Brazilian Graduation Paparazzi Party

It’s a Friday night – Irvine Marriott. We arrive. Set up for a portrait in the Catalina room for the special people that receive the crystal awards. Ooooo. Done. Tear down set. Drag it back to car and get ready for award shoot, grabbing the portables and head to the ballroom. Aaah, the 150 Brazilians in one room. Together again. I’m here to shoot the award presentation. All one hundred and fifty of them. Cool, we get to eat. Right on. Steak + veggies. After the grub we enter the room.

There are a 150 people–with 150 cameras and video cameras, all speaking Portuguese, it’s like a frickin’ circus in here. What are they shooting? It feels like we died and went to paparazzi learning school. After we catch our breath it’s 8:00 pm. Center stage, I’m ready, the awards are aligned. What happened next was the most unexpected, CRAZY experience I could have ever imagined. I became surrounded by a gazzilion nuts, screaming and shouting for their fellows on stage receiving their awards. Holy crap. Felt like chum at a feeding frenzy. ‘El Carnival!’ NOT! Just another shoot.

Madness on the Patio at McKenna’s

Patio shot. The assignment: shoot a group of people having a great time sipping cocktails and eating apy-tizers while enjoying the view of the harbor. Sounds simple. Did I say the restaurant is open for business + everyone wants to sit on the patio. McKenna’s did place some signs on tables, but DO PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION? NO! Talk about confusion, the people that said they would be there didn’t show. The ones that showed had to leave. The cocktails were being consumed faster than i could set the shot + the food was being eaten. And I haven’t even taken a shot yet. Oh Boy. Finally we catch a break, slow the motion down and snap the foto.

Everything is “OK” at the UCI Extension Group Portrait

Leave the studio at 7a. Down the 73 to University, left to campus + a right. Drop equipment at the curb and park. 12 chairs lean on a light pole. No people. Now, we are here to shoot a group shot of 150 Brazilians. Thats right, UC Irvine Extension program. No English or very little warrants translators. It’s like 150 Brazilian nuts.

Oh yeah, you know the OK sign we use? Well, in Brazil thats means…. I believe… F U. At least that’s what i am told not to do when I up on the ladder directing this chaos. Bob, do not use this symbol. OK what ever. What do I do right off the bat when directing a gentlemen in the upper left hand side of the shot, thats right the BIG OK. Now I have 150 Brazilians laughing at me + pointing. Ooooops? Anyway, we pulled it off. I think the whole shot took 30 minutes.

Holy crap it’s cold in here @ Worldwide Produce

7:30am Ron arrives to studio. We start packing the car.  Where’s Justin?  Let me call him.  Ring a ding ding.  You’re WHAT?  Can u meet us there?  Cool.  Thats right downtown LA.  405, 605, 5 north to 10 west to Alameda.  That wasn’t too bad.  The distance is never too far with the right company alongside.  You know what I mean.

Back again at Worldwide Produce.  Unbelieveable product.  As Ron and I stretch our legs and chit chat for a bit more about how cool this place is, my cell rings.  A voice says “what are you doing?  Get your ass in here, I want to show you something.”  I look up at the window and my client is looking down at us from above, shaking his head.  Good old Abbas.  Abbas is one of the greatest people I have ever met.  We enter the huge warehouse and head up to the office.  Hugs and shakes go ’round.  This is what I am looking for.  Abbas shows me a cover image, a group shot of chefs all in white.  You know… like a top chef issue.  Anyway, after the hello howareyou’s we head to warehouse.  A refrigerated warehouse.

It’s butt cold in here.  It wasn’t this cold the last I was here.  Crap, glad I brought jackets.  Of course Ron loves it.  Thinks he’s died and gone to heaven.  Let me set the scene… we are in a 33,000 sq ft. warehouse, refrigerated, going to shoot a group of people for a 2 page spread, then 40 or so produce shots and finally the fleet of trucks outside.  This is going to be a fun, back breaking one.  3 rolls of white seamless, 10 feet high, side by side, stapled on a 2 x 4, 16 feet long between 2 stacks of palettes 10 feet high.  In a refrigerator.  This alone is worth the price of admission.  And paper doesn’t like moisture.

I haven’t scene Claudia for years, the art director from San Fran, and at first sight it seems like not a second has passed since then.  Good times, good friends.  You can’t beat these kinds of relationships.  I’ve been fortunate to have some clients for 15 years.  We set the lights and test fire. Wow, we’re right on.  We stage the set.  We call for the 25.  Now, I must have told these knuckleheads a dozen times… Don’t step back onto the paper.  The paper that’s right there.  Yeah, right there.  We don’t want to call the forklift to put it up again.

