Always On Silent

Jonathan Richman

2009-06-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

2009-03-08T15:16:00.000-05:00

2009-03-08T14:04:00.001-05:00

Anders at midnight.

2009-01-17T01:52:00.002-06:00

Block Party [Ratatat II].

2008-09-21T23:13:00.000-05:00

Block Party [Ratatat].

2008-09-21T23:11:00.001-05:00

David's Bug Box III

2008-09-18T13:40:00.004-05:00

David's Bug Box II

2008-09-18T13:40:00.002-05:00

David's Bug Box

2008-09-18T13:40:00.001-05:00

German Fest.

2008-09-07T21:27:00.000-05:00

Rest Stop.

2008-08-25T10:17:00.002-05:00

Kensington Market, Toronto II

2008-08-25T09:11:00.002-05:00

Kensington Market, Toronto.

2008-08-25T03:23:00.002-05:00

Amanda's New Flash III

2008-08-11T01:33:00.002-05:00

Amanda's New Flash II.

2008-08-11T01:32:00.006-05:00

Amanda's New Flash.

2008-08-11T01:32:00.002-05:00

From the Tunnel.

2008-08-10T16:04:00.002-05:00

Yesterday.

2008-08-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

Pg #9 [die Kleider]

2008-07-10T10:34:00.002-05:00

Pg #8 [die Numeri]

2008-07-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

Pg #5 [was ist das?]

2008-07-10T10:32:00.003-05:00

The Self-taught journal [pg 1].

2008-07-10T10:12:00.008-05:00

Starting a new project, sort of putting two challenges hand-in-hand to help me progress: sketching and mein Deutsch. Right! I'm sketching again.
Kind of sloppy, but it's more for myself. I'll put my favourite and important German phrases alongside whatever my imagination matches with a sketch.

My favourite thing about the first page is the little Euro at the top right corner.

It's too bad I don't have scanner access so you can get a better look. You get the idea, anyway.

Paul as Kurt.

2008-07-10T10:08:00.004-05:00

As close as we could get it. In the wind. And he's not even blonde.

4th

2008-07-04T17:48:00.001-05:00

Navy Pier

2008-06-30T12:20:00.002-05:00

The Turkey in Chicago

2008-06-30T12:14:00.001-05:00

Experiments With Surrealism IV

2008-06-17T18:03:00.002-05:00

Jeesh. Another camera phone photo.

fm V

2008-06-17T17:04:00.002-05:00

fm IV

2008-06-17T17:03:00.003-05:00

fmIII

2008-06-17T17:01:00.003-05:00

fmII

2008-06-17T16:59:00.003-05:00

fmI

2008-06-17T16:56:00.003-05:00

2008-06-08T21:39:00.002-05:00

Conversations with Birds.

2008-05-20T10:12:00.002-05:00

Experiments With Illusion/Surrealism II and III

2008-05-20T10:03:00.003-05:00

Does it work?

Experiments With Illusion/Surrealism I

2008-05-20T09:53:00.002-05:00

Pole Eesman.

2008-05-20T09:49:00.002-05:00

Today I Killed My Legs.

2008-05-15T16:28:00.005-05:00

Here's something kind of dumb/outgoing I did today. On my new bike "Walter" I rode downtown. (Red is the route I took downtown, blue is the route back).

Down Ashland to Addison, to Wrigleyville to try and buy Cubs tickets.

Further down Clark to Ontario, stopped, got a deli sandwich for lunch. See Walter through the window?
Through the city (somewhere past Daley Plaza and through god-knows where). To Millennium park in an area of the park I've never been. Declared it the best part of the park. Out loud. No one heard me because NO ONE was around.

Along some path past Navy Pier... ...To Oak street beach where a guy was "kiting" and an old couple were watching. Not much Photoshop can do for a grey day like today.Some fountain on the trail. Thank God for these fountains. I would have died of dehydration right there on the trail.

...Ended at work (basically). See below picture of Ann.

I'm a maniac.

Ann Should Quit.

2008-05-15T15:35:00.001-05:00

21st Century Men.

2008-04-30T23:26:00.005-05:00

Amazing, the simplicity of a few chairs and a trio of dudes armed with imagination and repetitive face-slapping.

Amazing, the extent of my motivation: going to Clark and Irving Park on a Cubs game night.

I'm unhappy with the colour editing of this photo.

Confession: Improvisers kind of intimidate me.

Oh. Hey. Happy 100 posts. Lah di dah.

Tha Weave [Tim].

2008-04-30T23:15:00.004-05:00

Happiest with this shot.
Top notch improv.
Right-o.

Tobias's Sketchbook.

2008-04-27T18:54:00.002-05:00

Tolk III

2008-04-24T23:26:00.002-05:00

Seems I reserve my black and white images for performers. Hm.

Started shooting RAW. Should have started this ages ago. Idiot.

I hate to say it, but I'm shooting less and less comedy this year, which might be a good thing (for me) because I need to get out there and shoot other Chicago goings-on.

Edit: Tolk [Another Version].

2008-04-24T23:23:00.004-05:00

Scratch that first image. This photo is much better.

Shit. I'm a little rusty; it's been awhile...
=(

Tolk [Or: Comedy Makes a Reappearance].

2008-04-24T23:19:00.001-05:00

Errol Flynn Sees The Blues.

2008-04-22T02:19:00.003-05:00

Da Bloos III

2008-04-22T02:08:00.002-05:00

Da Bloos II

2008-04-22T02:06:00.002-05:00

Da Bloos.

2008-04-22T02:04:00.001-05:00

Abstract.

2008-04-20T22:54:00.004-05:00

My walking companion stared at me as I crouched down on the ground and made three exposures. "Really? A garbage can?"

"Yeah. Can't you see it?"

Art in garbage. Terribly cliché. Terribly necessary for an artist at some point in his or her lifetime.

Migrated.

2008-04-20T22:51:00.002-05:00

Experiments With Macro II

2008-04-20T22:43:00.000-05:00

Experiments With Macro.

2008-04-20T22:42:00.002-05:00

Errol Flynn Goes To The Lakeshore.

2008-04-20T22:39:00.003-05:00

Cotter.

2008-04-15T22:50:00.004-05:00

Another Season For Van.

2008-04-10T14:06:00.004-05:00

Look familiar?

Tendencies.

2008-04-09T13:12:00.001-05:00

Thrown.

2008-04-06T23:55:00.002-05:00

Caught.

2008-04-06T23:52:00.002-05:00

His Worst Game II

2008-04-04T09:02:00.002-05:00

His Worst Game

2008-04-04T09:00:00.002-05:00

The block is lifting

2008-03-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

Something to help any kind of artistic block: take a look at your archived work, see how far you've come and how good you can be.

Helped me.

Train To Michigan

2008-03-23T20:18:00.001-05:00

Snow Job.

2007-12-16T13:30:00.001-06:00

I noticed how bright it was outside this morning: clear skies, bright contrasty snow. I decided to bring my S3IS along with me grocery shopping. A short project intended to capture the glorious untouched snow turning into a case study on DOORS.

My favorite is the abstract car door. I have a lot to learn about Photoshop. It all starts tomorrow morning.

I didn't photograph anything in the grocery store because I'm still terrified of photographing strangers. Two years as a yearbook photographer, a year and a half as a contributing photographer for a comedy website, two, three, even four posed shoots including head shots...I'm still scared of people?

I'd rather photograph fruit than aim my camera at an old lady browsing the frozen section.

TDM/Finals.

2007-12-13T10:05:00.000-06:00

I got the fortunate opportunity to have some open access to "Three Dumb Men" last night. The Annoyance is a pretty lax venue, so I probably could have wandered around inconspicuously anyway, but still cool to shoot the performers "pre-show."

I did a no-no again last night; I forgot to actually CHECK my settings. I was shooting automatic for a good chunk of the show when I could have changed my settings to "fluorescent." A lot of the shots turned out really red. It's not too much of a problem, as I can easily fix it in Photoshop. Still, it's the principle of the matter: I need to pay attention.

