Last week, during the photo shoot with Kim and Johnny, we were wandering around the beach looking for a good location. The light wasn’t perfect yet and the beach was way more crowded than I had imagined. We were meandering in the sand for a while when I looked to my left and saw a brilliant green wall with lots of texture and personality. I started walking towards the wall quickly, murmuring to Kim and Johnny over my shoulder something about how I really liked that green wall and they should go stand in front of it. I think they both thought I was a little nuts.
But, the humored me and situated themselves in front of the wall. I fired off a few shots and checked them out in my LCD screen on the back of my camera. They were glorious. Not only did the green look remarkable but the shaded lighting made their skin glow. As a photographer, not only am I searching for light, but often times I’m searching for shade––which is something I don’t hear a lot of photographers talk about, even though I know we all do it.
After I posted the photos from that shoot I received a phone call from Kim. Her first words, “You amaze me,” brought a smile to my face, but it was her follow-up phrase that really made me proud: “You were right, that green wall was awesome.” It made me feel that I had achieved a small victory in some way by demonstrating through the images that I created that what seemed like a plain and somewhat ugly wall was really a thing of beauty.
Another small victory happened to me yesterday. I don’t talk here about the other types of work that I do, but in addition to taking photographs, I also work as a copy editor. Currently, I’m working as a contractor for the Style Network’s website, mystyle.com. There is a weekly feature on the site called Style Test Drive, wherein staff members review a product and write mini reviews. If you click on that link you’ll see all of them and notice that in all of the entries starting with Can JASON Measure Up? the staff photos are boring, poorly lit shots taken in front of a white wall. In the meeting the senior editor expressed her desire to spice up the test drive section of the site and asked for suggestions. I, of course, suggested beautifying the section with prettier staff photos. To make a long story short, I was asked to step in. The first test drive featuring my photos was published today and I am pleased as punch. The photos are exactly a quarter of an inch big, but they do look pretty! Tiny little photos and a tiny little photo credit (highlighted below with purple arrows)––I am so proud! You can take a look at the entry live on the site by clicking on the screen grab below.
Friday Song
Don’t think I’d post on a Friday without posting a Friday Song! This week I’m posting another oldie-but-goodie, though it’s likely you’ve never heard it. It’s by a rapper called Fat Lip who is an ousted member of The Pharcyde. I have to admit I’m pretty much unfamiliar with the lot of his work except for this song. But, I do love this song a lot. It’s pretty refreshing to hear a rapper talk about how uncool he is. You must also check out the video, which was directed by Spike Jonze.
Happy Friday, y’all!
Fat Lip - What’s Up Fat Lip?
[audio:WhatsUpFatlip.mp3]
