Rhett Miller is starting to do interviews regarding his upcoming self-titled solo album – the one I did all the photography for. So, enjoy looking at my beautiful cover photo, as you listen to him discuss each track on the new record:
Video light…
You can bet I’ll be adding one of these to my video bag, as soon as I can afford to buy it:
Since I’m not making a gazillion dollars off my video work yet, I can’t really justify dropping $500 for a light right now. However, I’ve seen this thing in action (a friend of mine has one for his doc work), and it is perfect for handheld documentary shooting.
Dancing with a star…
Check out my latest video story, about a local dance class:
And, as always, feel free to visit www.janikphoto.com and www.jasonjanik.com to see all my still photos…
Got Korn?
I’ve photographed a lot of rock bands over the years, but I still feel bad when I have to turn down an opportunity to shoot another show. This weekend was the second time this month that I was already booked with another photo shoot, so I had to turn down an assignment to shoot a concert.
This time I was asked if I could shoot the Edgefest all day concert for the news. However, I already had two shoots booked – one was my museum client and the other was a wedding. I’ve already shot most of the bands on the Edgefest bill before – Korn, Blue October, etc – so I wasn’t missing out on some rare chance to shoot a reclusive musician. But still… I’d rather shoot a band for the third or fourth time than not shoot them.
I looked in today’s paper and they wound up sending fellow shooter Ricky Moon in my place. It looks like he got some real nice photos, so I don’t feel too bad. I feel worse when a client can’t get me, so they wind up getting some blah photog in my place. If I had looked in the paper today and seen some lame images, then I would’ve been bummed. I’m glad that Ricky did such a great job!
But, don’t get me wrong. I still would prefer that a client sends me over another shooter, even if he/she gets some great images. I’m hoping I won’t already be booked the next time someone calls me for a concert or band shoot. I don’t mind missing a show here or there, but I don’t want to miss them all. I’d much rather shoot Korn again and again than not shoot a concert at all.
May wedding, number two…
I don’t book many weddings. I keep my bookings pretty exclusive. I try to book just enough to keep me really excited about shooting them. If I book too many, I get burned out and need a long break from them. That’s not fair for the bride and groom, and that’s not good for me. I’ve found that a dozen or so is the magic number for me.
However, I was lucky enough to meet a few REALLY great wedding couples getting married in May. They seemed so nice, that I broke my normal rule and booked a few extra weddings for the month. So far it was a good plan, because I have done two weddings in May (out of three booked) and I’ve had such a great time at them both.
Anyway, I thought I’d share a few pictures from this weekend’s event. I’ve only had a chance to look through the first half of the day, so that’s all I will be posting for now. I’ll try to look through the reception later and post some more pics soon. In the meantime, enjoy these images from the first half:
For all the CEO’s in the house…
I just noticed the current issue of D CEO has my handy work in it. I shot portraits of two lawyers for a story they were doing. I always try to keep an eye out for when my images run, but I thought I was going to miss this one. Seeing as how I don’t subscribe to anything smarter than Rolling Stone, I never expected to see a copy of D CEO in front of me.
It actually looks like a pretty cool publication. It takes the normal D Magazine style of showcasing the Metroplex’s local flavor, and it mixes it with intelligent, productive, business info. If only I were a bit smarter or more savvy, I might just have to add it to my subscription list…
Anyway, if you happen to be one of the hip, smart CEO’s that receives the publication, keep an eye out for my photo credits in this issue:
Seamless background care…
Every studio you walk into keeps their seamless paper backgrounds stored standing vertically. I never had the room to do that, so I stored mine horizontally. The reason you are SUPPOSED to store them vertically is to keep them in top shape.
If they sit horizontally for an extended period of time, the weight of the roll eventually starts to distort the circular shape. The roll looks less like a circle and more like a capital D. When you unroll it, your background looks a bit wavy. Not a big issue if you are using black and keeping it black, or if you are using white and throwing a ton of light at it. However, it can be very unflattering for colored rolls.
Well, I always figured that I go through my rolls fast enough that it didn’t matter too much either way. They wouldn’t really sit long enough to deform. Wrong! A couple of my specialty colors are starting to look very wavy. I am so stupid.
They only cost about $40 a piece, but still… why throw away money? I’m going to find the extra space somehow, and I’m going to store my backgrounds vertically from now on… like I am supposed to be doing.
