Recent Portraits
Some recent people I’ve run into and taken pictures of. I guess after working at a summer camp as their photographer for three years I tend to warm up to people easily. Hell I just like to get close.
Recent Film Adventures 7/14/10
I’ve recently picked up a Olympus Stylus Epic to carry around with me everywhere. I needed a small and compact film camera that still retained quality in the lens but was small enough to fit in my pocket. The glass in the lens is super sharp and works very well in low lit situations. So far so good and just as sharp as my digital camera (maybe better in some situations?). I’m quite impressed and I am looking forward to more use with it.
Yes the “Ah Ha” Moment
I find it simply amazing how a small stretch of highway, some clouds, and a simple smile have made me start to realize what makes me tick in life and what doesn’t. The following quote by Woody Allen made me really start to re-examine my life and got the gears in me moving.
“There’s an old joke – um… two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of ‘em says, “Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.” The other one says, “Yeah, I know; and such small portions.” Well, that’s essentially how I feel about life – full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it’s all over much too quickly.”
Yes the world can be a lonely place and it’s amazing how the act of birth is beginning of the end. With this in mind though I simply have no time to waste. Instead of exploring a virtual landscape and fighting aliens, I have decided to engulf myself with real connections, guitar jams, the creative process, and cooking.
I now approach life with the pavement streaming below me, the clicks of tired gears shifting, the air cutting my throat like a knife and the sun warming my body better than any artificial air condition system could.
To the joys of really looking at this world and trying to squeeze every bit of juice out before it goes bad!
Bobby
Ghost Town USA Makes For a Beautiful Ride
So spring break is a week early this year. Something dealing with our college getting accredited or something like that and they want all students to be present on campus when that goes down next week. Yes it’s stupid because my tests last week were all over one or two chapters and felt completely rushed but aside from my rants there is nothing I can do about this. The beautiful aspect of San Marcos is that whenever there is a holiday this town clears out. I felt like I owned the city yesterday as Sadie and I cruised over endless pavement. I wish I took more pictures but I am a little burnt out from the fashion shoot. Not a burnt out as if I am finished with photography forever, but more as in I just wanted to have a carefree day yesterday without a second thinking anything. As you can see though the camera did creep out just a bit though. Ha what can I say it’s a third eye to me.
Bobby
Hangar Fashion Shoot
I was recently commissioned to take pictures for fashion organization at Texas State University. The pictures are for a flyer for their upcoming fashion show, which will be held in the same hangar I shot the lovely model Avery at. I will also be shooting the fashion show for them so I am pretty excited for what the future holds. This was my first fashion/model commission and it was so unreal. I remember walking up to the hangar and being in complete awe that I go to use it as a set piece. Quite the drastic change from working in an apartment with some friends to a old airport hangar with a real model. A few of my favorite shots of the day are below.
Bobby
1st Fashion Shoot
So this was my first attempt at model photography. I got assigned the article at my University’s paper for how college students can still be fashionable at a reasonable price. It was a super fun shoot and with this shoot and the concert shoots from this weekend I’ve been learning how to use my external flash through trial and error and feel that I sorta get it now. I am looking forward to doing more fashion and portrait shoots soon!
Bobby
Zlam Dunk @ Triple Crown
I danced and took pictures of Zlam Dunk last night at Triple Crown in San Marcos. They opened for the couch and as usual put on a great show. I think this was my favorite photo of them last night. There’s something about watching Charlie run through the crowd with a basketball hoop. Everyone goes crazy!
Bobby
The Couch Blue Milk EP Release Show
Last night I attended and shot The Couch EP release show at Triple Crown in San Marcos, TX. It was my first time using an external flash and shooting a concert so it was a night of learning and dancing.
Bobby
San Marcos 2010 Project
One of my current photography projects that I have embarked on. An exploration of the 78666. Enjoy. This is still a work in progress.
http://cargocollective.com/mannbo#230925/San-Marcos-TX
Bobby
Want
I am going to start saving for a new bike. I thought Id go as minimal as possible with the exception on the wheels. I feel there’s a nice contrast with the yellow and blue and it creates a good balance. My friend Anthony made a few suggestions on color choice that I really liked and Chris pointed me in the direction of affordable single speed bike.
