The Fourth week

View from 45 Floor, Aon building


Aon Building from below


On the way to Peoria


On the way back from Peoria

I picked Paul and Jason up at the airport last Sunday. It has been a go-go week. There was a shoot at Aon building on Monday and Tuesday. Then a day of prepartiong and getting stuff done on Wednesday. Then we drove 3 hours back to Peoria on Thursday, shot 6 people in 4 hours, and drove another 3 hours back to Chicago. On Friday, Paul went off with a part-time assistant, Adam, to Arizona, to shoot a job. Initially I was meant to go as well but the budget got slashed. It was still all hands on deck in the studio as there are a couple of major commercial shoots coming up. There 2 jobs are going to be shot on sound stages and one of them even has special sets being made.

I have this weekend off, but this Saturday was spent buying food, electronics and doing washing. The nicest thing was that I walked up and down this really hip street called Milwaukee Street and had a double expresso at a place called filter.

Tomorrow I get to play tourist by visiting the home of architect Frank Llyod Wright.

Bucktown, Chicago

Bucktown Barbers
I got a Chicago haircut at Bucktown Barbers. Bucktown is an interesting area of fun and trendy shops. Bucktown Barbers is quite an institution but my 'barber' was from the Check Republic.


Nicole, daughter of the owner of Bucktown Barbers


Penny's Noodle Shop
I had lunch at Penny's Noodle shop. An Asian fusion joint. Not bad, but more like Nooch than Joo Chiat Place. :)


Penny's Noodle Shop


The train tracks under Damen Street Station.

As with all journeys of this nature, the stated purpose turns out to be only a small proportion of what I experience and learn. And I love it. I had a Saturday morning off before collecting Paul from the airport. I went and had a haircut in Bucktown and eat noodles in a trendy noodle bar. There was more than one shop that I would have loved to stop in and browse but I did not have much time.

I have been listening to all types of different music, some on the computer's in the studio, some of the music lent to me by my Landlord. From the small sampling of people that I have met in Chicago, Music and food seem to be key. My landlord, John, says that it is just probably the people I meet. I have also been checking out songs on soundbuzz and Youtube.

Maybe that is why this trip is so important, not so much to learn the technicalities of photography, but to get new inspirations and influences. Being around Paul is inspiring, even if he has been doing mainly commercial work. He has a generous heart and he enjoys life. He buys toys but I think it keeps his soul fresh. I noticed that of creative people in general, always looking at beautiful things and buying nice new toys. Although it is not a good idea to throw away all your money and be in debt, you cannot be so tight that you become stingy in your art as well. It seems like Paul buys new paper backdrops for each job that he does. We in Singapore save the background paper for as many jobs as we can, wondering if the dirt and marks are acceptable. I think that if we are shooting at the highest level, then the cost of background paper factors into the job and we should not have to worry about any of that shit. It just saps important energy.

I am beginning to come around to the idea that just being stingy is not a good way to grow. We have to spend what it takes to make the job comfortable. We, as creatives, need to be able to concentrate on the task of being the best we can be. And if clients want the best, there is a price to be paid. Cheap and good is good enough hawker centers, not 5 star deluxe restaurants.

Still a romantic at heart

There have been things that have made me more cynical about love. Still I cannot help being a romantic at heart. So choke, puke if you like. I happen to like this Jay Chou mtv, Cute Woman. The woman is really cute too. :)

Don't be a Dodo

This post is for one of my ex-assistants, Qin Pei, who is studying film directing in Beijing. I am hoping that she becomes a really big director one day and gives me loads of stills photography work. The problem is she keeps studying and thinking about things so that she is not doing any real work. I found these pictures on a wall in Bucktown Chicago. Qin Pei, and any other procrastinators out there, this one's for you.

On any journey, you hit a few duds

So far I have been having a blast in Chicago. I did get a couple of duds. I bought the Little Willies album because it featured Norah Jones. Sigh... It is heavy counrty music. Sounds not bad but really not what I am into.

Tonight, the day before Paul comes back to Chicago, I decided to get me some culture. So I went to see a dance show that is the Critic's choice in the Chicago Reader (like New York's village voice). I have not seen such a self-indulgent piece of boring dance in a long, long time. However, I tell myself that when you are out exploring on the fringes of the known, you are bound to hit a few duds with the gems. In fact the chances are that you will hit a few duds. Still, it was the longest 90 minutes I have had here in Chicago.

