"Born To Kill" by Wes Aldridge
Its Friday night and things always have a tendency to get a little strange on those glorious occasions. This is my friend Matthew. He is a warrior. You ask why? I tell you.
He wears a 15-lbs. Kevlar military issue combat helmet. It reads "BORN TO KILL." This warrior began his travels in early January from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He bought a Grey Hound bus ticket for around $500 that allows him to roam their travel lines freely until it expires on Sunday. He has traveled to Chicago, New Orleans, Texas, Nashville... the list goes on.
I admire him. Pure grit and determination, searching for medical research study groups to take part in and make some quick loot. Not worrying about much, he becomes one with the road. His bedding down in Nashville was unannounced and very welcome. I can see the adventure in him. Here is his portrait.
A 100 ISO speed shot at 1/200th of a second with an aperture around f/8. I lit his face from the bottom with a 550EX flash with a red gel filter. The light on his helmet comes from a 420EX speedlite shot through a make-shift tube creating a spotlight effect.
"Old Stone Wall" by Wes Aldridge
I find this very interesting. I have lived in Nashville for about six years now, and this is the first time I have ever seen this before.
This old stone wall is the entrance way to Fort Negley, an old civil war fort that stands in ruins close to the Nashville Sounds baseball stadium near downtown. I have been to many "Thirsty Thursdays" at the Sounds games and I drive by this location on a regular basis because it is so close to my house. It really blew me away when I noticed it, just out of the clear blue.
Forget the technical side of this shot because nothing special is going on. The value that lies in this is it is a "find." I have passed by it so many times, tucked close to the woods and away from the road, and never even noticed it. Now, I have seen it (and I do believe it is prime location for future photo shoots). I think it pretty much told me to always keep my eyes open and look at things in a different and new way. Everything is an adventure to look through with the viewfinder of a camera, even something you have seen many, many times before.
"Mi Hermano" by Wes Aldridge
Today is my brother's 21st birthday. God, time goes fast. It seems like only yesterday my fraternity brothers and I were sneaking him into honky-tonk bars in Printer's Alley with him at the ripe ol' age of 17. Ahhhh, those were the days.
Now, I guess he is a man. So today I raise a toast to him. And bro, the next time I see you, I owe you a few rounds with that ruff old Turkey... enough to make HST proud. Congrats man, I thought it would never get here.
As for the photograph itself, I think it is cool. I love the distortion in the image. Here is what's going on with it. I centered his right eye as the focal point of the frame. Keeping his eye the center throughout the motion, I rotated the camera in a circular motion for 0.8 second while firing my 550EX flash 4 times in stroboscopic mode. You can see the appearance of 4 distinctive cigarettes where the flash fired each time. Turning in the circular motion made his face look distorted and bent and also gives the arching pattern to the lights in the shot.
"Victory" by Wes Aldridge
This is a pillar in a series of World War II statuary down in Bicentennial Mall. I think this particular pillar is very ironic. I know that victory was declared when the A-Bombs were dropped on Japan, but was that victory?
I don't want to dive deep into any social commentary tonight, but it just got me thinking. Does ending a war necessarily mean the same as victory? Maybe it is the humanitarian side of me, but I don't know if I agree with that. I guess it did make the United States a superpower for the following 50 years. Not sure if that was out of respect from other countries or their fear.
I am sure this will spark some kind of debate. Someone will either think I am anti-American or something. So, let's see where this one goes.
"Building Vents" by Wes Aldridge
This is a vent in the side of a building downtown. I thought it would be fun to shoot at f/1.8 and let the patterns blend into nothing.
It was pretty dark in that alleyway, and kind of nerve racking. People kept walking by me and asking me if I had any money or wanted a sandwich. It was strange. Were they friend or foe? Did they think I was homeless? Was it nothing but taunting towards me? Was I out of my mind? Who cares.
I bumped the ISO up to 800 and shot at 1/60th of a second. I didn't do anything special. I just leaned against the side of the building, dodged the NES truck flying down the narrow alleyway and took a shot. I kinda like the backlighting in it.
"Viva NashVegas" by Wes Aldridge
Not much to say here. I needed a shot, and I went to Broadway and yep, you guessed it... I saw Elvis.
In the opinion of someone, this shot seems to look like a painting. Almost like the way this subject was shot, it starts to look like a 2-D object. But Elvis was very 3-D in person, or statue. He stands on Legends Corner, honky-tonk central, in downtown Nashville to greet all the passers-by.
Big Boss Man, this one is for you. Viva NashVegas and Hot Sauce from the King.
