Photo inspired by the comic book & movie, Sin City.

CREDITS

Models

• Sean Logan
• Crazy Mike
• Eric Hough
• Monika Kanigowski

Photography & Digital Editing

• Adam Tsiopani

Location of this Photograph

999 N Mission Rd, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90033

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The town of San Pedro rests on the edge of Lake Atitlan; Guatemala’s largest lake. Eight other towns each enjoy a spot on the lake’s perimeter and from here we can see three of them. At night, their lights Iook like points on a Hollywood movie mission control panel from the Starship Enterprise. I find myself imagining that each of those lights pairs with one of the multitude of crickets I hear chirping through the darkness.

We are very high in altitude. Volcanic mountains surround us and dominate the views. A collection of four bumps on one of these congregate together, forming the perfect silhouetted elevation of a Mayan face. It is a strikingly powerful vista. Black bass and perch inhabit the lake. The bass were introduced by American Airlines in the seventies, who promised the locals it would boost tourism with an influx of wealthy American sport fishermen. Unfortunately, they wiped out two other smaller indigenous fish from the lake causing the total extinction of an aquatic bird that was unique to this lake and whose diet consisted solely of those fish. Still, they make delicious eating! (The bass, that is). Today I hired a kayak – $2 for three hours – and explored some of the lake and its shores. I brought with me a telescopic fishing rod, with rubber lure, to try my luck for the bass. The lake goes to about four metres depth within thirty meters of its shoreline and then plummets three hundred meters deep. It is in fact a huge and ancient crater, an imploded volcano, now as extinct as the Mayans who once roamed here. This presented me with an angling conundrum, as my tackle and bait were not suitable for the small perch in the shallows nor was my line long enough to tempt the bass in the abyss. After three hours and minor sunburn, I packed in the towel!

Location of this Photograph:

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27 April 2009

I write to you from a balcony in Guatemala. It is evening time and the climate here is pleasant. These parts of Central America are more temperate and the wet season is advancing closer; we see beautiful crisp mornings with vivid clean pin-sharp light, followed by tan inducing lunchtimes, sometimes a light shower to refresh the soul and cool evenings in the finale.

As I type this I hear dogs barking, pigs squealing to be fed, occasional fireworks and an Evangelist church sermon through a big amplifier. A preacher sings – no bellows – songs through a microphone incredibly out of tune, while another lady follows him two seconds behind sounding not unlike the squealing pigs. A tambourine beats haphazardly to another rhythm altogether. Despite the musically shambolic arrangement, it can be uplifting at times. At others, one can only cringe! After ten minutes of cacophonous onslaught, it breaks for story and prayer. The preacher commences the reading with a gentle, calming voice, pausing methodically for dramatic effect. After each pause, the sermon raises in tempo, volume, emotion and ultimately intensity. The words ebb and flow. The dogs bark in chorus and the women wail out cries of salvation. Dogs howl. Men do too. At its climax, this unity drowns out all thought and takes over my body, like the moment of orgasm (ahem, sorry about that!) and then… all are silent and the moment of triumph is over, vanishing into the past. It is quite a scary thing, the power of it!

Location of this Photograph:

Related Links

• Tz’unun Ya’ - The web site of San Pedro La Laguna
  

This shot was taken on Mardi Gras Day 2009 in NOLA. The flag is mounted on a Royal St hotel and the bubbles in the background spewed from a machine all day long.

The Star Spangled Banner can be seen everywhere in the USA. Driving down a highway you reguarly see huge mastheads that carry the banner, floating and rippling proudly in the wind.  It has become so powerful a symbol. I can see why many Americans have such a strong sense of patriotism - the symbol is inescapable no matter where you turn there, always a dominating reminder of unity and separation all at once. Always the message; “you are in America now, boy!”

This photo is of Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day 2009. This was my favourite street in New Orleans during the festival - artisans and fabulously quirky, cooky people of all ages flock here to display their homemade costumes and to escape the drunken frat-boy debauchery of Bourbon Street. The sun was shining, smiling faces and celebrations all round.

Geolocation of this photograph

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This candid photo was taken one morning in Camden Town. Post-processing is in Lightroom, in the style of Japanese photographer, Daidō Moriyama

Camden Town is my favourite part of London to spend a Sunday morning. Such an eclectic mix of colourful characters make for a great day of photography every time, especially with my sneaky Canon 70-200mm f/2.8!

