...AND WHAT A YEAR IT WAS 2009!

How do we reflect? What is there to say? And where did it all go? Boy it's tough to find the right words...I used to have a really great memory I'm told, but I guess because so much has happened in the last year, it's tough to think clearly. When I didn't know what to write at first, I went downstairs to the computer (I type the blog on my laptop) where I edit all my photos, jumped into my workflow, and began to drag and drop my photo folders into a master 2009 folder. Just when I thought I didn't shoot anywhere near as many frames as 2008, I was kind of blown away at how many times I actually picked up the camera and clicked the shutter. The memories came flooding back from Los Olivos wine country with Megan and David, Blake and Sara's Wedding in Naples, announcing to our parents that we are having a baby, Amanda's 30th Birthday, our annual July 4th trip to Ojai, more weddings like Sam and Justin's, Erica and Justin's, to home for Labor Day, back again for my grandmother's funeral, and the countless sessions documenting Amanda's ever growing tum-tum. I know I'm leaving out a ton, forgive me, but simply put, 2009 was an extraordinary year.

It's been a year of growth both personally and professionally. I find myself so very fortunate to work at one of the biggest movie studios in the world, to get to sit at the table with other creative minds - directors, writers, actors, producers and executives - try and take people out of their everyday lives, and propel them into a world we've created so they can just for, if even a minute, step into a fantasy and forget reality. It's pretty darn cool if you ask me. What else is there to do in this world?

To be paid to do what you love...ain't that the dream?" - Maguire, Road to Perdition

As an artist, I find myself growing every day. When the camera comes to my eye, it feels different then before...maybe that's just because another year has passed or I've learned a thing or two. I'd like to think the latter. I'm always looking at things around me, visualizing how I'd take the shot. What do I know? Not much, but I go with my instincts. To me, it's important to bring that creative drive each and every day. Get in the mix, do things differently than others. I strive not to be the same.

As we move forward into 2010, I want to leave you with a few of my best shots, the frames that I feel represent my best work over the last year. I hope you enjoy. And here's to an unbelievable 2010.

Scenic



Timeless











































Lovey

Weddings

LIVE WELL, EAT WELL, SHOOT WELL

Yesterday, Amanda gave me the responsibility of making dinner plans on a Saturday night. More so than not, I usually already have a reservation lined up, and if I don't, 9 times out of 10, we most likely end up at Gulf Stream. Being that it's the holidays and we've been stuck in West Hollywood the last week or so, anything fifteen minutes in any direction would feel like getting out of town. Those of you that live in Los Angeles know exactly what I'm talking about. Anyway, my first instinct was Manhattan Beach, but I'm not familiar with the area and wouldn't know what to pick. After searching the web for half-an-hour, I came across chef Michael Voltaggio. For those of you that don't know him, Michael won season 6 of Top Chef and is the head chef at The Dinning Room inside The Langham Hotel in Pasadena. Perfect. Pasadena is only like 25 minutes from our place. It's like going to St. Paul if you life in Plymouth! We got in the car, hit a little traffic (there must have been a Lakers or Clippers game...who knows), and arrived in beautiful Pasadena. The hotel is exquisite, just a hop skip and jump from downtown, though you wouldn't know it since it was already dark out when we arrived. I couldn't get my bearing for the life of me and I'm pretty good with sense of direction. Just ask my dad about the time we took a driving trip to Los Angeles when I was fifteen, trying to get back to the hotel and we drove toward the beach for an hour. My dad screaming at my mother "where in the hell are we", and then yours truly chimes in saying "we've been driving the wrong way for an hour." Did I mention I was lying down in the back seat and hadn't looked up in 45 minutes??!!

Anyway, the food was amazing. The best meal Amanda and I've had in the last few months. The Japanese Shima Aji was hands down the most amazing piece of food I have ever put in my mouth. Simply a fantastic dinning experience. Michael made a quick appearance in the dinning room but we were shy in getting his attention.

Of course I brought the Leica for some quick snapshots. Sadly no pictures of the food. Darn. But the hotel is absolutely beautiful. Don't know if the photos will do justice since we were there at night, but here are a few. By the way, I still made a reservation at Gulf Stream as a back up. Ya never know.

LOVEY LEICA D-LUX

It's been amazing experience documenting Amanda's pregnancy. Frankly, it feels just like yesterday we found out the wonderful news. As we come down to the last few weeks (only six more to go), I'm trying to document as much as possible, carrying my Leica D-LUX 4 almost everywhere I go now. It's a fun little camera to keep in your pocket. You just never know when a great opportunity will present itself. Like just the other morning as Amanda went off to work, I couldn't help but snap a quick photo in the entry of our condo - she giving a peace sign which has become her signature pose as of late. I love it.

HANGING WITH THE FRIEDMANS

It's been quite a while since my last photo outing. Frankly, I just haven't had the time. But last Sunday morning I had the pleasure of hanging with the Friedman Family at La Cienega Park for some new family photos. Check out a few below. Enjoy.

HE WAS THE VOICE OF A GENERATION

Where would we be without John Hughes?  Frankly, I just don't know.  Ill admit, I'm a product of growing up in the 80s.  I watched my MTV, rolled my jeans, wore flannel shirts to school, had a ton of hair, made my mom buy me the Thriller album on vinyl...the list goes on-and-on.  Though I will tell you this.  Without a doubt, I wouldn't be working in Hollywood today, if I hadn't watched all the John Hughes film growing up. 

My friends and I used to have, what wed call these 'movie fests' each week.  Usually at my friend Blake's house, we'd stay up all night watching Weird Science or The Breakfast Club, and then go on our paper route, laughing and giggling about the movies we just watched.  It was the time of our lives, not a care in the world.  Something so special about being a teen.  I quite often miss it.

