First Friday
If you've driven, ridden or walked on the Higgins Street bridge in Missoula over the past few weeks you might have seen me there lying in the middle of a traffic lane with my camera...trying to direct models with flying objects or spinning fire. This friday, October 2nd from 5:00 to 8:00, I'm having an opening at Betty's Divine of the photographs from these crazy escapades. I'd like to invite you to come by Friday night and check them out while enjoying a glass of wine and some cookies with the hip people that frequent Betty's on such occasions.
Betty's is located at 521 S Higgins Ave on the Hip Strip.
And contrary to what the Missoula policeman told me, the Higgins Street bridge makes an excellent stage!
flower power
One of the great things about being around the Rapha Continental riders was their down to earth-ness. Strong riders who just love riding their bikes. Cole Maness loved to pick flowers, go into thrift stores and add miles to his day by pedaling off the designated route......must be the handlebar mustache.
Pre-ride
Chris Milliman shooting a few members of the Rapha Continental riders at Le Petit Outre before hitting the road to go ride. One of the best parts of any day....pre-ride coffee.
Touch my pod
Athena and I figure out how to fire our cameras with the ipod touch. It's kinda cool....though it seems like you need the camera tethered to the computer to make it happen. More research is needed.
running alone
scouting some places for a shoot for a running shop in town, i needed a runner. and i didn't have to look far to find one. man....why didn't someone tell me my hair looked like that?
j
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family portraits
I ate lunch at the Sisters of the Road Cafe in downtown Portland today with my sister, my niece Evelyn, and our friend Cathryn. Cathryn worked there a couple of years ago so she took us. It's a place where a lot of transient and homeless go to eat. A warm meal is $1.25, and it's pretty good. And wow, what a rich, real experience.
landing bicycle
I'm sitting in a cat themed coffee shop in Portland, OR. That's right....the traveling Tom is on the road again. Lots of cat stuff around here. Kind of odd. But it's quite, they have internet and the coffee is good. But the two things I always notice about Portland. 1)The wardrobes of the folks. It's like stepping back in time where everyone is wearing their parents clothes....which have come back into fashion, only in Portland though. 2)The bicycles. Everywhere. Old, new, fast, slow, and everything in between. Really.
Money
My shooting platform was a moving Toyota T100 truck traveling at 70 miles per hour. The sun was setting and there was traffic everywhere. I spent 8 days in the desert and these two shots, taken on the drive back to Missoula, were perhaps my favorites from the trip. I think together, they capture the essence of I-15 between Provo and Ogden, Utah, through the Salt Lake City corridor. An LDS church, row housing, fast food, a giant American flag and snow-covered mountains.
Counting
Decompressing beside the flames I decided to count the starts. I had to stop at one trillion, my neck was tired from looking up. And when I would see a shooting star it would throw me...especially when seeing a couple back to back. The desert is good.
Start up
Starting anything can be a daunting task. I feel like I'm starting over at this point in my life....in a lot of areas. Am I daunted? Sometimes. My friends Dave and Kevin recently started a bike shop? They were daunted a bit as well. But now look at them. The first shot is from their 2nd day of business. The other shot is exactly 6 weeks later. More gear, more inventory, more business, and somewhat too busy to be daunted. I feel like that too.
So my slogan of the spring is...."Too busy to be daunted"
rock it!
So my slogan of the spring is...."Too busy to be daunted"
rock it!
A new way of looking
No....not seeing, but looking. As I grow older I try to do younger things...to balance things out. No, not a Benjamin Buttons thing, but just trying to keep a balance between experience and new things. So I keep my ears and eyes open. Fresh....that's a hip word these days. Well, I want to be fresh. In this case, I had my ears open with a hip golfer told me about the great reflections on those big honkin' drivers they use now. So on the driving range today I snapped a few shots of this fresh look. I learned two things today: 1)hitting a large bucket of balls without a glove can result in blisters; and 2)when you fire a Canon 1D Mark III at 10 frames per second for a few seconds, you can get the attention of everyone at the driving range.
Lens-a-flare
Two of my favorite things to do are ride my bicycle and photograph into the sun. So you can imagine how much fun I have when I combine the two.
First Friday
I am having two openings this Friday, for the First Friday Gallery Night. So if you are out and about on the streets of Missoula, feel free to stop by one, or both, of these establishments. The events will run from 5:00 until 8:00.