Bobby
Antichrist: Worth the Drive
My article for my movie review column Worth the Drive? This movie review column is for movies that don’t play in San Marcos, Texas and require me to drive to Austin.
Within the first five minutes of the movie shown at the Dobie Theatre in Austin, a baby plummets to his death and Lars von Trier cements himself as the most controversial director of last year.
Antichrist opens with a couple, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Dafoe, sharing a very private and graphic moment in the shower as their son escapes from his crib and slips out of the window. From there on out, Trier takes audiences on a trip overwhelmed with grief that will resonate within viewers forever.
The premise is simple. A married couple tries to cope with the sudden loss of their child in a cabin in the woods called Eden. While there, terrifying events take place. It may seem like a simple story, but Trier masterfully crafts an explicitly beautiful and unconventional film.
Before I get on with the positives of the film I will say the only flaw (if you could even call it that) —this film isn’t for everyone. The sex scenes are explicit and the violence presented in this film, though sparse, is enough to send Saw franchise junkies squirming to their rooms. Antichrist is challenging to watch, but the film is worth enduring.
There is a ton of good to be found in this film. From the black and white opening shot to the surreal footage of the forest that feels like a sadistic homage to Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, Trier and his team crafted a gem out of such rough material. The film is shot mostly with handheld digital Red One cameras, which give the film a personal touch during the interactions of the characters.
The aesthetics of the film are astounding, but the acting by Gainsbourg, which earned her Best Actress at Cannes, drives the entire film. She gives it her all in what is one of the most emotionally intense roles I have seen since Isabella Rossellini in Blue Velvet by David Lynch. Her emotions displayed on screen, whether they are panic attacks stricken by grief or rage caused by the feeling of abandonment, left me awestruck.
In the end I was challenged but rewarded by this film. Two viewings were needed before I could begin to fathom what I had seen. Antichrist doesn’t hold your hand but instead slaps you across the face and throws your popcorn everywhere while yelling, “LOOK AT ME!!!”
Overall I would recommend this film to anyone looking for something different.
Got the Job!
Above are my mug shots because I recently got the job to write movie reviews for my university paper at Texas State University! My film review column is called Worth the Drive and is over films that aren’t big blockbusters at the local cineplex, but films where I have to drive from San Marcos to Austin to see such greats as A Single Man or Moon at the Alamo Drafthouse or the Reagle Arbor.
So Stoked!
My first review for the paper is over Antichrist and I’ll be sure to post it asap!
Bobby
Got my Zine!
No thoughts2
So I finally got my zine in the mail today from wearnowinspace! A nice little item here featuring some great shots. There’s this sense of freedom of ones self in these images and there are some amazing portraits. My favorite one is definitely the portrait of the woman amongst bamboo.
Thank you once again for the zine, I’ve been waiting for it and it was totally worth it. Keep up the great work!
Recent Work
Just a collection of a few snapshots over the course of a month. I guess I’ve been feeling a little blue lately.
Bobby
Sleeper Review
Loud, silly, and frightening are three words that would serve to describe Woody Allen’s film Sleeper. The film is heavily loaded with slapstick comedy, fully evident in Miles Monroe’s (Allen’s character) defrosting, or whenever the police try to use their two-maned battery powered bazooka it just backfires on them.
While the slapstick comedy is hilarious, Allen combines elements from the greats like Stanley Kubrick and George Orwell to create the equivalent of coke float. The user interactive computers and helper bots feel like upbeat H.A.L. 9000 units and the society is a more brightly and comically lit totalitarianism society where those who question get their brains reprogrammed through faux beauty pageants and the act of love making is done through a device called an “Orgasmotron.”
