Found Still Life

© David Torrence

Happy Holidays!

© David Torrence

Found Still Life

© David Torrence

Photo Blog News

File Magazine has a contest using film.

A Photo Editor has a interesting post about how to describe types of photography.

The Photo Attorney has a Mythbuster about License Fee Infringment.

Kodak Infrared Film to be discontinued.

Diana+ Plastic Camera

The plastic camera that's become a cult classic is back. With a 120mm film format, the Diana+ has a bulb exposure mode, shutter lock, and tripod thread. Unscrew the lens to convert it to a pinhole camera.
You can get your hands on one at B&H photo, or from lomography.com. The Lomographic Society provides a history of the Diana, along with the specifications.
Being a collector of vintage cameras (including the original Diana, and Diana clones including the Arrow, Windsor, and the Banier), this looks like an excellent addition to my collection.

Pulitzer Winner Arnold Hardy Dies

©Arnold Hardy

Photographer Arnold Hardy, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1946 as an amateur, has died. His photograph of a woman falling from a burning hotel was published worldwide and changed fire codes. Although he clearly had an excellent editorial eye, he was so traumatized by that single capture, he gave up his photography career and went on to make X-Ray equipment. You can read more about it here.

Found Still Life

© David Torrence

New Amsterdam Gin Ad 2

© David Torrence

Another tear for the New Amsterdam Gin campaign.
This one features musician Lew Winer III.
In addition to strong photographic features,
he’s got great blues and jazz chops.

Shorpy 100 Year Photo Blog

I really like the Shorpy site. It’s named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a boy who worked in the Alabama coal mines and who was the subject of a collection of photos taken in the early 1900’s by Lewis Wickes Hine for the National Child Labor Committee. This “100 Year Photo Blog” is addictive. You’ll find known and unknown photographers’ work that capture everything from historic events to people in their everyday surroundings. It’s a real slice of life look at our culture over the last century. It’s also nice that it provides photo credit when known.

One of my favorite photographers included in the site is Russell Lee.




© Russell Lee

Professional Myspace Photographer

thanksgiving

© David Torrence

Found Still Life

© David Torrence

Bakery Productions: Pop, Lock & Drop It

© David Torrence

A recent tear from my shoot for Scratch Magazine out of New York
of PoPo, K-Kash and D-Scorch’d. Featured in the magazine’s “Fresh” section, the St. Louis-based Bakery Productions is gaining a reputation by creating beats for Huey, Chingy, Chris Brown, and Erykah Badu.

Apple Advertising at its finest

I wish I'd been hired for this job. I know the perfect location.


© David Torrence

Kim Massie New Amsterdam Gin Ad

© David Torrence

It was a great pleasure to work with St. Louis's legendary blues singer Kim Massie on this project. It was interesting that she talked about growing up near the train tracks and about how she heard the constant rumble of the engines idling all through the night. She has a low, soulful voice, and when she belted songs during the shoot, the studio rumbled just like the trains.

Did You Know 2.0

I found this quite amazing. I stumbled across this at Michael Sugrue's blog.

Wild, Weird, & Wonderful

photo © F.W.Glasier

One of my favorite photography books is Wild Weird and Wonderful: The American Circus 1901-1927 by Mark Sloane. The photographs of the Big Top by F.W. Glasier are both gritty and beautiful. Whenever the circus came to town (Brockton, Mass.) during the early part of the 20th century, the relatively unknown commercial photographer Glasier was there to shoot for promotional purposes. You can get lost in the details of the nicely reproduced B/W full-page plates, including panoramic views and composed portraits. It’s fascinating to see clowns, freaks, elephants, period costumes, and animal wranglers in the hey-day of the traveling circus.
You can get the book at Luminious-Lint (along with lots of other photographic collections.

VH1 The Shot

Taking 5,000 cellphone photos evidently qualifies you as a possible fashion photographer according to VH1's "The Shot" reality show. I first heard about this show from Andrew Hetherington's blog post here.
Fashion photographer Russell James is the host. Even if I dread these type of shows, I'll stay tuned to see what unfolds. My money is on
Mr. Butterpants.

Found Still Life

photo © David Torrence

Happy Halloween

Photo © David Torrence

Boston Terrier Stock Photography

© Photo David Torrence

Seems like Bostons are in high demand for stock photography these days…and luckily, I’m the proud owner of three-year-old Milo. His photos have been licensed for loft development brochures and ads. The best thing about it is that his modeling fee is minimal — a glob of peanut butter followed by an ice cube.

Scavenger Hunt For Corn

© Photo David Torrence

I got a call from a longtime client saying that if I could locate fresh corn in green husks by the next morning, there was a healthy fee for one shot. “Good luck,” he said, “I’ve called everywhere.” The hunt was on. My stylist called local farmer’s markets, wholesale businesses and grocery stores. Nothing. Two different people told her there was no fresh corn in St. Louis after the end of August. (Remember: No white shoes and no green corn after Labor Day.)

I made a call to my in-laws in Kansas. My mother-in-law called Smith’s Market and then called me back within 10 minutes. “They’ve got a ton of it. And it’s green.”

My father-in-law (more adept at shipping stuff, I was told) was called in for back-up. They handpicked the pieces, boxed them up, and went to the little shipping depot on Main Street. (There’s no dedicated FedEx in Hutchinson.) They were closed for lunch from 1:00 to 2:30. With the nearest major airport an hour away in Wichita, and the clock ticking, they waited, guarding the corn. Although it was a $90 shipping fee to get it to St. Louis, it arrived the next morning green and healthy. It goes to show…when in a pinch, there’s no place like home.

Andy Warhol Art Collector Shoot

Photos © David Torrence

Recently I did an editorial shoot of art collector/dealer Robert Lococo. He lives in a beautifully styled mid-century home, and it was a fascinating experience to see artwork from Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, William S. Burroughs, James Brown, Donald Sulton, and even a coffee mug by Picasso displayed throughout the house. As opposed to seeing the works in a gallery setting, it was a whole different perspective seeing art incorporated as part of someone's daily life. You can check out all his offerings here.