Skiing in Hawaii

When I was in 10th grade, my physics teacher laughed when I told him that, on certain cold days in winter, you could ski on the Big Island of Hawaii. He also told me that a rainbow was merely an optical phenomenon that is caused by sunlight shining onto droplets of moisture in the atmosphere, creating a multi-colored arc. As a photographer, the study of light is kind of a hobby of mine, so while I know that Mr. Ruskin was technically correct, I also know that he was missing out on something a great deal more essential to life than what physics can present us. But, when I was called in for a parent-teacher conference midway through the year, neither my parents nor Mr. Ruskin were impressed with my interpretation of what rainbows were, or rather, could be. The "D" that I received in physics class that year did two things for me: it taught me that I would never become a physicist, no matter how hard I studied, and it taught me that things are not always as they appear, and that no matter what the cost, it is always worth looking at the world in a different way. Fortunately, Mr. Ruskin's class was followed by my law class, taught by Mr. Akey. Mr. Akey was hippie through and through, and accepted my truths of rainbows, among other things. We dissected John Lennon's "Imagine", and talked about how cool it would be to ski in Hawaii, and even though we were studying the law, he is the one that started me down the path of becoming a photographer. Still, whenever I see an amazing arching rainbow (as I did this past weekend), my imagination soars, my creativity sparks, and eventually I can't help but think back to Mr. Ruskin's class, and feel sorry for him.

Arrrr ?

For me the biggest disappointment of the week was that “international talk like a pirate day” happened on a Saturday. Usually, if it falls on a weekday, that is a great day in the studio. As it was, no one said anything all week with the slightest twinge of “arrrrr”, and life went on as though there never was anything called “international talk like a pirate day”, which is a sad irony.

On the upside, ACORN is being investigated for promoting using HUD money for prostitution, John Edwards is about to admit he fathered the child of his mistress, the GOP is reportedly considering changing its initials to NO, "the age of stupid" is simultaneously premiering live across the country, and the Jets beat the Patriots. Wow, what a week!

I don’t know if I ever mentioned that my grandmother invented fitted sheets – you know, the sheets with the elastic corners? Yep, she invented them, but just never told anyone about it. She swore up and down that that was her idea. But I have a friend whose grandmother, in 1941, had a premonition about Pearl Harbor – but she didn’t get it until Dec. 8^th.

I was wondering if anyone wants to weigh in on this video. Read the comments underneath, they are very interesting. I have to tell you that I used to work at the World Trade Center, so even though I was in California for 9/11, I have a connection and can understand a certain sensitivity to any parody of the event . That being said, I laughed alot when I watched this: http://gizmodo.com/5359078/when-you-think-about-it-the-death-star-was-stormtroopers-911

Let us know what you think

Bad humor

Some really bad jokes told in the studio this week:

1) Why can’t fruit get married? Because they cantaloupe

2) How much did the pirate pay to get his ears pierced? A buccaneer

3) A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel coming out of his pants. He orders a beer and the bartender asks “Why do you have a steering wheel in your pants?” The pirate answers “Arrrrr. It’s drivin me nuts!”

4) Two cannibals are sitting by the fire eating a clown. One says to the other “Does this taste funny to you?”

5) No, it’s just ice cream (that’s just the punchline. It’s a penguin joke that’s too dirty to tell)

6) #23 (sometimes we just number our jokes in order to save time)

And my all time favorite: (To be used only when shooting marzipan-stollen) We had a great shot for you, but it was stollen!

Thank you, thank you. We're here all week. Tip your veal folks.

Photography

Happy Labor Day everyone! It was a beautiful weekend, although on Monday I was creamed in tennis, chastised by my partner for not blogging enough about photography (and too much on my driving habits) and spent most of my day worrying about the Bay Bridge still being closed on my way in to work on Tuesday. But hey, the burgers were good and I may have had one or five beers to go along with the whole BBQ theme.

I’ll get to the photography part in a minute, but first I was wondering if there is anyone on the planet who does not have the Bob Marley album Legend? That seems to be the only reggae you ever hear on the radio, or anywhere else, and I wonder if any stores actually sell it anymore, since everyone must already have it.

Alright, photography. Photography, photography, photography. I was just emailed my shot list for our shoot this week, and it kinda makes me feel good that someone was working on Labor Day. Somehow I have lost touch with the entire purpose of Labor Day, and while I know its purpose is not to go to work, but to have the day off, somehow it seems right that someone out there is working today, and I have been reminded of it.

Anyway, it looks like a full week of shooting chubby nutcrackers, holiday cocoa and marzipan stollen. Although I’ve been doing this for 20 years, shooting holiday advertising in Summer and Fall combined with the fact that the San Francisco Bay Area really has no seasons, always turns my world upside down. I never know what season it is, and therefore can never remember from one year to the next any significant events in any particular season. This has the effect of making me look like a complete stoner (which I’m not, by the way).

Anyway, where was I?

That’s all I’ve got for now! Did I write enough about photography?