Auto Show paid gig - Details needed

There is an event related to the Auto Show on Jan 8 from 6-9pm.
I'm submitting information from my contacts to the event organizer ASAP.
I've had three people successfully complete this information and this is being sent to in tonight. There are quite a few people that haven't yet taken the time to complete the information here. The event is slightly more than a week away - you need to do this ASAP if interested in the opportunities for this event.

Ages: 21-31 years
Needed: 15 males, 15 females to pass out goodies and circulate with the guests able to discuss Detroit nightlife.
Needed: 15 "couture" (5'9" attractive) model bartenders with TIPS certification.

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Working Name
Social Security Number
Legal Name
Mailing Address
Phone (mobile, home, business, etc)
Email (Yahoo Msgr, MSN Msgr, AIM)
Major cities you are willing to work
Birthdate
Height
Weight
Measurements
(Female: Bust, Cup, Waist, Hip, Dress, Jacket, Shirt (neck/sleeve), Pant(inseam/outseam), Shoe)
(Male: Chest, Waist, Suit (size/length), Shirt (neck/sleeve), Pants (inseam/outseam), Shoe)
Piercings
Tatoos
Eye Color
Hair Color
Hair Type (Curly/Wavy/Straight)
Hair Length (Waist, Mid-Back, Shoulder, Chin, Over Ears, Semi-Bald, Bald)
Ethnic Origin
Forms of Modeling interested
Bartending certifications
Special events credits
Acting credits
Fluent Languages
Musician
Dancer (form)
Specialties (such as MUA, Photog, Hair Stylist, Clothing Designer, Sign Language, ...)
Any existing exclusive agency affiliations
Online portfolios (OMP, MM, MuseCube, iModel, ...)

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Send the above to info@abandonedindetroit.com with the subject "Auto Show gig model specs".

New camera ... the inevitable

On the camera front...
It was SUCH A STRUGGLE getting photos during the Tiesto show - my camera has had repeated problems with memory stick access. I sucked down the nasty pill and bought a replacement Sony F828 for $125 more than I spent on the F717 a year ago. It'll be nice to move up a step in technology. For now I'll be carrying spare cameras for those times my main decides to act up.

Wish me luck in finding business to cover the cost of this expensive solution.

Tiesto photos

Photos from Thursday's show at State Theatre of DJ Tiesto are on my website and sent to www.ResidentAdvisor.net and www.DetroitClubScene.com.

If you'd like prints of a phoot leave a comment and I'll swap in a higher resolution photo.

Leave comments!!! Photos with comments will be sent to RealDetroit, MetroTimes and other papers! You've only got a day or two to leave comments. Start looking...

Holiday Work Schedule

I've had a number of people say "let me know how your schedule looks so we can work out a shoot". This blog post is for you. I'll be able to refer to it each time someone says this as well. I do use the calendar on MySpace, but it seems that new feature is one that isn't well known.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
Nov 27 Photoshoot afternoon for Dirty Show	Nov 28 6:30-9:30pm LFS meeting	Nov 29 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Nov 30 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 1 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Dec 2 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 3
Dec 4	Dec 5 6:30-9:30pm LFS meeting	Dec 6 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Dec 7 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 8 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Dec 9 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 10 9am-2pm Dodge Park photoshoot 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa
Dec 11	Dec 12 6:30-9:30pm LFS meeting	Dec 13 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Dec 14 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 15 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Dec 16 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 17 6pm-11pm Liquid Silver (tentative)
Dec 18 11am-8pm Abandoned In Detroit photoshoot	Dec 19 6:30-9:30pm LFS meeting	Dec 20 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Dec 21 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 22 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa 5pm-9pm Somerset Santa	Dec 23 8am-12:30pm Somerset Santa	Dec 24 perhaps travel to see my daughter?

Updates will be made to this table. I'm referring to it in several emails.

Photo-edit: Latoya

Latoya Editted,
uploaded by Fuzzytek.

I did some image editting on one of Latoya's photos. I really wanted a better image than what the camera captured. In the key photo you'll see the out-of-the-camera image and the editted image.

Those of you that know I use a laptop ... yes a touchpad for my editting. I drag my finger deftly across the surface to achieve the results you see here.

I did recently purchase a USB graphics tablet with mouse and graphics pen. The Adesso CyberTablet 6400 is a lower cost solution that I saw at the MicroCenter store, near Oakland Mall. I haven't embraced using it 100% yet. Just like I've never fully moved away from keyboard shortcuts. So this becomes an ADDITIONAL human interface device.

Liquid Silver postponed from Nov 26

I've been assisting Ziam a bit with his next Liquid Silver show which has been planned for November 26. However there is a problem with the venue we were going to use.

Liquid Silver is postponed at this time until we find a suitable venue and date. The tentative date we are aiming for is December 17.

Information about Liquid Silver can be directed to silverliquidyears@yahoo.com

Thought Collide Productions website

Thought Collide has released an updated website and now has a blog to which I'll be contributing content. I have quite a few photos from the past 9 months to share with people. This was evidenced at the Living for Sundance photo contest night at Edgewise Gallery on Saturday. This evening we held a meeting and Ed indicated about 150 people came through the gallery to view the photos and meet people Living for Sundance.

Abandoned In Detroit planning

An overall plan for Abandoned In Detroit was created on the blog tonight. Check it and get involved.

