I Wish I Had A Picture Of Eliot Crowley - Part Two

MALIBU, CA - Last week I made a statement, "I wish I had a picture of Eliot Crowley, and that's because he's been writing a very cool blog for APA which is a very worthwhile read, and I wanted a picture of the author. I was somewhat chagrined when I couldn't immediately lay my hands on the picture I knew I had in my files, so I did the next best thing: I flew out to California to photograph him... and here I am!

That hasn't stopped the flood of e-mails I'm still getting about it. Everyone in the industry, it seems, has ties to Eliot Crowley. What a can of worms I've opened!! I had one just this morning from Tom Kelley, back in New Jersey and looking for an assistant in Wisconsin, and when he realized I was here, mentioned that he expects to see Eliot's picture on the blog.

Mark Harmel, another mutual friend, actually sent me a picture he'd recently made of Eliot. EC2 himself told me that he'd had e-mails from friends warning him that I was writing about him. Well, if I can't help my friends become famous, what good am I?

Now... as long as long as I'm here, I'm going to try to photograph Mark as well.
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All above: Leica D-LUX 3, 28~112/2.8~4.9 Leitz DC Vario-Elmarit lens, ISO 200

Early This Morning Over Northern Arizona

Rolls Royce RB211 Turbofan... early this morning over the north rim of the Grand Canyon. What a country!!
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Above: Canon EOS-5D, 20~35/2.8 Canon Zoom Lens EF L Ultrasonic, ISO 100

Trouble In The Brickyard

Trouble In The Brickyard - 6:59 AM
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The Brickyard: Leica D-LUX 3, 28~112/2.8~4.9 Leitz DC Vario-Elmarit lens, ISO 200

This Time, Tomorrow

Fishing Pier - Kitty Hawk, North Carolina - 5:40 AM
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Above: Canon EOS-1N, 20~35/2.8 Canon Zoom Lens EF L Ultrasonic, Fujichrome Velvia 50

It's A Wonderful Day In The Neighborhood

Jackson Creek Prairie Restoration for Openlands Foundation - 7:40 AM CDT
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Above: Canon EOS-5D, 50/2.5 Canon Compact-Macro Lens EF, ISO 200

I Wish I Had A Picture Of Eliot Crowley

I wish I had a picture of Eliot Crowley. Actually, I wish I had a picture of Eliot at-hand right now. I do have a picture of Eliot but I'd have to search for it. The one I have in mind was made in 1991 when he was re-roofing his house in Hollywood, and I'm going to look for it later and post it to the blog.

Okay. You must be wondering why I need a picture of Eliot. Why? (glad you asked) Because Eliot's been blogging for APA and has some interesting things to say, and he also reads Eat At Joe's faithfully and I thought I'd point you all in his direction for a change. Either click on the headline or click here to read Eliot's APA blog.

So what's up with the picture of me? It was made in 1977 by Ken Ohara, when Eliot and I assisted Abe Seltzer. Ken was the technical brain behind Abe's photography and Eliot introduced me to Ken, that's how I got the job. Sometimes it's who you know as much as what you know that counts. Of course, if you know Ken Ohara then you know that I couldn't have gotten that job solely based on being Eliot's friend, I had to have my shit wired real tight.

(wondering when I was going to shamelessly plug myself? don't blink)

In the meantime, I'm going to find my picture of Eliot and post it here. Then, stay tuned because if the stars line-up properly I'm going to see Eliot next week in California and I'll make a new picture of him, perhaps with his new Airstream, and you can see how much he's changed.

Great Place For A Stick Up

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The Brickyard: Leica D-LUX 3, 28~112/2.8~4.9 Leitz DC Vario-Elmarit lens, ISO 200

The Beginning Is The End

Wednesday, John Harrington reported on his blog that Digital Railroad was in trouble and would likely be liquidated. Following on the heels of the demise of PhotoShelter Collection, scheduled to cease operations today, this is very bad news.

While PhotoShelter will continue as a digital archive, even though they shut down their stock agency division, the handwriting may be on the wall for them as well. And what of the others?

The only other company I'm aware of that offers a benevolent measure of service is Image Warehouse, which is owned by my friend Carroll Seghers, but to be honest I don't much like that interface and I don't think Carroll has the budget to advertise on anywhere near the level of his erstwhile competitors.

This is all too bad. Of the services these outfits provide, archiving is the most valuable to people like me. I/we need a place to stash our large, high -resolution files, off-site where they're (more or less) safe.

There's also a ripple effect. Digital Railroad was leasing their backbone to Mira, a photographer-owned stock agency (I'm one of the photographer-owners) and though I've had some assignment work through Mira I'd never had a stock sale... until last week when US News & World Report licensed one of my Maplewood series, Jack Profaci riding his bicycle, for the story, Why Republicans and Democrats Live Where They Do.

It seems that the beginning is also the end.

This Day In History, 1973

School of the 3 Minute Expertise: Hanging Large Prints

In the five months since I left the New York City comfort zone for the uncertainty of Chicagoland there have been numerous challenges I've had to face: culture shock; trying to build a business in summer, when the client set is on vacation; now, the added burden of a major economic slump... it's not pretty. Given all of the aforementioned, you can understand why interior decorating has been among my lowest priorities. But solve problems I will, and after vacillating on style and budget I've finally made the decisions that make a house my home.

Basically, I've got more wall space than existing art can fill and I've always liked the idea of very large prints. If you're a photographer you're aware that there's previously been a serious barrier to entering the large print decorating set... it can be very expensive. Technology, however, has come to the rescue with high-quality, low-priced, inkjet printing.

Shortly before I moved out here, I had dinner (in New Jersey) at the home of my friends Tom Kelly and Gail Mooney, and they had just had some test prints made for an exhibition Gail was mounting in California. The prints were beautiful and relatively inexpensive, so when I finally abandoned equivocation as a modus operandi I selected my favorite New York City image (okay, I'm slightly homesick), went on-line, uploaded a file and ordered a 33 inch by 50 inch print mounted on Foamcor from the same guys that Tom and Gail used. My only problem is that I gave no thought as to how to hang this on my wall.

The print weighs very little, though the package it came in weighed 34 pounds (very well protected) yet hanging it presented a problem. After much consultation I took the advice of my friend, Mark Kalan, who suggested hanging the print the same way one would hang a mirror. A beautifully simple, nearly invisible solution, an investment in proportion to the cost of the print ($1.98), and I've filled a visual hole in my living room wall.

I have a few more large walls around the house, what else shall I print?