Venus and the moon

Venus and the moon are getting together and being quite cozy in the sky tonight. I think if I had looked out earlier I might have seen them closer. I will check it out tomorrow.

Photoshoping reality

I love this photo set. I really do. Beverly is a great looking blonde with a great body. She claims she lost so many pounds on whatever diet this company is hawking. When I was a kid, and they'd (yes, they) would show some diet commercial on tv (it was always some buxom babe in a bikini climbing up the ladder of a pool) my Mom would ALWAYS comment those the skinny girls who claimed they were once fat were NEVER fat! The best ones were the fatty girls commercials they'd show on Univision. Those were great as the Mexican girl who weighed like 400 lbs now looked like Sofia Vergara.



Well...Sofia is actually Colombian and I think if I recall, shes wasn't that skinny at times but whose complaining?

Ad execs could never sell a dime of a product if they used real people as models. We, the unwashed masses, are ugly. The models in the pix are good looking. A majority of people on tv, outside of Cops and reality tv are actual working models. Not all models are blessed like Giselle and co but are real people with extraordinary good looks; or, looks that define what a doctor, housewife, or football player looks like to the memory of the public. Think about it...there are all these war movies or tv dramas where you will see the same military officers or CIA guys as they are all casts as what Hollywood thinks these guys look like. And to the collective memory or belief of the public, those character models/actors are pretty good. What does George Clooney look like to you? How is he typecasted?

Damn--I already spun out of control with this blog...let me get back on track.

I doubt Beverly was ever a fatty. She is very attractive and I can't believe she'd let herself get that fat. Photoshop is just amazing.

You can tell its not her body on the fat model just based on the lighting.

Back in the day...haha...I sound old, when airbrushing was king and photoshop was just just getting started in the photo world, Oprah, back in 1989 was featured on the cover of TV Guide...

...with her head on the body of another model...


Seems this photo of the model, Ann Margaret, was taken in like late 70s. According to the net, it was alleged that neither Oprah nor the model were aware of the head slicing. The public probably would never have guessed but who knew?

title changed

I think its time for a title change. Don't know if I am happy with A Shutter Bugger but will keep it for a bit. What do you think? A coconutbuggery? Kokonut Kameras?



http://www.f295.org/wordpress/?page_id=71

interesting content on this site.

maybe I should just title it bugger off.

Working with the cast...what a pain!

So I got a last minute call do shoot a portrait for the NY Times of this local financial figure and they needed it shot the next morning before 2pm EST. Meaning the newspaper needed the shot no later than 10am Hi time. This is tough but always doable as its part of being a freelance/contract photographer. Like I've always said in the past, you are only as good as your last job. If you can't shoot it on deadline, someone else will and there are countless kids with 5Ds, Alien Bees, and the ability to shoot by 10am. Mind you they might not be able to pull off the best shot and experience is always better than willingness for a majority of the photo world but surely, these factors will change and a once considered crappy photo will be de rigueur, no?

I should mention I only had limited time, limited budget, and limited movement to shoot a quick portrait of David, my financial guru at a local botanical gardens. I feel I got a shot worthy of any client and don't know if I would have done better, cast or not. Yet, I was quiet pleased as were the clients. And thats all that matters. As long as the phone rings tomorrow, thats all that matters. As Tracey Woods always says to me, "its all about the benjamins," even if the rates are small.




Onto the cast, the doctors said it was a major strain and prescribed me to not to wear the air cast (I've silently nicknamed it the "air i-Cast" as it has so many little doodads and what not...I mean its like the old Nike Air pump shoes...it comes with a little hand pump! I'm just waiting to download some iTunes to jam...) It is proving to be a pain as I have to maneuver myself around the silly cast. A slow, gimpy pace, plastic grocery store bags around the foot to keep it clean, off and on to drive, I mean come on! But a few more days to go before I go without wearing this suffocating device. It does help me walk better though as it keeps my ankle straight and supported. But its gonna be party time when I am finally off this son of a gun!

ITS NOT BROKEN!!!!

AHHH....After waiting for like forever at the hospital to see the specialist, the diagnosis was not a crack, just a major strain with torn ligaments, blah blah blah. Bad part is I gotta wear this silly boot like 24/7 for 10 days or so. I don't know if I can handle it.