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"Megan" by Wes Aldridge
Today my excitement consisted of shooting TSSAA softball for around four hours, starting around 10 a.m. This was an amazing task for me, considering the amount of fun I had last night and how late I was up. I am suffering for it now. Sick, coughing and half-zapped on pain relievers and cough medicine. Oh, and did I mention the body aches? Yep, those too! All for a day full of fun doing the thing I love to do the most... shoot.
Anyway, this is Megan, the daughter of one of my co-workers. I thought the shot with the flag in the background is pretty cool. Not exactly action sports photography, but editorial that is pretty interesting.
Time for bed.
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"The Red Barn" by Wes Aldridge
I shot this shot today on assignment for out Brentwood Chamber publication. I did it kind of as a joke. I'll explain.
Last year's edition of the Brentwood magazine was shot by my boss/chief photographer, Greg. The cover was this same barn. I guess it was kind of ironic that I ran across the same random barn that he shot last year. So, the joke was, I went back to the office and all full of pride I boasted, "Greg, I shot the cover of the Brentwood mag just now." He said, "Oh really? Then show me what you got."
I handed him the camera and sure enough it was the cover of the Brentwood magazine... from last year's edition. I don't think he thought it was anywhere near as hysterical as I thought it was. None the less, it is a pretty nice shot of a patriotic barn. Enjoy.
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"The Light" by Wes Aldridge
Today was my mother's birthday and a joint family meeting for dinner and fun was arranged in Manchester, Tenn. It is halfway between Nashville and Tunnel Hill, Ga., where my parents live. As usual, I was armed with my camera.
After dinner, our party was walking out the front door into the night. I saw this lamp on the side of the building. I loved its old cast iron design, but the shadows it cast on the brick wall really is what got my attention.
I couldn't pass up a few minutes of shooting it for different angles and this is my favorite one. Who knew an O'Charley's restaurant would make it onto the blog? Certainly not I, but I do love the unexpected.
Shot settings were ISO 200 handheld at 1/20th of a second at f/2.8 with compulsory strobes from my 550EX flash. I liked the way this shot came out because of using the flash on it. And, honestly, I can't even tell that a strobe was fired once, much less the multiple times I fired it off.
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"Slides" by Wes Aldridge
I am almost ashamed to share this with everyone. You are looking at the slides from the first roll of slide film that I have ever shot.
The slides in the frame are processed from Fuji Velvia 50. I must confess, I am in love all over again. No digital shot I have ever taken can compare with the vivid colors of these slides. The colors simply explode from them. I was looking at these shots on the light board and thought I needed to commemorate the moment.
I bumped my ISO up to 400 and shot at f/8.0 handheld at 1/40th of a second. I was directly over the slides and focused on a shot of a goose that I was looking at through the viewing loupe.
"Tiny Droplet" by Wes Aldridge
Here is another look into the fascinating world of macro photography. Even the most common item can take on a different dimension when it becomes larger than life in a macro photograph. Thank you Mr. Boshier for letting me use your extension tubes once again to achieve this interesting up-close-and-personal shot... and no, you shouldn't start charging me for the times I want to use the tubes!
Shooting with extension tubes is extremely difficult. Focusing with the front ring on the lens is more or less out of the question. I fix the ring in the position closest to the subject and move the camera back and forth by centimeters to focus on a subject. The extension tubes allowed me to get the front element of my lens about 1 inch away from this tiny 1-inch leaf on the potted miniature rose plant that I received for Valentine's Day. I used my E-TTL 550EX flash shot at 1/128th power as the light source pointed dead on to the subject with a diffuser screen, shot at f/3.2 at 1/200th of a second.
The water droplet itself was probably less then half an inch in actual size and the depth of field for the shot is crazily shallow. I used my 50mm f/1.8 lens, which has a normal minimal focusing distance of about 1-and-a-half feet without the extension tubes. If I had shot the lens wide open at max aperture, I don't think the water droplet would have even been decipherable, as you can see how difficult it is to make anything out in the shot at f/3.2 as it is.
With this shot as support, I think personal studies into macro photography must continue to be examined. There is a whole new world just waiting to be shot out there.
"Wascillay Wabbit" by Wes Aldridge
You don't expect to see a scene like this driving on Mallory Lane in Cool Springs behind the Galleria Mall. This carnage isn't typical of quaint urban settings. Of course I had to shoot it.
I drove by these three enormous (about thigh height) vultures standing on the side of the street at rush hour. I parked at an A&W Root Beer stand and mounted my f/2.8 70-200mm L lens to my Canon with my 1.4x teleconverter. The beasts were busy fighting over and shredding the carcass of a rabbit that had seen better days. I crept closer and closer to them and they seemed to hardly notice me.
