I finished PDX Squared 2013 yesterday. I have many thoughts about the contest, the experience, and the whole event, but I am unable to organize those thoughts right now. In the meantime, here is a shot I found while in my “square” in NE Portland. It will go right into my Reflections ISW series.

P.S. I got Honorable Mention (3rd Place) in the Series category at PDXsq13. When I find out if that means I get published on their site, I will link to my series that I did. Or, if then don’t post it, I will.

I haven’t pulled out my old Lensbaby original in such a long time. Hell, this thing is so old it says “Lensbabies” on the lens cap – an artifact of branding lost to history. But, I’d been looking to add some life to concert photography, so why not? If you’re not familiar with Lensbaby products, they make a series of SLR lenses that can variably tilt, really affecting the way the lens focuses, narrowing the in-focus area to a small spot in the frame. The one I have is used by using some extra fingers to manually tilt the lens while the rest of my hands are busy taking pictures. It can be tricky to get used to, and takes practice to master — and I’m no master.

It’s hard to use in the dark with energetic hyperkinetic subjects! I wasn’t sure I’d get anything, but lo and behold: A couple winners! The blurred areas that Lensbaby lenses are famous for, in this case, really define a feeling of motion. I love these results! (You can see more non-Lensbaby pictures from this show and get more info over at the RFB Facebook page.

Trying to shoot film in a bar. Going crazy, fairly fast shutter of 1/250, my only hope was the f/1.7 on the Canonet and pure stand development with Rodinal (Adox Adonal) 1:100 for 70 minutes. I was really hoping to pull more out of the shadows.

Meh.

It was a cold and foggy morning on January 19, 2013. The frosted and chilly air gave way for little, save the thirty-four-hundred-ton Sellwood Bridge as it crept over thirty-three feet in fourteen hours in a feat of civil engineering glory. Nudging the old bridge aside makes room for a new bridge to be constructed in its place. The facts speak to urban progress, while the images tell a story of folks from the neighborhood looking for a spectacle, but getting something slightly more subtle. The best part of it all was the helpful feller with a binderful of printouts roaming around the crowd eager to share the historical context of the thing. I never got his name, but he was quite an effective liaison between our modern confusion and the relative certainty of days gone past. He deserved a hearty handshake for his efforts. Read more details over at sellwoodbridge.org. There’s even a timelapse video.

In a venture of pure unsubstantiated speculation, it seems to me that people are getting more picky about how they look in photographs. One the one hand, people should be more used to having their picture taken now than at any other time in history. But, along with that any given picture can now be seen by millions of people — something that is only a recent development. So, folks have developed a sense that they need to look their best.

Except, is it more than that? Do people want to look their best, or do they want to look better than their best? Do they have unrealistic self-images? Or is it that people are now so disconnected from normal reality that just being who they are is unacceptable? Do people feel that everyone around them is a glamorous star and that their own humble appearance doesn’t measure up? Warhol gave everyone fifteen minutes of fame, but in a world of scripted reality, what is normal that is not celebrity? Is it that people can’t bear ordinary reality because every minute of their lives is flooded with unreal images?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. All I know is that more and more that the pictures I take of people are received with scathing observations that can be summed up like this: “Great picture. Too bad I look terrible.” And, as a photographer this saddens and infuriates me at the same time.

If I can ever have an effect on the world, it would be nice to get someone to say “Oh, this is how I look. You captured reality and I like it.” I think I shall wait a very long time for that to happen.

I got to take some photos at the Urban Sub All Stars show at the legendary Crystal Ballroom in Portland last night. It was a slightly subdued night, but I had some good fun. I am ever on a quest to get shots of musicians in the air. Here I was lucky enough to get three guys in mid-jump. I love it!

The more I do concert photography, the more I realize how hard it is to get just what I want. I end up throwing away shots that other people seem to like. But, I don’t like these sorts of things:

• Closed eyes
  
• Eyes looking down at the instrument
  
• Microphone overlapping any of the face
  
• Mic stands in the way,
  
• Hands cut off by the frame
  
• Distracting background elements
  

So many otherwise good photos can be killed by these. I get obsessed with the eyes. When you look at concert photos, pay attention to the microphone and the eyes. For me, these are details that change the idea of the photograph. Sometimes, they cannot be avoided, especially when getting a jumping shot! But, that is what I always strive to do. It is harder than it seems, sometimes.

