Drive by shooting

I had to go to Santa Fe this morning to deliver some prints for an upcoming show. After the drop off, I had lunch with Jake and then coffee with Norman. It was cold and windy in Santa Fe and as I drove home, the weather started to change and it is now snowing in ABQ.

But I was incredibly bored on the way home so I took the following photos. I was doing about 75mph.

Norman Mauskopf Rocks!!

Tonight is the opening for Norman Mauskopf's 25 year retrospective show at Verve. Should be a great show that will surely be well attended. I was told the gallery sent out almost 5000 invites.

Norman is a terrific guy and great photographer. He did a wonderful photograph of Amelia and I on our wedding day.

Norman, I am very happy for you.

Billions

Today, GWB asked congress for $10.6 billion for Afghan aid.

Now close your eyes and imagine GWB asking for $10.6 billion in aid for our public schools. Or aid for a better health care system.

Or, even better, $10.6 billion for the development of alternative energy sources so they we can stop out "addiction" to foreign oil. I suspect that the folks working on the hydrogen fuel cell could do a whole lot with $10.6 billion.

Wanna be a teacher?

The city of New Orleans is desperately seeking school teachers.

If you are a teacher and need a job, click here.

Good Luck Steve Merlan !!!

Steve, I am wishing you all the best in Guatamala. You will do great things there.

Take good care buddy.



This is me and Steve in Oaxaca. What a great time we had photographing and getting drunk on the roof and patio of my mexican apartment.

Traditional Photography in 2007

I thought I would pass on some various news and rumors that are going 'round and to tell of my experiences.

News:
- Kodak has sold it's b&w chemical division to another company who will still market and sell the chemicals under the Kodak name. If you are unaware, they have already stopped making b&w papers. The CEO is determined to get rid of all of the traditional (film and chemicals). He said he wished he was the CEO of a digital company. Did you know they now make flat panel tv's? Strange enough, they have also just released new color films in all formats. It's just a matter of time until Big Yellow is out of the game.

- Fuji has released a new color film (64T).

- Ilford is developing two new b&w papers as we speak. They are also considering introducing a new 25 ASA/ISO speed film. WOW! And about 3 months ago, released two new paper developers and have just released selenium toner. Awesome.

- Ilford will have a 7% price increase on all products as of February 1st.

- J&C Photo, a company who had been supplying various films and papers, including Ultra Large Format, has temporarily closed up shop. Their website says they will be re-opening in 3-6 months? Sounds odd to me.

- Forte has closed up shop. No more film or paper. They produced the Bergger products so they are gone too. Forte also made some of the Freestyle brand of film and paper.

- A new magazine available now on the news stands is called Darkroom. It has nothing to do with traditional photography. It is a companion to the new Apple software program, Lightroom.

- A new photoshop plug-in is available and it's called Silver Oxide. Now you can make your digital shots look like Tri-X or HP5+ film. Cool.

Rumors:
- Maco is apparently trying to reintroduce Agfa APX films and papers. There is a press release on this but I am unsure of its authenticity.

- Bergger is trying to buy the Forte factory.

- Kodak is laying off 500 employees in NY, 5000 worldwide and has closed their R&D plant in France.

- Kodak large format film sales are up.

Experience:
- I have been looking for my much loved medium format Agfa APX 100 film. I called about 80-100 photo stores across the country and could not find a single roll. I was able to find about 1000 rolls of this film in 35mm. There was a lot of laughter when inquiring about this film. Not funny. Medium format APX 400 is still available at places like B&H.

- Freestyle Photo continues to support the traditional community with providing us with a great assortment of products and very reasonable prices. They also take returns on everything they sell, including film and paper. Try to support them as well. They also offer a free catalogue.

That's all for now.

Wishing you all the best in 2007.

The Birth Day Portrait

This was Sunday morning. Not sure of the time. In my bathroom.

Life as a Film Photographer

I must have called about 100 camera shops throughout the USA looking for my favorite film, Agfa APX 100 in medium format.

Not a single roll was found.

Now if I needed 35mm film, I found what is probably 1000 rolls.

This is fucking killing me.

I've found a few other sources of the film, including one photographer who wants $8 a roll for it. No thanks.

Oh well, time to move on to some other film. Probably Ilford's FP4+

Happy Birthday...to me!!!

