Chase the Light

February 17, 2012

2012-02-17T18:03:00.000-08:00

Work continues, slow but steady, on the gathering, editing and eventual culling of thousands upon thousands of images destined or not for the new website galleries and print portfolio. Last week I was on a roll, making it nearly through two storage drives holding 2TB of images each... a couple of more folders to look through on the second one then I can move on to the third, fourth, fifth &

Do Not Disturb

2012-02-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Getting My Sh#t Together

2012-01-26T18:04:00.000-08:00

Fallen Leaf Held To Sky/©2012 Tony Novak-Clifford The past several days here on Maui have been spectacular weather-wise. Warm, nearly still winds, comfortable evenings at my lofty elevation. The still winds, however, mean that noxious gasses from the volcanic eruptions on the Big Island, more than 80 miles away, drift our way... haze our skies and after a few days of no wind, the gasses have

A Few Thoughts On SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

"Yes, I really am comparing the belief that SOPA threatens free speech with a belief in healthcare death panels; and I am more than willing to insult my friends to make the point. Both fears are irrational, both fears have been ginned up and funded by corporate interests, and both fears lead the electorate away from a sober effort to address a tangible problem. As a result, the general public

Maui Visitors Bureau Campaign

2012-01-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

Commissioned by Honolulu's LCA-Anthology Group & running nationally in various print publications. It's getting close to Pele Award time... entry deadline TODAY!

Moving Forward Into The New Year...

2012-01-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

Slow but steady progress is being made in revamping the web portfolio, reorganizing & adding to the print portfolio and getting the first email promo of the year put together & sent out, followed by a trip to H'lulu early next month to make the rounds, press the flesh & put in the requisite face time. By early next week, we should be subscribed to a new creative's list service which we

RIP Dieter 1998-2012

2012-01-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

Last week we said our sad goodbyes to an old & trusted friend. The amazingly consistent, efficient JOBO ATL-2 Automated Film Processor, affectionately given the moniker "Dieter" after the Michael Meyers German VJ character on SNL ("... now eet ees time on SPROCKETS ven vee dance..."), has served me well over the years... at least 15 of them. Purchased long ago after a disastrous incident

Out With The Old...

2011-12-30T19:10:00.000-08:00

2011 is now in it's final throes... the last assignment of the year just completed a couple of hours ago, the end of year bills and a few of next year's paid in full, bookkeeping up to date. Remaining on my list of to-do things for the first days of the coming year are to bring the web portfolio up to date, focus heavily on a marketing & promotion plan for the new year and get this studio

The Journey Never Ends, More Zen Architecture, A visit To The Sultan's Palace

2011-12-23T15:41:00.000-08:00

I've now returned home to Hawaii after a long series of flights that returned me to South Korea where a long, nine-hour airport layover ensued before eventually boarding bound for Honolulu. And though this leg of the trip has been completed, the journey, in so many ways, has just begun. The memories are fresh and the photo record of my days abroad have allowed me to relive the experiences,

Bali Journals: Part VIII - Jogya's Malioboro District, Denis Shops 'Till He Drops, 'Tut Vogues

2011-12-16T20:30:00.000-08:00

Yogyakarta's Malioboro Road District hosts the central markets & main shopping districts. You'll find it all here, from fantastic food, clothing, jewelry, indigenous batiks to antiques and just about any other form of gimcrack known to man. At one point, Denis & I noticed a guy with quite a selection of old, worn & dusty cassette tapes. We laughed, wondering what in the world anyone would play

Bali Journals: Part VII - Zen Architecture, Walking In The Shadow Of The Buddha

2011-12-16T14:28:00.001-08:00

Long before the break of dawn, Mr. T arrived to collect me. Also along for the ride for this journey was boy lothario & Mr. T’s incredibly skilled driver, ‘Tut and UK based cosmic comedian Denis. An hour’s drive thru dark village roads later, we arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport’s Commuter Terminal in Denpasar; all sleepily exiting the vehicle to clear security checks and eventually board

Bali Journals: Part VI - Noise Sucks, Grace & Beauty Under A Full Moon

2011-12-14T04:41:00.000-08:00

Priestly Attendants Prepare Final Offerings With Burning Joss Sticks To keep this thing somewhat in the vein of a photo blog, let me report now that the newly acquired Nikon D3X body as been given a workout, put thru it’s paces and has performed beyond any reasonable expectations in delivering superior image quality. The most obvious improvement unpgrade I’ve noticed from the well used

Bali Journals: Part V - When The Door Opens What Can You Do But Step Through?, Healers & Shamans, An Intimate Family Gathering...

