26:
I was hired by a record company to shoot the album cover for Jon T. Howard in Los Angeles and we started the day off with some portraits in a friend’s house in Reseda. Never one for the studio or set up shots even though that’s where you earn bigger money, the shots with the strobes and my assistant were flat and dead and lifeless.
It was only at the end of the day when we moved to the street and I shot on the street with natural light that things began to groove. Being on my feet, moving fast with little gear is my comfort zone. It was a good time and shooting that luscious Fuji NPZ 800 pulled a stop and a half is always a joy.
That alley is the last great urban alley in downtown Los Angeles and it has been featured in hundreds of shows and films. I’ve shot there numerous times but this day, there was literally shit on the brick walls. Who takes time to smear their shit on a wall? The stench was powerful. Jon T. was a trooper for taking it as my assistant refused to even step off the sidewalk to enter the alley.
Jon T. Howard, shot with a Mamiya Pro II, 85mm lens, Kodak Tri-X © Doug Kim
Jon T. Howard, shot with a Leica M6 TTL 0.58, 35mm summicron, Kodak Tri-X © Doug Kim
Jon T. Howard, shot with a Mamiya Pro II, 85mm lens, Fuji NPZ 800 © Doug Kim
24:
A few years ago, I got a great assignment from Metro.Pop Magazine in Los Angeles. The job was to shoot Nicky Katt in Hollywood and the art direction I received was to just “show up and do what you do.” It’s rare to get that kind of freedom shooting editorial, especially since I am a black and white, natural light shooter.
And plus I knew Nicky Katt’s work. It was only after recently talking to a friend about him that I realized Nicky is a cinemaphile’s actor. You really have to be a nerd about American cinema to know who he is. I know that he’s been on TV but I’ve always known him for his small but memorable roles in independent films. Think about it. You might know him as:
- the smart ass hit man in The Limey
- the Nazi in a 50s greaser uniform in Dazed and Confused
- the guy with the tongue boil in Planet Terror
- one of them cops in Insomnia
- the rocker dude in the van in School of Rock
- the tough in the bar inSecondhand Lions
- the cynical tough in SubUria
I showed up at the house on Fairfax and we got along instantly because we somehow started chatting about Monte Hellman films. It turns out Nicky was collaborating with Monte on a screenplay. Much to the annoyance of the writer, we wouldn’t stop talking about Two Lane Blacktop and Cockfighter.
The challenge for this shoot was the fact that Nicky was obsessed with Sam Peckinpah and recently saw this interview with him where he wore his sunglasses the entire time. So I sat Nicky in this big chair by the fireplace with the dog and his sunglasses and his glass of bourbon and I started taking meter readings. The room was so dark that I had to push my meager 400 speed film to 1600 just to shoot wide open. I couldn’t even focus as the viewfinder for the Mamiya is pretty dark. I literally had to lock in on the wall of the fireplace behind him and walk my camera backwards to put him in the focal plane.
After suffering some anxiety about pushing my film three stops and my inability to focus, I picked up my film a couple of days later from the lab and it all turned out fine. Not stellar images but I really enjoyed that afternoon.
Nicky Katt, shot with a Mamiya Pro II, 85mm, Agfa APX 400, for Metro.Pop Magazine © Doug Kim
Nicky Katt, shot with a Leica M6 TTL 0.58, 50mm summicron, Agfa APX 400, for Metro.Pop Magazine © Doug Kim
Nicky Katt, shot with a Leica M6 TTL 0.58, 50mm summicron, Agfa APX 400, for Metro.Pop Magazine © Doug Kim
27:
Shot with a Leica M6 TTL, 35mm Summicron and a Mamiya 67 Pro II, 85mm and Agfa APX 400.
Leyla, Union Station, Los Angeles © Doug Kim
Leyla, Los Angeles © Doug Kim
Leyla, West Hollywood © Doug Kim
Leyla, West Hollywood © Doug Kim
Leyla, West Hollywood © Doug Kim
Leyla, Santa Monica © Doug Kim
Leyla, West LA © Doug Kim
23:
Shot with a Leica M6 TTL, 35mm Summicron, Mamiya 67 Pro II, Agfa APX 400 and Fuji NPZ 800.
Cheryl, Pepperdine, Malibu © Doug Kim
Cheryl, Downtown Los Angeles © Doug Kim
Cheryl, Downtown Los Angeles © Doug Kim
Cheryl, Downtown Los Angeles © Doug Kim
Cheryl & Perry, Downtown Los Angeles © Doug Kim
31:
Shooting Emily had been going well and we were finishing up with the last outfit at the last location, right near MOCA in downtown LA when my Mamiya jammed. I shifted the camera, put my cigarette in my mouth and the camera fired, taking the best shot of the day.
I’ll take it.
Emily Kang, Mamiya Pro II 67, Agfa APX 400 © Doug Kim
02:
So long, Cory. Rest in Peace.
Cory, Sophie, Joy © Doug Kim
The Moving Finger writes; and having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
Omar Khayyam, The Rubiyyat
To make a donation to Sophie’s education fund, please visit here.
11:
Stephanie and Selena are identical twins in San Francisco. When I shot them, we had grand plans for a few locations, several wardrobe changes and a couple of different looks and feels. We had so much fun in their apartment that we never even made it out. I could spend a year shooting them.
Taken with a Leica M6 TTL 0.58, 35 summicron and Mamiya Pro II 67, and Tri-X.
Stephanie and Selena or Selena and Stephanie © Doug Kim
© Doug Kim
© Doug Kim
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