Evolution as a Photographer : Part FIVE

So we're pretty much up to date...rather than rehash the last couple of years I want to talk about the future. Besides, if you're reading this you probably know what the last couple of years have brought me - if not send me an email or comment and I'll go back and add a 4.5 blogpost.

Today I find that I am shooting photos a couple of times a week and if I'm not shooting I'm doing something photography related. Photography is my creative outlet (I do have a 9 -5) and a way I can express myself. Let people into my world through imagery - by making pictures. (Favorite picture ever.)

I am lucky and thankful for everyone who has taken the time to comment on my pictures. I love the negative ones too. Especially the negative one's that attack me personally and are so far off based. They show me that I am on to something...

Lucky to have a great girlfriend who supports my photo journeys and often accompanies me. (Kristina at Snake River Overlook / Jackson, WY). Lucky to live in Tempe where there are so many creative people who are willing to engage in open dialogue about technology, creativity and new ideas. Arizona has helped my immensely to become who I am as an artist. Lucky, to be able to reach out to people who believe in what I do and give my the opportunities that may be more plentiful in larger cities yet harder to come by. Thanks to RCPM for their support and access along with all the other musicians who have asked me to shoot their shows (or vice versa.)

Although, I believe my photo future is bright - it's still cloudy to me. I don't know where photography will take me and I am not sure of the route I will take. My immediately plan is to enjoy the route wherever it takes me...

My photos can be found at:
www.grtaylor2photo.com
Flickr Page

- feel free to contact me on Facebook www.facebook.com/grtaylor2photo or via Twitter www.twitter.com/grtaylor2

Salud!

Evolution as a Photographer : Part FOUR

There for a while in NJ after all the travel etc. I became focused on a career. I focused on career and sports and a bunch of things that had nothing to do with the arts. I put the camera down unintentionally and didn't take a photo for a number of years. Why? Not sure...but I do know that the time I went dark from photography makes me enjoy it all the more now.

Fast forward to the winter 1997. A long term relationship I had ended in April of 1997, my grandmother (who I was super close to) passed away winter of '96 and I was at a job I couldn't deal with anymore. (Yes the one I worked hard to get and put the camera down for.) I was done with NJ. I needed a life change since - so I packed everything that could fit in my Honda Civic - anything else that was left I sold to a guy for $500 - and headed West to the Sonoran Desert.

Arizona's beauty captivated me and the logical thing was to start taking photos again. I shot everything once again. Skateboarding, landscapes, desert images, friends, strangers you name it...

I took a job after a couple of years here as the marketing guy for a company in Tempe that built skateparks. The rough part of the job was I had to take photos of skateparks and skateboarders - rough huh? SKATE PHOTOS

I was back with camera in hand and although my interest or passion has never been as strong as it today - I haven't put it down again...

NExt: Evolution as a Photographer : Part FIVE 'til today

Evolution as a Photographer : Part THREE

Carl's photo of the Vermont lanscape really opened my eyes up to what else what out there. I was no longer a one dimensional photographer (or really picture taker at this point.)

After that I traveled a lot. Everywhere I went I brought my camera. Concerts, Sporting Events, Scenic Drives through our surrounding areas etc. Still I took tons of skateboard photos and the like but I had no limits. I felt like Carl's photo gave me permission to expand beyond the boundaries I had been constraining myself to.

Truth be told, I didn't seize every opportunity presented to me to take photos. Some trips were just too long and our travel plans were too sketchy to worry about a camera - not to mention the cost of film and processing.

I learned at an early age that taking concert photos (when anyone could bring a camera into a concert and there were no silly "no professional cameras" rules) was a difficult task. Sian Proctor at PodCampAZ, reminded me of the days of getting back a role of black prints. I learned that with a high ISO there was a substantial amount of noise in the print. I learned that when using a telephoto lens you need to stabilize it from shake or nothing will be in focus. Theses principles learned at 19 or 20 are still rules that apply today to a game that has greatly changed.

It's amazing how thinking back on my evolution as a photographer how many people were instrumental in this journey. Someone was always around me that knew a lot more than me and they were willing to share their knowledge. There are still so many great photographers around me today helping me out - it's an amazing community of sharing knowlege and exchanging ideas.

I enjoyed the art so much at this point - I don't know why I put the camera down (for the first time...)

Part FOUR: Life Without the Camera Before Arizona

Evolution as a Photographer : Part TWO

In high school my interest in photography expanded. I grew up as a skateboarder and a graphic arts student. What a combination. My parents bought me a Canon camera - just a simple point and shoot 35mm unit. Also, available to us was a Canon AE-1 on loan from the Graphics Dept. (Thanks Mr. Goetsch) at Watchung Hills Regional High School (WHRHS).

