Denise Crew

Elmore Leonard for The Daily

2012-01-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

In today's The Daily. Photographed on location at The London West Hollywood.

Lucy's Tongue.

2011-11-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here's Lucy (I talked about her here & here & here). I mean, come on ... isn't she the most delicious thing you've ever seen? I've always loved this photo of her. She was sitting in for my light test. Anyway, my amazing retoucher Angie of The Happy Pixel Project got a hold of the photo and gave it some love. You see, her logo is pink and super fun ... hence the comment. I'm in love with both of them.

Shape.

2011-11-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Monaco Reps.

2011-11-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I now have agency representation! I couldn't be happier with the entire team at Monaco Reps. And I'm super excited for all we are planning. Their new site is live today. Check it out here. And my portfolio here. More coming soon!

Masked beauty.

2011-10-22T15:51:00.001-07:00

In Fitness this month.

Cotton Candy Inspectors.

2011-10-11T14:38:00.001-07:00

Health Magazine.

2011-09-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

October, 2011. Model is Monica Gambee. Hair and makeup by Kristin Heitkotter.

Corbis Outline.

2011-09-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'm super happy to announce that my celebrity portraits are now available for syndication via Corbis Outline! New and never before seen images are available ... and new stuff on the way soon.

New book edit.

2011-08-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm headed to NYC next week! I'm so excited ... it's been a while and long overdue. I have a bunch of meetings set up and I hope to get in a test. I was also long overdue for spicing up my book. I update my website whenever I can but my book is a little more difficult -- the way I have it now, I have the photos mounted to each other back-to-back without being in plastic sleeves. Just saying that gives me the willies! I'm over plastic sleeves, but the alternative is harder. Anyway, more on how I put my book together for another post. The photo above is a snapshot of how I edit my book. After a shoot, I typically drag and drop RAW files into a folder that always has a different name. Sometimes it's one shoot, sometimes it's many. At some point along the way, I'll have 4x6s made of those photos made at Target. It's usually a pretty loose edit so I can digest what hits me. I throw the photos up onto a big black bulletin board in my studio I have just for editing. And I just let them marinate. And I tinker -- moving things around and experimenting with pairing combinations, editing within a shoot and folding the paper to get better crops. At some point, it will hit me and then those go in the folder to send Angiepants, my retoucher. Then I start working on the order of my book. I concentrate on a cadence and a pace, storytelling (to a point), color and energy synchronicity. And then overall, I like to step back and see if I think the whole package is representative of me and my work.

Analeigh.

2011-08-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

I just saw Crazy Stupid Love and during the entire movie, I was wracking my brain wondering where I had seen the babysitter before. I couldn't connect her with a movie or a TV show. And then it hit me ... she was on America's Next Top Model! And I shot her for Cycle 11.

Malibu.

2011-08-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

The street style of Anne Sage.

2011-08-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

In The Daily today.

Composer David Buckley.

2011-08-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Summer.

2011-07-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

Lost.

2011-07-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

I think this is funny. And I think it's scary. This is my photo. I put it on tumblr a couple of months ago. I was just playing around at home one Sunday afternoon and thought it was pretty. It's been re-blogged a gazillion times there and I didn't think anything of it (except "Gosh, a lot of people sure do like this photo of my flowers with my dog's bed in the background."). But today I was on Pinterest and saw my photo there! I was sorta stoked at first, but then when I clicked on it, it has been so stripped down that it's lost my copyright tag and photo credit. I'm not sure what I think about that. It's definitely interesting ... but if this happens with more important photos, this is bad news for photographers showcasing their work on social media and blogging sites. Have you had this experience? Do you know of any tips to better protect your work within Tumblr, Pinterest and other photo sharing sites?

The RAW file & my process of it to Photoshop.

Location Scouting

2011-07-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

This street screams quintessential LA to me.

Inspiration: In Character.

2011-07-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

The column, In Character, in Vanity Fair every month is one of my favorites (next to the back page questionnaire, of course). It's written, directed and photographed by Howard Schatz. He also has a book that's the same sort of thing. When I shoot, sometimes I'm an observer along for a journey. Sometimes it's a dance the subject(s) and I take (and make) together. And sometimes I'm a director -- also on a journey -- but trying to evoke something unique and special. This column is always a big dose of inspiration for me. Check it out here.

Photos by Howard Schatz via Vanity Fair.

3 Elements.

2011-07-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

From the archives ...

Thailand, circa 2001.

©Denise Crew

Lick it.

2011-07-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm really loving re-visiting Helmut by June made by Brett Ratner and HBO a while back. It's crazy that it's not out on DVD.

Stealers.

2011-07-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

This was new to me. I photographed an up-and-coming band this week. And while I was editing, I put one of the photos on Twitter and tagged the band and their publicist. They all love Twitter, and were anxious to see the film, so I thought this would be a fun way to show them.

This is the photo I put on Twitter and my accompanying tweet:

I used Instagram to post the photo (without a filter). Here's what it looks like on Twitter:

Then, fast forward a day and the band/publicist are having a meet & greet with a radio station. The band members have their laptop open and they show the radio people my photo that they pulled up via Twitter. I think that was a cool talking point for a new band meeting with a big station. But at some point during the meeting, someone from the radio team used their phone to take a photo of my photo from the laptop screen. Then, the radio station posted that photo ... of my photo ... to their Twitter account via Instagram. And in doing so, they took off my Twitter tag on the tweet and therefore deleted my photo credit since they already opted to not just forward my tweet. And the way they wrote the tagline made it sound like it was their photo or their photo shoot. Don't you think? See below.

