The Big Klosowski

Having been in storage all winter, I’ve been wanting to snap a few shots of my 1955 Chevy Coupe lately.  I took some time out of my day on Wednesday to do just that.  Armed with my Canon 5D and a relatively empty parking garage, I spent about 10 minutes with the car trying to find an angle that does it’s lines justice.  I think I succeeded, although more neutral lighting would have helped.

My 1955 Chevy 210

The shadow on the back of the car and the blown highlights still bug me.  I want to do a proper shoot with the car, but I just haven’t had a lot of spare time. I’m thinking something at Red Rocks might just do the trick.  Maybe I’ll drive it to my next engagement shoot there.

I’m driving it to my Twitter class today at the 9 News Building, so if you want to drop by and take a cruise, I down.

Allen Klosowski Photography Canon 5D, Sigma 50mm 1.4

Here’s my take on a soft and lazy Sunday afternoon listening to some good vinyl.  We shot this at a friends house in Boulder, CO entirely by natural light using a Canon 5D and a 50mm 1.4 lens.

Oui's set Soft Rythm as shot by Allen Klosowski

Oui's set Soft Rythm as shot by Allen Klosowski

Oui's set Soft Rythm as shot by Allen Klosowski

Oui's set Soft Rythm as shot by Allen Klosowski

Allen Klosowski Photography Canon 5D, Sigma 50mm 1.4

Here’s a few from a recent shoot where I went for a modern take on a noir theme. I think it came out quite nicely, what do you think?

Modern Noir by Allen Klosowski

Modern Noir by Allen Klosowski

Modern Noir by Allen Klosowski

Modern Noir by Allen Klosowski

The full set can be seen on SuicideGirls.com sometime in the next month or so.

Allen Klosowski Photography

Lightning Rods Beef Jerky

So not everything in photography is about the metal, glass, and plastic camera gear.  Sometimes it’s about your mind and body working in harmony to delivery maximum creative destruction to your clients.

However, when jumping between five assignments in two days, your mind and body can get a bit worn and dulled.  My body is a temple, so in these situations I stick to my usual routine of Diet Coke and beef jerky (always carry snacks, clients don’t always feed you!).

What the hell am I rambling about?  I think I just might have found the best invention since Baconnaise.

It’s an energy-powered beef jerky. A product mother nature was too scared to create on her own.

Yes, that’s right Lightning Rods are as the packaging proclaims, “Meat Stix Gone Wild“.  They are 0.95 ounces of meat byproduct with Red Bull like qualities.  Sounds insane?  It is.

The Lightning Rods website says:

Lightning Rods are the original high energy beef sticks with an energy boost in every bite. They are the perfect blend of energy enhancement in a delicious beef snack. Packed 42 individually wrapped 0.95 oz sticks per box, these gluten-free 5 inch beef sticks are mildly flavored with a pleasing aftertaste. Made in the USA with US-raised beef, Lightning Rods feature the unique combo of Guarana and Ginseng. Guarana, a Brazilian berry, offers a delicious flavoring and a caffeinated zap. Ginseng, an Asian herb, assists the body to restore itself to health and it has beneficial effects on sports performance. Let the energy evolution begin!

I can tell you after having eaten a few of these babies, I do feel a bit of mental sharpness returning to my brain each time.  I’m now carrying them on assignment everywhere.  Easy to pack and store in my photo gear, and with ingredients like that I’m sure they have a shelf life longer Dick Clark’s hair!  Did I mention that they taste pretty good too?

What does this have to do with photography?  Nothing really.  What does it have to do with awesome?  Everything.  Also, I’ve always wanted to have a “Beef Jerky” tag on this website.

Just don’t forget the breathmints.  Nothing a client likes more than processed meat breath.

Allen Klosowski Life Beef Jerky, Funny

The Right Ons at SXSW 2009

My photo of The Right Ons from SXSW is being featured on Twangville.com, check it out.  The photo was shot with a Canon 5D using the Canon 24-105mm EF L F4 IS lens.

