The Tune Without the Words

A boy approaches a crow bitten by his dog, Los Angeles, Thursday, May 26,2011.

Exit Through the Bake Shop

Thierry Guetta, a.k.a. Mr. Brainwash, visits a bakery, Tuesday, May 10, 2011. (Photo by Ted Fisher.)

California Museum of Photography

Sant Khalsa explains her photographic practice while California Museum of Photography Director Colin Westerbeck listens during the opening reception for "Riverrun: Sant Khalsa's 20-year Journey with the Santa Ana River" in Riverside, Calif. on Saturday, May 7, 2011. The exhibition will be on display until August 13, 2011.

Riverside, Riverrun

Sant Khalsa explains her photographic practice while California Museum of Photography Director Colin Westerbeck listens during the opening reception for "Riverrun: Sant Khalsa's 20-year Journey with the Santa Ana River" in Riverside, Calif. on Saturday, May 7, 2011. The exhibition will be on display until August 13, 2011.

Riverrun

Sant Khalsa explains her photographic practice while California Museum of Photography Director Colin Westerbeck listens during the opening reception for "Riverrun: Sant Khalsa's 20-year Journey with the Santa Ana River" in Riverside, Calif. on Saturday, May 7, 2011. The exhibition will be on display until August 13, 2011.

The Ground Below

Museum visitors look through Sarah Oppenheimer's "610-3356" to the ground four floors below during the show "Gestures: An Exhibition of Small Site-Specific Works" at The Mattress Factory Art Museum in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

Turrell at Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh

Patrons examine the work of James Turrell during the show "Gestures: An Exhibition of Small Site-Specific Works" at The Mattress Factory Art Museum in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

See also: Turrellean Blue.

Turrellean Blue

Patrons view the work of James Turrell during the show "Gestures: An Exhibition of Small Site-Specific Works" at The Mattress Factory Art Museum in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

Liberty Avenue

Marie smokes a cigarette on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday, April 18, 2011.

The View from the 26th Floor

I'm in Pittsburgh.

Untermensch

Not every one can be super, you know. (Above: an iPhone snap from Friday at Union Station.)

Freewaves Friday

20,558 (Twenty Thousand Portraits) from Ted Fisher on Vimeo.

In 2001 Doug McCulloh and I photographed 20,558 people at the Los Angeles County Fair. The project served as raw material for several exhibitions previously, and tonight one of the short films created from the photographs screens at:

2011 OXY FREEWAVES: THE ART AND POLITICS OF SPACE
A night of global and local media works exploring space, in public space

Friday, April 15, 7 - 9 p.m. Occidental College Main Quad

As part of the 2011 Spring Arts Festival, the Occidental College Film & Media Studies Program invites students, alumni, and the Los Angeles community to participate in an evening of food, drink, conversation, and cutting-edge videos addressing contemporary questions around the cultural, ideological, environmental, and creative uses of space.

Artists and Videos:

Nancy Atakan: Thinking Garbage (2005, Istanbul, Turkey)

Natasha Dyu: On the Ground (2008, Mumbai, India)

Göran Boardy: Target Seeker (2006, Goteborg, Sweden)

Marco Montiel-Soto: La Sinfonia De La Calle/The Street Symphony (2007, Barcelona, Spain)

Tenzin Phuntsog:  om-ma-ni-pad-me-hum (2004, New York, United States)

Martha Gorzycki: Unfurling (2003, San Francisco/Los Angeles, United States)

Ted Fisher and Doug McCulloh: Video Billboard  (2001, Los Angeles, United States)

Bonita Makuch:  Strangers in Paradise  (2004, Los Angeles, United States)

This marks the second OXY FREEWAVES venture, an exhibition of experimental and documentary films, that places documentary works by Occidental students into conversation with works by international artists from Freewaves, an organization supporting innovative, relevant, independent new media from around the world. Directions and parking information can be found on the campus map. The Oxy Quad is # 126 on the Map. This event is made possible by the Remsen Bird Fund and the Office of the President. Contact Prof. Broderick Fox with any questions. 6522 Hollywood Boulevard | Los Angeles, CA 90028 US

Above: the short film "20,558 (Twenty Thousand Portraits)" which shows how the images were made.

Screening at OXY Freewaves on Friday

20,558 (Twenty Thousand Portraits) from Ted Fisher on Vimeo.

A long while back I made a project with Doug McCulloh where we photographed 20,558 Los Angeles residents. The images were shown in a variety of ways, and tomorrow one of the short films created from the photographs is screening at:

2011 OXY FREEWAVES: THE ART AND POLITICS OF SPACE
A night of global and local media works exploring space, in public space

Friday, April 15, 7 - 9 p.m. Occidental College Main Quad

As part of the 2011 Spring Arts Festival, the Occidental College Film & Media Studies Program invites students, alumni, and the Los Angeles community to participate in an evening of food, drink, conversation, and cutting-edge videos addressing contemporary questions around the cultural, ideological, environmental, and creative uses of space.