Hughes knew what he was doing.  He tapped into the teenage zeitgeist better than anyone.  He just understood young people.  I wonder what he'd say now about young people movies that come out each year or lack there of.  Amanda Jones, where are you when we need you?  Wyatt, "maybe if we put our nose to the door, we can smell the food?"

So many great movies:

Sixteen Candles

The Breakfast Club

Weird Science

Pretty In Pink

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Some Kind of Wonderful

Just to name a few...

We hold these dear to our heart, not just because they are great, but because of the memories we associate with these films.  They are absolutely timeless pieces of art that I hope are never forgotten.  Some day my wife and I will have a child and I cant even tell you how excited I will be when we sit down and watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off for the first time.  I cant wait.  Mark your calendar for 2018!

On a side note, even just today, one of those classic lines found its way into a conversation that a friend, Bobby and I had after our tennis game.  I was sitting on the court, so exhausted, my heart was beating through my chest and I just happened to spit it out...

"I'm dying."

Without a moments hesitation Bobby says...

"You're not dying, you just cant think of anything good to do."

So on that note, just remember..."Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Love you John Hughes.

TENNIS ANYONE?

Lets talk tennis people. Wimbledon started Monday and Roger Federer is hoping to capture his record-breaking 15th grand slam title. Oh Snap! The kicker, no Rafael Nadal in the draw. He announced early last week he'd be pulling out because of tendonitis in his knees. Will Pete Sampras book his ticket today, I just don't know, but the draw is wide open for Roger.

Who will actually challenge Roger on grass? My guess is nobody, nada, zilch, but, and a big one, both Djokovic and Tsonga are floating on Federer's side of the draw. Most notably though is the gun slinging French Open Runner-Up Robin Soderling, who could face Roger in the fourth round. Murray, Del Potro, and Rodick are all on the other side of the draw, hoping to get a crack at Federer in the finals. I'll tell you one thing, it doesn't look like the finals will be anything as great as last years between Rafa and Rog, maybe the best match in tennis history.

I guess well find out come July 5th. Pete, if I were you, I'd charter that jet today.

LIFE

If there was one photography magazine that started it all, that was LIFE. It literally changed the way people saw the world in the early 20th Century.

Once a weekly-published magazine up until 1972, LIFE became victim of television and the economics of mass publication. Between 1978 and 2000, the magazine was published only monthly. Its archive languished over the years, but in 2006, some seven million of the images taken for the magazine have been digitized, taking us to the next chapter in LIFE.

In a partnership with Getty Images, LIFE.com launched back on March 31 and its the perfect resource for both historians and photographers. More importantly, the site should serve as an inspiration to the next generation of photographers. Its simple layout is easy to navigate, dividing up its categories into news, celebrity, travel, animals and sports. The amount of images is astounding.

LIFE.com

OHH MR. JULIUS

For those of you who don't know who Julius Shulman is, you need to wake up and look out your window. As my friends have heard me say, I like to call him, "the godfather of architectural photography." His images of California modern architecture defined the 20th Century. One of his most famous photographs is one called Case Study House #22 taken in Los Angeles, 1960. The photograph is breathtaking. Lets just say, if you decided to strike up a conversation about the modern architecture movement and not mention Julius name, well, that would be like talking about Back to the Future and leaving out the time machine part...big mistake.

For the last couple weeks I have literally been counting the days to see Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, a documentary chronicling the monumental photographers career. The film recently won the audience award for best documentary feature at the 2009 Palm Springs Film Festival. It's absolutely amazing, sweet to the core, and funny in its own right (guess you gotta know Julius!). Dustin Hoffman does a fantastic job narrating the film, with great direction from Eric Bricker. The doc roughly follows chronological form from Shulman's family moving to Southern California in the early 20s, his early commissions with architects Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler, a generous section devoted to Pierre Koenig's Case Study House #22, his collaboration with Mexican architect Abraham Zabludovsky, to a wonderfully emotional section documenting the transportation of Julius' massive archive to the Getty Museum, and finally a little commentary from Julius about post modernism that he basically holds in contempt.

The man himself was to make an appearance, but pulled out last minute. No harm though, he was kind enough to leave 30 or so signed copies of his book, Julius Shulman: Modernism Rediscovered at the LACMA bookstore. As soon as the lights went up after the screening, I quickly ran to the store and snagged a copy. It's a beautiful book, representing the spirit of the 50s and 60s architectural design that pays tribute to the lesser-known yet outstanding contributions to the modern movement. A must have for any fan.

Later that night I was struck with some inspiration.

Amanda thought I was a little crazy, but I staged our living and dinning room area, snapped a couple dozen frames with my D200 using an SB-900 as an off camera flash. I wanted to go for a deep depth of field so I set the aperture to f/16 and held the shutter open for around two seconds. All and all the shot turned out pretty well, no Julius yet, but getting there.

ANDREWCALOF.COM HAS LAUNCHED!

And we are officially a go! After a year or so of friends and family telling me to do so, I have finally launched www.andrewcalof.com as my photography website and I have to say, I'm quite happy with it...well, so far! As you might imagine, it didn't happen over night. I've been working hard for the past couple weeks getting the site off the ground. Want to thank showitsites.com for their wonderful templates and troubleshooting. Their company truly makes it easy for anyone who might be thinking of launching their own website. The site may change a little here-and-there, but as for layout, I think I'll stick with the current look. Hope you dig.

So you are probably asking yourself, what will I be blogging about? That's a good question and I'm fairly new to this whole blog thing so bare with me. Well, the blog will primarily focus on things that are interesting to me both personally and professionally -- photography, movies, music, art, architecture, tennis, etc. I'll write when I can and hopefully it will add a little value to your day.

So those of you that are reading now, please visit often and tell your friends and family to come check me out.

-Andrew