Sunday, September 5, 2010
DVD review of the week: May
Plotline: May (Angela Bettis) is an awkward, lonely young woman who had a troubled childhood due to her "lazy eye" which caused her to feel abnormal and out of place. As a little girl, May's mother takes her to an eye doctor, who suggests that May wear an eye patch to correct her vision. Unfortunately, this only encourages the other children to make fun of her, most notably on their first day of school, when one of her fellow students asks her if she is a pirate. She has very few social interactions with people throughout her life with her only "true friend" being a glass-encased doll named Suzy made by her mother and given to May for her birthday. After presenting her with the gift, her mother tells her, "If you can't find a friend, make one."
Scariness Factor: I’m gonna give it about a 3 ½ or 4. What makes May scary is the things that we do to each other as people and the things we are willing to do for companionship.
Gross-Out Factor: N/A
Complaints: N/A
High Points: What I really liked about this film is that it takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. At times May is sweet and enduring, it’s funny and stressful, but for the most part it’s frightening and heart wrenching. The soundtrack rocks!
Personal Commentary: May was a movie that was recommended by one of my followers and though I posted somewhere on my blog that I was done taking follower suggestions after being traumatized from watching “The Stoning of Soraya M.” I’m really glad that May was suggested. Actually I'm glad both movies were suggested. I never heard of this movie and if I had seen the cover in a video store I wouldn’t have rented it.
Stars: 5 stars out of 5. I watched it twice.
Where I rented it: Blockbuster Online
Saturday, September 4, 2010
My birthday spoils!
This year for my birthday I made out like a bandit! I had this huge brouhaha planned for the big Four-oh but a client needed more attention than I budgeted for so I had to canxl my plans and I was pretty bummed out about it.
BUT
My friend Kathi threw me a tiny surprise party, her thoughtfulness felt like I had walked into a gala with 100 people yelling surprise.
It was such a big deal, let me tell Kathi and I have had epic battles. We've drew lines in the sand, ripped up peace treaties, blocked incoming phone calls (back when we had home phones), vowed never to speak to each other ever again...not ever! And unfriended each other on myspace and facebook just to turn around to meet for lunch, tell each other secrets that we will take to our deaths, stay up all night watching movies or texting each other, lend each other money, buy each other gifts, bringing hot soup and meds when one of us got sick, taking a "quick" vacation just to start fighting all over again. Kathi and I fight like sisters and she is just as important to me as one. Are ever gonna fight again...probably. But that's what sisters do.
So yesterday when I get home from work I go straight to bed, and I wake up to see a spider crawling across my other pillow straight for my face. I propelled myself from bed and slammed the back of my head into the windowsill. I stood up dizzy and when touched the back of my head my hand felt wet. There was blood everywhere, it was so much blood my bedroom looked like a crime scene. I called 911, one of the paramedics told me I didn't need stitches and an ice pack would do and the other medic saw and killed the spider.
I woke up today and I feel like I've been in a car accident. My head, shoulders and neck are on fire and I'm in a pretty bad mood. I wasn't planning on leaving the house but I have a package at my post office box and if I didn't go get it today I wouldn't be able to have it til Tuesday. So off I went...and it was a package from Star! Another gift =D
Oh my gosh where do I began with Star? My mom calls her Sky =D Man the two of us have been thru the trenches together and there are stories that I can not post here otherwise she'd kill me =D
If there ever comes time when I find self in trouble, and I mean help me bury the body,post my bail, establish a fake alibi, and lie for me on the stand kinda trouble Star is the person I would call. This woman has seen me through and pulled me out of some really dark times in my life and I'm not sure what I would have done without her during that time in my life. When she was living in Seattle there were weekends when we stayed inside all weekend complained about our weight while eating tons of junk food and watching foreign horror films.
She is also one of the people I call in the middle of the night when I am trying to work thru a scene or need to read thru the last four chapts out loud to someone so that I can find my mistakes...and sometimes there are a lot...And she doesn't even complain that she is now living 4hrs ahead of me.
I am still in a lot of pain but I'm in a better mood it was like getting a long distance hug in the mail. I think it's save to say that these women are a really big part of my life and because things have been a little hetic so I just wanted to take some time and say thanks, because Kathi and Star really made my days =D
Not too bad right, but then my kid sis flies into town and just seeing her was like Xmas but then I'm completely bummed out because I can not hang out with her because of that God damned stupid fucking spider...but then she pulls out of her carry on bag and hands me this:
Ok,so not only does it rock it has personal meaning. When I was maybe 12? No older than 15 I told my family that I wanted a mirror on the lid of my casket so that I could look at myself for all eternity. This horrified my younger siblings as they had images of decaying flesh, but now it's just the family joke.