I gotta wear the storm trooper boot for like 10 days to bed, to eat, to whatever...i am already getting batty. I really am. My hip is hurting from like standing all uneven, gimpy-like.

9 days to go. Hey, I still got all that vicodin, though!

Dedication is only a word

On the third fairway as I scampered to catch Michelle Wie and that trio of golf goddesses, I remember mumbling about some damn volunteer and how he grabbed Jaymes Song and I and kept us from walking down a cart path cause the golfers hadn't gone thru. I got really irritated and was just about to scream at him but he let go of us and I marched on. Our "under the ropes" media credentials always seem to fail the media when they are needed the most and usually, the good natured, power hungry senior citizens who volunteer to be security for these golf events always seem to irk the media one way or another.

Either way, I was grumbling about one thing or anther and before I knew it, I was crumbled over gasping for air as my right ankle found a small divot in the ground and twisted my ankle about 90 deg in the wrong direction. Mind you I didn't dare drop or damage any camera but I did sit for about five minutes a bit disorientated about where I was, why my ankle hurt as such and wondering how far Michelle got.

I sobered up, slung the 400mm over the shoulder and marched on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW32tLb0zb4

A bit Alec Guinness, a bit adrenaline, and a bit "I can't let the giant or any other idiot take a shot away from me. And from my last post, you obviously know I soldiered on. I marched on covering the golf course feeling no pain or discomfort.

So after the final putt was put in the hole and everyone walked off the field, my ankle began to swell and pain like no tomorrow. I limped back to the media center and filed my images and doddered all the way home.

Now here is the fun part, my ankle swelled to the size of a golf ball and pained to walk on. I iced it and tried to get it under control on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, there was little doubt I had a problem. The swelling didn't subside and I knew it was time for a hospital visit.

Low and behold, I have a small hairline fracture and am now confined to wearing an air cast for a few weeks and popping Vicodin. Not a bad life with the pills and all. The docs said crack is pretty small and probably not too much of a problem but enough to get the works at the hospital...wheelchair, x-rays, ice packs, crutches and pills. I am a bit worried about the bill once I get it. I mean, can you imagine a ice pack for $129.74? I am guessing it doesn't cost this much but I probably won't be that that far from the mark.



The point of this blog is to show how dedication is only a word. When all the cards are down, you gotta keep marching on. You are only as good as your last job and any editor in the world will always look at you as such. If I had made a complete snap of my ankle I surely would have continued fearing bosses and the rest of my colleagues. Besides, I had to win. So if any of you are whining about the rain, ill tempered volunteers, or long distances, quit bitching. Soldier on and finish your job. The recession is gonna start taking jobs away from all of us. You can nurse your boo-boos once the job is done.

And if you are curious, I ended up telling that good natured power hungry volunteer off the next time I walked by him. I don't care for people to be grabbing me and ordering me around if they are not law officers. Some golfers were about 100 meters away and he freaked out that I was in their site. He tried to grab me and yank me off the trail. I pulled away and gave him a few syllables, all polite of course. Don't think he expected that...nether did I but I really don't like being messed with when I'm loaded for work.

Oh and to really put my injury in perspective, I am not all that bad. I will probably be walking around by this weekend sans cast.

What a difference nine holes can make!!!!!

You just never know how life can turn itself around in moments. I mean, the picture above was going to be the shot of Michelle Wie's first LPGA victory. She was well on her way to making a victorious win in her first tournament after becoming part of the tour. Alas, experience, pressure, and age all seem to drag a all but guaranteed win to an absolute train wreck. Well...thats harsh...but, as we said on the field, the wheels fell off at the last second and Michelle finished in second place.

I shot that victory fist pump while Michelle birdied the fourth tee. With global deadlines, and what seemed to be a looming victory for Michelle, AP moved that shot global linking the story with that photo betting she'd win, and that one image would capture the entire event.

But by the 11th green, Michelle shot a a double bogey and life fell completely apart.



Angela Stanford chased down Michelle and got a two point lead over her but the rainy weather seemed hint at a comeback. After a great fairway shot on 15, Michelle had a little over a three foot putt to cut the lead to -1 and put massive pressure on Angela to choke herself. Sadly, Michelle blew the putt and sank in grief. Cameras chipped away from all around and i got a great shot to replace the victory shot that said it all.

