My friend Paula Paige put a message out to the world that she was looking for someone to make a video for her band Lonnie Starlet.  Paula and her musical partner Wes Hambright were working an an album and wanted to video one of the songs.   I jumped in and said “I’ll take a crack at it” and was hired.   Eep!

So the plan was to shoot Paula and Wes during their recording session for the song “D S G”.   I packed up my Canon 5D Mkii, tripods, lenses, etc and headed over to Wes’ studio.   They did 3 live takes of “D S G” which I shot then a few takes of Paula and Wes lipsyncing to the song.

I went home, did a lyric take down, then edited it all together with Adobe Premiere Pro and made a rough cut.  It was hard because we shot live and between the 3 takes nothing was lining up with the final track.  Or at least a lot of it didn’t line up.   The rough was just ok but I needed more material!

So we set up another shoot this time to the track.   Plus by then I had my Ikan lights which were awesome.   I did a bunch of takes, learning from the last shoot.   I had coverage this time.   Looking back I wish I had more material but we live and learn, right?  I always feel rushed so the talent doesnt get bored or frustrated – even when I shoot stills.  Of course in Professional Showbiz the talent does a lot of retakes and reshoots and waiting around for everything to be just right.  I need to keep that in mind every time but alas I never do!

So I started from scratch and did another edit – this time Lonnie Starlet was much happier.  We went back and forth a few times with just had a few fixes.   So their album “Skin” is out now and the video is too!

Enjoy.

Start with the Venice Garden Tour.   I’ve been on the tour almost every year for years and years.  Normally the homes and gardens that are open to visitors are on the West side of Lincoln Boulevard in Venice.   It’s a very dense area with lots of tiny bungalows and a sprinkling of large modern homes.   This year there was not one home West of Venice.  They were all East of Venice.   Different!   It’s a great area filled with $1m to $2 homes.  Crazy.

This year featured so many architectually significant homes by architects Tom Carson, Dennis Gibbens, Daniel Monti, Santiago Ortiz and Ron Radziner  and Gregory Ain.   I did not see them all but I did go to quite a number of them.  It’s unbelievable how people live and the creative force of their living space.   The outdoor spaces rivaled the inside of the homes.    I think my favorite was the Marmol Radziner home on Vienna Way.   I loved the spaces, the step down kitchen and the outdoor rooms but I really loved the furniture and glass lamps.  So beautiful I can’t even imagine myself living in that house but I would like to try!

The second fun thing I did was take photos of David Newman conducting the American Youth Symphony Orchestra in Royce Hall at UCLA.   I’ve met David a few times and worked with him on the Fox Night at the Hollywood Bowl a couple of years ago.  He’s a super talent and his wife Krys is just a wonderful person.   So when I helped with the licensing of Danny Elfman’s Edward Scissorhands music for this program I invited myself to take photos of the rehearsal.

I had full access to the stage and room and it was awesome.  The music sounded fantastic and watching David Newman work was even better.  He has incredible focus.   I am happy with the pictures and only wish I had the same access during the actual performance.   Maybe next time.

Venice Garden Tour

I just shot the 2012 Spring round of competition and I loved every single story.   It’s amazing what you can convey in 5 minutes.

Boston is a quaint city.  Smaller, older and cleaner than NYC.   I had a couple of hours in the late afternoon and morning to discover a little bit.   The first night I stayed downtown.  Unfortunately it was storming and pouring so I didnt get a chance to discover much – but it was Sunday night so nothing was open anyway.  The place was pretty desolate.

The next day after moving to a hotel next to the convention center in Back Bay, I went to the conference.   It was interesting and nice to see people I knew and meet a few new people.   That night I had the opportunity to go to The Harvard Club of Boston for a speakers dinner.   It had stopped raining so it was wonderful being able to walk over.   I ran into someone I used to work with and it was great catching up.

The next day was my conference day.  I had a work call in the morning then off to the convention center to prep for my panel.   Thankfully it was all painless and the other panelists were totally knowledgeable professionals.

That afternoon I took the T over to the Park Street station and started a nice walk through Boston Commons over to Beacon Hill, The Esplanade through the Boston Public Garden then up Commonwealth Avenue back to my hotel.   In the middle I had a wonderful dinner at Figs on Charles Street.  The evening sunlight was so beautiful and the blossoming dogwood and cherry trees were spectacular.