One show is at the newest bicycle shop in town, Hellgate Cyclery. Hellgate Cyclery is located at 316 N. Higgins Ave., in the alley behind Moose Creek Mercantile and across from Feruqi's. The exhibit will consist of a dozen or so cycling images from in and around Missoula the past couple of years. And as with most bicycle related events in Missoula, cold beverages will most likely be flowing from a tap.
The other show is at Betty's Divine and is a collaboration with Ben Ferencz. Betty's is located on the Hip Strip at 521 S. Higgins Ave. Here is the description of the show from the Missoula First Friday blog:
For April we are releasing Betty's very own photos of our favorite spring/summer looks for 2009. Ben Ferencz, art director at large, and photographer Tom Robertson show off their talent, and models Jordon and Jenise steez it to the max. Imagine "stylish relationship tension at the cheesy, why the hell is the sand so high, beach." Sort of a spring break sheik look.
In addition to the exhibit, there will be a music performance as well. Statriot Designs and Betty's have been running a Girl Group Contest this week. They put out a call to young, female musicians under the age of 20 to submit a tape, and the winner will perform a 10-minute show of original music at 7:00.
If you come out I hope to see you. Right now, I'm working on how I can be in both places at the same time. I haven't quite perfected it yet, so if i miss you, thanks for coming by.
I've attached a couple of images from each show. You should be able to figure out what image goes with what show.
One show is at the newest bicycle shop in town, Hellgate Cyclery. Hellgate Cyclery is located at 316 N. Higgins Ave., in the alley behind Moose Creek Mercantile and across from Feruqi's. The exhibit will consist of a dozen or so cycling images from in and around Missoula the past couple of years. And as with most bicycle related events in Missoula, cold beverages will most likely be flowing from a tap.
The other show is at Betty's Divine and is a collaboration with Ben Ferencz. Betty's is located on the Hip Strip at 521 S. Higgins Ave. Here is the description of the show from the Missoula First Friday blog:
For April we are releasing Betty's very own photos of our favorite spring/summer looks for 2009. Ben Ferencz, art director at large, and photographer Tom Robertson show off their talent, and models Jordon and Jenise steez it to the max. Imagine "stylish relationship tension at the cheesy, why the hell is the sand so high, beach." Sort of a spring break sheik look.
In addition to the exhibit, there will be a music performance as well. Statriot Designs and Betty's have been running a Girl Group Contest this week. They put out a call to young, female musicians under the age of 20 to submit a tape, and the winner will perform a 10-minute show of original music at 7:00.
If you come out I hope to see you. Right now, I'm working on how I can be in both places at the same time. I haven't quite perfected it yet, so if i miss you, thanks for coming by.
I've attached a couple of images from each show. You should be able to figure out what image goes with what show.
Flashing a Bar
I traveled on bicycle Friday night down to the Union Club, drank three scotches and shot Tom Catmull and the Clerics. Well....you know what I mean.
Photographing a Rhinoceros
So I traveled to the southside of the river last week (since I am "thetravelingtom") to shoot an animal. A real live rhinoceros.....I never knew that they were so small. Well, or big. It's a rhinoceros beetle. Which it turns out is one of the five largest insects in the world. If you want to know more about beetles, turns are there are 350,000 recorded kinds on the earth, compared to 58,000 named mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles...combined. So be sure to check your bed before you go to sleep. With that many beetles crawling around, odds are....well....you get it.
Spring Travel
Somedays I consider travel to be anytime I get outside my house. Fortunately, I live right at the base of a mountain, so I can walk out my front door onto a trail. The top of the mountain is closed during the winter months so a herd of elk can have it to themselves. It opens again during the middle of March, and I generally try to head up there on "opening day." I'm not the only one though, it seems though a lot of my neighbors make the trek as well. After a long winter, it seems it's the first time I have seen some of these folks since fall. A neighborhood tea party on the top of Mt. Jumbo. I love Missoula.
Really....you travel?
It's been a few months that I've been working for myself now. Shooting photos, editing photos, lining up jobs, learning Quickbooks, buying supplies. Who has time to travel? Do I change the blog name? I don't want to change it...I actually want to travel. So I'm going to have to think of more creative ways to do it. For this post, let's travel back in time. I shot a job last week of a client taking down a building at the old Stimson Mill in Bonner, Montana. In between shooting them, I wandered around the mill. It closed this past summer after over 100 years in operation. Walking through these old, cavernous warehouses really raises the hackles. The buildings seem to creak and groan as I tromped around with my camera and tripod. It would be eerily quiet one moment, and creaking the next. Which makes it that much more of a shock when a pigeon dive bombs out of the rafters, as if to say “This is our house now.”
