LOVE MOVIES???

In anticipation of awards season, here is a really cool piece the New York Times produced profiling 14 amazing actors doing what they do best. The imagery is beautiful. Enjoy.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/12/magazine/14actors.html#index

THANK YOU

I was getting a massage the other day (well a week ago now) on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii thinking to myself just how thankful I am to have arrived at this moment in time with a beautiful wife and daughter, good health, amazing friends, and a pretty special job. And though this posting might not be so timely now that its almost two weeks after Thanksgiving, it's still important to highlight how thankful I am for what I have.

My best friend Amanda is the most amazing person in the whole world - she keeps the wheel spinning round and round, the glue that holds us also together, my rock, my angel. Without her, I wouldn't be who I am today. She's the one who leaves for work later in the morning and the one who rushes to get home early. She sacrifices more than anyone I know, and I can't thank her enough for everything. My daughter Sylvie, who is healthy, full of character and personality, smart, and ready to take on the world already at 11 months...wow! My family, who has been nothing but loving and supportive over the years, backing my hopes and dreams. And of course my friends, who I think of as family. You know who you are. Thank you for being such great and supportive friends to Amanda, Sylvie and me.

Thanksgiving was a little different this year. Amanda and I were invited to Brad Cox's daughters wedding on the Big Island of Hawaii. Brad is Amanda's boss and mentor at CBRE. The Cox family has treated us like family over the years, making the long trek to our wedding and inviting us over to their beautiful home in Marina del Rey time and time again. They are very special people. Amanda and I had the greatest time, soaking it in with bride Courtney and her charismatic groom Andrew, as well as all of his 'mates' from down under. The hotel was beautiful, the wedding devine, perfect weather, amazing food...the list goes on and on. It was wonderful to see two people so in love. More importantly it was a treat to spend time just Amanda and I. I love her.

The scenery was absolutely amazing and I was excited to bring all my camera gear. Was fun to pack a specific bag being that you can't take every lens and camera body. What I packed:

Lowepro Flipside 400 AW Backpack
Point and shoot Leica D-Lux 4
D300s body
17-55mm f/2.8
12-24mm f/4
85mm f/1.4
70-300mm f/4.5-5.6
SB-900 speed light
SD and Compact flash cards
Replacement battery and power supply

I think I got a few good shots...here are a few from the weekend.

PICK-UP TRUCK IN A CORNFIELD...LITERALLY!

In the video I posted of Sylvie last month from Ojai, you might have caught this photo for a split second if you didn't blink. Strangely enough, it's one of my favorites from the weekend. And to be honest, I got kind of lucky...the hayride was approaching this truck in the middle of a cornfield and I only had a moment to get my camera off my lap, point and shoot. I eye-balled framing it up and since I was on shutter priority at f/16, at least I'd have great depth of field. I was able to get off three frames. Anyway, i love how the truck is framed, almost like its coming out of the picture. I did some small tweaks in CS3, but for the most part, what you see is what I got. Enjoy.

STEIN FAMILY TRADITION

There has been a Stein family tradition going on for over 60 years. If you were a Stein girl in the family tree growing up in Minneapolis, at some point you were put in this cute little white dress and photographed. From Susan Dame, to Marguerite Rubin, Ashley Rubin, Erica Ashlock, Johanna Stein, Lee Gordon, Amanda Calof, Shiloh Autmn Gordon and now Sylvie Rain Calof...the list goes on and on.

Amanda has been kicking my ass for the past two months to just take the damn photo. But we all know with me, you can't just take the damn photo and be done with it. You need props, some good lighting, a white background, etc. We finally found some time last Sunday morning to get Sylvie in the dress and snap some frames. By the time we started, our little subject was already at her wits end - she was ready for a nap but we managed to get some good ones before she threw in the towel.

People keep asking me how I find time to take photos and blog on top of a 24/7 gig at Paramount. It's all about time management. But then again, I have no time, especially for me, just work, Amanda and Sylvie...and that's how life is I'm realizing. Around we go. Each week comes and goes. If we don't focus on the things we love, then what the heck are we doing. It's all about time management these days.

