swine cold.

dunno what it is really, though.  if i did ever get the swine flu, i'd get so much shit from certain people.

whatever.

as much as the mucous-laden sleep was fun i really think this cough is rad.  love-love-love it. 

seems as though -- after looking at lotsa scans and other photos in aperture -- that i walked around a lot in the last few weeks.

even though the clown was "cool" clowns are still as creepy as someone selling ice cream close to an elementary school who looks like someone you could swear was on megan's list.  fact.

olvera street is such a trip.  i honestly wonder how much of the curios are actually made in mexico.

mp/nocti/apx 25.

was down there doing a job for a publicist.  it had to do with bullfighting.  swear.

j loves papping marionettes with the toy camera app.  actually, i love it, too.

not papping marionettes, though.

just the app.

homeboy was really into his harp.  i'd never seen a harp down there, though.  mariachis? hells-yeah but harps?  not so much.

not sure which frame i like more, though.

whatever.  it's my column i can do whatever the fuck i want. ;)

oh, yeah, congrats to my little friend cha-cha on becoming a street gd at dA.  have fun with the notes concerning amazing wolves with human faces playing some odd game. ;)

more of the creepy clown but now he has friends.  wish everyone could see these photos big-big-big but this is the internet so ... no.  and no ... you fake-vignetters on flickr ... that vignetting is the natural vignetting one gets with fast glass during the day.

fast means one-four, not two-eight.

unless you're a frustrated nat-geo motherfucker.

more on that later. ;)

this dude stands out there every saturday.  not sure how a mouse head, which may be a purloined chuck e. cheese rat head, has anything to do with a flea market.

but j found some stuff to look at.  pretty sure she bought the one on the left. :)

i just thought this one was funny.  shot through the window of a second-hand furniture place.

my friend laith came back to los angeles as well!  :)

off topic:  i really don't understand why 60,000 would wait to see the fucking lakers with another 80,000+ waiting for them at the coliseum.  think the lakers really care?

i don't.

quiet contemplation yet i don't think he was waiting for a bus if memory serves.

i think this may be my favourite frame.

a nice afternoon kiss.

not quite a kiss.  i like the fact the spotlight is perfectly focused on the rearview mirror and lighting the fuck out of homeboy's face.

our neighborhood is very interesting.  not sure what she was going through but she didn't see me.  then again, my camera is pretty damn quiet.

love shooting at night with fast glass and film.

this little guy was rescued by a couple in west hollywood.  he was found roaming the streets of las vegas.  poor little thing.  this is not a breed that likes to be without their guardians.  happy he's happy now.  he doesn't like other dogs much, which is not very breed standard.  i think he should get to know other cav's.  they have a very specific energy which is cav-centric.

yes, i like cav's.

not the team.

i don't like basketball.

it's a fucking waste of time.

almost like suburban golf.

no, she didn't make the putt.

that's mario with his "personal camera," an fm2 with the zeiss 50/1.4 zf.  yes, it used to be mine but when he borrowed it he didn't want to give it back.  fine by me.  i like to see a nice camera in capable hands. :)

he won the stoicism award for the day.  for sure.

not sure why they were pointing. happy little guy.

elevators are fun.

so is a suburban sandwich place.

whist watching faux-news aka fox news. ;)

seen a lot of that action lately.

scratcher madness.

and i think the juxtaposition of these frames is odd...

scratcher. cash.  hmm.

she's got an amazing taco stand, though.

corners are pretty amazing places.  i think.

fuji neopan.  dunno.  i kinda think i like delta 400 more.

i like this frame as well but i'm unsure why i like it. 

now that i think about it -- and having been reminded, of course -- there's a bunch of b/w stuff i shot up in portland.  hmm...

there are already 50+ selects for this entry, perhaps they will have their own.  perhaps.

although i almost took the m8.2 and the 24/1.4 summilux to mexico, i opted not to.  probably could have but i didn't.  in fact, i didn't even take my beloved mp down there, i opted for the m6 ttl.  i still took the 24 summilux, though. ;)

ex-pats enjoying the Caribbean!

coconut harvest so gringo guests don't get concussions.

i still think he should have shimmied up the tree without the aid of a ladder.

