Hozac Blackout 2012 Opening Night
Found myself back in my former home of Chicago for yet another Hozac Blackout. Find my articles and pics of previous years here. The opening night featured an art show and music by Cemetery and Killed by Death punk rock legends The Mentally Ill. Two weeks later and I’m still a bit worn out from the four days of non-stop rock and roll. Of course I’ve been to a few shows since being back as well. This summer is turning out to be quite the rock and roll summer already. Anyway, here’s a look at some of what I saw on that night and a few from that day around the city. All the black and white stuff was shot with my Leica M6 with either the Voigtlander 12mm or Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm on Tri-X film rated at 800 and pushed accordingly.
Back in Berkeley, Ruckus didn’t want us to leave.
Ruckus keeps the riff raff out | Leica M6 Voigtlander 12mm Tri-X film shot at 800
But we made it to Chicago and took a quick walk down Milwaukee Ave.
Milwaukee and Ashland Ave Chicago, Il
Chicago Bus Stop
Met Brett and Todd for lunch
Brett and Todd!!!
Football was there too
3/4s of Football!!!
Zach too
Zach
Lily was showing some of her work
Lily hangs her pics
Lily and her prints
So was Colin Smith
Colin
Zach and Artist Luke Chappelle
Nate setting up
Nate hanging Mathew Schommer’s work
Darius was showing some great stuff
Darius and Zach
As well as Marieke McClendon
Marieke hangs her work
Cemetery Played
Cemetery
Reid was there
Reid and Cemetery
Mentally Ill were the headliners
Mentally Ill
Mentally Ill
It got a little crazy during “Gacy’s place”
And lastly some other stuff I shot with my Nikon V1. It has a slow motion mode I wanted to try out and also did some animated stills like I always like to do. All to Fabienne Delsol “Come Along”
Enjoy
How Photoshop CS6 Killed My Imac (and I got a Leica)
Sorry I’m so behind on my posting. Last week my Imac’s hard drive bit the dust. I was actually working on a new post about our first day in Tokyo.
I shot a time-lapse of the sun setting over Mount Fuji from the window high up in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Unfortunately during the shoot a security guard came and told me I couldn’t use my tiny little UN-obtrusive tripod. So I had to move it and set it down without. This made for a big movement towards the end. I can probably just do a transition in Premiere but at the time I thought it would be a good idea to make an animated GIF of the time-lapse. I opened all the files up in about 165 layers in CS6 and then selected all the layers and chose “auto align.”
I’d done it before for the animated GIF of the building with the flashing lights in Kaohsiung you can see on my blog a couple of posts ago. So I didn’t really think it would be a problem. Set it up on Friday morning and then took off to work. Was excited to see how it worked and thought about it all day. Eight hours later I hurried home and hit my mouse to wake my computer up and check out the amazing job that CS6 had done aligning the mountain and making it a breeze for me to make an awesome animated GIF of the beautiful sunset we’d watched.
Move the mouse. Wait for the computer to wake up. No dice. Hit a key or two. No dice. Nothing. No reaction whatsoever.
Fine. It crashed my computer. It’s been a bit slow since back when I was working on the Radar Eyes video so maybe I’d stressed out the 6 GBs of RAM I had in it. No big deal, so I didn’t get the great aligned GIF after all. Oh well. I’ll just restart my computer and start again.
Nope. It just opened to a gray screen of death with a big “prohibited” sign. I ask Lily to look up what to do and tried all the different remedies for the next few hours. Nothing. Wouldn’t even recognize that there was a hard drive in the computer. Next morning I took it to the shop and, sure enough, the hard drive was DOA. They told me it’d probably be ready early next week. It’s now the next Sunday. They were waiting for a shipment of new hard drives all week that never came.
I really really hope it’s done by tomorrow. I’m using Lily’s laptop right now and it’s fine for looking at the interwebs but I’m really behind on photos and want my computer back so I can get back to real work.
However, on a happier note. DUDE GOT A LEICA!!!!
