Monthly Archives: September 2009
Joshua Tree pt.3
Here’s a shot of my good friend and writing partner, Dave Hill, looking pretty cool as always. Dave and I initially worked together as actor & director on my first “real” short film (ie. people talking on camera), a project called Warthog, which playfully chronicled the end of the world as we know it. Or as Dave’s character, The Admiral, would put it, “T.E.O.T.W.A.W.K.I.” We’ve since collaborated on numerous other endeavors, and one of these days, somebody’s gonna pay us for it.
Joshua Tree pt.2
Fun facts of the day: Joshua Tree National Park protects 501 archeological sites, 88 historic structures, 19 cultural landscapes, and houses 123,253 items in its museum collection.
Above: The shadows of four very tall dudes in the desert.
Joshua Tree pt.1
As I mentioned last week, U2 and their music had a profound affect on me when I was growing up, especially their album “The Joshua Tree.” As a result, Joshua Tree National Park, which served as the backdrop for the album’s artwork and the inspiration for its title, became a sort of mythologized place in my teenage mind. Oh, to someday take my own pilgrimage and visit THE Joshua Tree, I daydreamed.
However, before I moved to Southern California, I learned that the tree had apparently died of natural causes. Ah, the cruel irony. Maybe that’s why it then took me several years to make the two-hour trek out to Death Valley from LA, which I finally did a couple years ago with some good buddies of mine. I do wish I hadn’t waited so long though. It’s really an incredible place and nothing quite like I’d seen before. It’s almost like a landscape of a different planet out there with these crazy looking trees and rock bluffs galore. I’ll be posting photos all week from the afternoon we spent there, hiking along remote trails, climbing rocks and, of course, posing for pictures.
Posted in Joshua Tree, Landscapes, Pic of the Day
Tagged Death Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, Ryan Suffern, The Joshua Tree, U2
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Just Hanging Around
I took this shot the other day after watching this guy lounge like this on our porch for quite awhile. I finally had to get the camera and sneak up to the glass door, so as not to spook him, though he wasn’t bothered by me in the slightest. He’s kind of like our outside pet squirrel – in that he likes to hang out on our porch and eat grapefruits and clementines from the tress in the front yard. He likes to leave us half-eaten pieces of fruit just so we know he’s been there, and he’s also fond of digging around in my potted plants. However, this was the first time I’d seen him strike this pose. And for a moment, I think I envied him.
Posted in Animals, LA, Pic of the Day, Portraits
Tagged Just Hanging Around, Squirrel, Squirrel on the Porch
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KimLizzie
Several years ago, I had the privilege of directing two of the funniest women I know in a sketch show that had a short run at IO West. It was appropriately titled “KimLizzie” and starred the two ladies above – my wife Kim and our good friend Elizabeth McNaughton. We used this pic for the poster, and as the mustaches should clearly indicate, it was a wonderfully ridiculous show.
Posted in Kim, LA, Pic of the Day, Portraits
Tagged Elizabeth McNaughton, Elizabeth Sprague, IO, IO West, Justin Grizzoffi, Kim Garr, KimLizzie, Ryan Suffern
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RE:ACTION pt.5
To round out my five “reaction” submissions to the Hard Working Class Heroes exhibition, I chose one of the first concert pics I ever took. Back in my college days, I snapped the above shot of the saxophonist from the band Liquid Soul playing at The Canopy Club in Urbana.
Posted in Bands, HWCH, Pic of the Day, The Daily Illini
Tagged Hard Working Class Heroes, HWCH, HWCH 09, Illinois, Liquid Soul, Ryan Suffern, The Canopy Club, The Daily Illini, Urbana
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RE:ACTION pt.4
I’ll admit, there’s a lot going on in this pic. I took this shot of United States of Electronica at The Rumble a couple weeks ago, and I included it in my submission to the HWCH for one reason only. Not because of the disco ball or giant lit up letters or that dude in the background with the white hat, but because of the faint smile on the girl in the bottom left hand corner. If that’s not “reacting” to the music, I don’t know what is.