Look at all my notebooks and pens! I think this should get me tru And They All, Artificial Light and about a 3rd of the way thru last book in this trilogy.
So The Monster was completed at around 10:30pm last night and was submitted to Phill Hill Press keep your fingers crossed. I really like the editor I worked with for The Monster his name is Peter and we stayed on the phone for a few hours going over The Monster line by line, comma by comma, spelling error by spelling error. Even though it sounds bad it was really kinda fun. He is super easy to work with and takes the time to explain why he changes the things he changes or the reason he makes certian suggestions.
Amber's New Friend should be done, let me change that needs to be done by the 7th because The Darkness edits have been estimated to be done by the 8th.
I'm signing off for now, my shoulders are killing me.
BUT
My friend Kathi threw me a tiny surprise party, her thoughtfulness felt like I had walked into a gala with 100 people yelling surprise.
It was such a big deal, let me tell Kathi and I have had epic battles. We've drew lines in the sand, ripped up peace treaties, blocked incoming phone calls (back when we had home phones), vowed never to speak to each other ever again...not ever! And unfriended each other on myspace and facebook just to turn around to meet for lunch, tell each other secrets that we will take to our deaths, stay up all night watching movies or texting each other, lend each other money, buy each other gifts, bringing hot soup and meds when one of us got sick, taking a "quick" vacation just to start fighting all over again. Kathi and I fight like sisters and she is just as important to me as one. Are ever gonna fight again...probably. But that's what sisters do.
So yesterday when I get home from work I go straight to bed, and I wake up to see a spider crawling across my other pillow straight for my face. I propelled myself from bed and slammed the back of my head into the windowsill. I stood up dizzy and when touched the back of my head my hand felt wet. There was blood everywhere, it was so much blood my bedroom looked like a crime scene. I called 911, one of the paramedics told me I didn't need stitches and an ice pack would do and the other medic saw and killed the spider.
I woke up today and I feel like I've been in a car accident. My head, shoulders and neck are on fire and I'm in a pretty bad mood. I wasn't planning on leaving the house but I have a package at my post office box and if I didn't go get it today I wouldn't be able to have it til Tuesday. So off I went...and it was a package from Star! Another gift =D
Oh my gosh where do I began with Star? My mom calls her Sky =D Man the two of us have been thru the trenches together and there are stories that I can not post here otherwise she'd kill me =D If there ever comes time when I find self in trouble, and I mean help me bury the body,post my bail, establish a fake alibi, and lie for me on the stand kinda trouble Star is the person I would call. This woman has seen me through and pulled me out of some really dark times in my life and I'm not sure what I would have done without her during that time in my life. When she was living in Seattle there were weekends when we stayed inside all weekend complained about our weight while eating tons of junk food and watching foreign horror films.
She is also one of the people I call in the middle of the night when I am trying to work thru a scene or need to read thru the last four chapts out loud to someone so that I can find my mistakes...and sometimes there are a lot...And she doesn't even complain that she is now living 4hrs ahead of me.
I am still in a lot of pain but I'm in a better mood it was like getting a long distance hug in the mail. I think it's save to say that these women are a really big part of my life and because things have been a little hetic so I just wanted to take some time and say thanks, because Kathi and Star really made my days =D
Not too bad right, but then my kid sis flies into town and just seeing her was like Xmas but then I'm completely bummed out because I can not hang out with her because of that God damned stupid fucking spider...but then she pulls out of her carry on bag and hands me this:
Ok,so not only does it rock it has personal meaning. When I was maybe 12? No older than 15 I told my family that I wanted a mirror on the lid of my casket so that I could look at myself for all eternity. This horrified my younger siblings as they had images of decaying flesh, but now it's just the family joke.
Look at all my notebooks and pens! I think this should get me tru And They All, Artificial Light and about a 3rd of the way thru last book in this trilogy.
So The Monster was completed at around 10:30pm last night and was submitted to Phill Hill Press keep your fingers crossed. I really like the editor I worked with for The Monster his name is Peter and we stayed on the phone for a few hours going over The Monster line by line, comma by comma, spelling error by spelling error. Even though it sounds bad it was really kinda fun. He is super easy to work with and takes the time to explain why he changes the things he changes or the reason he makes certian suggestions.
Amber's New Friend should be done, let me change that needs to be done by the 7th because The Darkness edits have been estimated to be done by the 8th.