Allen Klosowski Technology Canon 24-105 EF L, Canon 5D

I told you yesterday about the Worldwide Moment project. It is a project which is aiming at capturing a Worldwide Moment of Peace on 09.09.09 at 9:09:09 by receiving simultaneous photographs from 10,000 people all over the world!  It is calling for photographers of all skill levels, and there are mini-moments that you can join in on every week.  If you’re not up to date, you can learn more here.

I took my picture today to be included in the 04.15.09 Mini Moment, and I thought I would share.

Denver, CO shot for Worldwide Moment by Allen Klosowski

This image is a stark contrast to the shiny environment I captured last time in the heart of Denver.

Only blocks away from the hi-rises, fancy restaurants, and rooftops, there is a much different story.  Taken on the corner of 29th and Larimer St. is an area in the midst of an uncomfortable transition.  Plagued by a large homeless population, rampant crime and poverty, and encroaching yuppies with their doggie day-cares and German cars.

This convenience store, called only “The Store”, is run down and tattered, but still going.  It mainly serves the large homeless population sheltered at the Volunteers of America Center located directly behind the store.  It sells mostly homemade Mexican food out of worn crockpots and surely not up to health code, and “loosey” cigarettes for a quarter each.  A transient from the shelter can been seen in the background on a bike.  Bikes are a major source of transportation for the homeless population in Denver, and are mainly obtained not through cash, but by the smashing of bike locks.  “The Store” closes promptly at 5pm, as the area around the store quickly becomes dangerous as the sun sets.

Want to see what other photographers have come up with?  See the images here as they are posted. It takes some time to get them all up, so please be patient.

And please, considering joining us next Tuesday for the next Moment.

Allen Klosowski Photography Canon G9, Worldwide Moment

Denver, CO shot for World Wide Moment by Allen Klosowski

I shot the above image of Denver off my balcony for the World Wide Moment project. It is a project which is aiming at capturing a Worldwide Moment of Peace on 09.09.09 at 9:09:09 by receiving simultaneous photographs from 10,000 people all over the world!

This includes at least one photograph from someone in every country in the World. Then they want to exhibit them. All together. As a reminder of what’s possible, if only for a moment.

Here’s what they did on 08.08.08 at 8:08 - it’s pretty incredible.

World Wide Moment 08.08.08

It’s an ambitious project, and it needs your help.  We need more photographers in more locations to get the project up to it’s goal.  You are that photographer - and amateurs and pros are all invited.

Getting started is easy.  There is a “mini” World Wide Moment every Tuesday from now until 09.09.09.  They’ve got a Facebook account with almost 4,000 members, plus a website, a you can follow them on twitter.

Just take a look here to learn what time to take your image, then get our your digital camera and take a quick snapshot of whatever you are doing at the specified time.

It’s just that easy, and a lot of fun too!  Won’t you join us?

Once you’ve taken your picture, just email it to Brett at World Wide Moment, and include a brief synopsis of what was happening in the picture, and where it was taken.  I can’t wait to see what your moment looks like.

Allen Klosowski Photography Photography, World Wide Moment

Selena and I were priviledged to be chosen as the event photographers for Swallow Hill’s Roots Fest at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House this year.  It was an incredible experience, and I wanted to share some of the images from the event with you!

Boulder Acoustic Society performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Allen Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Kicking off the night was Colorado’s own Boulder Acoustic Society (BAS), who have been performing and teaching at Swallow Hill throughout their rising career. Old school but never old, they represent the new wave of American roots music, dubbed by Darol Anger as “…the future of String Band Music on a silver platter.”

Joe Pug performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Allen Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Joe Pug, who is receiving widespread critical acclaim as one of the most respected songwriters of this generation, made his Denver debut at RootsFest. Pug has been on tour with the Bo Deans and is making his debut at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival later this month.

Gandalf Murphy performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Allen Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Delivering music that can “heal what ails ya,” Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams took to the stage to create an enchanting atmosphere, using traditional folk instruments, tasty electric guitar, and the distinctive singing and songwriting of Joziah Longo. Their latest CD, The Great Unravel, was hailed by the UK’s Maverick Magazine as “mightily impressive and hugely original… ’tis truly an epic soundtrack.”