Here's their photo of my photo with their tweet:

I never would have known about it if it wasn't for the band's publicist who replied to their tweet and tagged me to give me back my photo credit. Yes, she gets it. She rocks.

And here's the deal ... it's just not OK to steal someone's photo and pass it off as your own. Now, I realize the radio people probably have no idea what they were doing was wrong. It was probably mindless to them. And now it's rather curmudgeonly as I don't want to educate them of the rules of Photo Land and have this new band get stuck in the middle and look bad. But it's just not cool. I'm not going to say anything. Yet. The publicist will, in a way that only publicists can. In the big picture, it's not like they posted it to their website or used it for advertising or promotion without my permission. But this is a new digital and social media world we live in to promote our work and stay alive. So I think we all have to remain vigilant to protect our livelihood. What's sort of funny is that it's a radio station. They have to pay royalties to play music. And you can't steal other artist's music without a licensed agreement. Everyone in Photo Land seems to use the music comparison to help showcase photo copyright issues. So in that case, it's rather ironic.

But anyway ... what do you think? Has this ever happened to you?

Dreaming of Italia.

2011-07-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Oh, man, I've got some major summer wanderlust going on! So I decided to relive a trip to Italy a few years back ...

The Germans.

2011-07-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

This makes me happy today.

2011-07-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Troy (aka Lance) of A B & The Sea.

Bloggers.

2011-06-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

Bloggers Bri Emery of DesignLoveFest, Jen Gotch of Ban.do and Joy Cho of OhJoy!

Beach Beauty.

2011-06-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Fitness July/August 2011

Come to mama.

2011-06-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ooooh, I'm super excited about this one! Just got my Pony in the mail from eBay and can't wait to start playing. I feel super drawn to a very dreamy, blue, out-of-focused world and wanted to start experimenting with this little guy. Hope to post some of it soon! I'll let you know how it goes ...

In the pool.

2011-06-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

I love it when models show up as prepared as I do for a shoot. This is Alice and I adored working with her! She was such a trooper getting in a cold pool on a cold day. And then making it look like so much fun, and helping me take it where I wanted it to go. She didn't complain one time, and believe me, a lot of models complain all the time. I have a lot more from this setup that didn't make it into Fitness this month ... so hope to post more for you to see soon. Thanks Alice! You rock.

Shorty shorts.

2011-06-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

This is one of those shots where we waited for the girls to get out of hair and makeup and manis and pedis and wardrobe for what seemed like forever. Not to mention a big fat hike from base camp to the shoot site. But we got the shot pretty fast and were able to get this color at high noon. In the July/August 2011 edition of Fitness.

Fitness Beauty

2011-06-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Case Study House Shoot ... Revealed!

2011-06-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

Remember when I told you about my crazy weather day shooting at the Case Study house a few months back? Well, here it is! It was a workout for Fitness magazine. I have lots more to post from the July/August edition that's out now. Stay tuned ...

Ouch

2011-06-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

My luscious Miss Lucy is recovering from a total hip replacement. If you've kept up with my goings-on here this year, that scar will remind you of this. Let me tell you, becoming bionic has slowed us all down. The good news is that she feels good enough to run a race. But our morning hikes and evening strolls are on hold for at least two more months. Not a good way to spend the summer! So lots of inside projects it is ... I'm working on lots of scanning and archiving and discovering a lot of old images I forgot I had. Lots of scrapbooks of personal projects, too. I hope to share some of them with you soon. Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Fitness.

2011-06-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

The July/August edition comes out next week! I'm super excited because I think I have a beauty spread to look forward to ... and their new iPad edition is really good.

My OTHER blog.

2011-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

I write another blog. It was a tiny bit of a secret but what the heck, no more! It's about the other parts of my life. Still some of my photography, but 100% my personality. It's probably most appreciated by girls but I'm not going to kick any boys out. If you like to talk about books, movies, the news, pop culture, art, fashion, food, travel, blah, blah, blah ... then meet me over on Hello, Moxie!

Tumblr.

2011-06-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hi! Happy Monday! I finally got my act together and tried to make something of my Tumblr page. It's mostly personal work and lots of photos-on-the-go. Follow me there!

The Hundreds.

2011-06-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ben Shenassafar of The Hundreds. In The Daily today.

Street Style.

2011-06-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

Rachel Woodman of Virgins Saints & Angels ... and Jen Gotch of Ban.do. In The Daily.

More French Macarons

2011-06-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

I don't think I could ask for a prettier subject. And they are just as delicious. Buy them here.

Macarons in The Daily

2011-05-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Story is here.

Street Style: Miss Bri Emery of Design Love Fest

2011-05-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

I recently shot Street Style for The Daily here in LA. Here's the spunky & uber-talented Bri Emery of the blog Design Love Fest and RUE Magazine! More street style in The Daily to come ...

Fitness Lifestyle Fashion, June 2011

2011-05-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Shot on location in Malibu with Amy Freeman makeup and Kristin Heitkotter hair.

