Space Agency Psych/Ops

I spotted this at the NASA Ames Research facility in Mountain View, California.  Could it be that 1. NASA is working their psych/ops with the human population, or 2. working on alien life forms behind the wall?  Having a loading dock suggests incoming shipments.  Makes me uneasy to see no agreement on the telephone number either.

Rayko Plastic Camera Show

Rayko's 5th Annual International Juried Plastic Camera Show opens Wednesday, January 18th with a reception between 6 and 8pm.  In the past this has taken place in March with the opening on a Friday night and accompanied with large crowds.  It will be interesting to see whether the mid-week January date has any effect on crowds.  Always lots of interesting images at this show.  I'll be eager to see what made the cut.  Your's truly will be 'the featured artist'.  Say hello at the opening and I'll give you a free print.

Update:  Good lively crowd at the opening last night.  I was particularly taken by the images of Erin Malone, Eben Otsby, Bob Delavante, Gayle Stevens and several others I fail to recall.  Choosing winners has to be difficult.  I have a few free prints left over.  Anyone want one should shoot me an email with your mailing address.

I was harassed by Gloria Allred

Call it sexual harassment or call it inappropriate behavior, never-the-less I was made to feel 'uncomfortable' by none other than attorney Gloria Allred!  Allred has a knack for being in the news by representing people connected to high profile news stories.  Yesterday she represented a woman accusing presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment.  The press event (no questions allowed) was held in Manhattan at The Friar's Club, a formerly all male club for comedians.  Allred liberated the Friars Club Beverly Hills and engaged in a little sexual hostility while doing so.

Sometime in the 90s Fortune Magazine assigned me to photograph Ms Allred Esq. at the Bohemian Club in San Francisco.  You see the Bohemian Club is an all male club and Allred was and is opposed to all male clubs.  Fortune wished to get to the bottom of the issue with assistance from a bottom feeder.

Allred agreed to fly up to San Francisco for the photo shoot.  I picked her up at the airport and drove to the Bohemian Club.  Arriving at the Bohemian Club my assistant and I began scoping out the exterior of the club for a suitable vantage point.  We correctly assumed the club wouldn't allow a photo on its premises.  Before we could begin shooting Allred stationed herself by the club entrance and began scolding members as they entered.  As you would imagine this was not a one way conversation. Intending this to be a portrait rather than a re-enactment of the free speech movement I struggled to regain control of the situation.  Having shots of Allred only from the backside would not be a career enhancer.  This proved difficult so we moved Allred to a new location across the street.

Upon finishing Allred was freed to return to shouting at men entering the Bohemian Club. Rejoining Allred near the entrance she prevailed up me to enter the club lobby.  There she requested an application for membership from the person at the reception desk.  The receptionist directed Allred to a small phone booth across the lobby.  Allred entered the booth and beckoned me to join her in the cramped enclosure.  I did but she insisted I come even closer and place my head next to hers.  Some would say this was to facilitate  hearing her request over the shared telephone receiver, but could there have been another reason--perhaps one that was unsavory?  Momentarily Allred's perfume altered my senses and I remain unable to recall much else.

Were these the innocent actions of a well-meaning socially active citizen, or perhaps worse?  I'm ill-equipped to make that judgement without proper legal counsel.  I wonder if Ms Allred would take my case?

Steve Jobs, Francis Coppola and the Grateful Dead

Around the time Apple opened its Palo Alto store film director Francis Ford Coppola opened a restaurant two doors down. I happened to be passing by on the evening Coppola's restaurant held its grand opening. Standing on the street talking with Coppola was Steve Jobs. Behind them, in the window, comedian Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) was performing. Coppola's restaurant has closed, Steve Jobs has died but the Apple Store lives on in the same location that previously housed Swain's House of music where the Grateful Dead bought, practiced and borrowed instruments. A tile depicting a harp still rests in front of the store. And now Apple dominates the music distribution world.

Venice Past and Future

Owing to my failure of imagination I couldn't foresee returning to Venice in quite the way it has turned out.  When we first visited, in 2005, our daughter had just finished high school and had little interest in continuing on to college and a short time later she would head off instead to Chicago for City Year a Americorps program.

