sokhos blogos

Trinity Boston Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:12:00 +0000

Over the past year i've been lucky to do some work for the Trinity Boston Foundation and have been exposed to a wide array of people I would have never had the chance to meet. Located in Trinity Church in copley sq, the foundation seeks to bring together groups such as schools, NPO's, corporations and individuals; pooling its resources to create programs that enrich and benefit the community as a whole. I've met hilarious middle schoolers, "court involved" MC's and the formerly homeless all through the work i've done for the foundation. It truly is amazing.
Earlier this summer they had me come in to shoot candids and portraits of kids in the TEEP program.
Elaine Chow, my friend and the associate director of the foundation, sums it up better than I can: "TEEP is a free, out-of-school time program for Boston Public middle and high school students. It includes an intensive summer program and year-round activities, and it strikes a balance of focus between academics and leadership development. TEEP commits to its students for the long-term, often working with them from 7th grade through to high school graduation, and it has helped many students go on to colleges throughout the region."

exactly, amazing.

to find out more about TEEP and the other programs the Trinity Boston Foundation is involved in please visit here.

Here is some of the recent work I shot there:

Red One

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:45:00 +0000

A lot of my "free" time this summer was spent helping Adam shoot his thesis film, Drawn. It was a really great experience that allowed me to meet some wonderful people, apply some knowledge and learn some cool stuff at the same time.
We shot the movie with a panasonic HD cam that was pretty sweet, a big leap from the last student film i worked on that was shot on 16mm film stock. It was very cool to see an HD video workflow and just how much easier it is than film. Nonlinear editing and no need for clumsy old steenbeck tables anymore! Technology really does grow by leaps and bounds and while you always hear about it and its various buzzwords its so cool to have firsthand experience with things that blow your mind.
During the filming I had read about a HD camera entering the market that was developed by a new camera company, Red Digital Cinema. A little research showed that the company was launched by Jim Jannard, the billionare founder of Oakley sunglasses. I'd always been impressed with Jim's story and the fact he's a photographer, but he became a hero when I learned that he came up with the concept of Red and put his own millions into the R&D and backing of the company.
The reason this camera had me so excited is that it promised to deliver full HD video rendering at a fraction of the cost of current HD studio cameras and in a package that was small and handholdable. Their first camera, Red One, uses a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor that is capable of recording data in a 4096 x 2304 pixel area. To put that in perspective, my go to camera, the Canon 5D, has a 12.8 megapixel CMOS sensor that captures data at a resolution of 4368 x 2912 pixels. Confusing numbers aside, what this means is that this is an HD movie camera capable of shooting video at nearly the same resolution as my still camera. Thats to say, if you plucked one frame from several seconds of video shot by the Red One it would have nearly the same image quality as one RAW file capured with a 5D.
That is just insane.
I just learned that this camera is out and what i've seen of it is mindblowing. I'm going to stop writing and acting like i know what i'm talking about and let the pictures speak for themselves. If you'd like to see more and learn more about the Red One you can view movies shot with it here. (check out the short "Crossing the Line" directed by Peter Jackson who filmed the movie on two of the Red prototypes.) Theres also the mention of the film "Guerilla" which is Steven Soderbergs biopic of Che Guevara , staring Bencio Del Toro (amazing)
If you don't want to sit through downloading any of those HD torents this video is just a test of random footage shot on the Red One by a filmaker in Paris. I don't know whats going on in it, but the footage is just beautiful.

Back on the scene, crispy and clean

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:26:00 +0000

I'm not sure if anyone's noticed but I've been "on hiatus" for most of the summer. Part of this was because I've been really busy and have been trying to spend as little time as possible in front of the computron while not working. The other part of it was I made a conscious decision to stop blogging. When i started doing this it was because I thought it was a good idea to help expand my business and give people a better idea about who I was, what motivated me, etc. The problem was that after a while I felt like the blog was turning into a vanity project and I became annoyed with it. I think thats an inherent pitfall with blogging in general; you forget who your audience is and you start doing it for yourself. thats what gournals are for, not internets.

With that being said, I'm back, and while I can't make any promises about if this will not suck I've developed a renewed sense of purpose lately so figure what they hey, lets get back to blogging.

