The Winners of the 64th Festival de Cannes

The Jury headed by Robert De Niro

The controversy filled 2011 Cannes Film Festival ended yesterday with a Palme d'Or for Terrence Malick's  much talked about "The Tree of Life."  The eleven day (May 11 -22) festival of World Cinema also saw Jodie Foster's bizarre "The Beaver" starring Mel Gibson, Michel Hazanavicius' surprising black & white silent movie "The Artist," Lynne Ramsay's dark drama "We Need to Talk About Kevin," as well as "18 Days," 10 short films about the Egyptian revolution (that just happened 3 months ago), which resulted in the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.  But the biggest controversy involved a formal statement by the board of directors of the Festival declaring Lars von Tier persona non grata at Cannes, after the director openly declared (in a press conference) that he was a Nazi and was glad that he was not of Jewish heritage.

Here is a list of the 2011 Awardees:

Palme d'Or - "The Tree of Life" by Terence Malick

Grand Prix - "Once Upon A Time in Anatolia" by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, "The Kid with a Bike" by Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Best Director -  Nicolas Winding Refn for "Drive"

Jury Prize - "Poliss" by Maiwenn

Best Actor - Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"

Best Actress - Kirsten Dunst in "Melancholia"

Best Screenplay - Joseph Cedar for "Footnote"

Palme d'Or for Short Film - "Las Acacias by Pablo Giogelli

Jury Prize - "Badpakje 46" by Wannes Destroop

Camera d'Or - "Las Acacias"




--Picture courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.  Trailer from YouTube.com

Rock Photographer Jim Marshall

The master at work

Influences to our own photography comes from a wide variety of sources depending on our inclinations.  I count Jim Marshall as one of my main influences, not only because of my interest in 'Rock/Music Photography' as a specific specialization, but also because he was such a terrific master Portraitist.  Like the best portrait painters (and photographers), he captured the essence of his subjects superficially as well as subliminally.  His iconic portraits of 'Rock' legends graced album covers and the covers of music magazines, and are now highly prized as collectibles by music fans worldwide.

Inconspicuously present with his Leicas, shooting in 'available light,' he created a trademark look that are at once candid and vulnerable.  My favorite photos are the unguarded moments-- onstage, backstage and offstage, when Jim revealed the larger-than-life existence of these musical legends.  Intimacy was the key ingredient to his Art.

Jim with his Leicas

Jim Marshall was born in Chicago on February 3, 1936, but he grew up in San Francisco.  He had a Kodak Brownie camera when he was a kid, but only became serious with photography in Junior High.  He was working as an Insurance Claims Adjuster in 1960 when John Coltrane (Jazz icon) approached him in Berkeley by chance and asked him for some directions to a club.  Jim offered him a ride in exchange for a picture.

Chuck Berry rockin and rollin

Jim Marshall's photographs are some of the most wide known portraits of legendary Rock, Jazz and Blues superstars. Two of his most famous ones are the photos of Jimi Hendrix with his guitar aflame from the Monterey International Pop Festival in1967 and Janis Joplin lying on a couch backstage nursing a bottle of Southern Comfort Bourbon.

Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar on stage

2 Top Photojournalists Killed in Libya

Chris Hondros on Assignment

Tim Hetherington in the War Zone

Last Wednesday, two top photojournalists were killed in the rebel-held city of Misrata in western Libya.  Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi had intensified his weeklong assault on Libya's third largest city.  The photojournalists were traveling with some rebel fighters to cover an incident in Tripoli street, where some of the most intense fighting had occured in recent weeks.  During a skirmish, Hetherington was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, while Hondros died from severe brain trauma from a shrapnel.

I admire photojournalists not only for their courage and commitment, but also for their invaluable service to humanity and history in general.  These dedicated chroniclers of our collective experience, gives us windows into the human experience, both good and evil.  I tend to concentrate on the good side of life, but I never forget the darker side of humanity -- thanks to the courage and dedication of fellow photographers who cover conflicts, wars and devastation of every type.  The News photographer/photojournalist is a special breed, half artist/half warrior.  Chris Hondros and Tim Hetherington were the best of this breed.  They went in harms way to give us a glimpse of the horror around us, through their uncompromising artistic eye.