2011-12-08T07:14:00.001-08:00

Awoke this morning with nothing planned. Adi was given the day off to tend to his family and I had thought I might spend the day relaxing for a change. At 8:30, Eri rang me... "What have you planned for today?" she asked. "No Program", I replied. "My niece is having her oton (Balinese birthday celebration) at our family temple this morning. My brother picks up the high priest to bring him

Bali Journals: Part IV

2011-12-07T07:50:00.001-08:00

In less than two weeks, my english speaking/writing skills have gone from barely intelligible to atrocious. Rereading that last blog entry, my only response in hindsight is WTF? Reluctant to rely on technological assets such as spell-checker must now be tossed aside. Use the damn thing... nothing to lose, no shame in admitting failure and putting to use the tools at your disposal, eh?

Bali Journals: Part III, Full Metal Blessings, Hare Today-Sate Tommorrow

2011-12-03T18:20:00.001-08:00

Ayu arrived yesterday at 10am, loaded me into her comfortable Toyota SUV and off we went for a two hour drive into the central highlands to Bedugul. It was the festival of Tumpek Landep... an important day in the Balinese ritual calendar. In days gone by, Tumpek was the day of giving thanks and for sharpening and caring for implements made of metal, especially weapons invested with magical

Sawah Walk

2011-12-02T16:04:00.001-08:00

Tegalmengkeb, Bali 12/1/2011 Photo: ©Tony Van Den Hout

Bali Journals: Part II, Fear & Loathing In Yakistan, Head For The Hills, The Cobra Ate My Homework...

2011-12-01T23:18:00.001-08:00

I suppose that I should warn you that my entries into the blog for the next few weeks will fall more into the category of a personal diary & travel journal than the usual photo-centric scribblings you may have become accustomed to. I am on the road... Southeast Asia, Indonesia to be specific.... the Island of Bali to be very specific. My intent will be to share the experiences....

The Bali Journals: Part 1

2011-11-28T16:52:00.001-08:00

And so the adventure begins... first, an excruciatingly long nine hour flight from Honolulu to Seoul, S. Korea on S. Korea’s national carrier... my first experience with this airline. The pluses: Economy Class seats offer a bit more leg room than other carriers I have previously flown, each seat having it’s own video monitor and a vast array of video programming, everything from

Friday, November 18, 2011

2011-11-18T12:26:00.001-08:00

The opportunity to make a dream come true has presented itself... the designing and building of new studio space... though there will be some small compromises in square footage, a draftsman has already been retained and initial plans are underway for a very adequate shooting & office/production space attached to my home. This move will save a couple of grand in overhead each month, an hour of

Indulging My Inner Geek

2011-11-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

Upgrading digital hardware can be a frustrating experience. Being a user of Nikon equipment makes things even more challenging. Don't get me wrong... I love the Nikon gear. Ergonomically speaking, these top-end pro camera bodies feel great in my hand, much more so than any of the competing manufacturer's brands. Granted, this is a purely subjective measure but an important one when you find

W.S. Merwin Redux

2011-11-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

An intimate portrait of U.S Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, captured one lazy afternoon a few months ago at his estate in the palms, has resurfaced recently in the online journal YES Magazine. Find the entire story online here.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

All Hallow's Eve and at every turn, ghouls, ghosts & goblins roam the streets of town, peering out from bank-teller windows, shop & restaurant doorways... There has been a chill in the evening air at the upper elevations and gentle rains have begun to fall, all appropriate weather indicators for the season's change. The specimen shown above will escape the carving knife's

New Tear Sheet

2011-10-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

Wailea Magazine-Fall/Winter 2011-2012/Issue1 Newly designed Wailea Magazine releases issue#1. Lovely new square format, gorgeous paper stock, beautiful design.

Random Fone Fun

2011-10-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Join Us Wednesday Evening: An Invitation

2011-10-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Rinko Maui a store featuring a “Medley of Eastern Culture” PLEASE JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE OPENING OF OUR NEW STORE 51 MARKET

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2011-09-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

With all apologies to illustrious spaghetti western director Sergio Leone for lifting the title of his classic 1966 film for today's entry, I present a quick rundown of all that's good and some that's not so good... The Good: The Maui County Fair kicks off this afternoon with a gala parade down Kaahumanu Avenue to the fair site at the War memorial Stadium Complex in Kahului. Afternoon rush

I've Got Your Back

2011-09-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

A Race To The Bottom?