There was a very funny, very uncomfortable moment during the beginning of the show when a dvd player decided to be rather difficult and our funny and gracious hosts had to improvise for what felt like ten minutes. It was probably just four minutes, but it felt like ten.

I had never seen any of Kristen's bits before, so it was a nice, new thing to see. She was very funny. Very creative.

It was nice to be out at a show again. The PB Tribute show was the last I'd been to. That may have been a month ago (?). Now that finals are over and I won't be back in school for a little bit, I may go out a little more. Mostly I'm gonna' practice and learn some Photoshop skillz' in my spare time. I'd really like to be able to edit and post my pictures (in this here blog) the way this photographer posts. She condenses all her photos into one little box which saves a lot of blog room and keeps your eyes moving around.

I'll probably scout out new spots/venues/performances and keep looking for new things to photograph. Of course!

How did finals go, you ask? Pretty good, I think. The photo critique was interesting as we did none the entire semester. This was our first and last critique. It's difficult for me to receive/understand critique. Not that I don't like constructive criticism, in fact, I welcome it. I seem to like photos no one else does and I'm always happiest with images (of my own) no one else likes as much as I do. It's the same for the images I find the most boring or unappealing; if I don't like one of my own photos, chances are everyone else will rave about it. The professor noticed I had a very yellow/orange feel to my group of photos and she posed a question to the class, something like: "You think you can tell a lot about the photographer by what patterns in color you see in a set? Like maybe the photographer has a fondness for warm tones?" The class nodded and I interjected: "Actually, I really hate yellow." Everyone laughed and I pointed out that my favorite image from my set was the photo of the flowers (I posted before). The flower photo has strong greens, blues and whites, which I prefer and "I don't know why I was so keen on shooting all those damn oranges and yellows."

Anyway. That's about all I gots today. Keep checking in!

"Phoneto" #2

2007-12-12T16:25:00.001-06:00

It's a little harsh, very cropped and converted to black and white, but I like it. The light was perfect today, especially downtown.

"Three Dumb Men" tonight. Expect pictures today or tomorrow morning.

Ludo/Challenges/Hot Chocolate.

2007-12-08T18:41:00.000-06:00

The other night, I saw Labyrinth for the first time ever. If I didn't know it before, I sure do now; Jim Henson was a saint.
I mean, look at this guy!

He's great!
Amazing! I can't believe I had never seen this film.

Anyway. Back on track. I slept in today, no work. Decided to head downtown to the One Of A Kind show. On my way, I stopped into work, picked up a drink and took a short trip with Dann to the craft show at the old folks home. I decided to treat myself to a new necklace at Hazel, too. It's very gaudy and big, but I love it. It suits me, I think. I left for the show and got off at Merchandise Mart, a building I've never been into. The show was on the eighth floor, and I was actually surprised that the space wasn't bigger. I saw maybe three or four photographer's booths and they featured mostly landscape or floral images. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I left feeling very unimpressed. I suppose art photography gets more stale every time I see it. Maybe photographing people all these years caused me to categorize myself as a photojournalist. There was a particular husband/wife photography team, and I spent a lot of time in their booth. They specialized in travel photography, especially from Europe. The images were beautiful, colorful, vast, and unreal, which was what may have put me off . Yes, I want to shoot Europe very desperately and yes I'm probably envious of this family. But it got to a point where I was tired of seeing the same images of a bicycle resting in front of a pub in England, or colorful flower pots hanging from a charming cottage in Switzerland. The photos ARE beautiful and the work is quality but it all ends up so repetitive and plastic-looking. I think about being a photographer and I just can't see myself being as passionate about art photography as I am about photojournalism (although a lot of people may put each in the same category). Funny thing was, as I was leaving the booth, I noticed a large photo on a wall opposite the booth. It was an image of a vivid red barn surrounded by snow. It was my favorite photo from the entire collection and no one else seemed to notice it; everyone kept walking by. I (sneakily) snapped a picture with my camera phone. It doesn't do it justice. It almost looks like a painting. I asked the artist, John, about it and he laughed, "I took that in Iowa, actually...About twenty years ago." He told me they only just decided to print it. I told him it was wonderful, the best yet. He probably thought I was strange. The photo gave me some perspective, though: I've been complaining about not having been to Europe yet, when there are plenty of places around me to photograph. Once I get the access to my own vehicle, I'll definitely try to take road trips through the Midwest so I can capture images like that barn, and more. Why complain about things you can't see when there are tons of things worth seeing just miles away!? Aaannnd this is what I've been doing: trying to take my camera out with me, shoot more than once a week and practice, practice, practice.

While I was wandering around the Merchandise Mart, I received a phone call from Amber and Elena, two girls I worked with when I lived in Michigan. They told me they were in Chicago until Monday, so I told them we'd meet in 20 minutes cause' I was downtown anyway. We connected and chatted briefly in an Urban Outfitters. I told them I'd call them when I was back in Michigan and we said goodbye. I staid downtown for another hour or so, wandering, going back to places I know. There's a particular place next to the river and it poses a challenge for me every time. It reminds me of a kind of Montmartre (pictured at left), and I can't seem to capture it perfectly*. I walk up and down the steps, around near the lampposts, and from above. I can't seem to find the perfect angle. I've been at night, in the morning and in the afternoon. This little area is almost always empty. If there were a few people sitting or walking, it may make for an interesting photo. Right now it's just boring (below, right).

I need a pair of gloves with a tracking device. I lost my first pair of the season already. I'm almost positive I'm cursed, as I've been doing this since I was in kindergarten. If something comes in a pair, chances are I'll lose one half of that pair in 20 minutes. I've been pretty good at getting myself out to shoot and once I get on a roll, I'm all set, but I end up freezing and giving up because I have no gloves!

I took this. I don't know if I even like this image, but it made me curious, so I posted anyway.

I tell you what, Color photo class has certainly helped me understand how to edit the colors in my photos properly.

I got home and immediately made a delicious hot chocolate in my favorite Starbucks mug.

There you have it. The most interesting picture I take tonight is of my chocolate drink. With marshmallows.

*please do not think I'm trying to compare myself to Brassai, cause' I would never...

2007-12-07T13:04:00.000-06:00

Another phone-photo post:

Christmastime.

2007-12-04T18:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was emotionally exhausting for me. I started today off by watching the dvd set Kristy lent me. She had been recommending "Freaks and Geeks" for a long time (and rightfully so; what an amazing show). Instead of sitting around all afternoon feeling sorry for myself, I decided to call it a shooting day. I went down to Daley Plaza and wandered around the Christkindlmart. It was good fun, and I liked listening to the vendors speak German to customers and one another.

Afterwards, I walked over to Millennium park to practice my panning on the skaters. It started snowing and got dark really fast. Here are a few:

This girl had the biggest, brightest smile I've ever seen, and every once in awhile, she'd see me and grin like she was meant for modeling:

A speed skater stopped and chatted with me for awhile. I tried very hard to get some shots of him, but he was just too damn fast! He told me that he goes to the rink at the park every morning at four and skates for exercise. He told me that I should "Try it sometime."

This evening was wonderful, and even though I was only remotely happy with a few images, it was good to be out practicing. It got my mind off a lot of stuff.

edit: I nearly forgot! I read this really great little article (blip? blog? entry?) in the back of Sunday's New York Times Style magazine. The commentary really meant something personal to me (so much so that I've ripped the page out and taped it to my wall) and I think I'll take a look at some of Nan Goldin's work. Check out the article here.

Idiot Person.

2007-12-01T15:47:00.000-06:00

What kind of idiot person walks down Michigan avenue on the first of December?
In cloth sneakers? With no hat? And a very bruised shin? And the worst attitude about consumerism? This person.
I bought that hat/scarf out of necessity, not style. Although I really like both of them.
It was ridiculous downtown. Like crazy busy. I was trying my darnedest not to say evil things to ridiculous tourists/shoppers, and believe me, it was difficult. Here are some overheard gems:

-(Woman after nearly getting hit by a car while crossing on a red light) "GO AHEAD. HIT ME. I'll sue you and have a very happy Christmas!!"