One of Hondros's award winning images

Singapore Vacation

My wife and I took our family to Singapore for a minivacation last week with my mom. The kids have been working hard in school and we all needed a break from our regular routine.  Singapore turned out to be the perfect destination for all of us -- it was just three hours away and it had a lot of new attractions we have not yet seen.

I have been to Singapore several times, but my last trip was more than 10 years ago.  The city has grown considerably and is now one of the top Asian tour destinations in Southeast Asia.   We just stayed for a week, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel/Casino and Mall complex

One of its newest attractions is the Marina Bay Sands complex.  A bustling city within a city, which boasts of a one of a kind hotel/casino building with a ship-sized structure on top (worlds largest cantilevered platform) that houses restaurants, infinity pools and a spa with a 360 degree view of the city.

The "lotus like" Art & Science Museum of Singapore

The complex also has a beautiful mall (the Shoppes Mall) that houses luxury shops like Cartier and Louis Vuitton as well as 7 celebrity Chefs restaurants and a skating rink.  It is also home to Singapore's new state of the art Art & Science Museum as well as two world-class performing arts theatres and a huge convention center.

Shooting butterflies (shot by Anne)

Less picturesque but just as spectacular (occupying 121 acres), is Resorts World Sentosa which hosts Universal Studios Singapore.  The resort is still in varying stages of construction, but it will eventually be the home of 6 world-class hotels, a water park, a marine park and a maritime museum.  This certainly is not the same Singapore I visited 10 years ago.

Aside from these two grand resort developments we spent a lot of time in Underwaterworld Singapore, the Singapore Zoo and the Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom.  Aside from the kids, I had a lot of fun photographing the different species of animals and insects for my own print series.  I came back with hundreds of photographs.  A lot of which, won't been seen publicly for years...

--Shot with a Canon 7D with various lenses.

More on Douglas Kirkland

Douglas Kirkland Shooting Marilyn Monroe

This entry is a follow up to my article last Feb.13 on Douglas Kirkland. Although I have written about Douglas even before then (Sept. 12, 2009), I find it hard to condense everything I would like to convey about this talented Artist in a few short commentaries.  So I am adding a short interview and a brief video that might give you a rounder portrait of Douglas as a photographer.

The American Society of Cinematographers interviewed Douglas Kirkland last October 25 after announcing their decision to award him the ASC Presidents Award this year.  In this interview he shares his earlier days -- his first picture, his first camera, his first photo job, appreticeship etc. A great read for any Kirkland fan.

ASC Interview: A Conversation With Douglas Kirkland

Here is a great clip on Douglas and his work. It was taken two years ago at the Calumet Photo (NY) Exhibit: Freeze Frame - 5 Decades of Photographs from the Entertainment Industry.

--Video from youtube.com courtesy of calumetphotonews.

Picasso And Matisse With Their Muse

The rivalry and friendship between Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse has facinated me for years.  These titans of 20th century art have influenced and inspired each other to push the bounderies of painting to its limits... and brought their art to its inevitable conclusion -- Abstraction.  "You've got to be able to picture side by side everything Matisse and I were doing at the time," Picasso said toward the end of his life. "No one has looked at Matisse's paintings more carefully than I; and no one has looked at mine more carefully than him."

Picasso's "Nude, Greenleaves and Bust"

These two artists have been in the headlines lately, side by side, as usual.

Picasso's painting, "Nude, Greenleaves and Bust," became the most expensive art work ever sold at auction last May, when it fetched $106.5 million at Christie's in New York.  It is currently on display at the new Pablo Picasso room on the third floor of the Tate Modern (gallery) in London.

It was announced about a month ago that Al Pacino has signed on to play the role of Henri Matisse, in the upcoming movie titled "Masterpiece" by Canadian director Deepa Mehta, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2006.  The bio-pic will be centered on Matisse's relationship with his nurse and muse, Monique Bourgeois.

In 1941, a 21 year-old nursing student named Monique Bourgeois responded to an ad placed by Henri Matisse for a “young and pretty night nurse.”  Matisse, then in his early 70's, was recovering from an intestinal cancer operation. He made a few drawing and paintings of her, and even taught her perspective after discovering that she was an amateur artist.  But war separated them for a few years.