2011-09-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

There have been a couple of phone calls recently that have 1) left me scratching my increasingly balding pate in wonder & 2) left me considering whether or not to begin arranging proper funeral services for the once great profession of photography. A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from a friend & art director at a major H'lulu ad agency. This AD called to ask me if I had ever heard or

September 15, 2011

2011-09-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

I think I've neglected this thing long enough. It wasn't because I didn't want to write, or didn't have the best intentions of writing, updating the blog. The fact of the matter is that I've been busy... busy and exhausted. Ten consecutive days of shooting resort projects on Kauai's North shore kept my days & early evenings fully occupied, leaving little energy or time for anything but a quick

Harvest Time

2011-08-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

I'm headed to the Island of Kauai for a ten day architectural assignment, leg two of the massive Wydham Resorts gig. I'll update as time permits... In the meantime, a few pics of just one of the things I've been doing this week. Another trip to the vineyards to capture images of this season's bounty.

Friday, August 19, 2011

2011-08-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Don Ho Street, Waikiki Beachwalk 4am. Restful sleep eludes me. At 3am the cat wants out. At 3:00:05am, the dog wants the cat and so on & so on... Assistant B & I have just returned from 3 days in the blighty H'lulu in the employ of Florida-based Wyndham Resorts where we captured architectural images of a newly acquired & refurbished property. Spent yesterday hunkered down in front of this

Back At It

2011-08-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Seriously absent from this space for the past few weeks. Summer has, so far, lived up to it's promise of returning work assignments, leaving little time for vanity endeavors such as maintaining this blog. I've been (in no particular order): Shooting print campaigns for The Maui Visitors Bureau... requiring far too much time securing film permits, scanning weather forecasts and coordinating

2011-07-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

South Shore Sunset Woke this morning to a cool, steady rain... While much of the mainland swelters in record shattering heat, the islands are enjoying an uncharacteristic weather pattern of strong, gusty trade winds, frequent trade showers, cloudy skies and pleasant temperatures along it's windward shores & slopes. This, of course, makes for pleasant living & working conditions... cutting

May You Find Your Way In Peace

2011-07-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

It is with a great & heavy sadness that I mourn the passing of friend & inspirator of many years. Charles Ka'upu, Jr. - Hawaiian Chanter, Kumu To All, World Traveler, Kolohe Kane died here on Maui early this morning, shortly after returning from Japan & Okinawa. He was 53. I am speechless... as, I'm sure, are all whom he touched along his way. His loss is sudden, unexpected. A great man in

Postcards From The Edge Of The World

2011-07-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

The call came in early tuesday morning. "Tomorrow is the day! Let's do it!" said the voice on the other end of the line. The voice belonged to none other than old friend, celebrated author & recently "retired" nationally syndicated columnist Tad Bartimus. I first met Tad roughly ten years ago when she first decided to settle here on the island. Tad & her husband had fallen love with the remote

Living Large

2011-06-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

Our digs last week during our outing to the Big Island. Private, beachfront residence adjacent to a massive resort... two stories, four bedrooms, lost count of bathrooms, chef's kitchen, library-entertainment room, living room large enough to entertain three or four hundred of your closest friends, private pool & spa, 8000+ sq.ft. Did I mention the butler? Spent two days working around

Where is the Edge? Brian Eno On the Creative Process Plus Some Other Stuff

2011-06-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan / Bali, Indonesia " The edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only ones who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." - Hunter S. Thompson Oblique Strategies consists of a deck of cards developed by composer/producer/philosopher Brian Eno & artist Peter Schmidt as a set of basic working principles meant to steer the creative process

In A White Room With No Curtains...

2011-06-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

...or retouching... (with all apologies to CREAM) Assistant Jeffery Oltman strikes a pose & gets the reading. Add further light tweaking, one talented rock band, a couple of day's retouching & a splash of lime... shake lightly. Stay tuned...

Furlough Friday

2011-06-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

iPhone 4 Capture For the first time ever in 20+ years, had to postpone today's shoot for health reasons. Fortunately, weather bringing strong gusty winds, intermittent showers and hazy, less than ideal skies provided cover for the image of invulnerability I try so hard to project... Ha! Only made it out of bed yesterday for multiple runs, always a few seconds too late, to the loo. Fever,

Coming Soon To An Inbox Near You...