Artists and Videos:

Nancy Atakan: Thinking Garbage (2005, Istanbul, Turkey)

Natasha Dyu: On the Ground (2008, Mumbai, India)

Göran Boardy: Target Seeker (2006, Goteborg, Sweden)

Marco Montiel-Soto: La Sinfonia De La Calle/The Street Symphony (2007, Barcelona, Spain)


Tenzin Phuntsog:  om-ma-ni-pad-me-hum (2004, New York, United States)

Martha Gorzycki: Unfurling (2003, San Francisco/Los Angeles, United States)

Ted Fisher and Doug McCulloh: Video Billboard  (2001, Los Angeles, United States)

Bonita Makuch:  Strangers in Paradise  (2004, Los Angeles, United States)

This marks the second OXY FREEWAVES venture, an exhibition of experimental and documentary films, that places documentary works by Occidental students into conversation with works by international artists from Freewaves, an organization supporting innovative, relevant, independent new media from around the world.

Mentored by media artist and LA Freewaves founder Anne Bray, the students of Occidental's Film & Media Studies Program will transform the campus' main quad into a series of public screening venues, permitting visitors to move between eight different themed media programs.

Directions and parking information can be found on the campus map. The Oxy Quad is # 126 on the Map. This event is made possible by the Remsen Bird Fund and the Office of the President. Contact Prof. Broderick Fox with any questions. 6522 Hollywood Boulevard | Los Angeles, CA 90028 US

Above: the short film "20,558 (Twenty Thousand Portraits) which shows a bit about how the images were made.

First New Neighbor

Hey, remember when I moved from Manhattan to Los Angeles and made my First New Friend? (That was a friendship with its ups and downs, of course.)

Well, I'm now moving right into the heart of Los Angeles, and while unpacking I've met a new pal. I call him "Red." He (or she?) hangs out high in the tree and stares inside, checking me out.

Which is either very cute, or maybe a little creepy, depending how you look at it.

Happy April Fools' Day from Los Angeles

In case you were wondering, I've vanished from San Francisco and I'm blogging at Los Angeles Portraits and also at Documentary Photography.

Re-Break

A woman photographs art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles on Friday, April 1, 2011. LACMA has an extensive collection of modern and contemporary art.

Matchy Matchy

"What should I wear to the museum?"

"I dunno. What about your striped shirt?"

"Hey, great idea. What could go wrong with that?"

Above: A woman views art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles on Friday, April 1, 2011. LACMA has an extensive collection of modern and contemporary art.

Onward

We've moved to a city with fewer hills. More soon.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from San Francisco

More:

At Least It's Green

Into His Own Parade

Ornia Republ

Leaving One Hand Free for Beer

Above: Two men wave flags at the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011. This was the 160th presentation of the annual event.

At Least It's Green

You know when a great time to pick your nose is? When you are not on a float in a parade.

Into His Own Parade

A man carries a sign along the parade route just before the start of the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011. This was the 160th presentation of the annual event.

Ornia Republ

Parade participants carry a large "California Republic" flag during the St. Patrick's Day event in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011.

Leaving One Hand Free for Beer

A parade participant supports a giant flag during the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco on Saturday, March 12, 2011. This was the 160th presentation of the annual event.

Word on the Street, Geary Edition

Like Michelangelo, but not upside down.

It's All Fun, Until Someone Throws a Guitar Out the Window

Our neighbors came home at 2 a.m., put on "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" at a high volume, and started a party that would continue all night.

Then, by midday today, joy turned to tears as the blood-curdling screams and cussing began. (This is not the first time they've done this.)

A few minutes ago, she threw his guitar out of their 10th-floor window.

Food in San Francisco: Places We Won't Revisit

San Francisco has some of the best food in the world. I say that after having lived in Manhattan. There are many, many places that provide truly excellent eats.

But there's also more tolerance for restaurants with low standards. Places that get away with a level of quality that is just not up to the prices they charge. There are many restaurants that would get chased out of town in New York by the more competitive place down the street, but thrive here.

(The worst: places that get by on location. For example: The Four Seas restaurant in Chinatown. Our experience there was terrible. Do not go, under any conditions.)

We've also experienced other restaurants here that are consistently voted "best" but ... maybe coast a bit. Mamacita's on Chestnut? We arrived two minutes before 5 p.m., and -- along with the other folks who'd shown up a few minutes early -- were treated as if we were imposing on the somewhat unfriendly greeters. Quite rude of us to show up, hungry with cash in hand.

I love San Francisco's laid back attitude, but ... waiters, if you see a hungry-looking guy push away his plate with more than half left uneaten, and he makes a face when you ask if you should box it, you might want to ask if it was okay. Because it wasn't.