They were reunited after the war.  But by that time, Monique already took her vows as a Dominican Nun.  Their friendship would culminate in what Matisse considers his greatest life achievement, the Chapel of the Rosary in Vense.

Matisse inside the Chapel of the Rosary

The Winners 83rd Academy Awards

It's Oscar Night once again and Hollywood is concentrated on the intersection of Highland Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.  I am excitedly awaiting the results of this years hotly contested awards ceremony since this year's nominees represent some of the best new filmmakers and actors of this new generation (almost half of the acting nominees are younger than 40 years old).

Price Waterhouse Coopers with the results

Anne Hathaway and James Franco Hosting the event

I made my own predictions for this years race on the blog entry below: Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (and Supporting Actor) and Best Actress (and Supporting Actress).

Here are the actual Winners:

Best Picture - "The King's Speech" (I was in different continent altogether:))
Best Director - Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech" (missed that by a mile)
Best Cinematographer - Wally Pfister for "Inception" (on the money)
Best Original Screenplay - David Seidler for "The King's Speech" (on the money)
Best Actor - Colin Firth for "The King's Speech" (on the money... slam dunk!)
Best Actress - Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" (on the money... yeah baby!)
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale for "The Fighter" (on the money)
Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo for "The Fighter"

Here are the winners from the other notable categories:

Lifetime Achievement Awards - Eli Wallach, Jean-Luc Goddard, Kevin Brownstow and Francis Ford Coppola (yeah Jean-Luc, Francis and Eli... I am a great fan)
Best Art Direction - "Alice in Wonderland"
Best Editing - "The Social Network"
Best Animated Feature - "Toy Story 3"
Best Adapted Screenplay - "The Social Network"
Best Foreign Language Film - "In A Better World"
Best Visual Effects - "Inception" (on the money)
Best Original Score - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for "The Social Network" (yeah Trent!)
Best Sound Mix - "Inception"
Best Sound Editing - "Inception"
Best Costume Design - Collen Atwood for "Alice in Wonderland"
Best Documentary - "Inside Job"

All in all, my picks were on the money... I missed out on three out of nine, 1/3 -- not bad. I guess I just have a totally different perspective on what a good movie is.  I definitely think that "Black Swan" and "127 Hours" are both better movies than "The King's Speech" from an artistic perspective and that Darren Aronofsky or Chris Nolan should have won for Directing because directing is also about "vision." Oh well, at least I got my radar straight when it comes to the technical aspects of Acting, Cinematography, Writing and Visual Effects!

It's party time, Hollywood.

--Pictures from Reuters and AP.

My Oscar Picks

Although I watch the Academy Awards almost every year, I am ecstatic about this year's race because the films competing against each other are extraordinarily good.  Almost all of the movies nominated for "Best Picture" are what most people would consider "Art House Films" -- my preferred genre.

This year's line-up also represents some of my favorite directors in contemporary cinema -- Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, the Coen Brothers, Danny Boyle, David O. Russell and Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu.  These talented filmmakers are some of the best and brightest of this new generation.

I thought it might be fun to predict the winners four days prior to the actual event to see whether or not I am even close to the Hollywood consensus.

Best Picture:  Black Swan

In my opinion, "Black Swan" and "127 Hours" should tie for Best Picture.  But there can only be one "Best."

I fell in love with both movies for opposite reasons.  I thought "Black Swan" was brilliant because it is complex and abstract in the best tradition of Antonioni.  "127 Hours" was fantastic because it is unbelievably simple and direct, yet flawlessly executed by Danny Boyle.

I picked "Black Swan" over "127 Hours" because I desperately believe that Darren Aronofsky needs to win for this film.  Not only did he masterfully direct his actors (specially Natalie Portman) in each of their challenging roles, he also managed to create a compeling film about Ballet... an achievement in itself!

But in the end, I have a very strong feeling that "Inception" will win.

Darren Aronofsky with Natalie Portman on the set

Best Director:  Darren Aronofsky

I think that Darren finally deserves to win the trophy for Directing.  Don't you?  We better hand him one quick... he just agreed to direct "Wolverine."  If he does not get an Oscar for this movie, he might just keep doing commercially viable films from now on.  Remember the brilliance of Francis Ford Coppola before "Peggy Sue Got Married?"  Enough said.