I'm signing off for now, my shoulders are killing me.
Friday, September 3, 2010
A different type of profile pic...part 2
Inspired by the work of Joshua Hoffine
www.joshuahoffine.wordpress.com
When Misha 1st saw the work of Joshua Hoffine, as I was explaining what I wanted in a photo shoot, the very 1st thing she said was “We need to bring Lauren in on this project.” By Lauren she meant Lauren Hoodenpyle a wicked FX artists with a feminine touch.
Ladies and Gentlemen please turn your attention to the drop dead gorgeous, insanely talented miss Lauren Hoodenpyle…
Before we get started can you please explain to everyone the difference between Fashion Makeup, Theatrical Makeup, and Special Effects (FX Makeup)?
Fashion make up is purely beauty make up which is more everyday or make up designed to match to outfits.
Theatrical make is character makeup which is design heavy for lighting that is centered above actors head so therefore its heavy in appearance.
Fx make up is dealing with prosthetics and applications to create the illusion of abrasions and creatures.
Where or what was your training to become and makeup artist and was/is there additional training to become a FX artist? I went to make-Up Designory (http://mud.edu/School-Site-2010/) for all aspects of make up as well as creature design which is sculpture and development of body suits and face pieces.
What films of images influenced your decision to get into a career in make-up/special effects? Return of the living dead, American werewolf in London, Dead Alive, Day of the Dead, The Thing, Hell Raiser, and Clash of the Titans.
What do you love most about being a FX artist? I enjoy making monsters come to life. I especially love gore and making it realistic.
What about the horror genre interests you? I have always leaned to towards the macabre.
My fascination with the supernatural started a very young age. Looking for ghost and monsters in the closet were a passion never a fear.
I just love the unexplainable way more fun then any standard day-to-day things.
How important is FX makeup when trying to convey a visual story?In order to make people feel they are really in a story you have to create the world the story is set in. If the make up is bad or kills the illusion it takes the viewer out of the story. They become aware they are in a movie hence the story is killed.
What do you think draws people to horror movies, images and novels? People love to be scared it is the strongest emotion next to sadness and love. In a world so dry and absent of feeling. I think people miss natural emotions and movies help us remember what we can no longer see in ourselves.
What is your favorite special effect, creature, or scene from a movie?I can not say one in particular. I am fond of the details in clash of the titans for that year. Especial since most of the film are macettes. But also the transforming werewolf in American werewolf in London amazing. Return of the Living Dead’s Tar man…amazing and complete with no C.G. I love that monsters were created from scratch with out help of computers. So to name one would be a lie I love them all!
Do you think there can be an instance where there is too much gore, and if yes, do you think writers and directors go overboard intentionally? I think some movies were created for gore hounds. So when you bring a storyline to say a slasher film you kill the point. Just like bringing to much gore to a psychological thriller kills its purpose. Gore is powerful enough to stand on itself to sell a movie. How many movies have you gone to see because someone was like “they chop off her legs and feed them to a cow” blab la J point made.
As a FX artist where do you draw the line in depicting gory/unsettling images? There is no line. I will go there.
Beyond your own work (of course), who is your all-time favorite FX artist and why? Honestly to many to mention and usually FX effects are not one person there are groups of people behind the making of one monster.
You’ve had the privilege of working on several movie sets, have you ever been star-struck while doing someone’s makeup? No. I am not a big fan of actors. Though I was star struck by meeting George Romero, in fact I told him I loved him. lol
Are you working on any current projects that you would like to tell us about? I am working on a zombie video for Miramax and I own my own custom purse line.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schd'l to talk with me. Can you tell us all where we can buy your handbags and see more of your work?
Sure,you can go to my myspace page myspace.com/rnrbanshee or add me on facebook to see xexene79@aol.com
www.joshuahoffine.wordpress.com
When Misha 1st saw the work of Joshua Hoffine, as I was explaining what I wanted in a photo shoot, the very 1st thing she said was “We need to bring Lauren in on this project.” By Lauren she meant Lauren Hoodenpyle a wicked FX artists with a feminine touch.
Ladies and Gentlemen please turn your attention to the drop dead gorgeous, insanely talented miss Lauren Hoodenpyle…
Before we get started can you please explain to everyone the difference between Fashion Makeup, Theatrical Makeup, and Special Effects (FX Makeup)?
Fashion make up is purely beauty make up which is more everyday or make up designed to match to outfits.
Theatrical make is character makeup which is design heavy for lighting that is centered above actors head so therefore its heavy in appearance.