Part of the "renewed sense of purpose" I referred to 5 seconds ago has to do with whats been consuming most of my free TV watching hours, the presidential race and the Democratic and Republican National conventions. I'm biting my tongue and will not be launching into any political missives or diatribes, but I need to bring this up briefly. What is currently unfolding is a really big deal (no kidding!), but the difference with this election and all the others I've participated in or witnessed in my 30 years of life is that I'm actually fired up about this one. I can honestly say I have never been more compelled and motivated about national politics at any other point in my life. I could point out that I'm at an age when these things start to really matter because you feel their effects firsthand, but beyond that I feel so involved because I am just so outraged about so much that has gone down in our country since its past two elections. I'm scared, actually terrified, as to how things may play out if we continue on our current trajectory and I've really never felt more of a need for change ever before.
Tonight John McCain gave a speech that was pretty friggin boring and played on his usual shpeel (sp?) of being a war hero and how that qualifies him to be president. I'm not going to get into it, but I will say that while 99% of his acceptance speech was largely forgettable there was one thing he said that did resonate with me. The notion of feeling no greater sense of purpose than serving a cause greater than yourself is not something McCain came up with, but when he brought it up tonight I stopped and thought about it for a minute.
It wasn't until being a parent that I ever felt a true sense of purpose in my life. For a lot of people this is the first time you're faced with truly putting your needs and wants secondary to that of another person. Being a parent is one of the most challenging things you can do in your life, but I'd argue that it is potentially the most rewarding as well. It wasn't until I was a parent that I really did realize my own mortality and while that in itself is particularly sobering, it's also pretty damn amazing as well. It was the first time I've ever really felt like a fire had been lit under me and has motivated me to do so much in what is a relatively short amount of time that we're given here. While this is all daunting and exciting and challenging and rewarding I've just never felt more motivated on so many levels. I'm doing my best to instill beliefs and knowledge in my son that can prepare him to move forward and succeed in what is currently a very messed up world. Still, I'm pretty upset about the possibility of things not getting better, but worse, for him and future generations. There are a lot of things I worry about, but one of my greatest fears is that my child and many others will suffer all because we didn't try hard enough to make this world a better place and we let things just slip and slide out of control. Last week when Barrack Obama gave his speech I felt something I've never felt before when hearing a politician speak. He gave a sense of optimism and promise of hope that filled me with the amazing feeling. I now think that progress and change truly are possible and things don't need to get worse before they become better. For the first time in my life I'm feeling like I'm advocating a cause that is greater than myself and it's pretty friggin amazing.

All this political talk reminded me of some pictures I made awhile back when I first really started to become angry about our political system and became motivated for change.

I really don't want 4 more years of nightmares like these.

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:17:00 +0000

Even though its almost summer and i figured i'd be less busy than usual things have been pretty crazy over the past week or so. Not just with work, but with opportunities to do things that aren't around other times of the year, so i've been jumping at the chances i get.

It started last friday afternoon. I knew i was going to Maine with Jack and Adam's family on saturday and knew Adam wouldn't be free until later in the day saturday, so on a whim i took up abby's offer to go meet her and lindsay at abby's place on marthas vineyard. I had just talked to the stealership about extending my cars extended warranty and after talking it over with my mechanic that it just didn't make sense to sink any more money into my car after it hit 100k miles i figured she should go out with bang. so i hopped in my car before the traffic got rough and made a ferry that got me to the island with some daylight left.
the ride over was really, really nice.

It was perfect to have some alone time on the ferry and think about stuff. One of the things i thought about was how i was sad that the reality was i'd need to sell my car, which after driving for the past 6 years and 100,000 miles i had formed a surprisingly strong emotional attachment to. Thinking about all i'd seen and done in that car, it was crazy to think i'd soon be getting rid of it. This may sound nuts, but whatever, i love my car.
So, it was kinda weird and ironic that Abby picked me up in my old, old car, a 1995 Jeep grand cherokee. I had sold the jeep to abbys dad right before i bought my current car 6 years ago. After abby drove it for a little while it was then relegated to duty on the vineyard so i hadn't seen it since. When Abby and lindsay picked me up at the ferry in it i was really, really excited. So much so that i think they were wondering what was wrong with me. Just seeing some of the stickers that were still on the car, even the stereo , brought back so many memories from college. It was like getting in a time machine. After a few minutes of reminiscing i then realized i was in marthas vineyard and it was beautiful so i best pay attention.

We got to abby's place with enough time to cook dinner and run outside to watch the sunset.

It was soon after this that we realized the water pump to the house had failed and we had no running water. All this meant to me was that i had to pee outside, which was fine!

I was up early the next morning and it was a beautiful day. We hung out with abby's brother and his friends while the plumber tried to figure out what was going on. One of Josh's friends wasn't a stranger to the camera and was gracious enough to let me take a few quick portraits.

