Frank - On the Trail

Frank got into his bike a lot this summer. Last summer it was the skateboard. This summer, the bike. We went on a few rides together. Not nearly enough. But the weather's still nice and the days are still longish. So I see some more bike rides on my horizon.


Frank - Portrait of a Biker

Off the Beaten Path | Central CA

I love exploring Central CA.
Got off the beaten path a little bit on the recent camping trip.


Windmills | Lompoc


Amtrak | Jalama Beach


Tractor | Solvang

Another Tea in my Kitchen

Found these tea remnants on the stove recently.
Black & White Fungus are the only ingredients I recognize.
It's been making the rounds among our set recently.
I have resisted trying it - so far....

Heidi's Wedding

Heidi has been assisting me for about 3 years now. She's better today than the first time we worked together, which cannot be said for most Photo Assistants.
She's also a fantastic photographer in her own right. And I've taken a lot of joy in watching her build her Wedding and Portrait business over these 3 short years.
Check out her outstanding work:
http://www.heidiophoto.com/
Well, she got married a couple of weeks ago to a wonderful guy, Albert, at what has to have been one of the funnest and most picturesque weddings I've ever been to. Hands down, 2 of the best toasts, from the Bride's brother and the Groom's brother, I have ever heard at a wedding. 2 of the best!! At the same wedding!! From different families! I kid you not!!!
I shot a couple of wedding's early in my career and gave them up right away. I guess I'm just not wired to deal with shooting a wedding. But I do enjoy a good wedding and I like to bring a camera, just in case...

Camping with Boys

Just got back from a week of camping at El Capitan State Beach, Northwest of Santa Barbara.
I love these Boy images.
It was a good trip...relaxing.

NASSCO Launch of the USNS Matthew Perry

I've shot a lot of Maritime stuff over the years, but one thing I have never experienced is the Christening and Launching of a ship. As of yesterday I can check that one off the list. NASSCO launched the USNS Matthew Perry yesterday at it's shipyard. It was a much more formal event than I expected and extremely choreographed...down to the launch time of 6PM to take advantage of the highest tide. It wasn't what I expected, but then again, it was an extremely exciting 60 seconds. Like the Video guy next to me said as the ship hit the water, "Well, that never gets old!" And I can image not...

The Family & Obama's People

I just saw the Richard Avedon : Portraits of Power show last night at the San Diego Museum of Art. My first reaction after walking through for a brief overview was "Where the hell are the American West" Portraits? So I went back and reread the synopsis of the show and realized this was all about Power and Politics. Okay, now that I had some context I was ready to dig in and check out the show. It is a really impressive body of work (as if that needed to be said), but what stuck out for me was to see "The Family" project commissioned by Rolling Stone in 1976. It was a year long project Avedon embarked on to photograph the polital and business leaders at the time of America's Bicentenial. 69 portraits of some of the greatest American leaders form the last half century. Greald Ford, President at the time, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, not yet President, Kissenger, Tip O'Niel, Lady Bird....It's such an awesome group of portraits. Most stand well on their own, but it's the group of all 69 prints hanging on top of each other in 3 rows of 23 that is so impressive. It immediately brought to mind Obama's People, shot by Nadav Kander earlier this year after Obama was elected, but before the innaguaration. I remeber being blown awy when I got The New York Times Magazine which featured the portraits by Kander. Avedon's project has proven to be seminal and I imagine Kander's will as well. I love the lack of propping, even less so in Avedon's. Probaby simply for the fact that we weren't carrying around so much stuff, like Iphone/blackberrys, 33 years ago. 2 great portrait artists at their best!

Some of my favorites from Obam's People are Rahm Emanuel | Chief of Staff, Marvin Nicholson | White House Trip Director, David Axelrod | Senior Advisor, Robert Gibbs | Press Secretary, & Carol M. Browner | Energy and Climate Policy Coordinator
The whole series can be viewed here:
Obama's People

Some of my favorites from The Family are Charles Shaffer | Attorney, F. Edward Hebert | Congressman LA, Cesar Chavez | Founder UFWU, & Elliot Richardson | Us Secretary of Commerce.
The whole series can be viewed here:
The Family

Tear Sheets

It's always nice to see the Tear Sheets once the project is complete. My Rep, Wonderful Machine, has a section on their website dedicated to just Tear Sheets. Here's a couple of images their featuring from the 2008 Port of San Diego Annual Report: The Cover and one of the NASSCO welders.