Photoshoot: Latoya

Saturday I met Latoya and we went to Metro Image Gallery for photos. It was my first time visiting the location which is at 135 Cadillac near Ham Heaven and Checker Grille. So I met Jordan Fox and delivered 3 photos from my shoot with Jon & Briana for display in his gallery. I still owe him money to frame them. It gets pretty expensive to put your work on exhibit! I've spent $450 in ink, paper, frames in the past week. I'm glad Mike's got the Epson R1800 to print the photos with. It beats selecting them and requesting prints from the lab over the internet. Although I think the price from the internet lab is comparable to printing at home.

I've posted proofs from the shoot online. We stopped by MAC at Somerset and picked out makeup for the shoot. Yes - my first time doing makeup for a shoot. I had the artistic concept in my head, all it took is the person and supplies.

We first took photos of Latoya in her own makeup. She got pretty creative in the poses.

Then we took about 20 minutes to apply the metallics. I think I could have used a palette and body lotion in doing the makeup. This first experience I learned how the makeup came out of the kit and applied onto the body.

I'll be printing photos for display at Liquid Silver on Saturday. You'll find wonderful work for sale.

Edgewise Gallery Nov 18 - My photos exhibiting

I will have a selection of photos on display at the Living For Sundance photo contest which opens this Friday, November 18 from 6pm to 9pm.

Galleries, Runways, Random Shoots

OK this is a busy weekend (Nov 11-13) but it is happening in any way other than I have planned. I walk toward an objective and end up getting side-swiped into something different but interesting.

Saturday
I was supposed to deliver framed prints to two galleries. I didn't have the photos printed to be able to do that. I had delays in getting the printer setup and framing supplies to the house.

I had a brief photo shoot with Kelley at Cranbrook since I wasn't going into Detroit. She and I have been planning to do this since February I think. Today's shoot was very good and we're both looking forward to extending it into another more significant shoot.

Sunday
Here are the plans:

• Call Mairi Elle from Columbus about shooting Monday or Tuesday
• Noon shoot with Meghan, first stop will be either downtown Royal Oak or Cranbrook.
• 2pm visit with Meghan to use Porsche in photos plus get photos of Kimmie with the Porsche. Wrap the shoot at 3pm and head home.
• 3:30pm Donovan, Melissa, Leticia come over and we head to an abandoned space for a photoshoot AID style.
• 6pm doors open for a fashion show at the Jazzloft produced by Ziam. The address is 525 Monroe above Golden Fleece Restaurant in Greektown. This is the preparation time for the show.
• 8pm fashion show begins.

Follow-up activities coming up...

• Monday (Nov 14) - potential photoshoot day, several models inquiring - possibly from outside Michigan. Evening meeting of Living for Sundance. Delivery of framed photos for LFS exhibition on Nov 18 (opening night).
• Tuesday (Nov 15) - planning meeting with Ziam (need to confirm this). Again have models interested in shooting - not sure how that will work with planning activities. Evening will be at Landmark Education working with the plans made with Ziam for December, January, February and beyond on Abandoned In Detroit and his projects (such as Liquid Silver).
• Wednesday (Nov 16) - mid-day talk at library announced by ArtServe, undetermined if I'm attending. Probably will be a photoshoot day instead.
• Thursday (Nov 17) - interview at One Source Talent (not sure of reputation, will be listening). Attend the evening tryout for models going to Liquid Silver show on Nov 26.
• Friday (Nov 18) - evening opening of LFS Photo Contest exhibition at Edgewise Gallery. Two doors down from Oslo on Woodward, 3 blocks south of Comerica Park. I would love to have all my friends stop in and check it out.
• Next weekend (Nov 19-20) - working afternoon/evening at Somerset as photographer at Santa's Castle. This is the kick-off weekend for Santa photos. Nov 20 is opening of 2nd gallery requesting prints that weren't delivered today. Maybe I can squeeze some in there - requires some discussion.

Time to sleep and dream of a perfectly executed Sunday.

Busy Thursday ... advanced AID notice

Plan for an Abandoned In Detroit shoot Sunday, December 18, check this blog entry - http://abandonedindetroit.blogspot.com/2005/11/planning-aid-shoot-dec-18.html

Tonight is the tryout for Ziam's runway shows on Nov 13 (Benefit) and Nov 26 (Liquid Silver). The place to be at 9pm is the JazzLoft above Golden Fleece Restaurant, 525 Monroe, Detroit 48226. Height is not a requirement in this runway event - ATTITUDE is required! Funky, fresh and free. This is a celebration of Detroit style.

I will not be able to attend the main portion of activities. I have a Landmark Education seminar completion night this evening and a photographer friend is going to pick me up in Highland Park afterward to make the trip to Detroit. Hopefully things will still be buzzing with Z when I finally get there.

Photos from the Nov 2 AID shoot are online. Check them out!

Weekend in Chicago

I sent the following as an email to my Abandoned In Detroit contacts. I'm dropping a copy here since I'm busy getting things ready to leave now and can't compose anything more.

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A fellow photographer (Dino Mangano) is holding an open shoot Saturday, November 5th at Michigan State University. Take a look at the details in this thread on Model Mayhem - http://www.modelmayhem.com/posts.php?thread_id=15678

I will be in Chicago this weekend (Nov 4-6) holding meetings regarding website development. I'm also hoping to hold a few shoots while there as well. Very short notice on my trip there.

Late November Dino is planning a forest shoot. Probably over Thanksgiving weekend. He is targeting designers in this shoot as well. Check the thread on Model Mayhem - http://www.modelmayhem.com/posts.php?thread_id=16102

December I may be planning a shoot mid-month. That depends on how working as a Santa photographer at Somerset Mall goes. I'll be on morning shift Wed-Fri also Tues and Thurs evenings, with a couple weekends also.
January will be a time for showcasing the work assembled and holding shoots in the snow.