2011-06-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

Summer 2011 Emailer Promo

Summer's Begun - Back To Work

2011-05-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

After enjoying a blissfully unproductive uneventful three day weekend, I'm back in the studio to finish up all those monthly loose-ends & paperwork so that we can soon be done with the month of May. Summer months around here are traditionally quite busy and I'm anxious to see what sort of activity this year's will bring after the virtual drought of the past two years in general. Given the flurry

A Little Inspiration To Get You Through The Long Weekend

2011-05-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

He's at the top of every photo-editor-worth-their-salt's want list. He delivers ONE... got that... ONE print for assignments. He is a contemporary master of portraiture, routinely photographing members of popular culture's A-list... "Who's that" you ask? He's Dan Winters. To see more, go HERE. And here's a little video of Dan talking about his work to inspire you through the long weekend:

Some Housecleaning, Some Resources & Some Changes

2011-05-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Given the recent demise of the WTJ? Blogroll - it was there, then the updates ended a couple of months ago, now it's gone altogether - it's been a bit of a struggle finding one source for current updates to my favorite photo-bloggers. Why, Andrew, have you forsaken me? Too busy with the Olsen Twins, I suppose... The daily blogroll updates at WTJ? were usually my first stop for morning

Is It Friday yet?

2011-05-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks the fun just hasn't stopped. Wrapped up yesterday with a late afternoon trip up into the vineyards of Ulupalakua, yielding a handful of good photos, including the one above. Otherwise, the past five days have brought a couple of other assignments but have otherwise been largely occupied with post work on images captured from the previous week's outing to the Big Island.

New Hawaiian Airlines TV Spot Reels

2011-05-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Very happy to have had a hand in both of these... Hats off to the creative team at LCA-Anthology & to the other photographers involved.

Tear-Sheets, Reels to Come & More Good Stuff...

2011-05-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

So much good stuff going on, I can hardly contain myself. Returned early Saturday afternoon from three days on Oahu shooting for Prince Resorts Hawaii. Big thanks to assistant Barry Frankel for keeping me organized, caffeine-fueled & entertained, not to mention the schlepping of 7 overfilled flight cases of gear, one bursting-at-the-seams camera bag & laptop case thru two airports, one rental

Will It Fit?

2011-04-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Busily making last round preparations for flights to & assignment on the Island of Oahu for the last half of this week. Flights are booked, land-chariots reserved, rooms for the stay overlooking Ala Moana Harbor confirmed, assistant booked. Now all that's left is the final packing & repacking of massive amounts of lighting & grip gear, cameras, external storage drives, laptops , food styling

Seize This Day

2011-04-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

The Missus celebrates her birthday today. Let there be cake! She deserves it after all. She's been quite busy keeping the home fires burning and acting as nursemaid to the recently eunuch-ized pup - sore, wobbly and insistent on trying to lick his fresh sutures. Meanwhile, I've been running between the fine, blue editing screen and various assignments... several trips to the Winery and several

Big Thumbs Up

2011-04-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

photo: Jeffery Michael/ Images By Jeffery It's early Saturday, the sun's just up and I've been since 5:30am. I should be sleeping but I'm equal parts exhausted-excited.... there's stuff to do - domestic duties to complete, images to make, editing awaiting my attention on the desktop. No rest for the wicked. The massive airline campaign project is now completed, delivered, invoiced... done '

Deer Hunter

2011-04-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

The Past Two Weeks In Pictures

2011-04-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that I've been conspicuously absent of late. Here's why... Photo: Barry Frankel

The World Has Changed Since Last We Met

2011-03-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Let's see... so much has transpired since last time we met here. There was a BIG earthquake, in some places a BIG tsunami - other, smaller tsunamis elsewhere, but tsunamis nonetheless. Somewhere to the northwest of me, a nuclear reactor has gone all meltdown on us and far, far to the northeast of me, the US has begun to embark on yet it's third war in a place where we have no business... that is

Third Trip Around The Sun

2011-03-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

Three years have now passed since we first published this thing on the weird wide web... CTL, now three years old. That should count as some sort of milestone, don't you think? Many of my favorite photography blogs of the last few years have vanished... well, not exactly vanished... the blogs are still online. The authors, however, have gone missing in action. Perfectly understandable. People are

