After a day of expected rain, it was a nice treat to have the sky open up when it was time for my shoot today with Evan Mui.
I always love photographing in Lake Worth. There are plenty of Spanish architectural influences, especially when it comes to the paint colors on the buildings! Not to mention a whole town worth of artistic awareness. We found a bright orange Volkswagon van and had to use that in the shoot! Here's a sneak-peek of the session(click photo to see entire image if not already displayed on your screen):
Just a few images from the night from PROPAGANDA in Lake Worth. I don't make it down there too much anymore because I'm not a fan of the smoke. Luckily this show was a smoke-free show. I hope this trend continues!!
It was Anita's Birthday. (Happy Birthday Anita!!) Andrea Duclos, winner of my photo giveaway made this for Anita.
Look at this cool set-up. (looks like the crowd loved it!)
Armand, whom I photographed for the Lake Worth Photo Project, seemed very happy to get to press buttons.
That's Jason Fusco who came into town all the way from Athens, GA! Check out that nifty can holder cymbol attachment.
And here's Thomas Beals who was another Lake Worth Photo Project participant.
Thought this was a funny scene to find. It's the alcoholic version of Hansel and Gretel. Leaving a trail of empty shot glasses...
The album that I have yet to take out of my car's CD player since I've gotten it.
And finally, a conceptual image. :)
CONGRATS guys!
Nothing makes me happier than knowing that I've gotten to where I am because I love what I do. When you love what you do, chances are you're going to connect with others who love what they do. The result of these connections is a mutual admiration of support and understanding. Saturday night I got to photograph some of the people who I am honored to know, and grateful to have the opportunity to photograph! Congrats to the members of Black Finger on their album release number THREE! Here are some images from the evening:
Welcome to the blog post with the OFFICIALLY longest title ever! I met Teresa Korber and Angela Tronick of Art Nouveau events on a fateful day of cupcakes and crafting, i.e. Amanda Linton's Stitch Rock.
Seconds later after this image was taken Teresa (pictured @ left enjoying cupcake, with Angelea looking on) laughed as she realized I'd captured her in action! I believe her words were "Oh no you didn't..." Well I'm glad I did, because this gave me the opportunity to hear what she and Angela were up to with Art Nouveau Events! They gave me a flier for the Palm Beach Art and Music Show which took place back in November. I didn't get a chance to go to this event or any prior to the Dr. Suess show so I was eager to FINALLY see all of their hard work that goes into their events. I wasn't disappointed!! So thank you to Teresa and Angela for being gracious hostesses, and CONGRATS on such a fun show!
Here are a few images from my night:
Sushi :(
First Official ANE "Best in Show" Award went to artist Cary Polkovitz
Thank you Teresa for having me try the "Green Eggs and Ham". "It's not real ham," she explained, "it's just a sour candy." Thanks, Teresa. ;)
Wow it's very rare to hear so many songs I like in one night! I had to make a point of complimenting DJ Joshua Daniel that night for his selections.
"I want to see the art inside too! Please?"
Appreciating the fine craftsmanship of the headband.
"There's even candy in the green eggs! Teresa thinks of everything." -ANE's Official photographer, Angela Tronick.
Allison Kapner def wins for having the most theme related Dr. Seuss memorabilia! She was wearing a red and white "Cat in the Hat" hat when I first arrived and when I saw her later in the eve as pictured she said, "This is what happens when I take the hat off!" Cute :)
Should people under the influence be allowed to play with fire? The girl pictured seems to be having the same questions about artist Ryan David as me. Oh well. It was his birthday & no one got hurt.
Recently had the opportunity to photograph Ft Lauderdale musician, Chris Horgan.
Spring is Afoot.
UPDATE: New Times just used the following image in a little article. CLICK HERE to read.
Reflection
We took the photos in Delray Beach as Chris was playing a show at Dada's later that eve. I've been there several times to photograph bands but hadn't there before, so I thought this would be a good chance to try the food. So Chris and I grabbed some food since he wasn't going to be playing for a couple hours. I was recommended to try the 7-cheese grilled cheese sandwich. This non-vegan yet still veggie sandwich was very good, accompanied by a tomato bisque. I didn't take a photo of the sandwich so instead here's a photo of some bread, cheese and tomatoes in homemade pizza formation that I made a couple nights ago:
(Yum!)