On the good side, I got to see a part of Chicago I have not yet. Oh yeah, it is St. Patrick's day, an Irish day of celebration. Lots of Irish music on the radio. :) New cultural experiences to be sure.

In praise of the organic

What is a perfectly clean sheet of paper? What is a perfect life without any challenges? What is the perfect woman's physique? Boring, that's what it is.

I think that sometimes we get so obsessed with perfection that we overdo it. Sometimes we try so hard to frame an image perfectly that it looks contrived, unspontaneous and lifeless. And although I complain about it, I must admit that when I am tired, or think too much about a shot, I do it too. Sometimes people get obsessed with their physical looks and enhance their looks, they turn out looking like they came out of a plastic mold.

I remember Natasha Kinski, the daughter of Klaus Kinski, who has a little cut on her upper lip. Otherwise she is absolutely beautiful. But you know what, that little imperfection makes her even more beautiful to me, there is an opposition there, a comparison of ideas that highlights what's right. Forget Pamela Anderson, her boobies will probably still around by the time the rest of her natural body has decomposed for years. Pamela may be someone's ideal of perfect, but being only human, I can't deal with that.

I hear that Muslim carpet makers always leave an imperfection in their carpets, because only Allah is perfect. I want to be as good as I can, in a natural way, not more perfect. In my images, I like natural texture. Humans are 'perfect' as they are. They are perfect in god's eyes. Perfection in human eyes can be warped and is probably just plain wrong.

Digital capture can be too perfect. Glossy paper can be too perfect. I add back 'imperfect' texture to my photographs, bring out the freckles and print to textured art paper.

As an addendum, do you notice how many photographers love taking pictures of things in decay like rusted abandoned cars and discoloured walls? Why do you think that is so? Why is it not so that all photographers are only obsessed with the newest, glossiest cars out of the factory? Food for thought.

Black and White Portrait

Meet Shin Lim, the Malaysian intern working in Paul's studio as well.

I was not really thinking of doing any personal work while in Chicago, but I like this portrait of Shin that goes together in a pair. Vintage Heng I suppose. A paired image of something sharp in the foreground and the opposite happening in the other image. Hope I am not being too predictable.

However, this was actually an exercise to try out Greg Gorman's rocking black and white conversion. To be technically correct, duotone conversion. Here, we manage to get a mid tone punch, where the skin tone is, without having an image that is too contrasty overall.

Up until now, black and white conversions tended to be either flat or too contrasty overall. It is nice to have skin tone contrast while letting the rest of the image do what it wants. It just looks more organic and is pretty good for portraits!

Just in case you are wondering, I did add grain to make it even more organic. :)

A Generous Heart

Back of Paul's studio

What amazes me is that a lot of the people I respect have generous hearts. Some of them may be particular, some of them are extremely busy, but when I have engaged people honestly and without ill-intent, I have been rewarded generously. I found Geoff Ang very willing to share on his fashion photography course. I have found Paul very generous with his knowledge with me. I have also met some very good dancers when I was studying dance at the London Contemporary Dance school who were generous of heart.

What I and other people do not like are users who think that they can get a quick buck out of us. To think that the amount of knowledge and experience an artist holds can be encompassed in something as trivial as a lighting technique or a certain film type is not only useless, it is crass to seek such tips. Succesful photographers spend a lot of time studying their craft and searching their souls. Some photographers like Paul, or photojournalist like Sebastio Salgado, have deceptively simple technique. Yet, a lifetime of experience goes into each act of pressing the shutter. When you start trying to understand a photographer completely, his background, his rationale, his goals, the trivial information like film techniquewill be revealed. Approach a photographer with an inquisitive, open mind and you will likely be rewarded with an honest considered response. Ask for a quick tip and you will get contempt in return.

I must say that even though most photographers and artists I meet are forthcoming with their artistic insights, they will hold out on business intelligence. This is because business is a sensitive issue. Pricing and deals that are cut cannot be revealed because they can seriously damage relationships. Business is not art, it is more a form of war. You do not broadcast your position to your enemy.


Back of my apartment

In the realm of senses

View from my window

In Paul's studio, music is constantly playing. He has both a normal coffee maker and an expresso machine!! My kind of guy. He takes his music and coffee on shoots if he can.

Paul also enjoys his food. He has done many collaborations with a famous Chicago chef, Charlie Trotter. Even our lunches are chosen with care.