Maggie Coulombe/ January 6, 2011

2011-03-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Fashion Designer To The Stars, Maggie Coulombe, January 6, 2011, Maui Hawaii for MODERN LUXURY HAWAII Magazine

W.S. Merwin/ January 27, 2011

2011-03-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

"Now all my teachers are dead except silence." -W.S. Merwin U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin /January 27, 2011 Maui, Hawaii for ON MAUI Magazine

February 24, 2011

2011-02-25T00:27:00.000-08:00

Phone Home Daily

2011-02-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

First Blossom, February 2011 Moonset & Palms, Wailea Beach, February 2011 So enamoured have I become of the image capture abilities of the iPhone4. With lots of free & downloadable apps available, simulating the looks of a variety of camera & film emulsions, very adequate resolution capabilities and the unobtrusive and spontaneous ease of use of the device, I've been happily snapping away,

Heart Soars Like Hawk

2011-02-18T12:29:00.000-08:00

"... my friend, when I see you my heart soars like a hawk..." This is the greeting you will most likely encounter when you meet Darrell. His eyes will twinkle, a wry smile will curl upon his lips and you will immediately fall under his spell and be transported into DarrellWorld. That's what happens whenever I see him. The man is a dynamo... full of creative energy just bursting from his

Stella Hates Black Backgrounds

2011-02-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

... watermarks and some other stuff. Stella? That would be Stella Kramer, a Pulitzer Prize winning PE for the New York Times, Newsweek & People among others. Over at the Photoshelter blog, Stella spends considerable time (just over an hour) explaining ways, in her opinion, to improve your, my, our online portfolios. Give it a look... the video webinar is embedded below. Lot's of stuff

Wah-Wah Cry Baby

2011-02-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's not what you think...

Website Updated...

2011-02-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

More to come... stay tuned...

More Meetings With Remarkable Men

2011-01-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those weeks when everything works... everything! Creative juices are flowing, work I am very excited about and very proud to have made has been produced. Things got off to a great start on monday with the privilege of working with Willie Kahaiali'i (better known around these parts as "Uncle Willie K."), master guitar virtuoso, walking music encyclopedia and an artist that has

On Location - Mission Accomplished

2011-01-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

Assistant Barry Stands In For Lighting Check A very successful shoot today, all very hush, hush.... Great location, marvelous light, cool talent all come together, resulting in images better than those conjured in my mind's eye... Now lots of stuff to finish up in post. Results will be published soon...

Overwhelmed With Nostalgia- The Loss of "Craft" & the Rise of Instant Gratification & Immediacy

2011-01-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

"I'm not a luddite. I have no problem with digital" - Photographer Richard Nicholson"A print took two hours.. so at the best, we could do 16 prints a day. And that was a long day, it was probably like 10-12 hours" - UK Master Printer Roy Snell Yesterday's Guardian UK online edition featured a story & video in their Art & Design section titled "The Dying Art of the Photographic Darkroom". The

Stuff On My Desk

2011-01-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me why...

An Eloquent & Timely Rant

2011-01-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

" With the advent of digital technology, and the past two decade long corporate push to crush photographer's copyright trade practices, the model is broken and will surely die soon, unless photographers unify & fight back. That's as likely as herding the proverbial cats... still it's a shocking thing to see photographers slitting their own throats. That's partly due to ignorance and fear - young

On Assignment

2011-01-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

The new year has so far begun with a bang, in a very literal sense and with no intent of pun towards recent events in Arizona... let's keep this local, shall we? First, there was the lovely evening weather of December 31, clear, warm & still after much rain early in the day & week, giving carte blanche to island residents to break out & ignite their assembled fireworks arsenals. Prior to that,

Location Scout Redux

2011-01-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

Platon Goes To Burma

2011-01-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

Video of portrait master Platon (so brilliant he only needs one name) describing his recent trip to photograph dissident Aung San Suu Kyi for Time. Thanks to photographer/photo blogger Andrew Hetherington at What's The Jackanory? for the find.

Location Scout

2011-01-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

Out With The Old, In With The New....

