The Little One

So we start with the little one. I shoot one frame. "Are we done yet?" she asks. "No, not yet," I say. I shoot one more. "Are we done NOW?" she asks. "Just a few more I say, maybe eighteen more," I add. This is enough to make her wonder about counting, but she doesn't. A game we play.

For me, this type of shoot, with the freedom I'm given to just make pictures, is as good as it gets. It's more than fun.

New Pictures

Pictures from a recent shoot. Mostly color on this one. Kids I know well. Afternoon. Summer. Windy.
Pure fun.

The Heat

"I don't want to throw the heat I want to throw the deuce."

I can't help but look at these images and think about this famous line from Bull Durham. And, "You don't need a quadraphonic Blaupunkt, you need a curve ball."

It had been YEARS since I aimed anything at a baseball field, so I was excited to see what I could get. Granted, it was a short game, light was ghastly, but who cares. It's baseball!

If I would have had more time I would have sucked down a 72 liter Coke, a bag of nuts, cotton candy and some fried meat on a stick then put the seats down in the car and try to sleep it off in the parking lot.

But, I just didn't have the time.

Checking in on Mom

So RW made contact yesterday from his compound in the woods. The blog was mentioned, questions were asked about mom, what she has been up to. So, I thought a pop quiz was in order.

In the last month mom has been spotted doing which of the following:


A- Eating a dove that flew into her picture window.

B- Gorging on fudge and strawberry shortcake to the point of getting sick.

C- Sending out her poetry via email to most computer users in the US.

D- Cheating in her garden by planting "plants" instead of "seeds."

E- Visiting with the neighbors donkey.

F- All the above.



Winners will get nothing of value.

Beach Shoot

Just look at these faces. I've known these kids for several years now, and they are really fun to work with, good for quote after quote that just makes you laugh. We hoped for a touch of June gloom to soften things and were lucky, at least for the first part of the shoot.

Daily Life

The photos have been hung. Four of them, in the library of the Moroccan, boutique location. The weather was hot, really hot, 115+, but dry as they say. Three in one spot, one lone in another.
It's odd seeing them in a new location, but I like it.
There is no peace however, after you realize how many locations there are!

But, most importantly, my food is growing. All tomato plants are up, five total, and two spinach. Now I need cilantro and jalapeno, just to round things out.

I will post some snaps of the new growth, just as soon as humanly possible, but after I'm finished with this I am practicing my "computer free weekends," so it will have to come next week.

Teaching in Spain

Okay, I've been asked to teach in Spain of next year, for Easter, and I will be posting more about this at a later date, but wanted to get this out there. In short, it looks to be an incredible event, time, place, etc.

Here is the first blast of information I have.



Easter in Seville, Spain – April 4-14th, 2009


Holy Week in Seville is a feast for the senses. This unique event takes place the week leading up to the Easter weekend and consists of more than 65 processions. Huge floats are carried around the streets of Seville by teams of Bearers and Penitents all dressed up for one of the most overwhelming religious rituals of the world. The representation of The Passion of the Christ is done by different brotherhoods that spend months preparing the processions that will wander day and night around the city. The Holy Week celebrations reach their climax during La Madrugá, where from midnight Thursday into the early hours of Good Friday more than 500,000 people remain in the streets following the various brotherhoods’ processions. Holy Week in Seville is an unparallel combination of religious emotions, gypsy passion and pagan joy.

Framed by these sumptuous celebrations, your instructors will take you deeper into the beautiful Andalucía region to explore the Moorish side of Spain. Here you will discover
some of the most amazing photo opportunities as we embrace its beauty and traditions. This combined with classroom critiques and lectures will refine your photo techniques and skills. Day trips to the White Towns of Andalucía, the Sherry wine cellars in Jerez de la Frontera, to Cordoba and its amazing Mesquite and to a ranch that raises bulls for bullfighting completes your 10-day adventure. Living Easter in Seville and capturing every moment and aspect of their 16th Century traditions is a once in a lifetime experience you can’t miss.

Highlights:
• Be part of the processions and shoot up close and personal the most amazing
Easter Celebrations
• Visit Moorish Cordoba and its Mesquite
• Visit the White Towns of Andalucía
• Witness and capture the rise of the brave fight bulls of Spain
• Be amazed by the beauty of the Andalusian horses in the
Royal Equestrian Academy
• Have a taste of Sherry in their world famous Cellars

California-based photographer Daniel Milnor (www.milnorpictures.net) specializes in long-term, black and white documentary work relating to a variety of topics including:
Sicilian Easter Processions, Big-Wave Surfing, Portuguese Bloodless Bullfighting, California Off-Highway Vehicular Recreation Parks, Exotic Game Ranches as well as Los Angeles Urbanization. Daniel’s work has been published in Black & White Magazine and Camera Arts, among other magazines and newspapers. A former photo specialist for the Eastman Kodak Company and consultant to Blurb, Daniel’s work on Sicily became a finalist for the Honickman First Book Prize in Documentary photography. He has taught at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, the Julia Dean Photo Workshops in Venice, California, and most recently at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Eniac Martinez (www.eniacmartinez.com) is a documentary photographer based in
Mexico City. He studied at the International Center of Photography in New York and the Cuban Institute of Art. He has had more than 35 solo and 50 collective exhibits around the world. In 1991 he won the Mother Jones magazine documentary photography competition, as well as a Fullbright award in 1989 for his work documenting a group of Mixtecos Indians who migrated to the United States from their home state of Oaxaca in search of work. These images were published in his book Mixtecos, Norte Sur (1994). He has also authored the books Litorales and Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Eniac's work has been published in magazines such as Daily Telegraph, National Geographic, México Indígena, Luna Córnea and La Jornada. Eniac is an instructor for the Santa Fe Workshops and National Geographic Expeditions.