The next morning I had a couple of hours before I had to leave for my flight to DC so I hopped on the T again and took it to Harvard Square.  Never been to Cambridge or Harvard  and I really wanted to see the campus.   The old part of campus was quaint and steeped in history.   I did a little social networking while I was there just to make it full circle.  ;o)

Flight to DC was fantastic!  I only threw up twice!   Ugh.  So embarrassing!  Haven’t done that since I was a kid.   It was a flying boat – and I don’t like boats.   Nuff said.

The best part of DC was The Mansion on O.   A throwback hippie hotel that’s like staying at your crazy Aunt’s house.   It’s wonderful.  I had a great two bedroom suite that was hidden behind a secret entrance that was a full length mirror.  So fun!

It was nice to see friends and family and really nice to get home.   I love travel but am definitely a homebody.

Hotel View

Boston Commons Frog Pond

The Esplanade & Charles River

George Washington

Old South Church, Boston

Granary Burial Ground

Boston Public Library

Boston Islands

I researched and found the Molecule R website.  It has recipes and videos on the molecular gastronomy techniques.   Very cool and easy to follow.

I went to Surfas and got some my additives – Sodium Alginate and Calcium Chloride.  First I tried spherizing yogurt following a recipe I found on molecularRecipies.com..  Didn’t work.  Then I made a small batch of lemon curd I   Didn’t work.   Everything just fell apart.

Back to the drawing board.

Molecule R called for Calcium Lactate and since Surfas didn’t carry Calcium Lactate I had to order online.  I found WillPowder on Amazon and ordered.  I didn’t realize it was a GIANT tub of the stuff.

Anyhoo, I made another batch of lemon curd and tried again.  It worked!  In like 10 seconds.  So easy!

So this is what you need:
egg shaped pan
white cake mix
white frosting (optional)
white candy melts (for rounded part of the egg)
lemon curd
sodium alginate
calcium lactate

Lemon Curd
Cream together 1 stick butter and 1 cup sugar
Add 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks
Add 2 Tablespoons lemon zest and 1 cup lemon juice
Mixture will curdle so don’t worry
Stir over medium heat until thick.  Do not boil.
Pour into bowl and cover with plastic wrap.   Cool.

Make cake and fill egg cups half way.  Bake then cool.
Scoop out small hole on flat side of egg.
Melt candy melts and dip rounded part of the egg in.   Put aside to set with rounded side up.
You can either then dip the flat side in candy melts or frost.
Mix 2gm Sodium Alginate in 2 cups filtered water.  Put in refrigerator for 15 minutes
Mix 1 Tablespoon Calcium Lactate into lemon curd.
Drop teaspoons of lemon curd into Alginate mixture.  Wait 3 minutes then move to bowl of clear water.   Lift out of water with slotted spoon and place into hole in each egg.

A few weeks ago at Alison’s birthday party Tro told me she was going to be dancing and choreographing a burlesque show called Sugar Club.  I half way invited myself to be the photographer for the night.   She took the bait and off I went.

I wanted to be able to push my 5D Mark iii to the limit.   Considering it has a really high ISO and all.

So I showed up early to the Viper Room and made myself known and at home.   The girls were all super nice, beautiful and talented.   Lighting was a challenge.   I had rented a 70-200 zoom lens but during rehearsal I decided I didn’t want to use it.  I wanted to get shots of the whole group and the 70 just didn’t give that to me.  I used my 50mm 1.4 for half the rehearsal and loved it but during the show I put on the 35-70 2.8.   It was perfect.   I could get wide and closeish.   I probably should have put the 70-200 on my other 5D Mk ii and shot with two cameras but I’ve never done that before and didn’t want to be messing with cameras instead of getting the shot!   Everything goes by so fast in those situations.

I did however use spot metering which I taught myself during the storytellers night.  It really helps when there’s a lot of darkness and the subject is being lit with direct light.      I still shot manually though.   The hardest part was pushing and pulling the ISO.  I had it at 3500 to 5000 the entire show.   For a second I pushed it to 10,000 but didnt want to go there.  But what does one do when you want a deeper dof and fast shutter speed?   I wanted to get clean captures of the dancing with no blurring.

Anyhoo, I wish the lighting was better.  Less green would have been nice.  I had to make some of the shots b&w in order to avoid the ladies looking like green monsters in some of the shots but I liked the look so it worked out.