Bikini Lifestyle in Fitness iPad Edition

2011-05-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

In the June issue of Fitness's iPad edition. Shot on location outside of Miami.

Street Style: Joy Cho of Oh Joy!

2011-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

More street style today in The Daily. This time it's Joy Cho of the popular blog Oh Joy! If you don't read it, you should. She's adorable ... and a fellow foodie. After I photographed her she told me she was pregnant! Congrats Joy!

More of Dave Annable

2011-04-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here are more outtakes from my shoot with Dave Annable. These are RAWs from a few different cameras -- not retouched or color corrected yet.

Unpublished: More Vegan Food

2011-04-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

Cafe Gratitude

Sage & KindKreme

Vegan Food in The Daily

2011-04-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

Check out the story here.

Unpublished: Royal Wedding Cocktails for The Daily

2011-04-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some portraits I did of Martin Cole of British Bartenders who developed the cocktails for The Daily (in the post below).

Royal Wedding Cocktails for The Daily

2011-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is one of the reasons I love working with The Daily so much -- it's totally photo driven and they really add a lot of functionality to really use the photos. In the story I shot here, there are step-by-step photos showing how the cocktail is made. You swipe through the photos to see all of the steps ... and click on the photos and you have a full page photo (you have to view it on the iPad to see this functionality).

Kate's Cocktail
(YUM!)

The Royal Dawn

Hot Apple Pie

Batter up!

2011-04-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Fitness magazine, May 2011

This sucks.

2011-04-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so incredibly sad about the loss of Tim Hetherington. I didn't know him but he was so widely admired and respected in the industry, you couldn't help but know people who knew him and called him a friend. They say he was the best photojournalist of our time. I just think he seemed incredibly humble and brave. He seemed like a light source to me. But reflecting on his death has made me incredibly mad about a popular topic lately -- the turn from free news content to paid news content. The biggest source of discussion, of course, came from the New York Times finally updating their policy that not everything would continue to be totally free. I've heard people griping all over the place about not wanting to pay for it. And all I can think about is that journalists from all over the world are giving their lives to bring us the news, and people are all about "gimme gimme for free." I already subscribe to the Times so I'll get their online content for free. But I would happily pay for it if I didn't subscribe to the print edition. I love the news. And I especially love quality reporting. In this day of sensationalism where true journalism is hard to find, and reality shows where most things are completely un-real, I'll take intelligent and honest reporting. And I'll pay for it. I'm happy that my money pays for people like Tim to be there for us -- in places that are important and that matter. Think about it. That's what he was doing.

On a personal note, it's been a crazy time for me, too. I've had some deaths in the family and it's been a tough couple of weeks. That's why I've been a little quiet here. I miss it. But I've been working, and that always helps. I'm hoping for a change in karma soon ...

Ioan Gruffudd.

2011-04-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

My heart melts for Bill Cunningham!

2011-03-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

I just got back from seeing the documentary, Bill Cunningham New York. It was phenomenal! I didn't want it to end. And I want to be able to keep following him around. He's magical. What an amazing human being! I can't help but feel totally inspired by him. But then a little sad for him, too. And I sort of want to adopt him! But then, no, I think that I want him to adopt ME!

Talk about remaining true to yourself and not getting caught up in what other people think. WOW. He still uses an old Nikon film camera. With one fixed lens. And he doesn't take his film to a fancy lab. Nope. He takes it to what looks like a one-hour lab down the street. Hysterical! I don't want to blow too much of it for you, but if you love fashion and/or photography, I think you'll swoon for this film. But really, I think anyone watching the film will be touched by his spirit.

But I can't help myself ... SPOILER ALERT! When you see it, let's make sure to talk about this:

At the end of the film when he's asked about being in love ... what did you think of that moment? He breaks down crying at the next question about going to church every Sunday. Do you think he was crying about the previous love question or the church question? Hmmm, I'm not sure! But in the other point in the film where he cries, it's when he's talking about his love of beauty. And to me, it's this power of following his own compass and feeling that divine connection to the world that moves him. So, I think he was crying about his devotion to church. I do think you can go through life without a romantic relationship and without romantic love. He's exudes such beauty himself and that comes from within and loving what he does. Anyway, I love to talk about stuff like this. What do you think?

New Lifestyle Work.

2011-03-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

Shepard Fairey Portrait.

2011-03-29T13:42:00.001-07:00

Behind the Scenes at The Case Study House.

2011-03-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Last week I finally was able to shoot at The Case Study House (specifically Stahl, #22) which is where this photo was made famous. I've been sort of a geek knowing about the architectural history in LA and really enjoyed this documentary. In the end, we didn't even shoot in the house or show the house in our photos! LA had one of its biggest rain storms of the year and that threw a major wrench into our plans.

Here's what it looked like when we got there -- rather grey and icky. But I still marveled at the home and this view.

The weather reports said the rain would taper off at 10am. So, we thought by the time we get our model ready, we'll be golden. Not so much! So, after setting up our lights and set outside, we moved inside ... and watched the storm approach:

Pretty cool! But it didn't help with our stress of needing a sunny day and needing to get in the shoot. It looked pretty gnarly so we decided to scratch our outdoor plans and moved everything indoors:

We started going through our shot list with new creative direction inside. But in the distance, we could see it clearing up. So guess what? We scratched that and moved it back outside!

