the photography:
we rolled out to indiana recently for some apple picking, corn mazing, and cider donut chomping. it was awesome. deep in the heart of indiana, just off i65 lies the glory that is Country Line Orchard. it’s completely top notch.

the photos are of adam, nathan, catherine, and stevie. we had a really good day out even though it rained, gusted, and shined all over our autumn parade. to those who think that corn mazes are for kids? think again. if it hadn’t started to rain, we would kicked that maze’s ass sideways. i can tell you that!

28mm lens and a coat to hide the camera under during the rain. awesome. rain and electronics don’t mix too good. to top it all off? we hit up ruben’s, a hot dog joint on the edge of town. let’s just say it was quite divine and leave it at that shall we? i hate giving gastro-intestinal descriptions of both indiana and hot dogs.

the music:
leao kottke might have the worst active professional website i have ever seen. it’s as if a fifth grader from 1992 decided that they would put up a website for their favorite ‘instrumental songwriting deadpan minnesotan guitar player’. it’s atrocious. but at the same time, i can’t tell if leo is laughing at me. he’s got a sense of humor you know… god he’s good at playing the guitar.

when he comes to your town, you should go see him. it’s quite a spectacle. i’ll give you fair warning though: after watching leo kottke play the guitar live and in person you will probably go home and walk out behind your house and behind your garage and proceed to blow up your guitar with m80′s and other assorted fireworks. he’s THIS good.

the photography:

Portrait #34 is Jenni

jenni is set to marry 50 Portraits Project subject # 6 and i couldn’t be happier. i first met jenni when i moved to chicago in early 2005. she’s a peach. we’ve been playing scheduling phone tag for weeks so when i sat both james and jenni down for an engagement photo session, i took the opportunity to snap a bunch of jenni by herself. two birds with one stone? you betcha.

one thing i love about jenni is that she’s out in the world making a difference as a pre-school teacher in a public school out on the far west side of chicago. although i have yet to witness her in action, i can only imagine how her calm and understanding demeanor and patient sincerity coupled with her overall positive outlook rubs off on her impressionable kids. i don’t think i’ve ever seen her unhappy or even flustered for that matter as her face always seems to have a smile on it. she’s as cool as the underside of the pillow.

with this coolness comes jenni’s sense of style and fashion. jenni always looks put together (not manufactured) and she always looks the part. unique but not loud. professional but urban hip. classic yet slightly groundbreaking. it’s tough to pinpoint or define her look but her look is definitely defining. jenni is also an avid ohio-an, she’s a THE Ohio State Football fan, (as you can tell) she’s the proud owner of a Chad Ochocinco Bengals jersey, and she’s never shy about skyline chili as it was a staple two years ago at their super bowl party. i can’t wait for the wedding. it’s gonna be epic… and i couldn’t be happier for ms. jenni!

as you can see james sneaks into a bunch of these (he’s not *overbearing! *i just wanted to say overbearing. i photograph james a lot) as does monte. it’s tough to take photos at home and not have monte sneak in. the first photo is with the 24-70mm as i was in the middle of the engagement photo session when i snapped it. it’s hilariously perfect. the rest are shot with the 28mm f1.8. also also perfect. i have never taken photos of someone during the daytime in my downstairs bathroom. it has tons of natural light. it’ll be used again. thank you 1998-era-rehab-chicago-glass-brick sales!

the music:

the Melodians are legends. Bob Marley may be the face of reggae music but he is not the only jamaican musician. many americans believe in this misnomer. as the Sex Pistols visually encapsulated the punk movement of the late 70′s, they were not the only punk band on the planet. it is the same with the Melodians. and with the (once trio) jamaican duo, you get one of my top 10 favorite singers of all times in tony brevett. it helps that tony’s brother was the bass player in the Skatalites (ska music legends the Skatalites). rocksteady, ska, reggae, and dub would be nothing without the beautiful song writing and harmonies of the melodians. truly truly truly amazing.

people need to listen to more jamaican music. i need to listen to more jamaican music. the bass, the melodies, the drums, the beats… awesome. if you have a couple of minutes, check out the Melodians in the present with this video clip.

the photography:
every 10 months or so, i take a break from photographing whatever it is that i’m currently enamored with (these days it’s mostly people, traveling, and quick road trips outside the house) and bring myself back to photographing old cameras in the macro. i know i know, it sounds weird but i really enjoy taking photographs of cameras. i think my love of the of mid 20th century camera construction (specifically craftsmanship and materials) draws me back to my antique camera collection. it’s a little fetish-y but hey! i’m not hurting anyone. plus it gives me a reason to take the older cameras off the shelf and give them a good dusting.

