what's the frequency kenneth? we saw Michael Stipe in yaletown sat. nite. i walked in late and there is this guy sitting down having tea/coffee w/ his friend. took a second to click before i realized it was him; shaved head and all. i wanted to say thanks for all the earlier r.e.m. stuff, but then i thought he just wants to be left alone. i did manage to take a covert shot using my g2 w/ my back to him (i am really enjoying having the flip-out lcd screen). can't confirm, but apparently he is in town working on a film w/ his boyfriend who is also the owner of the production company that is producing this film.

Michael Stipe. oct/02

went to this place called Memphis Blues for barbequed ribs yesterday and man...! the place is a bit of a hole in the wall and frankly, i hope it never changes. the restaurant has seating for about 20-25 ppl, is self-serve and has a bit of that log cabin decor happening. the food is obviously the draw here; 13 bucks gets you a half-side of ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, dipping sauce and some cornbread. these are the kind of ribs where the meat is cooked till its just ready to fall off the bone. sheer unadulterated gluttony. the quality is somewhat inconsistent at times, but thursday's meal ranked up there w/ the best of them. there was so much food i had to take half of it home w/ me. the place has varying sizes of food items, but the granddaddy of them all is the "Elvis". this particular dish sells for 60 bucks and feeds 4 very large and hungry adults; its basically a mound of meat. heads actually turn when customers walk back to their table while carrying this; people stare, jaws agape, wide-eyed when they see this platter float by. can you say angioplasty? i knew you could.

second to the carnal noshing is the owner. a guy who goes by the name of "Park". this guy could pass for Drew Carey's brother and is one dude, at first sight, you probably wouldn't want to piss off. he's big and he's surly, but the place wouldn't be the same without him. i kinda got the feeling that this place is his baby and deep down he is damn proud of it, but why not? expect a ribbing (sorry 'bout the pun) from him and the rest of the staff. i suppose this kinda keeps the customer on their toes and make sure you have a snappy comeback if you do get dissed. its expected of you. all in good fun of course.

i took a pic of park w/ my g2, but i think i'm gonna go back and shoot some b&w film of the guy. the g2 does fine, but has too much depth of field for my needs. pic is ok and he snarled real good when i asked him nicely. this shot has shallow dof cuz i photoshopped the heck out of it.

UPDATE: Tuesdays are definitely one of the best days to go.

UPDATE: Park used to manage Bridges!!!.

Park, the meat man, oct/02

just had coffee w/ Sabrina tonite and everytime we chat i always get an idea from her wrt photographic undertakings. she mentioned the Artropolis show next year and the fast approaching deadline. i think i'm gonna try and get something together for that. its been so long since i hung a show and i'd love to get back into it. think i'll try a tryptic or pentic (is that a word?) of the entranceway of 3 storey walkups around town. i'm gonna present them as cyanotypes at maybe 3x3 or 3x4 inches. photographing modern architecture and using a process from the 1800s should make for an interesting contrast.

i just saw Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland today and all i can say is wow. the film follows 3 sisters living in london and the family events that unfold over a 4-day period. nicely shot, edited and beautifully scored by michael nyman; the music actually elevates the film. it was shot documentary style with what looked like 16mm stock which added to the rough-edged look. performances were well done all around, but i still had problems w/ Molly Parker's brit accent since i know she is canadian. one of the characters in the film looked awfully familiar from another film and then i realized that the ex-husband in this film was the stuttering Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter (man, talk about range). if there were any shortcomings in the script i didn't notice any; the characters were all very well developed and i really felt for them. the film explores longing, relationships and awkward family dynamics and how they choose to cope with them. the best thing about this film? Michael Winterbottom demonstrates that compelling films can still be made on modest budgets (esp. in these days of bloated multi-million dollar LOSERS).

up late as usual. why does late nite tv suck so much? why so many bloody infommercials? i guess thats what happens when i don't subscribe to cable and as a result only have 4 channels w/ poor reception.

here is a shot that took me on and off 3 months to do. to say i work very slowly would be an incredible understatement. i first shot this on polaroid 669 and then decided to do it in 665 to get the awesome b&w neg. i then shot the neg on top of a light table, using my Canon g2, to get a scan and then reversed it in photoshop and dropped in some clr; i think it turned out ok but is still a work in progress.

my studio, jul/02 - oct/02