In the book that Paul lent me, 'Once', Wenders often makes references to how places smell. How the smell of one place reminds him of another.

Just what am I trying to say with these little fragments of experience? I am saying that although the photographer's primary sensory organ are the eyes, all the other organs are also constantly engaged and exercised. Sound, smell, taste and even touch which I do not have an example of yet. To create images rich in context, engaging all the senses helps.

There is also another step beyond passively engaging the senses. You see just enjoying the sensory overload does not empower a person. It is letting those experiences permeate one's consciousness and in moments of creativity, letting those experiences shape the effort. Quite often a conscious and unconscious effort to understand a vast array of sensory experience is also needed. Consciously one can dissect the colors, smell, tonality of life and draw conclusions on the emotional and intellectual effects these experiences would have on a person. Then there is the synergy of an overall experience, like a trip to an exotic land, that can result in a more subtle philosophical and even spiritual comprehension, which cannot be directly harnessed in the creative act, but guides the subtle finesse of the work.

In conclusion, live life well. Engage the ideas and experiences that you encounter completely. That is the foundation of a creative expression. Technicality is only the tool that enables the creation. For a photographer, the camera is important, yes. However, without something to say, without a rich mine of raw experience, one can only create superficial expressions.

Lazy Sunday

So I dropped Paul at the airport early Sunday morning. I finally got a bit of breathing space.


I had breakfast at this restaurant called the Dodo, not too far from my house. I ordered a chees omelette and it had as much cheese as there was egg. It was a heart-clogging breakfast. I notice that the people in Chicago love cheese. There is a very nice oriental restaurant called butterfly and it has starters filled with cheese!


So Shin, the Malaysian intern, brings me to Chinatown for lunch. We eat in a restaurant called Penang and have Roti Canai for starters!! The light was great in the morning but got grey by the time we got to Chinatown. Chicago chinatown is a bit drab too. So I did not take many photos. This is one from the window of a pastry shop where we bought sesame seed balls and char siew buns.


Cake from the cake shop.


I was not really thinking of cooking chinese food while in Chicago. Too many things to buy and store for 3 months. But since I was shopping in Chinatown, oh well. So I buy food and cook it for dinner. I am a bit rusty with chinese cooking and I miss a rice cooker. :( My dinner on Sunday was barely eadible. My dinner on Monday was slightly better. Maybe I should stick to photography...

Busy on an away job

If you think that I have been busy, I have. From Wednesday to Friday I followed Paul on an annual report shoot for Caterpillar. It was a nice, relatively simple set of shots in the towns of Peoria and Decatur. Once we got back, the studio had to prepare for a one-week shoot in New York. Although I am not going, there was a lot to do. I sent Paul, Leasha and Jason to the airport today and finally got some free time. More of that on the next posting.

Jason and the double steak. Jim's Steak House, Peoria.

Paul Elledge, photographer, artist, driver...

Steak and Shake, Peoria

Caterpillar plant, Decatur

Jason Robinette... Industrial strength packer upper...

Zen and the fart of Burger King

If you have ever thought that being a world class photographer is glamorous, forget it. Seeing the amount of work and effort that goes into every project, I know that being on the top of the photographic game is very hard work. I am just the intern and I am already tired. Paul does not say to 'no' to work unless he is already booked. People not in the know do not consider the cost of being a photographer. Now with the digital revolution, a lot of photographers have to start onto the slippery road of buying digital equipment and having to upgrade it every 3 to 5 years. Gone are the days when you can buy one or two film camera systems and keep it for a whole career. If you care about your work, if you want to deliver the best you can, then it takes time and money and effort. As far as I am concerned, I am not willing to deliver jpegs straight off a camera. I will shoot raw and tune images before I deliver. It is essential to maintain quality.

It is almost 2 weeks now in Chicago. It seems more like 2 months. I am tired but happy. Paul's photos do not necessarily look complex, and to a certain extent they are not, but his finesse is incredible. He can perceive and does take into consideration 0.1 of an f-stop difference. At my level, I can only see a difference in a third of an f-stop. He takes many variations of one portrait, looking for that quarter inch difference between a good shot and a great shot. Sometimes it appears that the techniques that I am learning from him are not all that radical. What Paul is about for me is the pursuit and tenacity to refine an inner vision. Jason is now doing digital prints for Paul, and he is getting a wonderful insight to the way Paul sees textures and colors.