-(Another, separate woman after being forced to take the escalator because the second mall elevator was out of order)
"What kind of GOOF BALL MALL is this anyway?! You'd THINK they'd have the elevator fixed!! EScalator's. PSSSHHHH."
When people say things like that, I'm always tempted to turn around and say: "Really? You think you could do a better job? I'd like to see you try on a Saturday during the holiday season."
Don't even get me started about the guy standing outside of Macy's talking about a rally to "bring back Marshall Fields!" Really, buddy?! There is a Salvation army worker standing five feet away from you, ringing a bell for three hours straight FOR THE POOR. You think there are more important matters than than bringing back an old, dead department store?
As you can tell, I am not a very happy shopper. I'm too cynical. The thing that killed me was: I never even ended up buying any gifts! Just browsing. I'll save the actual shopping for a Tuesday or something.

Sometimes I get bummed out because I see something cool-looking and I don't have my camera. Today, when I was heading to the train station, I remembered, I do have a sort of camera! The good ol' Motorola. If it beehoves me, I can always take a quick little shot. The only thing is, I have seemingly no power or control over what result I get. Sometimes the images come out in black and white. Sometimes the sizes are bigger than others. It's very odd.Ok. I could complain some more, but I'm sure you've heard enough. More projects on the way!

Holiday Parties.

2007-11-30T22:45:00.000-06:00

A week later, I manage to finish my roll of E6 for the assignment which was due last Wednesday. Fortunately, none of my classements finished the E6 project, so we got a collective extension.
The goal was to shoot an entire roll of Fujicrome and process it ourselves in the lab. The end process will make our images look "dotty," like an impressionistic painting.

Anyway. I skipped the Lodge and Lakeshore tonight. I decided to take the Yashica out to the Architectural Artifacts 20th anniversary party. The owner hired a mariachi band and had an open bar with wine, soda and beer. They were selling all the artifacts for 50% off. I spoke briefly with James, a regular from my Starbucks and headed next door to Lill Street Art center, where a holiday party was going on. More open bar and interesting artifacts. A lot of the artists at Lill Street are Starbucks regulars and I had no idea until I turned the corners into their studios. I wish that I had brought more 120 film; there was so much to shoot! The Yashica certainly gave me a lot of comments. People would say, "Now there's an old camera!" Great conversation piece. Haha.
I met a lot of cool people, including Christine, a jeweler who gave me a pass for the One Of A Kind show at the Merchandise Mart next weekend. I'll be sure to take a trip there next Saturday and and take my camera. Maybe I'll meet some other photographers. I took a shot of Christine in her studio, standing over her display case, and I'm very anxious to see how it turns out.

I left Lill Street and ate pavement as I was walking down the front steps. It was dark and no one was around, so luckily, it was unseen. Man, did my shin take a beating.

Sorry I don't have any pictures tonight; maybe by Wednesday I'll have something to show you guys.

Fer tog raffi

2007-11-24T18:46:00.000-06:00

Taking initiative inspired from my friends Bella and K-rock and trying to blog more, even if there is nothing to blog about.
A rather non-productive Saturday, other than getting the apartment clean. Mostly I polished off far too many reduced fat Oreos and half a liter of Schweppes.

School is almost over for the semester. I'm relieved and a little sad. I'm starting to get the hang of the darkrooms and I wish I could have this kind of access when I'm not in school. I've spent an average of fifteen hours a week printing. Pretty good, huh? I'm particularly proud of the print I finished on Wednesday. I was the last person left in the darkroom at the end of the night (lonely, scary). I worked for a long time with Jane (the instructor) trying to get the color cast correct.

No access to scan, so I had to take a photo of the photo. I'm really happy with this image, which is rare for me, cause' I'm so effing self-critical.

I tried messing around with my Photoshop a little last night. I wanted to create a sort of "old, grainy, vintage self portrait" but only came up with this:

If it weren't so self indulgent, I'd probably like it more.

Last Christmas day, Dad and I went on a little field trip to Millennium Park for practice shooting. I'm excited to do this kind of shoot again. This time it may be in or around Detroit, so it'll be a nice change of scenery. I'm also looking forward to another Chucklebowl. I might bring the Polaroid camera again.

Speaking of holidays, I had a great Thanksgiving. I brought the school's Yashica (medium-format camera) to dinner and tried out a few shots. Not sure how they'll look yet; all the shots were indoor and at night. I still have to get the film processed. We'll see. At the end of the night, Elizabeth, Kristy and I were half-joking about The Bastion House: a place where writing, art and general creativeness will float about. I called dibs on the attic and making the second bathroom into my own personal darkroom. Hah. The three of us seem to talk about our professional advancement (personally and as a group) often. I suppose it's natural. Anyway. In moments of day-dreaminess, I often browse the apartment/home listings for LA or New York. A lot of the times, when looking at ads for homes in LA, I come across ads like this. Man. Californians really are nuts. At least they use their imaginations.

I checked the camera out and Jane gave me an additional assignment: take a roll of impressionistic photos with the Fujicrome film she handed me before I left. I still have no idea what to do with this project. My Photoshop experiment from earlier sort of throws back to this project, but no way in heck will I make another self-portrait.

MeTV has been background noise for most of the day today and the episode of Star Trek where Kahn makes his debut is on. It's boring. I'll opt for listening to Yo La Tengo and starting my English Paper revision instead.

PBTS

2007-11-19T17:27:00.000-06:00

Nothing to write. Keeping it short.
Blocked. Have to save my creative juices for an English paper.

Here are some pictures from the Pat Brice tribute show at Lakeshore theater. It was great to see Kyle and TJ again and to see Jeff Klinger and Shawn Cole for the first time.
Fun.

Happiest with the pictures of Kyle and TJ.

Sean introduced CJ as "a comedian who makes me the hardest." He said this drunkenly and not on purpose. It was gold.

Jeff Klinger.

Brady Novak.

TJ Miller.

When he came onstage, I said to Kristy: "He looks like he just came off a ship" Then Kyle said into the mic: "AHOY!"

Shawn Cole.

CJ Sullivan.

That's all I got, other than telling you all, never go to the bar "Wilde's."

Night Photography Project

2007-11-13T19:52:00.000-06:00

I struggled through a rough few days trying to figure out how to work this blasted Mamiya.
Turns out I grabbed a studio camera instead of the Yashica, which is what I should have checked out.
So I had to do some night photography without a meter. I used my digital as a guide.
I downright hate the technicalities of photography. I wish there were an easier way for me to remember all the jargon and specifics. Blarh.
We'll see how the photos look tomorrow after I get them processed, but I'm not gonna' be too hopeful.
Here's one I took with the Rebel:

Little different from a medium-format film, but you get the idea.
Seems I still cant shy away from my b&w habits. I like color photography alright, but there's nothing quite like the plainness of black blacks and white whites.

*shrug*

2007-11-11T14:56:00.001-06:00

Things I learned from today's group photo-shoot:

-I need to tidy up my organizational skills.
-I cant direct everyone perfectly, every time.
-I have to remember new people's names almost immediately after I meet them; none of this "You, there!" crap. I'm reminded of Brady Novak's bit: "This is JOHN, I'm meeting JOHN, I'm shaking hands with JOHN."
I also need to pay attention to how people are looking at the camera/where they are looking etc.
-I have to understand how to use flash and learn more of my camera's options. These are skills I've been putting off learning for too long.
Generally, I have a lot more to practice.

I don't want to post any pictures as the group hasn't even seen any: that would be unfair.
I'm scared to even upload them.

Ok. It is a "photo blog," so here's just one non-group photo from the shoot today:

It's busy, but I like it.

HS & GGI

2007-11-06T01:07:00.000-06:00

I've adopted a great little surge of motivation. I'm not sure where it came from. All I know is I'm excited to get started with entertainment photography again. I don't want to say too much because I sometimes succumb to the ridiculous belief that I'll jinx myself. So much for logic.

