MEMORIAL DAY

Yesterday’s parade was cancelled due to a little rain. Whimps. That didn’t stop us though. Check out this Norfolk Road creation in action:

And the crew taking a breakfast break:

Happy Memorial Day

SPLATTER

Here to show some of the final images I mentioned last night. Yesterday evening I was lucky to shoot Courtney and Samantha and lots of paint. We had a blast making use of the multi-colored background and made some photos I am really happy with.

I went back and forth between two lights, one with a beauty dish and the other with a shoot through umbrella as fill, and one zoomed + snooted hard light.

Samantha has what I think is safe to call the coolest hair I’ve ever seen. Loving the bit of green paint in it.

Michael brought his speakers in so we could see some really shweet dance moves…

Moved the beauty dish behind her to add some backlight/flare. My favorite shot by far as the feeling of the light matches the feeling of the paint/hair/expression.

After we finished up with the indoor shots we took a trip down to Duck Pond Rd. to make this picture of some hipster hitchhikers.

ENNIS, NAILIN IT

If you care for a good laugh and some thought check out the spectacular, Danielle Ennis’ first published story “Mom’s Chevy Shows Daughters The Way Forward” via the Hartford Courant. You’ll love it, I promise.

Want more? She’s got a great blog too, Off The Record.

PAINT + COUNTRY ROAD

Just finished downloading the images from a messy shoot tonight. My basement wall is sticky with splatter paint, and my aperture library is fresh with a few hundred new photos. I’ll edit the images tomorrow and publish them here, for now here are some behind-the-scenes off shots. Enjoy, Goodnight.

60 SECOND LANDSCAPE

I’ve been attracting small animals by the boat load lately. Or maybe by the rowboat load. 7 beavers, a fox, and a heron, which apparently is not the same thing as a herring, in the last week.

Here is a beaver I saw swimming under a bridge in White Memorial. The reason I was there was to film a 60 second landscape challenge. I spotted a heron down river and took my 60 second clip of that. Check it out:

Btw, you may have noticed the new youtube channel. This is my new home for all Jack Pope Photography related video. Im almost done setting everything up. All other captures will remain at the jackpope1 channel.

SOCIAL CONTRAST

Not sure if it’s right to focus school time so much on things we already know (Revolutionary War, Algebra II, and other trivial lessons) when a great number of people are completely unaware of mass suffering. 1 in 8 people around the world drink water that can easily make them sick. 1.5 billion people live on less than 1.25 American dollars a day. Would scholastic efforts not be better invested in the solutions of these problems?

I created this illustration (click for large view) combining JR’s Ted talk about art changing the world, and Jeremy Cowart’s unique photoshop aesthetic. It focuses on contrast; everything from the clothing to the sky tone to the obvious line dividing the two scenes down the middle. It shows how different it is to be looking from each side. How difficult it is to understand the harsh circumstances of poverty–and uncomfortable, which may be the reason educators shy away from teaching it. To make a long story short, I took an oppertunity when a Civil Rights Essay was assigned in History class to say, before we celebrate the triumphs of civil liberty, we should first make sure everyone is able to obtain it. As the Blue Scholars preach:

Dr. King said “Freedom at last”
And some have interpreted that
To mean that we have come to the end of the path
But instead the long march hasn’t even begun y’all
Political power manifest once our guns drawn

Make sure to check out charity:water and livebelowtheline for the truth about what’s going down, long marches, and possible solutions. Thanks to Pretty Lights Music for letting me use “High School Art Class”… and to the creators of all of the other artwork featured in the video and illustration.

SUMMER COUNTDOWN

[1 month, 12 days, 18 hours, and 27 minutes to summer vacation.]

BTD4 SNAPSHOT

Bloons tower defense 4 on iPod ftw!
Happy sunday night.