I had to make a 2:30 ferry back, so we went for a drive, stopping at the village where Jaws was filmed, grabbing a quick lobster roll and starting my trip back to boston and then on to Maine.
I picked up Jack at home and then picked up Adam. Since we were leaving later in the day traffic wasn't bad and the drive was largely uneventful, but there was a slight milestone that happened on the way.

Crazy.

We got to bed early and woke early with jack eager to hit the beach as soon as possible. He and i first went for a little hike along the shore (seeing Mt Washington some 90 miles away because it was so clear) , then meeting up with everyone back at the house to head to the beach.
It was really great to see adams family and his neice (who just turned one). Great people and great times.

Tuesday I had an editorial shoot at the record label of one of my favorite bands, which was pretty exciting. After that i was back home for a little while to pack and then on the road to NYC for some more work. As soon as i got on the highway it started pouring. A straight up deluge. I thought about getting off the next exit and going first thing in the morning, but then i saw this and was strangely inspired to keep driving even though there were storms and rush hour traffic ahead of me.

I made it to NYC with enough time to watch the sun set behind the city (this seems to happen often) and go out for dinner and a few drinks with ethan. As usual my trip there was too short, but a lot of fun. I'm finding that i am enjoying the times i visit NYC more than I was enjoying my time when i was last living there.

Thursday i headed to CT to meet Jack and my mom and visit with my grandfather.

Friday, i was back in boston for a last minute editorial shoot and then to meet up with some friends and watch the Celtics advance to the NBA finals.

Saturday i slept in and loved it.

spring is green

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:18:00 +0000

I'm a happy man when i walk outside in the morning and this is the first thing i see. Sure, it could be warmer, but thats for summer. Now its spring and everything is green.

The other evening when it started raining i sat on the steps for a few minutes just breathing and watching and listening, getting the amazing feeling.

I've been busy over the past week, showing my book around to agencies, shooting more editorial, fixing my car (repeatedly) hanging with friends and being with jack all the live long day.

I've been downing this stuff by the imperial gallon.

A bunch of us surprised Andrew at fenway for his 30th last saturday which was great.

It couldn't have been a nicer day to watch a ballgame.

Yesterday I had an editorial shoot mid afternoon and then was due over at Adams to meet the team that i'll be working with for his film to scout locations. When I mapped directions I thought it was a happy coincidence the assignment was literally around the corner from his place.

Driving there i had a huge grin on my face because it was so sunny and warm out and because i was jamming the Crystal Castles album Ethan just turned me on to. (amazing)
I was even more fired up and kinda bugged out when the owner of the location i was shooting started playing Crystal Castles on his computer as i started setting up.
yay coincidences.
After the shoot i met the crew at Adams and we began scouting locations. It was fun and got us excited to shoot his film. The last location was at Emily and Dan's place in the North end.

Just as we wrapped the rain stopped and we headed to the roof with pizzas and a 12 pack to watch the sunset. amazing.

mothers day

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Sunday was mothers day and to celebrate i took my mom to the 100th annual lilac festival at the Arnold Arboretum. It was crazy busy, so much traffic and no parking, but we eventually made our way inside. There were a lot of people, almost too many, but still, it was nice to see so many people out and enjoying themselves. My Mom told me she had always wanted to go, but never been. She hasn't been feeling well lately, so it was good to see her out and smiling.

The Big Box

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:23:00 +0000

Today i drove my mother out to Ikea to get a few things for her house. I had forgotten how huge and vast and crazy this place is. Driving there is like going to an airport, replete with rotaries and blue signage. The parking lot is vaguely reminiscent of six flags or some other amusement park, designed to handle thousands of cars a day. I didnt take too many pictures inside because it was really, really dark. So i ended up spending a fair amount of time outside while my mom did her shopping.

Going to a place like ikea reminds of one of the biggest differences between NYC and suburban boston (or really any other suburb). In NYC you don't have huge enormous stores like this. Suburbia is dotted with these mega strip malls with places like Ikea, Target, Home Depot and Best Buy all lined up next to one another. Even the supermarkets are friggin enormous here. While i definitely did my share of ranting about the lack of good produce and other stuff when shopping at bodegas and small markets in brooklyn, it was also kinda reassuring. You saw the owners and clerks stocking the shelves and you could find them when you needed them to ask them if they had something. At one point when i was in the warehouse at Ikea the nearest clerk I could see was 100 yards away. At least they all have high contrast color coordinated uniforms so you can spot them at far distances.