It was gorgeous but FREEZING!

Here are a few more architectural details of the home ... including what it looks like from the outside.

And when the photos run this summer, I post what we actually shot there!

More Trentemøller

2011-03-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Here's some more of my shoot with Anders Trentemoller ...

Steve Martin

2011-03-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Remember when I told you there was a funny story about photographing Steve Martin? I swear, it was one of the most comical experiences of my career!

When I got the call, this is what went through my head:

1. Oh my God! I get to work! I love to work! I love doing what I do!

2. Wow, The Daily! Oh, how fun. And so cool to be involved with something on the cutting edge.

3. Steve Martin. Love him! And how funny that I just finished reading his book a few weeks ago (and LOVED it). And Shepard Fairey. Amazing! And -- holy cow -- this is just doubly ironic as I finally had a chance to watch Exit Through the Gift Shop last week, too. Life is such a small world.

4. Steve Martin and Shepard Fairey together. WHAT? Why? That's weird. But totally cool because you don't expect it. Oooh, what am I going to do? How am I going to shoot them? I can't wait! My mind starts swirling with ideas and possibilities ...

Right out of the gate, I'm told that the shoot is less than 24 hours from now. And it might not happen. "Someone" (and I don't know who) isn't too keen on it. But if it does happen, I'll have two minutes to shoot. I think to myself "Yeah, right. I'll make sure I get more." I mean two minutes? That's ridiculous.

I immediately start dreaming about how I want to shoot them. Two of my favorite photographers, Sam Jones and Chris Buck, have both shot Steve Martin. So has my friend, Art Streiber. These images of him here and here are brilliant. And the iconic images that Shepard Fairey has created in pop culture lexicon just keep swirling around my mind. I know I'm shooting at LACMA and so I'm dreaming about all the amazing places there. I don't sleep, of course. And I'm beyond excited with all of this swirling in my mind. Of course in the end, I won't get anything close to amazing ... but it's funny now to remember how excited I was then.

The next morning I talk to the writer. And The Daily. And LACMA. Back and forth. Back and forth. And between all of this, I learn that there won't be any delicious dream time in an art installation with these two men. Nope. I'll be -- not even backstage -- I'll be in a hallway. I'm told that I can't arrive early and that I'll be escorted to the aforementioned hallway at the end of Steve's discussion. And that's when I'll have my two minutes. This is where he'll meet the writer and Shepard (who will have been listening from the audience). But it's sold out and I can't sit in the audience. And I can't be in the hallway. And I can't be backstage. And oh yes, my two minutes to shoot are while he's being interviewed. I quickly realize this sucks and CAN. NOT. HAPPEN. So somehow I manage to negotiate arriving early, scouting the hallway in advance, maybe even set up one light.

My assistant and I arrived super early. We are met by some lovely and very helpful people at LACMA. And we are escorted to the hallway:

via my iPhone.

I'm over prepared. I know other places in LACMA in case we can go there. I've talked to friends who know both of them so I have personal things to mention and things to engage them.

We hurry up and wait ...

More from my iPhone.

And because the LACMA people were so cool, they allow us to wait in the hallway after all. We even get to eavesdrop on the discussion. And before I know it, the event has ended ... and the private hallway that is supposed to be off-limits to all the exiting guests? Well, it's not. The doors are flying open and people are trying to exit right through my setup! Security tries to alleviate this, and while I'm dealing with this, my subjects come in. I introduce myself and kindly ask them to please talk where I can have a bit of light. They talk, I shoot. Then I ask them to please pose for some portraits. I get a few frames in when I realize that Steve really wants to get back to the book signing. So I pull out the "if I'm desperate" props. I have a photo frame and a stool. I use them both. I get nine frames of the two of them, then I get 5 frames with just Steve before he gets up and walks back to his scheduled duties. I then have a few more minutes with Shepard before he needs to shuttle off to his dinner engagement ... and my assistant and I just look at each other and laugh. He says it was 45 seconds that I had with Steve. And I confirm it by looking at the metadata when I get home.

But in the end, I was happy to work. Even happier to meet such courteous men and remarkable artists. And glad to have another crazy story under my belt to just make me stronger for the next time something goes awry.

Trentemøller in The Daily

2011-03-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

Had such a fun time working with and shooting Anders Trentemøller at Amoeba Records a couple of weeks ago. What a sweet, easy-going, humble man! I really look forward to watching his career grow and hearing what everyone thinks of his performance in Coachella. The story about him is here. More outtakes from my shoot to come soon ...

More Animal

2011-03-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

Here are more images from my shoot at Animal for The Daily ...

Animal in The Daily

2011-03-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Here's some of my images that appeared in today's edition of The Daily about vegetables being the new rock stars in the foodie world. I had the great privilege of shooting at Animal in Los Angeles.

Sneak Peek: Dave Annable.

2011-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

More to come soon!

In The Daily

2011-02-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

Or you can see it here, too.
And the True Grit cocktail from The Tar Pit I shot here. Yum!

Found Folios

2011-02-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

Some of my work is now here ...