Dude got a Leica | Shot with my D700
A friend of mine told me a story about his M6 getting dropped in a bucket of dirty concrete water on a job site and how it cost a couple hundred bucks to get fixed. How many cameras can you say that about? Certainly not any of my digital ones. Just about any other ones, actually. I kept playing that over and over in my mind. Figured I’d sell my Minolta CLE because I wasn’t using it too much lately since it was a little too precious as well. I knew that if the electronics went out it was done for. Well, guess what? Yep. The day I took it into Camera West they asked me when the last time I’d shot with it was. It hadn’t been that long but long enough that it was DOA, too. There was still a roll of film in it that I processed and realized it wasn’t that long at all that I’d shot with it. Took some long-exposure stuff around downtown Berkeley. Maybe that killed it? I don’t know but I now have a pretty Minolta CLE paperweight.
Also I’d been having trouble with the mirror on my FM2 and have pretty much been just shooting it with the 20mm and using it like a rangefinder. It just made sense to move into the Leica world. Lucky to still have the Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm lens from the CLE. Also a Voigtlander 12mm lens because I do like the occasional wide shot. However, I can’t wait to save up and get a proper Leica lens. Hopefully soon. Big thanks to Hal and Dan at Camera West. They were super helpful and also patient when I had an issue with my bank card. Between them and Looking Glass, the Bay Area rules for camera stores and the nerds that frequent them.
Anyway, here’s some stuff I’ve shot with it so far. I’ve just scanned the negatives at my work at Photolab and uploaded them directly from the CD.
Owlet viewers | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Tri-X Film
Oh, here’s a couple of digital shots of the little guy they were looking at. I shot them the same day I got the Leica. I wasn’t sure how long the little owlet would be there so headed up with my D700 and a Sigma 400mm lens I borrowed from a co-worker. Good thing, too, because he was gone when I went back the next weekend.
Great Horned Owlet | Nikon D700 Sigma 400mm Lens F6.3 1/400 ISO 1250
Great Horned Owlet | Nikon D700 Sigma 400mm Lens F6.3 1/400 ISO 1250
OK, back to the Leica shots!
Of course a squirrel shot! | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Tri-X Film
A Dude Down on Dwight | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Tri-X Film
Small Falls | Leica M6 Voigtlander 12mm lens Kodak Tri-X Film
Lily with ramen at Manpuku | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Tri-X Film
Campanile Leica M6 + 12mm + Kodak Tri-X
Now let’s try a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 color film, shall we?
Red and Yellow
Long boarders are not skateboarders. It’s a mistake often made by the layperson (i.e., non-skateboarder).
Campus Long Boarder
Telegraph Busker
Hiked up the Hills.
Stadium from Above
The flowers were lovely
Berkeley Hills Hike
M.C. from the very awesome “House of Two Bows” blog was at the KALX picnic
M.C. Bowdu and Bowpi | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Tri-X Film
M.C. Bowdu and Bowpi | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Tri-X Film
Bowdu goes crazy | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Tri-X Film
We went to the UCMAP awards banquet
Lily at UCMAP Banquet | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Ektar 100 Film
Fixing the lights at UCMAP Banquet | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Ektar 100 Film
Lily shot portraits of people with the lovely softbox-like window light.
Lily and David at UCMAP Banquet | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Ektar 100 Film
I shot a couple, too…
Chris Peterson at UCMAP Banquet | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Ektar 100 Film
Lily at UCMAP Banquet | Leica M6 Minolta m-rokkor 40mm F2 lens Kodak Ektar 100 Film
Fun Fun Fun at the 101 (or not so much)
Taipei 101 and bus | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24mm Lens F9 ISO 200 multiple shots layered in Photoshop
On our last night in Kaohsiung I grabbed a bag of Longans from a small night market. Quite hungry and probably a bit dehydrated, I reached into the bag to crack one open and enjoy its sweet juicy goodness. I think my mistake was in not washing them first. Even though they’re shelled, it’s probably best to wash them before eating. All I could taste for the rest of the night was dirt. I drank some water and tried to get the taste out of my mouth but couldn’t quite get rid of it. Once we were back at the hotel I washed them really good and had a few more. I think my taste was spoiled and I just didn’t really like these.
