BLOG
BLOG
Kyrgyzstan: Day 2 of Los Bad Apples Middle East Tour ’09
After the 9AM performance, we had an opportunity to go off base with Major O’Donnell–to a local restaurant called “Jim’s place.” This establishment didn’t match our idea of Kyrgyzstan, where we were told an average annual salary could total as little as $1,000.
Out at the back of the restaurant, there was a frozen lake, where we saw local families skating on the ice.
Normally, I dislike being shot . . .
But this time I really liked it :)
I was assisting Dell senior photographer, Brian Kuntz, on a shoot, doing corporate profile shots in the Executive Briefing Center, and we were setting up the lighting for a shot after lunch. Once the location was to Brians liking, I was the stand-in model (to enable Bryan to shoot and make sure the lighting was to his liking before the real subject arrived).
For this shoot, Bryan was shooting with the Canon 1DS Mark II, which was tethered to his Dell Precision Notebook.
Because he was tethered, I was able to see the images appear on the notebook screen as he took them, and when I saw this one, I actually liked it enough to get a copy for myself. It’s a little uncommon for me to get a shot of myself that I like. :)
Voila!
Vincent LaForet meets Gerry Hanan of Hananexposures in Austin TX
This is me with Vincent Laforet, who, in my opinion, quite possibly did more last year to create buzz and hype about the new 5D Mark II than Canon. This is not a slam on Canon; it is more a testament to Vincent’s skills in creating an incredible video, called Reverie, (in 72 hours) while having a pre-production 5D on loan from Canon. Vincent is a Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer and one of Canon’s “Explorers of Light.”
Shots from Los Bad Apples live performance at SXSW 09 Austin TX.
Last night, (the second last night of SXSW 09), was the final performance for Los Bad Apples at this years event here in Austin Texas. The band was slated to go on stage at midnight and play till around 1am.
There were preceded by a rather unusual band called “Futomomo Satisfaction” who are self-described as “Futomomo Satisfaction is only one “trombone BIKINI girls band” in the world. (Futomomo means thighs.)” Another brilliant piece of information you cannot leave without hearing is this… “A lot of people has been anxious for it, and anyone who has seen, has been attracted and cheered momentarily.”
Ok, enough sidebar for one day – back to the bad apples :)
1st Video upload from Los Bad Apples tour of the Middle East
Remember to hit the HQ button in the player for High Quality video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFHYUG_IhRs
I have finally edited video from the first day of travelling and the first few hours in Kyrgyzstan. It took a while because I was focused on the photographs first and then I had to learn Premiere since I have never edited video before.
Kyrgyzstan day 1 of Los Bad Apples Middle East Tour
I have just returned from the adventure of a lifetime travelling accross 4 countries in the middle east for 17 days following the band Los Bad Apples on their Armed Forces Entertainment tour to play for troops stationed abroad. I hope through my words and photographs that you can capture some of the excitement and adventure of our travels.
We flew from Austin to London, from London to Istanbul, and then into Manas International Airport, Bishkek. Bishkek, which is the capital and largest city in Kyrgyzstan, is the location of the US Air Force base which was in the news right before we left on tour (because it was reported that the Kyrgyzstan government had voted to cancel the lease on the base).
To give an idea of its location, here is a short list of Bishkek’s interesting neighbors (distances are in miles):
Almaty – Kazakstan – 113
Tashkent – Uzbekistan – 306
Dushanbe – Tajikistan – 427
Mazari Sharif – Afganistan – 530
Sopore – India – 592
Urumqi – China – 651
Once we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by a great ambassador for the U.S. Air Force, Master Sergeant Kenneth Baptiste.
Los Bad Apples album cover photograph featured on AFE Poster
Back in March of 08, Los Bad Apples came into the studio to shoot the cover for their debut album. We had to shoot within a day of meeting because the band was to play at SXSW where they were opening for Ludacris, and needed enough time to duplicate & print the album to be handed out at the event.
The same photograph was also used on the Armed Forces Entertainment poster hanging in bases across the Middle East to advertise Los Bad Apples upcoming tour in February 09.
Studio Session – not to shoot fashion this time :)
In my studio today, as the title indicates, I was not doing a fashion shoot. Instead, I was doing lighting for the interviews with documentary film maker Lisa Kaselek and the band members of Los Bad Apples.
Over the course of the interviews, we began to learn about the background of each band member and some of their expectations and fears regarding the trip. We also learnt a little about their thoughts on soldiers, pursuing dreams and the place where both meet.
Due to schedule conflicts, not every member of the band was able to make it to the interviews, and the remaining interviews with Aldo Ramón and Greg Jones will be taking place on another day.
In addition to the band members and myself, also travelling on this tour are sound engineer Ryan from Nomad Sound, and documentary film maker Lisa Kaselek. Anita.
