Collaboration with Studio 473

Six Words from Michael Wright on Vimeo.

···There is something odd about the hands in all of these images, seems like they don't belong to the portrayed. In a way seems like their hands are strangers imposing the written text message.···

for a better view go to vimeo.

Last "cinco de Mayo" people in the states were partying what they think is some kinda special day. (Its all make believe).

While in the bar Zilch Guanajuato Mexico, there was a fund raiser for eStudio473

http://studio473.wordpress.com/estudio-who/

I got invited by Katie Clancy to get my gear down to the bar with a last minute call to set up a photo booth.

Themed on Hemingway's six word story.

My instructions were to ask people to write down their life story in six words.

Even though most could not count to six nor build a sentence, I just went with the flow.

Interesting none the less were the

resources people used. Quotes, words with comas, scattered words, upside down words, english,

spanish, latin...

Giving people more freedom gave people more ability to share what was on their mind at the moment

and how they wanted to be portrayed.

So, to avoid being judgmental, I ignored all the text on the slips of paper. I knew the minute

I winked, gagged or laughed at what ever was written the portrait would be ruined, leaving me to

deal with the soft focus of the 50mm 1.4f in very low light. Gave the sense that its not all there, we must fill

in the blanks.

·Try harder to read the text or try harder to read the face. ·

With three external flashes. Cheap cellophane acted as gels, blue, read and green. Knowing that I would

convert to black and white I wanted more

information to play with when choosing the low key or high key of the skin of each individual.

Last time I sat up a photo booth I dealt with strangers on the street for last years Noche de la Fotografia for PHE,

and it was completely different than

dealing with people you see constantly down town, you nod your head they nod back... but this time I got a couple names down.

More info on their Adobe Youth Voices Project in Guanajuato.

Rebeca Bees`s Flikr. showing how their classes take place.

Music on the video is from our friends The Sharpies from San Miguel de Allende, you can se the original video of the song I get around on youtube.

Soon there will be more to come from the Sharpies.

Archeoportraits

Archeophotography is what your mind does each time you pickup a family picture book and people discus with their memory every little detail in each image.

I found a hard drive 6 years old. And it looks like an antic. I remember it had two other brothers, one died of over heating and the other with a virus that came from a program that promised to recover deleted images you promised to your girl friend that no one would see till she changed her mind and made you delete them...

That was way back when PC`s were the only way to go for me.

And this is where it became more interesting. With a hard drive loaded with immature photographs taken with a Canon XT. giving a strange low quality image that spits out all its flows on the up to date computer Im using now: I found that most of the pictures (if i wasn't jaded by a pretty face) were talking about most of the same things i talk about now. So ill be adding up sections to Lizards Night. Instead of separating chapters with little fairies and princesses in distress, there will be a succession of strange portraits that will bring complex questions to the table.

Portraits around me recently have been intended to glorify beauty by covering up black spots and pimples with shiny visual sparks, that in a way short circuit my attention. Iv found it pretentious and imitative. So fondling these "old" pictures with new technology gave me access to a process i missed very much, the combination of "chiaroscuro"and grainy texture of high ISO B&W film. With in the combination came the next discovery.

We all like to say we have taken photographs since we can remember, but its never the case.

I never invested in a good set of filter for B&W Photography, thinking that with a dense red filter was more than enough, had to do with high contrast clouds, very nineties video clip or U2album cover. (Not many clouds where I live and I think U2 is over rated)

So good thing I found the Blue filter for B&W digital conversion. Cant wait to get a real one...

Ashley Fell in one of my uncompleted short films that turned into a music video, Better day Dante Ochoa. You can see it at Tren Géminis Producción

Bety Aguilar Maza

Cesar Guevara from TGProducciónes

Luis Fernando Corona

Ginita Bonita

Mario Josué Aguilar Méndez

Ashley Fell

You can call this a study on new digital filters in B&W with older DSLR files, but for me its just progress in my work. (And getting ready for Friday, got a photo shoot with some talented models, so they can knock some sense back into me).

Making an ass out of your ass

Kent Evans; The Donkey whisperer...

Author of "Malas Ondas" google him and you wont find him. ebay him and you will find...

The government of Alberta has this to say about Donkeys;
... it must be acknowledged that the largest segment of the donkey industry may currently be the people who own them as pets. The pet category is dominated by the miniature but it would be incorrect to assume that the miniatures are not establishing their own reputation as equine performance animals.

What does this have to do with what Im about to show you?

Nothing...

Because we are in Guanajuato, and when you race donkeys ritualistically once a year for the anniversary of your local bar Its vacation time for all. The donkeys get pet and fed with nothing all that heavy on their backs. Big fat gringos maybe (recently mexican fed also, so probably lost a bunch of fast food wight), but better than the 350pound load of bricks they carrie 5 days a week.

When you google "El Fusilado" you will get a myspace...

and you can se pictures from previous races.

Noticing my lack of participation, lots of people come up close to me with intent to have a whispered conversation about the mistreatment to the little critters. They did not notice that I was actually glorifying the event taking pictures. So I kept my mouth shut and continued with what I do...

And the proud winner of the Fusilado Donkey race 2010 is this guy. With the prize, a bottle of their best Mezcal.

Dia de las flores/Day of the flowers. 2010

26·March·2010

The day of the flowers is this repetitive party that comes around once a year, "the"day the students get on spring break. Not the americanized twisted moral "Fuck" yeah we are on vacations type of spring break... but yet twisted in its own way.

Knowing it would be a long night, I waited to leave my house till midnight after a heavy steak dinner. Got all dazzled up in my 80`s studded jacket and with my camera prepped.... I knew the 8gb I had of memory in the camera would not be enough. "Real Men Shoot RAW"... I did pussy out... Ended up with 400Jpeg`s shot when the sun started smacking the ravers in the face.

Standing in this parking lot of a house that never comforted any one, staring at the sun coming up between the hills I was getting ready to witness the petrification of the trolls from "From here there and back again". (Bert and Tom and William The three trolls of; The Hobbit). Knowing this I had prepared 1.8f 28mm... and made best of the short time before they all melted away.