Photo Story: Serve the Servants

A former model, this woman was an interesting moment in a night of 1,500 photographs

For the past decade, these lyrics have been burned in my mind, "Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old."  They are the opening lyrics to the Nirvana song "Serve the Servants," which in turn is the opening track on the album In Utero, the follow up to the greatest album of my generation, Nevermind.  I cannot tell you how many times those lyrics randomly pass through my mind each week, but I can tell you it is multiple times.  

I met the woman in the portrait above while photographing the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club's huge New Year's Eve party.  Whenever I photograph such an event, I always photograph the staff as well (though never asked to), with whom I naturally feel a greater connection.  We are in fact both the servants of the wealthier hirer.  Me just for that day or night, they for an undetermined amount of time.  However, as a photographer, I cross both social lines since photographing someone is a personal action, I can be close to the guests of the event on that level, but also to the staff working behind the scenes as I too am just an employee.  I like being able to cross both lines.

I had a chance to speak with the woman above for a few moments.  I had seen her from afar and knew immediately I wanted to photograph her.  Her face has a lot of character, and something about her hairstyle fascinates me.  Maybe it is the color?  Or maybe that it is not the typical hairstyle for a woman that age?  I asked her to stand in front of the wall so as to produce a clean background and to allow me to bounce the Nikon SB-800 Speedlight I was using off the opposite wall to light her as best I could in such a random space.

Such a portrait as this is not a priority to a client, but I made a mental note of it while going through the full 1,500 photo batch from the event to sometime highlight and single out this portrait.

The woman went on to tell me she did some modeling when she was younger.  As is my usual custom, I only wanted to hear her story, happy to only listen.  I cannot stand to speak of mine, and I was glad she did not ask any questions of me.  I would like someday to ask her more questions if I ever had the chance.  

In the meantime, "serve the servants" will continue to echo through my mind . . . 

White Ibises in Flight

White Ibis return to their island in Smacks Bayou in Snell Isle Saint Petersburg

I had scouted out a corner of Smacks Bayou a few weeks ago with a seawall close to where pelicans were flying past just above the water.  Since then I had been envisioning making a photo of a pelican doing just that, skimming over the surface of the water made from as close to its eye level as possible without a kayak.  After 650+ shots this late afternoon, and 30 minutes of lying on my stomach right on the concrete seawall, I was not successful in making the shot I had imagined.  

My consolation prize (hardly) was the above photograph of a flock of white ibis heading back to what I call the "bird island of Smacks Bayou."  It will have to do for now.  

The next time I go back to that spot it will be at sunrise to see if light from the opposite corner of the bayou is any better.

Philosophy of Antiques in the Park Gulfport Florida

Lots of glass items at Antiques in the Park. It seems Cs were in short supply in 1945.

I recently put on Facebook this statement that popped into my mind, "Only things that are old have any value."  One person commented, a 40+ year old guy, "tell that to my wife."  I meant it to be a serious statement though on the extremely disposable and commodified nature of all items, goods and personalities being created in 2010.  In 40 years will anyone admire a 2010 Toyota Camry the way they would a 40-year old Shelby Cobra today?  

All wonder over air travel has now been replaced by fear and routine, making a trunk like this one all the more valuable.

How is this for you?  iTunes DJ has just selected a classic song from the Amelie soundtrack to play.  The most modern form of playing music choosing a classic tune from before computers even existed while I write about the past on a wireless keyboard in front of two digital screens.  Perhaps this is the way of the future . . . using modern technology to help preserve the value of the past.

Hard to imagine a world only as big as the distance a wagon wheel could take you.

And by no means do I believe technology is advanced at all right now.  Computers and the Internet are still very much in their infancy.  How rough is it to use a computer still?  Not even my Mac "just works."  

This collection of old circus tumblers fascinated me. If I had $39 cash on me I just might have purchased them.

While browsing the tables of Antiques in the Park in Gulfport I came across the very green glass goblets my mother used to fill with pudding and jello when I was a child.  I had a very strong reaction to seeing them.  So strong I did not even thing to photograph them.  I was probably going to purchase them as I passed back by the entrance/exit on the way out.  I did not even have the chance as someone else, perhaps wanting to eat pudding from them once again, had already bought them and carried them cheerfully home as I would have done.