We would shoot everything. Portraits, skateboard action shots and other interesting items. My real interest in photography came at about 16 when I learned how to develop and process black and white film. This was earthshattering. We could go out - shoot a role of film and for little or no cost we'd have prints. Amazing...

So the cobinationof access to cameras and the availability of processing our own images made my interest explode. Nothing was left unshot.

My friend Ben Cornish was the best out of all of us. (Today, Ben is a filmmaker in Denver but is still one of my favorite photographers.) Some of his photos are iconic images of my younger days. (Weepee Portrait) His eye was better, his tech skills more advances and his willingness to share the knowledge was amazing. To say Ben had an influence on my photography is an understatement.

And so it went - we took music photos, skateboard photos and hanging out shots until one day...

...a bunch of us were in Vermont right before our senior year at WHRHS and our friend Carl Gulbish took some landscape shots. So simply, so cool yet opened so many avenues of creativity. I remember the B&W photo of the running stream with the trees and shadows from Killington - that photo changed the game for us...

Here's a link to Ben's Flickr Photostream

Part THREE: Beyond High School and before Arizona

Evolution as a Photographer : Part ONE

I spent a better part of last weekend at PodcampAZ. (The Relevant Media Unconference) The last session I sat in was The Evolution of Travel Photography by Sian Proctor (http://sianproctor.com/) We come a long way in the last 40 years of photography and I started thinking about my own evolution as a photographer.

I grew up in a lower middle class family in NJ. We valued time with each other, family gatherings and sports. I always seem to remember a camera laying around somewhere. The first one I vividly remember was at my grandmother's house. I don't even know what it was. All I remember is that it had the cool flash cubes that you had to place on the camera and would turn after every shot. I remember making the cubes flash but never any of the resulting images.

After that we stepped our game up to the POLAROID. Photos were taken all over - just don't let your subject move. [Sian reminded us of shaking the photo to make it developed (I thought of Outkast) and actually to this day Polaroid insists that shaking the piece of film had nothing to do with how fast the photo developed.] I think we're talking about 1979-1980 roughly. This was huge to our family. "Hey stand there..." FLASH goes off - the noise happens and the photo gets shaken and then it's instantly posted to the refrigerator.

Our family photo album was my grandmother's 'frige! Funny how my first memories of photography bring me back to my Grandmother's refrigerator on Tuttle St. in Green Brook, NJ. Photography always takes me back to a time and place that seems like it was yesterday.

Part TWO: My first camera and High School Photography

Thank You...

So much of what I do is based on other people helping me with credentials and access so I just wanted to take a moment and say thanks to everyone:

Keara Zito :  Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers (and a big thanks to Roger, PH, Nick, Jim and Jamie)
Joe Cohen : Lucero
Alana Mulford from Doyle Kos : Rusted Root / Crowfield
Kristine from Avid Exposure : Mickey Avalon
What Laura Says
Kinch
Dry River Yacht Club
Johnny Dudley

Plus there are a number of artists, photographers, musicians and mentors that are too numerous to mention. You're assistance, guidance, critique and friendship is greatly appreciated and truly valued.

 

Mickey Avalon Shoot Martini Ranch "What Do You Say..."

"What do you say.." when you have to shoot in low light? The Mickey Avalon show Tuesday night was a tricky one for a couple of reasons. The main reason being the deceptive light. Most of the time by the eye the light looked decent but the camera was reading things all over the place. I finally decided to go with 1600 Iso and my 24-70mm f2.8 lens - with manual settings. The exposure varied during the set quite often. The other reason being that I am not used to shooting Hip-Hop shows - all things considered I got a bunch of images I really like and it was a lot of fun.

Getting out of my comfort zone was a great experience. This was a great exercise to challenge myself and get away from what I typically shoot. There is so much more movement in Hip-Hop on stage and there are misc. people who otherwise wouldn't be on stage at a typical show. Mickey Avalon had dancers, a DJ and some guy taking photos from behind him while on stage (covering his flash the whole time with his hand.) This guy was enjoying the show from the stage in a hype man kind of way but I found it odd he was armed with a camera. Composing shots with all the movement and people was tough.

Photos can be seen at: www.grtaylor2photo.com or www.flickr.com/grtaylor

Thanks goes out to Laura and Kristine at Avid Exposure for the access to the show.

Rusted Root : Marquee Theater / Tempe, AZ

This blog has been moved to: www.grtaylor2.com - Come on over and say hello!