Fx make up is dealing with prosthetics and applications to create the illusion of abrasions and creatures.
Where or what was your training to become and makeup artist and was/is there additional training to become a FX artist? I went to make-Up Designory (http://mud.edu/School-Site-2010/) for all aspects of make up as well as creature design which is sculpture and development of body suits and face pieces.
What films of images influenced your decision to get into a career in make-up/special effects? Return of the living dead, American werewolf in London, Dead Alive, Day of the Dead, The Thing, Hell Raiser, and Clash of the Titans.
What do you love most about being a FX artist? I enjoy making monsters come to life. I especially love gore and making it realistic.
What about the horror genre interests you? I have always leaned to towards the macabre. My fascination with the supernatural started a very young age. Looking for ghost and monsters in the closet were a passion never a fear.
I just love the unexplainable way more fun then any standard day-to-day things.
How important is FX makeup when trying to convey a visual story?In order to make people feel they are really in a story you have to create the world the story is set in. If the make up is bad or kills the illusion it takes the viewer out of the story. They become aware they are in a movie hence the story is killed.
What do you think draws people to horror movies, images and novels? People love to be scared it is the strongest emotion next to sadness and love. In a world so dry and absent of feeling. I think people miss natural emotions and movies help us remember what we can no longer see in ourselves.
What is your favorite special effect, creature, or scene from a movie?I can not say one in particular. I am fond of the details in clash of the titans for that year. Especial since most of the film are macettes. But also the transforming werewolf in American werewolf in London amazing. Return of the Living Dead’s Tar man…amazing and complete with no C.G. I love that monsters were created from scratch with out help of computers. So to name one would be a lie I love them all!
Do you think there can be an instance where there is too much gore, and if yes, do you think writers and directors go overboard intentionally? I think some movies were created for gore hounds. So when you bring a storyline to say a slasher film you kill the point. Just like bringing to much gore to a psychological thriller kills its purpose. Gore is powerful enough to stand on itself to sell a movie. How many movies have you gone to see because someone was like “they chop off her legs and feed them to a cow” blab la J point made.
As a FX artist where do you draw the line in depicting gory/unsettling images? There is no line. I will go there.
Beyond your own work (of course), who is your all-time favorite FX artist and why? Honestly to many to mention and usually FX effects are not one person there are groups of people behind the making of one monster.
You’ve had the privilege of working on several movie sets, have you ever been star-struck while doing someone’s makeup? No. I am not a big fan of actors. Though I was star struck by meeting George Romero, in fact I told him I loved him. lol
Are you working on any current projects that you would like to tell us about? I am working on a zombie video for Miramax and I own my own custom purse line.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schd'l to talk with me. Can you tell us all where we can buy your handbags and see more of your work?
Sure,you can go to my myspace page myspace.com/rnrbanshee or add me on facebook to see xexene79@aol.com
Monday, August 30, 2010
Racing to beat a deadline.
Ok, so besides a little tweeking The Monster is basically done.
The 1st edits for The Darkness are schl'd to be done by Sept 8th and once that's done things for The Darkness should start to pick up speed as it's all down hill after that. I so can't wait to get that 1st edit in my hands =D
Amber's New Friend needs to be done and sitting on the editors desk by Oct 15th! Fuck. I'm almost there but Amber is turning out to be longer than I intended but I'm pushing to have it done within the next 15 days and now that The Monster is done I shouldn't have a problem.
I just wanted to touch base with you guys real quick, you'll be hearing from me in the next couple of day.
Til then!
The 1st edits for The Darkness are schl'd to be done by Sept 8th and once that's done things for The Darkness should start to pick up speed as it's all down hill after that. I so can't wait to get that 1st edit in my hands =D
Amber's New Friend needs to be done and sitting on the editors desk by Oct 15th! Fuck. I'm almost there but Amber is turning out to be longer than I intended but I'm pushing to have it done within the next 15 days and now that The Monster is done I shouldn't have a problem.
I just wanted to touch base with you guys real quick, you'll be hearing from me in the next couple of day.
Til then!
Friday, August 27, 2010
DVD Pick of the Week: Alice Sweet Alice
Plotline: Alice Spages is a withdrawn 12-year-old girl who lives with her mother, Catherine, and her younger sister, Karen. Karen gets most of the attention from her mother, and Alice is often left out of the spotlight. But when Karen is found brutally murdered in a church before her first holy communion, all suspicions are turned towards Alice. But is a twelve-year-old girl really capable of such savagery? As more people begin to die at the hands of a merciless killer, Alice becomes more and more likely of a suspect.