Personal Work

2011-02-22T22:01:00.000-08:00

Salzburg

2010

Cee Lo, Gwyneth & the Muppets

2011-02-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

I can't stop thinking about this performance! I just really, really loved it -- from Cee Lo's Elton John & Muppet inspired getup to Gwyneth's outfit to the attitude of the Muppet backup singers. It's classic! And so fun. And from Gwyneth on Glee, and both of them on SNL ... well, I just love the song and their partnership. More, please!

Intelligentsia Details.

2011-02-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

Intelligentsia for The Daily.

2011-02-19T07:31:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Another Saturday, another batch of photos in The Daily. This time it's photos taken of Intelligentsia in Venice. Here's the cover to the section and the story ... and a grab of the 360 (hopefully more to come on that later).

Steve Martin & Shepard Fairey for The Daily.

2011-02-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

I am very proud to have my work featured in The Daily! Especially while they are in their infancy. I really love seeing innovation and great new ways of using photography so was flipping out when they called me for this assignment. Being part of something new is exhilarating. Although the behind-the-scenes story of how this shoot came together and how it went down is hysterical! I'll start by saying I had 45 seconds to make it happen. And I'll save the rest of it for another time ...

Personal Work

2011-02-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

expired 35mm Portra

March Fitness.

2011-02-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here's the food story I shot for Fitness's March 2011 edition. Hair & makeup by Amy Freeman. And wardrobe styling by Zoe Glassner.

Found

2011-02-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Last year, there was a leak in the roof where I keep most of my gear. Everything was saved except for my supplies I used for Polaroid transfers. Those boxes managed to flood with about a foot of water. This was pretty devastating because I don't do it often, but it sure is fun & inspiring & relaxing to do when I want that sort of Sunday afternoon. And now I have to buy that stuff from eBay all over again. Lots of photos and little pieces of art were damaged, too. Here are some of the Polaroids I salvaged from the flood. In some cases, I like the images better because they are severely damaged and water stained. Being submerged in water for who-knows-how-long ages them in a cool way. Some are up on Etsy if you want to check out my new store there.

Polaroids.

2011-02-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

New work.

2011-01-31T20:32:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to work with my friend Emma this weekend. She's just an all-around amazing talent. This was her first job working as a wardrobe stylist. Don't you think she rocked it?!? I'm still editing and I think most of these selects won't make it into my book or on my website. Maybe they are a little too quiet for me? But I sorta dig 'em so wanted them to have a life here. They still have yet to see the love from my Angiepants -- just a quick crunch from RAW by me. There's some more over on Twitter & Facebook, too.

New work.

2011-01-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

Surprises Are the Best.

2011-01-31T17:48:00.000-08:00

I love surprises. Love them! The good kind, of course. And since they are so few & far between, I play a little game with film every now and again just for kicks. I have hundreds of rolls of expired film. I just like the surprise it offers for my personal work. I try to keep an old 35mm camera and toy cameras that are lying around loaded with it. Sometimes I'll bring them with me on a shoot, or on a walk, or excursion around town. But who am I kidding, I mostly photograph Lucy and my house when I'm in love with the light. Sure, that's fun ... but the really fun part is waiting to get the film back from the lab. I wait months to get them developed. And by that time, I've forgotten what I shot. The trick for me is hiding the film from myself. And then I find it -- which is so exciting -- and then get a fun surprise when I go to the lab. Yep, I know it's kooky. Here's some stuff I got back this week. It's not all that surprising as it's pretty much 100% Lucy.

Today

2011-01-28T19:08:00.001-08:00

I'm just editing now but had a fun day shooting fashion in the woods today ...

Logue's Office Wall

2011-01-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

I finally saw The King's Speech last night. Loved it! A friend had told me a while ago that the set in Geoffrey Rush's character's office was to die for. She even suggested that Anthropologie just replicate it for their stores. They should! Or hire me to shoot in the original location, even better! You can check out a little story about it I found here. I'm always drawn to the play of color and texture -- especially in decaying pieces. I snap them for fun a lot. I took the one above in Cinque Terre. And the one below on Beverly Blvd last week (this view of the photo is the wide view -- previously shown was a tighter crop).

Beverly Blvd.

2011-01-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

Oh, I had the best walk last weekend! I walked down one side of Beverly Blvd. here in Los Angeles and back up the other side. It was probably about 4 miles in all. Beverly is just a block from my house and my main drag -- seems like I'm on it all the time. But there are many places I had never been in but was curious to see. Shops, galleries, studios, boutiques, designers. Here's some of the yummy and inspirational stuff from the new spaces that I snapped up along the way...

Leftover poster on an electric box. I always love to photograph things like this.

Wow, isn't this dreamy? I couldn't find who created it.

We stopped for lunch at House. Very fresh! I had the artichoke & this burrata salad.

I always love photographs of waves and water. This artist (oops, lost where I wrote her name -- but it was another DENISE!) has a few different series of water pieces like this.

This was at Stephen Cohen.

It's always funny for me to see how drawn I am to blues and greens. I didn't realize it until I got home and looked at the 100-ish images I snapped with my G12 that day. But I saw it in the edit. Mmmm ...