Please forward this to your interested friends. If I don't have their contact information to receive this directly, please ask them to send name, phone, email, online portfolio IDs, and indicate their talents (model, designer, makeup, hair, stylist, ...). You can also reach me at http://blog.myspace.com/fuzzytek

Our fast shoot a couple days ago had 6 models appear and 4 photographers. There were some issues regarding bringing everyone together at the same time. All that I've spoke with have indicated it was a good shoot. Thanks to those participating in coming with no advance notice.

Thanks,
Stephen and the AID crew
http://www.AbandonedInDetroit.com

Halloween weekend progress report: Friday

Ziam and friends,
uploaded by Fuzzytek

Plans versus reality - do we have to live in disappointment when our plans are not met? ~Laughs~ I just step out of the condition for a moment look around and proceed.

Friday recap - Ziam and friends

My plans originally were to meet Ziam at Caribou Coffee in Royal Oak at 6pm. We spoke in the afternoon and shifted that to 8pm at Niki's in Detroit. So what happens? I run late 7:08 and watch my bus taking off from the bus stop from 1/4 mile away. I called the number I had been called from (Ziam has no phone) and tell them I'll be there at 9pm. I have to wait 45 minutes for the next bus, then travel an hour. I hate repeating that destiny over and over of missing the bus!!

What to do? Lover's Lane is a short walk from 13 Mile & Woodward. I walked in and opened up a photographer's account with them. I picked up a nice lace & sheer black gown and jacket set along with some stain black long gloves for the photoshoot in Toledo on Saturday.

So if you're looking for sexy clothing to use in a photoshoot talk with me about using my discount.

I got to Niki's (Lover's Lane bag in one hand, laptop in a shoulder bag too) and wait to see Ziam. We wander over to Fishbones where Aisha(sp?) is waiting at the bar. I got the laptop plugged in and we looked through photos, drank a little and enjoyed the band playing pop music covers. I think we were kinda animated and the talk of several tables around us. I guess creative people (read crazy) attract attention. We had a great time sharing photos even if we didn't get to specifics in futures planning for AID. He promised to come out to my place and discuss things more thoroughly very soon.

Around 12:30 we wrapped things up and I had some time to wait for the 1:17 bus (last one) to get me home. I found the Rock Harvest Fest tent across the street from Delux on Monroe. Inside I saw Aphrodite and talked with her a bit. I like her and hope our paths continue to cross more frequently. She doesn't live that far away and we both seem to enjoy the same events too. I also saw John from the band White.

I left around 1am to get over to Woodward. Outside Oslo is a great spot to wait for the bus - you can people watch all night. SunnyJ came along and we talked a bit before she went inside. We need to hold a photoshoot soon. I LOVE the big blue eyelashes!!! Those HAVE TO be in the photoshoot.

Looking down the block I walked to Bleu to see who else might be out... I talked with Pam about photos I took from the Real Big Hairball. I also had to confess I had her mixed up with Mahogany and that's so weird because they really don't look the same. I guess I had my friends of friends association for them mixed up.

Then along comes Andi and I give her a big whirl around hug. She's great ... I could tell she was gonna have a fun time. For me it was time to board the bus, walk home and rest before the Toledo Halloween shoot.

Photoshoot: YogaChick

Saturday I had a photoshoot with a new model on OMP. She goes by YogaChick. So we talked about potential locations and thought for sure it was gonna be a trip into Detroit. So she gets to my house and we look out at a day without the predicted rain, the leaves all changed in color and choose instead to go to Cranbrook.

I've been pining to shoot with the Canon AE-1 manual film camera from my grandfather. I've been looking through the viewfinder for a couple weeks now and love the depth. Funny thing is Tony asked me to help him with some website work and gave me a 135mm lens that fits the AE-1 perfect. I guess it isn't a high quality lens, but anything different is something for me.

I looked and thought about taking the AE-1 and chose at the last minute not to. We get to the location out on the path taking photos and the Sony keeps throwing shitty error messages on the screen about memory errors and format errors. I swapped memory sticks - same errors, swapped batteries - same errors. I think it is the camera I've used it so much this past year and got so many great photos from it. They seem to keep getting better too as I explore new conditions. But these error messages have been showing up more and more frequently the past month.

Frustrated and annoyed in front of a new model. I kept appologizing for the conditions of things. I finally said - we need to go back to the house and get the film camera, this one isn't working.

Sad - we spent maybe 30 minutes in that spot and got about 8 photos from it after all that effort. Got back in the car drove to a camera shop on Woodward and got a battery and several types of film. That was a $47 expense I hadn't planned.

We drove out to another area at Cranbrook featuring the architecture rather than nature. Here I am, new model and trying out film on a full manual camera for first time too. She really handled everything VERY well. The temperatures were only about 45 degrees too and the cloud cover was mixed. I popped a 24 exposure roll of 400 speed Fuji film in.

You know how it goes when you have something new and it seems kinda complex? Also I didn't read the instructions and trying to look like you know what you're doing. I swear it was strange. Funniest thing is I kept fogetting to advance the film. I was taking longer to setup the scene and check the composition. Click to take, and be amazed that the shutter worked, then try to figure what I missed to get the next photo to work. YEP - FULL MANUAL. Crank the film into the next frame. I tried some photos without a flash and then thought I'd better make sure I get the photos so I attached the flash and got the tripod from the car.

