Category: Photography

Bueller…Bueller…Bueller

Jason was Ducky; Larry was possibly the not-so-smart jock; Brenda was the alternative rebel chick; Chris was totally Bender, spray paint and all. Hong was the token Asian; Paul was the nerd turn cool with age white guy, Diane was the sweetheart, Katie was the one who wore too much makeup, Amy was the teacher’s daughter…and me…well, let someone else describe in a Hughesian definition.

Was I Bender, nah…not even close. Ducky? Well…I wasn’t that nerdy? Jake Ryan? No that was more Diego but he didn’t go to school with us. Keith Nelson? Maybe a combo of Keith, Ducky, some of Ferris humor, and a little bit of Bender mixed in (well…thats a leap!) Who knows…maybe the guys above should describe me in not so nice terms. There was the girl I couldn’t have, the musical soundtracks to those sweaty spring nights at NIOSA, the great parties where I tried to climb a flag pole with the then Mayor’s daughter, the girls at Driver’s Ed, gosh…so much. Our lives were Hughesian.

Oh, there was also Sant was the crazy Asian exchange student. Oscar was the heartthrob, Diana was the heartbreaker, who else? We could go on forever.

I guess we kids of the 80s all had our Breakfast Club/Sixteen Candles/Ferris Bueller moments. I had just broken into my self awareness period when Hughes was hip and Ringwall was hipper. I still remember Molly dancing on the staircase during detention. I mean she said it all…well at least all I wanted to be and wanted when right before the start of Thomas Jefferson High School.

I do remember seeing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off at Santiko’s Northwest 14 (or was it 12) Theater with Steven Mayer. I don’t think he fit into our Hughes definition as he was a Jehova’s Witness. Never bore witness to me. Cool guy, I guess.

I remember watching the Breakfast Club at Jess’s house. It was recorded from HBO onto a video tape. I think Lisa someone or another gave it to me. And God knows how many times I’ve seen Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink in recent times. Its like on TV constantly. I actually saw an episode of Whatever Martha and Molly was a guest. Her and Martha were making something…again, God only knows what.

So on to the picture…

We walking east in midtown when my jaw dropped open. My heart rate spiked. My god…its Ferris Bueller. Well I knew not to call him Ferris as he was in the middle of great success with the Producers musical. But still…this was Ferris Bueller to me. He wasn’t anything else.

I fumbled for my then Yashica T4 point and shoot and gave it to Yukako to snap a photo. I was so damn happy. I still am. Diane loves this picture. It took me a while to find the neg as it was buried under a ton of other negs. I knew I had to find it and scan it as my small memorial to John Hughes. Hughes make Broderick into a superstar.

He knew the drill He put his arm on my back. I think he was filled with a mild annoyance or maybe depression as he knew from my age that I only knew him as Ferris, nothing more. Well what the hell did he expect? So I joked with him, took the photo, and sent him off. Typical New Yorker. We just kept walking away but chatting. I told him he should have named their kid Ferris. HA. I got the last laugh.

Out of all the celebs I met, photographed, talked to or just ran into, this is the only guy that really had me star struck. Major. I saw and worked with all sorts of celebs in New York and Hawaii. I was once in a room with Bill Gates. Alone. I mean I could have been in the history books. I also remember standing on 43rd and 9th Ave next to Harrison Ford. He had a beard, wore a baseball hat, and glasses. Sorry Indiana, you were so recognizable. I was only a few days into New York on that cold winter morning. He looked a bit homeless. So did I. For the first few months in Manhattan, I wore two coats as I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it through the following winter. I wore a green wind breaker and some Goodwill Special tweed coat. I was a mess.

Sadly, Hughes, the guy who set the definition of high school and teen life for me and millions died a year short of my 20th high school reunion. Going? Hell no. Not even close. All the people I know and want to see are where they are. I don’t need to find them. And I surely don’t want anyone finding me.

Check out this great Hughes youtube vid.

Modern Luxury Spring Cover

What a nightmare this shot!!!

I can’t stress it more. I mean the condo we shot at, the company, the editor, and all were great. But the weather just didn’t cooperate. I tried for this shot like four days over two weeks plus! The clouds would bunch up and give a drab sunset. We finally got lucky but the rains were just lurking over the mountains. I could feel the rain slightly falling on the outdoor lanai up on the 38th floor.

Thanks Dr. and Mrs Gallardo for letting Emmy and I abuse your place!

Thanks Emmy…its a great shot!

Working with the cast…what a pain!

So I got a last minute call do shoot a portrait for the NY Times of this local financial figure and they needed it shot the next morning before 2pm EST. Meaning the newspaper needed the shot no later than 10am Hi time. This is tough but always doable as its part of being a freelance/contract photographer. Like I’ve always said in the past, you are only as good as your last job. If you can’t shoot it on deadline, someone else will and there are countless kids with 5Ds, Alien Bees, and the ability to shoot by 10am. Mind you they might not be able to pull off the best shot and experience is always better than willingness for a majority of the photo world but surely, these factors will change and a once considered crappy photo will be de rigueur, no?

I should mention I only had limited time, limited budget, and limited movement to shoot a quick portrait of David, my financial guru at a local botanical gardens. I feel I got a shot worthy of any client and don’t know if I would have done better, cast or not. Yet, I was quiet pleased as were the clients. And thats all that matters. As long as the phone rings tomorrow, thats all that matters. As Tracey Woods always says to me, “its all about the benjamins,” even if the rates are small.

Onto the cast, the doctors said it was a major strain and prescribed me to not to wear the air cast (I’ve silently nicknamed it the “air i-Cast” as it has so many little doodads and what not…I mean its like the old Nike Air pump shoes…it comes with a little hand pump! I’m just waiting to download some iTunes to jam…) It is proving to be a pain as I have to maneuver myself around the silly cast. A slow, gimpy pace, plastic grocery store bags around the foot to keep it clean, off and on to drive, I mean come on! But a few more days to go before I go without wearing this suffocating device. It does help me walk better though as it keeps my ankle straight and supported. But its gonna be party time when I am finally off this son of a gun!