Pricing and Conditions:
Duration: 11 Days / 10 Nights
Price: $6,495
Conditions: Price is per person in double occupancy in the 5-Star Occidental Sevilla.
For single room add $1,000.
Includes: 10 Breakfasts, 7 lunches and 2 dinners, as well as all transportation, fieldtrips, guides and tips.
Does not include: Airfare to and from home city. Transfer to and from airport destination.
LIMITED TO 20 PARTICIPANTS

To enroll call 310-392-0909 or toll free 1-866-448-5187

The Mayne Event: Celebrity Wedding

Okay, I haven't posted much about weddings, but this just ran in InStyle so I thought I would share with you.

This was fun, and was held in a great location. The two more important ingredients in any wedding, the right people and the right place. If these are not in line with you as a photographer, walk away. Really, it's better for all involved and someone else will come along.

In this case, they were both right for me. And, the snaps turned out really nice. A lot of square, black and white negative, and some color added in.

In the future, I'm doing less color, more black and white, and am probably going to eliminate all digital capture and go back to color negative, which I find far more suited to my lifestyle needs than digital color.

Everyone was very relaxed and fun to work with and the weather was near perfect.

Donde Esta El Fuego?

I like people who shake things up. Invite the guests, bring the food, and then...add the fire.

It's not really a birthday party until the fire arrives, and in this case, it arrived in abundance.

Zeiss, Portra, fire...

Mainely Three

Mainely Two

Mainely

I knew I was in another world when someone called my rental car a "wicked pissa."

Maine is a little different, and I think the locals are just fine with that.

Through the gaps in the dense woods, the Atlantic flashes like a movie reel in your mind, all powerful, foreboding. The rock, land and water are somewhat harsh but the sum translates to pure beauty.

Cliche doesn't cover the view even when you catch yourself standing there and saying, "Gee, that looks just like a postcard."


We have timed it right, early spring, before the hordes arrive in search of the lobster roll and precious sun for their winter skin.
The beaches are empty, and on the morning run barely a car passes.

If there is a more beautiful place in our eastern region, I'm not sure where it might be.

Maine is rife with history, culture and old, wooden things bleached by the sun and snow.

This is a place where staring in silence is commonplace.

My Kinda Portrait

Shooting black and white is about shadow and light. Right? Okay, at least I think so. So, why not use shadow and light. This is my kinda portrait. I did this entire shoot with one roll, twelve exposures. TOTAL. And, I used nine of the images.
This is my favorite.
"But I can't see the faces," the traditionalist screams. True, very true, but guess what. Everyone involved in this shoot...........knows who they are!!!!! It works!!!!!

Tradition is for cake recipes

Don't do what you THINK you are supposed to do. Do what you WANT to do. Try it

Color for Color

What could be better than just walking about with a camera? Okay, walking around with a camera with a winning lotto ticket in your pocket? Ya, that sounds good to me. I don't shoot color that much, at least when it comes to documentary work, but I've started to more. I used to shoot color all the time, and it fact shot nothing but for years. I started with color, and am glad I did. But I have to say, much work I see is shot in color for the sake of shooting color because, "that is what people want," or so we have been told. But I'm not so sure.
I think if you are going to shoot color, shoot for the COLOR, not because that is the default setting.
If your shooting at noon, in horrific light, who cares? I think the newspaper world missed the boat on this. Back in the 80's we were told the readership was "too sophisticated" for black and white and "demanded" color.
That's odd, in my time working at newspaper I heard a constant stream of people telling me, "I miss black and white, why don't you guys run it anymore."
Makes you wonder who makes these decisions.
So here is a little color.

The Joy of Compulsive Shooting

There is perhaps no reason for it. Typically they are unseen. But once you have the bug you just can't stop. It's relentless, and I'm not sure you can understand it if it hasn't really hit you yet. Always in the back of your mind, "What am I going to miss?"
"Are you going to take your bag with you?" a question I am asked every week as I carry around my "stuff." From the plane, in passing, strangers, a celebration, a memorial and a happy accident.

Superwoman

Ninety-eight and still going strong. The first time I met her she held my head in her hands and said, "You handsome brute."

I'm trying to figure out how I can be as active, upbeat and healthy. Not sure it is possible at this point. Her advice, "eat blueberries."

She can remember phone numbers from decades ago, ALL of them. I can't remember what I did last Tuesday.

She also taught me about scratcher tickets, for the lottery. I bought her five, she made fourteen bucks.

Easy as pie.