Tukwila and the monitors job

So, waking up I saw one of my favorite sites, the colors, and the bags. The bags mean I am working and homeless and they are bright and sturdy, there are some nice clothes, toothbrush, sewing kit, chargers for all the electric gadgets, books, drawing paper, pencils, and a few things that might just be "STUFF"

I drive to Seattle this morning to pick up a Arri 16mm SR take it to Tukwiloa to a place that supplies Plasma screens and LCD monitors for "events". We set up and then try to decide how to expose for the monitors. Are they light sources? Are they practicals? What colours should they be?

It was fun...

Reminds me why I'm not in a rock band though.
It was such a treat to collaborate with Tobias and to be able to physically bring about the vision that we both had for the video. A boost in my confidence as a DP to be sure. We had 3 kinoflo's, the overhead house lights, a 750 watt lamp as the hard edge kicker on the band with a slight blue gel to separate them from the wall that I warmed up with the par cans low from the stage left side adding texture and patterns to the wall. I used a spare cymbal on a stand to create a halo/UFO effect over the band and then for the auditioner I put up a kino directly over the camera to flatten out the modeling. The lamp on the far right provides a hard edge for them as well. I think it looks good.
Once we had set up then Tobias takes over directing all the people who show up to be in the video. I am able to sit down for much of the day as the cameras just kept rolling in between takes. The video will consist of many jump cuts but with the locked of cameras will be a really neat effect I am thinking. I'll post the finished product when it comes available

the music vid for The Prids

AudioCinema
The Prids
Tobias and I had been talking for the last week on the phone and by emails about the shoot, the concept and organizing it.

The Oregon lootery shoot

I remember now why I gave up being the camera assistant. The details are tiring, the standing up all day, grueling. The glory of being creative, none. So after being at the camera rental house from dawn to dusk I retire to a place around the corner to wifi my posting and chat to Tobias about are upcoming music video shoot. Its nice to be in one of my fav places, PDX.

Back to Lopez

It was one of those long tiring trips that took me from 8am leaving Burbank to 4pm when I got to Lopez and crashed on the sofa for a long nap. Its quiet here and has rained so much that all the driveway is flooded as are the low fields around the house and of course the outhouse is flooded again this year as well. Mount Baker ski area is closed due to too much snow! Something like 8 feet in a week and dangers of avalanches. I get some work done around the house, pull my back and try to rest which I am not so good at. I decide to start a series of small paintings of a single object that I will then auction on eBay. There is some one out there that does this already at one painting every day. I think I should start at 1 per week

Los Angeles

a long trip

it takes me from 7 AM when I get on the ferry boat on Lopez till 6PM when I finally get a rental car to make it to Burbank Ca. Wow it truly is a long boring time. I do enjoy the small kiosk in Oakland airport that sells muslim pie, very delicious!

the cat offering

Kaj offers his brothers cat Tim for affection and admiration. Tim is a good hunter and loves his family with lots of lying around on top of us.

a wind storm blows outside

But we are back inside after a walk in the wind and then a cup of chai and a little champagne at the picnic table at Odlin state park.

a new year arrives

Here it comes to Pacific Standard Time and we are all at home dancing and doing nothing much, reading, checking up on the WEB and making funny comics from our photos of xmas holiday times.

Long nights

The lights got put outside this year on the little tree next to Kaj's room. The night begins so early these days that I feel rushed to try and spend anytime at all out in the sun, just doing anything to have some blue sky and wind. The mist on the window is because our house doesn't dry out much at this time of year as it seems to rain ALL the time.

Holiday

We live on a island but too bad its cold. Anyway, we had some presents to open this morning and there were some stockings too. Kaj and Eski both got new kites and so we went out this afternoon almost-dark to the beach for a test flight. The blue French military kite looked so lovely hovering over the water and then it was wet. At home again and there was some napping and now dinner time. Damn it gets dark early!

Winter in the North

The pond is frozen and deceptivly looking shallow in the morning sun. We all got up late this morning because the electric company shut off the power last night to do some pole replacements while we slept, thus since our lives revolve around electric power we were unable to charge our batterys till later.

Long ride back to Lopez from Piha...

This is a photo of my friend christopher in Sydney going for a snorkel at clovelly beach.
It took us 3 days total time but only 2 days by calandar to travel from Piha to Lopez via car, plane, train, car, fery boat. Wilmot, good to speak with you today and i think you may be my only reader. spent the morning rearranging my studio in the living room and then doing some paingting until I suddnely realized I had to take the truck full of trash and an old dryer to the island soild waste centre this cold afternoon , that done and rushing home to help Eski cook a dish for his school potluck and other homework assignments, breathe, eat.

kaj finds bugs

here is Kaj the Moana playing with a bug that had crawled its way on to Lauriew iBook some time this afternoon. Kaj is doing a photography class in school so many photos of the bug are taken.

Bushwalk and mussels on the beach

What a day this was! We went on a bush walk up through the Waitakere ranges to a remote beach that to get to we had a rough climb down a cliff with three rope sections to help us down the tight spots. After we got down to the hot sand we gathered a few sticks of wood for a fire our friends and there friend Jim had started. Then Jim showed us this cave that is only open at low tide whence we proceed to make our way through and out the other end where the rocks meet the west coast of New ealand. We swim across some rocks to another cave in to which the Maoris used to use as a hide away from fighting tribes due to the fact it is almost inaccessible at the most of times. On our way back we harvested a bucket of mussels for a nice cook on the beach, the boys both tried a bite but decide the texture was just too disgusting and ate crackers and avocados instead.

Piha, The Gap

Here I am surfing The Gap at Piha beach on a low tide. The ride is excellent because the wave is trapped in the small canyon and can only continue forward and not out sideways.
Kaj gets a rough ride and ends up with a rock rash
Eski stayed at home but Laurie came out for a ride as well.

Piha Beach

Kaj Eski and Laurie are here with me in Nz at Piha beach about an hour west of Auckland. Laurie and I are finished working on the job we came for so yesterday we all went for a surf, very nice. Today after visiting a friends house that actually has internet we are going into town, I have a doctors appointment and we have errands to do. I am getting shots for my upcoming job shoot in Africa and India for 10 weeks. We are going to try and see a film and maybe get some christmas shopping in as well.

Lopez Island

Its dark, a bit chill in the air and dark. I''ve been here a few days, got in just in time to see Kaj and Eski in thier repective plays. I'm doing all the stuff around the house that always needs doing, fixing things that break, clearing leaves, cutting black brerries back. To day the dump is open so I will do that too.
Seeing Laurie, talking, watching movies, riding Eskis electric bike, looking for work for next month.

So I'm in LA

Ive been here staying at Shiho and Andrews house enjoying not moving andd seeing old friends and working on Bi-The-Way when they call me up to shoot. I'm wondering how much longer this job will continue as they take down time to think about the project and wonder what is next. I find my self trying to find the next job.