You have to understand that digital cameras when you adjust the settings and viewfind -- you see a simulated image revealing the settings. With a manual camera you get no feedback in the viewfinder to say you have good settings. I probably should have shot 2 or 3 rolls of film, but this was definately a test shoot for me and a new camera. Thanks to my model for understanding so well, she was outstanding through the whole shoot.

After the shoot we drove to Walmart and submitted the photos for one hour turn-around as double prints with a CD.

I worked with the photos a bit and created some pretty cool images. Walmart's CD kinda sucks... the images from the film are averaging only about 750kb. My digital camera is averageing 1.8mb for files. Fortunately I understand my editing tools well enough to compensate.

I used the Virtual Painter plug-in for PaintShop Pro to get the artistic effects on several of the images. However I don't simply rely on the tool to give me the completed work.

Weekend plans for NYC killed

Well there seems to be a trend here that is preventing me from going to NYC this weekend.

1. Person we were to be staying with may not be home due to circumstances beyond his control.
   
2. Andi says her ex-husband is being a jerk about the modeling. He had agreed to take care of their son and since this trip was for modeling he's decided not to support her going -- refusing to watch his son for the weekend.
   
3. Aaron's car died yesterday and he has no transportation to go. That was going to be how I got there too.

SO --- As much as I hate to say it ...
No, I'm not going to New York this weekend.
No, I'm not going to Modelween.
And No, it is not possible that I would be making a visit to my daughter on the return trip home.

NYC trip plans for this weekend

This weekend I'm headed to Modelween with Andi & Aaron. We'll be going out to see Ralph in Brooklyn.

It's gonna be a great networking event for models & photographers. I wish I'd printed business cards but the scraps of paper I use will work OK. I may need 400 'cards' though. Thinking about the night being half photographers and half models has me thinking the number of cameras is gonna be insane.

Right now I'm sorting through photos to assemble a portfolio of prints. I'm very overdue in getting this done and will have to run a CD in for processing tonight to get the photos back by Thursday morning.

Chickee thank you for that music video bulletin - it reflects my mood now. It also has some cool NYC scenes in it. Reposting it here for your enjoyment...

Weather Forecast for NYC

Oct 20 Thursday

Sunshine. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.

Oct 21 Friday

A few clouds. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.

Oct 22 Saturday

Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 50s.

Oct 23 Sunday

Showers possible. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

So much to get done before the trip.

Photos: Armin Van Buuren & Real Big Hairball

Here are sample photos from the galleries of photos uploaded the past couple days. Click on the link above the photos to view the gallery.

Thursday
at Bleu - Armin Van Buuren

Sunday
at Royal Oak Music Theater - The Real Big Hairball

Event: Real Big Hairball

Sunday, October 9
I headed out for a night of debauchery with Aaron. We went to the Real Big Hairball at the Royal Oak Music Theater. This was a great performance art showcase by the hair salons around town. Nothing quiet like it and the line outside when we arrive attested to its popularity. Inside the seats were all taken and people standing all around. Seating was pretty open and I didn't realize that I could have been right up to the stage until the night was just about over. Still from my vantage point I got some great photos. And I got the full stage in view, which if I was too close would have been impossible.

As the hairball closed we took a quick group photo with some people. Then headed over to Sky Club, the official after-party location. The Hairball had models being staged at Sangria for the show... they said there were over 140 models working. At Sky Club many of the models enjoyed dancing along with their friends and family. It was packed shoulder to shoulder with beautiful people.

I need to write up a 600 word review for The Detroiter and submit that for publication by Monday Oct 17.

Mz Hypnotic video shoot...

Saturday, October 8
I had a hip-hop music video shoot with Mz Hypnotic in Southfield. I brought Yarnell and Patrick in as models for the shoot. We didn't quite have 8 people for pairs, so I ended up in the shoot as well.

I did prepare for the shoot bringing a couple pairs of baggy jeans for Patrick and myself. Funny, I never figured that I would want to wear the 38 inch waist jeans ever again. {I used to weigh 225 pounds in 2002, 245 in 1997.} I guess I had a use for them, that surprised me.

The video shoot was held in several places including in Mz Hypnotic's neighborhood, the Southfield Marriott, and Crossroads concert saloon in Taylor. It was very nice to have them take care of transportation for me.

I was just too tired to get myself to Bleu to see Detroit's Finest DJs - love you all.

Club: Bleu - Armin Van Buuren

Armin Van Buurn
at Bleu

Thursday, October 6
I went to Bleu with Andi to see Armin Van Buuren. We had a great time dancing all night. Thanks for being my partner in stolen moments captured.

I wish I had gotten VIP tickets for better photos of Armin. Shooting from the dance floor didn't result in too many good photos of the DJ. I probably should have exercised some of my news/website contacts. More planning next time.

The photos are online. Enjoy!

Holiday Photographer @ Somerset

This holiday season I will be working at Somerset Mall taking photos at Santa's Castle. My hours are posted in my calendar on MySpace.

People interested in getting portfolio photos - TALK TO ME SOON. Schedules fill fast.

Pure Detroit Design Lab Anniversary

When: Thursday, October 13, 2005
Where: Roland Cafe & the Design Lab
From: Sarah Lu @ Pure Detroit Design Lab

Fashion show at 8pm to be held at Roland Cafe in the Guardian Building. It is their opening. Music from local DJs and treats will be served at the Design Lab after the fashion show.

More information to be posted soon. Also view event on MySpace.