After a day snapping the people, the markets, the funky buildings, head to the food stalls in the market where the multinational chefs offload their remaining treats for cheap at the end of the day.

Geolocation of this photograph

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This photograph was taken on Canal Street in the early stages of Mardi Gras Festival, 2009. These New Orleans kids were blaring out their toy trumpets and were delighted to pose for this cracking shot!

Geolocation of this photograph

We walked into a gothic candlelit bar on Bourbon Street, New Orleans at the end of a night’s partying in the famous Mardi Gras Festival. This musician was a real treat; his husky voice belted out blues and jazz numbers in the style of Tom Waits.

I got his name and email address, but unfortunately I lost it the same night in the debauchery of it all!

Geolocation of this photograph

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I took a stroll through Vondelpark in Amsterdam. I didn’t find too much inspiration in the people there, it was a cold morning, lots of red faces! Instead I captured this serene shot of a weeping willow.

Geolocation of this photo

This guy was sitting on the corner opposite Camden Town tube station in London. I hear he’s a bit of a regular there.  While I waited to get the right shot, two women approached him with food for the puppy - about 10 cans - but not a single morcel for him!

Unfortunately he wasn’t too pleased when he realised I was taking this candid… he grumbled something I won’t repeat here and promptly covered his face with a piece of cardboard.

Maybe one day I will see him again and I can give him this print as a peace offering!

Geolocation of this hobo

This shot was taken in Dam Square, Amsterdam. It was not planned - the seagull took a swooping dive and I followed it using the pan & shoot technique. The result is straight out of camera (SOOC), there’s no photoshop trickery here, just a slight boost in contrast.

Geolocation of this photo

This shot was taken from San Jorge Harbour, Nicaragua and shows Concepción volcano. This volcano is one of two that forms the island of Ometepe, situated on Lake Nicaragua.

St Patrick’s Day - 17th March 2009 – Isla de Ometepe

The wind seems to attack these twin volcanoes all along their circumference, as if one hundred thousand archers surround the lake’s perimeter. The bows release their arrows in a sort of rhythmic harmony, ebbing and flowing in force and elevation, echoing the wilderness as the gusts penetrate these sandy shores. The wind here, it produces a different kind of wave than that of sea or ocean: flourishes of water, dancing pixie whisps, teased out of the surface of Lago de Ometepe. It is not a wind to chill your bones, nor does it carry a bitter rain. Au contraire, it is a breeze to cleanse and free the soul, shaking away your cobwebs. It is a wind complemented by the morning sun, like ying and yang, gentle rays reflecting a lucid, hazeless environment. I like the feel of it between my toes and in my long, ragged hair.

I have begun to enjoy waking up early. No longer faced by the drudge, why waste away the day in bed? Why unnecessarily miss a second of this equatorial paradise? Even a late night hangover cannot pin me to the sheets, after all there are hammocks to enjoy!

Yesterday, I needed cash. We had overspent our stay in El Porvenir (so easy in such a place, a lazy mountain farmstead), My mission for the day comprised a five hour return journey to Moyagalpa, a mere 25 kilometres on a mere dirt and rock track, for crisp Cordobas to pay our hosts.

“What a burden!” I hear you say.

“Nay!” I say!

Time moves differently here. Day to day, I am unaware of the date, or any name given to time. Long treks by bus or on foot melt into the ether; day turns to night, night to day. When your responsibilities and commitments – your stresses – lay dormant, time does not matter. It is inconsequential.

Geolocation of this photo

This photograph was taken from the dock of San Jorge, Nicaragua, overlooking the island

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This is my first attempt to make a photo in the style of Jill Greenberg Studio (The Manipulator) www.manipulator.com with whom I will be taking an internship in Beverly Hills, LA, Summer 2009.

In my eagerness to learn new photoshop techniques, filters, actions, etc., I used Aimee’s passport photo from my stock as the base image… so there was no proper lighting setup for this image whatsoever and the original was never intended for this purpose. Now I’ve put all the time and effort into it, I really wish I’d waited and taken a shot with this plan in mind!

Techniques applied include: Processing as HDR, LucisArt Plugin, Softening skin with NeatImage, brightening the eyes, painting locally with light & shadow, selective sharpening, fake/cgi background

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