This afternoon, I took my first try at head shots. My subject was a girlfriend from work: an actress. After looking over the finished product, we decided that this afternoon was merely a "practice run;" we'll do a second shoot on another day. It was also very windy today, which made it very difficult for Christine's hair to stay in place. Lots of work needs to be done; there are a lot of things I need to pay attention to when I'm shooting.
A lot of you have probably already seen these from my Myspace, but here are my two favorites:

I'm so surprised with how much I learned from one simple shoot. I really got an idea of what looks good and how to direct. I paid close attention to details. Hopefully I can keep it up and get more practice whenever I can. I need to pay attention to emails, answer them immediately and return phone calls; this seems to be another
bad habit of mine.

I went to Globe Gong Idol tonight. I'm glad that I've been able to make time to go to shows again. Here are some shots:

Faye and CJ.

Tony Blanco and John Springsteen.

I've taken far too many pictures of this person.

Faye and Mandie.

Tony Blanco (foreground) and group.

It'll be a little longer til' I can get to another show...I'll (most likely) attend the Pat Brice tribute show. I'm really looking forward to this show. I'll finally see the legend known as Shawn Cole!

I've used the words "a lot" far too much in this entry.

That's it.

2007-11-02T19:11:00.000-05:00

Hi. Remember me?

Yeah, yeah.

I have pretty much zero time to myself these days. It's all Starbucks and school work. It's hard to get out to relax, let alone to go to comedy shows.

I went to the Blerds at LST last weekend. I got to see Mike Burns (my favorite dick/fart joke comedian), which was a total bonus.

I'm looking forward to this month's show.
Seems the more I shoot, the more discerning I am with decisions on the final cut. Last weekend, I picked only six images. I should be more careful when I choose to smack the shutter, but it seems I always miss the moments I want the more. It's a matter of being really careful, paying attention to what I'm doing with the settings and holding really still. We all know I dont want it to come down to a tripod and/or flash. "Use whatever available light I can" is my rule.

Plans for headshots are finally coming through, I think. A friend of mine is needed them, so we have a session set up for next week. Here is a prelim. photo I took on Wednesday:

She has a hard time relaxing in front of cameras, so it may be a bit of a challenge. At the same time, she's a friend and I make her crack up, so it may be smooth. The shoot was supposed to be today, but it fell through. After that, I'm gonna' try another performer, someone I don't know as well. We'll see how I do making people feel comfortable. The week after that, I'm doing a set for "a band." Sort of top secret. You'll see. If I can be confident and do a good job with these, I may start charging people, save up for a website and make a legitimate business outta' this. No bullshit this time.

Maybe it's a stretch, but I really think my English class is helping my writing. No more comma splices, no more fragmented sentences, and less pronoun misuse.

As far as color photography, the dark room isn't as hard to use as I thought it would be. Our professor is bat-shit crazy and totally unclear about our assignments. It's totally weird not shooting digitally anymore. I'm still not used to the lack of immediate satisfaction.

Keep an eye out and remember to set your phones to vibrate.

Short.

2007-08-15T00:43:00.000-05:00

Looks like this has become a "once monthly" thing.
I either cant get my camera into shows, I end up despising the show (e.g.: Louis CK), I'm obsessively unenthused about my pictures or I just don't get to enough shows (on a weekly basis) to post.

I'm here now. Without a Flickr account, it seems. Yeah! my year is up and I need to buy a new one (or find a better provider).

Some kit-kats are in from LA this week, so I decided to venture out to ChUC to see the performances.
Good fun.
Sam Fels.

Jared Logan.

Eric Acosta. I am seriously terrified of this man.

Renee!!

I didnt stay long afterwards, as much as I wanted to. I was super-tired, super-hungry and super-broke. I helped Tony roll up the banners, mingled shortly and took off.
I spoke with McQuern briefly and offered my photo-taking, reaching-up-high-things-abilities for when she takes over the Shift at ChUC. I think she was glad to hear it. Hopefully I'll be able to help out when I can.

I took this before I left. I like this picture. Even though it's grainy and blotchy and dark.

That's all for this time...
I'm going on vacation, suckas!

P.B.

2007-07-16T16:33:00.000-05:00

Everyone has said so many kind words about Pat, I fear I'll have nothing to contribute but the obvious; Pat was the one of the funniest, brightest, most auspicious people we've ever met.
Everytime I saw him, he'd say "Hey darlin'!" and give me a big hug.

Once my Mum and Dad were visiting from out-of-town and I decided to take them to a Lincoln Lodge show where Pat was headlining. Both my parents were thrilled with Pat's performance and I remember my dad saying something like: "He was so professional and you can really relate to what he talks about." I could have said, "Not only on stage, but in person, too," but I hadnt really known Pat yet. Luckily, I was able to find out what an amazing personality Pat was.
He was full of so much life, he had so much movement and was always smiling, unless he was onstage or telling a story and he'd make that face...

...you know the one, there would be that tiny pause, The Face and then an explosion; "I'm gonna say about a billion!!!!"

We were lucky to know him and hopefully we can all remain inspired by the way he lived.

We'll miss you Pat. Wherever you are, save us a seat at the bar.

MS, MIB & Burlesque.

2007-07-14T10:16:00.001-05:00

Last night, I went to my new favorite venue, LST (Lakeshore Theater) to see Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter perform.

I was a big fan of Stella when it was on Comedy Central but never got a chance to see The State. I also love Wet Hot American Summer and I'm looking forward to The Ten.
Maybe I was a little too amped to see the show. I remember K-rock and Angel told me they went to see them last year and were less than impressed.

I was delighted to see that the theatre had a new lighting/projection system. It was very effective.

Michael Showalter opened up to a very responsive crowd, yelling out to him about Stella and The State. Some of them made several references..
He has this sweet innocence about him that I cant get over. Maybe that's why I was so disappointed in his act. It was pretty vulgar. There was alot of mention of poo and vaginas and urine. It just seems like there could be more to him...Better substance.

I was, unfortunately, sat in front of The Dipshit Quadruplets. There was a constant barrage of heckling and inappropriate comments (to each other) during the show. The need to have their voices on the album that was being recorded was obvious. They had stood in line in front of me outside the venue and all they talked about was a "Rager" they were going to later and which one of them were going to screw which girl at the party.

There was a sort of intermission after Showalter left the stage and we were reminded a few times that the performance was being recorded for Comedy Central. Showalter came out to introduce Michael Black and had to repeat himself for a proper take.

There was a little bit of audience interaction, which was cool. It's kind of neat to think that we sort of got to "hear the album" before it's even released.

After the show, The Michaels stood in the lobby and signed paraphernalia. I re-met "Andrew," a kid I've seen at a few shows, mainly regional, bigger shows rather than local underground venues. He mentioned that he went up at Pressue (and loved it) the other night. We stood in line and shook the Michael's hands.

I met up with K-rock outside and we chatted for a bit. I was talking about the show and I (very loudly) shared my opinion. I said something like: "Yeah, I was sort of disappointed with Michael Showalter; he was vulgar and talked about poo-" as these words are coming out of my mouth, Michael Showalter walks past me, makes eye contact, nods and makes that smile-grimace-facial expression guys make sometimes when they nod (like they're smiling, but not really). I stopped in the middle of the sentence and my eyes got really big and I immediately regretted how I said what I said. I felt like a royal shit, if it werent for the fact that I saw his eyes and maybe a teeny bit of sadness, I might have not cared. Also, MIB skunk-eyed me from the back of their cab. Eeeeh. I guess everyone's a critic. Too bad I had to be one so loudly. All this made me realize I could never be a written reviewer. When it comes down to it, I cant hurt people's feelings, no matter how I feel about them.
I cant dish it because inevitably, I wouldnt be able to take it.