Happy 38th Birthday to me!!!!

Having some friends over this morning for brunch.

Then I am going to watch the Saints win and go to the Superbowl (I hope).

Then I am going to get some new sunglasses.

Yippeee!!!

Breakin' The Law for my Art

This morning, me and two friends (who I will not name) went trespassing in the Albuquerque Railyard. Not sure how much I trespassed as the back gate was wide open.

We planned on shooting for 1 hour. And that's what we did. In and out.

I did my negs already and I am very pleased. I am on a roll for sure. I got at least 10 well composed and well developed negs. Yippee!!!

Darkroom time tomorrow.

One Thirty AM

I just spent the last 6 or 7 hours finishing up film that I shot in 2006. I need to keep up on this. I found some negatives that I shot in August. Damn! And some really great surprises.

Time for bed.

Things are looking better...literally

I am happy to report some good news. After several months of photographic hard times, I have made some really terrific negatives.

I went back to using Agfa APX 100 with xtol and the results are really terrific. Sam and I took our time on our roadtrip and I was able to concentrate.

I made 10 rolls of nearly perfect negatives. I am very excited and feel good about my work again.

I've set aside 100 rolls of Agfa APX 100 for my big trip with to Iceland. I am going to do this trip right.

Just wanted you all to know.

Roadtrip - Thursday

The plan was to go back to White Sands this morning but the clouds were thick and the possibility of rain was real. We packed up and left the Motel 6 by 8am.

We both were ready to be home. I wanted to see Amelia and Sam suddenly had a lot of school work to do, courtesy of Jim Stone.

I think the first stop was along Hwy 55, in the middle of nowhere, but somewhere between Ancho and Claunch. I think we passed 5 cars on this part of road. This stop allowed us to make a few photographs and allowed Sam to do what he loves, peeing in the middle of the road.

The next stop was the Gran Quivira ruin. This is a ruin of an old Mission. Very cool. No one was around which was nice too.

The route we decided to take took us through Mountainair and then back to I-25.



I arrived home around 1pm.

It was a really terrific trip. Sam is a great roadtrip partner. His singing is really bad but his attitude is fun and easy going. We'll be in Miami together in March and that should be fun too.

I shot 10 rolls of medium format, 2 rolls of Xpan shots, and 225 digital images. I will do the film over the weekend.

Roadtrip - Wednesday

Sam and I got up around 8am. We wanted to get to Marfa pretty bad. So were were checked out by 9am or so. After making a Chinati drive-by, we stopped into the Marfa Book Company for coffee and to use the wireless internet. This is one of the best bookstores I have ever been in. The people are kind, the coffee good and the books excellent. We hung out for a bit, checking our email and Sam had work to upload. An hour or so had gone by before we decided to grab the cameras and walk around town a bit. Not much is going on in Marfa at 11am on a Wednesday morning. A few more photos and it was time to move on.



We both wanted to stop in Valentine to photograph the town marker for someone we love. Near the sign, we both made photos of this garage. As you can see, the clouds and sky were beautiful.

Then it was back in the car and a few miles out, we came across this after speeding passed it and not believing our eyes. Prada Marfa!


This is a stand-alone art project. The building is completely sealed and is modeled after the Prada NYC store. It has about a dozen pair of shoes and 4 or 5 handbags. It was incredible to see.

After a few shots here, we got back on the road and sped towards El Paso.

We stopped in Van Horn for some lunch. Some Mexican place provided us with some decent tacos. Quick and easy.

Unfortunately, we had to get on I-10 West to make it to El Paso. Along the way we made a few more photographs including a couple in Sierra Blanca. Then when we could, we jumped on Hwy 20, which put us even closer to the Rio Grande and Mexico. Hwy 20 goes through small towns and farm land. It was nice but the closer we got to El Paso, the worse things got.



As we approached El Paso, the air became a light brown and smelled a bit. The pollution from the factories in Juarez and the burning of fields created a mess.

We got back on I-10 for a bit until we could get off in the downtown area of El Paso. Downtown El Paso is kind of nice looking, until you get close. It is dirty and jammed with people. Most of the shops on the street level, sell the junk that is made in Juarez. Five pairs of socks for one dollar. Plastic toys for fifty cents. Bootlegged DVD's. Lots of crap. It's sad.