 

they still fish with nets.  who knew.

tulum was really pretty.  besides the bugs ... had a great time.

he wasn't very happy.  the lighting was a surefire flashlight. ;)

i shot almost an entire wedding with the 45/2.8 TS lens.  i loved hearing "i can do the same thing in light room."

ok.

this said by someone who was shooting a 70-200/2.8 on a tripod in the dark ... in a wedding reception.

even though i wasn't the official photographer i was tired of seeing "the official guy" miss moment after important moment ... so ... i stepped up. ;)

i asked "wanna use a faster lens?"

"what's a stop gonna do for me?"

"two stops, bro.  2.8.  2.0.  1.4.  two stops."

i move my monitor over to him and say "it could probably do this for you."

he didn't talk to me again.

not that i cared.

future brides:  do not hire a stock photographer or nat geo guy to shoot your wedding.  fact.

;)

there's a huge difference between "waiting around" for a lion to come into frame and anticipating when moments happen.

you're much better served hiring a photojournalist.

a real one.

landscape guys shoot wedding like this. ;)

i think flickr's deal with getty and the micro stock sites have really cut into traditional stock shooter's work. 

not that wank could even get repped by "dollar-per-usage" agencies.

enough spitting of venom.

although i've been to roman ruins, never seen any -- besides some chumash ones -- on my own continent.  actually, they were pretty damn impressive.

i know he wishes he was big enough to eat "those little humans."  what a view to sun yourself by, though, right?  lucky lizard.

they made killer pepitas or tortas.  dunno the difference.  i know i like them though,  they're like mexican philly cheese steaks.

sleepy town of tulum.  mexico lost to el salvador that night and i saw no form of rioting.

stupid l.a. basketball fans.

was amazed how much i was actually able to shoot unnoticed with the big 5dm2.

converted in aperture to monochrome.

didn't convert this one. 

or this one.

j liked "the colours."  she was right.

she also wants to be the next "croc hunter" of sorts.

when she's not having a woman-monkey experience, of course...

i love the zeiss-for-canon glass ... absolutely kicks the shit out of mostly-dogshit canon glass. ;)

seriously, if you haven't been to tulum -- you can skip cancun -- you have to see it.  the food is great and not expensive.  there's tons of tequila and beer.  the people are amazing.

you appreciate it when you get back to the "capital of douchebags" which is los angeles.  actually, it's only the capital when the calabasas and orange county residents come here on the weekends to shop. ;)

you can always tell:  who the fuck drives hummers?

m8.2 with 24/1.4 summilux.  i like that expensive piece of glass.  and ... it's perfect -- for me, at least -- for someone who likes to shoot with 35mm lenses due to the 1.3 crop factor.

like that frame.

but not as much as this one. ;)

welcome to silver lake.

last time i was using the m8 (not the m8.2) was with a 28/2.0 summicron and it just didn't have the field of view i liked from my uncropped mp with the 35/1.4 summilux.

we're dog-sitting for a friend. 

he doesn't mind except for his free-feeding schedule is off.

poor spaniel.

you can tell he's very upset.  75/2.0 summicron. 

making human condition photos digitally is such a different feeling.  honestly, though, i'm kind of liking it.

happy that the 24 is so damn fast! 

i could have shot this with a tripod and the 70-200/2.8, though, right?

i mean if wank said that's how he shot a wedding i'm sure there'd be a bevy of wannabe-wanks doing the same thing. ;)

we didn't wait around for "his set" as we were done eating.  we've actually had to sit through his set before and ... well ... my ears hurt.

not the same kind of hurt that dj a.m. puts my ears through.  just wanna be clear.

mexican elvis never makes my ears hurt but the restaurant where he plays has played a part in making my stomach hurt like a motherfucker.

okay ... gotta get some lunch.  then i gotta shoot.  shoot tomorrow as well.  and ... doing some b-roll for the follow-up to the street thing i did back in the day.

hope you're all well.

cheers from the now-sunny and typical l.a., l.a.!