Anyhow.
We attended the 1030p burlesque show, "Lipshtick," (comedians and dancers, cute). It was fun! I havent exactly perfected my "Taking pictures of people moving very fast in extremely low light conditions," so I have no pictures of the dancers.
Actually, the pictures I was happiest with from last night were two I took of Jared with the awesome new lighting system:

Yay!
Welp, that's all for today, folks.

Kumail's Success.

2007-07-10T15:38:00.000-05:00

Hey kiddos.
Had a busy, crazy weekend.
At The Vic (for Zach Galifianakis and Kumail opening), K-rock and I managed to get up to the balcony where all Kumail's other pals were hanging out.
Robert Buscemi sweet-talked the little old lady who was sitting watch at the balcony steps to get us up with no passes.

So, I would have pictures for you from the show Friday, but I was accosted by a large security guard who told me to delete all my pictures. Awful. Humiliating.
Anyway. Good news; Kumail killed em'.

Afterwards, we all went to L&L for a few drinks. I relaxed, chatted with the tv critic for TimeOut (Margaret) and eventually felt less bitter. We talked about shows and she suggested I watch Battlestar Galatica (as I like political dramas and BG is where it's at.)
I gave up one day of antibiotics for one night of four beers (shame on me). As easy as it is to talk to people when you have a bit of drinks, it's really not so hard when you're sober. Even though they call it "social juice," It's nice to have a clear head and remember the funny things people around you are saying. Not that I'm a lush...Heh. Yeah.

Saturday, Kumail completed his weekend of awesomeness w/his one man show at Lakshore Theatre.

Lakeshore has gone from becoming my favorite venue to being so. Totally. Chris Ritter is so passionate about the acts he brings in and the "art" of comedy. You can see why so many comedians prefer performing there. I guess it was the first time they ever did a one-man show. And all 250 seats sold out! The show was remarkable. It wasnt stand up so much as "spoken-word." Kumail cleverly incorporated some of his bits into the show, however, proving his writing talent.

I think a few of us definitely connected with what he had to say about faith, growing up, parents, relocation and even a bit of pop culture. It was touching, intelligent and it's safe to say we were all so very proud of him.

The afterparty started at Fizz but we all had to depart at midnight due to the city's outdoor beer-garden ordinance. I managed to hand out a few of my cards (for once) and felt very satisfied.

We headed back to Lakeshore because apparently they were to be open until five am. I got a little antsy in the lobby where everyone was hanging. so I decided to pop into the theatre to check out Col. Ritter's S.H.O.W., something I've heard alot about, but never witnessed. It was...different. Stand-up, magic, burlesque, dancing. I hear they sometimes add a bit of a freak show.

Marzipan the magician and volunteer.

So. That's my weekend for the most part. I'm laid up at home with an ear infection, which will hopefully get better by this weekend as I'd like to catch Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter. *Crossed fingers.*
I dont know why but I got nervous about introducing myself to Ritter. I was sure I'd do it with no problem..."Hi, I'm Krystle, photographer for The Bastion, I totally love the job you do here and it's so much fun to take pictures in your theatre, here's my card..." It sounds easy in my head and I've done it a few times to other people, but for some reason I couldnt approach the guy. Maybe next time...Erg.

Tuesday

2007-06-20T18:53:00.001-05:00

Hey guys. It's me. "That girl that hangs out around shows. And takes really good pictures."

I was lucky enough to go to the Janeane Garofolo/Pat Oswalt show last night. Got there a bit late, was forced to sit in no man's land next to the Miserables. Mr. And Mrs. Miserable. He was gay. She was not. I'm sure she has no idea. They didnt laugh or smile. At anything. Awful. Terrible energy. I lost my lens cap and they didnt even budge when they saw I was struggling to reach underneath the seat.

I wasnt exactly happy with my images, but I guess I did ok considering where I was sitting (far).

John Mulaney opened!

I was pleasantly surprised, I didnt even know he was in town. He's adorable and I want to put him in my pocket.

There was a rather verbose lesbian heckler up front. She didnt want Janeane to leave the stage and kept screaming "DONT GO!" and "Where are you hanging out afterwards?!"
Patton ended up nicknaming her "Gravelpuss."

Patton was the hardest one to photograph, it always looks like his eyes are closed, he paces a bit and he was fasicnated by everything "Gravelpuss" and her "date" had to say so his back was to the area I was sitting in most of the time.

I think the people in front of me were getting mad that he wasnt doing any material. Seriously? How could you be mad about the perfect fodder!?! Who knows. Maybe he'll make a bit out of it.

Set up, Premise, Punchline, right?

Anyway. He ended up getting a standing ovate.

I got a ride home from Buscemi but only after we got a pint of Ben And Jerry's. We ate it in the car with flimsy plastic spoons. It was fun. I cant believe the show got out at 1:30 am! It went by so fast!

Oh yeah. And I pointed out Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Space Station to a bunch of improvisors while we were on a beer garden. It was cool.

48 Hour Comedy People

2007-06-06T01:12:00.000-05:00

I went to ChUC tonight for the first time in ages. Faye hosted. It was chill.

As if this weekend didnt comedy me out enough, on top of tonight, Monday I went to Globe Gong Idol, which proved to be a little bizarre.

My battery died (I saw it coming this time) towards the middle of the show, so I really couldnt capture the best, strange moments. For instance, Jason Fever wearing a ski mask and setting up an Xbox 360 to play Guitar Hero on stage or Pat Brice making the audience feel very uncomfortable with his observations on what's wrong with "us" (the audience). Effing amazing.

ChUC saw the return of Nick Vatterot from his boat tour.

All the comedians seemed delighted to have him back.

Paul Thomas.

Andy Ross with no beard! Weird!

After the show, I shared a bus ride down Western with Buscemi and lil' Faye. We saw TJ Miller's doppelganger sitting in the back of the bus and we swore it could have been him. He had the same body language and smile and his hat was on sidey-ways. Totally weird. Faye and I tried making a trip to McDonald's but failed miserably as the lobby was closed and they dont allow people through the drive-thru on foot (like the Popeye's Allison Leber and I visited in D.C.).

ChUC tonight will probably be my last comedy show for a few weeks. I got alot going on, a wedding in Michigan this weekend and a trip to the Motherland the following weekend. I'm really bummed I'll miss the 50 First Jokes show Brido and McGowan are putting on. Hopefully I'll have other photo-taking opportunities though...
Look for it!

Weekend at The Spot.

2007-06-04T09:03:00.001-05:00

There seems to be a very serious threat of me being discommunicated from the blogging community. A few people are kinda' pissed at me for not keeping up.

So, the weekend party marathon is over.
It started with the little show at the Lincoln Restaurant with Brady Novak hosting, Think Tank, Brido, CJ, Holmes, Eric Andre, Burns, Braunger, and 80's. Here are some favorites:

Eric Andre.

Mike Holmes as G-Carlo.

80's Clown.

It was a great show. It was the best; seeing those cats from NY and LA. Afterwards, we went over to Resi's, of course. Midnight, we celebrated K-rock's birthday with drinks and singing.

The entire time this weekend I alternately had "Funnin' Round In Clowny Town" and "Rosanna" stuck in my head.

The next day I had to work early and then rush over to Uptown to do a shoot with Tony Sam and about six other people for a project they're doing. I didnt want to upload the pictures onto Flickr for "copyright" reasons. I really need to get seperate, private hosting account so I can keep all my stuff and only allow certain people to view. Here are a couple I especially like...

There was an old foagie by the mural where we were shooting and I was prompted to take a picture of him. Check out Ol' Red and his ice:

Is that a charm bracelet?

After going home and uploading, being somewhat satisfied, I got ready and ran back to Uptown to The Spot for the Blerds party. Finally an event with every. single. Blerd. present. No camera. I was excited to take over photo duties with Kristy's little shooter, which was fine cause' I wanted to enjoy myself without worrying about my camera. My little compact is still being fixed anyway...

This is probably my favorite picture of the entire weekend:

Nothing special, just your typical "party" picture, but there's so much...life! Ahahha. Kinane.

I made the decision that Mark Vana should have played Young Joker instead of Heath Ledger.