The week (and a half) in pictures

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:40:00 +0000

This is the first time i've been able to do an update in almost two weeks. I cant say it seems people have missed it as i haven't received any emails or phone calls, but i can honestly say i've missed doing it. Its nice to be able to sit down for a few minutes and do something moderately creative for yourself. I've been lucky to be able to do that for myself pretty regularly, trying to shoot for myself every day, but i haven't really had much time to just sit and process.

When i finally moved out of my place in brooklyn at the end of december to come back and look after my mom i was pretty worried (among other things) about how my work would do with the transition. I had made a lot of progress with getting my name out in NYC over the past few years, but still felt as if there was so much work to be done and i worried everything would be for naught. I didn't feel so much as i was giving up, but just that i was faced with a new set of circumstances so i needed to change my strategy and play accordingly. Luckily, i have been able to continue working in NYC, which is great because i really do miss the place. I admittedly starting hating it while i was living there and now that i can visit every so often its like that honeymoon period i had when i first moved there is happening all over again, which is a nice surprise.
I've also been really surprised that things have been going as well as they have been in Boston. With it being a smaller market i was thinking there would be fewer opportunities relative to NYC , which is true, but I've been making a lot of progress. I've pinned down meetings at 5 of the top ad agencies here since the beginning of the year and have been shooting regularly for a couple magazines. Other work has been rolling in as well and its definitely a reaffirmation that i am doing the right thing in light of such drastic change in circumstances.
Last week i saw my work in three different publications, which was a huge thrill and have since booked and shot 3 more editorial assignments in the past week. I'm not trying to boast, (i'd need an audience with which to do that, anyways) its just that things had been so slow for awhile, especially with the move back home, and having all this going on makes me feel as if im building some momentum and that feels really good. Hopefully it will carry and keep rolling. Aside from shooting a bunch of new work last week i was lucky to spend some time with Jack and my Mom and my friends, and take some time for myself as well.

Here is my week in pictures:

Most of last week was spent in front of the computer.
N is for No More Please!

The first thing Jack said when he woke up on friday was "when are we going to the museum of science?!" I asked him if we could first start with figuring out what he wanted for breakfast, but that we would go soon. I had an editorial shoot saturday morning, but afterwards we went to the Museum. After renewing our membership Jack proclaimed he was ready to go to the lightening exhibit , which until then had always made him bug out and run away.

If you look in the little bird cage thing you can see a man who was controlling the display. A crazy man.

I met Mitch for lunch on wednesday, which was amazing. Wagamama is the bomb and we got to sit outside on a really nice day. Plus, he and I needed to catch up, which we did...

After lunch i had to run to my first of two editorial assignments for the day. I had some time to kill after the first one and was able to take a walk through the public garden and relax for a few. It was so nice and quiet without the usual crowds that are there on the weekend.

This past week also saw me making a new best friend, the canon G9.

(photo: canon)

It was justified by the fact i needed a high resolution digital backup camera and can't afford another 5D right now. Plus, i wanted something relatively small, but with complete control that i can have on me at all times. Lugging my 5D and lenses everywhere is straight up annoying. The time it takes to get it out of the bag and ready means that decisive moment could already be lost. Its also hard to be discreet when you have a 70-200 hanging off your shoulder like some stubby gray third arm.

12mp Raw files, built like a brick, flash sync that works up to 1/2500 and works with my canon strobes and remote. Plus it looks like an old 35mm rangefinder. The ISO performance is so-so above 400, but i am starting to remember that before digital i shot film and there was this thing called film grain and having something that closely resembles it is kinda amazing and refreshing.
most importantly, It takes really great photos and is really easy to use. Its nuts to think it has the same resolution as the 5d at such a smaller size. yes, its an entirely different sensor with the characteristics of a point and shoot (noise), but still, im packin 12 megapixel RAW files in my pocket, son!

Nerd alert.!The fact this camera does so much in such a small package makes it really amazing. I am loving the fact i can bring this with me anywhere and will have no excuses to miss those "if only..." shots that you always see.

photo booth throwdown

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Last night was Matts 30th birthday and to celebrate Abby and Beth hosted an infused vodka party at abbys place in cambridge.
It was a great idea for a party and people came through with some interesting and delicious flavored vodkas. There were two people named Jonah at the party and both of their infusions involved hot peppers which was a great style. Other offerings included Pink Grapefruit, honeydew, strawberry and tangerine.

again, delicious.

It was a really fun night, a great opportunity to catch up with some of my favorite people and meet some new friends as well.

To capture the occasion i brought instant photo booth.

You're a winner , Marzetti. Never let anyone tell you any different.

By the end of the night we were brave enough to step to the habanero and cucumber long hot pepper vodkas.