Feeling it with Jay-Z

2011-01-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

See? I told you. I'm not kidding about the geek fest I've got going on with quotes. I was watching Jay-Z on Oprah's new Master Class series last night and had to stop and rewind when he said this:

If I was going to be successful, I would be successful as myself. I couldn't be successful doing what other people were doing. I had to do what I believed in and what felt real to me and felt true to me. Because the worst thing is to be successful as someone else. That's very tiring. You know, I feel sorry for someone who has to walk out of the house everyday as someone else to make this art and to make something that people connect to. And whatever you've made is not you. And you aren't happy about it but it's successful. And just to maintain that level of success -- it has to be very draining. And you know, a very sad existence because at some point you have to go home, and when you go home, you know, all the lights are off and everything's off and you to have to look in the mirror and you have to look at yourself and say 'Man, I like who I am' or 'I'm not very happy with who I am.'

I bought his book, too. I might start rapping soon...

Quotes

2011-01-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

I sort of geekfully collect quotes. And have for -- oh, maybe 20 years. I don't actively do it. When they jump out at me, I grab them. And since things happen in threes, I got three in a pow-pow-pow sort of way this weekend. They really talk to me. At least right now.

This one above is is from my friend Emma (an adorable, creative & talented girl, if you haven't checked out her blog yet).

This one is a quote from Johnny Depp in this month's Vanity Fair with Justin Bieber on the cover (which my friend & mentor, Art Streiber shot). It's now permanently ensconced on one of my inspiration boards.

And I'm sorry I don't remember where I tore this from. It reminds me of the same new year's resolution I had most every year in my 20s -- live dangerously. I love it.

Refresh!

2011-01-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

Just got back from my trip to Maui. I lugged along all the heavy gear but barely took it out for our adventures. I find that it's so much easier to just have my G12 with me, as always. I did do some fun experiments with expired film so I look forward to seeing how that panned out. Honestly, at one point I crumpled up the to-do list and just wanted to keep my nose in a book on the beach. But it was really magical & swell to kick off 2011 -- a new decade -- in such an amazing way! We watched the sunrise on 1/1/11 from the top of Mt. Haleakala. I kept hearing about the Magic of Maui while on the island. I truly felt it while I was there. Hoping I left with some good mojo for the new year.

Vacation!

2010-12-30T17:57:00.000-08:00

I'm ready to go! And I'm ready 12 hours before I have to leave for the airport. I'd like an award for that, please. Do you see all my yummy reading material? Can't wait to eat that up ... when we aren't surfing, hiking, exploring, scuba-ing, biking, paddleboarding, swimming, eating, drinking, napping, people watching, vegging, fantasizing and daydreaming, of course. But I've got those10 hours on the plane. I'll catch you in the 2011 ... ALOHA!

My Great Grandma's Ornaments

2010-12-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about the holidays are my grandmother's ornaments. Making them was her hobby. And she made them up until the day she died. She gave a big box of them to my mom & dad as a wedding present in the 60s. I'm not sure if she continued to give them to us throughout the years or not, but we have oodles of them. They make their home at my place now and I love unpacking them every year to see which ones will be my favorites. It changes every year. I just can't get enough of the jewel tones and their kitschy nature. Now I try to photograph them and am working on a personal project surrounding it. It never goes as planned -- I always run out of time, never quite have the right light -- but I love the connection to my heritage and memories this time of year.

The power of photographs.

2010-12-17T11:26:00.001-08:00

My coffee table, this morning.

As I sat down to read the paper this morning, I was punched in the face with the power of the front page photos. POW. I was totally drawn in. It reminds me of one of my favorite New York Times covers -- June 28, 2008 -- that has portraits of people voting for the first time in Zimbabwe.

A total shame that this photographer didn't get photo credit. This is my photo of what

I kept of the front page of the New York Times on June 28, 2008.

Anyway, after I was so excited to see such a visually stunning cover, I realized the photos tell the story of an LA serial killer and the women who may have crossed his path. The photos -- about 1,000 of them -- were actually discovered amongst the suspected killer's possessions. Investigators don't know if they are more of his victims, can't identify them, so is asking for the public's help to identify these women. Again, the power of photographs. Now, it could be quite icky if the murderer took these photos ... but let's not go there.

KNOW THE GLOW.

2010-12-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

A screen grab from http://www.knowtheglow.com/

A little over a year ago, a friend of a friend of mine was on the phone with her sister after a family vacation. Both remarked that Benjamin -- the son of my friend -- had a glow that appeared in many of the photos, and they thought it was odd. My friend's motherly instinct kicked in and knew something might be wrong. She called her pediatrician to get it checked out immediately. His initial prognosis was horrifying -- he could lose his eye, be blind in that eye or die if it had spread. Fast forward 24 hours and a few doctors later, they learned that Benjamin has Coats' disease (and not Retinoblastoma). Luckily with the early detection and a team of world renown physicians, Benjamin didn't lose his eye or go blind. And he's expected to have a long, full life. But his parents were really motivated to help -- to spread the word about eye diseases in children. Because ... drumroll please ... parents are most likely to be the first to diagnose an eye disease through seeing the glow in a photograph. Isn't that amazing?

I followed Benjamin's progress and the rapid tenacity of his parents to build an awareness campaign and tell other parents about the glow. And I'm doing what I can to help them. I feel compelled to be involved. There's a lot to do! Think about it -- we've got a camera in our hands everyday. Now it has the power to be a life-saving diagnostic tool. Duh! Count me in help save the life of a child ...