But I have a strong feeling that this Oscar will end up with Chris Nolan.

Douglas Kirkland Receives ASC Presidents Award

Douglas and I

Tonight, for the first time in the history of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), it is honoring a "Still Photographer" for his contribution to the art of cinema -- the great Douglas Kirkland.

I am thrilled about the award because I have been a Kirkland fan eversince I was a teenager (imagining all those photo sessions with beautiful actresses and models), also because I am both a photographer and a cinematographer at the same time.

Douglas is a photographer's photographer.  He has an impeccable eye, a great imagination, exquisite craftsmanship and unflappable professionalism. In a career spanning almost 60 years, he has worked on more than 160 movies and has photographed countless celebrities and world leaders. Douglas' portfolio is a virtual "who's who" of cinema, media and world affairs in the last half century. The question to ask is "not who he has photographed" but "who he hasn't."

If I was asked to name just one photographer that inspires me and influences my work directly, I would name Doug Kirkland. He is a portrait photographer first and formost, because he genuinely loves people and it shows through in his work. This (I believe) is one of the most important secrets to his success.  

Douglas and Francoise

The other important secret to success is his wife of 43 years, Francoise.  I have seldom seen a relationship and partnership as tight as their marriage. Francoise is always supporting and assisting him in all he does.  They really know the essence of "sharing a life together." I am lucky to be similarly blessed with my wife Anne, and I certainly would not be able to do what I am doing or eventually get where I want to go, without her help and support.

Congratulations to you both! You both deserve this prestigious honor and may you have many more successes to celebrate in the years to come.

--photos courtesy of Life Magazine.

Michael Grecco's "Naked Ambition"

My colleague and fellow Advertising Photographers of America (APA) member Micheal Grecco, is having a photo exhibit from January 15 to February 25 at the Edgar Varela Fine Arts gallery.  Images from his documentary and book "Naked Ambition - An R rated look at an X rated industry" will be on display.

Reception: January 15th, Saturday 6-10pm
Address:  Edgar Varela Fine Arts (EVFA)
727 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 90014

Here is a clip from the documentary:


--Photo and video clip from "Naked Ambition" by Michael Grecco.

Drawing for Drawing's Sake

I have always been facinated with the 'interior lives' of Artists and the processes by which it contributes to their 'Art.'  Danny Gregory's book, "An Illustrated Life," gives us a unique glimpse into Creativity and the creative process through the personal sketchbooks and illustrated journals of Visual Artists, Illustrators and Designers.

This book is 'eye-candy' for the visual connoisseur. It includes more than three dozen hardcore sketchbook fanatics, including comicbook illustrator Robert Crumb.

According to Gregory, "the approach is a varied as the lives the pages record. Some journal keepers are methodical... Others are wildly improvisational... " "A sketchbook is a great, nonthreatening place to begin to draw.  It is also an ideal place to develop ideas, experiment and break away from restrictions imposed by our increasingly digital workspace."

Before I studied how to make Films, I first learned Photography... My love of photography was initially sparked by my childhood doodling and facination with creating images.  I believe that all visual artists can benefit from sketching and keeping visual journals, because it cultivates our 'ways of seeing.'  These personal diaries can become mirrors into our deepest creative wells... a treasure chest for our own brand of art. 

Bryce Wymer, Illustrator/Designer Broadcast/Motion Design - "Of all my many works, my visual journals have the strongest purpose and are the truest form of Art. They are the few places where my thoughts are expressed solely for my own expectations, a vehicle for self-exploration..."

Butch Belair, Freelance Photographer/3D Illustrator - "Representing the quality of the light in a scene is something I struggle with... I find myself drawing, just to be drawing, in and of itself. I have no expectations of it other than as a way to unwind and possibly learn."

Photography 250 Miles High

The Space Station hovering 200-250 miles above the Earth

The International Space Station has been in the news lately because of the spectacular photographs taken by its resident Astronauts.  The high resolution photographs by the first three resident space station crews, totaling 13,442 images of the Earth, were amazingly sharp and accurate to spatial resolutions up to less than six meters!

