Well guys… after a lovely 2-year run on WordPress, it’s time to find the blog a new home. No offense wordpress, but we’ve moved to tumblr so we can use a sleek new template with more color and BIGGER pictures! It ties in much better to our main site as well. So this is the last post here… from now on, visit:
Be sure to click ‘follow’ on tumblr if you want to see each update as it becomes available!
There are two things this weekend that made me feel like I’d discovered photography all over again; a new wide angle lens (tokina 11-16mm 2.8, for you techies out there) and a toddler in a new pair of rain boots. All the shots below save two were taken with the new lens.
This is my little guy, now full in that go-go-go exploration phase and more challenging to take a picture of than ever… but in a good way.
Any rock and roll fan can appreciate this record, arguably the Rolling Stones at their best. (although the Stones’ “Exile on Main street” comes in at #7 on the Rolling Stone magazines’ top 500 list, beating this album out at #32). The Stones were leading a genre here in the late 60s, playing beautifully in the territory that bridges the gap between blues and rock. The album is raw but powerful through-out, from twangy ‘country honk’ to the haunting ‘gimme shelter’, then my own Rolling Stones favorite, the playful ‘You can’t always get what you want’.
And, a major reason for me including this in my little series is simply that this is one of the most fun cover photos I’ve seen on a record, perfectly conveying the Rolling Stones’ fine balance of sloppy decadence and well orchestrated layering of genres.
For more on this album, you can check out a pretty cool book of documentary pictures on the Stones’ 1969 ‘Let it Bleed’ tour, from photographer Ethan A. Russell. ‘Time’ magazine called the book “brilliant”. [http://www.letitbleedbook.com/].
Album: Louis Armstrong’s Hot 5, vol. 2: ‘Album #18 in a series of reissues of the records that made Jazz history.’
This is probably the record I am most proud of owning. My all time favorite recording artist? As you guessed, it’s Louis Armstrong. The good old jazz from Satchmo’s period always puts me in a good mood; when I try to listen to new jazz, I just get really tense. Don’t ask me why.
I have this LP because my grandma bought it for me at an auction about a year ago. She worked hard to outbid the other collectors with me in mind, and I’ll always appreciate it! The volume actually contains 4 discs– 78’s, the old clunky records that were about the same size as the newer ones (45’s) but had huge grooves that only contain one song per side. The 8 songs on the discs are from the 20’s and combine blues and jazz with the unmistakable New Orleans style that made Armstrong a big deal. With titles like ‘ Savoy Blues’, ‘Ory’s Creole Trambone’, and ‘the Frim Fram Sauce’, the volume is a blast. And how can you not love that cover?
When I started this blog, I wasn’t entirely sure what it would end up looking like. Would it be for business purposes, a chance to show off new work to people interested in what I do? Or would it be personal, a chance for me to share a little about myself?
I’ve decided it is personal. Sure, much of it is dedicated to new work, to portraits of clients and recent weddings I’ve had the pleasure of shooting. But since photography is a very personal thing for me, a big part of who I am, the work I’ve done with clients is often as personal as anything else about me.
So I’m going to keep it a pretty even mix… favorite pictures shared from special client sessions, as well as my thoughts, passions, and sometimes just what makes me laugh!
All that deep stuff being said, I’m going to share the first in a series- something that means something to me. Anyone close to me knows I love music; specifically, LP’s. Sure, I know that’s the hipster indie thing to do right now, the whole ‘going back to vinyl’ thing… but oh well, you can’t escape every label and I’ve been collecting these things forever. And I really do love those records!
So, Every week, I’m going to post a picture of and information about one of my favorites from my ever growing vinyl collection; some because they mean something to me personally, some because I just have a lot of respect for the music within those grooves. Hope you enjoy!
9art photography - joplin, missouri 