I am going to stop waiting for people to turn 30 and advocate infused vodka parties more often.

Red Sox Baseball

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:17:00 +0000

Yesterday Abby took Jack and I to see the sox play their annual marathon monday game at fenway. The marathon monday game is , in my opinion, one of the best days of the year to see the Red Sox. First theres the buzz of an afternoon of baseball, but then you add the buzz from the marathon running right past fenway. Its a great feeling to be able to cheer the sox on and then go outside and cheer runners on as they embark on the final mile of the face.
The fact it was an easy win and beautiful outside helped make it an amazing day.

the week in pictures

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:20:00 +0000

I haven't had an update for a week because i've been going non stop since last monday. The week saw me shooting two editorial assignments, shooting for a personal project, going to two concerts (hot chip and the kids in the hall), visiting an emergency room at 415am and then the usual boring "office" type work, being stuck in front of the computer etc. I tried to make up for it this weekend by taking jack to the zoo (depressing and amazing) having brunch outside with some of my favorite people (kinda cold, delicious) a swan boat ride (kinda amazing) and a lot of time in parks/playgrounds with jack (amazing).
tomorrow is the marathon and taking jack to see the Sox. can't wait.
I'm too spent to write more.
here is my week, in pictures.

(hot chip - monday)

(editorial assignment - wednesday)

(personal project - wednesday night)

(more editorial - thursday)

(530am @ home after early morning ER visit - friday)

(@ the park - friday afternoon)

(zoo - saturday)

(boston - sunday)

I fell asleep while i was in the middle of this post. When i woke up i had a voicemail saying there was a pass waiting for me for tonights Jay Reatard show at Harpers Ferry. I saw him play when i was covering CMJ this past fall. He rocks and i just couldn't say no.

Really cool guy and just amazing garage rock. I've never seen so much pure rock fury packed into a 30 minute set. check him out.
goodnight.

shorts

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:51:00 +0000

After being cooped up all day working i was excited when the time came to unplug from the computer and go out to pick Jack up from school. Knowing it had been nice all day, but intentionally not checking to see how nice because i was so busy, I finally checked the temperature as i was getting ready to leave. 72 degrees. that sealed it. I made the decision to be "that guy". The guy who wore shorts on the first relatively warm day of the year.

I made sure to pick Jack up early, right after nap time, so we'd have a couple hours before dinner time. I presented him with the option of going to the park to which he replied "naaah, i want to play baseball in the backyard."
Yes.

The yard was full of downed branches, but after a minute of cleanup we were ready to go.

It took him a little while to get the mechanics back, but he was soon slamming the ball all over the yard and into that of our neighbors as well.

He hit a lousy pitch of mine that was low and away and the ball came rolling back to my feet. Thats when it happened. As I bent down to pick up the ball I smelled the damp earth for the first time in i dont remember how long. Maybe its because i just got over a cold that denied me from smelling anything for the better part of the week, but smelling the dirt at my feet gave me the amazing feeling. That and playing ball with Jack in the back yard.

This old house

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:22:00 +0000

On Easter Sunday my Mother, Jack and i made our usual trip to conneticut to visit my grandparents. We've been going to see them as long as i can remember and although they've since moved out of their house and into assisted living its still a fun tradition to go down there for a couple days and visit. They are currently living near the water in Branford which i recently realized is close to the house I lived in with my parents in Stony Creek. My parents divorced when i was 2 years old which was shortly after our family had moved to california. Prior to that we all lived together in Stony Creek. I don't really remember any of my time there because i was so young, but i've always had an odd fascination with the house based on photographs i'd seen of it.
On easter sunday, after we had dropped my grandparents off, i asked my mother if she'd mind driving by the house. She said no, of course not, and directed me as i drove up the highway, off the exit, and down the narrow winding roads leading to the private drive the house was on. I parked the car at the top of the driveway and began to walk down towards the house while she and Jack waited in the car. As i walked i thought to myself how remarkable it was she remembered how to get here some 27 years after last having lived here. I then thought to myself about what i was going to say when the current owners answered the door and asked who the hell i was. I walked up to the front door, rang the bell and waited as no one answered. I rang again and waited again, finally determining no one was home and took that as my cue to quickly take some pictures.

At first i walked down the driveway to the garage wondering if it was the same one my Dad parked the blue jeep wagoneer i remembered from the photographs of when we lived here. As we drove up, my mom told me how the driveway wasn't paved when they lived there and that it was just loose gravel.
I walked through the trees, over dead leaves and fallen branches, making my way around to the back of the house. I walked up onto the wooden deck which was high enough for me to see most of the area surrounding the house. All i could see were bare trees as i thought to myself how beautiful it must be here especially in the spring, summer and fall.