Scariness Factor: The scariness factor in this movie is amazing. Director Alfred Sole uses lighting, music, the tension between the people in the movie, and suspense to crank up the fear. Another thing that is done really well is what your seeing is really not what’s going on.
Gross-Out Factor: N/A
Complaints: N/A
High Points: Alice is, no doubt a monster, her treatment of other people is alarming. Her tantrums and outburst will have you screaming quotes from Proverbs 23:13-14 and her mother’s denial will make you dizzy…and the thing is Alice knows this about her self. From early in the movie it seems like all Alice desperately wants is to take communion, as if this will be the very thing to save her. It’s extremely painful to watch her denied communion not once but twice. And on top of all we find out that this Alice is not the villain in this movie.
Personal Commentary: Alice Sweet Alice is the kind of horror films I grew up watching, which is why I have no patience sloppy storytelling, half ass directing and remakes of movies that should have never been made in the 1st place.
This is a slasher film but unlike most of the crap that is produced today that heavily relies on blood, gore, and nudity to hide the fact that you’re watching a movie that sucks because there's no plot or storyline…Alice Sweet Alice is a well thought out theatrical movie with excellent character development and compelling plot.
Bravo placed Alice Sweet Alice 89 on their 100 scariest movie moments for this scene…
However I vehemently disagree. The most frightening scene is the last scene, once we fully understand what has happened, once we see how close Alice was to her salvation, and then left to image what the rest of her life has in store for her.
Stars: 5 Stars
Where I rented it: Netflix
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
A different type of profile pic.
Inspired by the work of Joshua Hoffine www.joshuahoffine.wordpress.com
My photographer Misha Huntting, and her BFF Lauren Hoodenpyle who is an FX artist and I are gearing up for my photoshoot that will produce profile, website and book jacket pic that are having some people raise their eyebrows, while others are losing sleep over the fact that I refuse to conform to what mainstream society deems acceptable...And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Our guest today is none other than the amazingly beautiful & extremely talented Miss Misha Huntting. Let's get to know her and see what she's got to say...
When did your start career as a photographer?I started photography school when I was 18 and have been shooting ever since.
Do you believe in the expression “A picture is worth 1,000 words” and if so why? Sure, depends on the picture and I can’t think of a lot of photographers that have a thousand words for anything at all honestly. Visual expression is very different than verbal expression but a thousand words can be said about an image and it can be interpreted many ways. I feel this expression is best reserved for really good documentary photography and maybe not so much for duckface facebook downward angle bathroom shots….which I believe is 6 words…if you count duckface and facebook as one word.
Do you think that a person must possess talent to capture emotion and expression in a picture?I think a person can get lucky, I think a person with talent sometimes can’t express it because they haven’t paid attention to the technicalities of their craft. I think a person can become too self involved or too self conscious to pick up something that is happening around them. I think there are as many answers to this question as there are people. I’ve seen pictures that a 4 year old took that were insightful and observant and I’ve seen pictures that a trained person took that are total crap. Sometimes its luck sometimes it’s more. However I would urge anyone who is considering selling their work to learn their craft extremely well and put some real work and critique into it before you skip to that point.
What is your work schedule like when you're behind the lens? Well it’s a lot of hurry up and wait. First thing I need is coffee and since I’ve had Jimmy as my assistant I don’t do quite as much running around like a chicken with my head cut off first thing which is great, then I try to get my social face on even though I might be meeting a good handful of people I don’t know at all, shake hands and say hello explain what we’ll be doing with confidence in my voice. Then I fuss with the lights endlessly sometimes moving one no more than an inch 4 or 5 different times. After which I begin to shoot and crawl around from various vantage points. Then I get happy and excited if everyone feels it went well then I go home and immediately start editing the photos.
In your opinion, what makes photography an art? It’s still a creative tool. All mediums are creative tools in my eyes for the essence of creativity. However it is that a person wants to get across their creativity is an art in my opinion.
What is it about the horror genre that interests you?Well firstly it would be conditioning. I watched a lot of scary movies as a child and read a lot of scary books and enjoyed the thrill and the rush of being frightened, a lot in the same way as people enjoy roller coasters. My mother introduced me to some ghost stories and we went on cemetery outings and then I just went on from there on my own. Second, It’s the way I deal with my own fears. Some people don’t like to confront them I’ve always been as equally fascinated with things that scare me as frightened. Thirdly, a large portion of my interest in the horror genre is very simple. It’s a matter of taste. I enjoy the visual esthetics and the possibility for creative exploration in the grotesque. It’s reality, and it’s beautiful to me and no one could convince me otherwise.