Hip-Hop Music Video

Saturday (today) I am bringing male models together for the shooting of a music video for Mz Hypnotic. The shoot location is in Southfield near 13 Mile and Evergreen. The request is for 8 models, at last count I had 5 interested. Expect an email and phone call from me Saturday morning if you have applied for the shoot. Call me if I need to contact you - 248-259-3980.

Shoot time is 2:00 - 2:30pm for the main sequence. Additional footage between 2:45 and 3:30 at a hotel with selected models (shirt off sequence).

Governor's Awards for Arts & Culture

When: November 16 11am-1pm
What: Talkback presentation with Jeff Bruckheimer
Where:Detroit Opera House
Register: Call 248-557-8288 ext 13
Email: education@artservemichigan.org
Website: www.ArtServeMichigan.org
From: Donna M. Edwards, Director, Education Initiatives
ArtServe

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About the Governor's Awards Student Event

Whether you are an actor, producer, animator, director or write musical scores for film and televison, we think you will enjoy listening to Jerry Bruckheimer at a special talkback session on Wednesday, November 16, 2005, at the Detroit Opera House.

Jerry Bruckheimer, will be in Detroit to accept the Governor's Awards for Arts & Culture International Achievement Award on Tuesday, November 15th and will sit down and talk about his career on Wednesday, November 16th.

In this 2-hour talkback session, you will hear Jerry talk about his career and what he did to go from a student, who loved photography and watched movies to one of the most prolific movie producers of all times.

To attend this special event contact ArtServe Michigan at 248-557-8288 ext.13 or send an e-mail with register me in the subject line to education@artservemichigan.org.

You will be send an e-mail notification of your registration.

For more information about the Governor's Awards for Arts & Culture gala event on Tuesday, November 15th at the Detroit Opera House,visit ArtServe's Web site at www.ArtServeMichigan.org

Detroit Film, The Passenger, Debuts Tuesday

Original blog post by Girl in the D (linked)

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On October 4, metro Detroiters have the opportunity to be among the first people in the country to view the new Detroit movie, The Passenger.

Image by Eric Livingstone, Helvetica.
Courtesy of Thought Collide.

The full-length feature film – which is about an artist caught between a lackluster 9-to-5 job and the fascinating world of Detroit’s underground – will be shown at Novi’s Emagine Theater on Tuesday night at 7 pm and again at 9 pm.

Written and directed by Jamie Sonderman, a Detroit-native with an intense passion for the city, The Passenger is Sonderman’s fifth film, and is the first full-length feature film of Thought Collide, a conglomerate of creative Detroiters – actors, photographers, singers, producers, sound specialists, and more – that the screenwriter founded with Passenger-executive producer, Ed Gardiner.

The Passenger is the second film of the Mitten Movie Project, a mini film festival of sorts that brings films with Michigan-ties to the public through various formats, such as shorts, feature lengths, music videos, and documentaries.

Films that are part of the Mitten Project, which is presented by Thought Collide in association with Emagine Theater, can be seen at 6:30 pm the first Tuesday of every month at the Novi movie theater. Tickets to Tuesday's screening of The Passenger are $10 each.

For more information on The Passenger or The Mitten Movie Project, please visit Thought Collide's website.

See you at the movies!

Weekend plans Sept 23-25

Friday

nowTime to get a rental car. $50 for the weekend special on an economy car from Enterprise.

2:05pm Ralph arrives from NYC for the Abandoned In Detroit (AID) photoshoot. He'll be staying with me a couple weeks. During that time I'll get started in male modeling. I'll have a great guide.

Click to enlarge.

6:00pm Edgewise Gallery opens two doors down from Oslo, 1428 Woodward, Detroit. I'm pumping this up as a meet-and-greet for people in the AID shoot. Come out and meet my film making / art scene friends.

Jan D tells me she is playing the music I love at Slows Bar, across from Tiger Stadium, Michigan and Trumbell. I'm not sure how much energy I will be spending tonight, Ralph and I may stop there briefly.

Saturday

8:00am - 9:30am SideEffect is holding a CD release party benefits to MADD at Canterbury Village. I'll be on site taking photos.

11:00am - 8:00pm Abandoned In Detroit photo shoot. We are parking in the lots at the NW corner of Rosa Parks and Michigan, behind The Works. More information is going to be posted this afternoon on the AID website. The location for the shoot is Michigan Central Station (the train station across from Tiger Stadium). You will not know how to get inside without contacting me and being IN THE GROUP. DO NOT APPROACH it directly!! You will blow the shoot. Please read the guidelines posted in the blog

.

After the shoot we can head to Bleu for dancing and celebrate Kimmie's birthday.

Sunday

Could be a day of recouperation and photo processing. That evening The Brazilian Girls will be playing at St Andrews Hall. I would love to see that show!!!

Let's see how the plans come together...

Arts, Beats, Eats 2005

Tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of photos to go through. It is times like this that I'm not so sure about photography, perhaps I just have to bring things in focus more. There are some great photos that happened this weekend. Best advice I can give is to check the galleries that are going to fill up from this link at fuzzytek.com. There's even a gallery there that points you around to the other galleries related to activities listed in this blog post that aren't part of the main group of photos.

Friday

Friday night I went to ABE (Arts, Beats, & Eats) in Pontiac with Mike (TimeFragment) to take photos of the bands there. We saw Crossfade and Seether. I managed to get into VIP between the two sets and got great shots of Seether. Mike was surprised that I got into VIP, but he knows I manage to do that sort of stuff regularly.

The photos from VIP were GREAT. I hope I can sell a few and make some money. Lord knows I could use it.