Multitasking
The ability of a person to perform more than one task at the same time. That's what it feels like I'm doing now that I'm home again. After a month on the road, and thousands of photos taken, it's time to get to work, make some money, and move forward. I'm always apt to multitask, but these days I'm thinking doing things one at a time might make more sense for me. I read a report by smart people this morning that says "For each aspect of human performance -- perceiving, thinking and acting -- people have specific mental resources whose effective use requires supervision through executive mental control."
So, I'm going to use my mental resources to concentrate on one thing at a time. Well....it's a good plan anyway. Given my ADD tendencies I suspect I'll be multitasking without knowing that I'm doing it.
Jumping the sun
53 pound bikes are hard to pedal uphill, but cushy to land on when hucking off of rocks.
Talking bikes
While in Moab, we found the only bike that could talk. So we perched it up on a rock with the owner of the bike, and took photos. We also interviewed the bike and found out that it likes grippy surfaces, needs oil on the chain often, and loves to have a bath. It hopes to win another national championship in the endurance category next year before it's time to retire and be converted into a single speed. And it wants to remind everyone to support your local bike shops.
On the rez
Camping on the Navajo Reservation was awesome. Cold, clear nights with a big moon....and warm days full of hours of bike riding. On the road to the Salton Sea today. Stay tuned
Moab cafe
Sitting in a cafe in Moab uploading photos. Camping on red rocks with no power, much less internet connection. So we are grabbing a quick service at the Moab cafe. The trip so far has consisted of riding, riding, riding, and hiking in Arches National Park yesterday. As seen from the photo.
cutting edges
always looking for the new cutting edge sports. frisbee, hula hoop, jump roping, and now....juggling. not just juggling, but juggling with giant strobe lights popping in the participants faces. it's an added challenge. and everytime that avocado hits the floor, there is the potential for it to explode. another added challenge. juggling, it's not just for clowns anymore.
a new look
i've commented over the summer about how i'm trying to take fresh, new, unique shots of the bike. it can be challenging. there are only so many angles and looks that can be had. and just when it looks like that nothing new is coming, an opportunity presents itself. a gold fish riding a bike. that rocks.
more grit
give me more grit, flares, dirt, grime and de-saturated colors. that's what the masses want. they might not know it yet, but they do.
the biggest downside
to the panasonic lumix camera to me is the lens cap. trying to ride fast and take photos is even more challenging by having to take a lens cap off. i'm going to so lose that thing at some point.
Bond-ish
seems like this is what James Bond would look like if on a mountain bike. more specifically a 29" single speed mountain bike.
red pops
"i bet the snow won't be that bad." not always the best choice of words before going bike riding. but this time, it really wasn't so bad. the snow added depth to the shots from the panasonic lumix point and shoot camera. though no matter what camera is being used, one thing holds true.......red pops.
double A batteries
need a lot of those batteries. it doesn't help if you have an external battery pack with 8 double A's in it, if they aren't fresh. it just makes that recycle time longer, and that much more frustrating. but it does make you a bit choosier in what you shoot. then after just use up the rest of the batteries shooting your fellow photographer.
action yoga
wait. that seamless is huge. why is a huge seamless not big enough? because it just isn't. and oh, one more hint to you shooters with the battery powered packs. the modeling lights really do eat into the power in a hurry. really. in a hurry. we need that $200 accessory to make sure we keep the juice in the battery.
remote for the sun
how does a light meter disappear. i can't find it. makes it more challenging when using those big strobes. then the sun is coming in and out. i'm talking to the sun, trying to convince it to stay out. we need those trees lit. come on trees...stay lit! shooting runners while trying to convince the sun to light the trees is harder than it should be. where is my sun remote?
robbery in progress
Street shooting is fun. So many unexpected things can pop up. So HannahTom productions shot the winter clothing line of Betty's Divine on the street outside Fran's Pawn Shop on Monday. During a break when the models were changing, we were getting panhandled by a dude who "just needed $3 to get a motel room because he had missed his bus....yada yada yada." We never gave him anything, so he ended up going into the pawn shop and tried to steal a tool box. Fran tried to stop him, he took a swing at her and the cops were called. They eventually caught him. We kept shooting the whole time. Good times on the street.