Concert photography is sometimes looked down upon by some other serious photographers. I get it. You are given fantastic subjects in dramatic lighting. All you need to do is click the shutter! Any monkey can do it well! But, I find it is harder than many people think, and I try always to get a little something extra. I am defiantly proud of my concert work.

Here are my other favorites from the night:

And this one is the new Redfishingboat cover on Facebook:

Hi loyal Redfishingfans! Been a while since I’ve blogged, but, you know. I walked out of Newspace doing some work in the darkroom (!!!) only to see this down the street. I just couldn’t commit it to some black and white film, so iPhone it was. I’m so bloody diverse!

Tony freakin’ Smiley! Ben Union! The Doug Fir! Holy drop ship! I got the chance to photograph a really amazing rock show on Friday. I said I wanted to get involved with the local scene, and damn if this wasn’t hardcore deep in it. The level of talent here in Portland is truly inspiring. And, they let me take pictures! Canjoobleedatshiz?

Thing is, I give myself a B+ on the photographs. The Doug Fir is somewhat of a world-famous venue, but its famous for being intimate and a showcase for the not-yet-famous. So, as one would expect, it’s not-yet-comprehensively-lit. When I was sharing my excitement at going to photograph there, I got a lot of consolation from the people I told. The lighting sucks, they’d tell me. Now, it really wasn’t that bad. I’ve been in a lot worse, for sure. Yes, there were long periods of just pure, sensor-fooling red light. That was pretty bad. And, I hate to say it, but I really felt the technological limit of my antique 5D. I hate to be that guy who complains about gear. But, seriously. Focus? It’s kind of embarrassing at this point. I’m just trying to justify an upcoming fiscal outlay, I guess.

Anyway, great music. Check out more pix over on the RFB Facebook page. Let me know what’s happening in your neck of the woods.

2012 marked my return to caring about newly-released music. I used to obsesses about hearing every new release – giving every single one a chance. After blazing out of the biz, I left it behind for a while, but I missed the new-release rush. Not quite as obsessive as the old days, though. And, I really don’t have any clue what the industry is doing these days. Yet I still listened to a ton, and my favorite songs are in one big Spotify playlist. These are some thoughts about the keystones of what 2012 was for me in music.

This was the year of fun. I still miss The Format, and listening to the singer’s new band, fun., was initially a way to cope, but the new album turned out to be an instant classic nearly as good as my old favorite album Dog Problems. There were a lot of choices for a song from this, but I went with “Carry On” which will stay with me for a very long time as a song that can change the color of a whole day.

This was also the year of SoundSci. I listened to full their Solid Steel mix probably twenty times, and their album has some high spots too. The song “Formula 99″ entered the pantheon one of the all-time badass grooves of all time. At time the album sounds like Jurassic 5 through a Ninja Tune filter, and that might be because one of the dudes in Hexstatic is part of SoundSci.

2012 was the year I clued in to Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band. A rootsy bluesy thing. His album might be my favorite of the year in terms of enjoying it from top to bottom and caring about each song. “Between the Ditches” will forever have a place on roadtrip mixtapes. And, the album cover reminds me of my sister and her husband!

This was a fucking awesome year of Macklemore! Oh, and Ryan Lewis, too. They’re a tandem, see! “Thrift Shop” was right up there for most-played song of the year. We even bought the CD for the car. But, I don’t know why “Can’t Hold Us” wasn’t a hit. I listen to it like an epic. The instrumental “BomBom” is also a hidden gem.

2012 was the year that Ryan Bingham broke through from being an interesting artist to become someone I will always check out – a very rare trait these days. “Guess Who’s Knockin’” is another worthy inductee into the Badass Pantheon as well. I cheated and added the acoustic version of “Too Deep To Fill” because it’s such a heartbreakingly meaningful social ballad.

“Burgh Island,” by Ben Howard gets my nod for most purely beautiful song of 2012, with Field Mouse’s pristine “You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom” getting a very honorable mention.

And starting now, it’s gotta say 2013. GIMME THE NEW SHIZ!

This panorama has it all, except the beer.