Hi Michael
Thanks for the compliment re. the girls etc. and the truth is, as I mention in the site, all those shots were Kodachrome 64 or, sometimes but rarely, Ektachrome 64. There were never any art directors, makeup or hair people; my wife used to use a small spray to add sweat/sea effects to their skin, sometimes she wielded a reflector, and all those girls knew how to put on their own gloop.
I hardly ever used colour neg. after I went out on my own - never needed colour prints except once, a nightmare job where it took me a year to get the clients to pay. They used to make mini-kilts, worked out of their factory as a two-brother management trick, and each time I'd go to find where my money was, I'd get a small payment towards the total from alternating brothers. Sadly, the colour lab allowed a month's credit and I ended up footing the huge bill until that year was out. Not always the best class of people you run into in fashion...
I've never shot a model with digital - okay, family, but it doesn't count because the whole process is totally different with a pro shoot. I often wonder how it would work out with digi, doing what I used to do. Probably much the same, I suppose, but looking at the work of the big guys of today it looks something totally else, but that might just be because of all those retouchers adding their input; would you pay them if they didn't make a difference?
You don't seem to be short on motivation; that's my single biggest problem these days, that and boredom with the local scene. And time: I seem to do nothing, but it takes all morning to do it. Then I go eat and after that it's either too hot (now, at last!) or I get sidetracked by the computer.
I need a holiday from myself.
Rob C
So, it would seem the Kilt-Brothers are responsible for your color negative negativity (would that be a double-negative?). But you must realize, Rob, color neg is innocent...innocent I say!! I do like your war stories, though.
Of course, your work then was a natural for KR64. I got into the color neg because of a surrealistic bent, and the film lent itself to that. It also had asa 200, which was like iso 1000 now! And the latitude covered not paying enough attention to a manual exposure slr. I could just run through L.A. and shoot (I think they use Glocks now) and not be hampered by technical issues. I was like a hunting dog let off his leash! Good thing I didn't have clients to please. They'd 'ave run me out of town on a rail!
Ok Rob, take a holiday from yourself. When you get back all refreshed, do some photography. Forget all the cool media stuff like pc's, HDTV, etc., for awhile. Understand that no matter where you live, there are pictures. Heck, your a photographer- you already know that. And don't eat at home in the morning- get up early and drink too much coffee, then go somewhere with your camera and watch the sun come up, or the urban pulse begin to come alive. If your in the woods or fields, you'll be fine, but if your in the city, watching the urban pulse come alive, try to be near an alley in case all that coffee becomes a problem.
Anyway, lash yourself to a tree or lightpole, don't move for 3 hours, and watch what the Universe offers you. If you are lucky, and are not arrested or mugged, you will likely have at least one keeper shot- possibly two or three. And the beauty part of all this is, you only have to do it 2 days a week. Any 2 days you want. Then, you still have 5 other days for screwing around!!