after the race
one of the best sites i've ever seen for photographing a race, after the race is over, is by Timm Kolln. As Timm says, ".....PORTRAYING THE CYCLISTS IMMEDIATELY AFTER CROSSING THE FINISHING LINE. THOUGH THEY STAND STILL, THE RACE, IN THIS MOMENT, SEEMS TO CONTINUE ON THEIR FACES." I love that, and want to attempt my own project along those same lines in the near future. But for right now, I'll show one of the other parts of after the race is over.....beer time.
drinking and running and shooting in the dark
a race run under the darkness of night, the beer mile consist of a 1-mile run.... four laps on a track, and drinking a beer at the start of each lap. the missoula race is just one of many beer miles across the country. there are challenges in shooting moving subjects in the dark night. but when they have to drink a beer a lap, you can hear them burping as they approach. it also helped that the winner was running in cowboy boots.
i like grit
how does one photograph grit? i’m not talking about grits, the delicacy of the south. i’m talking about a grittyness that can be felt by looking at the photo. feeling grit in your shoes....sand, dirt, and small pebbles. walking with small pebbles feels gritty. i want to make photos of cyclocross racing that makes it feel like you have small pebbles in your shoes. are you uncomfortable? does that make your feet hurt? if so, good. it’s working.
family portraits by throwing children
i know you need those straight up shots, people like them, they can be interesting. but for some reason, most times i just want something fresher. these days, that involves cartwheels and jumping. but what happens when you shoot a family, and the dad can throw the children up in the air and catch them. i’ll tell you. dynamic photographs and screams of joy all around, especially from the photographer.
set the controls for the heart of the sun
i seem to love to point the camera at the sun and shoot as often as possible. i'd like to thank a certain mr. Floyd for helping me to discover the sun. so Pink, if you are out there, i appreciate the guidance.
keep your eye on the road, and slow down
waking up to npr, i hear a traffic safety engineer talking about going to parties. it's there where people are always asking him about the safest cars, crash tests, good tires, etc. everyone wants to be safe. he says after years of study, the number one thing that anyone should do is, "keep your eye on the road, and slow down." that sounds like great instruction for getting through the day. as someone who is always in constant motion, i've found that not only does that pertain to my physical movement, but also to my mind. i've never minded the physical movement, but sometimes the motion in the mind can get in the way. always thinking about what i have coming up, what i just did, what's over there, what if this happens, why did i do that....it's a never ending cycle of thoughts that are using energy, but not getting me anywhere. there are times when this happens a lot, like now. in photography school, always thinking about the next assignment, what's going to happen afterwards, how to get work, all of the other photographers out there, what's going to happen with new technology, how to afford gas to drive to shoots....it really can be a non-stop cycle. so i'm taking waking up to the traffic engineer this morning as a sign. maybe he really was talking about safety. or maybe that traffic engineer is really sending subliminal messages telling the listeners to just slow the day down and pay attention to what's in front of you. it does all seem to be about the present moment. why is that so easy for me to forget?
kickball kicks
i can just see it. i'll be 73 years old in the year 2050 as i sit in a television studio in sweeden, right after receiving the nobel peace prize. i'll be recounting the days from the beginning of the century. about how the economy crashed and we fell into a depression, both as a human culture and a mental condition. no one knew how to pull us out of it. as a human race, we had lost all hope. we had to find hope. so i went digging through my basement in the year 2020 and found a box containing some prints that i had made while attending the rocky mountain school of photography. i was a partner at the time of hannah/tom studios, and our first ever assignment was shooting kickball. that gave me an idea. kickball can get us out of this state that we are in. so i found an old kickball and started playing with the neighborhood kids. and suddenly we had hope. others found out about it and started playing, and they had hope. town by town, kickball leagues were started and pretty soon a positive outlook spread all over the globe. the positivity that spread touched everything and everybody. and before we knew it, the human race was elevated into a state that it had never experienced before. after being driven into the ground by the bush administration, it was now back and more connected than ever. kickball fever.....kick it.
art vs. income vs. love
So I traveled to the one-time, booming metropolis of Butte, MT for a cyclocross yesterday. It's most likely the only cross course in the world with a view of a pit that is big enough to hold the the Superdome. So I went to photograph. I love photographing cross races, because it's what I do. But does it pay? In Montana? There aren't that many racers, and it's the same folks all of the time. It doesn't pay. Should I be racing instead. Probably. Well, after I posted the photos I was contacted by one of the racers that wanted to buy a print. First time ever. The photo has him and his kid in it. That's it. Gotta take more kid photos.
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