Lilac Photoshoot

Had a great time shooting Lilac on Sunday. We were hit with light rain around noon, but that didn't stop us. From left to right base on the picture above: Gabriel Tanaka (bass), Toshi (vocal & guitar), and Cha Cha (drums). The band is fun and energetic. Our first location was at a fancy building down in Wall Street. They had a great location at the lounge. The guys sat down on the couch and I fired away. I used a simple set up with a SB900 firing through a white umbrella. After that we moved to the hallway where I put my fisheye lens to good use.

The rain stopped, so we moved to a few outdoor locations. We founded a white wall and a graffitti wall and that was our ideal spot. I didn't need to add additional light shooting at this location because it was an overcast day. Didn't even need to use my reflector. We ended the shoot with more fisheye shots. Love it that the $700 lense is getting some use.

Lilac plays at Downhill club in Manhattan April 18th. Check them out!

Acefest Industry Bash 2010

Got a gig shooting the Acefest Industry Bash last night. The venue was at Amnesia Nightclub at the west side of midtown. It's a decent club. The cool part of this club is the third level where it's super dark. My guess is a lot of shenanigans happens in that area...but last night was not that type of night. It was a networking party for filmmakers and actors. It was a very lay back atmosphere and an easy gig. Here are some more pictures from last night.

Canal Room 3/20/2010

First official warm weekend of this year and a busy night at Canal room last night. As usual Rubix Cube rocked the house with the classic 80's hits. Pretty lively crowd as a few of them dressed up for the event. If you're an 80's child, Canal Room is the spot on Saturday nights.

Scouting The High Line

With the possibility of future photoshoots, I was scouting around the city for locations. It's so cliche to shoot in Central Park, so I had to look elsewhere. A friend of mine mentioned The High Line park a few months back as a cool chill place. I like the atmosphere of this place as it gives a city and rural feel at the same time. I love the wild grown weeds along train tracks in the backdrop of city buildings. Only issue is there are a ton of people. Not Central Park crowded, but enough people to hinder a photoshoot. And I'm sure the train tracks and grass areas are restricted of entrance. It'll be another one of those quick run in and shoot places. There are certain spots of The High Line that are usable. An example of that is the picture below.
Picking the right time to shoot will be an essential aspect of shooting at The High Line.

The Wrestler sighting in NYC

I was in the High Line late afternoon scouting for photoshoot locations (photos of that area will be in next post). As I was leaving and walking down 14th street, a mad dash of paparazzi came from an adjacent street. I immediately grabbed my camera expecting someone good. In walks Mickey Rourke holding hands with a sexy blonde. I was like, oh cool that's the dude from The Wrestler. Shortly after that I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for someone more to my liking. Damn, Mickey Rourke's star status has surged through the roof since The Wrestler. There must have been about a dozen paparazzi and two video guys following him. One of them could have been TMZ!

I quickly walked along with the paparazzi and snapped away like crazy. For a few seconds I was a paparazzo myself. I envy their gear as everyone was shooting full frame with 400mm and 500mm glass, but I don't envy their lives.

Peelander Z at Ottobar 2010

Peelander Z at the Ottobar, Baltimore Maryland. March 11, 2010.

Last Thursday night was the third time I've seen Peelander Z play live. However, this was my first exposure to Peelander Green. Former member, Peelander Blue, probably doesn't want to hear this, but the excitement of this band is still there if not even better with Green.

They played their usual set of songs like STEAK, Mad Tiger, What the Health, and off their last album Ninja High School. Crowd participation has always been part of every single Peelander Z show and this one is no exception. They handed out pan/pot bangers, human bowling, invited the crowd on stage, and even allow them to play their instruments. Peelander Red surfed through the crowd, then hanged off the balcony to jam his bass. Even crazier, they moved Green's drumset to the middle of the floor to jam while the crowd ran circles around them. It was a crazy show indeed.

My only complaint was their set was too short. This is due to the Ottobar limited the band's playing time. Maybe next time the Ottobar won't feature so many bands on the same night.

To see the other pictures I took during the show, please visit my flickr site.