My favorite Mikes in the whole wide world:

Sunday celebrated TJ's birth, his new pilot and his leaving for LA. There was a surprise visit from Josslyn! We got to see the pilot and there was an open bar from 9:30-12:30.
Steve Heisler gave me tips on how to get double the amount of drinks (at a time) from the open bar. Haha. He was a nice addition to the party, too. I even got to see Thomas Middleditch for the first time in forever!

It was too much fun having all those great people around at once. I was telling Kristy that I dont think one night was better or crazier than another. It was all nicely condensed into one great weekend. At one point on Sunday I wanted to hug and kiss every single friend at the bar.

There are alot of changes going on, already. People are moving in with people you would never expect (Kinane and Cheney? Cool). People moving back home or to LA. It's all good stuff, but I cant help but feel super disconcerted. It'll be a dry scene again, which I hear is never fun.
We'll see. By then, I may be going to less shows and doing more school work. =/

Oh, hey. If you wanna fun portrait done of yourself (if you're a comedian) let me know. I'm making steps to start my project and I want to get as many people as possible involved. The idea is to shoot comedians outside of the standup venues, with each portrait expressing something the comedian loves. Something that might fuel their bits. I have a list of about 22 comics with ideas as to where and what we can shoot.

I like having this camera, it's a great new challenge. I'm learning to take less pictures at shows (which is good) and I feel excited to start other stuff.

2007-05-29T23:13:00.001-05:00

Have you met my sworn enemy, The Hideout?
Each and every Stares show I go to, I struggle to get one (if any) good, still, sharp photo. I've mentioned this before. Subjects look like they're in a basement. Their eyes seem hollowed out and if they're wearing dark clothes...forget about it. Even with the new camera, I get two good ones out of 48. This is a photographer's will, though. I'm very stubborn and I hate the idea of an obtrusive flash, especially in such an intimate venue.

This is Brent Weinbach, the headliner for the show last night. He made a few fart/poo jokes, which I dont usually like when performed on stage, but something about his set was pretty darn strong and he kept the crowd quite attentive.

I'm looking forward to a few photo projects, as long as certain producers and performers stick to their words...I have an idea for a big project I want to do...it's just a matter of pitching it to around 20 different people. Eep. I have a limited amount of time to get everyone done and I still have to come up with some other ideas but for now it's just sitting in my craw, stewing.

I went to the zoo last week for all of 20 minutes. I left early because my battery went dead (I wasnt checking the LCD). I took this. I like it.
I intend to go back this week to finish what I started. We'll see what I can get.

A Month.

2007-05-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

A full month since I've posted. Pretty bad, huh? I promise I'll get better at posting frequently.
I dont know what's with me. I didnt even post any pictures from D.C.

It was a good time. There was much to take in and alot going on with a ton of people, so I really didnt get as many pictures as I expected. It ended up being like a vacation from photography. I got to be touristy without worrying about the artistic value of what I was doing.
With alot of sleeping in and a busy night-life.

My favorite two pictures from the trip:

The first is of the Blerds boys (all of them except one); a group of pals we saw alot of that weekend. The second makes no sense. Photographically, artistically...it's crap. It was taken at 2am in a cab heading to a party. It was the closest I got to the capitol building. I like it because it reminds me how crazy and beautiful D.C. was; an eventful weekend where all the days bled into one another. I dont remember what happened on what day. Was it Friday night I pulled an all-nighter and went sightseeing alone from 5am to noon? Saturday night dancing at the festival after-party? A late flight home on Sunday with the threat of a dangerous thunderstorm?

Well anyway. That's the jist of it.
This past Thursday night I went to see my roomate's friends play at The Beat Kitchen. The lead singer likes my stuff and asked me to go take pictures. I ended up being happier with the non-band pictures that night. Like zis:

And zis:
I cannot express without passion how annoyed I am with Canon and the lens error problem that keeps popping up. I take care of my camera. I take care of it real goods. Yet this keeps happening and I'm downright done with it. To the point of wanting to buy a Nikon when the time comes.
I'll either give the Geek Squad what for when I take it in (for the sixth time) or I'll personally call Canon up and "shit in a bag and punch it."

I'm jealous of Annie Leibovitz. It's official.The "official" photographer for the Olympics. Countless celebrities, artists, politicians, presidents. Chief photographer for Rolling Stone, books, exhibitions...Oh, yeah. She also toured with the Rolling Stones in 75'. There's that.
Now THE QUEEN calls her up and says "Hey, Annie. Come to London. Let's rock these poses out."
Maybe I'm not jealous. I'm just...not a studio photographer. I'm not sure if I could do it. I'd like her credence, at least. I think I'm gonna' try my first stab at "head-shots" soon.

First things first though: get a reliable camera and more, more, more experience. Right?

Dwight Nights/Maria Bamford is next weekend. EXPECT pictures, kiddos.

Your Obligatory "Lookin' Out Da' Airplane Window" Picture:

2007-04-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

Just getting started.
Deal with it, ladies.
Dupont Circle is freakin' beautiful.
Our hotel has AVEDA products.
MAGICAL.

It was really beautiful and sunny earlier but now it's storming. BOO.

Unrelated...

2007-03-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

So I have another blog.
Here it is.

I mostly talk about stuff I read on the internets or hear about around the town.
These "stuff" things will be: Cars, entertainment, food, robots, music, sports and comedy. If you dont put that comedy bit under the "entertainment" genre. You should.

It will in no way deal with photography.
I'm just tired of piling my myspace blog up with media files.

Please visit.

2007-03-29T14:56:00.000-05:00

Since the Apes show, I've been going to little to no shows. If I do go to a show, I "forget" my camera. I suppose nothing's wrong with a little hiatus. I said I was gonna' wait for the D.C. trip to make a new update but I figured I'd be a bad "blogger" if I didnt write something soon.

Where might I have been in this past month (all four of) you ask? Well, besides being holed up in my apartment listening to far too much Tchaikovsky, reading about dead presidents, being obsessed with my RSS Aggregator and making apple pies, over a week ago I had to entertain some visitors. Friends of (my roomate) C.J., Michael and Andrea were Architect students. They staid for about a week and went out on their own alot. In one day they went to Wrigley Field, China Town, Hancock Tower and they took a tour of a Condo in Lakeview just so they can see another good view of the city.

It's kind of interesting how you can see the city you live in in a new light when you have visitors. A temporary appreciation can develop for all the touristy stuff. We visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Art Institute and Oak Park (to see the Frank Llyod Wright houses.)

Michel at the Rudolf Stingel exhibit.

After the trip to the MCA, we stopped by a Lebanese resaurant for dinner; something I would have never done without promting from others. A really neat experience. We sat cross-legged in a booth on a bunch of pillows and blankets. Michael and I devoured our weight in pita bread.

I loved the way the light came through the windows in the restaurant.

Last Tuesday, "The Kids," CJ and I went to a show at SubT to see a friend of C.J.'s band perform. I really liked how photogenic the guitarist/vocalist, Tim was.

Dundries Flying Over Iceland.

I'd really like to try and practice more live music photography. It's a little harder as I cant exactly afford the cover at most SubT shows and I usually only ever get the motivation to see live music when it's Devin and The Straights.

Well, now for the comedy.
Went to the Chicago Comedy series at The Apollo Last night.

I remember being really surprised by the size and look of the venue; very tiny with a black curtain and a makeshift bar in the corner. Sort of like a Playground. For adults. Only filled with college students from North Carolina.

Host Jared Logan.

Jared did a wonderful job hosting, a natural. He first introduced Dutchess, an (predictably) all female improv group.

Two members of Dutchess.

The stand up portion was next, with Kumail doing an outstanding set with a lot of great crowd-work.

Kumail.

Following Kumail up was sketch-driven Jet and Holly, doing sketches from their show, "I Live Next Door To Horses." I was delightfully surprised by these two and the curious, almost twisted sketches performed.

Jet and Holly.