I went mouse shopping after my old one (which was still quite young in technological mouse time) died. Actually, I got it just this Christmas and while I do remember something about a lifetime warranty, I think I was supposed to register but didn't. I figured the cost of shipping and handling to send the mouse in for repairs would be more expensive then just purchasing a new mouse. Yes, the old consumer mentalities will getcha every time. So on to the store. I took extra care to select a mouse this time. Previously I got the cheapest (obviously) mouse available and that didn't work out too well. I never noticed all of the options until I tried them out side-by-side. Then I found it! A mouse that barely made a peep... er, click. Often I'll edit images in the living room while my husband watches TV, so in awareness of his sanity, I wanted a quite mouse. What is the advantage of having a loud click-y mouse? (And why do mice "click" anyways? Wouldn't it be cute if the actually emitted the quietest little mouse squeak?) Just some things for Microsoft to think about... I know for super-intelligent people like Bill Gates sometimes the simplest ideas can be overlooked. I got your back, Bill. One question remains, though. If you look at the packaging you'll see the label below:
It left me very confused, yet intrigued. I immediately imagined myself purchasing this mouse for the thrill of attempting to smuggle it outside of the U.S. and Canadian borders. I don't know where this adventure will lead me, and when I decide, I don't know that I can tell you for concern of my mouse's safety. I hope you understand.
Yea, John! Congrats on the work. It's currently available at some of the best record shops in South Florida, including: Top Five in Lake Worth, and RadioActive, in Ft Lauderdale. P.S., yes that is my photo of John taken in Steev Rullman's backyard. Also, he's got a big show coming up this weekend at the Bamboo Room.
The music festival SXSW is coming up. Athen's band Casper and the Cookies will be there this year. Kay Stanton, a member of the band was nice enough to send me a copy of the Athens Banner-Herald where a photo of mine was front and center, online and in print.
Thanks Kay! Best wishes at the fest and on tour.
Also, here's a link to the Retro-Indie Market SLIDESHOW I shot for New Times. It was another VERY successful show put on by Michelle Parparian and Amanda Linton.
My is heart is weighing heavy right now. I've been watching updates of Japan's earthquake and tsunami this morning, while also watching my reaction to this news. I can't help but to feel sorrow for those whose lives have been tragically effected. I recognize in my own journey it's easy to have the tendency to push pain away. Instead, the invitation through the practice of yoga is to just be with what you are feeling. It is a practice of expanding your capacity, despite chaos and disruption. To share peace, I must feel what it is like to be peaceful. To help others find peace, I must share EXPERIENCE of how I myself learned to move from distraction to peace, many times over. It's a path after all. There will be days when sharing peace seems like the last thing possible, and on those days when your heart feels heavy, instead of pushing the pain away, I hope you find a welcoming space to allow yourself to just feel. Allowing yourself to breathe, relax and let go. Let go of the need to DO anything. Simply be present with peace, as it's manifesting through you, with each breath.
In addition to this I wanted to post again about Baby Snow. He was one of the "Love Music" babies from the triple maternity session I did months ago. There's been a fund set-up to help him and his family along their journey to peace. Please help if you can.
In an effort to have my work seen and to expand the awareness of the return of Polaroid photography via The Impossible Project, please VOTE for me! You don't have to sign up for anything. All you have to do is CLICK HERE then click on the bright blue VOTE tab in the upper right hand corner. That's it! Thank you!!
<3 Monica
I'll tell two versions of this story, one short, and one long. That way you don't have to read a lot of words if you don't want to.
THE SHORT VERSION:
I once bought a CD based solely on the album artwork.
Now the artist (David Barnes) that created the design is selling a book that I think you should check out. Or at least visit his website, because he's using a photo I took of him.
THE LONG VERSION:
In 2008 I was driving down Northlake Blvd. in North Palm Beach, Florida when I saw the CD Warehouse was going out of business. It was in it's last days, where the owner was even pushing you to buy the store shelving units with your steeply discounted CD purchases. There were only a few CDs left. I took a look around and picked up a few world music albums that I thought would be great for the long drive to Michigan that I was about to leave for. I didn't see to much else that looked interesting. I went over to the "Employee Recommendations" shelf and immediately fell in love with the artwork of the only CD left on the rack. At that time, I didn't know the band "of Montreal". I did know, however, that the artwork looked amazing! It turned out to be this.
So I bought the CD based on the artwork, and listend to the CD the entire drive from Florida to Michigan. Somewhere around Southern Ohio I began singing along as it helped to pass the time. When I got to Michigan, I gave the CD to my sister and her boyfriend as they'd heard of of Montreal but hadn't really listened to them yet either. Eventually I returned back to Florida and forgot I had left the CD there. Like a three year old who is more enthralled with the box than the present, I did still manage to have the cd packaging with me.
