Henry, Norm, and I

My lens shade signed by Henry Diltz

 My friend Norman and I had the great pleasure of going to hear a talk by the photographer Henry Diltz. There is an exhibit of Henry's work currently going on at the university. Henry has had quite the career. He did a slide show of images from early on. It was very cool to see the images that I'd seen over and over but even cooler to hear the stories and see the out takes from shoots. If you don't know, Henry did the photos for the Doors album Morrison Hotel. He showed pics from that day of the band inside the Hard Rock Cafe. Jim and the boys hanging out in this nasty bar with deer hanging on the walls and all the local drunks. I found the pics here if you'd like a peek. Henry was friends with Steven Stills before becoming a photographer and he became friends with quite a few emerging musicians as a result. I can't do his story justice and I'm sure it's all over the internet anyhow. After the talk we walked over to the gallery; the talk was in a nearby lecture hall. They had some horrible looking blue shit to drink and cookies but I had been clutching my Deja Vu album cover for the last hour and I was totally geeking out. I hopped right in and Mr. Diltz was more than happy to sign the inside of the gatefold for me. The cover photo on that album was done by another photographer but Henry did the inside shots. I also had him sign my lens shade which he said was a first for him.  Norman shot about 60 photos of me and Henry while he was signing the stuff. I had been looking forward to this for a while and I was not disappointed. You know that picture of Jimi Hendrix from Woodstock with the white fringe jacket? Henry. Janis Joplin. Henry. George Harrison and Bob Dylan at The concert for Bangladesh. Yeah...Henry. I'm quite grateful that I got to meet Henry, hear him tells some great stories and experience it all with my buddy Norm. Rock on.

 

Where'd the week go?

I've said before I've been trying to do at least a post a week so I checked to see when the last post was. Oops, I didn't realize how long it had been. Just dealing with day to day stuff got in the way. Posting from work makes it a bit tough to do what I'd like as I've got some pictures to show but they are there and I am here. It's also tough to share a computer with three other folks who find it very necessary to view excavator and Lego Star Wars videos on YouTube.
    A few weeks ago I went to Chicago for the day with a couple of friends to do some photography. Just for fun. The weather was nice, we could take pictures and hang out and not worry about "getting the shot" or any of that. We had a great day and were winding up at North Ave. Beach shooting the people there and the lake and getting ready to go home when I found out we had been ripped off. That sucked. My bag and my buddies bag had been snatched. Luckily we had the cameras with us but all the other stuff was gone. It could have been much worse but all in all the experience was pretty shitty. My friend was actually concerned that the event would turn me sour on photography and making trips to Chicago. I hadn't even thought about it at the time but perhaps it would have. I think in hindsight he did a good job of keeping the negativity of the event at bay. Thanks man. The Chicago PD were pretty easy to deal with and my insurance folks have been alright as well. I tend to get freaked out and assume the worst-case scenario but I was told I'll be getting reimbursed real soon. Whew. I didn't have all that much stuff but I tell you it can add up quick. If you are the kind of guy who carries a bunch of crap around (EDC) add up what it would cost to replace all that. It's staggering. Ladies, do the same with your purse and you'll see what I mean. Of course the case could be made for minimizing and leaving the junk at home but that's another conversation. I lost lenses, which pretty much makes an SLR useless. I'm not going to be able to go out and replace my gear with the latest and greatest stuff. I must admit, however, I like buying stuff and this gives me the opportunity to make a more advised buying decision than I may have the first time around. I will post the pics from my trip to Chicago soon. Actually, I think the photos from Milwaukee were better but ya'll can take a look and decide. Thanks for reading. Rock on.

Wedding - Gary, Indiana

The Church

I've been working as an assistant to a friend who does weddings. I took a few shots when I had some down time.

The Hall