jumping into a 750,000 gallon pool

a quick viddy I made today showing what the U.S., Canadian, and Russian Olympians do when the snow is gone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zZ72cTTpLo

Clutterfuck!

as I sat contemplating what to do as the wife watches "master chef" on the tube and having no images to process, I decided to make a mosaic of our living room/my CPU workspace. It's sort of a quasi David Hockney meets my friend Cornelia Hediger inspired piece. It's a godamn rubik's cube if you ask me?!?! Makes my eyes sore.

my workspace/living space (plus wife and sleeping dog)

Oh well...

I had a good run of transforming the panoramic into something interesting (to me) and new... but Sony went and made it easy for anyone to do it. I'm hoping these new pano-consumers don't have a trunk full of props and clothes, a head full of narratives, and access to a 6 million acre park for their picture making needs.

I'll just need to re-invent something new.

http://www.adorama.com/alc/news/Sony-announces-five-cameras-with-sweep-panorama

A remake of a lost photograph (a sad story)...

the station - revisited
© cinemascapist, 2010 (part of the dark series)
click for large version

3+ years ago when I first picked up a camera, I was a big fan of sharing my work on flickr. Not having any ambitions of anything more than posting cool shots to flickr groups. Once I learned my pictures were unique and "people" started t appreciate and spend more money than I had on my photos, I realized that many of my original images were fucked with a capital "F".

I had never imagined printing them or showing them at anything other than 72dpi on Flickr. Needless to say I found myself in a pickle. Many of my favorite and favorites of others were lost and "f"ucked forever. Saved at 72dpi and flattened. "f"ucked.

I've tried to re-shoot several of those over the years and never been satisfied. I'm not sure this (image above) is any better than the original, but I'm happy about the outcome. I've had major amounts of family tragedy recently and this image is a result of the release of that stress and emotional rollercoaster. "f"ucked... I can't believe I saved SO many images at 72dpi?!?!

pittsburgh...

The little house that myself, my brother and my father lived in. Filson Way was an alley that was part of the Mexican War Streets in Pittsburgh. I took this shot 2 years ago, but never processed it...not sure it fits anywhere but in a digital scrapbook or blog.

along with a "splintered" panorama of how I saw Pittsburgh the last time I was there... a decaying, stringy, concrete jungle of sorts. Summer is much nicer.

winter hunter

New Year, new lens, new camera, new technique, new images.

"hunter" (part of the winter series) 2010

hunter snow falling detail

"(unfortunately) there's an app for that"

PHOTOCADDY APP description for iphone... (my notes in bold)

Amateurs and professionals alike know that taking good photos can be hard (sure...okay... so what?). There are many settings and things to consider (I guess, but not really), and far too often a photo of that beautiful scene just doesn't turn out well (that's a shame. I'll try again and practice more). Wouldn't it be great if you had someone with you all the time suggesting what settings to use, where to point the camera, and when the best photos can be taken (fuck no! that sounds like it would suck!)?

Here's what PhotoCaddy can offer you: • Guidance for over 50 different situations, from castles to rainbows to babies and everything in between (what about babies on rainbows?) • Over 500 unique tips on how to take the best photos in each situation (can you guarantee they will be the best photos and if so, who will agree with me that they are?) • Typical settings you can use for each situation (typical? I want the best! not typical!) • Clear, simple directions that even beginners can follow, but with enough depth for more advanced photography (so it's for everybody?... cool!) • Sample images for inspiration and ideas (cool!) • Note taking features (for you or me? who's taking these notes and what do I know? that's your job.)

Whether you are serious about photography or simply just want to improve your travel album (I look forward to improving my travel album, but am not too serious about it.) PhotoCaddy will be there to help you in any situation. Get your caddy and start taking better photos today (hell yeah I will!)!

Happy Halloween and upside down Jesus...

upside down jesus © cinemascapist 2006

It would be frightening if gravity switched around on us... but the sugar rush would make everything OK. Happy halloween to ya'll.

framing suggestions...

note to those that have purchased recent prints.

1) is frame recommendations... visit attached link to see samples of my work in a gallery. I don't matte them and I use simple thin black frames. The black bars are intentional and should not be cropped out by framer (I've seen this happen!). Of course, this ...is only my suggestion... It's yours now and if you prefer pink sparkles and bull testicles hanging from it, so be it.

2) I don't sign or number my actual prints. Since there is no white space on front and it might be mounting on back to Sintra or similar. I include a fancy tiny black envelope with a signed /numbered card inside that I recommend be taped to the back of the frame.

http://aaronhobson.com/shows.html

that's all... just thought of that.

Foto Forgery?

© Liu Bolin

So today I get an email full of these absolutely mindblowing images by Artist Liu Bolin from a friend. He does this unbelievable combination of painting, photography and urban camouflage that is simply incredible. It's hard to believe it is real.


© Liu Bolin

Upon further investigation I notice an article somewhere about this Dutch Artist Desiree Palmen that does/did the EXACT same thing. I understand there are influences in everyone's work and nothing is 100% original these days (it's impossible), but this just seems like a total ripoff. Granted, I think Liu Bolin has absolutely mastered the technique, but it still seems too much like Palmen's work.


