This morning with two great mates, we trekked into the deepest darkest San Fernando Valley - as we had been granted an invitation to enter into the remarkable office/studio/archive of legendary photographer and director Norman Seeff.

To say that I walked away inspired would be such an understatement. I left there exhilarated.

Far beyond his exquisite and technically superior photography, is his work regarding exploration into the creative process.

A remarkable man - Norman had the foresight to not only photograph his subjects, but to have his assistants roll film (and later video) on the photo shoots. He doesn't just throw it into auto-focus and snap pictures willy nilly - he engages his subjects in intense and heart-opening conversation, working in and out of his diopter while fearlessly prying open their protective emotional layers, manually focusing with pin-sharp precision while getting them to open up about their deepest thoughts and feelings - and right when the emotional response is written in their eyes - click - he captures the truest essence of their souls, on 35mm film. And he's done this for over 400 shoots since 1975.

As someone who has made a living interviewing people for the better part of my career - I was completely humbled by his skill and ability - pummeled back into my box like Tyrion slapping Joffrey. His way with people, his willingness to push buttons and boundaries, to confidently ask his subjects to reveal parts of themselves they'd otherwise keep hidden - he is a true master at interviewing - yet this doesn't even begin to describe his photos.

After leafing through some of the enormous gallery prints hung on the walls (all blown up to around 4ft x 3ft from a 35mm neg!) we were ushered into a back room where Norman himself was working on editing some footage for the upcoming exhibit "Who Shot Rock 'n Roll" at the Annenberg Space for Photography here in LA. Instantly you could sense his warmth, his intelligence and his aura in the room. We only spent a short while with him, after which he invited us to sit in his edit bay to peruse some footage of his photo shoots over the years -including a longer version of this session with Ray Charles..

If I ever question what it is that I love about photographing or interviewing people, you're welcome to slap me upside the head with a giant reel of that footage. I am so grateful to do what I do for a living, even if it is a teeny tiny itsy bitsy fraction of the size of what Norman does.

Norman has opened up selections of his remarkable archive for sale, at very reasonable prices. The link is below - I picked out Steve Martin, and the photo here of Steve Jobs, among others.

Now if you don't mind - I'm off to load some film holders and pack my camera bag..

http://normanseeffphotography.com/wordpress/artforall/

I love how the product is revered in this film.
I love how they speak so highly of the camera and the consumer in the process. From how reverently they refer to Edward Land, (the inventor of the Polaroid process) to the pride they so obviously take in the manufacturing of this "Invention".

It's a pity that we don't revere products any more like this, that we don't appreciate the hard work and research that's gone in to them.
We just expect a product to be about 1/4 the cost of what it should be, to work straight out of the box without reading the manual, and yet we're ready to chuck it and buy a new one the moment it might look like malfunctioning.

Enjoy eleven minutes of wonderful worship of design and function..

x

Fort Irwin Military Base, middle of nowhere, Mojave Desert, California.

Each military company that gets sent to this enormous base to train for warfare (the US army has a desert warfare training facility here complete with a replica Iraqi town - populated with real Iraqis employed to play the roles of inhabitants) brings a rock out to this rock pile and paints their insignia on it.

They go back decades.
Some of the logos are pretty intense, but then again, these guys aren't in the business of making friends.

Horizon S3 Panoramic Camera.

Death Valley is a remarkable place. Appropriately named too! The coolest it got was around 44ºC in the night. Just epic, moisture-sucking heat. So hot you don't even sweat.

My brother and I drove all over it for a few days, and occasionally I'd punish him by pulling over to take some photos.

Spying these dunes by the side of the road, I had to pull over and snap off a few.

If you ever travel to LA, rent a car (a reliable one!) and pop out here. Try to avoid going there in July like we did though. It's really, really hot.

Here's the photo Sean Kelly shot down at Mart Gallery the other day.
Legendary bloke!
Read more about his 365 journey and the night we both played with Australia's legendary silverchair by clicking the pic. 

Something about American fire engines makes me think I'm in a Thunderbirds epidode. I'm 36 - not really into cars or anything like that, but Fire Engines here make me feel like I'm 7.
Especially the ladder trucks.

After I voted today, at the Consulate in Century City, I snapped this off, as it was parked out the front.

Squee.

Also for the Nakatomo building in the back.

And just for shits and giggles:

Gimmel the guard cat

Cat that came to live with us, watching out for invaders.

Click above to see it bigger..

2nd attempt at manipulating the Impossible Time Zero film.

Went to the art store and got some clay shaping tools, but I'm still learning the pressures to apply - too little and you can't soften up the emulsion. Too much and you push through to the back of the photo..

This is the cat that's come to live with us.

He's adjusting to his new surroundings well, but dog is sad that he doesn't want to play yet. They'll spoon soon I think.

Click above to see it way bigger.

First few tries at manipulating the Impossible project's Time Zero film today.
I shot it and took to my face with a bamboo skewer.
Interesting results..
Looking forward to trying a few more..