Check out the best of the batch...







And of course...

HALLOWEEN AT PARAMOUNT

Halloween! No matter what your age, it's that one day of the year you can dress as the sleeziest, silliest, horrific, most out of this world getup on the block and get away with it. I remember when I was much younger I used to have a costume birthday party because my b-day was so close to Halloween. Having been brought up in a "theatrical" household, I of course always had the best costume because my mom worked for the family business, Teener's Theatricals. My bubby and zadie ran the business for over 50 years and though this quick blurb will never do it justice, it was quite the place. Lines around the block come Halloween, people begging to get in before closing time to rent from the best costume shop in town - make-up, dance wear, masks, fabrics, more make-up, props, you name it, they had it and if they didn't have it, they'd make it for you...that was always my grandfather's motto.

So when a bunch of the assistants in our creative group decided to dress up today, it was definitely a photo opp. And would you believe that Jordan Weiss (he's the one in he beanie hat) dressed as yours truly! Some good stuff all around. I tried to switch up the set ups best I could with the short time we had, everyone rushing to get back to their desks to close up shop, but some good group shots, action, and fun looks. Anyway we had a blast. Check em out!

And Andrea and Natalie, I'm sorry we missed you guys...

SYLVIE RAIN IN OJAI

It's been a special few days with my family. Amanda had booked a night up in Ojai a few months back for my birthday weekend and it was finally upon us. I was excited to head to one of our favorite places on earth - weather turned out to be a bit crummy but we managed for the most part. For you photog geeks, I bought a new 85mm f/1.8 a few weeks ago and I was excited to put it to use. Though most of the time, I had the 24-70mm f/2.8 on the mount which is my go to lens...frickin love it! Nice and fast and versatile.

Anyway, we took Little Syl went on her first trip to the pumpkin patch at Boccali's. Bobby, we weren't able to work in a strawberry shortcake but we did have a ton of fun. Just ask Syl what she did Saturday night...oh she'll tell ya. She literally changes before my eyes every day - it's wild! So I've been playing around with making these quick cutting, almost stop motion looking short videos, to try and capture Sylvie from moment to moment. Check out the latest and let me know what you think.

PERFECTION!

Need I say more...

I STILL HAVE A SOUL - short video

Not often enough do I come across something with enough heart and soul that truly inspires me - stories that are about the human spirit, that bring out the best in what we as people are capable of. This short video came to my attention yesterday, and was blown away at the just the amount of emotion it evokes - that if you want something bad enough, if you want to make a change in your life, you will stop at nothing to get there...it's powerful stuff. I love how it plays with the expectation that when you meet this character you've already formed an opinion about who he is, but by the end of the story, it turns out to be something completely different. As well, the underplaying medley only strengthens that emotional drive that is breathtaking. Anyway, check it out...

HBO "I Still Have A Soul" from Paradise Square Films on Vimeo.

BEHIND THE SCENES

I never got the opportunity to post these back in August when Amanda, Sylvie, and I had some family portraits taken by the talented photographer Heather Kincaid. Heather is brilliant and if you haven't had the opportunity to check out her site, please take a few minutes to look around. She has an editorial, photojournalist, and fashion style all rolled into one that I absolutely adore.

http://www.heatherkincaid.com/

Anyway, here are a few behind the camera of my beautiful wife and daughter that I snapped with my Leica.

On Rosh Hashanna it is written...On Yom Kippur it is sealed.

Ohh those ten days...where you're suppose to think about all the sins you committed in the last year and repent. Amanda, Sylvie and I were in great company this year. As always, we had Rosh Hashanna at our home to celebrate the coming new year. Even our little Sylvie went to shul. What she was repenting for I have no idea, but our angel found the willingness (she's only 8 months old) to sit through an hour and forty-five minutes of temple - I'd like to report, she did it with ease, with the coolness of an avid davnen'r. Check out her outfit...very Jackie Kennedy.