We are just getting started but here's the first tool to help build awareness. Please forward this to everyone you know who has a camera and takes photos of kids. Thank you.

In the mail today.

2010-12-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

New work.

2010-12-13T18:01:00.001-08:00

Rachel, Billie & Ted

2010-12-13T17:58:00.000-08:00

From the archives. Circa September 2009

Personal work.

2010-12-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Alive!

2010-12-01T13:33:00.001-08:00

Me & My Dad. November 24, 2010. Sacramento, CA

A week ago today, my dad had a hemmoragic stroke (aka brain hemorrhage) in his cerebellum ... and had surgery to remove the clot and stop the bleed. We are cautiously optimistic but the doctors say he has the potential to make a full recovery. As I sat with him alone in a dark ICU room on Thanksgiving night, I was so thankful that he was alive! Everything beyond that was icing on the cake for me. And as I reflected on his life and what he has taught me, I was reminded that he's always been my hero -- he's the one who taught me to be tough. And competitive. And fierce. After the drama of the emergency settled down, I was able to remember all of this ... and I knew he had it in him still to be a fighter. And then I knew he'd be OK.

Make sure you know the warning signs of a stroke or an aneurysm ... and for a little inspiration, make sure you check out Jill Bolte Taylor's "My Stroke of Insight."

Skinny Models.

2010-11-18T16:54:00.001-08:00

I just saw Laura La Rue's blog post asking if she should lose weight to get to the size she was a year ago. Click to see her images. I think she's too skinny. We worked together a year ago and I don't recall her looking as skinny as she looks in these photos. But we were shooting winter fashion with a lot of layers. In general, I wish we as an industry and we as a society would let up on our quest for perfection and unsettling demands on girls to be thin. And as such, I really try to support people and brands -- like Dove, DVF, Glamour magazine to name a few -- who are working against the machine. I know I'm part of the problem because I retouch images (although with a very slight hand) and I cast thin models. But nevertheless, I don't like following the crowd and hope -- someday -- to be part of the change.

Here's some of my shots of Laura a year ago. She's a fantastic model with a great work ethic and beautiful spirit ... and I wish her a life full of health & success!

Ooey Gooey

2010-11-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

Oh, the ooey gooey. I love it. It's at the top of the list of things that inspire me the most. It's light, of course. A specific kind of light. Golden. Rich. Thick. Sparkly. But soft. Graceful. So thick you could eat it. Delicious.

If I think about its personal origin for me, it probably comes from growing up in Po llock Pines. There were massive and majestic pine trees everywhere. And the light seemed to always look like this. I would hike all over the place with my dog, Annie. Or ride all over the place on my horse, Candy. When we weren't doing that, I was at the little league field. My family is baseball obsessed -- my dad coached, my brother played, my mom was the scorekeeper. I played, too. What else was I gonna do? I also loved announcing the batters and working the snack bar. It was there that I discovered my favorite candy bar -- the Reggie Bar. It was sort of like a cow patty -- and when you ate it, the caramel strings were massive. Mix that with the gorgeous light that came through the trees, the love & inspiration I had from my animals ... and you get the ooey gooey. Ahhhh ....

Another fresh look.

2010-11-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

Today I'm editing some more shoots -- test shoots -- that I absolutely hated at the time. These don't seem all that bad to me now.

A fresh look.

2010-11-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

Remember this shoot? I finally had the clarity to edit it for myself.

Beauty at any age.

2010-11-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

I shot this beauty store for Ladies Home Journal this summer. These photos never ran -- just a full-length group shot.

Vote.

2010-11-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

These 2nd graders in Sacramento, CA were the most delicious little power houses. I loved them!

I wanted to put them in my suitcase and take all of them home with me. Like characters in my favorite books, I still think

about them and hope I get to see them grow up.

Today I stayed up into the early morning hours watching election results. And I'm a bit sad because many of the things & people I voted for didn't win. I really hate politics but I love my country and I love California. It seems to me that we never really move forward and mean-spirited bickering never ends. But I still have hope. And I hope we can move out of this idea of party loyalty. I don't belong to any political party -- I vote for what I believe in. And just like me in general, I don't want to be categorized in a box. Political parties seem like football teams to me. People become robots in their loyalty -- you are either a UCLA fan or a USC fan. You aren't both. And you support your team through thick-and-thin. But people really don't have the courage to leave their party/team. And I don't think that's going to get us anywhere. But like I said, I still have hope. That's why I took last week off to work on a project for Meg Whitman for Governor. I had been undecided in the Governor's race for a long time. And at one point I thought I would vote for Jerry Brown. But something clicked and I felt great passion and admiration for Meg! That took over and I was really compelled to DO SOMETHING. One of my best girlfriends felt the same way. We wanted to do something outside of making calls and knocking on doors. She came up with making a viral video. She was inspired by the Obama videos in 2008 and thought we could do the same. Since we didn't have celebrities, a budget for a set and fabulous lighting ... or Will.I.am and his musical talents ... it organically turned into something that was more like us as friends, as girls and as passionate members of our community. Rather than talking about the issues (as initially intended to do), we gravitated towards something more positive and fun. We called friends and we let our energy and excitement -- and their energy and excitement -- feed each other. It grew from there and became an inspiring, heartfelt, girl power video. I love what we did. It was a combination of my photos, my first attempt at video and a throwback to my days as a journalism student where we just asked questions. Meg didn't win but it felt good to be part of the process and to be connected -- selflessly -- to my home state. The project could have been oodles better had we known what we were doing, had more time ... and didn't have lots of cooks in the kitchen telling us how it needed to be. We had many technical difficulties that seem a little embarrassing after all we put into it but I really love it and I learned a lot. And I'm super excited about trying more video projects in the future. If you REALLY want to see it, you can watch it here.