Kaohsiung Night Market (not where I got the dirty longans) | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 lens F6 1/125 ISO 1600
Kaohsiung Night Market (not where I got the dirty longans) | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 lens F6 1/125 ISO 1600
Kaohsiung Night Market (not where I got the dirty longans) | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 lens F6 1/125 ISO 1600
Kaohsiung Night Market (not where I got the dirty longans) | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 lens F6 1/125 ISO 1600
Next morning we hopped the High Speed Rail back to Taipei. I wasn’t feeling that bad but had a sorta uneasy thing going on. At one point in the train station I was inspecting a billboard close up to check out the pixels etc, ‘cuz that’s what printers do. All of a sudden I felt really dizzy or like I was going to pass out. I got some tea and sat down but wasn’t feeling quite right. We hopped on the train and I set up a time-lapse and put Rose Tattoo on my headphones. Feeling good watching the beauty of Taiwan fly by my window.
Get to Taipei, check into our hotel and then head straight for the 101 to catch the sunset. The line to the top was long and I didn’t wanna risk being stuck in it if my tummy went wacky. Instead we headed outside to shoot from street level trying to catch the fading days light and mix it with the bustling traffic and fast-moving clouds.
Taipei 101-3 | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 and too much post processing with the free perfect effects software. But my skies were falling apart in some of these and figured what the hell, maybe this would save it?
Taipei 101 Love 1 | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 Lens F9 30 seconds
Taipei 101 Love 1 | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 Lens F9 15 seconds
Taipei 101 and some art | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 F5.6 multiple exposures merged to HDR
A wedding couple drove up quick with their photographer and assistant and shot a few portraits in front of the “love” sculpture. Perfect setting, I imagine there’s a lot of those shots out there.
It was cool watching him work but the wind was really picking up and I felt bad for the bride. They were quick though. I set my camera similar to how I figured his lights were set and tried to snipe a few shots.
Taipei 101 Wedding Couple | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 F5.6 ISO 400 1.3 seconds
Around this point Lily was freezing and we were both hungry. However for some reason I wasn’t cold at all and it was really windy. We headed into the mall area to get some dinner at the infamous 101 food court. First we stopped for a moment in the mall area and I was really making myself dizzy shooting the interior.
Taipei 101 interior 1 | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 F4.5 ISO 800 Multiple shots merged to HDR in HDR Efex Pro
Taipei 101 interior 2 | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 F4.5 ISO 800 Multiple shots merged to HDR in HDR Efex Pro
Had a really hard decision to make concerning what to eat. So many great options in the food court! I went with a beef noodle soup dish that was wonderful. Really hit the spot.
Taipei 101 food court goodness | Nikon D700 Sigma 12-24 F4.5 1/300 ISO 1250
Except, it also hit another spot. The one that was probably food poisoning from the dirty longans. I got really nauseous and knew I had to get back to the hotel. No train, we need a cab. Luckily the cab line at the 101 is quite efficient and we weren’t too far from our hotel. I spent the rest of the night tossing some cookies and hugging the toilet bowl. Then completely wiped out and in bed. Unable to even move. It was rough. Somehow I managed to set up some time-lapse stuff from our hotel window and it looks pretty great. I’ll be posting those soon. Just do yourself a favor though, wash your longans!
It Gives Me Summer Chills
A video I made with my partner Tiger Lily premiered today on the British site loudandquiet.com
Anyway, here it is. Might put up another more “behind the scenes” post on Wild About You blog soon but for now, have a look!!!
Official video for Chicago’s Radar Eyes on Hozac Records.
S/T LP out soon, pick it up here!
Kaohsiung and Cijin Digital Flip Book
Animated slide show of my Kaohsiung photos!!!!
A long day with lots of photos in and around Kaohsiung, Taiwan . Starting at Lotus lake, then over to Cijin Island and a romantic night around Love River.
Music is “Doo Wah Diddy” by the very charming and wonderful Peach Kelli Pop.
Find more about them here
and buy the album here
Here’s some more Pics too.
Kaohsiung Light Show Animated | Nikon D700 & 24mm F1.4 lens Time Lapse animated GIF in CS5 Extended.