2011-01-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

"It's been a long December and there's reason to believe maybe this one will be better than the last...." Counting Crows/ Long December It's over... 2010. You were the year that never should have been. Filled with uncertainty, anxiety & austerity, you were a bitch 2010. I'm not going to miss you. Nope, not one little bit. Good riddance! That's not completely fair. The year was a rough one for

Seasons Greetings

2010-12-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

The CTL elves have been working overtime this week. A three + day architectural assignment at one of the west side resorts kept us going from dawn until well after dark for the past few days. Unfortunately, far too much of that time was spent waiting for weather to clear. Yes, it rains in Hawaii. Usually, it rains in Hawaii during winter. The past few years have, however, brought us mostly

Things I Love About Morning...

2010-12-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

The wet, liver-tongued puppy love that wakes me The scent of dew, wet grass, ginger & jasmine drifting through the windows The silent darkness The first whiffs of dark, fresh-brewed french roast The sound of birds waking in the trees The first cup of coffee The first rays of sunlight crawling over the dark ridge of Haleakala The glowing blue laptop screen that brings me new photography posted

Celebrations & Other Stuff...

2010-12-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

A Permangku Prepares Holy Water During A Temple Odalon (Birthday), Pura Taman Sari, Bali, Indonesia As we enter the final laps of Holiday preparations here in the USA and elsewhere, there is a great, joyous celebration of another sort entirely unfolding on the tiny Agama Hindu Island of Bali in the Indonesian Archipelago. Galungan is today (or was it yesterday with the time & dateline

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

2010-12-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is upon us & the elves are busying themselves with no time to spare. And, as is typical of this time of year, this elf is also busy... preparing estimate quotes, sending confirmation contracts, scouting locations for coming projects, shooting assignments already confirmed... It's been a mad rush here at the studio this week. Santa has already delivered a sleigh load full of

Holiday Print Sale

2010-12-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

Looking for that unique and special gift for the art lovers on your list? Decided to get Dad something besides a tie this year? Is there empty space on your wall just screaming to be filled? Here's your opportunity to put a smile on that someone special's face or fill that puka in your decor. Chase the Light is offering a limited number of signed, limited edition photographic prints now

Faces of Hawaii Vol. III Just Released

2010-12-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Faces Of Hawaii 2010 Portrait Submissions Artist, Ceramic Sculptor & Educator Stephen Freedman left the glitz & glamour of the international arts scene a few years back to transform a plot of lava & scrub in Kurtistown on the Big Island into an exotic botanical Garden of Eden complete with home, working studio, classroom and gallery in miniature known statewide as IdSpace. And, as if all this

On Artists, Eccentrics & Madmen

2010-12-01T14:20:00.000-08:00

"Bukowski is the laureate of the Los Angeles underground, an eccentric who sees the world with a clarity of vision possessed only by artists and madmen." - LA TimesWhile driving to yesterday afternoon's gig, I had the opportunity to catch a friend's radio program where, among other topics, the writer/poet/lowlife/eccentric Charles Bukowski was briefly discussed. Paul, the announcer, read the

Bistro Style

2010-11-26T18:48:00.000-08:00

Poultry Hangover - The Day After Remembering The Day Before

2010-11-26T15:55:00.001-08:00

Fresh Cut Flowers From Yard To Table Gravy Stock Simmers All Day Long Waiting Patiently Table Preparations Stovetop Stuffed The Moment Of Truth

Now Be Thankful

2010-11-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

"When the stone has grown too cold to kneel in crystal waters I'll be bound. Cold as stone, weary to the sounds upon the wheel. Now be thankful for good things below. Now be thankful to your maker..." Richard Thompson/Now Be

Real World Estimating... Wading Into the World of Fine-Art... Book Signing Schedule...

2010-11-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

Always an educational & informative read, today's entry at the blog A Photo Editor gives us another glimpse into the process of estimating and bidding an assignment. Jess Dudley, producer with the production company Wonderful Machine, takes us inside the process of estimating a still life product assignment for a national brand glass manufacturer who's products are sold through big box stores.

Something's Fishy...

2010-11-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

So quit you're carpin'...

Note To Self...

2010-11-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

As soon as possible, create account at WORDPRESS and migrate this blog. Formatting issues & glitches here at Google, causing weird paragraph spacing, strange, unalterable font & font-size transformations upon publication, etc. are apparently beyond the grasp of Google Blogger's programming wizards. Time consuming, yet fruitless... frustrating...