I walked back down the path i came up and surveyed the house one last time, noting all the windows dotting the sides and slopes of the house. I remembered the pictures of me and my mother taken inside and how in the background were the odd angles of light produced by all those windows.

Nearly every window was shuttered or closed on the inside making it seem as if the house had been closed for the winter. Still, i felt awkward being on someone elses property without their permission. I made my way back down the driveway, met my mother and Jack who had been waiting in the car, and left. I'd like to see the house in the spring/summer when everything is green, hopefully getting permission next time.

Spring

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:22:00 +0000

Leaving the house on the way to take Jack to school today I saw two small green sprouts coming out of the browned out earth of the front garden. I think he was even more fired up than i was once i brought it to his attention , enthusiastically jumping up and down and looking all over the rest of the yard for more. I've been inside working since i returned from dropping him off at school and have been feeling like crap due to a cold. Seeing this when i took a break to grab lunch and some film a couple hours ago gave me the amazing feeling. Having flowers to look at and baseball to listen to its finally feeling like spring .

new portraits

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:14:00 +0000

Here are some outtakes from a shoot I had last thursday. Still not sure if i can publish the rest on my main site, but wanted to share these anonymous ones in the meantime.

Character Study

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:40:00 +0000

In the winter i get kinda crazy being cooped up all the time so i am constantly looking for ways to entertain myself. Luckily, my son Jack is a constant stream of entertainment, but just like i rely on him to entertain me, he looks to me for the same. I recently came across a box of my old toys in the attic and wanted to show him what i used to play with when i was younger. He was pretty fired up and has since taken the collection over, making it his own, but graciously allowing me to play with them when i ask. Looking at these old toys i started to remember how magical they were when i was younger and helped preoccupy me for so many hours. I only found a few GI Joe's , transformers and star wars figures left over from my childhood, a fraction of how many i used to have, but its still really cool to see my son playing with these 20+ year old action figures. Seeing these old toys gave me an idea to help combat my winter boredom. My friend Nikki had recently discovered a similar cache in her parents attic that is perhaps the finest collection of stars wars figures i've ever seen, replete with millennium falcon, x wing fighter, i think there was even a tonton in there.
Seeing as all my star wars figures are long gone she was nice enough to let me borrow the figures for a few days in an attempt to capture these youthful memories. I set up a small tabletop "studio" and set off on my mission. Getting the light was a total pain in the A, trying to reduce portrait lighting techniques to such a small scale, but after a lot of experimenting and some cursing i finally got the formula down and got to work.

I showed these to Jack and after asking me where the toys were and i why i didn't give them to him he then asked for copies of the pictures for his room. If these are good enough for him i think i did something right. I certainly gave myself something to laugh at and a way to further reconnect with some childhood memories.

live music

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:27:00 +0000

(my morning jacket Webster Hall NYC 10/05)

One of the things i like to do for fun is go to concerts. Thing is, i'm useless when it comes to knowing when tickets go on sale and knowing when the actual show is, plus it stings that most tickets are at least $30 now.
I've been shooting concerts for a little while now (some of which you can see on my main site) and its great. I get to "work" while listening to live music, people tell me when the shows are and i don't have to buy tickets. While mostly shooting for PR agencies , magazines or bands i've also begun shooting for a couple websites.
Three Imaginary Girls is based out of seattle and is worth checking out. (the last show i shot for them is here)
Melophobe is based in boston, but covers shows all over the place. (I just covered the Morcheeba show in sommerville for them last thursday. you can see the pics/review here.)
Concert photography is great because it involves my two favorite things, music and photography. Plus, its fun because its a departure from shooting in a studio and it keeps you on your toes with variables that are constantly changing. You get used to it, knowing what to expect, but once in awhile you're in a situation where you're all WTF?
For instance, a few weeks ago i shot the Justice show here in boston. I had missed (read: been shut out of) their performance at CMJ this year, but heard they are amazing live, so i was really excited to see them. Adam and i arrived a little late and they had already started the party so I set off into the crowd and finagled my way up front. Thats when i realized i had a problem. It was completely dark. Like, literally no lights were on. There were two chainsmoking frenchman behind a console in front of me, hundreds of sweaty thumping people behind me and no lights above or below. I pulled out my strobe, a complete last resort, and set out to try to get something. Thats when i realized i had a new problem. It was so hot and humid and just tropical in there that my glass was completely fogged up.