Tianhou Temple "look at all that red" | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens F10 1 second
Burning a Wish | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens 1/100 ISO 1250
Domokun Tours Cijin Island at Night | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/100 ISO 1250
Cijin Horse riders | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/100 ISO 1250
Cijin Vendor at night | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/2000 ISO 1250
Pop Yer Bubble | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/40 ISO 1600
And then over to Love River for some awesome Karaoke serenade
Love River Serenade | Nikon D700 85mm F1.8 1/500 ISO 1600
One last Formosa BLVD MRT station photo, this time from outside.Shame about that sky. Might try and rework it later but too tired now
Formosa BLVD MRT Exit | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Multiple Shots layered in Photoshop CS6
Tianhou Temple
Part two of Cijin Island.
The temple itself (which dates back to 1673) is amazing, but mix that with the wonderful early evening light plus a lot of interesting people and you have a photographers’ paradise.
Each of these red lanterns is supposed to represent a blessing for a peaceful and prosperous nation. Wonder how often they have to replace the bulbs?
Tianhou Temple Lantern maintenance | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens at F16 1/10 ISO 800 strange setting I know but I was bracketing.
Man exits Tianhou Temple | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens F16 1/15 ISO 800 again with the weird setting 'cuz of bracketing.
Step away from the HDR, SIR!!!!!
Tianhou Temple Ridiculousness | Nikon D700 and 24mm F1.4 HDR that looks a bit like clown vomit.
Now just regular recovery etc in Lighroom 4. Which can actually look a bit like HDR without the clown puke
Tianhou Temple Girl In Green | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 again with the F16 for bracketing what have you...
Tianhou Temple Bowing | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens F16 2.5 seconds at ISO 800
Tianhou Temple Bike Lights | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens F14 13 second exposure ISO 160
Tianhou Temple Wishing Fountain | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens F14 5 second exposure ISO 160
Tianhou Temple Panoramic | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens Multiple shots merged to Pano in CS6
This last shot might be one of my favorite shots of the whole trip so far.
Thinking Man at Tianhou Temple | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens F14 2 second exposure at ISO 160
Getting Wild with Marissa & Andy
According to Marissa, she and her fiance Andy have spent a great deal of their relationship out in the woods, which made Roberts Regional Recreation Area and Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland the perfect spots for their engagement shoot. Despite their proximity to civilization, the parks were virtually deserted so we had the towering redwoods, chatty woodland critters, and crisp spring air all to ourselves.
Cijin Island Part 1
The thin island of Cijin is a very popular day trip from Kaohsiung. Just a quick ferry ride from the Kaohsiung harbor and you’re right near the bustling seafood street, where you might just find the “best seafood” in all of Kaohsiung or Taiwan. We did not. It wasn’t terrible or anything, just not as amazing as some of the other places we’d eaten so far. And nowhere near the deliciousness that is the Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon Hong Kong. Best ever if you ask me.
However, the area does reak of photogenic. From the local fishermen, excited tourists, various vendors and roaming packs of wild dogs, the place is a photographer’s delight. Not to mention the amazing Matsu Temple (Tianhou Temple at Cihou). Especially once the daylight went away. I might just do a whole post on the photos I shot of that thing! For now here’s some of my faves from the day.
Ferry riders to Cijin Island | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens at 4.5 1/2500 ISO 640
Cijin Boats Panoramic | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Multiple Shots merged in CS6
Matsu Temple Cock and Lantern | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens at 1.4 Multiple Shots merged to HDR in HDR Efex Pro and Photoshop CS6
Matsu Temple Worshipers | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens at 1/60 ISO 640
Matsu Temple Guy | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/50 ISO 640
Matsu Temple Lanterns | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens multiple shots merged to Panoramic in CS6
Matsu Temple Detail 2 | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens 1/25 ISO 640
Cijin Temple Worshipers | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens 1/2000 ISO 640
Cijin Island Vendor | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/600 ISO 100
Cijin Island Scallion Pancake goodness | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/500 ISO 100
Meatballs on a stick | Nikon D700 85mm F1.8 1/1250 ISO 800
Grilled Cijin goodies | Nikon D700 85mm F1.8 1/8000 iso 800
Then came the roaming packs of wild feral dogs. It seemed a bit dangerous!!!