Posted in Bands, HWCH, LA, Pic of the Day
Tagged 3 Clubs, Future Sounds, HWCH, HWCH 09, Ryan Suffern, The Rumble, Three Clubs, Three of Clubs, U.S.E., United States of Electronica
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RE:ACTION pt.3
The above “reaction” shot that I’m submitting to the HWCH is of Bono at Chicago’s United Center as he gallops along the heart-shaped catwalk. U2 were in town for three-sold out shows on their Elevation Tour back in May of ’01, and this is by far my favorite pic from the concert that I shot.
It seems all too appropriate to be featuring a photo of U2 today as it’s my birthday; I’m now officially 32. While I haven’t been a huge fan of the band’s last few albums, I can easily say that if it weren’t for U2, I would probably be living a different life today. This was the band that inspired me to dream big back when I was a teenager. To pick up a guitar (which I would later put down for a camera) and to embrace my desire to live a creative life. And through all of it, to try and leave some sort of positive mark on the world. If it wasn’t for albums like “The Joshua Tree” and “Achtung Baby,” I don’t know if I would be here today, chasing this crazy film making dream. And for that, I will always be indebted to Bono and the boys, and I will always be a U2 fan.
Back in high school, my buddies and I staged somewhat of a political coup during our senior year. Our class song up until that point had been “Today” by The Smashing Pumpkins, however, none us really thought, nor wanted to think, that “those days were the greatest days we’d ever known.” So we started a petition to change the song, and in the end, we prevailed. We changed Elgin High School’s Class of ’95′s song to “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2. We didn’t really know what we wanted from life back then, but we knew our brightest days were still ahead of us. And in many ways, I still feel the same today.
RE:ACTION pt.2
Here’s another “reaction” shot I’m submitting to this year’s HWCH exhibit. It’s of May Kay from Dublin’s Fight Like Apes. I first met May in London when she dropped by the studio to record some back up vocals for the title track of Duke Special’s “I Never Thought This Day Would Come” (that’s her at the beginning of the teaser trailer for the documentary). She was really pleasant and soft-spoken, and I was blown away by her gorgeous voice. Fast forward to Austin this past spring, and you can only imagine my surprise when I finally got to see her perform live with her band during the Irish showcase at SXSW. This girl unleashed her inner demons on stage and at one point was literally rolling around on the ground in the crowd, hence the in-focus shoes in the pic above. It was utter madness and utterly terrific!
Posted in Bands, HWCH, Pic of the Day, SXSW
Tagged Duke Special, Fight LIke Apes, I Never Thought This Day Would Come, Irish Showcase, May Kay, SXSW, SXSW 08
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RE:ACTION pt.1
I was thrilled to recently learn that I’ve been accepted to show some of my work at this year’s Hard Working Class Heroes festival in Dublin. The HWCH is an annual, independent showcase of Irish bands & musicians, with a hundred acts performing over a long weekend in October. The fest also has a photography exhibition, and fortunately for me, they opened up the competition to photographers beyond the Emerald Isle. So for this week, I thought I’d post the five photos I’m submitting to the exhibit.
The theme we’ve been given for this year’s exhibition is RE:ACTION – ie. our reaction to music, others reactions to music, crowds reactions to musicians and/or musicians reactions to crowds. And one of my favorite “reaction” shots is the above sequence that I took of Duke Special last summer at the Splendour Festival in Nottingham. I was following Duke for over a month, filming the documentary of the making-of his latest record, and in the midst of his recording sessions in London, he took some time to play a few gigs in England.
For anyone who’s ever had the privillege of seeing Duke Special play live, you know that he puts on special show indeed. Regardless of the venue or the size of the crowd, the guy really gives it his all, and the above concert was no exception. Having a backstage pass and being able to literally be on the stage while Duke and co. performed, certainly offered me the opportunity to get some angles not often afforded to concert photographers. So when the band finished their set in an absolute frenzy, I was able to quickly snap off these shots of Duke flipping over his piano and then crashing down upon it.
Posted in Bands, Duke Special, Europe, HWCH, Pic of the Day
Tagged Duke Special, England, Hard Working Class Heroes, HWCH, HWCH 09, Nottingham, RE:ACTION, Ryan Suffern, Splendour Festival
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