muted

good news.

i heard from the band and they liked the photos i sent to them. i feel a little bit better now.

i also feel comfortable posting a few of the band photos now.


l to r: alex (bass, backing vocals), marc (drums), daniel (guitar, vocals) and pinky (build a bear worker who daniel convinced to be part of a picture for the paper).


mark with a "k" liked this one a lot because they're each throwing a different "rock, paper, scissors" weapon. i wish it was better framed.


this is one i wish i could have back. it's badly framed and daniel's stuck in the shadows.


"do something crazy!" was my direction here.


i guess this is probably the best one of the afternoon. i could see it being a myspace band photo.


the "please sponsor us, starbucks!" shot.


one of the most valuable things this experience taught me is that when you're shooting outside, you gotta be careful of all that is going on in the background. while i really like this one because it's obvious they didn't know i was taking a picture, it sucks that marc has a tree coming out of his head. and although i LOVE the cigarette in daniel's mouth, maybe he would rather not be shown in such a manner. oh well.


i like this one because it shows them being them. they were really funny.


i sent a more serious version of this one to the band although i'm not sure how serious it is given the man in the middle. when marc referred to him as "the iron chef" i almost pooped.


i asked someone to stomp so that i could take a picture of the pigeons as the scattered into the air. why i didn't just stomp myself, i still don't know. anyway, alex gladly obliged....


...but forgot he was standing on a patch of ice! i apologized profusely but he assured me between laughing gasps for air that it was his own fault.

a little bummed, yo.

saturday morning i got up early so that i could meet a band at downtown crossing in boston at 11 am and take some pictures for them. due to the commuter rail schedule, i had to take the 9:15 am train to south station. one stop on the red line later and i had reached my destination, some 60 minutes early. i walked down to faneuil hall to kill time and figured i'd take some pictures. it was rather cold out but it'd been a while since i was able to take daylight pictures so i didn't mind. i got a call that the band was running late which gave me an extra 30 slaughterable minutes.

i was very nervous, of course, but taking pictures without the expectation that was sure to come calmed me a bit. when the band arrived, i couldn't have been more excited by their enthusiasm and friendliness. we walked around fanueil hall, downtown crossing and the north end laughing and taking a bunch of photos. when they stopped at a starbucks to get some coffees about halfway through our shoot, i stayed outside to look at the pictures i'd taken and my heart sank. none of them looked like "the one" to me. this experience was different than the dr. rodriguez one in that the band didn't ask to see any of the photos that day. "i better step it up," i thought to myself.

when we were finished, we got lunch and they paid for me. they also kept thanking me for meeting them on such a cold day and taking their photos. i thanked them for allowing it to happen. they were really funny and made the experience awesome.

but i failed. big time. when i looked at all the photos afterward, i still didn't see "the one." i went to mark and adam's that night and mark was gracious enough to look through them with me. he assured me that there were at least a few that they should like. i felt a lot better after that (thanks, mark!).

sunday night i sent the best ones to the person in the band with whom i had been corresponding. i haven't heard anything since, which definitely reaffirms my fear that i wasted their time. however, i do not feel like it was a waste of my time. when i look at the photos, i can see areas where i might have been able to improve the picture had i spoken up. plus, i stepped outside of my comfort zone again and the experience, aside from being disappointed in the photos, was a blast. i just really wish i'd done a better job for them and as a result, my confidence is shot (pun intended?).

i want to give a shout out to the band, too. they have a song on their myspace that has quickly become a favorite of mine. please go here and listen to "fraction." mark fell in love with it too on saturday night. "they do radiohead better than radiohead!" he kept saying.

here are some pictures from the day that do not feature the band.

dance practice.

post 500

thanks to everyone who reads.

dr. michael rodriguez, boston, ma, january 2008

this was certainly out of my comfort zone.

when i'm alone, i'm not a particularly happy person. i've noticed over the last few years, however, that a camera changes things. i don't know how else to put it - i've fallen in love with photography.

sometimes when i'm at work i find myself daydreaming about earning my living as a photographer. with no money to take classes, i know the chances of that becoming a reality are slim to none. but friday afternoon, i said to myself "fuck it" and went to craigslist.

