Families of Oakland

Not too long ago I get an email come in.
"I'm a photographer in Oakland and I'm looking for a photo studio to use for gratis.  I want to give to families in West Oakland who may not be able to afford it a holiday gift of a portrait session."
He says what non profit he is associated with.  

All ready for Young Wenlock

He's young.  Never really shot in a studio with big strobes and such.   So I set everything up for him.  Showed him where to plug the snyc cord into his camera and left him to his thing.
He tried to get the word out on the event via the churches of West Oakland....and there's a lot of churches.

He had some friends over to help him.  First up was a mother of one of the helpers.

Mother and daughter sharing a moment that almost brings tears.

Next was Wenlock's sister...

But eventually people started to arrive.

How cute is this?  Matching outfits!

So I fade into the background and let it roll.

Art Imitating Art

This is Ed.

Henry and I did a video awhile ago on Ed...Here..

Ed is one of the premier framers of art in the US.  The highest of the high modern art.  Some of his clients buy houses..big houses... not to live in them but to only house their art collections.  They have the art hung and have their people watch over it.  Maybe a party is thrown every now and then in the house.

So Ed's latched onto an idea, where feasible, that he builds a frame that goes over the art piece, I photograph the real art piece, we have that printed and then that print goes onto Ed's oversized frame.

The art is somewhat protected from the degradation of light and whatnot but it can still be seen in facsimile.

Today I was in a very nondescript warehouse in the Bay View doing just that.  Shooting Art to imitate the art but hide the art.

Ed, pulling out the pieces.

Ed, handling the pieces.....no, I do not handle the pieces.

He flips them over to show me the history of who framed, reframed, repaired, restored, etc each one. This one was at both the Guggenheim and the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice for some exhibits at a couple times in it's existence so far.

Next Up

I am beginning to see the last stitches to sew onto the Iron Bark Kimono.  Yesterday, I picked up the finish I wanted to shoot (spray) on it and as well with a five minute drive away, the next in line project material.
10 ounce premium veg tan for Jon.
What's funny is a wine client was down the day before dropping off a carload of things for me to shoot and I was telling her about the next project and she said.
"Make me two as well."

Blue Marble Super Moon

Morning Sun after Evening Moon.