Sam and I walked around a bit and then it was time to go. Trying to make our way out of the downtown section put us on Hwy 85. This is the road that splits the US from Mexico. The road is lined with tall fences with razor wire and many Border Patrol trucks. The El Paso side looks like a poor US city but the Mexican side, well, is lined with shacks. It looked like a shanty town. This really bothered me. It was really awful. And what we think was the Rio Grande, looked more like a mud puddle with lots of garbage in it.

After a brief talk, we decided to head to White Sands via Las Cruces. So back on I-10 to I-25 and around 5pm, we were standing on a dune.

The sun had already set and Sam was really happy to be there. It must have rained in the previous hours as there were huge puddles and the sand was moist and cold. We stayed there for about 45 minutes and headed into Alamogordo to find a motel and to get dinner. We did both.

Roadtrip - Tuesday

Today was a great day in Texas. The weather was beautiful.

This morning, Sam and I went into Acuna to check the place out. We parked on the US side and then walked over. We each paid 75 cents to cross into Mexico. The walk was about 1 mile each way. No big deal. We crossed over the Rio Grande, which was rather gross, but there were lots of ducks swimming about. Kinda sad.









It did not take long to feel like Mexico. There were crazy advertisements all over the place for beer and clubs and other crap. The street we walked down was lined with bars, curio shops and dentist offices. One kid kept offering to help us find whatever we were looking for. We kept saying we were fine but he was persistant. We were offered liquor, viagara, and women. We politely declined everything. We were told the night before, by a lady in the Walmart, that Acuna really got wild at night and that if we got in trouble, we should as for Chuy Ramone.









After about 60 minutes or so, we were ready to move on. So we jumped on Highway 90 and headed west.

The next stop was Langtry. This was the home of Judge Roy Bean. Some lunatic judge back about 150 years ago. Now they name rollercoasters after him. Anyway, it is basically a ghost town now. Aside from a museum of sorts and a general store, there was nothing else there. A few abandoned buildings, which Sam and I photographed, inside and out.









Around 4pm, we finally got to Marathon. I was rather happy to make it here because it is a beautiful town that I heard lots about. But arriving on a Tuesday afternoon, we found most things closed, including the Evans Photographer Gallery. I've seen his work before and really wanted to see the gallery. It was a good size and had about 12 or so photos hanging. Maybe next time. After 20 minutes here, it was back on 90 West.

We got to Alpine around 5pm, I think. Alpine is pretty nice but has a yucky side. We tried to get a room here but there wasn't much available. Nothing I would stay in. We decided to stay here for dinner. We had excellent Mexican food at Alexanders before making a run for Marfa in the dark.

The most reasonable place in Marfa was the Riata Inn. It was quiet and priced right. It was also about 5 minutes from Main Street in Marfa. So we checked in and unloaded Sam's truck and went out looking for a place to get a beer. Instead we found the Dairy Queen. Yum.

After a small Caramel Sundae, it was time for bed. We were both eager for some time in Marfa.

Roadtrip - Monday

Today we got up well after Jake left and got ready for the day. For some reason, Carla had split early even though she had spent the night. Then from out of nowhere she returned with no real explanation for where she was.

After a brief discussion on where to get some coffee and breakfast, we ended up going to the Austin Java coffee shop. We placed an order and grabbed a table. A few minutes later, a guy who looked awfully familiar to me walked in. I whispered to Sam, hey man, that is Mike Judge, the guy who created "Beavis and Butthead" and "The King of the Hill". Sam did not believe it at first. So he quickly used the google to look him up. Sure enough, Mike Judge lives in Austin with his wife and two kids.

About 30 minutes later, Mike walked passed us again and then walked out. I jumped up and ran out after him. I yelled, "hey Mike" and he turned around. Yeppers, it was the genius behind B&B. We had a brief conversation about Albuquerque and then he signed my journal and Sam took this photo. Fucking Cool!










After breakfast and meeting Mike, we headed for the State Capital to meet up with Polly Chandler. She is a really good photographer who I met through flickr and who agreed to meet up with Sam and I to discuss photography and such. She gave us a quick tour of the Capital building and discussed her job. The photo talk was minimal but it was really terrific to meet her. Sam and I suggested she come up to ABQ/SF to visit (Polly we are serious).