"amatuer photographer with good eye...FREE!!!" read the headline of my post. inside the post i asked what anyone who replied had to lose.

an hour or so later i had a reply from dr. michael rodriguez, a professor setting up a new website for which he wanted some photos. we exchanged a couple of emails in which i was adamant about keeping his expectations at the right level. i made sure he knew that i didn't even have a tripod, nevermind lights or a makeup person. he was still game.

i had tutor training saturday and sunday so i told him i would call him saturday night to try to set something up for sunday evening. when i got home saturday i was extremely apprehensive about the call but somehow summoned the courage to finally make it. i kept referring to him as "dr. rodriguez" out of respect until he requested that i call him "micheal." he asked what i was hoping to accomplish with the exercise and i explained that the majority of my photos are captures of fleeting moments and almost none are staged. i wanted to try to become more well-rounded and felt that this exercise would be a step in the right direction. i asked him what he was looking for and he said "something black and white, weird angles, kinda artsy." "we can certainly try that," i said. "how about tomorrow at seven?" "cool," i replied, nervous as hell.

i took an entire SAT test (minus the essay) at training on sunday. i was pretty wiped out on the 35 minute drive back home and kept asking myself "what the hell do you think you're doing?" regarding my "stupid" 7 o'clock plans. "you, of all people, are going to drive into boston by yourself to meet a complete stranger and take pictures of him?"

when the time came to leave for boston, i wanted to call michael and tell him that i was backing out. somehow, i didn't.

i made it to his apartment with no issue. when he came outside to greet me at the door, i was having fifth thoughts about the whole idea. as we climbed the stairs to his apartment, i made nervous small talk. i asked how long he'd been a professor at BU and what he taught. i also commented on how awesome the apartment building was.

he was extremely friendly and he made me feel as at ease as possible given the circumstances. when the time came to start taking pictures, he would ask me for advice. i could tell right away that coming up with creative ideas on the fly is something i will need to work on if it is an acquirable skill. luckily, he was extremely patient and had a good idea of what he wanted.

we'd take a few pictures and then i'd show them to him. i'd make it clear i was showing them only to get feedback, not to get him to pick any as "the one." we worked very well together. he'd make a suggestion and i'd try to make it work. i kept thanking him for being so patient and he kept thanking me for the same thing.

as i found myself kneeling on the floor, aiming my camera up at him sitting in a chair next to his lamp with the shade removed, i thought to myself "i'm really enjoying this."

i definitely lucked out getting him as my first subject, though. someone less patient and less friendly would have made things so much harder.

when he took my camera and said "wow, i think that's the one" with a clear satisfaction, i felt a sense of pride. i was really happy that i took myself out of my comfort zone.

did i do a good job? not really. aside from telling him that the way he was holding his hands looked good to me, i wasn't nearly as creative as i should have been.

but it was my first try.

and i challenged myself.

that's gotta count for something, right?

kim arrived at the o'connor house a couple of hours before the party was scheduled to begin. tired of waiting for the next guests to show up, they decided to put this sign up at the door which definitely made everyone pause once they finally did arive. too funny.


adam practices to be a model for "the price is right."


adam, i'm not sure the models do THAT! not on stage, at least.


mark being mark.


martha being silly.


aidan squares off with auntie kimmie.


jack joins his brother's cause.


i LOOOOVE this photo.


adam looks to the heavens, unaware of the weather they will soon dump onto his rental car.


martha ice-dances.


"how was martha's party? i'll show you how it was!"


i love this one. adam is money lately when it comes to photofaces.


keith says "hi."


adam hides his hand with his nethers, unaware of the weather the heavens have dumped onto his rental car.


kim, post-poop.


mark needs tickets.


i'm ready for a fight (taken by keith).


adam provides the soundtrack for wii boxing.


mark fights martha and his body at the same time.


martha talks shit as mark tries to recover in real life and wii-life from a knockdown.


martha can't help but bust into song which is probably why mark eventually wins the match.


adam cannot believe the beating he's taking from kim.


believe it adam, she whooped your booty.


kim whoops linde's booty so quickly i'm only able to take this post-massacre photo.


adam points to the whooping he's receiving.


adam laughs at the whooping he received as kim celebrates her third straight slaughter.


the showdown - emily, the captain, squares off against kim, the new sensation.


emily makes short work of kim. the room is amazed although martha warned us this might happen.


mark has recovered from his first fight (a win) just in time to get destroyed by emily.


it's adam's turn for another beating.


emily celebrates her status as the undisputed master of wii boxing. the room bows in her presence. by the way...

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE PREGNANCY, EMILY (+ COLONNA BONE)!!!!!!


mark's ready for bed.


martha + pillow vs. adam - the windup.


adam and his ramennoggin are no match for martha + pillow.


martha grabs linde's fancy-pajama'd booty as kim looks on.


adam must be giving funnyphotofacelessons.


accidental honeymoon!!!!


adam does some reading before bed as mark sleeps on the floor between farts.


we noticed this boat the previous night and linde said "847, that's my how my phone number starts! i should sleep in that!" we settled for a picture of her throwing a snowball at me the next morning. look closely to see the snowball.

a big "thank you" to martha, tom, aidan and jack for welcoming us into their home.

another big "thank you" to everyone who came.

i had an amazing time.