Knowing we have the shot, I suggest they all grab a piece of produce and toss it in the air.  You know a 1, 2, 3 kind a thing.  It was great seeing people getting smacked in the heads with strawberry’s and lemons and things…  maybe this was my intention, stemming from their listening problem.  It was a great idea, though, the toss.  All right, enough’s enough, lets rip this set up and move on.  Reset the lights for the produce.  Pretty simple.  I am a shooter that strongly believes in K.I.S.S.  As Chef Claud gathers the goods and starts laying them out on the table, Claudia (yes, I have a Claud + Claudia on this shoot) says the habaneros look awesome.  Remember to use your left hand when peeing I say.

Worldwide has the maost amazing product I have ever seen.  Click, Click Click.  Produce done.  We pack equip and load car.  Now, the fleet of trucks is supposed to set up when I finish the products.  IS IT?  NO!  It amazes me, the lack of communication between individuals.  I thought we were going to do it this way.  After an hour of more… communication…  I say it looks perfect.  I even had a guy that spoke English to help.  Oh well, Abbas, this is it.  Now I am going to be lifted in the air by forklift, by someone who just smiles.  Ron says go, Bob, I’m going to sit this one out.  20 feet up, I say Can you move forward a little?  Big mistake, he almost threw me out of the basket!  Thank God for quick reflexes.  Click.  We’re done. It’s a rap.

Now Abbas, the owner, is really one of the good guys.  He let’s us go shopping when we’re done.  Chef Claud hands us a box and says have fun.  Justin, have you seen Ron?  I think he is back in the freezer, that nut.  5:30 and half frozen, we load are goods and hit the road.  Driving home from LA at this time… but glad I’m in good company.

Ghosts, Pirates, and Steak at The Cellar – Dining Out #15 Cover Shoot

The email….Bob, can I hitch a ride?  My tire blew and I don’t want to be driving that far on this little crappy thing, says Karen at Dining Out.  That’s cool.  I leave at 12:15.  Nice start to a shoot eh?  405, 55, 5, 57 to Chapman to Harbor.  Where is this place??  It’s underground?  IT’S UNDERGROUND?   DUH Bob, it’s called The Cellar.  There goes the natural light thing.  Bags in hand, we turn the corner…anybody down there?  Feel the coolness of the restaurant as it’s décor comes into vision.  Gets darker.  Locked door.  Knock knock (who’s there…)  j/k  the door opens and Sara greets us.

Dim light and dark leather circular booths create the edge.  And what the heck?  Why does it feel like Pirates of the Caribbean?  Well dork (Bob) this was designed 40 years ago by the same guys who did the Pirates.  Well shit howdy.  There are wine barrels, wine racks with cool mesh-like screen cabinets, locked.  Private rooms + ghosts.  That’s right. GHOSTS.  They had some psychics spend the day analyzing the vibe.  If I could, I would love to read their findings.

The only vibe I encountered was darkness.  The lights go on but wouldn’t you know, BANG! I blow a fuse.  Maybe the ghosts didn’t like me capturing their hideout.  Hmmmmm.  After some finagling we’re ready to rock.  Hers comes the awesome platter of food.  The smell is always a give away.  It creeps up from behind.  Click, click, click.  Can we slice that bad boy?  Another click, click.  Next dish.  We agree, we like.  WRAP, yells the photographer.  Hey, wait a minute, that’s me.

Check out the Cellar restaurant in Fullerton at http://www.cellardining.com/  Great folks, great grub, + great room.  (And say hello to Johnie the ghost for me)

Afternoon shoot at Sunset Beach Property with Star Realty

The morning starts with a grey, gloomy, wet feeling, a little ironic for where I’m heading, to shoot a property on the beachfront in Sunset Beach. Oh well… there are many hours ahead. A few days earlier I visited and was floored. The property was a tear down. Did I say this was on the sand? A tear down for 3-something million dollars… come ON. Ridiculous! Oh, James and Bullock live a few doors down. Sun pops out, looking like a good afternoon after all. Arrive on location with Justin. Unload gear and give J a tour. Weird layout. Make a game plan.

Judging the light + times for each room is always the toughest. Staging property. Holy poop. The gal Stacey did the most amazing job of making this house look sellable. It went from scraps to entrée since the time I last saw it. Right on. The wind is blowing hard but the sun is out and glowing. Wish I lived here, but unfortunately I don’t have parents that bought on the ocean a billion years ago. Guess I have to work a lot harder. Anyway a few hours later the sun is beginning to set and the CF cards are full. We pack our stuff and take one more look out yonder + enjoy the view and head for CM. The drive down PCH is always a nice way to finish a great shoot.

