January 28, 2005
rockin' house dinner
yesterday isaac acquired a new piece of musical equipment, the black telecaster electric guitar you see here. when i arrived home he was rockin out on his little amp, and the performance went on all evening. he broke for a few minutes, to join us for house dinner, but then returned to jamming while i snapped a few shots.
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thanks to the oscars, million dollar baby and sideways have finally come to chattavegas, one or both of which i plan on seeing this weekend. speaking of oscars, i cannot believe that finding neverland has been nominated for best picture. okay, well, i can believe it, it just seems to confirm all the cynical thoughts i've ever had about the academy awards... oh well.
January 27, 2005
at the thomas apartment
i have to say, i really love catching expressions like this. perhaps it's a typical photojournalist thing to do, but i've found that if i get my camera ready and then say the person's name, they turn and look with this very alert expression on their face. the photo almost makes you feel as though you're in a conversation with the person. they're always giving the camera this look as if they were turning to speak with it. it's one of the best ways i've found to catch someone looking totally natural.
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January 26, 2005
brooklyn bridge II
more of the bridge... there may be a handful of these in the queue.
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i went to see 'finding neverland' last night with isaac and kiko, and i have to say i was seriously disappointed. i'm not sure what i was expecting, but i found it completely uncompelling. i didn't buy the characters, the acting was shoddy, and technically it was a mess. perhaps i was just in a bad mood, but i'm having trouble finding anything that i did like about it... okay, dustin hoffman was funny. thoughts anyone?
January 24, 2005
brooklyn bridge I
i took a series of black and white photos on brooklyn bridge when we walked across it on new year's eve. the sun was setting quickly as we walked so my options were limited but i'm happy with a few of them. however, seeing the possibilities makes me want to go back and spend a day just working on the bridge. the difficult part is that it's such a popular bridge for photography that it's difficult to create original images -- at the same time, that creates an enticing challenge for any photographer. one of these days i'll make a trip to NYC with the sole purpose of creating a series of photographs -- as soon as i get my darkroom built... that is, after i buy a house... and remodel it... and build a darkroom... and buy all that equipment. (sigh) someday...
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the arts and education independent film series for the spring is finally ready to go. the list is online now; undertow is the one i'm most looking forward to, from director david gordon green of all the real girls. there's a bunch on there i've not heard of, but it looks promising. monday nights anyone?
January 21, 2005
NYC totten
i really do love photographing chris totten. i think it's the combination of the way he dresses and his facial expressions along with his total comfort in front of the camera. whatever it is, he somehow always manages to pull off this very film noir, 1950s detective look without even trying. here he is in the subway up in new york over new year's. i'll sure miss him if he moves away (and for reasons more than how photogenic he is).
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if you're interested in indie film, or have ever been confused as to what that term actually means and what makes a film "indie," check out this piece in the NYT today. it's about the recent development of "indie" divisions cropping up in most of the major studios today and what it means for the future of filmmaking.
January 20, 2005
is it genetic?
at times in my life i have wondered if the furrowed brow that most montgomerys are possessed of is genetic, or if it's developed through a sort of learned behavior. judging from this photo i'd have to say either gel's family has the same genetic quirk, or montgomery brow behavior is a force to be reckoned with...
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January 19, 2005
niamh gets weighed
i finally got the black and white photos back from christmas, and i think this may now be my favorite shot of the whole 2 weeks. one day while we were all hanging out at jesse's house, someone got the idea that we could figure out how much niamh weighed now by setting her on the baking scale. unfortunately, between her squirminess and total lack of body control, we never did get a good reading on the scale, but i sure did get some great pictures...
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a note about this blog... typically i don't spend too much time thinking about my so-called audience -- all you regular readers out there. i know that people check the blog from time to time, and enjoy seeing the picutres. but every now and then i get a little reminder that some people, perhaps more than i realize, really love this thing and get a little agitated when i don't post very regularly -- as has been the case lately. so, today i received one of the funniest emails i've ever gotten in this vein, and thought i'd share it with everyone. names and certain details have been withheld to protect the (not so) innocent:
Subject: i've had enough
Date: 01/19/2005 1:07 AM
ok andy, i've had enough of your shinanigans. you need to get something up on your blog ASAP! enough of your looking out for numero uno. we NEED you!! i need you, your fan base needs you and the starving children in malasia need you. enough fooling around. you've had enough time to play. now get back up in the saddle again and produce! you can do this! i have great faith in you. i don't care if you are going to get fired b/c you're behind on your work b/c you are trying desperately to help us out. i can get you another job. so don't let the old I-can't-because-i-might-get-fired excuse hold you down. stick it to the man!! now go out there and take some pictures! whoo hoo!!!!