-chris

Comments

[Scott Alexander]

Too many fantastic photos to point out anything specific.. Love the lizard and puny humans tho!

Glad to see a new post, I know arthur is going to have one to share with us pretty soon too..

Hope that swine-cold goes away soon!

[SpanishJohnny]

Good to see new stuff. Fisher in the water is the best I think. Now I want to go to Mexico, the water looks so nice. Chris, have you tried Rollei Pan 25 as Apx 25 "substitute"? The right stuff for the fast 24 on your mp i guess ;) I think I'll try some when the sun's comming back to Germany. Greetings

[C Weeks]

@scott: thanks, man! hmm ... looking forward to what arthur's got, too.

i want it to go away SOON!

[C Weeks]

@spanishjonny: thanks!!!! the water was pretty nice, actually.

yes, i've tried the rollei pan 25! i have so much apx 25, though, i can't justify shooting anything else until i've used most of it up.

happy to hear there's sunlight in germany!!!

[Thorsten Overgaard]

My favorite is the girl on the sidewalk. Just is.

And I'm not going to comment on the M8.2 (he he) but the 24/1.4 looks great. Have my M lenses down at Leica for cleaning and upgrade for M8.2 though it's not going as planned (they don't have spare parts for such old gems)

[Dmitry K]

Great stuff as always.

That crock is cute now, just give it some time and things will be a lot different.

Man the Silver Lake here look way different than there.

My fav pic of the post has to be the guy in the street with tinny dog. http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/weekschris/blog%2016%20june%202009%20lores/L1011427B.jpg

Hope all is well. Peace from the kinda mild Toronto.

[SpanishJohnny]

chris: yeah sometimes we have sunlight, mostly it's just dark and rainy so i'm rarely able to shoot 25 iso pan ;) but i think the film is very good! as i said, i need to go to mexico!

[Carlos]

chris,
Been following your work for a few years now (since you posted that great shot of Jack Nicholson on dA) and really enjoy your work and technical acumen.

Great shot of the lizard watching the swimmers on the beach at Tulum. Was there 2.5 years ago for a vacation (resort) and skipped to the town for Xmas services. Agreed, the smaller towns are so much better than the big Cancun.

I'm heading to Greece for a few weeks. What would you recommend for a fast lens on a old Canon SLR (I'm shooting slide film, mostly Kodak Ektachrome 100VS). Pondering a 50mm f1.4...

Cheers from rainy Vancouver BC

[Lara]

I know diddly about photography but you must have extremely bad taste if you are hiring "wank" to do your wedding photography. Me and my little Canon SureShot could do a better job and I'd charge less. I.D.I.O.T. As for you, beautiful pictures as usual. I could look at them all day long - you have a great eye! Thank you so much for sharing. (P.S. Is the water really that beautiful greenish-blue?)

[Ivan J.]

Thanks, Chris.
I've been waiting for a follow-up post.

So glad to know you're coming around to the digital M (although that crop is bit of a c*nt).

Wank lives in my hometown. MY goddamn hometown. And he's no one I want to emulate when it comes to weddings.

Got any links to a better wedding photog to glean from?

[Ajovah]

Was about to go to bed when i checked here and saw a new post and suddenly felt awake...

Got to agree, id like to see your pics in their true size, bet they would look even more awesome than they are now :).

Have to point out the lizard pic. Its amazing even though its in colours.

Uhh i guess ill go and try to get some sleep now.

Yeah, im satisfied so post again soon and take care!
And send me one of your M8s haha :D.

Ciao!

[Matt R]

Lots of good stuff in this post, Chris, always glad to see it.

