HOW TO: Cyanotype

I'm going to use cyanotype to make t-shirts for my family reunion that's coming up.

I was introduced to cyanotype about a year ago and used it on sketch paper. It is recommended that you only used paper which is at least 40 lb because of the soaking process. The paper I used was 65 lb and that worked really well. If you do use fabric, make sure it's 100% cotton. If it's spandex or something like that, the chemical might not be absorbed and it will not work that well.

Also, since I used a stencil instead of a negative, I was able to leave it in the sun unattended. If you use a negative, then you'll have to keep an eye on it as well as use a contact printer.


How To video here: http://youtu.be/pKt3PnEvNlE

OMG, NAKED PEOPLE

I was clicking around on deviantART and ended up on a photo of a woman's butt. After favoriting it, I noticed two similar comments. First being "I don't see how butts count as art..." and the second one being "This website is for art only, NOT RAUNCHY SEXUAL CRAP!!" I replied to both comments saying that Robert Mapplethorpe is known for photographing nude men, Larry Sultan had a series of photographs taken on porn sets, and Helmut Newton currently has an exhibition at the Annenberg Space For Photography featuring photographs from his book Big Nudes.

But these type of comments got me thinking:
Why is it more socially accepted that the nude figure is only art if it is done by hand?

There are many famous paintings and sculptors of the nude figure and (most) people consider those art, yet if someone took a picture of someone in the same pose, (some of) those same people will view it as porn and smut. This is bullshit. It still takes a lot of work to take a good photo, regardless of what it's of. There's lighting to consider and perfect, composition, developing whether it's film or via photoshop, and so much more.


So remember: photography IS art

photo credit: Helmut Newton

Photography Goal

Lately people have been asking what type of photography do I want to do. On a more professional level, the main thing I've done is take pictures at live events. Though fun, it is also a bit nerve racking. A lot of things are out of control and I do not want to disappoint the people who hire me. Through various classes, I've learned about different forms, techniques, and methods of photography and find most of them fascinating. I'm still trying to figure out what type of photography I want to make a living out of, but there is one thing I know for sure: I must do something on/about the LGBT community.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the LGBT community. Some people think all gay men are super flamboyant, all lesbians are really butch, that there is no such thing as bisexuality, and that all transgendered people are prostitutes. These stereotypes are not only wrong, but really harmful. They are giving homophobic assholes an excuse to keep gay marriage illegal. We have come a long way since the Stonewall riots, but there is still a good ways to go until we are equal.

I want to show all the sides of this wonderful community to the world. My end goal is to publish a book, but two mini and more realistic goals are to post a documentary on YouTube and later have an art show dedicated to this cause.

Pin-up Girl

Yesterday I took pin-up girl style photos. I was lucky enough to find a super nice gentlemen who let us take pictures in his hanger at a nearby airport. I ended up taking 200 photos while there and plan to print the best one out on 11x15 inkjet paper to give him as a thank you. After those shenanigans, we went back to my house and took around 75 more photos. My favorite photo from the entire day is the one below of her in the trunk of my friend's car. The colors, the pose, the pure sexiness of it -- all adds up to complete win.

Krystal was a wonderful model and I hope to work with her again the in future.

My friend Rick was my photo assistant for this shoot and is a real sport. I asked him to reenact some of the poses Krystal did for a few laughs. So I have one question for anyone who is reading this blog:
Who did it better?

Leykis Listener Party

I've been listening to The Tom Leykis Show since I was about 5 years old. I know, shocking right. My mom used to listen to the show when she picked my brother and I up from our dad's, when she dropped us off, during road trips -- basically whenever he was on, she was listening. That's how I was introduced to the professor at such a young age. Sadly he went off air in 2009 so I had to wait until April 2, 2012 for his return...

BUT IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!! Seriously, The Tom Leykis Show has never been better. Not just because he can now say "fuck" either. He can now do topics that he could NEVER do on radio, take unscreened calls, do the show when/how he wants to (such as from the 405 freeway), and so much more. In celebration of the show's one year anniversary, the first listener party in FOUR years was held on April 8th at the Laugh Factory in Long Beach, CA.

Photo credit: twitter's @samcontreras

P1s officially started lining up at 12:00pm, knowing the doors wouldn't open until 7:00pm. I showed up at 2:00pm and brought food for my friend who was there since 1:00pm (he was second in line). Ted from Phoenix provided all the early birds with beer after beer after beer. 

Party bus arrives!

Leykis surrounded by Leykettes

Standing ovation

Gary Zabransky, Dino DeMilio and Art Webb gave a quick introduction before Leykis took the stage. Leykis thanked everyone and then went on an awesome rant about how a radio executive tried to screw him over and made fun of his "little internet show." At the end of his rant, Leykis proudly shouted "KLOS would give their left fucking nut for a crowd like this!"

The entire crew AND advertisers were surrounded by fans asking for photos and autographs. I asked Tom and Art to sign what little boobs I have and then had Gary and Dino sign my leg. P1s who saw the signatures got super excited and asked if they can take pictures of them and some even took pictures with me.

Myself and Art, signatures slightly visible

At the end of the night, everyone was given a Leykis 101 Diploma that each crew member signed. I seriously fucking LOVE the diploma, so much so that I'm going to frame it and proudly place it next to my other awards (which include my president's award for educational achievement).

This was my first listener party and it certainly will not be my last.

LINKS:
blowmeuptom.com
twitter.com/TomLeykis
facebook.com/TomLeykisShow

UPDATE:
I sent Tom 69 photos from the party and he just posted them all to blowmeuptom.com/listener-party-pics/

Diptych

 
My class assignment was to create a pair of images (diptych) to convey a meaning for the viewer that exists only when the two images are placed together.

The first image is of my friend messing around with a bb gun. The second image is of my cousin as his hooker persona Miss Baby. Locations are no where near each other and are actually about a month apart. For this assignment, we were allowed to use pictures we've already taken so I looked though everything I took in raw. I kind of felt bad I never used the ones I took of my friend so I looked for something that worked well with it. The more or less meaning I was going for is kind of obvious, but I'll leave the exact details up to your imagination.