The run is over

Well,  Dearly Departed is over.  What a great couple of months it has been!  I really think it is one of the funniest shows ever written, but in the hands of these seasoned pros... even funnier.  I did some photo setups on the final weekend and had some fun with them. Also, we took the show to La Veta, Colorado this last weekend for two performances.  Steve Sealy  couldn't go, so we recast his three parts with three local thespians.  They did a super job.  Here are the pictures...

Evil Stuff

I was on Facebook last night and saw that my friend Tanya had joined this club:

DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN.

DON'T CLICK ON IT!!
Knowing that she's a big Obama fan, I wrote her and asked why she would join such an evil group.
She DIDN'T!! She merely clicked on it and it added it to her recent posts.
I clicked on it to see what it was all about and it planted it on my page as well. That's just plain evil... and I think what's going on now in America is scary.
We need to start a movement that preaches understanding and caring and loving... not hating.  What is wrong with these people?? It's distressing.

giving a new blog program a trial run

So... I've got Anne Van Etten... successful voice coach in here today. They're putting her face on back in the studio and I'm messing around up here in the office. I'm sure those of you who are waiting for your digital files would rather I was immersed in Photoshop, but I have to come up for air occasionally.
Let's try publishing a photo or two. Right below.... Anne Van Etten.

How about another one.

and this attorney shot...

what are you selling?

It occurred to me that many of you don't understand the importance of a good image of yourself in your marketing material.  What are we selling after all?  It is true that we are selling "you"... but even more so, we are selling an "emotion".  Who cares what you look like?  That is what it is, and beyond plastic surgery there's not much we can do about that.
What makes a person sexy isn't how pretty their features are or how "jaw droppingly" beautiful they are when they walk into a room, but... and listen to this carefully... it's the "fire" in their eyes... the confidence with which they carry themselves.  THAT'S what makes people sexy.
We are drawn to successful people.  Whether you are successful or not,  looking successful is the key.
In your marketing material you MUST look successful.
Wardrobe certainly plays a part in this, although many headshots are cropped closer and you can't even see that.
Facial expression is the key.  The message you send with your eyes is the key. We don't want the viewer to just like the photo of you... we need the viewer to "feel" the "emotion"... to get the message behind the expression... to want to do business with you.
read this:
http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/top-5-marketing-and-pr-blunders-no.-4/

Patty's party

 Fun, fun, fun!  Great to see so many old acquaintances and clients.
Anyway... I got there as soon as I could after our matinee of "Dearly Departed"... really wanted to run these songs with Scott and Misha and Jake. It was pretty close to party time, so we did what we could.
The party went great.  All the different acts were so much fun to see... so many talented people!
Misha and I sang and played "When you come back down" by Nickel Creek
http://nickelcreek.com/
Jake did a super job on the guitar and Scott McClean did awesome on the piano. Oh, the harmonies sounded beautiful too!
 Really didn't want to play solo mandolin for my big finale number, but literally 10 minutes before I went on stage, Scott had to leave... yikes!  I think it went well.... you'll have to ask others.
I drank too much and stayed out too late... felt like shit on Monday!
here's the fb page
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/photo.php?pid=1010289&id=1532768654&fbid=1406317087939

thoughts for another Saturday morning

Christie has a new job at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She loves it, but it means that she leaves me around 9 on Saturday mornings.  I wish she were here with me.  Saturday mornings are such a great time to get things done around here and it's so much more fun when we do it together. Artie and Bitsy are so cute chasing each other and Artie is especially affectionate in the morning.
I'll leave for the studio in about an hour... have one shoot at 1pm... a short one and then a rehearsal with Misha and Jake for our performance at Patty's birthday party tomorrow night... then back home to feed the cats... then to the theater for tonight's performance. 
Not a very interesting blog entry today, but I promised myself that I would keep up with this. Kinda like keeping a diary, but one that everybody can read.

Dearly Departed!!

Fun night tonight. This show just gets further and further out of whack... people taking more and more liberties.  John Ashton is doing great taking over the role of Ray Bud (my older brother).  Steve Sealy continues to have fun with his roles, cracking all of us up and getting great laughs.  What's also cool.... figuring out how to get bigger laughs... trying different stuff.  Then when you hit it... greatest feeling in the world. 

