Pictures for Class Today

Just a few shots I took before and during Photo Composition class. The wide-screen shots
weren't for class, the others were.

A Day at the Catacombs...

Unfortunately, I could not take any pictures inside the actual Catacombs (not allowed)...but here are a few shots of the area around the Catacombs and a few shots from near the Spanish Steps.

Mixing Things Up

Nothing huge to report...should be in the coming days though. We are booked for the following two weekends: Budapest then Amsterdam. Great things to look forward to, hopefully some good news coming out of my music video production class. But for now, just a dark, on-the-cuff mix for your consideration. Still needs some tweaking, but the beginning works beautifully if I do say so.

1. Radiohead - "4 Minute Warning"
2. Patti Smith - "Free Money"
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - "Breathless" [Live]
4. Elvis Costello - "I Want You"
5. The Beatles - "Long, Long, Long"
6. Wilco - "Handshake Drugs" [More Like The Moon EP version]
7. David Bowie - "Sons of the Silent Age"
8. Dean & Britta - "Crystal Blue"
9. The Velvet Underground - "Here She Comes Now"
10. Nirvana - "On A Plain" [MTV Unplugged]
11. Of Montreal - "Miss Blonde, Your Papa is Falling"
12. My Bloody Valentine - "Sometimes"
13. Beck - "Sunday Sun"
14. Luna - "23 Minutes In Brussels"
15. Neko Case - "Outro With Bees"
16. Neko Case - "Runnin' Out of Fools"
17. M. Ward - "Headed For A Fall"

Music: In Heavy Rotation

Blasphemous, yes, but completely necessary for me to enjoy The White Album all the more. After various experiments over the year, I have finally distilled The Beatles' messiest, most overblown album to its powerful core. This is The White Album as I prefer to see it - a concise set of foreboding tunes, introspective, threatening and lovely.

1. Glass Onion
2. Dear Prudence
3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
4. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
5. I'm So Tired
6. Blackbird
7. Savoy Truffle
8. Yer Blues
9. Julia
10. Sexy Sadie
11. Helter Skelter
12. Long, Long, Long
13. Cry Baby Cry

Give it a spin, see what ya think.

"...into the light of the dark, black night."

Vatican Pictures

The Vatican is out of this world...

Music: In Heavy Rotation

She & Him - Volume One: At this point, I have learned better than to doubt anything M. Ward decides to be a part of. The guy is brilliant, and you know what, Zooey Deschanel isn't exactly some actress out to make her karaoke album. A healthy dose of George Harrison, dash of the Ronettes, toss in some Loretta Lynne and tons of California sunshine pop...and well, that's She & Him. I haven't stopped spinning this one yet.

Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams: The last New Pornos album was slightly disappointing (they set the bar too high on Electric Version and Twin Cinema) but the one thing that really stuck out to me was how much Dan Bejar's songs carried the album. Not surprisingly, the new Destroyer album (I guess we can call them Bejar's full-time gig, but the guy ends up everywhere) is pretty great. Theatrical as all hell (it's kind of his thing) yet enticing. The man has got his wordplay down. It is a little early to decide if I like it as much (or more) than 2006's criminally overlooked Rubies...so we'll see. Don't want to spoil the forthcoming review anyway.

I am currently on a ________ kick...

Middle years Beatles...scratch that, anything Beatles. Coming off a serious Tom Waits binge...but give me a day or two and I'll be jones-in like no tomorrow for Blue Valentine.

I am beginning to miss movies sorely. Word on the street is that Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park is terrific. I saw a vendor selling a bootleg today...tempting, but I'm sure the quality is garbage and it may or may not be dubbed in Italian...a major detractor for someone who A) can't stand dubbing and B) can't speak Italian. So it goes.

Swiss Alps

Words can't describe what I saw, and frankly, my pictures don't remotely do the Swiss Alps justice. Couldn't bring myself to take my camera while skiing - some people did. All in all...well, just incredible.

Pictures From Piazza Saint Maria

This was my first day shooting for Photographic Composition class. We went on-site at the Piazza Saint Maria, so without any further ado, here are some of the photos I took.