Tallest Man On Earth performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Selena Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Tallest Man On Earth performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Allen Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Swedish singer/songwriter Tallest Man On Earth, aka Kristian Matsson, will also be made his Denver debut fresh off his tour with Bon Iver, one of the most talked-about of 2008. A mysterious figure, he has been drawing comparisons as “the next Dylan.” Pitchfork Media couldn’t resist declaring the cliché as well. In a recent review of his album, Shallow Grave, Amanda Petrusich writes “…(he) manages to embody Dylan’s effortlessness so well…infusing his songs with a detachment that, miraculously, is neither cold nor alienating. Like Dylan, Matsson is so natural a songwriter that these tracks feel predetermined, tumbling out of his mouth with an ease and grace that’s increasingly uncommon.”

Leo Kottke performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Allen Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Innovative acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke’s fingerpicking sounded amazing in the Opera House’s finely crafted sound qualities. Having survived a series of personal obstacles including partial hearing loss and tendon damage to his hand, Kottke has emerged to become one of the most masterful of modern guitar players. His performances are captivating, coupling his playing with monologues that range from strange to humorous. Unconventional in style and composition, he pushes boundaries and inspires with his art, which ranges from blues to jazz to folk and beyond.

Ricki Lee Jones performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Allen Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Rickie Lee Jones broke into the music scene in 1979 with her self-titled debut that captured the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Instantly hailed by critics as a “highly touted new pop-jazz-singer-songwriter” and another critic as “one of the best–if not the best–artists of her generation.” Since that time she has garnered more Grammy nominations, winning another in 1989 for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for “Makin’ Whoopee!” Other accolades include being ranked #30 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll list and receiving Italy’s prestigious Tenco Prize in 2001, honoring her musical career. A profoundly original trailblazing artist, Jones has connections with fellow headliner, Leo Kottke. She collaborated with him on her 1993 release, Traffic from Paradise, and produced his Peculiaroso (1994).

Hot Rize performing at Roots Fest 2009 / Photo by Allen Klosowski at K2PhotoStudio.com

Hot Rize’s high-energy and unique sound is legendary and appealing to fans both young and old, featuring Grammy Award winners Tim O’Brien and Bryan Sutton, plus Pete “Dr. Banjo” Wernick and eTown’s Nick Forster. This event also marks Hot Rize’s 30th year in the bluegrass history book. The celebration is especially serendipitous as the original members of the band got their start by being part of the Swallow Hill community. Swallow Hill’s recording studio, Sawtelle Studio, is named in honor of original Hot Rize member, Charles Sawtelle, who passed in 1999.

It was an incredible evening, one I was glad to be a part of!

Allen Klosowski Photography Canon 24-105 EF L, Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 2.8 EF L IS, Canon Mk III 1D, Concert Photography, High ISO, Roots Festival, Swallow Hill

Allen Klosowski is invading SXSW 2009!

So in case you haven’t seen my twitter stream, or read my Facebook updates, I’m on my way to the most badass music festival that ever was - SXSW in Austin, TX.  I’m roadtripping down there with David Pennington of Syntropic Music as the official photgrapher.  We’ll be blogging our journeys, so hopefully you can follow along with us!

Read our travel blog here: Syntropic Music Invades SXSW 2009

Or don’t.  But no, really, do.

Allen Klosowski Photography SXSW, Syntropic Music

Serefina hanging out in Dog House Record Studios

A friend of mine here in Colorado specializes in custom fit chainmaille outfits of all kinds, but many for women.  Recently he asked me, and my friend Serefina, to help him put his online catalog together.  Although he’s still building his website and catalog, I thought I’d share a few shots I took for the catalog.

Chainmaille Metal Chaps

Chainmaille Metal Skirt

Chainmaille Bikini

On the export, these came out a bit brighter and flatter on the web than their print counterparts.  I’ll see if I can fix that when I have time.  In the meantime, enjoy.

Thanks to Serefina, and thanks to Dog House Music Studios in Lafayette, CO for the location to shoot.  It was lots of fun!

And for those techies, this was shot entirely with a Canon 5D, 24-105 EF L lens, and a single Alien Bee B800 light setup as a butterfly light to compliment the stage lights.

Allen Klosowski Photography Alien Bees, Canon 24-105 EF L, Canon 5D, Commercial, Fashion