I got within about 10 feet of them and shot away. The scene was that of carnal instinct and nature being intertwined with suburbia. They jumped in and out of the road, where the poor rabbit lay roadkill, until one of those black monsters had the great idea of dragging the carcass out of busy traffic and onto the curbside grass. It was very interesting to watch the three big birds screech and bite at each other. It was even more interesting to watch them violently shred the animal's flesh as they were feeding.
This is by no means a pretty picture. My motivation is not to offend, but to share what I considered an interesting moment of my day. It was nature in a harsh form on display for many robotic office workers to witness on their frenzied drives home after a strenuous day of pushing pencils and sending faxes from their cubicles. Can you imagine the executive from Company X driving by, talking on his cell and drinking his latte seeing a scene like this? Isn't it divine? Ha! I love it.
"Glass Under Blue Sky" by Wes Aldridge
I was driving down Commerce Street when I looked up and saw this great mirrored building. The glass had several different shades of blues that complemented the tones in the sky behind it. The angles of the building were great and I moved around until I found an angle that really confuses the eye. The geometry of the building enabled my mind to run crazy with the composition concept of leading lines and rule of thirds for this shot. I was pleased to snap a few frames and jump back in the Jeep happy.
I had been listening to A Perfect Circle's 2nd album "Thirteenth Step" before I got out to take a shot. When I cranked the engine again, the CD player spit out these lyrics: "Call it aftermath, she's turning blue. Such a lovely color for you," from the song Blue off the record.
I thought, "Well, if that isn't a sign that I should use this shot for the blog, I don't know what is." These lyrics fit pretty tightly with this shot. They meant a lot to me during some of the tougher times in the not-so-far-removed days of my past. And now, they have had a little resurgence with my art.
"Beautiful Day" by Wes Aldridge
Today was spectacular. The weather was nicer than it has been in quite some time. I got out of bed around 2 p.m.-ish and went to Dury's and bought two beautiful rolls of Fuji Velvia 50 slide film. I forgot how exciting it was to go to the camera store and buy pro film. I definitely need to put the digital camera down and shoot some good ol' slide film more often.
This shot, another of NashVegas, was taken from the pedestrian bridge on the side of the Cumberland River where the Coliseum (Nashville Titans football stadium) sits. I was walking around with two cameras slung around my shoulders with a tripod. It was a rather fun time. People would look at me and I could just see them saying in their minds, "This guy must mean business."
I got several really nice shots today, but I went with this one because the colors were so similar to the sunset I posted from my final day in Corydon, Indiana. I just drew a parallel to how two places can be so different, but something as simple as a sunset can tie them together.
The shot is of course digital (no time to process slide film today), shot at ISO 100 on a tripod at f/2.8 with a shutter speed of 1/1250th of a second to get that nice black silhouette.
"Corydon Sunset" by Wes Aldridge
Another sun has set on another day and another photo assignment is complete. Even if Corydon, Indiana doesn't have much more than corn fields, the susnets are pretty nice in the flat land. Here is one for you shot from Interstate 64 between Corydon and Louisville, Kentucky.
And here it is... your moment of zen.
"Comfort in Paranoia" by Wes Aldridge
Ok, so I don't know if I was playing the game in my head or if the man in the chair was playing it. I was doing a shoot at the new library located on the Indiana University Southeast campus. I walked by this guy sitting in the chair. He eyeballed me nervously as I walked by with my camera. I noticed he kept looking over his shoulder, seemingly paranoid, as if someone was watching him.
As fate would have it, I ventured up to the second floor and saw some railing around an opening in the floor that looked down onto the lower level. Yup, and you guessed it, Mister Nervous was sitting right below. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a shot of him. He needed it in his life, I know he did. So, I stealthily popped off this frame. He was a part of my game. I caught him. I caught him.
He looks pretty comfortable with his legs propped up on the table. Well, little did he know, my eyes were watching him now. He had been my subject and all his paranoid fears had just come true.
I guess the game was all in my head and maybe I am a little crazy for thinking like this.
"Dedication: The Show Must Go On" by Wes Aldridge
Today, the photo blog almost broke the 365-day consistency. I went through hell and high water to get this pretty little flower pic online. So the story goes...
I decided to take a different approach, in leiu of the currently falling snow, and try to find something worthy of shooting at the lovely Hampton Inn I am staying at. I shot everything from reflections in the indoor pool to a strange elevator sign to cigarettes in a giant stone ashtray. I thought the relection of the flowers were just pleasing to the eye and something a little more positive and uplifting to post for the day, so I went with that shot. Now, here is where the fun starts.
