California Dreamin' (v1.5)

Just sent from a photographer at the workshop last year: Joel Brown. The only one sporting a large format camera. Gets huge kudos from me.




Have I mentioned that I love my job? And that I love the artists I work with?

California Dreamin'

Sorry for the lack of posts, folks. I can't really say that I've been soooo busy I haven't had time to make a new entry, but rather finding suitable material to post/talk about has been lacking. Which is kind of silly, since a good friend of mine just set up a blog not too long ago and I have been advocating that you make a blog your own. It doesn't have to be substantial, or profound - it just has to be yours, and you post what you want.

So here I am.

I'm leaving in a few days to go to the Palm Springs Photo Festival. This will be my second year attending as a workshop model. I will be working for Greg Gorman's Fine Art Nude workshop, and I'm sure it will be as great as last year. I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces and friends, but most of all, I'm looking forward to getting out of snowy Minnesota. Last night and this morning we had yet another substantial snowfall - 8 inches - and it's still snowing. Ugh. I'm so done with the snow and cold. Done done done.

I'm making lots of progress on my needed essentials for my long working vacation to France over the summer. I'm doing a great job at emptying out my pocketbook! But the expenses are necessary. New computer (I'm finally and officially a Mac user), new glasses and Rx sunglasses, new clothes, new camera (don't get terribly excited - its just a point and shoot, albeit an awesome one), and a bunch of incidentals. Shop til I drop.

On another note, I have a shoot today with Matthew Scherfenberg. Always love working with Matt. Let's just hope I can make it out of the driveway.



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Azureus by Matthew Scherfenberg.

glory shots

Self-portrait with: (from Left to Right)

Meghan Claire, Zinn Star, Jock Sturges, Nettie Harris, yours truly.

It is taken with a crappy camera with a crappy lens, and is slightly over exposed. I didn't expect exquisite results, but it's quality is adequate enough for me to not be a distraction to the lovely memories that are associated with the capture.
That's all I was hoping for this photograph.


Here's the setup shot (photograph by Mark Haskins):




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And then, the lovely madness that ensued afterwards.




:)

Palm Springs Photo Festival

Um, WOW!

Can I do this every year? Pleeeease?


In complete seriousness, I don't think I've ever had as much enrichment and just plain fun in those four days than in any consecutive 4 days in my life.

Jock Sturges is a master photographer for a reason. Not just because of the quality of his photographs, although if that was the only thing he had going for him as a photographer it would be enough, obviously. He utterly respects and treats his models exquisitely. He is a remarkable instructor, and goes way above and beyond the call of duty. He is extremely approachable, has a razorsharp wit, and is pretty much a genius. You'd be hard pressed to find any photographer who fits that description.

The workshop was wonderful. All the students were very respectful, and most of them had serious talent and potential. The locations that we shot were pretty interesting as well. I can't wait to see some of the results!

And the models, oh my word. Nettie, Zinn, Meghan, and Gavyn were off the charts! Seriously. All of them, and I mean, all of them were utterly wonderful, talented, gorgeous, and just plain fun people to be around. Jock said that this was the best group of workshop models he has ever worked with. And from the reports we got from the assistants and students, Jock had been raving about us even when we weren't around, so I don't think he was just saying that to boost our egos.

I also met a lot of other wonderful people, one of the highlights being Zoe Wiseman. What a fiesty bundle of awesome, that woman is! We didn't get to shoot, but we will one of these days, dammit! But I have her to thank for this incredible opportunity. Without her, I would have been spending the week back in Minnesota! So thank you, thank you, a million thank you's, Zoe!



So, to sum up: It was fucking amazing.


Any questions?





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Matt Blum.