After what seems like, an eternity of not posting anything, I have moved my blog to my new site, here:
www.gabrielmadrigalphotography.com
There, I should have more control over my content and (hopefully) be inclined to post more.
Hope to see you there!
Last week I lost someone very close and special.
He came into my life 12 years ago. But once he joined our small family, he and I bonded and he became “my little boy.” I will remember your life with joy and happiness because that’s what you gave me.
Rigel just a few days after joining our family (here with Heather, my wife)
Rigel 1998-2010
One of my favorite holidays is quickly approaching. No, not Halloween (although, I do love that holiday), I’m referring to Day of the Dead. A Mexican tradition that is firmly planting it’s foothold in the US. Make sure you check around your favorite city to see if any Day of the Dead celebrations are being held near you. You won’t regret it. If you live in Los Angeles, you can do like me and attend the annual Day of the Dead celebration at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, click here for more info: http://www.ladayofthedead.com/
The photo below was taken at a Day of the Dead display at the Autry National Center for the American West. A Los Angeles gem of a museum next to the L.A. Zoo.
Last year I returned to film to focus on my composition. It worked. Once you realize that every shot you take is costing you money, not much but still money, you rethink your shots much more. After shooting three or four rolls with 35mm, I wanted to see what I could do with a medium format camera. Luckily for me, I found a nice medium format Yashica Mat at a great price. Last week when I shot a SoCal sunset in Huntington Beach, I also shot a roll of 120. Here is the film shot for comparison.
I convinced Matthew to let me take his picture for one quarter, surprisingly, it worked. My only regret that day was not having my flash with me. While we sat in the shade for most of the afternoon, the sun did manage to fight it’s way through a few cracks in it’s shade armor. And while most of his face is in the shade, some sun spots actually created a real challenge in salvaging this portrait (which is why I resort to such an artistic interpretation of the moment.)
Once you become aware of it, you will be surprised by the numerous places astrology symbols are found. What’s even more surprising is the abundance of locations in and around public installations of art. One would think that we as a people are either incredibly superstitions or just find their mysterious symbolism comforting and pleasing to the eye.
I’m sure there’s a great explanation as to why there are there, but one thing is for sure, they look great, don’t they? This photo was taken a few days ago while walking around Rancho Palos Verdes, in a little park near a memorial.
I left work just a tad bit early on that Friday hoping to get some things done before dinner, however the weather didn’t agree with my plan. By the time I got just one exit away from my usual freeway departure, I could already see that the cloud formations were going to make for an amazing Southern California fall sunset. In photography the one quote I hear most often is ‘I never regret taking a photo, I do regret NOT taking the photo.’ With that quote firmly embedded in my head, I headed south when I exited the off ramp instead of my usual north. I made my way to a parking lot and paid my fifteen dollars for temporary parking. I capture the moment well, I hope you enjoy these. [as with all the photos on this blog, click on them to see them bigger]
A lone Huntington Beach visitor makes their way to the pier with a suitcase, no doubt for a busy pier meeting. The fleeting sun caught a glimpse of their hand watch and made for a temporary bright star.
Capturing what I wanted, I started to make my way back home.
Depending on who you believe, something or nothing will happen December 2012. I’m in the camp that says ‘absolutely nothing’ will happen during that year. The Mayan calendar will just reset and all the speculation will go away, only to resurface the next time someone figures a way to make money from it.
This is a small figure I picked up south of the border a few years back, it’s hanging in the hallway (yes, my hallway is a lime color.) This photo was taken with a yellow tint gel flash.
Years ago, when my wife and I were still dating, she got a flier that gained entry to the “new film by Shannon Doherty” (the flier said.) We were both working menial jobs that didn’t pay much, so something free like that always caught our attention. When we arrived at the theatre in Manhattan Beach, the line was already past the ‘assured entry’ markers, yet we stuck it out and managed to grab a pair of seats in the front row. Then we sat back to enjoy a rough cut of, the new film by the relatively new director Kevin Smith. This was to be his sophomore effort, Mallrats.
It was horrible. Beyond horrible. I thought several times during the movie, that maybe a walk around the complex would be more entertaining. Still, we stuck it out and after the movie we were handed a clipboard with a questionnaire. My wife and I both felt like we watched the same movie so we proceeded to rip it apart, both verbally and on paper, all the while laughing at what we were writing down. We were a bit loud, laughing and commenting how the movie would be best placed on the New Release video wall at Blockbuster instead of the local movie theatre marquee. In fact, maybe the movie should be shown to would-be directors who need a visual “what not to do” warning.
As the movie people came around to pick up the surveys we got up and began to make our way out of the theater, I quickly spotted someone from the movie sitting directly in back of us. It was Silent Bob from the movie, sporting a huge grin and acknowledging our jaunt at the expense of the film.
I quickly forgot about the movie and event, until a few months later when I learned that Silent Bob was in fact, the writer and director of the movie. Holy Crap! He was directly in back of us the entire time listening to us thrash his movie and all he had for us in return was a smile and laugh. What a guy!
Flash forward to now. I’m a huge Kevin Smith fan. I own all his movies on DVD, have his comics, have seen him live, own his “evening with DVD’s” and as you can see from the photo, own plastic figures of him and his sidekick. And incidentally, that movie we lampooned 20 years ago is one that I’ve grown to love.
Not too long ago, we crossed off “attend a masquerade” off our bucket list. As with all things I go into with trepidation, the event turned out to be an amazing experience. The Labyrinth of Jareth is a yearly ball held in Los Angeles and attended by eccentric artists, voyeurs and random citizens of this amazing city.
Along with your extravagant, fantasy inspired costumes, I found the garment wearers to be extremely friendly and welcoming.
Even the walk to the event from the parking lot was eventful.
Those that dressed for the event went all out.
I’m definitely looking forward to next year’s event and I encourage anyone with a bit of adventure and a bucket-list item to cross off: make the effort, you won’t regret a minute of the fun.
 | Heather on Let me take a moment |
 | randy on Day of the Dead |
 | tag-mike on One of those sunsets… |
 | Mike on Lebowski |
 | Gabriel on Lebowski |
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