A couple months later I saw of Montreal perform live at the Langerado Music Festival. I left halfway though their set though, not because I wasn't entertained, but because they were one of the last bands to play. It was a very long four days of camping. Growing up in Northern Michigan I'm no stranger to camping but this was unexpectedly extreme! I went to the fest by myself and the first thing I did (as did many fest attendees) was get out of my car and kick of my shoes. Who needs shoes in the wilderness? Huge mistake!! Immediately the FIRE ANTS began attacking! It my first experience at a large festival and although I'd lived in Florida for a few years, I'd never actually experienced being bitten once, much less SEVERAL times by these terrible ants. OUCH! (Well, more like: OW!Ouch! OUCH! OWWWWW!!! GET THEM OFF OF ME!!!)So anyways after the extreme weather shifts from record lows to unbearable highs, in addition to the blisters and the dirt, I was quite exhausted by the time of Montreal played. I remember walking away thinking, "they seem cool, but I'd really love to go home and wash my feet."
SO, a week later I attended an art event of a group that had honored my work before. They had hired a local band, Fire Zuave, to play that I'd never heard, but instantly took notice of. After that show, Fire Zuave hired me to do photo work for them and we became friends. It turned out that the lead singer was cousins with Kevin Barnes, lead singer for of Montreal, and David Barnes, the artist responsible for me taking notice of of Montreal in the first place. Then I went on a couple tours with them and got to take photos along the way. A couple months ago I was hired by the Broward Palm Beach New Times to photograph another one of their concerts and an image I took is being used to help promote David's book. This makes me very happy as it reminds me of the day a few years ago that I bought a CD solely on David's (which I didn't know was David's, yet)work.
"Learn something new! This is where everything is going to go. On the computer in over a year." Recently overheard from a middle-aged woman in a bookstore predicting the future of the internet...
Maybe someone missed the boat on that one? Speaking of missing the boat, the Bruise Cruise is done and over! Clearly I made it back safe, and am just now attempting to put words to the experience. I want to go back!
How did I got on the boat in the first place? January 26th (my birthday) I got a call from SPIN Magazine saying I had WON their grandprize!! Needless to say, it was a great birthday present.
So here's a little bit of music to listen to while watching the slideshow of Polaroids I took while onboard the cruise. Personally I believe every band should have an obligatory song containing lyrics of "la la la" in some repetitious manner as to increase the audience's drunkest member's ability to participate in singing along.Thee Oh Sees fulfilled this need for me and so much more. Listen to my unofficial Bruise Cruise anthem, a song that's so catchy and danceable. Thee Oh-Sees - I Was Denied by hells-belles
Then press the play button below to view the slideshow. (Make sure to maximize the show in the bottom right hand corner.)
These actual Polaroids were taken with an SX-70 on The Impossible Project's Push! film. It needs a ton of light for the images to be clear, and responds really well to being heated to "push" the intensity of the colors. I found the tiles by the pool were great for this as they retained a lot of heat.
Here are some of my favorite images from the cruise. (Obviously not Polaroids.) I'll do my best to narrate:
Why were the creepy animals always put on my bed?
I was hoping to photograph people here...
and here, too. Pina coladas got in the way. It's a good time to admit that I know my limits with alcohol. For this reason, I don't drink at all under normal working circumstances. However, a free trip to the Bahamas is not a normal circumstance. I'm allowed to have fun, too. ;-) Although, I did learn my lesson. Some people get drunk and regret things they've done, I got drunk and regret not taking specific pictures.
This was my travel companion, Aly. She knows how to dress well and offers me direction in that area. On the last day I packed everything and then put on some comfy clothes. She saw me and said, "Are you wearing your yoga clothes? **Sigh** I guess it's okay, it's the last day."
Here are a couple more of Aly wearing some of her vintage finest:
"I'm on a boat!"
LIVE MUSIC/BAND MEMBERS:
Tyler of Surfer Blood
The Black Lips
Ty Segall
Jacuzzi Boys
Strange Boys
Turbo Fruits
Everyone loves the Vivian girls
Bass guitar overboard
Every lounge act drinks like a fish, right?
And this happened:
Get Ready...
Get SET!
Elevator Par-tay in full effect!!!
Captain Booze Cruise.
A lively bunch :)
CONGRATS to these two! They got engaged on the cruise! Watch it here.