Then the festivities! Amanda's honeymoon chicken accompanied by her world famous koogle and matzah ball soup...delicious. From the freshly baked challah, salad, and amazing deserts (and of course, lots and lots of wine), we had an amazing meal. Amanda gave a sweet welcome, grateful and thankful that we have such wonderful friends in Los Angeles that we are able to share this special holiday with...we love you. Check out who was on hand...everyone who showed is accounted for, well, except me. L'Shana Tova.












CUT TO:

10 DAYS LATER - INT. TODD & LISA FRIEDMAN'S - EVENING

Lisa and Todd were kind enough to host this year's break fast at their home. A totally different scene with half-a-dozen little people all trying to get their hands on the best toy, sharing "bah-bahs," and playing nice. It was a wonderful evening. I made a little friend named Bell, but didn't get a good shot of her...next time I guess. Ok the book is closed, no more names...

KOEHLER WINERY - LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Great friends, good food, and fantastic wine! What more could one ask for this labor day weekend...With the summer coming to a close (put away those white jeans), we were so excited to be getting out of Los Angeles for the long weekend. Amanda and I have been saying for the past two weeks, "Can we just go already?" Well, the weekend finally was upon us, we packed up the car and headed north to Los Olivos, CA for a weekend of just being plain lazy, joined by Meghan & David Thwaites, Hannah Minghella & Mitch Larson.

We had it all planned out, get on the road between 10-1030am Saturday morning, get to the vineyard by 1ish, relaxing with a glass of wine shortly thereafter. Snap! Boy did that plan go out the window when we hit wall to wall traffic immediately after getting on the 101 freeway...I guess a million other people had the same idea - who'd ever thunk it?!!. We crept along at a snails pace, eventually the drive taking its toll - both of us starving and if you don't know Amanda and she doesn't get a little something something to eat, it can get real bad real quick (I love you sweetheart)! Instead of pushing on through, we eventually stopped in Montecito to get something to eat. Amanda spotted a coffee shop serving ice-tea to some people outside - we knew we had arrived at our destination. Sylvie was so happy to get out of the car...spitfire. Amanda got a salad and myself a burger. The rest of the drive was easy peasy. We worked our way through God's Country on the 154, eventually arriving at our destination around 3 o'clock on the swatch watch. The place was amazing, a bit dated, but just lovely. It was well worth the effort getting there.

All and all the weekend was spectacular, moving at a pace that if I could figure out how to make a living, I would relocate to Los Olivos in a heartbeat. We were surrounded by the vast beauty of rolling hills, pink sunsets, enough wine to last us a lifetime and of course, Ms. Sylvie Rain. It was perfect.

As for the photography, there was an endless amount of moments to capture. I took about 400 or so frames. The light in the morning and early evening was heavenly. Rather than take you through the whole weekend, I figure I'll mix it up a bit and talk about some of the photos below as you browse. Take a look at some of my favorites.

We started the evening off with a bottle of Koehler of course.

Sylvie looking fantastic in her cowgirl hat.

Bringing in the first sunset on the back lawn...amazing.


Koehler's finest...

Uncle David was very excited to show Sylvie one of his true loves...the wine at Foxen.

We picniced at Lincourt Vineyard between Los Olivos and Solvang. I was trying to think up something on the fly to capture the wine tasting experience so I threw up these two glasses and snapped a quick shot...fudge! I forgot the bottle of wine!

Hannah & Mitch.

Meghan and David pointing to their vineyard they plan to buy in 20 years...hopefully sooner.

Another amazing sunset...it's all about long shadows.

Probably everyone's favorite part of the weekend was having some wine & cheese as the sun set in the west...what more do want...





And to top it off, Sylvie was caught trespassing on private property and spent the morning in jail with her doggie....


I'll send out the full batch later in the week, most likely on Thursday (L'shanah Tova) when I have more time, but as they say in wine country, I just wanted you all to have a quick "taste."