When people go to workshops, they try and develop their vision and exercise their artistic judgment. My trip to Chicago is not about developing that vision as much as learning to see 0.1 difference in f-stop. Paul has a reputation for being incredibly demanding, but for a reason. When he picks on something, it does make a difference in the final image. I hope to get an insight on those subtle changes. Paul told me, when I asked to intern at his studio, that there is a fine line between a good and a great photographer.

On a good note, Paul has been happy with my work in the last 2 weeks. He bought me a couple of CDs (KaneYeWest and Illinoise) and is lending me some books to read. He does not usually lend books out. I hope that I can continue to show a positive contribution to the studio through my stay here.

A Shoot in Milwaukee

Paul and Leasha went to do a shoot in Mississippi over the weekend and arrived back in Chicago at Midnight on Sunday. They picked me up for a shoot in Milwaukee at 6.15am on Monday morning. Pual works really really hard. Here I am in the kitchen at 6am waiting for them.


Jason, the regular assistant had to stay in Chicago to make prints, so they got Adam to assist. Adam is the nerdy looking American and Leasha is sitting next to him.


I finally got clearance to show a shot from a shoot. This is Paul shooting me. I and all the people who modelled had to sign a model release. They paid each of us US$1. :) So not only do I shoot and assist, I model too. Muahahahaha.


As we were packing up, I saw this fire hydrant in the sunset. It kind of looked nice. The pole apparently is to let people drivng show shovels know where the fire hydrant is and not plow into it.


Me trying my darnest to make a snow angel. They snow was pretty tough, more like ice kachang shaving than powdered snow.



For dinner we stopped at this restaurant called Brat Stop. Serves sausages and cheese. The starters is fried cheese! Very American. This restaurant is huge. There is a sign near the front saying it seats 2000 people. I found my own seat. I don't get paid to intern, but Paul tries his best to keep me happy. :) This picture courtesy of Paul Elledge. Muahahahaha.

Brrrr......

A learning experience

Chicago


Chicago


Chicago


Paul Elledge's assistant Jason, The Sports Bar, Chicago Hyatt Hotel


Me at The Sports Bar, Chicago Hyatt Hotel

Sunday morning, it's snowing outside my window. I just packed away my travel bags and my first lot of clothes washing is in the dryer.

It has only been 6 days and I already feel that I have a whole load of experiences to last a lifetime. I know that the whole of next week I will be in shoots. I have helped with shoot set-ups, packing, printing DVD covers, image sizing for web and preparing contacts for clients. It is nice, it feels like I have been dropped in the deep end of the pool but I am not drowning. I think that I am pulling my own weight, or at least I hope so.

I had a really nice treat yesterday. Paul kindly paid for me to attend The Epson Print Academy in Chicago!! Out of all those courses and workshops that I have seen in magazines, this was the one course that I wanted to attend. And I did. Several of the tips alone made the entire trip to Chicago from Singapore worthwhile. For example, there is very good reasons for saving images out to prophoto RGB and editing in that space. The speakers included Bruce Fraiser, whose book I was reading just before leaving Singapore, Jeff Schewe, Greg Gorman, John Paul Caponigro and Mark Holbert of Nash editions. What can I say, there is a whole load of shit to learn, but at least this workshop has given me a handle on what I need to know to create the best prints that I can. I just have to spend time on it.

Web resources to note:
Photoshopnews
General web site on Photoshop with information on the Epson Print Academy
Greg Gorman's web site
Greg Gorman's web site with a fantastic walk through on black and white conversion. It has been improved to include a fantastic mid-tone contrast increase.
John Paul Caponigro's web site
John Paul Caponigro is one scary talent with photoshop. There are some nifty tips on getting prints just the way you want it.

The above links are advanced, I kid you not. Just using some of the techniques will take time. But if you are going for fine art prints, here are resources that are free, for now.

I went to the workshop with Paul's assistant Jason. After the workshop finished at 5.30, we hung out at the bar at Chicago Hyatt hotel. The conference centre next door was hosting the Chicago Midwest Beauty Conference. 65000 beauty stylists attending, probably 90% female. Jason and I decided to have dinner in the bar and just soak in the scenery. :) This was a cultural experience for me!!

I guess that I am having a good time in Chicago. I am also sure that there will be times when things go hairy, but overall, I am sure this is going to really affect the rest of my life.

