So I was out for a walk down Passyunk Ave with the Lady and when we got down to the intersection at 10th/Passyunk/Reed, we crossed over to 10th St where I saw this masterpiece. That's about the only word I can use to describe it. It's just awesome. I hope it stays up there for awhile and nobody peels it off or tags over it. It's now my WUXGA desktop.
Head to the wiki page for a primer on the artist Banksy.
I was invited out to take in an Adam Arcuragi & The Lupine Chorale Society show by the people at Noise Racket. I got a chance to listen to his latest album, I Am Become Joy, before heading to the show and I really got into it. Philly-based Arcuragi has a soaring voice with a twinge of sorrow; there's ache in there and I can hear it. The bike ride over to World Cafe Live is a nice one from the Italian Market, but with a pack of camera gear on my back, not so much. It was nice to settle into my seat and sip on a cold one.
The seven-piece band switched up through their set, changing up tempos along the way.
The upstairs space at WCL is an odd one. Part bar, part performance space, part overpriced restaurant. And it's just so clean. It's simultaneously awesome, weird and horrible at the same time.
Arcuragi pounced around the stage for the entire set. Feet stomping, head shaking, hair flying all over the place.
Arcuragi is currently on tour with Cameron McGill & What Army and they're making their way to McGill's stomping grounds—Chicago. McGill opened up for Arcuragi and here are a few shots from his set.
You can take a listen to McGill's new album, It's A Beast here.
The two bands are on their way to Chicago right now for McGill's release party on the 29th. They'll be in Akron on the 26th, Detroit the 27th, Grand Rapids the 28th and Rockford, IL the 30th.
Here's to live music!
And on a random note, I ran into my friend Denison Witmer who was there to see McGill play (they were staying at his house that night). He's a wonderful performer with thoughtful lyrics. He'll be playing at World Cafe Live May 7. Check out some songs from his recent tour here.
The photos in 1200px glory
I spent an hour with Ganga Bastola and her four children in an overgrown lot deep in South Phily [by 7/Snyder] for a Grid Magazine shoot last month for a story on Bhutanese and Burmese refugees getting access to plots of land to use as gardens. I was told that Ganga might be wearing a colorful outfit and might bring some cool seeds from her native Bhutan. 0 for 2, but we still made it work. Above is Ganga with Adam Forbes, the farm manager for the Nationalities Servie Center who is on board for the project.
Here are the shots from the shoot I liked the most and at the bottom of the post is a link to the article online.
A slideshow of the images on flickr in all their 1200px glory if you click below.
I went to The Flash Bus Tour '11 and all I got was this hat. Well, actually, the hat was already mine, but I did get some sweet signatures. And a bag full of awesome schwag. And a head full of knowledge. So, actually, I got a ton!
I signed up for The Flash Bus's Philly stop the day the tickets went on sale. 9.01a is the timestamp on my receipt; the tickets went on sale at 9a. I've never waited in line for concert tickets, Black Friday or a new pair of Jordans. But I got up on my day off, plastic at the ready, and pounced like a groupie. I was really excited to see Joe McNally and David Hobby on stage talking shop. I can't remember exactly how long I've been a constant reader of Strobist as I've gone back through to the beginning and read back to whenever I first found it, let's say early 2007. I've enjoyed McNally's photos in countless publications before I knew who McNally was. I was one of those kids with bookshelves lined yellow full of National Geographic. I used to hate using flash. Hobby made me work and learn to love it in a fun DIY way. McNally takes small strobe photography and injects some steroids into the mix. The two of them, with their willingness to share their processes with the masses, have helped me become a better photog. I'm not scared of new situations—I look forward to the challenges.
I sat with my buddies Kevin and Jilly aka The Nu Mod Squad
My geeky ass got there hours ahead of time and snagged us some nice seats front and center. I could've reached out and grabbed McNally's mic pack as he walked by me throughout the afternoon session. But Hobby was up first with a really cool slideshow on how he builds his manual mode, Pocket Wizard-fired strobes. It was mostly stuff I had seen on the blog already, but awesome to see scenario one after another live in his voice. I was especially inspired by his HoCo360 work. I've been wanting to do a massive portrait project similar to that [or the NYT 1 in 8 Million project] here in Philly for ages. Tiiiiiiiiiiiime! His passion for shooting and highlighting local talent really hit a chord with me. I hope to finally start my big local portrait project this year.
His use of grid spots was something that finally clicked for me as he talked through the process. Placement of the grid spot right on the ground – genius [and totally practical]! I gotta get me one of those 1/8" grids to use on shoots.
In the afternoon McNally took the stage for a TTL demonstration using his assistants and people from the audience as models. I'm assuming it was like attending one of his many workshops, but watching it all happen instead of taking part in it. I found it fun to watch, but not as informative as Hobby's slideshow. I think his pace was thrown off by people in the crowd who, for whatever reason, couldn't wrap their minds around how some of the camera controls worked. Unfortunately, a dozen people asked the same 2 questions about how the master flash works and how global control changes work. I think McNally was peeved and I couldn't blame him. He's a better man than me though and explained each time. I would've jumped off stage and smacked people upside their heads with a Super Clamp. Thank you Joe, for putting up with some of the Philly area's very own numnutses!
There was a lot of information thrown out over the course of the day and I'm not sure how well I would've taken it all in without the several years of built up knowledge I had going into the event. Thankfully, their websites have loads of lessons and their DVD sets have tons of lessons one can watch at their own pace. This was the first conference I've ever been to and it was an interesting experience. I'm not sure I'd attend another one like this with 400 people and a too wide ranging scope of camera knowledge. But the smaller groups tend to be destination-based and loads of money I think would be better spent in some strategic gear upgrades. But what do I know, I've never been to one of those cool workshops!
Thank you David and Joe and the incredible crew which made the Flash Bus Tour '11 happen.