Never Piss Off The Nerds

2010-11-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Cooks Source Magazine editor Judith Griggs has found herself in the frying pan and the nerds are turning up the heat. The New England based food journal evidently published a story originally written & published elsewhere in 2005. A friend of the original author contacts her to ask how CSM had gotten hold of the story copy. Said author conducts a basic web search and indeed finds the

New Black & White

2010-10-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Click On Image For Larger View

Remember This When You Pull That Lever Next Tuesday

2010-10-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

Take A Moment, Write A Few Letters, Sign The Petition

2010-10-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits ActDear Copyright Advocate, This letter is about a bill that has been introduced in the Senate that will combat online infringement of copyrighted works. It’s called the “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act” or “COICA”. ASMP encourages you to sign a petition in favor of the bill. Though some photographers have already done this, our

Art Market Rules

2010-10-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, The Financial Times published a fascinating piece on Annie Leibovitz, her ongoing financial challenges and the international market for fine-art photography in general. As one who is just now wading into the shallow end of the fine art-photography market, I found the piece to be educational, informative and very enlightening. The gist of the article focused on the disparity

2010-10-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Keywording... time consuming, tediously mind-numbing and oh so essential. 150 images prepped, sized, keyworded and uploaded to new stock agency this week. Lifestyle, scenic, food & more. Finding things long forgotten. Cool... backgrounds, surfaces (see above) and more. Decent print sale made last week at the resort artists' program, ships early next week. Printing more. Must be matted.

Via

2010-10-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I wrote about my day spent bouncing off the reefs offshore in Waikiki. Now that the work is published, it is possible to reveal the mission and showcase the image selected by the assigning photo-editor. Via Magazine, published in Northern California, Utah & elsewhere, sent me to Oahu to capture the action at the world renown surf school run by former world touring

View From Home - Scenes From The Road To You

2010-10-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

The View From Home- Home Office

2010-10-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

It is here, at this table, where I spend early mornings and evenings - especially during these warm days & nights of autumn. When the sun is not too bright to work on the laptop, I spend my time here responding to emails, corresponding with clients & companions, surrounded by lemon & lime trees full of ripening fruit, canopied by a shapely Jatropha covered in tiny red blossoms and buzzing with

Englishmen In A Proper English Garden

2010-10-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

October Already?

2010-10-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Aloha Tower Waterfront, Downtown Honolulu Returning late friday evening from what felt like a successful three days of making the rounds to all the Oahu agencies & publications, showing the portfolio and putting in long overdue and essential face-time. Many thanks to all of those that entertained me in their well appointed, comfortable and well air-conditioned conference rooms. There were

September 24

2010-09-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Autumn is upon us. My favorite time of year in the tropical latitude of 21 degrees north... just before the winter wet season sets in (let's bloody well hope that it sets in this year). The area where my land-fort lies at roughly 1500 ft. above sea level is exposed to the prevailing north-easterly trade winds. This time of year, the otherwise steady winds tend to back off a bit... just enough

The First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All The Lawyers...

2010-09-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

Dick the Butcher uttered that memorable line from Shakespeare's Henry VI and he may just be on to something. Okay, I will grant you that a good lawyer comes in handy when you need one, but just how often do you need one really? And you can't have just one lawyer now can you? No... there must be at least two of them to communicate in that dry, humanless, dense & indecipherable language of legalese

Offerings Sent, Prayers Answered

2010-09-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

Odalon Ceremonies At Pura Tama Sari, High In Bali's Mountainous Interior The last two days have been spent creating and sending out the latest in the ongoing email promo campaign. So far, the new piece has been well received and has already (literally within minutes of sending it) generated an editorial assignment from Chicago-based photo editor Jeff Milles for Modern Luxury Hawaii in addition

Microstock's Sudden Brush With Karma, or Shouldn't You At least Buy Me Dinner Before I Bend Over?

2010-09-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

It was less than ten years ago when the model for distribution of photographic images known as Microstock first reared it's ugly head and changed, perhaps forever, the stock photography landscape. Professional, skilled photographers once distributed their work thru various stock agencies charging real-world licensing fees and curating enormous collections of captivating imagery from pros who

Odds 'n Ends

2010-09-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

Much of the first part of the week spent catching up with old DC mate and keyboardist Gregg Karukas & his better half, in town to gig with Smooth Jazz All-Stars guitarist Peter White & sax-man Michael Paulo. A near capacity crowd packed the McCoy Studio Theater last sunday evening and were treated to an evening of stellar musicianship. And while I generally prefer my jazz to be quite a bit more