This won't be in my book.

2010-10-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

Guideposts, April 2010

Today I'm going through the stacks of external hard drives that have been sitting on my desk for months and editing for myself. It's fun to go back and see what I've shot this year -- especially when I'm editing for myself and not just the client and their specific purposes. It's fun to see my work without such a critical eye so soon after a shoot, too. I'm excruciatingly hard on myself. I think most artists are. So I think it's sort of fun to go back and say "Oh, I'm not as crappy as I thought I was" ... or "Yep, this was crap. It is what it is."

Which brings me to this photo above. I shot it for Guideposts sometime in the winter and it ran in April this year. And because it wasn't for a big-name magazine or something that editors and art buyers want to see in my book, I never gave it another thought. But I like it. Kind of. It could be better. If it was two models or two celebrities, I think people would love it. But these ladies styled themselves and had never been on a photo shoot before. It was just me and them trying to capture their personalities and relationship. I think I captured them. And I stayed true to my style -- there's energy and quirk. It's playful and in the moment. And there's even a little tiny bit of Ooey Gooey.

But you'll never see it in my work. It would bring everything else down. But I think it's interesting to talk about editing -- what works, what doesn't, and why. This quote by Diane Arbus is on my wall: "It's important to take bad pictures. It's the bad ones that have to do with what you've never done before. They can make you recognize something you hadn't seen in a way that will make you recognize it when you see it again."

Filing.

2010-10-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

My bookshelf of inspiration.

I read -- oh, I don't know -- maybe 30 magazines. And I am constantly tearing out inspirational pieces and marking them with a big fat black sharpie. For work, they get labels like fashion, portrait, lighting, gesture, location, styling. For personal stuff, I have files for travel, shopping, places to eat, exhibits to see, decorating, art and inspirational fashion. That's the hard copy filing. Then I have two systems for electronic inspiration. I have desktop folders for inspirational things I find -- usually in blogs -- and then I have a folder for websites that I need to file into the crazy bookmark system I have set up. Yep, I'm organized to the hilt. And I use them all. These are the first places I visit when I'm asked to bit on a job or hired for a job. So, that's what I'm doing today. It takes all day! Because I get lost -- for a second time -- in the yummyness of all the inspiration.

Partners.

2010-10-06T09:10:00.001-07:00

A screen grab from Today online.

I just caught the tail-end of Michael Eisner on The Today Show. He's written a new book on the power of partnerships. I absolutely LOVE the idea of this and have always loved a team mentality. I think I thrive on it. I grew up playing a lot of team sports, playing with kids in the neighborhood and being active in school clubs. I think working as part of a team is one of the greatest lessons of my youth. I don't think it takes away from your individuality -- it just makes you stronger, more creative, more empowered. And anytime I hear something about the power of a team, I say a little "HA! So there!" to someone who once chided me for loving the power of a team. This person was a former boss of mine ... and in a performance review, I was docked some points because I like a team mentality. She thought I should be more self-centered, apparently, and selfish. That's just complete rubbish to me! And now as I essentially work on my own, I'm still empowered by the team around me. Yet this time, I get to choose my team: assistants, stylists, hair, makeup, models. I choose those who inspire me, who are fun, who are loyal, good at what they do and professional. I'd much rather have this than be on my own.

I'm back!

2010-10-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Shot from my bed at The Hampton Inn ... which is behind the Cracker Barrel, Exxon & Texaco in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Good morning from Alexandria, Louisiana! I'm here shooting for a long-time loyal client. It won't be exciting and it won't win awards but I'm over-the-moon to be working again. I sort of took a little break from working. It was partly intentional ... but mostly not. I got married last Saturday and the whole do-it-yourself-wedding-planning thing just really took way more time and effort than we ever imagined. We didn't want a "wedding." We wanted to create a life marker of memories with our families and friends. And when you are a creative person who loves sentiment and meaning, things take time. So I threw my creativity into that and I think my work suffered a bit. My -- oh, what do you call it ... networking, I guess? -- took a hit and so I didn't have clients knocking down my door, either. Somewhere along the way, the creativity and passion of ideas came to an end and I just became a dictator of details to make it all happen. And when this happened, I really felt like I started losing myself. I missed my career and my work. I missed my camera. I started looking forward to the week after the wedding just so I could have time to shoot again. What this taught me is that having creativity and passion and art and inspiration is paramount to keeping my soul healthy and happy. And it taught me that I have a desperate love affair with photography and I know that I can never be without it.

So, ahhhhh ... this morning is golden to me! I'm back! The wedding is over and my honeymoon with my camera begins ...

Fools Rush In

2010-08-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Am I the last one to this party? Just found this lovely rendition by She & Him on a Levi's site. Sublime.