Bar Crudo on Divisadero? I like the look. The food was fine, though not fantastic. But we stopped at appetizers instead of staying for dinner because your waitress showed up with her personal issues on display. I do not care if your boyfriend is a jerk, give me the damn horseradish without rudeness ... and I won't write out a note to your boss on the credit card receipt about your rudeness. When you're the type of restaurant that gets by on vibe ... create a positive vibe.

Above: a place I will be going back to, David's Delicatessen on Geary.

Sequence

The photo above shows the five-frame sequence for this photo.

And Everything in its Place

Some visuals don't leave me confident that everything is under control.

Shoulda Put a Ring On It

Oh, I guess you did.

My Alcatraz Photo #3

This is the third in the "My Alcatraz Photo" series in which people and animals block my view of the island.

How to Calibrate the Sekonic L-308DC

Sekonic created a great new light meter. It basically updates the Sekonic L-308s with new features aimed at filmmakers using DSLR and hybrid cameras. Sekonic calls this DigiCine or Digital Cinema. In other words, they've added a cool new HD Cine Mode.

Great.

But the instruction manual ... is not so great. And it shipped with a typo, even.

So, here's how you calibrate the Sekonic DigiCineMate L-308DC (DigiCine) meter.

1. Turn the meter off.

2. Hold down the ISO button and the Power button (these are marked with red lines on the left side of the photo above).

3. Now the meter will start, and you'll see it say "CAL" and "0.0" in the display.

4. Adjust the amount you want to calibrate the meter using the buttons on the right side of the unit (these are marked with red lines on the right side of the photo above).

5. Now, turn the meter off by pressing the Power button.

6. Wait 6 seconds, just because. Now, when you turn the meter on again it will be calibrated as you've set it.

Word on the Street, Below the Line Edition

This was in Pacific Heights.

Flagging

Lately, we've had what they call kite-flying weather.

Bounce Flash Examples

Flash pointed directly at the subject. Notice the glare on the books and the hard flash shadow under the stool.




Flash tilted up to 45 degrees. Now the light comes from above (rather than hitting straight in the center of the orange, a really unnatural look). This is giving a more natural look with softer light coming from above -- but we still see glare on the books and little flash shadow under the stool.




Flash pointed straight up. Light is from above, glare is gone. In photographing people with this technique, we'd want to look at where the shadows fall on the face -- from above, the light can be blocked from the eyes by brow ridges, depending on the angle. In that case, using a card built into the flash or an index card attached via rubberband might be a good way to add a little fill. Alternatively, a flash diffuser or a reflector might help.





An example of "dragging the shutter" technique. Using about a 1/4 of a second shutter speed with the flash set to "2nd curtain sync" and moving the camera let the ambient light provide a little streaking / ghosting in the image.

Manfrotto 790B

Monopods are cool. A little bit of camera support when you need it, without having to carry around a clunky, three-legged thing. I have a few.

In my search to find small and light stuff, I ran into the Manfrotto 790B. It's particularly cool because it folds up to 15 inches in length -- but expands to be just fine for a six-foot tall photographer. Really lightweight, and well-made.

Don't put a huge camera with long glass on top of it. But if you need something to hold up a small DSLR and a reasonable lens, it's worth trying. I've been using one for a while, but I'm posting now because I noticed these have dropped to about half price.... Not a bad addition to a small photo backpack.

Holiday

Monday is President's Day. Or, Presidents' Day. (I'm still not sure.) I couldn't leave a red-white-and-blue chicken as the main photo on my page.

As James Joyce Said

This was, of course, in front of The Fillmore.

Last Man Standing

A sudden rainstorm leaves one last player on the field at Kimbell Playground in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011.

An Explanation Might Ruin It

I find I'm much more interested in photographing something if I don't understand it.

Why Mr. Fortune Quit Smoking

Whenever I see a crazy note, I feel compelled to photograph it. Especially one so systematically organized.

Exposure & White Balance with a Lastolite Ezybalance

Camera Decision
This shot used camera metering and Auto White Balance.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/160th
Here the white wall behind the apples fooled the meter, so the shot is underexposed.




Camera Decision Applied
I used the settings from the "default" shot.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/160th
When I put a grey card -- I used a Lastolite Ezybalance -- into the shot and used the same settings, I could clearly see this was an underexposed shot.




Metering from Lastolite Ezybalance
I set my white balance based on this card, and adjusted my exposure based on it as well.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/80th
Now I adjusted based on the reading with the grey card. It turned out I was one stop under, so I changed from 1/160th of a second shutter speed to 1/80th. I then used custom white balance based on this card.




Settings Applied
I kept the exposure settings and White Balance I had set with the card. The White Balance is 7000k and a +8 setting toward magenta.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/80th
This looks about the same way my eyes saw the scene. Great.




"Flash" WB
We can compare the WB with the camera's "Flash" white balance setting, which is 5500k and neutral between green and magenta.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/80th
This looks good as well -- though I do like the slightly warmer version I got basing my white balance on the grey card.