OMFG, that’s exactly how I feel! From now on when people ask me that question I’ll be quoting you!
Do you remember the first photo you took that made you go WOW!?I remember the first subject matter I photographed that gave me that wild rush after most photo shoots these days. I was in a photography class and I was 14, so I got to really start thinking like a photographer for the first time. There was this multi million dollar home in my town that was having an open house. I walked in and thought I was in heaven. It was like the Beetlejuice house only better. There was a spiral staircase with a giant mural on the ceiling between the stairs of a bumblebee and a giant painting of a young dead looking girl holding a baby with a look on her face like she wanted to kill it. It was amazing. I was thinking to myself that these were going to be the best pictures of all time! Alas, some technical know how prevented them from being that but it was a lot of fun.
Can you tell us you’re funniest, scariest, most bizarre, or most touching story from one of your photo shoots?A lot of stuff leaps to mind, mostly abandoned building adventures. Those are my favorites, but I’m going to go with this one. I decided to take some band photos in a very sketchy motel on Aurora, frequented by hookers mostly (incase someone’s not from here). I thought it would be gritty, dirty and add something interesting. I tried to book a room over the phone many times but every time I called one they hung up on me. So we just started driving up and down Aurora asking for a room. The first 3 we went to said no because there was so many of us. I saw a few all brown lobbies with a really pungent smell of 70’s and cigarettes and in one of them, was a dead mini Christmas tree from 6 months earlier and really wanted to stay there but botched it by giving away that there were so many of us for one room.
We finally got to one that let us stay there with a man dressed straight out of the beat it video standing outside in a leather coat with an elastic waistband. The only way they would let us stay there is if we pretended it was just the singer and I. First of all we went into the wrong room to discover a man with boils all over his face, a hooker on the bed and 2 people shooting up in front of the t.v…..woops. So once we finally got our room we had to sneak everyone else in one at a time when the manager wasn’t looking, which unfortunately wasn’t very often. The room was alright I suppose, there was some 4x6 frames with tacky northwest art on the wall, a fold out couch and cable!! Which I don’t even have at home! But things were slightly off, like the various punched holes in the walls and that half the curtain rod was super glued to the wall and the other half was just dangling on the other end. It was definitely what I was looking for, we had a lot of laughs at the situations expense and when we finished shooting I wanted to get out of there asap. So we snuck everyone back into the van and the singer and I played it off like we were just having a quickie in there while the toothless manager in overalls proceeded to berate the singer for the duration of his suggested love making. With classic lines such as “Boy, if I had a girl like that I’d be in there allll night, I’d be foggin up the windows” Etc. It was bizarre circumstances for our working relationship but I still couldn’t stop laughing. That’s about it.
Holy crap that’s got to be the wickest story I have ever heard, no wonder you guys couldn’t stop laughing.
What has been the most surprising or most predictable reaction to your photographs?When I got out of school I went to a few interviews and after that when someone feels uncomfortable with what I do, they always use the word “Edgy” “your work is so edgy” Gets pretty old. Although there has been a few who don’t even attempt to hide their distain and simply say “that’s scary” well spotted dumb shit.
LOL, I know right, it’s kinda the whole point.
Are you working on any projects that you would like to share with us?Of course! I am working on a tarot deck currently that is going to be a gritty, underbelly of Americana. The themes are grotesque and ironic and a lot less metaphysical than most decks. I hope to be done with it by October, in time for Halloween.
Thank you so much for your time today =D
Thank you back =D
Advance purchases of a few of Misha's Tarot Cards such as the two below are available at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MishaBellone
To view other photo's in Misha's portfolio please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/mishafoto
Ordering infomation for the clutch bag, or one like it, in the last photo will be made availabe during the interview with Lauren Hoodenpyle. Thanks for checking in, check back for the DVD pick of the week.
My photographer Misha Huntting, and her BFF Lauren Hoodenpyle who is an FX artist and I are gearing up for my photoshoot that will produce profile, website and book jacket pic that are having some people raise their eyebrows, while others are losing sleep over the fact that I refuse to conform to what mainstream society deems acceptable...And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Our guest today is none other than the amazingly beautiful & extremely talented Miss Misha Huntting. Let's get to know her and see what she's got to say...