Nothing made now will rust like this oxidized tractor.

This was the first antiques show I went to in the south and I was surprised to see the legacy of slavery and racism in explicit messages on several antique decorative plates and even old 8x10 advertisements.  One recurring theme I saw was black people being pursued or victimized by alligators, suggesting I guess that white people would never be attacked by these apparently discriminating creatures.  It was a bit surreal and uncomfortable to see these items.  

I plan to visit a few more antique shows in the near future and I hope to find perhaps another set of those pudding goblets and maybe an old camera or two for decorating my desk with some photography history.

Roppongi Hills Skyscraper Architecture at Night

Because of its changing lights, you may never photograph Roppongi Hills at night the same way twice.

I was doing a little cleaning house in my photography archives when I came across this image I made in December 2008.  I was still living in Tokyo.  The center skyscraper is Roppongi Hills, home to an art museum and the best movie theater in the whole metropolis.  This was not so long after I first got the Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm lens.  This image was made handheld at f/2.8.  In my current photographic mind I cannot help but think, "you should have shot at f/8 and used a tripod!"  

The structures at the foot of Roppongi Hills form a fun labyrinth to find all kinds of angles and perspectives to photograph architecture from.  Roppongi Hills itself pulses different lights almost every night, if not different in color then different in pattern.  The lights travel up the sides of the building floor by floor, like the belly of a snake as it flexes a continuing muscle.

It is always crowded closer to the Roppongi Hills building itself (where in Tokyo isn't?), but the structures at its base are largely untraveled so that a photographer may work in peace.  

If you have any shots of Roppongi Hills at night, please share them in the comments below.

Cement Plant Haikyo at Day and Dawn

The sun only very briefly showed itself during its rise over this haikyo cement plant.

I woke up at 7am Christmas morning, not to open up presents, but to rush off to photograph a cement plant haikyo!  After having an entire photography exhibition of urban exploring images I made in Japan at a gallery here in Saint Petersburg, I was getting anxious to photograph one for real (I had visited two other haikyo briefly) in sunny Florida.  As my luck would have it, the sun was only out for a brief few minutes before it rose back up into heavy overcast.  Fortunately, I stopped by this haikyo the previous evening also and caught the last vestiges of sunlight in a few quick shots.  This is something else I had been wanting to do for awhile--photograph a location at different times of day.

I was hoping to have more blue sky urban exploring images like this one, but Florida's weather has been very poor this December.

While visiting my Mom over Thanksgiving, I happened to notice a decaying driveway with a meager bar gate leading into the woods.  I stored it in my mental archives as a possible haikyo location to check out on my next visit.  At that time I thought it might be a housing subdivision that never got completed, so I was a little surprised to find a cement plant behind the tree line.  

Some of the plant's product was stacked into neat walls that reminded me of ancient Rome.

I was not alone on my late afternoon visit.  Kiki came with me.  I could not let her wonder off alone so I had to keep one hand on her leash leaving only one to hold my Nikon D300 for shots like the above one.  I tried to get Kiki to follow me up the conveyer belt seen in the above photo, but the metal mesh type ramp was not something Kiki, though quite brave, was willing to traverse.  However, when I went back by myself at sunrise the next day, I made the steep stroll to its summit and realized it was definitely no place for a dog!

It was fun to walk up alongside that conveyor belt, not scary like it was climbing the steep ladder to the point from which I made this photo.

This cement plant in my estimation has not been closed down for that many years, maybe only 3 or so.  There was really only one building with an interior, but that was locked up tight as a drum and I did not feel breaking in was prudent to just photograph the few desks and filing cabinets I could see through the locked door's window.  Thus, there was not a high level of decay to photograph.

I do not know if I would have climbed the metal rung ladder to the top of this tower if it did not have the pictured cage safely enclosing it.