For the chocolate chips I used broken up pieces of my new absolute favorite chocolate TCHO from San Francisco.  Their factory is on Pier 17 of the Embarcadero in San Francisco.  Right next to the Ferry Building.  Tcho sells these wonderful individually wrapped squares of 70% chocolate in different “notes”.  I buy the Tcho A Day for my office and have one everyday to stay healthy!    But I digress.  I also use the baking discs and broke them up to use in this recipe.   Tcho is highly recommended!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Preheat oven to 350

Put paper liners in 12 muffin cups

1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 or 4)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup bran flakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tps espresso powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips  (Tcho baking discs)

In a large bowl stir together, banana, sugars, butter, buttermilk, egg and bran.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, espresso, soda and salt.

Fold dry ingredients into wet until just combined.    Add walnuts and chocolate chips.

Scoop into muffin cups.   Bake for 30 minutes until dark golden brown.   Cool.

Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of days or better yet, freeze them then warm them up in the microwave (yeah I have one now) for about 25 seconds.

So good!

Most of my everyday baking was done in a toaster oven.   I used my big oven for baking but it was hard in the summer because it had almost no insulation and the kitchen would heat up about 15 degrees.  Not good when its 90 degrees outside….

On top of all of this I decided to get a microwave.   I know, I know after all the radiation issues I wanted to have one for special occasions.   Like frozen dinners, reheating leftovers, etc.   I have it now and love it but do use it sparingly.

So I still live in an apartment and the kitchen is old (1929) and small.   But the ceilings are really high and the cupboards go all the way to the ceiling.  I do not understand when they don’t go all the way and there’s that space between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling where junk and dirt and dust seems to accumulate.

Anyhoo, so with the new microwave new appliances, owned by me, were in the cards.   But before the appliances could arrive the floor had to be replaced.   Well with a new floor, the walls had to be painted!   With the new fresh walls, the cabinets needed sanded and freshened.   With freshly painted cabinets, they needed new glass knobs.   The floor and the walls looked so good the baseboards were ripped out and replaced.   The window frame looked so bad it had to be sanded and repaired.  With new stove in place the wall needed to be tiled.  With everything looking so cool the lighting fixture need to be replaced.

The work took like 2 months and the kitchen was a mess.  Everything was a mess and I’m still finding little spots of dust.

The appliances are all in and working and wonderful.   Still waiting on a small base cabinet to put between the stove and fridge but it’s all pretty much done.  I love the new tile, and it goes all the way to the ceiling.   I love the the old ice box turned into a toaster oven/micrwave nook.   So nice.  That thing used to have a door on it and held cleaning products and junk.  Now it’s useable space!

The floor is pretty, the fridge has a water dispenser and the range is awesome!

Linoleum floor from Linoleum City
Cabinet Coat paint
standard 2 x 6 Daltile
GE side by side refrigerator
GE Cafe range
GE microwave
Breville toaster oven
Glass knob pulls from House of Antique Hardware

I learned to shoot video on the 5D Mk II.  It’s so cool and fun and challenging.  I really love taking photos but my new challenge is video.   I created a bunch of videos for the enhanced ebook version of my book, Sweet Things..mentioned here.

So Janet has the 7D and Haydee has the 60D.  Both great cameras and newer than mine.  Canon added a lot more features on both of those cameras.  Multiple frame rates, more focus points and a nice hand.   The 7D is becoming a driver in the SLR video world.  Not the the 5D MK II isnt but the 7D can shoot 24 and 60 fps so that’s really handy.

So needless to say I am a coveter and want to keep up on my equipment.  I’ve been reading various blogs about Canon rumors.  What’s going to be the next iteration of the 5D?  Will is be a 2D a 3D?  Turns out last month we found out it was the 5D MK III and it will combine some features of the 1D and the 7D.  I was thrilled.   As soon as I could order it I did.  Today it arrived.

It’s very similar to the MK II but different.  It sounds different, there’s new buttons, the on/off is in a different place.  I need to learn!  I’m excited to explore the manual and figure out the new features.   And shoot video.

One of the interesting new features is the ISO is really high.  The MK II went to 6400 but the 5D goes to ISO 25,600!!!  It can be “pushed” to over 100k – not sure what that means yet but supposedly you can shoot in the dark and get a photo.  Will test that.

Here’s my first few shots at ISO 10,000 and 25,600.