Then it was time to get to Del Rio, our next stop. This small town is about 230 miles from Austin so we had a good drive ahead of us. Del Rio is a border town to Mexico. Ciudad Acuna was the first town just across the border. We decided to go in the morning.

We stopped in Uvalde TX for dinner and Jack's Steakhouse. A decent dinner in a decent restaurant. It was already dark and we needed to get to Del Rio.












I think we arrived sometime around 8pm or so. We checked into a Motel 6. Sometime around 9pm or so, the room phone rang. A female voice on the other end asked me what the room number and then asked me several times what I was doing until I hung up.

Sam and I then left the room to walk to Walmart to get some necessities. Sam loves these places for some reason. I hate Walmart.












Sometime around 1:30am, the room phone started to ring again. Instead of answering, I simply unplugged the phone.

I am looking forward to Tuesday and getting to Marfa.

Roadtrip - Sunday

So I got off the plane and Sam was waiting. We made a few stops along the way including lunch in uptown Dallas. A few interesting part of Texas with some really amazing shopping.




Over New Mexico









Over Dallas




After lunch we jumped on I-35 south and headed for Austin. Along the way, we made a couple of stops including one in Italy, Texas to photograph the Monolithic Dome Institute. Basically, these are homes that are made out of concrete and rebar. Kind of crazy. Fun to look at.


The next stop was in Round Rock to pick up Sam's friend Carla. From there we headed to Lake Austin to eat at the Hula Hut. A decent, loud restaurant where we met up with a few of Sam's other friends including Jake, who let us stay at his condo.

When we were done pounding our meals and having a few micheladas, we headed for downtown Austin to bar hop.

The first bar was Shakespears on 6th Street. It was a decent bar that had a few heavy metal characters hanging around as well as a few drunk girls trying to work their own digital camera.



Drunk Girls





The second bar was an Irish pub called Fado's. Not my favorite bar as it was quiet and expensive. I also had the largest transvestite in all of Texas sitting next to me. His hands were gigantic but he had lovely fingernails. (hahaha). He probably raised cattle during the day.



Fado's Bathroom





The third bar was the Whisky Bar. Again, it was another club with no one it. (yes I know it was Sunday night) We waited there for Cristina of the Saints to show up with her boyfriend. The funny part was two white West Texas looking men spinning Michael McDonald on the sound system. It was rather funny. The bartender and two of the other patrons there, kept hitting on Carla. Fun to watch for sure.












The fourth bar was the Lucky Lounge. This place was a twin of Swig in Santa Fe. The crowd of a dozen or so people were much better looking then the previous bars including scantily clad women and their large, tight t-shirt wearing men.









The fifth and final bar was the Ginger Man. They only served beer and much to our delight, Elvis was there celebrating his death. It was approaching 2AM and it was time to get back to Jake's condo to go to bed. The road trip needed to start.

West Texas

So I am flying out in the morning to meet Sam in Dallas. He is picking me up at the airport and then we are headed for Austin and then West Texas. I think there will be a night in Marfa. I know there will be some time in Juarez and El Paso.

I should be home by Thursday night.

I was in Santa Fe last night and could not believe the snow. It was incredible. And the snow that is still out at the ranch is amazing. Stupidly, I forgot a camera.

Wise Words from an Old Lady

The very famous photographer Ruth Bernhard wrote the following. She died on December 18, 2006 at the age 101.

RECIPE FOR A LONG AND HAPPY LIFE
1. Never get used to anything
2. Hold on to the child in you
3. Keep your curiosity alive
4. Trust your intuition
5. Delight in simple things
6. Say "Yes" to life with passion
7. Fall madly in love with the world
8. Remember: Today is the Day!

October 14, 1995

Off to a good start...

It's January 2nd. The temperature outside is about 20 degrees. There is about 10 inches of snow still on the ground from a storm 4 days ago. The warm beautiful sun is starting to return.

A couple of days ago I bought an airline ticket to Dallas. I am flying down on Jan 7 to see my good friend Sam. We are then going to drive the long way back to ABQ. A stop in Austin. A stop in El Paso. Probably a stop in Juarez Mexico.

I love traveling. This is going to be a good trip. This is going to be a great way to start the year.