Never assume you got the shot cause you never know how an event will change. Nathaniel Welch gave me a great piece of advice once on why its never a good idea to be a sports photographer. You career will depend on what type of game, event, or score your subject will do. My first shot, as amazing it is, tells a completely perfect story if Michelle had won. She didn't and if I had just gone back to the media center and cheerily watched from an air conditioned room, drink in hand, my work would have been worthless. I had to hump out to the course, walk 10 plus holes with the leaders, hoping to tell the story. And my hard work, and sprained ankle, tell the story with the second shot.

AP made that photo an APTOPIX. When all over the world.

Oh, and for Michelle, we shouldn't feel too bad for her. A three day tournament and a Pro Am date lead to a second place prize of $108,000. Not bad for a 19 year old.

Journalists get laid (off)!!!!!!!

Thanks Gene Park for your t-shirt and inspiration to blog (blab) about...

Journalism is dying. Well, its been dying for some time. Why? Young people are gravitating towards their iPhones/Blackberrys for news and up to date information. Its quicker, easier, and its all in real time to get info off the net than to read day old news in a newspaper or week (month) old info in a magazine. There's the Drudge Report, Craiglist, and Facebook for all your needs. Rense, luminous-landscapes, etc...just so much ready-at-hand info so quick to get.

Or could it be that journalism has been deceiving the public for years. Whether its CNN telling us the pro-Obama (lets bawwwwwww like sheep for four years) babble or the Rush Limbaugh right is right doctrines. I think journalism has truly killed itself. There is no truth in media. How can Sam Donaldson be replaced by Nancy Grace? Much of CNN has become Entertainment Tonight. News casts have all been MTVed.

But maybe we are the unwashed masses Obama and the media speak to. American Idol did garnish more viewers than Obama's Inauguration.

Yet, newspapers are dropping readership, magazines readers are loosing interest, and in general, he media is really loosing their influence on the people. For me, I tire of the incessant bull that streams out of New York in a New York point of view. Now that I live in the furthest western state of the US, I sometimes take offense the media doesn't represent me. Much of the national news represents itself and cares little to leave the island of Manhattan.

The Star Bulletin recently let go 17 full timers...journalists that is. The Advertiser union negotiated a 10% pay cut for two years. Two years...what the hell is this about? Would Exxon, the gas company, or T Mobile cut their profits 10% to make it easier for the unwashed masses? I can't understand why a union would do this to its own workers. Well, maybe its better to keep a job at a lower pay than to loose a job all together but the Advertiser guy who is renting can't just turn around and ask his landlord to cut the rent 10%, can he?


I am not sure who is to blame for the layoffs or pay cuts...it hurts. I think we killed ourselves. I am not nor do I really consider myself a journalists but I do see how there is no one else to blame for the layoffs and the decline of news watchers. I would love to dedicate my life to writing, documenting, and capturing the ills, joys, injustices, and fantastic life around me but the unwashed masses have spoken. There just isn't any interest.

Pro Bowl 2009

Dallas Cowboys Jay Ratliff

I'm not a big American football fan these days but will watch college ball as well as the big events like playoffs and superbowls when necessary. I do shoot lots of UH games as well as the occasional Pro Bowl--not that its gonna be here anymore--but I have shot professional football.

The amazing thing about many of the pros is there absolute size and power some of these men have. This Cowboy was a very large man. I couldn't imagine this guy running full speed at me with hatred in his eyes. It would be quiet the sight.

Sadly, the Pro Bowl is leaving the Islands.

Why? A number of reasons...I can't really say but can speculate the age and condition of the ridiculous Aloha Stadium, distance of Hawaii from the mainland, and the waning fan base of this exhibition game.

During this recent game, the players seemed more interested in the vacation that actually playing a real game. At the end, most of the plays seemed soft there was no real drive to win. But what are these wealthy players really playing for? I remember they used to have skills competitions in the old days where quarterbacks had to test their accuracy, linemen competed to see how much they could lift, etc...

To me, it was a hot, lackluster event. I hate to see it go as Hawaii is loosing many of their professional sports events but it seems to me the government isn't doing enough to ensure Hawaii stays a premiere state and a location to sell to the world. Too much corruption, stupidity, and poor planning are really tearing this state apart. If the state could just think a head and really do something for the future, Hawaii could possibly live up to its wonderful reputation. I mean, perfect weather doesn't make up for ignorance.