When did your start career as a photographer?I started photography school when I was 18 and have been shooting ever since.Do you believe in the expression “A picture is worth 1,000 words” and if so why? Sure, depends on the picture and I can’t think of a lot of photographers that have a thousand words for anything at all honestly. Visual expression is very different than verbal expression but a thousand words can be said about an image and it can be interpreted many ways. I feel this expression is best reserved for really good documentary photography and maybe not so much for duckface facebook downward angle bathroom shots….which I believe is 6 words…if you count duckface and facebook as one word.
Do you think that a person must possess talent to capture emotion and expression in a picture?I think a person can get lucky, I think a person with talent sometimes can’t express it because they haven’t paid attention to the technicalities of their craft. I think a person can become too self involved or too self conscious to pick up something that is happening around them. I think there are as many answers to this question as there are people. I’ve seen pictures that a 4 year old took that were insightful and observant and I’ve seen pictures that a trained person took that are total crap. Sometimes its luck sometimes it’s more. However I would urge anyone who is considering selling their work to learn their craft extremely well and put some real work and critique into it before you skip to that point.
What is your work schedule like when you're behind the lens? Well it’s a lot of hurry up and wait. First thing I need is coffee and since I’ve had Jimmy as my assistant I don’t do quite as much running around like a chicken with my head cut off first thing which is great, then I try to get my social face on even though I might be meeting a good handful of people I don’t know at all, shake hands and say hello explain what we’ll be doing with confidence in my voice. Then I fuss with the lights endlessly sometimes moving one no more than an inch 4 or 5 different times. After which I begin to shoot and crawl around from various vantage points. Then I get happy and excited if everyone feels it went well then I go home and immediately start editing the photos.
In your opinion, what makes photography an art? It’s still a creative tool. All mediums are creative tools in my eyes for the essence of creativity. However it is that a person wants to get across their creativity is an art in my opinion.
What is it about the horror genre that interests you?Well firstly it would be conditioning. I watched a lot of scary movies as a child and read a lot of scary books and enjoyed the thrill and the rush of being frightened, a lot in the same way as people enjoy roller coasters. My mother introduced me to some ghost stories and we went on cemetery outings and then I just went on from there on my own. Second, It’s the way I deal with my own fears. Some people don’t like to confront them I’ve always been as equally fascinated with things that scare me as frightened. Thirdly, a large portion of my interest in the horror genre is very simple. It’s a matter of taste. I enjoy the visual esthetics and the possibility for creative exploration in the grotesque. It’s reality, and it’s beautiful to me and no one could convince me otherwise.
OMFG, that’s exactly how I feel! From now on when people ask me that question I’ll be quoting you!
Do you remember the first photo you took that made you go WOW!?I remember the first subject matter I photographed that gave me that wild rush after most photo shoots these days. I was in a photography class and I was 14, so I got to really start thinking like a photographer for the first time. There was this multi million dollar home in my town that was having an open house. I walked in and thought I was in heaven. It was like the Beetlejuice house only better. There was a spiral staircase with a giant mural on the ceiling between the stairs of a bumblebee and a giant painting of a young dead looking girl holding a baby with a look on her face like she wanted to kill it. It was amazing. I was thinking to myself that these were going to be the best pictures of all time! Alas, some technical know how prevented them from being that but it was a lot of fun.
Can you tell us you’re funniest, scariest, most bizarre, or most touching story from one of your photo shoots?A lot of stuff leaps to mind, mostly abandoned building adventures. Those are my favorites, but I’m going to go with this one. I decided to take some band photos in a very sketchy motel on Aurora, frequented by hookers mostly (incase someone’s not from here). I thought it would be gritty, dirty and add something interesting. I tried to book a room over the phone many times but every time I called one they hung up on me. So we just started driving up and down Aurora asking for a room. The first 3 we went to said no because there was so many of us. I saw a few all brown lobbies with a really pungent smell of 70’s and cigarettes and in one of them, was a dead mini Christmas tree from 6 months earlier and really wanted to stay there but botched it by giving away that there were so many of us for one room.
We finally got to one that let us stay there with a man dressed straight out of the beat it video standing outside in a leather coat with an elastic waistband. The only way they would let us stay there is if we pretended it was just the singer and I. First of all we went into the wrong room to discover a man with boils all over his face, a hooker on the bed and 2 people shooting up in front of the t.v…..woops. So once we finally got our room we had to sneak everyone else in one at a time when the manager wasn’t looking, which unfortunately wasn’t very often. The room was alright I suppose, there was some 4x6 frames with tacky northwest art on the wall, a fold out couch and cable!! Which I don’t even have at home! But things were slightly off, like the various punched holes in the walls and that half the curtain rod was super glued to the wall and the other half was just dangling on the other end. It was definitely what I was looking for, we had a lot of laughs at the situations expense and when we finished shooting I wanted to get out of there asap. So we snuck everyone back into the van and the singer and I played it off like we were just having a quickie in there while the toothless manager in overalls proceeded to berate the singer for the duration of his suggested love making. With classic lines such as “Boy, if I had a girl like that I’d be in there allll night, I’d be foggin up the windows” Etc. It was bizarre circumstances for our working relationship but I still couldn’t stop laughing. That’s about it.