For those of you who love Ben Kweller…
I don’t think I mentioned this in detail, but I sold number four in a limited edition of five 20×30″ metallic prints of Ben Kweller’s infamous ACL Fest nose bleed the other week. This means the only print left in this limited edition is 5/5 and it is available for $1,000 (for those of you who still have spending money in the terrible economy).
For those diehard Ben Kweller fans, Austin City Limits Music Festival fans, or rock and roll fans, this might be something you saw at my Texas Music gallery show last year. If you missed it, you missed the chance to get up close and study each drop of blood dripping down his guitar. You missed the detail of his blood-stained clothes and fingers. Yes, that is REAL blood and NOT paint!
I’m guessing I will probably have this final print in my possession for a while, but you never know. There might be someone out there who has a grand burning a hole in their wallet and an undying love for all things rock and roll. I figure, if four other people loved this image enough to put it in their home, there must be a demand for it!
Greg Watermann in LA…
I know this isn’t a Dallas show, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway. If, by chance, you are in Los Angeles tonight, you might want to attend this show:
Greg Watermann is a well-known Hollywood music photographer. He’s been doing concert and band photography for a long time now, and he has some pretty good images. You can see some of his work here:
You’ll have to sift through a handful of really cheesy images, and a few bad ones (why does he leave a few of those duds on his site?!?), but for the most part, his website will blow you away. He works mostly with hard rock and metal-ish bands, so expect to see plenty of dark and muted images.
Being a big Nirvana fan, I’d love to see his show just for the “unpublished” Nirvana images promised. I wish I could’ve shot them, but I never did. I started shooting shows around 1995 or 1996, and they were just ultra-small, local bands. In 1997, I upgraded to regional and national acts, but Nirvana was long gone history by then.
Imagine getting to shoot that Nirvana show at Trees in 1991 or so, whenever it was… the one where Kurt got in a fight with the club’s bouncer. That show must’ve been crazy to see live. But enough about me. Here are the details of Greg’s show:
Lucie Foundation Member Greg Watermann celebrates the opening of a new show entitled “I Photograph Rock Stars”.
Join A and I Photographic Lab on May 7th from 7pm-11pm for the opening reception of the Greg Watermann collection, “I Photograph Rock Stars.”The exhibit takes a walk through Watermann’s career, ranging from early portraits of Julia Roberts to more recent portraits of Ozzy. Unpublished and unseen treats will be unveiled for the first time, including the outtakes from Nirvana’s first magazine shoot for the cover of Spin Magazine and the debut of a new multi-media presentation documenting System Of A Down’s last concert with hundreds of live photos cut to music.
Exhibit books, prints and posters will be sold to benefit Nrani, a non-profit organization established in 2003 in Armenia to help provide adequate therapy for children up to eight years old with disabilities.
Greg Watermann is currently one of the top music photographers in the world. Over the years, his unlimited access at concerts has routinely involved him standing on-stage with of some of the biggest names in Rock n’ Roll. This perspective combined with Watermann’s “in the trenches” style gives photography and music fans alike a perspective of really being there and has earned him the rights to photograph such bands as System Of A Down, Linkin Park, Coldplay and Mudvayne.
Nrani is a non-profit, early intervention program established in 2003 in Armenia to help provide adequate therapy for children up to eight years old. The organization is taffed with a multidisciplinary team of physicians, psychologists, educators, and speech and physical therapists. These experienced professionals provide free therapeutic services to improve the development of cognitive, personal/social, motor and language skills. Nrani also provides counseling and education to help families cope and adapt to their child’s disability.
The event is generously sponsored in part by HP and Neenah Paper.
Now THAT is a lens!!!
Maybe if I had more money than I knew what to do with, or had regular paying work in a very specialized field (like stealthy photographs of something a mile away?!?), I could see buying one of the twenty or so 1200mm Canon L series lenses in the world. B&H Photo currently has a used one for sale. I didn’t even bother checking the price, though. I know it will be more than my car cost me.
Here is a review of the lens, in case you wanted to dream about it:
*** update: Curiousity got the best of me. I looked up the price on the used 1200mm lens. I figured it would be around $25k. Nope. You want to buy that lens? Get ready to put down $120k in cash!!! Yikes!!!!!