It was great meeting Scott Legato during the show. It was funny to have met his father and mother just a few weeks ago at Woodward Dream Cruise.  They mentioned me to him - he was blown away realizing who I was. That was a freaky and fantastic meeting.

Saturday

The day of Pure Detroit Design Lab's runway show. Mike and I drove in and met Rachel and James when they arrived. We had a great time with Vinnie & Rob at Detroit Choppers before the fashion show and told them we would return afterward.

At the temporary store for the Design Lab the models gathered and began pulling together outfits. Time came for runway and things came together great. Most of the models wore two outfits and the rotation looked comfortable.

After the fashion show our group held a quick photo session in the back space of the temporary design lab. Then we headed to Detroit Chopper and met Casey and Athena at their tent. We setup a shoot using their bikes with Kim & Rachel in a small parking area across the street from Mill Street.

Kim's friend Katrina came down and I stuck with them as we went over to see Better Than Ezra. The performance was great, but the crowds were far less animated than they were for Seether and Crossfade. Most of the time the VIP area was seated in the chairs. I guess they were conserving energy for Rick Springfield who was to follow. Our group didn't stay for Rick to come on. Kim & Katrina got backstage with Better Than Ezra. I met up with Mike, Rachel and James since they weren't with us when we entered VIP. We decided to head to the car, the night was pretty much over.

Sunday

Rachel, Mike, James, and I returned Sunday afternoon to catch more of the scene in photos. Sunday turned out to be a shorter more relaxed day than Saturday's activities.

Monday

I returned in the afternoon with Tony to get more photos. Tony wanted to discuss a few things over dinner. After dinner he headed home. I stayed and met a bunch of people, as I always do. I saw Kim from Broadzilla. Met the band RadioCraft and held a quick photo shoot with them. And I met Amanda, and held a fast photo shoot with her on the patio of Sevin. I eventually headed to the bus stop and took the Smart bus home around 9:30pm.

Side Effect CD Release Party(s)

Side Effect,
uploaded by Fuzzytek.

When: Thursday Sep 22, 2005 at 8:00 PM
Where: Busters Lounge
50935 Van Dyke (just S of 23 mi)
Shelby Township, MI 48317
Description (from Kevin):

The recording project (Side Effect) that myself and my working group (Annie Richards & Jester) were asked to be a part of has been completed and is scheduled for a few CD release parties and I would like to personally invite everyone out to be a part of something that is soon be Nationally recognized, have a good time, listen to the disk, eat, drink and be scary...I mean merry...LOL.

Cd's will be available for purchase and proceeds will benefit M.A.D.D and S.A.D.D (students against drunk driving) as well.

Let me make it clear that we are definetly NOT against having a good time and drinking responsibly, we are just trying to help make aware the consequences of Drinking and DRIVING. Not only is it dangerous, but VERY, VERY expensive!

"Better Think" is one song off the cd which is dedicated to the people who make the right choice in finding another way home, and also to the ones who need to think ahead before they go out and drink and drive!

***(There are other great songs as well on the cd in which do not pertain to this subject).

There will be live performances at each of the following and both are free of charge!. I hope to meet ya there! ~Kevin

www.kevinpruett.com
www.myspace.com/sideeffectweb

Thursday Sept 22, 2005 Busters Lounge- 8pm (alcohol will be served, so set up a designated driver ok!) 50935 Van Dyke rd (just S of 23 mi) Shelby Township, MI

Saturday Sept. 24, 2005 ©Olde World Canterbury Village (Special M.A.D.D event & early show...8:00am 2369 Joslyn Ct. (off I-75) Lake Orion, MI 48360

---

Stephen's note ... I can't make the party on the 22nd. I will be attending the MADD event at Canterbury Village on Saturday September 24 from 8:00am to 9:30am. I have to be in Detroit immediately after 9:30am. I have another photo shoot I organized immediately following that in Detroit - Abandoned in Detroit. Another post will be made for this very soon.

Weekend plans Sept 2-4

Smugmug changed the default look of things and it has the front page of www.fuzzytek.com all messed up.

Friday night - going to Pontiac for Arts, Beats, and Eats taking photos around and the bands performing.

Saturday - again at Arts, Beats, and Eats.
Noon - hang out for a while with friends, time to meet up and enjoy
3:00pm - precall to Pure Detroit Design Lab checking in.
3:30pm - call for runway models, make-up, hair, ...
5:00pm - runway show starts
5:30pm - runway show ends

Sunday - Paxahau Anniversary at Masonic Temple
Still looking for a music review writer. Contact me ASAP

If you need to reach me call 248-259-3980 (my cell)
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

P.S. Don't forget The Mitten Movie Project - Tuesday night at the Emagine Theatre in Novi. Showcasing Michigan's independent film makers!

Reference: Epinions

I've written the following product reviews at Epinions. I updated the review on the Toshiba laptop today. I rewrote the review for the Sony camera a couple days ago. If you enter more than 200 words you'll create a full review instead of an express review... difference? Full reviews can generate dollars based on how helpful the review is considered by advisors. Express reviews don't generate dollars.

• Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F717 Digital Camera
• Olympus Camedia D-510 Zoom Digital Camera
• Toshiba Satellite 5105-S701 PC Notebook
• Rio Volt SP100 Personal CD Player

I like Epinions because you hear consumer opinions on the products. Check it out.

Club: Sex & Sedection at Oslo tonight

Just a note to say I'll be there! I'll revise this with a review and links to photos soon.