The last bit, a sort of musical montage about an adolesent boy trying to find a date for prom and finding a girl in the form of a robot (and his way into becoming popular) showed me how clever these girls can be, reaching beyong the "pussy" jokes they really dont need to do.

After a ten minute intermission (and the longest bathroom line of all time), Jared did another five or so minutes of standup and introduced the last group, reunited Warhammer. I
I enjoyed Warhammer especially because of the premise: six people "hanging out in a living room bullshitting," and if they "feel so inclined," stand up and do a bit of improv based on what they were talking about.

Timmy Mayse.

It seemed the group was going for a sort of "Parental" theme that night, as it came up more than four times.

Emi Candini.

Emi Candini even dropped trou' not once, but twice during the show.

It was nice to go to a show in a new venue and I'm looking forward to seeing more new shows in more new places in the next few months. Lakeshore Theater is planning on hosting alot more comedy, I hear.

See you in less than two weeks with a total geek-out entry?
Maybe sooner?
We'll see.

Impress These Apes Finale.

2007-02-27T00:55:00.000-06:00

The Apes.

After a long, exciting 8 weeks, tonight was the "Impress These Apes" finale at the Lakeshore Theatre.

I was way satisfied with the production. It was hilarious and colorful and brilliant. They brought back all the guests from the past few weeks to do bits.
I was happy with almost my complete set.
Which is raaaaa-aaaare.
I havent been this happy with a set since Sketchubator.

Jim Fath and friend.

I suppose the lighting and the theatre helped alot. The Lakeshore is spacious and bright. I could even get up and move to the other side of the theatre inconspicously.

Captain "Ape-Hab" and Hollywood Ape.

Still. I got that feeling; when you take a picture and you feel it-like a natural rush-almost...like: "Oh, that one is going to be perfect!"

Jared Logan as Gameshow Host.

The Flickr set is all over the place, but that's only because I still cant log into my account.

The Winner: Jamie Buell.

Tomorrow is Neil Hamburger and I'm praying to the photo gods for good luck at that venue. I struggled last time at The Hideout, but everyone said the photos turned out fine...We'll see. I'm also really excited to see Neil live. I've heard so much about him.

Along with Victor Borge, another comedian I've been really digging is Emo Philips. I've always loved his silly way of wording things and that goofy voice and hair.
He is a little creepy, but it's all part of a schtick, y'know?
"Well, my brother says "hello"! So, hooray for speech therapy."
I wish he would come to Chicago.

Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Je t’aime rire

2007-02-24T14:35:00.000-06:00

I've been neglecting my posts again. I'm not sure if it's laziness or a blockage of creativity. It cant be the latter, as I've been busy working on a portfolio of sorts, frying my brain looking over 5000 some photos of goofy people in front of microphones in dark places.

Also, business cards! Silly? Professionalish? Well, I like them anyway. See if you can "Guess that comedian's hands."
Look for a website in the near future. That is if I can find someone that can a) Teach me html or b) do it for me for cheap. And I mean free.

The last few weeks have been busy. I took a trip back home to Michigan, got stuck on a train for two extra hours, saw a bad cover band at a crap yuppie bar in Royal Oak and had an all-around relaxing weekend. No comedy whatsoever. Although the level of seriousness to which the guitarist from the cover band took himself was pretty funny.There he goes.

I was home last weekend for the Comedy Awards, which was a fun, interesting...different thing.
At the Hidden Cove afterwards, I got the chance to be accosted by Online Personality Rob Johnson with Kristy and Brido as witnesses. Scarring moment. Dont ask.

I made an ass out of myself on Presidents Day by reciting ridiculous political facts (more so than usual). I reveled in Michael Palascak's joke which referenced every single American president (within one or two minutes).

This weekend was the callback auditions for the Just For Laughs festival. It's sparked a resurgence of pride for my home-country. Something I've never been able to understand is: unless you are an American comedian, you have no idea what "Just For Laughs" is. It's something I've been familiar with since I was smaller. Why? I dont know. It was like Kids In The Hall or The Royal Canadian Air Farce . Always around.
An aside, did you know that This Hour Has Twenty Two Minutes has been around longer than The Daily Show?

Well anyway. The Auditions:

Allison Leber.

The usual suspects went up; a few Blerds boys, some Spitfire girls. Boosh. And one new face. Good stuff.

Tony Sam.

The aforementioned face, Tyler Kroll, who's surname is shared with a certain someone as a nickname. I guess he's good friends with comedian Johnny Beehner, who looks oddly familiar.

As tradition goes, we all went over to the Bierstube for good drinks, conversations and apparently spa sessions.

The last Impress These Apes show is monday at the Lakeshore Theater. I'd really like to go, as I'm sure it'll be photo ops abound.

Oh, I won the Apiary Teeshirt.

I never win anything!

Comedy High School

2007-02-08T09:38:00.000-06:00

Jared Logan.

February 7th, 2007. Blerds Showcase, The Empty Bottle.

Figures that the two journalists (myself and Kristy) are the first to arrive at the show, before the comedians, even.
First to arrive, hardest to laugh, less to drink, earliest to leave. It wasnt exactly like that in the fall...There's a professionalism that's arising in everyone, which will do alot of good, methinks.

The Empty Bottle is a tough joint to shoot in; red and green (low) lights, ugly aluminum stars.
I doubt it's that dark when they have rock shows.

CJ Sullivan.

Jared Logan hosted with Kumail, Sean Flannery, CJ Sullivan and Pat Brice showcasing.
A shit-ton of new, awesome videos were shown, including Mike Bridenstines' "Upscale Plastic Surgeon," and my personal favorite, Logans' 30 second morsel: "French Fry."

Kumail.

After the show, we were greeted by fresh-home-from-Florida Buscemi. He regailed us with stories about pelicans, water aerobics and elderlies in trailer homes. Mobile homes? Modular units? What's the P.C. Word for that?

Here he is bonding with the Venue Couch and it's cat.

More quiet observation of comedians with thier business talks and banter, then Kristy and I had a brief conversation regarding Brido's theory of how this scene is like a High School. You have comedians and artists in different grades. I would be a freshmen, as I only entered this less than a year ago.

You sort of start with a child-like mentality: just having fun, goofing off, not really caring about your grades. Things might get serious as you move up. When you're a "junior," you have to start thinking about graduating and what you're gonna' do after high school. Your "college" becomes what city you'll move to to progress in...NY or LA? Or do you stay in the hometown and see if you can become successful where you stay?

If you look at it lake that, your experiences here are like extracurricular activities. Venues you showcase at, shows at The Improv; they're almost like exams. I suppose my only extracurricular activity is The Bastion, but that figures as I've sort of been a yearbook photographer all my life.

Haha. Maybe I'm looking too deep into this analogy. But sometimes the achievement of a big goal can take up to four years of solid development and experience. It seems to happen alot in education and business.

Maybe I'm only a freshmen, but I really wanna take AP Classes.
Plus, those cool Seniors are so nice to me!

People Under The Stares.

2007-01-31T09:25:00.000-06:00

On a total whim, I went to eat a burrito and go see comedy with K-rock. Total whim.
Alright, I was thinking about it. My brain may have been into it, but my heart and body certainly didnt like it. It was a tired night.

We went to the sixth installment of The People Under The Stares at it's new home in The Hideout; a venue I've been told to visit by several people.

I grabbed some seats up front but ended up sitting off to the side on a tall stool.

I think I had an off night. I wasnt happy with the lighting in the back room and couldnt seem to get comfortable in my chair. At the end of the show I rejoined Elizabeth and Kristy, only to discover that if I had staid sat at the table, I could have gotten better shots. Ugghh!

Mike Bridenstine.

Morgan Murphy.

Those were the only two photographs I was remotely happy with. Faye and Hannibal went up, too.

I wasnt sure what to think about Morgan. A few of her jokes made me chuckle but some of her stories were pretty drawn out, making it hard for me to laugh when the punch came. Maybe all the hype didnt help, either.

I'm excited for next month's show. Niel Hamburger, the ultimate anti-comic will be headlining and I'm hoping I can make it. The guy is a photogenic dream.