January 14, 2005
NYC pic 1
as promised, here is the first of the photos from my new years' trip to new york city. if i remember correctly this was taken in matt and jerah kirby's apartment the evening that i arrived. a classic ben and anna shot, ben distracted, anna hamming it up. these two provide endless opportunities for creative photographs. a few more of which you'll see in the next couple weeks no doubt.
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surprisingly a handful of interesting looking movies have opened in chattanooga this weekend. house of flying daggers, a very long engagement, and cheesy-as-it-looks-i-still-want-to-see-it-because-its-got-scarlett-johannssen, in good company.
January 13, 2005
grandmother and granddaughter
this image will be fixed in my memory for years to come i think. late one night when the house was pretty quiet, i came upon my mom slowly dancing in the kitchen to a johnny mathis love-songs cd she got for christmas and deftly putting a fussy niamh to sleep. somehow it looked all too familiar to her and i could only reflect that she must have had similar times 20-odd years ago with each of her four boys during their own sleepless nights...
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okay - this is probably the last of the niamh photos for now. i'll need to get out some this weekend and take some photos, that or share some from the days in new york city.
geez... the new mac stuff is incredible.
January 11, 2005
grandfather and granddaughter
scratch that idea about slowing down on the Niamh pictures. i've just got too many good ones. here she is konked out in her grandfather's arms. once again, another new title to apply to someone who's always only been "father" to me. its fun to see how quickly mom and dad have taken to their new titles though. not a single complaint about being to young for grandparenthood...
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watched unforgiven last night. i don't think i'd seen it since it was in theatres in 1992 and i was amazed at what a dark and hopeless film it is. in my mind it was somehow just another typical, though well done, western. makes me want to go back and watch some of the old eastwood films... also makes me really want to see million-dollar baby, if it will ever come to chattanooga.
January 10, 2005
mother and daughter
another picture of niamh -- mother and child this time. perhaps after this i'll break with the baby photos for a while. perhaps not.
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we had an incredible meal friday night at st.john's and my friends, wonderful people that they are, paid for my meal, which is no small thing at st.john's. then chef daniel lindley, an old friend of mine and european travelling partner sent up free desserts for everyone!
there's an interesting editorial piece in the new york times today by conservative op-ed columnist william safire. he calls readers to look to the book of job to handle the frustration and confusion left in the aftermath of the tsunami. i can't agree with him across the board on his interpretation of job, though he does raise some interesting points, but it's interesting to see this approach in such a high profile media outlet. i'm used to hearing this exhortation from the pulpit at my church, but to find it in the NYT is a bit eye-opening.
January 07, 2005
father and daughter
it still feels strange for me to say it, but yes, my brother has a daughter and as you can tell, they look a bit alike. i love the matching head tilt and look of thoughfulness they both have. it will be neat to watch her grow up and see bits of jesse and angelica in her as she matures.
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so, today is my birthday - big 28. i'm not usually the first to announce these sort of things, but i often get so much razzing later on when people find out that i haven't disclosed it that i figure its best to just get it out on the table. some co-workers (friends actually is a better term) took me to lunch at la altena, and evidently there are dinner plans in the works. i do love the way that my friends always put something together without any prompting from me.
January 06, 2005
happy niamh
got the first few rolls of color film from christmas back from the photo shop. here is the first of what will probably be many photos of little niamh montgomery. i think she's still figuring out exactly how her facial muscles work, but every now and then she's able to pull of something akin to a smile, or almost a laugh. she's pretty unpredictable though and i usually had to shoot about 5 pictures for every one where i could catch her smiling. it is, of course, totally worth it in time spent and exposures wasted for that one moment she does smile...
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back to work and up to my ears in Flash MX. some days i think i'm figuring it out and some days i feel a bit like sisyphus, pushing the boulder up the hill only to watch it roll down again. but then, most of the developers i've spoken with say i'll probably feel this way for quite a while.
may go see the late show of life aquatic tonight. still recovering from the holidays though, so may not...
January 03, 2005
pittsburgh plate glass
hey folks. just a quick post to let you know that i'm back in town and hope to be blogging semi-regularly again soon. this is the pittsburgh plate glass building which i shot over the holidays with my dad's 300mm (450mm) zoon lens from mt. washington overlooking downtown pittsburgh.
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i shot all film (9 rolls?) over the holidays and hope to have some nice stuff for posting once its all developed. stay tuned...