Venice is spectacular with it's ancient history, unique transportation, and its nearly incomprehensible winding streets that periodically open to one surprising view after another.  As a guess I would suppose there are more camera carrying visitors per square mile than anywhere on earth.   I had just begun using a toy camera back then and was anxious to try point it in new directions.  The results, I confess, were less than spectacular.

But still we enjoyed sightseeing and seemed to constantly hoping aboard vaparettos for rides up and down the Grand Canal.  We visited the Doges Palace, St. Marks Tower, the Lido as well as the modern art at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.  That was also a year in which the large semi-annual art exposition The Venice Biennale was taking place.  From time to time we stopped in to the various national pavilions to see what strange and interesting creations artists had come up with.  My daughter seemed to take an interest.

Italy made an impression on my daughter and when she finally started college the following year she immediately signed up to study the Italian language.  And when she asked if she could enroll in a University in Italy the following year we agreed.  Last year she graduated with a degree in Art History and moved to London for further study in contemporary art.  Upon completion of those studies my daughter was accepted as an intern at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.  That's why we've returned to Venice, but it doesn't end there.  Earlier this month her fine Italian boyfriend Andrea proposed marriage on a Venice bridge and she accepted.  My imagination wasn't that large.

My Computer Signed by Steve Jobs

My first MacIntosh computer--the Mac Plus purchased in 1986 for somewhere in the neighborhood of $2500.  Luckily I had it on hand in 1989 as a prop for a photo shoot with most of the original MacIntosh team for the 5 year anniversary (scroll down).  In the photo are most of the people whose names were embossed on the inside of the plastic case.  They're mimicking a familiar Steve Jobs hand gesture at my suggestion.

At that shoot I asked those present to sign the underside of my Mac.  Here's a photo of that.

Among those not present at that event were Bill Atkinson, Burrell Smith and Steve Jobs.  I frequently see Burrell Smith walking in Palo Alto and have tried to ask him to sign the computer but he refuses, and although I have photographed Bill Atkinson I forgot to bring the computer along.  As for the Steve Jobs autograph--I did not forget to bring the computer on my last shoot with him.  Here is that signature.

Steve Jobs' childhood home

Anyone engaged in a creative activity is faced at some time with non-challenging work.  If it weren't for the possibility of losing a client by refusing to accept a dopey assignment the thought generally runs towards a grudging acceptance.  Such was the case when asked to shoot the exterior of the house Steve Jobs grew up in.  I had it all sized up.  Pick a sunny day and bang out a roll or two from a discreet distance and be gone.  Simple.

I arrived at the house mid afternoon.  The streets were empty except for the blue pick-up truck parked in front of the address I had been given.  Somehow it seemed dishonorable to be secretive but it also felt odd to be standing in the street aiming my camera towards the ex-home of a famous person.  So I decided to find out if the owners were home and tell them what I was up to.

The owner of the house answered my knock and he appeared to have recently arrived home from work since he was wearing dark blue clothing typical of industrial workers I'd known.  I explained what I was up to and asked him to verify that this was the home Steve Jobs grew up in.  He confirmed the story and surprisingly invited me in to have a look around--provided that I took no photos inside.

The home was small but neat and soon after entering I was directed towards a cramped bedroom just to the right of the front door.  I remember looking to the room and being surprised that the room displayed early Apple Computer posters, as if the room were decorated for curious visitors.  And then I asked, "Are you Steve's dad?"  He was.

Paul Jobs and his wife Clara adopted the infant Steve when the unmarried birth mother and father gave him up for adoption.  I asked Mr. Jobs if his son had provided him stock in Apple--he said he had none.  He did volunteer that he was somewhat frustrated early on that the boys (high school aged I take it) needed prodding to get them to try and sell their garage production of electronics.  But then perhaps he wasn't aware of what they were really doing.

Since there wasn't much else to see in the house itself, Mr. Jobs directed me towards the garage where his son and Steve Wozniak had worked on assembling some sort of electronic device.  Except for a yellowed newspaper clipping that mentioned two local boys building computers (Jobs and Wozniak) the garage was clean and bare.

Thanking Mr. Jobs for the kindness of the home tour I proceeded to record the outside of his garage to satisfy my assignment.