This was my son William’s first Christmas where he really got in the spirit. (He is 2.5 now). Here is William playing in his new chair with Jocelyn’s parents, and my superhero brother Steven doing pushups with William on his back. I tried doing just one William pushup, no dice. Also, head over to my wife Jocelyn Johnson’s blog to see more holiday fun.
For my last wedding of the year, I had the pleasure of photographing Wistar and Darren at Live Arts in Charlottesville. Wistar and Darren, not to mention most of their guests, are friends of mine, which was both awesome and challenging. Also, this was the first wedding where I had a “photobooth” set up, which was also awesome and challenging (people get crazy in a photobooth. Who knew?) Here are a few images, with more to come next week.
I recently photographed the Sons of Bill for their upcoming album. This shoot was super exciting, as I have been wanting to do more band photography. Unbenounst to me, my friend Andrew Shurtleff photographed Rebekah Girvan Budnikas and I making my magic. I will show you some of the photos from the shoot soon, but I want to know, do my pants really hang that low?
My friend Rachel Zahumensky is the photography teacher at Charlottesville High School. Yesterday she organized a project called “Dawn to Dusk on the Downtown Mall,” where students spend the entire day photographing at locations in downtown Charlottesville. The weather was miserable; rainy and cold, but the students pushed through, just like pros. Anna, one of the students in my Video as Art class was there. I stopped by while she was working with Rachel and Jon Golden, a professional photographer who coordinated volunteers for the event and offered technical assistance. The students at CHS are lucky to have such a dedicated teacher and community of photographers to help them learn.
OK. Maybe some of you have noticed, I have been posting videos as of late. I know what you are wondering. You are saying to yourself, “Billy, aren’t you a still photographer?”
Well, I just got this new camera. Its the Canon 5D, Mark II for you nerds out there. Anyway, it is a still camera that also shoots high definition video. I have been running around all week, shooting photos and video, back and forth like a kid with too many toys at Christmas (which is not too far from the truth). The difference between photography and videography is going away. What a great time to be interested in media.
So, to make a long story long, Gene, Zach, and I opened for, Pantherburn at the Box last Friday, and after we were done, I took some video of their performance. Notice how well the camera does in really low light.
Together with Anna Ma, I am currently teaching a Video as Art class for Lighthouse Studio to high school students. Tonight, we did a brief lighting exercise during class, and I thought I would share the results of these brilliant students imaginations. Tell the truth, it is a masterpiece, right?
My good friend, the talented Missy Colombo took some pictures of my band the last time we were in Richmond. Thanks Missy. For those of you going to be in Richmond December 13, we will be playing at Wonderland on Saturday night. Come check us out.
I had a lot of fun at the art opening at The Bridge Progressive Arts Institute this past Friday. William, my mom, Jocelyn, her parents, ex-students, Rev. Jim Bundy and his wife Ava Baum, many of the women involved in CLAW, and about one million billion friends and visitors all came out to buy books, get them signed, see prints, listen to music, try their hand at arm wrestling, and enjoy the fun. It really was a spectacle. Here are a few pictures that were taken by my father in law, Michael Johnson.
The prints are up for the entire month of November at The Bridge. Anyone who missed it, go check them out. Those of you who would like a little more information, can come out as I host Charlottesville Photo Night next Wednesday, November, 19th. I will post more about this later this week.
All you devil may care, rapscallions. Its time you sat down with your iphones in your cyber-cafes and register to vote. Even if you hate freedom, this one is important. So take a minute and register, and then go vote.