I snatched that picture from Jim Newberry's site after I Google image searched for "Neil Hamburger." I ended up browsing Jim's site and was surprised to find myself really impressed.
It's quite rare for me to like another local photographer, but I really enjoy all the stuff he's done. At some point, I'd like to get to his caliber.

I snapped this on the ride home. From a car window. I have no clue where it is.

4th Friday and Scribble.

2007-01-27T12:23:00.000-06:00

Seth Thomas.

Begging for a new assignment, I went with K-rock to see 4th Friday, a new show at the Town Hall Pub.
Starting last night, it's held (appropriately) every 4th Friday of the month.
I was really impressed. For such a little venue and such crappy lighting/sound equipment, they managed to pull off a good show.
Dan P.

I've been trying to experiment with how I frame my shots, mix it up a little, try not to remain "typical." I'm zooming in alot more on faces and it's a little difficult, as I'm not very good at cropping. Then I have to try and keep my focus on a moving person. Hopefully I'll get better as I practice,but for now these will have to do.
Darius Kennedy.

Robert Buscemi.

Karen Thomas.

After the show, Roger, K-Rock, Dredge, Boosh and I went over the the infamous BYOB theatre, Playground to take in Scribble, which I've heard alot about.

Dean Carlson.

Boosh again.

Brendan McGowan.

Adventure Club.

D-D-P.

2007-01-26T15:40:00.000-06:00

So it's been awhile, eh?
I think I may have a little case of the writers block. I'm perfectly capable of taking good shots, I just cant seem to get words. Yeah.

The past six days, I've been sharing my abode with a didactic young man from Toronto, David Dineen-Porter.

He only had two shows, even though he intended to do comedy every night he was here.

The week started as I met up with DDP at Thomas Middleditch's show at i.O. last weekend.
He greeted me by showing me a game for his Nintendo DS. He then pointed out the improv games Thomas and his improvisors were playing.

There was some hesitance after the show about what we should do next, so we ended up stopping at the 7-11 and going to Thomas's to play Guitar Hero, an introduction for me.

I got to see something amazing; two geniuses in one room who worked together, created amazing, imaginative stuff and seem to act just the same at thier reunion as I imagine they would have two years ago...

He did Your Sunday Best and got stage happy.
We had a few folks in the apartment after the show, ordered pizza, played Mario World 3 and had a very late night, indeed. He made alot of observations about the difference between the States and Canada. It's kinda' funny being an unbiased observer when it comes to stuff like that.
I couldnt take sides at all, only agree on points for both sides. Eh.

An interesting house guest, David tends to leave all the pantry doors open after he's taken out whatever object he needs. He also ate all (and only) the Brazil nuts out of the nut mix sitting on the coffee table.

At one point, I was sitting in the living room, reading the paper and he came out with a Speak N' Spell. He held it in front of himself, glanced at me and started spelling something. He was twisting two knobs on the side, causing the letters to warp in pitch. I started to laugh and he stopped, smirked and said "Good, you laughed," and walked out of the room.

The crowd at the Tuesday Riot show wasnt very impressive, but they were an ok audience. I only managed to get in for the last two or three minutes of DDP's set because I got out of work late.

I managed to get a few shots of TJ and Thomas doing improv at the end of the show.
I walked with David to the train station yesterday and we took in a crap meal at the station McDonalds. He made some notes on his voice recorder and took off back to the motherland.
I was so happy to see him live and get to watch his creative processes.
It was a real priviledge.

A Somewhat Empty Stage

2007-01-12T01:43:00.000-06:00

Another one for the "Empty Venues" collection.

Christmas Photos.

2007-01-11T19:42:00.000-06:00

Good news!

I got my camera back today from the Geeks.
I dug up some pictures I took on Christmas with my dad. Not comedy, but a nice little change.

Check these out while I go to Sketchfest to photograph Mike Burns and Real Good Turbo...
Thas' muh' dad to the right.

NYEII

2007-01-02T17:35:00.000-06:00

I took a little adventure to Kinko's today (yesterday)...and what an adventure it was. I stopped at Staples first to find out they only do copies. So I had to venture down to Western and Addison to Kinko's and have a preposterously flaky nineteen year old help me scan 30 some polaroids. He kept wiping his nose on the back of his hand. He muttered "Um," "Uh," and "Yeah" alot and suggested the slowest ways for me to go about scanning so the money on my Kinko's card can get sucked up as quickly as possible.

Here are some of my favorite polaroids with some synopses.

The night started off great.
When I walked in, Ken Barnard and Brady Novak were accosting people as they entered the bowling alley asking various questions and making comments like: "What are you looking forward to most tonight?" or "Let's go interview people at the McDonalds drive thru!" (as the McDonalds was about forty feet away from the alley). I hope to lord they dont use the footage from the interview with me, as I probably sounded like a bumbling hambone.
The joint was crowded and it was difficult to move around a lot. I brought the camera along without a second thought that I had no bag or pockets, so I had to sneak around with this giant box around my neck and ask various people to hold my drink, photos and sometimes wallet while I shot. Not to mention while wearing pointy black high-heeled shoes and a skirt. Whew. This was a big alternative compared to my handy digital camera.

K-Rock, Angel, and I stood near the ATM and noticed Bill Cruz (freshly soused from the Bronco's game) at the bar, complete with cane and cast (he fractured his foot some two weeks ago and had to walk around with this goofy cane).

A couple of people from LA and other out of town areas were around . I was excited to meet Eric Acosta and nerded out when I told him how much I love the videos on Channel 101.

I went upstairs to see what the set-up looked like and was blinded immediately by Josh's bright yellow jumpsuit and goggles. I went back downstairs to see what was going on and a few people had cleared out, so there was alot more room to move around. Here is Josh and said jumpsuit's girlfriend, Becky.

I came across Andy Ross diving into a toothsome piece of pizza. I went to take the photo but frowned, as I had run out of polaroids. I demanded he hold the pose as I ran to K-Rock's bag to reload the film...He did. A friend pointed out that in this photo, Andy's sleeve is sharper than his face.

Just before midnight, a small group decided to form a little dance party by the stage. I reveled in Mike Bridenstine's "Chicken-Noodle Soup."

It was not hard to convince Online Personality Rob Johnson to pose for a "Scowling Expression" photo.

After 12:01 we all gave each other our respective hugs and kisses and hung out for awhile, trying to find anyone we missed. Around 12:20, a group of us tried to figure out what the bowling situation was. Someone has booked two lanes for 12:30, so we grabbed shoes and set up teams.
I love this image of Faye screaming at the person on the loudspeaker...I think bowling was the most fun part of the night.

Josh Cheney with intereference from Steve O. Harvey's hand.

Speaking of Steve O. Harvey, he had a bit of a time last night. After a few drinks, he was goofing off and hoopin' and hollorin.' CJ Sullivan could be quoted as saying "I've never seen a man have so much fun...that made my 2007, right there." Here he is with David Angelo.

I was really proud of myself. I managed to win the game with a 93. Not much, but more than I've ever bowled in my life and I'd have to say my form was pretty good, too.
After bowling, we milled about the bar and a few extra's showed up including TJ, Nate Craig and Pat Brice. They started taking down the decorations as the bartenders tried to kick us out. Nate helped out and nabbed this purple doosy.

Someone pointed out that Pat and Steve O. were wearing (almost) the exact same shirt.

If you want to see more, I have plenty on my Flickr account.

NYE

2007-01-01T02:37:00.000-06:00

My camera's in the "hospital" right now.

I substituted digital "right now" pictures with polaroid "right now" photos on NYE.

Just for the record (on a personal note), this was the best New Year's Eve I've ever had.
I had a tremendous time.

Look for pictures after I go to Kinkos...
...Or if anyone has a scanner I could use, speak up!

PCOW

2006-12-26T11:15:00.000-06:00

Photogenic Comic Of The Week:

Renee Gauthier at The Spectacular Show (12-20-06)