If you want something, work to put yourself in the position to purchase it. If you can live without it, do so until you can afford it.

As my wife says: "You can have ANYTHING you want. You just can't have EVERYTHING you want.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Coyote

Be better than anyone cheaper than you. Be cheaper than anyone better than you.

2008-06-10T11:37:00.001-07:00

It's a bit over simplified, but this little bit of homespun wisdom is actually a good guide to value marketing. Whether it's photography, modeling, or any other commercial enterprise that depends on your skill and expertise, you need to know how to value your services in the marketplace. You don't have to be the best. You don't have to be the cheapest. You just have to present a value that satisfies buyers.

While this may be useful to Alien Photography as a commercial enterprise, this does not address the other aspect of my serious preocupation with photography: Art.

I'm currently in the process of discovering how much of Alien Photography will be dedicated to commercial enterprise, and how much I will do just for the sake of my love of the art of photography. I suspect that the former will help sustain the later, but standby for further developments on that front. I like both. And there's no reason they must be mutually exclusive.

Model: Miss Melibea

Picture of the Day

2008-06-09T18:01:00.001-07:00

Since this is ostensibly a photography blog, I may, from time to time, offer a photograph in lieu of text. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Quote of the Day

2008-06-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free."-P. J. O'Rourke

What would my mother say?

2008-06-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

I've decided to blog. (Is "blog" a verb? It is now). It's against my own better judgement. It's peer pressure. Almost anyone I know and respect has one. I need one too. My mother would say "If everyone jumps into the lake would you jump too?" Well mom, yes I probably would, I don't know. BTW, I love your blog, mom.

Stand by for more stuff from what will possibly be the world's worst blogger. The low quality of my posts will be offset by their infrequency I'm sure.

Neil A