I tried to wipe it down, but that proved to be useful for about 20 seconds. I ended up putting the camera away and just enjoying the music, which was a good thing. They were awesome. At the end of their set they put a spot on a disco ball which gave some light,

but it was lights out for most of the show. Sometimes when you see live shows the lights can almost take away from the mood. still, other times its like they are another member of the band. (anyone who's been to a phish show can attest to that) I had never been in a situation like this and it turned out to be amazing. With no lights you could just let yourself go and get into the music, which is exactly what i did. During this show i had a bit of an epiphany in regard to my work and really just life in general. All too often you can get caught up in the periphery. All those little things that you think are necessary really may not be. Sometimes it helps to just close your eyes, forget about everything that should or shouldn't be there, and just work with what you've got and enjoy it. Most of my pictures from the night were crap, but at least i came away with some meaningful insight.
so did this guy (notice the steam rising from his head)

My Dads Plane

noreply@blogger.com (sokhos) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:50:00 +0000

This time every year i'm hit with an urge to get out of town. i know its because after suffering through winters in new england for most of your life you develop coping mechanisms to stay sane and reaffirm why life is worth living. For me, that usually means traveling somewhere that is warm and sunny and not frozen and gray and dull and boring and blah.
Around this time last year i went to california to visit my best friend and his wife who were then living in san francisco. The plan was to spend some time in san francisco, seeing the city, road tripping around the area, and then renting a car and driving to where i used to live when i was a kid. My mother and i lived in sacramento until i was 8 when we moved out east, but i still visited my dad in santa rosa every summer and every other christmas vacation until he died when i was 12. I went out there the summer after i graduated college, which was my first visit in 10 years, but except for a quick pass by my dads grave i didnt spend all that much time in the places i knew when i was younger. I'm currently (and was at this time last year) working on a project exploring my relationship with my dad, how it effected me growing up and how it now effects me as a dad myself. Part of this involved going to document those childhood places to see how much they differed from my memory and to see if they stirred loose any other memories i'd temporarily forgotten. For the trip i brought my rangefinder and a bag of color neg and slide film. I was pretty fired up because although i don't use it that often its by far my favorite camera and all too often shelved due to the convenience and commercial necessity of shooting digital.

Life got pretty crazy as soon as i returned from the trip last may and between work, parenting and life in general i haven't had as much time as i'd liked to go over what i shot. Getting that seasonal wanderlust now i'm wondering where the hell my light table is while i'm reaching for my film binders and firing up my scanner. The next best thing to feeling sunshine on your back is at least looking at it so thats what i've been doing a lot of lately.
I've been scanning and editing the following pictures over the past few days. The story of how i took them is slightly to moderately ridiculous.

I had just finished visiting my dads grave in santa rosa and was driving up the 101 to windsor which is where my dad was living when he passed away 16 years ago. Its a pretty short ride between the two places, but a 10 minute drive was becoming exponentially longer as i sat in construction related traffic. This turned out to be a good thing as i had about 5 minutes to look at sign that i would have passed in 10 seconds had i been driving my regular speed. This sign was for the Charles M Schultz Sonoma County Airport. Looking at it i clicked that this was where i went to go flying with my dad when i was younger. Flying was my dads greatest passion and was one of the activities i did with him that i genuinely enjoyed doing. Probably the most enchanting moment of my young life was flying through a cloudbank when my dad told me to lower the glass flap on the window next to me and to touch the cloud we were flying through.

I took the exit off the freeway, followed the signs and arrived at an airport that was really different from what i remembered, completely fenced in and locked down per TSA and post 9/11 rules. I remembered going to this airport with my dad on a quiet sunday morning, passing a gate with minimal security and driving right on to the tarmac up to his plane. One of those mornings my dad took me to one of the runways that had just been completed but not yet open. He had me sit in his lap in the drivers seat of his maseratti and floored the accelerator as we blasted through the gears and on up to speeds that were certainly not legal on any state or local roadways. I think doing that these days at your regional airport would probably scramble f/a-18's to your location and at the very least get you thrown in jail.