© Desiree Palmen

Now I'm guessing Desiree Palmen is the original because her work dates back to 1999 and Liu's work seems to all be dated 2006 and newer. Apparently the Art World is so overpopulated and cluttered, that if you wait 5 or 6 years you can copy someone else's style and no one will notice?


© Desiree Palmen

autumn melancholy...

melancholy © cinemascapist 2009

Sitting around the trailer waiting for the storm... just another autumnal day full of melancholy and blues. Luckily I found the best song and lyrics to accompany this lonely seasonal feeling...

lyrics below... listen to song on youtube here... (link)

Liquor and Whores - by Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys

Liquor and whores, liquor and whores.
Cig'retts and dope and mustard and bologna and liquor and whores.

I was down, drinkin at the legion.
I met a girl, she was nice,
she was pretty and pleasin'.
She said "Hey boy, we should do some marry'in".
I said "Sure but before we do there's somethin that you should know".

I like liquor and whores, liquor and whores.
Cig'retts and dope and mustard and bologna and liquor and whores.

Doobie doot doot do... [instrumental break]

And then one night down at the legion
She walked in, I was drunk on gin,
dancin' with a lady friend.
And she said "Hey boy, you better fly the fuck home".
I said "No, cause a' five little words, coulda' swore I said to you".

I like liquor and whores, liquor and whores.
Cig'retts and dope and mustard and bologna and liquor and whores

Ice & Snow on NY's 4th highest mountain

Took a drive with the family up the only mountain accessible by vehicle in NY state, Whiteface (9 miles away from home in Wilmington, NY). Then a quick run up the tourist friendly 1/4 mile climb complete with guard rails. It was refreshing to feel the 36° air with 15mph winds. Got my first photos of snow this fall and a little handheld panoramic of hugo climbing the final ascent.

fishing for children and physically challenged...

I'm thinking that pond is really well stocked or something? Not something I would normally photograph, let alone skid to the side of the road to stop and photograph it.

5 year old does self-portrait too...

hugo shoots himself too.

Prior to the apocalyscape in the previous post, I had set the camera down as I was composing the scene in my head. I was checking out possible angles, etc... All the while Hugo (my 5 year old) was snapping away with my remote. Like father, like son, I guess eh?

"dreams of end days"... son #2

son #2 © cinemascapist 2009

"dreams of end days"...home

Home #1 © cinemascapist 2009

sometimes I can't get home either in these dreams.

p.s. dented the roof of my truck taking this one.

p.s.s. blogspot seems to be adjusting these grayscale images for some reason? I've tried to adjust the file to trick the jpg optimization that it automatically does to my files, but it still wants to increase contrast! arrrgh!

"dreams of end days" continued...

I think I called them "end times" yesterday by accident...
but anyway, here's a new selection...

wife & son #1 © cinemascapist 2009

p.s. received the test print from Ken Allen and it was beautious! Love love love the paper he selected and just really dig the b&w. I even liked it at 19", although I'll probably take it to 25" x 10" for the final editions.

crewdson quote rings true...

Stumbled upon this quote by Gregory Crewdson and it is pretty much how I feel about the first few images of the new series "dreams of end times". Those doorways I posted about a few days ago were truly subconscious, but definitely obvious to me.

“It’s funny, when you’re making pictures you’re not really – I’m not – conscious of really the motivations behind the photographs or what they mean, ever. It wasn’t until much later, I was producing the show, that I realized there’s a lot of cars with doors open. I thought, ‘Whoa, strange. I wonder what that means.’ " - Gregory Crewdson

Los Angeles Fires

Stunning shots over at Boston Globe's Big Picture (link)

Now I'm not as evil as Lex Luthor (and I hope folks and animals are OK), but looking at that satellite image above, it's gotta make ya' wonder why so many people live in an area as desolate and barren looking as southern California? It just doesn't seem like it was meant to host that many humans?

Lex Luthor: Everything west of this line is the richest, most expensive real estate in the world: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Everything on THIS side of the line is just hundreds and hundreds of miles of worthless desert land, which just so happens to be owned by...

Otis: Uhhh... Lex Luthor Incorporated.

Lex Luthor: Now, call me foolish, call me irresponsible, but it occurs to me that a 500 megaton bomb planted at just the proper point would, uh...

Superman: Would destroy most of California. Millions of innocent people would be killed. The west coast as we know it would...

Lex Luthor: Fall into the sea.

Lex Luthor: Bye-bye, California. Hello, new west coast. My west coast.

the role of the portal/doorway?

I'm still not sure if it was my subconscious, but 4 out of 5 of the images thus far from this series involve doorways all located in similar positions. I've always tried to push the panoramic and try new things with them. So shooting multiple frames that flow through multiple rooms is nothing new to me. But the part about it that works in favor of this series in particular (involving apocalyptic dreams and perhaps premonitions) is the definition of a portal...

A portal in fiction is a magical or technological doorway that connects two distant locations, whether separated by time or, most commonly, space.

Places that a portal will link to include: a different spot in the same universe; a parallel world; the past or the future; and other planes of existence, like heaven, hell or other afterworlds.

l also believe that portals or doorways can be closed, just in the same manner that in my dreams I cannot reach or get to my loved ones. There always seems to be something slowing me down or getting in my way. I can see them, but cannot get to them.