Webcast #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Vkzqdq3NQ

New Pics!!

Been a great last couple of days shooting. Some different stuff.
First shot... a vocal group called "Firesign".  We shot this morning.  I was going for the Manhattan Transfer feel.
Shot #2 a business shot, done on location at Rivet Software http://www.rivetsoftware.com/
Mike Rohan, chairman and co-founder.
Next shot.. Matt Baca, actor and comedian
And last... Shelly Gaza... actor.... thought she's have to go to either coast to get a good headshot....WRONG....!
Do you get the feeling that I like people leaning to their right..I don't mean politically!

Teaching

Jumped back into the teaching gig. Yep... I'm teaching a course for http://www.auditionbetter.com/
It's a class about how to "receive" a good picture of yourself... how to project to the camera... body language... best angles, etc.  It was great!  We'll get into posing and movement in front of the camera (which is what I have my most experience in) You should check them out.  Owner, Elizabeth Karsell
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440145/ 
is a seasoned actress with tons of credentials... you can see for yourself.
They're in a cool building down at Mississippi and Wadsworth that offers lots of photographic possibilities. Seems like a good deal for the student.  It's $125 for the month, but you get a couple of shoots with.... me... wait, that's TOO good of a deal.

Lots of good photography over the last couple of days... will post some stuff tomorrow.

posing techniques

What if I were to teach posing and lighting techniques to aspiring photographers?....that thought came to me tonight.  I was reading about photographers paying for photography workshops only to be disappointed with the results.  Read this http://www.leeannmariephotography.com/for-photographers/scarlett-lillian-workshop/.  Seems like there are tons of these workshops that are advertised in photo magazines, taught by seemingly successful photographers when they really are just successful marketers of workshops.

I was thinking... I've always had a gift for lighting and choosing the right time to press the shutter. I've got a lot that I can share with people who want to learn. I could advertise and teach photography seminars.  I certainly know a lot about it...... Waddya think.

I'm gonna have to meditate on this one.

Thoughts for a Saturday morning

ah... glorious Colorado.  The Sun is shining and you can feel Spring in the air.  We had a great crowd at the show last night... full house.  They laughed a lot... we laughed a lot.  This is such a fun show to do.

We were talking about going out for a drink after the show.  Steve and Pam said Racines and then in the parking lot, Tupper said "Mozart Lounge" 14th and Krameria".  So I show up there... see Pam and Tupper at a table with David Marlowe and my old friend Bob Leggitt.  I go to the bar... something doesn't look quite right... oh.....it's all men... holding hands.  I'm in a gay bar!  That's ok... I've got lots of gay friends, but it surprised me a bit... especially when I'm standing at the bar and these two cowboys next to me are staring at me and smiling.

So all of a sudden the piano player (who's totally holding court in the front of the club) says over the  mic.  "Did I see Eric Weber walk in?"  It was Danny Dobbins, a local legend in the musical theater scene.  I waved and he called me over to the piano.  I got a big hug and an announcement to the whole lounge that I was an actor and the best photographer in Denver.  That was nice.  Anyway...

Steve called and he and John Ashton and Pam Vanderpool had gone down to Racines.  So I finished my martini and hopped in the car to go there.

Saw lots of people I knew (man, I haven't lived the theater life in lots of years!). Got home at 1am.

A little groggy today, but that was sure fun.

Shag man

Ron Vigil!  What a great look he has.  This is today's shoot. He's got sit-com written all over him.  Here's three of them.....

today!!

Great weather... great group of people that I had the privilege to work with.

Bronco Great Karl Mecklenburg for accent windows.

Gabriel Donaldson... Radical Artists Agency.  Fun, fun shoot.  Great guy.  Easy natural smile.

Beautiful Jamie Sogard is studying acting at the Denver Center.  Again, so easy to work with and so great in front of my camera.  notice that these are natural light photos that are supplemented with strobes on the hair and the background... I think it's very important to supplement the natural light..