After a few minutes of driving around the perimeter of the airport arousing as much suspicion as possible i pulled over to the side of the road when i saw something that caught my eye. It was an old plane, faded paint, rusted out, missing propellers, fuselage covered with a tarp like someone who had quietly passed away in their sleep. Jutting out from under the tarp was the planes tail number, which could easily be seen through the windshield of my rental car as i sat parked on the side of the road. This could have been any other forgotten aeronautical relic but there was something about this plane, specifically its off white with green and red stripe paint scheme that made me stop for a second. I called my mother who was at work back in boston to ask if she remembered any of my dads old planes knowing that the one i used to fly in with him was one they flew in together before they divorced. Without hesitating she said " sure, a 1958 beechcraft Travel Air" she then rattled off the tail number, all of which matched what was peeking out at me from under the tarp on the plane across the road and beyond the fence. "why?" she asked. I told her i'd explain later and hung up, my hand shaking. I thought about scaling the fence in front of me, but then thought better of it. Instead i opted to go to the airport managers office and ask whos plane it was. Once given the tail number and hearing my story the woman in the office was surprisingly accommodating, giving me a printout of who the plane was registered to , including name address and phone number.
I went outside and leaned against the warm hood of the rental car as i dialed the number of the man listed on the sheet given to me by the woman inside the office. A woman answered the phone and almost without even thinking about it i told her who i was and why i was calling , figuring she would surely think i was nuts and hang up. She went on to tell me that her husband, who was an aviation mechanic employed by the forestry service and currently in LA helping service planes battling forest fires, had bought the plane approximately 15 years ago. Apparently this plane was a bit of a collectors item, the kind of thing people spend time/effort seeking because they are so rare. She told me that a long time ago her husband had contacted my dad asking to buy his plane as an agent found it to be one of the few ones in operation in that part of california. At the time my dad had told him no way would he part with it so her husband went on with his life and forgot about it. A few years later , after my father had died with most of his assets going through probate court to be sold off by lawyers due to an incomplete will, the plane was on the market and he heard about it and subsequently bought it. The plane had been grounded along with my dad after his quadruple bypass surgery a couple years prior to his death and remained at the airport just wasting away. When this womans husband purchased it it was his intention was to restore it and fly it , which he started , but hadn't finished all these years later. "thats your dads plane" she went on to say. I then realized that the plane was probably in the same place it had been left at by my dad all those years ago. I began shaking just trying to comprehend it all. I had asked if there was any way i could see the plane up close , telling her that it had sentimental value to me and would mean a lot. She asked for my number and said she'd call back in 5 minutes. A few minutes later she called telling me to go to a nearby office and ask for a friend of hers who worked there. I did and was greeted by a woman who asked me to go wait at a security gate nearby and that she would meet me when she was done with her work. She did and after excitedly telling her my story she said "thats incredible" as she typed in the security code and opened the gate. Seeing my first unobstructed view of the tarmac i realized that the airport hadn't really changed at all from what i remembered as a kid.

Just to the right of the gate we entered was my dads plane and I stood there for a moment trying to take it all in. Even though i had been staring at it through the fence for the better part of an hour having it right in front of me confirmed that it really was my dads plane and not some type of hallucination.

I started to walk around it , inspecting it as if i was looking for more confirmation that this was the same airplane i used to fly in with my dad all those years ago.

I approached the passenger side of the plane, and the same wing i climbed up on with a step stool when i was younger.

"do you want to take a look inside?" asked the woman , who i completely forgot existed at that point, as she began to unfasten the cover on the cockpit. I asked if she needed a hand and as she said yes i climbed up on the wing to help her remove the dirty old cover.

At first look the cockpit was nothing as i remembered as all the seats had been removed revealing a tangle of avionics that lined the floor. I then recalled the woman on the phone had said her husband had started to restore the plane. Apparently he had not gotten very far with the process. It wasn't until i looked at the instrument panel that it all came flooding back to me. Flying with my dad , this mass of dials and switches and gauges in front of me, looking so much bigger then than it did now. I remembered how the yolk could flip over from one side of the cabin to the other so either person sitting up front could control the plane. I remembered how one time my dad flipped the controls in front of me and told me to fly the plane and i did for what was probably 20 seconds, but at the time must have seemed like an hour. I then realized my hand was on the same glass panel i had flipped down that one day when flying through the cloud bank. I stood there for a minute just staring at it, trying to comprehend how much bigger my hand is now then it was on that day and how how this small piece of glass might as well been the size of an oven door when my little hand last opened it.

At that point i realized that the woman who had let me through the gate had just finished work and while she had been gracious to be the gatekeeper for my trip down memory lane she probably had a home and family and life to go to after her workday. I grabbed a few more pictures, thanked her for her time and left. Back in the car i called the wife of the owner of the plane and thanked her profusely for allowing me to visit my dads old plane. She told me to write down her husbands cell phone and to call him while he was out of town and i dutifully recorded it, knowing that i wasn't about to call him as he serviced the aircraft battling the worst forest fires in southern californias recent history. I still have his number and will call him some day to introduce myself and ask how the restoration is going.