i created a little seamless studio floor and backdrop with some white printer paper and a manilla folder (for some structural balance) while natural light poured in through the tv room window. it’s amazing how easy and inexpensive it is to create professional studio environment when you don’t feel like going to the studio! the camera i chose to photograph is an old minolta 16mm stainless steel contraption. it’s tiny and i have a couple of them (this one is the larger of the two as i have an 8mm slightly smaller version). i like to think that if i was a spy, i would carry one of these everywhere. this particular camera was purchased at a farmers market/swap meet/flea market in the town square in healdsburg, ca in the spring of 2005. pretty awesome. it’s classy yet fashionable, small but heavy.

to make things even more exciting (i.e. to work on my photo chops), i used a Canon 12 extension tube with my 24mm-70mm to achieve some serious depth of field, some seriously close focusing, and some serious camera shake! when you are this up-close with this tiny amount of depth of field, any little camera movement will cause severe blur. it takes patience. i rarely have any. but when the mood grips me, i like screwing around with my gear. you all should try it. i also set up a funky little tripod made out of a tabletop microphone stand and a foldable strobe/umbrella head. i own a couple of tripods but none that is only 7″ tall. and man, stainless steel looks really good in black and white.

the music:
ted leo. every time i hear this song, i think back to 2003 when i sat on the side of the stage at a Middle East Downstairs (in glorious Cambridge, MASS!!!) ted leo show next to my friend the hahn. after playing this song solo (you better walk around, ’cause no one’s gonna drive you…), ted busted into a solo version of the pogues classic, dirty old town. hahn and i looked at each other and went (simultaneously) “POGUES!”. it was a great show indeed. i love me some ted leo.

the photography:

Portrait #33 is Natalie (and sometimes Teno)

i’m pretty sure that natalie has never had a bad picture taken of her. now i am almost positive that she will argue with the validity of this statement as most modest people should. before i go any further and dump my size 10.5 (size 11 if Adidas) foot into my mouth, i would like to make one defining statement about natalie: she is the most photogenic adult i have ever photographed. i purposefully stated ‘adult‘ because natalie’s son teno has inherited his mother’s photogenic genes.

before i met natalie, i had followed her work online as she writes and edits a great website that caters to a younger generation of kitchen worshipers. at Bake and Destroy, natalie combines here unique take on the world with baking and everything needed in the kitchen. stories, interviews, links to other baking industry peeps, and kitchen centric ideas litter the site with enough content browsing interest to keep you busy for a long time.

at the heart of Bake and Destroy is natalie’s writing. she’s got a BA in journalism from Columbia College and her thoughtful interviews and profiles are aimed at shining a light on chicago’s (and the nation’s) growing interest in everything baking related. the crazy thing is that Bake and Destroy is natalie’s second job. her full time duties? making sure the world uses reusable bags. amazing.

fighting plastic bag abuse, keeping teno and tony in line, and baking the most incredible edibles are all in days work for this fantastic lady. please take the time to visit Bake and Destroy and ReusableBags.com and help put a dent in reducing our plastic bag waste while you put a dent in your local flour and sugar bags. i promise, it’ll be worth your while!

photos were taken with the 28mm f1.8 again. natural sunlight in a kitchen really does make all the difference. thanks to natalie for letting me into her home to meet her wonderful and very photogenic family and also thanks to natalie for sending me home with some cupcakes that just happened to be sprinkled to perfection by the one, the only, mr. teno.

the music:

i saw the JSPE live back in 2001 in boston. i had no idea how rock-n-roll it was to be a heroin addict. amazing. skinny jeans, thrift store tees, and a dirty-patch-covered-falling-apart jean jacket completed the denim tuxedos on all three members (they are called Canadian tuxedos within a hundred mile radius of the northern US border). besides their well documented battle with drugs and the like, the jon spencer blues explosion are possibly one of the loudest bands on the face of the earth. large Orange cabinets and Marshall stacks littered the stage. and they all went to 11 complete with the loudest mic’ing of a drum kit i have ever heard. the bass kick sent shock-waves through your sternum. it was impressive. what? no bass player? who needs one. these guys tore off the roof. this instrumental is the closer to one of their better records. it’s one of those tunes that you hope will never end.

mmmmmm dirty rock and roll, sloppy feedback, dj scratches, heavy bass drums, and keyboards that rip off Dr. Dre… yes please.