Using email overseas

This is crappy, but I could not send out email using outlook for a few days. I was using the singnet smtp server but because of spammers, they stopped allowing people logged onto other networks to use their smtp servers. My web hosting company just did not respond to my queries on this.

So I went and bought a 3 month subscription at smtp.com that allows me to use my outlook progam. .... grrrrhhhh.....

I also got a prepaid card for my handphone so that I do not have to pay international roaming rates for local calls. This is ok except my friends cannot call me on my singapore number while I am overseas. And that's good so that my bill does not rack up too. I will put on my singapore sim card once in a while to check sms msgs.

Photography trip or not, I am learning a lot just about travelling on this trip.

No rest for the wicked

The street I am living on


Local Muffin shop for breakfast. Letezia's


My local kitchen, Thai Village

I am going to have very little time to update this blog. I am probably looking at 12 hour work days for all my stay in Chicago, including weekends. Seriously, Paul is shooting jobs back to back to back and has several other print and personal projects going on all the time. It is crazy here but amazing how all the people in the studio just keep focused on getting one thing done after another. Very inspiring for me.

I can't put up stuff I take from the shoots. The images cannot hit the public before the actual campaigns reach the public. I should have thought of this myself. So, I am sorry, can't really talk about job specifics.

What I can say is that Paul is dedicated to giving the best images he can give in every shoot. I absolutely love this. There is no compromise. I need to cultivate my own clientele so that they can appreciate a higher quality of work. I do not want clients after cheap and good. Good enough is not my benchmark, excellent is my benchmark, awesome is my goal. And to achieve this, I need the resources to do the shoot. Time, equipment and manpower, are all important ingredients to a shoot. That and lots of creativity and focused team players.

Paul is transitioning from film to digital. So I feel good that I am able to share some of my knowledge as well.

I am still freezing my ass off, but I think that it is going to be a challenging and rewarding stay.

Yo, chill...

P45 Horseman SWD

P45 Horseman SWD

Hi folks. I am having great fun in Chicago with Paul Elledge's studio. I will talk more about my experience. I just wanted to get something off my chest. It is a suspicion that I have been harbouring since I moved over to digital.

This article compares the output of a large format camera with a P45 digital back. What struck me was the 100% crops at the end of the article. Take a look at it. The digital prints looks sharper, there is more edge contrast, but the tonality and the gradations on the film are much better. What is my point? My point is that digital captures have always looked 'thin' to me. As if something is missing in the gradations, and I think this little example proves the point.

I hear that camera manufacturers are reaching the end of the megapixel wars. And I am glad of this. Most of us have all the megapixels we need, but we now need better megapixels. We need pixels that pick up the subtle tones and gradations that film still captures better. The quality of film is not an illusion, as sharp as digital is, film does have a more natural look.

Jumping in in Chicago

London Car

London Car

Leaving Heathrow airport

Somewhere about Canada

Arriving in Chicago

It was an 8 hour flight from London to Chicago. The flight was nice. The immigration let me through but the customs guys tried their best to ask me hard questions but finally let me in. I guess they could not find a real reason to keep me out.

Paul and Leasha sent me a surprise to meet me at the airport. They have another intern who happens to be a Malaysian studying photography in Chicago. And Shin, the other intern picked me up. Oh. to travel half the world to Chicago to meet someone from Malaysia. How conincidental is that?

I was taken to a shoot immediately from the airport. At first I kind of felt stupid because I had no idea what was happening and was just standing freezing my ass off. Well, I just jumped in and helped when I could. Beats standing around in the cold looking like a fool. While shifiting light stands and sandbags, I thought that all those of you who have assisted me can have a good laugh thinking of your boss, now shifting sandbags for another photographer. But honestly folks, you want to learn the ropes, you gotta to pay the dues.

I did sneak a pic of the shoot but I am not going to put it up. I have no idea how senstive these things can be. If I can get clearance to put some pics up of the shoots I will.

I gotta sleep. As Chicago is 6 hours behind London, I have had a really long day. Instead of the normal 24 hour day, I am having a 30 hour day. :)

Just before I go, a quote from fashion designer, Nicole Farhi, that I read on the airplane magazine,
I am a fatalist - I will enjoy my life as long as I live and I'm not frightened its going to end. What frigthens me is what happens in the world, that people take the decision to make war for us and we can't say a word. I find it frightening that we are powerless, that we can help such a little bit in all our lives.