While I thoroughly enjoyed this film, I did find myself struggling with it due to some of the jokes getting played out for way longer than they should. If you’re a big Woody Allen fan, like I, then you should take it upon yourself to see how the man got his career started. If you are not, I recommend starting with something that has a little more meat, like Annie Hall or Manhattan.
4/5
Bobby
Anti Christ With Guests
Wow this film is by far one of the most intense movie watching experiences I have had all year. The acting was superb and Charolette Gainsbourg definitely puts on one hell of a convincing performance.
5/5
Also a list of reviews of movies I have watched over the break up until now. I have been very busy with movies latley.
Blue Velvet – 4/5
Husbands and Wives – 5/5 (one hell of a movie right here, the performances are great)
A Midsummer Sex Comedy – 3/5
Everybody Says I Love You – 4/5
Romeo and Juliette – 4/5
Wendy and Lucy – 3/5
The Girlfriend Experience – 4/5
It’s been a busy month with movies.
Bobby
Website!!!!
I finally got a website up to start hosting all of my photography!
http://cargocollective.com/mannbo
Enjoy!
Bobby
Coffee and Cigarettes
After revisiting Lost in Translation the other day it really got me thinking about those first few films that had a major impact on me. I think it comes down to this list. Lost in Translation, The Royal Tenenbaums, American Beauty, Coffee and Cigarettes, and Apocalypse Now. I think it was officially those five films that made me want to indulge myself in cinema. I love Coffee and Cigarettes. This movie really made me sit down and focus my attention on the film. It’s not entirely too easy to get into, but once you let yourself go to this movie it’s awesome. I love how awkward some of the conversations are and how Billy Murray drinks out of a pot instead of a cup.
4/5
Bobby
Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation will probably always be my favorite film. The movie was my first experience with “real” cinema. I remember my father always talking about this movie and laughing to himself at the table during dinners about this, particularly the scene where Murray’s character tries to take a shower. Along with this, Apocalypse Now, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Squid and the Whale, these were my first real films outside the blockbuster franchises and shallow comedies I used to watch back in 7th grade. In a way this was a life changer for me and really opened the world of cinema to me freshman year of high school. I remember trying to talk to my friends about this film but they had no idea what the hell I was talking about.
This was one of those movies that I never wanted to see end because I was so enthralled with the characters and their situations. To my first love in cinema. “A ring a ding ding.”
5/5
Bobby
Kappa Alpha Alumni Tailgate
A few more shots from the KA Alumni Weekend. These are from the tailgate. There was this really awesome dog there. You should have seen it.
Bobby
Photography IRL
So I have been embarking lately on any photography job I can find. So far it’s landed me at my university paper and event photography. The Kappa Alpha Alumni Banquet was my first hand at party/flash photography and I am quite pleased with the results. I’ve never really used a flash before but after getting over all the bumps and figuring a few things out I can say I am eager to start incorporating flash into my photography. There I am at the bottom in my most dressed up. That doesn’t happen often.
Bobby
Weekly Drop
A few random shots from the week. I didn’t take any assignments this week at the University Star because I have been working event photography on the weekends. Not the most thrilling job but it pays well. So instead I worked on my final advanced traditional photography project and rearranged my entire room. I’ve cleared the clutter up on my desk by hanging everything on the walls and the results are great so far. Also I finally got a shot of one of my room mates, Sage, with Claire.
Also a self-portrait. I really like my new camera. Almost on the same level as my Nikon film camera.
Fun fact, these images are at iso 1600! The quality is amazing still!
Bobby
Where the Wild Things Are
By far my favorite of the year. A lot of reviewers were disappointed due to the lack of a narrative story (I don’t get it, he ran away, met some beasts, and then came home, how is that not a story?) but I was simply captivated by this film. I don’t think I looked away from the screen once. I was engulfed in the movie the entire time. I believe the pinnacle of the movie were the scenes where Max was with Carol and they were walking through the desert and then to Carol’s hideaway spot where.I can’t wait to see this again. This is today’s The 400 Blows no doubt about it.
(5/5)
Bobby