What did excite me about this haikyo though, as young as it was, is that it meant I could break one of the main rules of urban exploring, which is, "do not climb anything."  There were a couple towers and two high conveyor belt ramps to climb.  The photo above was taken after I climbed a three tiered vertical metal rung ladder jutting from the exterior of the tower.  Only the bottom two rungs had any rust on them at all.  Plus the protective cage around the rungs made me feel pretty safe, though it was a bit of a tight squeeze with my Lowepro backpack on and another small shoulder bag dangling in front of me.  I doubt anyone larger than me could have fit with a backpack on.  The vertical climb up the rungs was something I am not physically accustomed to doing only a short 20 minutes after first waking up either.  I was in a race though because I knew the bit of sunlight peaking through would soon vanish as the sun rose into the overcast morning sky.  

Top: roof of the highest tower Bottom: entrance to the highest conveyor belt, never even thought to take the fast way down!

After climbing the tallest rung ladder, I went right to the ramp to the highest conveyor belt.  It definitely took some physical exertion to get my increasingly large carcass and all my camera gear to the tops of both places.  I always like having a view though.

These railings showed the greatest level of decay of anything at the cement plant haikyo.

Once I got off the top tower, the sun was gone and it was a very grey morning.  Back on the ground there was also little left around the plant itself other than the towers and various silos.

Got to have shades & a BBQ grill if it's Florida!

However, I did find signs that this was definitely a true Florida based cement plant.  Safety equipment included the usual orange vest and hardhat, but also another definite necessity for Florida, a good pair of dark sunglasses.  It also would not be any kind of Florida outdoor space without a BBQ grill either!  

I did not climb these towers as they were showing more signs of decay than the others.

This cement plant was more of an architectural haikyo rather than an exploring haikyo as the majority I have been too were.  Thus, it did not feel as personal as there were no dark corridors to walk down with surprises around corners.  Nothing to open up and look inside of.  

I guess cement blocks slid down these conveyor belts, but I did not carry one to the top to find out.

Still, it was good to walk around a place that no one has for years and to at least make the effort of rising at dawn to try and find some unique light, though unfortunately this time there was none.  If anyone knows of any other haikyo or abandoned buildings, factories, farms, etc, in Florida please let me know in the comments below. 

Photo Story: Christmas Sunrise over Cape Coral Florida

I got up just in time to capture the last bit of sunshine of the Christmas morning sunrise in Cape Coral, Florida.

I saw at least four weather forecasts declaring that Christmas Day was going to be an on and off rainy day in Cape Coral.  I did not expect there to be fleeting dawn light with the sunrise.  I hustled out of my mom's condo with the Nikon D300 in tow and raced to a secret high spot.  Anyone that knows Cape Coral might have a hard time believing this sunrise photograph was made there because Cape Coral is largely a desert-like landscape of poor land made dry by hundreds of canals.  

I was about 10 minutes late from making an actual sunrise photograph of quality.  By the time I clamored up to the top of this viewpoint, there was no more golden orange light reflecting off the clouds, nothing warming the tops of the trees.  

This should be a lesson for me and others:  real photographers do not let semi-incompetent weathermen dictate when they shoot.  I should have at least had my gear prepared and popped my head out the window 45 minutes before sunrise just in case shooting conditions were good.  Another photographer's rule to apply to this situation is that you can never wake up too early to go shooting!

Monster 4x4's of 16th Avenue

This will be a very practical vehicle once the ice caps fully melt.

A few months ago I first drove past a pair of jacked-up monster 4x4 trucks.  I thought it was pretty unusual for such vehicles to be seemingly left for naught at a rundown looking garage.  I felt bad for them in a way.  My business the past few months took me past them maybe a dozen more times, and I said each time I passed them, "I've got to photograph them when I get a chance."  Finally today I had the chance.

This monster 4x4 could be the most intimidating tailgater on the road!

It was fun to stand next to these sky high trucks and think about what it would be like to drive one, heck what it would be like to just try and get into the driver's seat!  Two guys walked by me while I was making these photographs and we chatted a bit about the trucks.  They said the trucks were definitely weekend only vehicles, and not something you want to take your girl out in!  

The intricacies of the lift kit.

As a photographer, it always feels good to check something off your personal list of things to photograph, and I highly recommend making and having a list of things in your neighborhood you want to photograph.  Now the next time when I drive past these trucks on 16th Avenue they will feel like friends since I made the time to introduce myself.  I think they liked having someone pay attention to them again.