Dog with Resting Tongue | Nikon D700 85mm F1.8 1/5000 ISO 800
Big Puppy Eyes | Nikon D700 85mm F2.8 1/100 ISO 400
Big Puppy Eyes 2 | Nikon D700 85mm F2.8 1/100 ISO 400
Cijin Island Street Sweeper | Nikon D700 24mm F1.8 1/800 ISO 800
Angry Bird in Cijin | Nikon D700 85mm F1.8 Lens 1/600 ISO 800
Cijin Girl with prize | Nikon D700 85mm F1.8 1/1250 ISO 200
Post 2 coming soon, really shot quite a bit over there. But for now
One more puppy for the road!
Wild Puppy! | Nikon D700 24mm F1.8 1/2500 ISO 800
Check out part 2 of my Cijin Island adventures here
Zuoying Market
After struggling with the light and trying not to get your typical tourist pagoda shots we needed some breakfast. We’d seen a street market near the Confucius temple and decided to check it out.
That’s when I realized I should have just been hitting up the market earlier. Or at least turning my camera on the much more interesting subjects on the street itself. Happy wiener dogs jumping for their owners newest sausage purchase, fish mongers, sausage sellers and eager buyers. Markets offer up some of the best opportunities for the street photographer. This one was no different. Unfortunately for our bellies it did not really offer up much in the way of morning snack food. Mostly just stuff to take home and prepare. We didn’t stick around too long, just headed back to the train station to get back near our hotel and score some breakfast of some sort.
Closer to the train we met this friendly little fella. He might win the “cutest dog I met while in Taiwan” award. Which is no small feat since there are many. I wish I coulda brought him home with us but he had a collar and probably a happy life. Anyway, did get some photos and hope you enjoy.
A Shy Kaohsiung Bully | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/500 at 5.6 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
Kaohsiung Bully | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 1/500 at 5.6 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
Lily met another cute friend too
Lily and the poodle? | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens at 5.6 1/250 Converted to B&W in LR4
Around Spring and Autumn Pavilions | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens F5.6 1/2500 ISO 400
Spring and Autumn Pavilions Biker | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens F5.6 Multiple shots merged to HDR and layered in CS6 ISO 400
The Happy Hungry Jumping Wiener | Nikon D700 24mm F5.6 1/640 at ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
The Angry Monk | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens at 5.6 1/1250 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
Morning Fish Market | Nikon D700 24mm F5.6 1/250 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
Fish Monger Morning | Nikon D700 24mm Lens F5.6 1/400 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
Hog Stall | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens at F5.6 1/80 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4 Converted to B&W in LR4
Hog Mongers | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 at 5.6 1/125 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
and we’re outta here
Lily Escalated | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens at 2.8 1/30 ISO 400 Converted to B&W in LR4
Lotus Lake Morning
Woke up early again thinking I’d get here for first light and shoot some amazing pics of the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. However, between a slow getting up and getting off at the wrong stop (remember to always to take your map or guide-book with you) I got there a bit late. I’d left a bit before Lily so that I could get more shots but by the time I actually made it there she was already atop the Dragon’s head. The day was a bit overcast and dreary as well. So I tried all kinds off stuff to make the shots happen. HDR, panoramic, a little cross process and even some faux tilt shift with the Photoshop CS6. Hope you like but I’d have preferred to just have great morning light. They’re lit up nicely at night but we didn’t have time to go back so maybe next time.
Dragon and Tiger Pagodas Panoramic | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens multiple shots merged in Photoshop and adjust with LR4 and Color Efex Pro 4
Dragon and Tiger Pagoda Diorama | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens Multiple shots merged in Photoshop CS5 and adjusted using LR4 Color Efex 4 and then tilt shift added in Photoshop CS6
View of Turtle Mountain (I think) from atop the dragon at Lotus Lake | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 Lens HDR merged in HDR Efex Pro and adjusted in LR4
Dragon Pagoda from the Tiger Pagoda | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens
Dragon and Lion Pagodas | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens playing with gradient ND filter and then some Photoshop CS6
Spring and Autumn Pavilions diorama | Nikon D700 24mm lens at F5 ISO 320 Diorama in Photoshop CS6
Spring and Autumn Pavilions. Dedicated to Kuan Kung, the God of War | Nikon D700 24mm F1.4 lens multiple shots merged to panoramic in Photoshop CS5 and adjusted in LR4 and Color Efex 4
Next time I’m in Kaohsiung I’ll be going back to Lotus lake at night. Or else actually do get there early.