[C Weeks]

@thorsten: you're in good company with the favourite. just got a private email. thanks, man.

the m8.2 ... i thought you loved it??????

the 1.4/24 is indeed spectacular, man. damn!

[C Weeks]

@dmitry: thanks, man. love it when photos happen like that.

we saw what time can do for a crock; they were like 11 feet long. not only ... but you could literally walk among them. i'm not sure if these bastards were on drugs but ... they were totally docile.

what does your version of silver lake look like????

[C Weeks]

@spanishjohnny: hope the weather clears up for you to shoot some slow stuff. and ... hope you get to go to mexico; it's pretty amazing.

[C Weeks]

@carlos: thanks for the follow, man. appreciate the fact you enjoy what i do!!!!

more people should go to tulum! skip cancun as you said but definitely go to playa and tulum.

i'd go for the 50/1.4; in fd they're practically free!

[C Weeks]

@lara: what wank does is typical for "his genre." technically, he probably knows more than most. problem is he doesn't have an anticipatory bone/sense in his body. that's why his type stick with landscape. that's what they should never be hired for weddings.

thank you, by the way.

at least you didn't call me paparazzi. ;)

[C Weeks]

@ivan: glad you liked it.

you live in la jolla?????? i'm sorry. ;)

a real wedding photographer is sean: http://www.seanflaniganphotography.com/

that is diametrically opposed to the kind of shit "the wank" and his ilk try and pass as wedding work. ;)

hope you like that link better! ;)

[Dan Powell]

I was going to say you were kind of an asshole to that photographer, but then I thought about it.. no. ;)

I've been noticing more and more that my 50/1.4 is real soft wide open. Lots of CA action going on too. Do you think I should go for an 85/1.2 or 1.8, or the 50/1.2, or that Zeiss 50/1.4 that you seem to really enjoy? Or should I just stop it down and buy a tripod? ;)

Glad to see more work from you! Always a source of tremendous inspiration.

PS If I ever got married would you shoot the wedding? I don't think I'd want to take my chances with anyone else.

[C Weeks]

@ajovah: sorry i kept you up, mate.

dunno why but i really like that lizard/iguana photo, too. those iguanas are pretty cool.

wish you lived near enough to see the photos large. i can't put them up on the internet big, though.

send you an m8! yeah. okay. ;)

[C Weeks]

@mattr: thanks!!!!

[Stewart Bywater]

Hi Chris,

Awesome stuff!! I love all of the shots in this one, but my favourite is the supermarket one.. I've always loved that sort of stuff!

You're right – clowns are just wrong!! †-(

I feel another bout of camera and lens envy coming on! :)

Nice work mate,

S.

[C Weeks]

@dan: me be an asshole? come the fuck on. ;) that guy was a dick and i had to shut it down. not only ... but the bride and groom wouldn't have gotten shit unless i did something. ;)

the 50/1.4 canon is a piece of shit. actually, i sold the 85/1.2 because it's not as good as the 85/1.4 zeiss. i think you'd be very happy with the zeiss 50... i use it all of the time!

you wanna hire me? all good. just let me know when! :)

[C Weeks]

@stewart: thanks, man. did you see the asian woman i shot whilst picking out something at the market? dunno why but i really like that one.

clowns are more than wrong. you ever meet a happy one?

funny you should say that...

thanks!!!!

and i'm working on "that other thing."

chris

[Ivan J.]

Chris -
No, not La Jolla - San Diego.
I'm not even sure that douchebag lives in LJ himself. Looks more like an Escondido @sshole, truth be told.

Thanks for the link to Sean Flanigan's site. Mind-blowingly good.
Goddamnit. I'm gonna spend the next few hours just soaking in that site.

And, I also agree with Thorsten - the girl in the middle of the sidewalk is definitely my favorite. Something about that moment captured immaculately and authentically. Does that even make sense?
Yeah, it does.