Social Media RT

I'm pretty hot on the whole Social Media phenomena. I'm really curious where it's all going to go in the next several years. In the meantime, I'm really into Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
So like any good trade organization, APA San Diego is planning a Social Media event...a Roundtable in this case. APA /SD Roundtable's are our opportunity to get a small group of photographers to get together (no more than 15 attendees to facilitate participation by all) to discuss the issues of the day. In this case, what is Social Media and why the hell should I care!?!
So I volunteered to host the event and shoot the image for the E-Blast to promote the event. The image isn't exactly how I envisioned it, but I like it nonetheless. Thanks to Rachel Crawford of Mixture for letting me borrow her hands for the shot. In addition to working at Mixture, Rachel has a great line of Handmade jewelry and accessories. Check her out here: http://www.rachellarraine.com/
If you're interested in attending the event FB me, Tweet me, or just give me a shout!

Here's the details:

Date: Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Time: Doors open 6:30 pm, starts at 7:00 pm

Location: Harrison/Rogozienski Studio
930 W. Ivy Street | San Diego 92101

Cost: APA Members Free, Non-members $10, Students $5

RSVP: frank@frankrogozienski.com or 619-239-9511

All APA | SD Roundtables are limited to 15 participants.
RSVP early to reserve your spot!

Happy Tuesday!

The Elixir

I've had a cough for about a week now...pretty annoying really.
So this is what Cindy came home with from the Chinese Pharmacy.
You have to boil it for half a day.
It smelled like hell and didn't taste any better.
I'd like to say it was the elixir I needed, but it didn't seem to do a thing.
That's not to say I wouldn't try it again or some other tonic.



Here's the recipe for those interested.

8 grams Panax ginseng
8 grams White attractylodes rhizome
8 grams Poria
8 grams Licorice
8 grams Rehmannia root
8 grams Ligusticum
8 grams Angelica sinensis
8 grams White peony root
4 grams Cinnamomum
4 grams Astragalas

Put the herbs in a glass or ceramic heatproof vessel with 4 cups of spring water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain the broth and reserve. Add 2 more cups of spring water to the herbs, boil, and simmer again until reduced by half. Strain the broth, add it to the first brew, and discard the herbs. Divide the broth into 3 equal doses and drink warm on an empty stomach in the early morning, in the afternoon, and in at bedtime.

The Cast

This is a Good Day

I shot this image of Max for MJE Marketing and The Port of San Diego a few years back. Back when he still had his 2 upper front teeth. I always loved the image but thought it might be too cute and not be able to find a use. Great to see it finally find it's place in the Port's folio of ads. Marlee & Aaron Ishaeik did a great job with the design of the ad. Aaron also happens to be a great painter as well! Check out his work here:
http://ishaeik.com/index.html

Alan G....getting close.

Looks like the Alan G Tug is getting close to making it out of dry dock. They're going to plunk it back into the water on Thursday. Can't wait to be there for that.. In the meantime I've been down a few time recently and to check out the progress.

Windmills & Cars @ Boulevard

2009 PDN Photo Annual Winner

I'm honored to announce that we were selected in the Corporate Design Category of the 2009 PDN Photo Annual for our work at the San Diego International Airport. We worked with the talented folks over at MJE Marketing to create this body of work for the Airport's 2007 Annual Report. Thanks to everyone involved! It was some late nights and even more seriously early mornings. Nothing like being out on the tarmac as the city and Airport start coming to life! The Airport is always one of my favorite projects every year.

TK Girls - Round 2

This series is much more in line with what I had envisioned for the Tilted Kilt Girls portraits.
I love the light, both literally and figuratively. The previous Darker Versions are growing on me, but this is the look I was going for going into this shoot.


Darcee


Jenna


Daisy


Darcy


Brandi

More Testing

The Road Home - Hwy 74

I decided to take the back way home from the Palm Springs Photo Festival. It takes a helluvalot longer but it's a good way to stave off the utter boredom of I-15, or any Interstate for that matter... Also a good opportunity to do some shooting.
Hwy 74 up into the San Bernardino National Forest was especially nice.


Hwy 74


C


B Ball Hoop - Warner Springs


Banning Municipal Airport

Testing

Bronze at The Creative Show

Friday night was The 2009 San Diego Creative Show. It was great to catch up with old friends and meet some new friends. All the work again this year was great! And the good news is I won Bronze for the 2 series I entered. One was for the work I did for the Port of San Diego last year and the other was for the ongoing ADDY Contender's series.


ADDY Contenders:
Mark Albertazzi, Rich Badami, Myle McGuiness, and Barry Whifield



Port of San Diego