I am using a loaner iBook while my PowerBook is being repaired. It doesn't have an Airport card, hence I can't use the hotel's high-speed wireless connection. So, I got a network bridge from the front desk. Turns out the snow storm knocked their Wi-Fi down, so no dice. Then, I tried the good ol' trusty dial-up modem. I just kept getting booted off and never was able to establish a connection. After a few hours of trying to get wired into the Matrix, I thought no post tonight. That is mainly due to the fact that the thriving metropolis of Corydon is minute in population, i.e., no places were open to get Internet access this late at night in a small town. And I panicked. Yessir.
Then, survival mode kicked in. I thought, "I've gotten this far, no time to start giving up on this project." And so I grabbed the YellowPages and started thumbing through and brainstorming. I called all the area hotels and one finally agreed to let me use the computer in their business suite. Then, the guy asked if I was a guest... "No" I says. I thought, for the love of all things remotely holy, just let me get on the freaking Internet. I begged a little before the guy could really change his mind and he agreed to let me use it since it was so late in the evening... and he was probably worried I might hunt him down like a wild dog if he changed his mind on me. He could hear the desperation in my voice. So, I jumped in the Jeep and drove out through the billowing snow to the Holiday Inn Express. And there, my friends, is where I got wired and the show goes on.
"Thirsty" by Wes Aldridge
This photograph tells a sad tale of human nature. I walked by a planter in downtown Nashville late tonight, very upset that I couldn't find a reasonable photo to post on the bloc, and I saw this. A cheap, generic bottle of mouthwash from Dollar General Store. It was empty, as you can see, turned upside down with the lid beside it. Not a drop remained in the bottle.
I assumed (and we all know what happens when one assumes) that a transient had made this a part of his nurturing for the night. I had heard stories about alcoholics sometimes drinking Listerine to get their fix when no other drink was available, but I had never seen anything quite like this. It was rather haunting. All the things inferred and implied from it.
Maybe I am totally off the mark here, but I don't think so. I mean, why would a bottle of highly alcoholic mouthwash be lying empty in a planter in a tougher part of downtown? I don't have the answer. I just hope that whomever used it had a better night because of it.
The shot itself was more based on opportunity than technique. I had no way of getting around the fact... I lit it with a punch flash from the camera, straight on. You surely can tell. It just lied in near total darkness. I thought there was some merit of recording the image and sharing it though. It really made me stop and think. I was shocked by it.
"Hot, hot, hot" by Wes Aldridge
What can I say? The hot sign was on, so I stopped. It was a wonderful idea with a head full of night time sinus medicine and Turkey. It was a welcome thought with the dreadful loss of one of my heroes today. Damn, that doesn't leave many. There is still Q., thank God.
I asked the kid behind the counter if I could shoot the donuts on the conveyor belt. He obliged. I stepped behind the counter and he shouted, "you can't get behind the counter!" Too late my young friend. The shutter has already snapped and I am one day closer to completing this year long journey through the mind of the photographer.
The shot settings? Figure them out for yourself, if you care. I have a feeling you don't. Toodles.
"Too weird to live, and too rare to die" by Wes Aldridge
Today is a horrible day. My icon fatally shot himself. Hunter Stockton Thompson is gone. He was a journalist and I wish I could have had only one conversation with him.
His work is the reason I am where I am in my life at this moment. After I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I got really interested in the wild ride he made of journalism. I got the itch, thanks HST. Its strange how his semi-fictitious representation of himself in his character Raoul Duke could mean so much to my life. He was why I began writing ruff editorial columns for my university newspaper and then started digging deeper and writing news and features and then, picking up the love of my life... my camera.
If I had never read Fear and Loathing, I would be pursuing the disgusting Music Business World and not having the great traveling adventures I am afforded with my job at the magazine publisher. Can you see? The value of literature?
If it weren't for him, I never would have acquired my lustful tongue for Wild Turkey. Now, that above all, would be have been a tragedy. I went to the archives and dug this shot up from about 2 years ago. I shot it because of HST. Could it not be more perfectly fitting for the man? A ripped, twisted, distorted and wonderful bottle of Turkey... bone dry from an agonizingly wonderful night of insanity. He was the one that proved to me that you can push yourself to absolute physical and mental limits and produce amazing works of all kinds. I aspire to be half of what he was.
I wish everyone could have had the chance to know him the way I do. I never needed to meet him, I learned more from him at a distance than I ever could in my entire life. But, now I will never get a chance to sit with him and get him to sign all my first edition publications of his books that I have collected over the years. Honestly, I just wanted him to sit and talk to me with his beautifully articulate mind and knock a few drinks on the books as his "signature." We are friends. I don't think ill things of him being gone, I am just proud to have gained the things I have through the life he had. A part of me died with him today.
A very fitting quote I leave you with from the pages of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Raoul Duke: There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.