The Astronauts used a variety of digital still cameras, 35mm and 70mm cameras with high-magnification lenses.  They compensated for the relative motion of the Earth, while shooting through a specially designed window in the station's Destiniy Laboratory.

Aside from being valuable records of the state of the Earth (at a certain time), scientist can now map changes occuring in very small features of the Earth's surface.  The International Space Station continues the pioneering effort that began 150 years ago with French Photographer Felix Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon) in an Air Balloon.

Astronaut photography has always facinated me.  Aside from its technical challenges, it is a 'rarified field of work' reserved for a handful of individuals -- and consequently beyond my reach.  But its impact is priceless and invaluable to each one of us.  It is an uncommon ground where Science and Art truly meet.

I am sure you will agree that the results are truly spectacular!

A volcano erupting

A hurricane in action

See more International Space Station photographs at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/

-- All photographs property of NASA.

The Pleasure of Collecting Old Cameras

I have a growing classic camera collection. Every since I turned professional in 2006 and was required to go digital (Advertising and Editorial Clients require digital files nowadays), I became nostalgic about film photography and all the equipment that came with it. So I started buying a few of the older cameras I have always wanted.  Before I realized what was happening, I had more than 50 cameras in my possession.

In the not so distant past, when film was still in general use, cameras were built to last. I can personally testify to the durability and mechanical reliability of these cameras, since I still use a number of them, mostly Canons, including the first 35mm my father gave me in 1978.

Century Graphic Press Camera with Heiland Flash

New digital cameras are built to have short product lives.  Technological breakthroughs now happen within months, not years.  Camera manufacturers have to keep pace with the competition and the latest upgrades in hardware and software generated by the computer industry.  As a result, manufacturers have made it a point to build less sturdy cameras, employing plastics instead of metal alloys (Pro cameras are the exception) to ensure constant replacements and upgrades.  How else can they generate sales for the their latest models.  Most Digital cameras are "throw-away" gadgets, products that are cheaper to replace than to repair, making these modern cameras unattractive to collectors in general who value, quality, durability and exclusivity.

Film cameras on the other hand, with the exception of the "instamatic" point and shoot variety that became popular from the 70's onwards (including the late Advantrix), were built solidly and were manufactured to last. Indeed, you can find a good number of cameras from the 1970s and 1980s still accurately firing despite years of heavy use-- and this goes for both the consumer oriented models, as well as the top of the line Professional models. As you go backwards in time, you will find lesser pristine examples but they do exist, but of course at a steeper price tag. This scarcity, brought about by time and the fact that there were fewer cameras manufactured in the past, makes these particular models highly collectible and attractive to collectors.

Argus C-44 with Cintagon lenses, L44 meter and viewfinder

Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal Activity 2 should be rightfully called, "Below Normal Activity." Because nothing happens in this film (even in the meager instances that they do).

When I came up with my own Movie Rating System, I actually never imagined using my lowest rating of "Sleep Aid" for any film-- Simply because I am a filmmaker myself and I respect the effort and determination it takes to get any Movie (no matter how lame) done.  But this se/prequel (or whatever it is) takes the prize! I actually had to struggle to remain awake.  If the film did not employ sudden loud sounds and bangs (cheap effects mostly used in bad horror/suspense movies), I would have surely slept my way through to the credits.

What amazes me about this film is its current Box Office success, which somehow redeems the Producers because they are the only ones benefiting from this film.  They were absolutely right on the money!  When a Movie becomes a hit, a sequel is a guaranteed cash cow (no matter how bad that Sequel turns out to be). The scariest aspect to this Movie might actually be its ability to earn despite being horribly bad-- a phenomenon that will certainly keep me awake at night.

It's ironic that I actually gave the original movie my highest rating "Absolutely Brilliant" (when I reviewed it last year), because it was able to deliver a high caliber horror film on a $15,000 budget.  This Sequel does exactly the opposite by using an infinitely larger $3 million budget to deliver an inferior Movie-- with exactly the same production value (shot on video) but with lesser grit and originality.  Where did all that money go?  There were no A list actors or special effects!!????  If they had Oren Peli at least direct maybe the film could have turned out better (what's the story on his Producer credit... was he booted out of this sequel? Akiva Goldsman was involved in making this film???? Seriously?).  Technique and execution will always be superior to mere Budget alone.