Reference: Robert Biggerstaff

I was looking this site over and found it interesting. He has some good tips for models starting out and some photo processing tips that I'll read through. He is also using Paintshop Pro rather than Photoshop, which is where I'm at now as well.

weekend wrapup Aug 23

Woodward Dream Cruise was Saturday... what a blast! I spent a lot of time coordinating resources around this year's cruise.

So looking back on how things went...

We had a list of over 20 models we contacted and it looked like 10-12 would be coming for the photo shoot. I turned my information over to Heather to finalize bringing the models together so I could work on photographers and our process. I created a flyer for us to hand out that listed FAI Home Theatre Store as our sponsor.

I wanted to have the Cruizin Capturz website up and running, but it seems the information to get it rolling just isn't coming together quickly. I've been looking at Smugmug, Fotki, ezPrints, and a couple others. The standings when looking at availability of money from sales, look of the site and customizable features:

• Smugmug - has a slow payout rate requiring $500 per month or $200 per quarter in profits. I love the interface and it is what I have been using for www.fuzzytek.com. It is fairly customizable. Rating: 3 of 5
• Fotki - has great payout rate goes direct to PayPal, however the quality of the site looks like home photographers. I'm wondering what a co-branded professional site can look like. Rating: 4 of 5
• ezPrints - need to get specifics on payout rate. Default interface looks good. Nice features and Smugmug uses ezPrints as it's under the surface provider. Rating: TBD
• others - I got a call from ezPrints on Saturday saying they would send a list of their partner sites. Lew then told me he is a ezPrints partner, but his information given so far is sparse.

Photographers shooting: Mike (TimeFragment) and Lew (Darker Side of Midnight). Other photographers were interested but had other commitments.

Saturday morning arrived - RAIN. I'm learning that rain produces "rainy flakes"... models that can't handle rain and they flake out / no show. The t-shirts from FAI arrived, then Lew and Mike. We had t's for Mike and I, Lew is a larger fit than the shirts we got.

Heather got dropped off, she is fabulous and dependable. She is like a business partner for me. I'm blessed to have her around. Heather dressed up in a black and white polka-dot dress and brought her hair up. Mike, Lew, and Heather got themselves out to Woodward a bit after noon. The rain had stopped, sidewalks dried up and there were still heavy clouds in the sky.

I tried to get farther in setting up a site - decided to simply use my Comcast homepage as a place-holder site and point the domain www.cruizincapturz.com at it. Then it was time for me to get out there too. Rachel let us know she was out to Woodward selling calendars and would meet up in early evening.

We worked just a couple blocks of Woodward taking photos mostly in the street. Heather would run out, pose on the car while we would take photos. As we were working along Woodward Rachel showed up with the calendar folks... selling calendars along side us.

Around 3pm Heather drifted into Lover's Lane and picked up something for the afternoon. Mike, Heather and I headed back to my house, a bit hungry and ready to unload photos. Lew had wandered farther south down Woodward to meet a friend. Within 10 minutes of getting inside the skies opened up and sheets of rain fell. Heather changed up, we ordered some pizza and as we were getting done the skies had cleared up. Bright, sunny, beautiful skies waiting for great photos!

We pretty much hung out at Chester and took photos in the street again. We saw a few cars pulled over for laying rubber by the police officers stationed on bicycles on the corner with us. Heather got a cute photo with one of the drivers pulled over. The officers also had a little confrontation with some guys that kept crossing traffic and acted up at them.

Rachel got in touch with Lew and got herself ready for photos with us. We then went over on the south-bound side of Woodward just north of Normandy (13 1/2 Mile). It was a good spot to catch drivers stopped for the light. We shot photos there until dark, then it was back to the house and everyone relaxed as we unloaded photos.

So here it is Tuesday night and CruizinCapturz is not up yet. I've had photo shoots on Sunday and Monday that have pulled me away from home/computer and into some paying work that I really needed to focus on. Late afternoon I contacted ezPrints but it was too late for the research they need of Lew's account status with them. Tonight I'll review some other provider options and get things ready to assemble the site.

PS: WEEKLY OPPORTUNITYCars and Models

One more thing resulted from my conversations with Bob Jenkins of Side Effect. I've got the opportunity to bring in models for photo shoots at a car meet sponsored by MADD that happens weekly at Lakeside Mall on Monday nights in the parking lot outside the doors from the Food Court on the south side of the mall. The easiest approach to get there is off Schoener.

Seeking talent: model, photographer, hair stylist, make-up, wardrobe...
Call me and let me know you are coming each week by Sunday noon. I need to know what talent we have lined up. Please be advised ... if you're gonna flake out, that's the time to say that you aren't going to make it. Please know that I don't hold that against you until it becomes regular behaviour.

I love having people that show up regularly and we can establish a relationship. It works great for the car meet too because the people attending will be looking for you to be there! We had several people this time say they would bring a different car next week for the photo shoot. As word spreads that we have the models for the meet it will continue to grow.

Last Monday before Woodward Dream Cruise there were about 150 cars. This week's meet (even with the dramatic black clouds) had about 80 cars. It isn't just old classics, but those are preferred.

Talent for this Monday, August 22 (week 34) was:

• Rachel Schmidt - model
• Mike (TimeFragment Photography) - photographer
• Stephen (Fuzzytek Photography, LLC) - photographer
• Erica Lowell (Figo Salon) - hair stylist
• Dino Mangano - photographer

We would like to thank all the folks from FAI Home Theatre Store and attending the car meet. You are some great people! Thanks for making us feel welcomed.