Thanks - Greg Taylor

LUCERO - The Clubhouse in Tempe

I've heard of Lucero and heard them a couple of times so when the chance came to see them in Tempe (1/4 mi from my house) I jumped at the opportunity. Their managment was cool enough to put me on the list and set me up with a photo pass - although one wasn't really needed.

Jack O was also on the bill. He delivered a straight rock and roll set that disappointed none. A lot people came to see Jack and Lucero was a bonus.

Lucero took the stage around 10:30 and played about a 31 song set. A nice mix of old and new stuff and they took a bunch of requests during the show. Definitely worth seeing again. Good night, great music and all on a Thursday night.

The venue was small. A little weird how they separated the over 21 crowd from the rest. The lights we tough for photos - but I came away with a couple of keeper. My favorite is a Pedal Steel Guitar Photo - click here

I ran into some friends I haven't seen for a couple of years at the show. After talking to them for about 10 minutes it was no surprise why we haven'e spoke in so long. They are the cool kids. The cool kids that have nothing going on and you're a sell out if you actually have a 9-5 and a career. Real interesting vibe - wasn't feeling it at all.

Next post: Rusted Root and Crowfield at The Marquee

RCPM : Marquee Theater / Tempe, AZ

What a great weekend of music. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers delivered rock and roll to a hometown crowd like never seen before.

10/30/09 "When in Rome" Highlights: The band played in full Roman gear and/or togas all night. I don't know how they managed to do so. The crowd, many also dressed in togas loved every minute of the 2 hour upbeat rocking set. The highlights for me were: "City Girls", "Louie Louie" and "West Texas Moon" - great set selection. The energy is The Marquee was amazing as everyone was ready to have RCPM play full shows back in Tempe.
photos of "When in Rome"

10/31/09 "Disco Nights" Highlights: Roger and the guys were dressed as The Village People and played all night in costume. At one point Roger said, "I think I found the one thing more difficult to play in than a toga," about remarking on his chief's headdress. This set was full of all the stuff I love to hear that isn't always played. I love Mekong and Nada - don't get me wrong, but this night was full of old favorites. "European Swallow" to open, "Interstate", "Buffalo", "Tributary Otis" and "Persephone". Just a great night.
photos of "Disco Night"

After one long night of RCPM security started to regulate alcohol consumption and weren't as laid back and chill on night two. That aside - it was a great two nights.

I want to thank Keara Zito from RCPM Management for photo credentials and allowing me access - I appreciate it.

If you've never seen RCPM - go check them out. You'll probably knock down a few beers and a shot or two
of tequilla, forgot all your troubles for two-hours and leave saying "Here's To Life!"

Link to my live music photos

NOTE: I saw Lucero and Jack Oblivian last night 11/5/09 and will post photos and a review. Tonight I see Rusted Root and that will follow.

First Time Ever Published - Uncle June Bug's Spicy Sweet BBQ Sauce

This is the first time I've ever published my original Spicy Sweet BBQ Sauce recipe. It took me about a year of trial and error to perfect. After three years of keeping it to my self I wanted to share it with everyone. (Who knew a vegetarian could make such a mean BBQ sauce - anyone see the irony.)


UNCLE JUNE BUG's SPICY SWEET BBQ SAUCE

1 Cup Ketchup

1/3 Cup Beer (Fat Tire or a nice Amber of choice)

1T Cider Vinegar

1/3 Cup Honey

1T Chipotle Powder (I get ground chipotle powder at our local Farmer’s Mkt)

Juice from 1 Lemon

Dash Chili Powder

Dash Garlic Pepper

4T Worcestershire Sauce

Combine ingredients and bring to boil – while stirring.

Add Honey once at a Boil

Reduce heat and let simmer for 15-30 minutes

Enjoy! Thanks for all the support I received for the new blog.

Ear Candy - Music Is The Weapon of the Future

There are really good things happening here in AZ. I wrote earlier about MADCAP Theaters and how they are revitalizing Tempe with the arts. Here is another: Ear Candy.

I had a chance to meet Erin Friday night and we spoke a lot about what they do and how people can get involved. Go to their website for all the details - but I'll paraphrase:

Ear Candy collects and distrubutes musical instruments to schools for in-school education and works with programs such as The Boy's and Girl's clubs on after-school programming.

Music has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up with a father that played guitar and a mother who loved music. I associate various events and memories of my life with certain songs and artists. At a young age I decided to play guitar and had encouragement throughout my life.

Ear Candy also has an emerging artists series which supports up and coming musicians and gives them a place to showcase their skills.

Do you have a guitar(or any instrument) laying around that is not played? This is the way to give it a new home and give the gift of music.

If you see Ear Candy at an event (and you will) I encourage you to stop by say hello and see how you can help. (Link to Electronic Press Release Video) - Enough said...