B….. W…. Blast (a rant from sometime before Father’s Day)

I’m pissed off! To open an email (one that I asked to be on because I thought this particular establishment seemed to be a place I wanted to send people to) and find a photo that is so bad of a plate of food… a steak sitting in a brown puddle with some crappy looking side dishes. To top it off they want me, A FATHER, to spend 24.00 to eat it. Forget the economic situation. Try being a photographer right now! Just because dollars are tight does not give the Industry the right to put this crap out and expect the paying, hard working customers to pay for, what… excellent service? HA! What happened to quality + integrity? Heck, how about standing proud for what you represent, your product. Great photos sell product. Period. Anty up people. Let’s keep this economy moving, everyone needs to spend a buck. Get real and wakeup.

Sundried Tomato Cafe

405 to 73 to 5 to Ortega. Beautiful San Juan Capistrano. The arrival. Unpack + hike to Sundried Tomato Cafe. Greeted by….. “who’s bob?” That be me + this is Justin. Holli says I was thinking over here for catering… (did I say how hot Holli was? Funny, smart, and knows what she wants) Pay attention everyone. Now, over to the bar to shoot plates. Behind me… a big pop + gurgling sounds of bubbles and pouring liquid. Aaaah, champagne. So early? “I had a long weekend,” she says.

The table is set, lighting as is, and the shadows are creeping. Click. A salad arrives to change the shot. Great color. Squares of yellow, a green floral. Nice. 2 large plates land beside us. Hors d’oeuvres? Cool. Great design, color and placement. Aaaaah screw that gooouuge, it’s about seeing the angles, lines and focus. To the bar. We shoot down some plates of awesome food, pack + bolt back to CM.

Great shoot at Sundried Tomato Café. Say hello to Holli when you go. http://www.sundriedtomatocafe.com/

The Aldrich Shoot

There’s a new sheriff in town by the name of Joseph.  Watch out!  The arrival. 1:45, 1/2 dressed; suit in hand, along with 2 huge books of half naked people, that’s right… photo books.  Can we do this?  Sure why not.  How about that?  Sure why not.  The grey is up and the lights are placed.  NOW GET OVER HERE!  Ego.  You gotta love Jo.  That’s right just stand JA.  Oh… aren’t you the poser.  CALL E TV.  Jump?  Sure you can jump. 1,2 3 do it.  That was cool. Now do it again. Suit’s done. Lets change. Niiice black shirt, are those ruffles?  Wow.  Give me more attitude! (Remember those guys that didn’t show up for their appt?  Yeah, the ones u bashed on Facebook)  Like that.  Nice chest.  Lets do the black v-neck.  Hey Calvin, got a model for you.  Keep the pants on.  Great shoot JA, great shoot.  I wish all posers were this fun.

http://www.thecypressgrp.com/

Putting on a brunch show at the Crow Bar, Corona del Mar

Steve, how you doin’? Good to see you again. Is Scott here yet? Cool to park in the back? Show me what you’re thinking. Where would you like us to shoot? Wherever, you’re the photographer. Aren’t there going to be people coming in to eat? Yes, so what, says Steve, let’s put on a show while they’re dining. I say that’s gonna cost you extra, entertainment wasn’t in the budget.

So we’re here to shoot 5 items from the brunch menu and 5 items from the lunch menu, correct? Can we put the menu behind some of the dishes we shoot? WHAT? R U kiddin? That will look… really cool! Good idea. Chops and eggs, English brekkers, hangover burger + croque madame.  Interesting.  Scott arrives.  Lets go.  Lights are set, background chosen. Chef Scott heads for the menu wall. Are u kiddin–he’s gonna hand write the menu. And he’s a lefty? We’re shooting food… been here an hour already… light, camera, action. How about hurry up and wait. Click click click, damn that this stuff looks kickass.   Amazing displays.  Fra’mani pancetta, brick oven flatbreads. WOW! Now lunch. What seems like 8 hours later, my feet hurt, where’s the next dish… darn party downstairs. The grandma jane, ahi nicoise burger, grilled prawn salad, great stuff and more coming. Roasted farmer’s veggie salad + a grilled Shelton farms chicken breast, then a natural turkey breast sandwich stacked to the roof. No More! We gotta go.

It’s a rap. 10 plates down for the count. Right on.

www.crowbarcdm.com