Doster's Fashion Photography

Damiani has just published Michael Doster 80's/90's and it is a gorgeous and fun romp through his fashion photographs of big shoulder pads, bigger hair and even bigger photographic fashion fantasies from a time of excess. As he says in the accompanying interview, "Give me more, give me more of this. Make it bigger, make it huge!"

Hot Light Test

Had at shoot with Noah again this weekend (look for pics soon) and tested out some new (to me) lights. Very different from the strobes that I'm accustomed to but excited about the results of warmer more intimate lighting situations.

East River Park

Cranberries

Another Shoot with Miran

I did a fun shoot at the beach with Miran last summer. Yesterday we did another one of smaller, interior pictures. Here's a teaser and of course there will be more to come.

Golden Yellows

Robert Cameron 1911 - 2009

Robert Cameron, the photographer who created 19 books in his Above series died on November 10. I just wrote about his photo book Above Los Angeles a couple weeks ago before going there myself. I had recently stumbled across the book, but now I'm curious to see more of his work. He shot locations as varied as Paris, Mexico City, New York and natural wonders like Yosemite and Big Sur.

New York Times obituary.

Robert Cameron at the French Riviera in 1972

Apple Tree

1st Photo with my Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Yahtzee

Remembering the Moths of Summer

Hydrangea

Ball of Yarn

The Botany of Desire

One of my favorite books by Michael Pollen has been made into a documentary on PBS. The Botany of Desire is broken down into 4 agriculture crops which he expresses as 4 different emotional expressions. The apple is sweetness, the tulip for beauty, marijuana is intoxication and finally the potato represents control. The book was really good and the documentary only enhances it with the amazing flora visuals. The program aired recently but you can watch a preview on their site. And as a bonus, it's narrated by Frances McDormand.

Afternoon Nap in the Sun

"All of a Sudden"

After seeing the Jack Pierson letter sign sculptures the other week I began thinking about his photography again. Published by PowerHouse in 1995, All of a Sudden was one of the first photo books I bought when I moved to NYC for graduate school. It was such a mind shattering idea of what photography and color meant to me. Previous to that I would never have thought to be so expressive, personal and messy with my photos. That book showed me a contemporary viewpoint that I had never studied before and it was such a perfect introduction to New York. And a peek into a place I would later come to love, Provincetown. Here are a couple of spreads from the book.

And this last image is a postcard for my first show at a school gallery in the city, I think you can kind of see the influence.

"Untitled" by Felix Gonzalez-Torres in TriBeCA

It was so wonderful to look up from Canal Street and see one of my favorite pieces of art. The photograph of the unmade bed that Gonzalez-Torres created in 1991 has always been one of the most powerful images to me.

Scorpio L.A.

Here is a piece I made while I was in Los Angeles. It is a video made from still photographs I shot.

New Topographics at LACMA

I saw the New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape show at LACMA today. It is a recreation of a groundbreaking exhibtition from 1975 with over 2/3 of the original photographs included. Lewis Baltz's The New Industrial Parks series was a standout.

Sailboat on Blocks

Another Shot of Venice Beach

A longer exposure taken just after sunset. Lots of details in this image, so click to see a much larger version.

Marina del Rey and Venice Beach

Above Los Angeles (Tonight)

Above Los Angeles

Since I'm about to get on a plane for a few days in LA I thought it would be great to look at an old book I just picked up at the Book Barn in Niantic, CT (a cool and definitely unique place to find used books). Above Los Angeles - A Collection of Nostalgic and Contemporary Aerial Photographs of Greater Los Angeles by Robert Cameron was published in 1976.

Interior detail shots at Cafiero Select