Holy crap that’s got to be the wickest story I have ever heard, no wonder you guys couldn’t stop laughing.
What has been the most surprising or most predictable reaction to your photographs?When I got out of school I went to a few interviews and after that when someone feels uncomfortable with what I do, they always use the word “Edgy” “your work is so edgy” Gets pretty old. Although there has been a few who don’t even attempt to hide their distain and simply say “that’s scary” well spotted dumb shit.
LOL, I know right, it’s kinda the whole point.
Are you working on any projects that you would like to share with us?Of course! I am working on a tarot deck currently that is going to be a gritty, underbelly of Americana. The themes are grotesque and ironic and a lot less metaphysical than most decks. I hope to be done with it by October, in time for Halloween.
Thank you so much for your time today =D
Thank you back =D
Advance purchases of a few of Misha's Tarot Cards such as the two below are available at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MishaBellone
To view other photo's in Misha's portfolio please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/mishafoto
Ordering infomation for the clutch bag, or one like it, in the last photo will be made availabe during the interview with Lauren Hoodenpyle. Thanks for checking in, check back for the DVD pick of the week.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Caucasian with some type of African American glazing.
So I was invited by a few friends to go hiking slash ghost hunting. Ok two problems with this. One I am not wandering around in the wilderness surrounded by dirt just to sleep on the ground covered in dirt with the icing on the cake being that we would be looking for ghost! Am I the only person in the world who watches horror movies? And two, I am not wandering around in the wildness surrounded by dirt just to sleep on the ground covered in dirt.
So I say, “I’m sorry but black people don’t do that.” And his reply was “Yeah but you’re not really black, you’re Caucasian with some type of African American glazing.” Yeah, yeah laugh it up. The only reason he is still breathing is because he’s one of those mixed kids his mom is black and dad white…and for some reason he says the most insane shit when it comes to race.
Oh my gosh you guys I got a surround sound system. I found it at a pawnshop when I was out on my monthly jewelry scavenger hunt and I paid less than $50.00 for it! It’s actually for a computer and when the manger was telling me the types of connectors and cables I needed to convert the SS from computer use to TV use he said “I guess if your just looking for something that will do for now this will be ok.”
So I get it home hook it up and its so loud it sounds like a fucking IMAX theater in my house! So I’m not really sure what he meant by it will do for now. I’m not kidding when I say it’s loud; you can feel the bass in your chest. I turned it all the way down to the line nest to the “off” line and its still loud enough to be heard from outside. Great that gives my neighbor yet something else to complain about =/ Movie Night will never be the same!
Check it out:
So here is the little sub woofer with the power button on top. It's cute isn't it =D
Here is the little speaker on the right. Look how little it is!
And look at the one hiding under the plant.
I can't remember what life was like before Surround Sound! Stay tuned for our DVD pick of the week!
So I say, “I’m sorry but black people don’t do that.” And his reply was “Yeah but you’re not really black, you’re Caucasian with some type of African American glazing.” Yeah, yeah laugh it up. The only reason he is still breathing is because he’s one of those mixed kids his mom is black and dad white…and for some reason he says the most insane shit when it comes to race.
Oh my gosh you guys I got a surround sound system. I found it at a pawnshop when I was out on my monthly jewelry scavenger hunt and I paid less than $50.00 for it! It’s actually for a computer and when the manger was telling me the types of connectors and cables I needed to convert the SS from computer use to TV use he said “I guess if your just looking for something that will do for now this will be ok.”
So I get it home hook it up and its so loud it sounds like a fucking IMAX theater in my house! So I’m not really sure what he meant by it will do for now. I’m not kidding when I say it’s loud; you can feel the bass in your chest. I turned it all the way down to the line nest to the “off” line and its still loud enough to be heard from outside. Great that gives my neighbor yet something else to complain about =/ Movie Night will never be the same!
Check it out:
So here is the little sub woofer with the power button on top. It's cute isn't it =D
Here is the little speaker on the right. Look how little it is! And look at the one hiding under the plant.
I can't remember what life was like before Surround Sound! Stay tuned for our DVD pick of the week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
