Sasha Outtake

Sasha Outtake
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Yesterday we did the second of two full day shoots finishing up the images for a 2006 calendar starring Sasha Monet. The team, Sasha, Paula, Kevin and I worked long and hard as Sasha transformed into a pin-up girl! This is an outtake. As I was editing the images this one popped out somehow. The light didn't trigger and what little light there was seemed to fall in such interesting ways it caught my eye so I've turned it into an art piece.
Also... Paula and I have launched a new blog dedicated to our collaborative work. Check it out! We are calling ourselves Red Hot Marbles.

Surfin' USA, nuff said

The Eyeliners and the bubble blowing guitarist

The Eyeliners
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The Eyeliners opened up for Social D and they were a lof of fun. It's a trio of women-- a blonde, a brunette, a redhead. I only saw the guitarist blow this one bubble and I wanted to see it again! Not a common site. Next thing you know the drummer turns out to be the singer and a guy takes her place on drums as she stands front and center belting it out in her "F*** Subtlety" t-shirt. Nothing subtle there. Later on the girls were standing in one of the exit doorways with hands full of CD's trying to make some quick cash sales and I just had to buy one! Gotta support these hard working musicians all you can... :)

Question-- is anyone offended by the use of the F word in print these days? It seems so often used now in mainstream print media that I'm feeling old-fashioned by my own asterisk usage here. Comments?

Social Distortion back in town

Social Distortion back in town
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Social Distortion made it back into town last week and played a great show at the UC Davis Pavillion. Late in the set a skinny shirtless guy came out of nowhere running across the stage and got right in Mike Ness's face, literally causing him to skip a word or two in his song. The guy then launched himself into the crowd like he was going off the high dive, never to be seen again. There was a whole lotta surfin' going on too. One of the security guards said that when Mike came out earlier in the day during a sound check he insisted that the barrier between the fans and the stage had to be narrowed or he would refuse to go on. Security complied of course, and it was narrow indeed. We could just barely squeeze through. A couple of times I had to duck under the stage to get away from fans coming over the rail, all flailing arms and legs.

The Guttermouth Drummer

The Guttermouth Drummer
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

This is one of the two images of mine selected by judges during the International Print Competition for the Professional Photographers of America to be in their 2005 Loan Collection, a real coup since only 5% of the thousands of entries make it. The images then get published in the Loan Collection book they produce each year.
This photo was shot at last year's Warp tour show on the Volcom Stage. He's no longer with the band anymore so I have to track him down now!

"I'm sick of blonde jokes!"

I'm sick of blonde jokes!
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

How about something a little different from the rock and roll fare I've been posting lately. This is one of the two amazing russian women I photographed last year and posted about. I entered this image in the International Print Competition too and it also got selected for their Loan Collection!
The judges had very strong reactions to the image too-- a bit of a love hate thing-- but the boldness of it won out in the end. I heard a couple of judges say she scared them. :) It just so happened I was there for the judging this weekend in San Diego because I volunteered to be a print handler and was in the room when it came up. No one knew it was mine until after!

Many a tune In the merry merry month of June

trio6827
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

This year marks the 14th annual Sacramento Area Music Awards Show-- aka The Sammies-- and Old Sacramento has a variety of venues hosting the pre Sammies shows so you can see the performers live and vote for your favorites. They'll be happening every Friday night this month.
I saw these guys at a couple of different venues just dancing, jumping, crashing, playing, swirling around, completely unabashed and having a great time.
This is the top notch music that our local musicians have to offer and should not be missed. The talent we have right here in our own backyard is just outstanding so get out there and enjoy!!!!

Then go vote for your favorite bands here!

Nevada Backwards

NB7005
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Brian Ballantine of Nevada Backwards belted it out and never missed a beat even when his microphone came loose from the stand and he had to crouch down to sing into it. This was a rocking set and the fans didn't want them to leave the stage. I left just before the second encore but sure didn't want to! Nevada Backwards is in the Country/Bluegrass category of this year's Sammies. Vote for your favorite bands here! I made it to all four venues to shoot pics for emusiconnect.com, each one representing a different music genre, so the diversity is wonderful.