Band PS: Side Effect

I guess people do find opportunities through MySpace :D

Sunday, August 21 I was asked to come to a recording studio for a photo shoot with Side Effect. This is a band consisting of Annie Richards and Joker with Bob Jenkins added to form Side Effect. The group is a major contributor to MADD and SADD. I'll be posting more about how to buy the band's CDs and where to catch them live.

Bob and I clicked in conversation over the phone. When I got to the recording studio everything just fell into place great. These are some very nice people, and I met their families too. We captured some fun family photos and great photos for publicity of the band. The weather was spectacular - deep blue sky with scattered clouds, a breeze and the outside of the studio is painted cranberry. The colors combination is beautiful.

The CD cover is going to be black and white, but I can imagine some posters created from the color images for promotion.

Casting: Woodward Dream Cruise

We have people networking to create photos around the dream cruise. Get support from MUA, hair, wardrobe, photogs, ...

My house is 2 blocks from one of the busiest spots along Woodward at 13 Mile. I live north on Coolidge - so the comforts of an air-conditioned home are available. We can retreat / regroup to create different looks through the day.

Classic car owners love models posed with their car. We're going to be selling photos through the internet. Proceeds get split back to the people & resources creating the print. Watch for www.CruizinCapturz.com.

One thing to consider is creating the photo opportunity so it is unique. We need wardrobe, MUA, hair artists to create vintage looks. Recognizable look-alikes would be fantastic. Going through this effort we want to keep people from swarming the shoot, so there will be some strategies developed.

Please note this post will be updated. Last update: Aug 19 @ 12:30pm.
Due to the nature of collecting money for photos this shoot is limited to talent aged 18 and up.

Process: Nightshot adjustments

Before I posted the nightshot photos from the filming I adjusted them in Paintshop Pro. I used the "Hue / Saturation / Lightness" tool and set the green to -65 saturation, and for master changed the hue -25. This brings it closer to a black and white look. I stored it as a script then processed the batch.

Tell me if you think the original green tint is more interesting. You can see more nightshot mode in the video clips taken. I'm using a Sony Cybershot F717 if curious about the camera.

Film: Zombie Short

Cast and Crew Zombies,
uploaded by Fuzzytek.

Some of us had a slightly different Saturday night than normal. We shot a short film with zombies. The key photo here shows the full cast and crew.

Thanks to my friends for coming out for the shoot. You were all AWESOME! These are photos of the friends I invited. They are just a few of the zombies on hand as extras.

Heather - from Model Mayhem, One Model Place, MySpace. She attended the July 31 photo shoot. She will be around for Woodward Dream Cruise. Heather is interested in Living for Sundance.

Starr - from Model Mayhem, One Model Place, MySpace. After lots of online messages this was the first time I met Starr.

Mike - from Model Mayhem, MySpace. He attended the July 31 photo shoot. He will be around for Woodward Dream Cruise.

Rachel - is listed at Model Mayhem, One Model Place. She had a photo shoot with Mike earlier in the day. She will be around for Woodward Dream Cruise. This was the first time I met Rachel.

Christina - I met her at the Majestic Cafe where she works.

AJ, Kolton, Deborah - {what a cool family photo} see notes below...

Will - I got to know through Landmark Education, we went through the Introduction Leader Program there. He's become my pal around town, and journalist. He posts articles to Wikipedia.

Andrea I'm sorry we didn't hook up and get you there, bummer about loosing your cell phone the night before. I'm glad we saw each other at Bleu.

Deborah, thanks for taking me up on a rather interesting way of first meeting, having connected with each other through the internet. It was probably one of the most unusual requests - "Would you come to a run-down area of Detroit without make-up and in clothing ready to be shred? You'll have zombie make-up applied." Geez that sounds kinky! Oh and thanks for allowing me to use the knife on your clothing. Muuuaahhhahahahaha!

Make-up for the film took quite a while to apply, from 7:30 until 10:45, and there was still a bit more make-up going on for Jamie as the lead zombie. During make-up I was taking lots of photos, and assisting in shredding clothing. Everyone's spirits were livley as they saw the resulting effects applied through the photos taken.

It came time for filming the movie and I went to my spare battery and realized... it was dead. OH NO - I must have swapped batteries during the make-up segment and forgot I was on my second! I rushed to put 5 minutes of charge time into the battery. It resulted in 30 minutes regular time. Knowing how nightshot mode drains the battery... I didn't get much time on it. Very disappointed.

There was a mist of rain coming down outside. It was the perfect environment for the film, the street lights were shining off the blacktop as the zombies pursued the humans from the factory under the railroad tracks. Zombies lurching attempting to run down the street. So desperate for human flesh, life energy. The sequence was captured six to eight times, then it was changed up a few additional takes. There are video clips in this gallery.

I went in and got a better charge on the camera, and took a few photos of the zombies with bile spilled all over them.

The zombies were set loose on the town. I'm very curious to hear reports of the havoc they caused around Detroit. Send me links to blogs recounting your experience and I'll link them here.

The completing segment of the film was then shot with the humans and lead zombie - Jamie. Remember, this is a five minute short when editted. There were a couple segments filmed and the rain was coming down harder. Focus through the rain was rather interesting in auto-focus mode. I was using night-shot mode because I couldn't use a flash during filming.

Things wrapped up around 2:00 am. Will came back over to Tangent saying they had met the folks from Planet Ant at the bar.

Thank you one and all for a fantastic time! There WILL BE more opportunities for movies, so stay in touch.

Related blog links:

The Voices in Frank's Head

revised posting