The little plant that could, in Downtown Denver. Click for Hi-Res Image
In case you haven’t been following my Tweets and Facebook posts, I’ve been pretty excited about this project at WorldwideMoment.org for quite a while. It’s a project where thousands of photographers from all over the world take a photo at the exact same moment – a moment meant to inspire peace.
Today was my day to take the photo, and love it or hate it, this is what I thought best represented the concept.
To me it represents finding happiness in unusual places. It’s about starting small and dreaming big (I like to think the flower is hoping to be as tall as the skyscrapers around it). It’s about thriving out of your element.
It’s also just a darned plant in the middle of a crosswalk – so think of it what you will.
I will say that taking this photo was fun. My initial concept involved a pile of dirt in the middle of the road with the flower in it. However, laying down in the middle of a busy street seemed risky enough without trying to plant a flower at the same time. Trying to focus a 50mm 1.4 accurately while lying on your back and hearing the oncoming traffic coming up behind you is definitely an exercise in stupidity.
Funniest part of the whole exercise was hearing a lady on the street corner say to her walking buddy, “That idiot is trying to take a picture of a flower in the middle of the street, and I thought I was crazy…”
But it was fun, and I liked the image, so there. Enjoy!
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
I’m trying to get caught up with my huge photoshop photo load, but in the meantime, I thought I’d keep you entertained with some of our previous work. Here’s a few from a fun set we shot with our friend Alyssa Phillips here in Denver. It’s a modern take on the classic pinup, all for a good bit of fun!
Close ups can be fun!
This was shot in a retro basement in a house here in Denver. We used butterfly lighting with no fill lights to create the Noir style, heavy contrast look.
Sometimes a modern pinup can be a bit more fun!I love playing with all angles.
We tried to play on the retro feel of the room, and the black and white polka-dot dress. Technically this set was shot with a Canon 5D, a Canon 24-70mm EF L 2.8 lens, and one softbox in a butterfly lighting setup powered by Alien Bee lights.
I love playing with all angles.
Our photography is all about fun, and we really thought this set was just that. Lots of fun! Enjoy.
Legs
Denver’s hottest funk band US Pipe invited Selena and I, through our photography company K2 Photo Studio, to shoot their show when they opened for George Clinton at The Fillmore in Denver on January 10th, 2009. The show was amazing, and so were the shots. This month we are lucky enough to have our photographs grace the cover of the Colorado Music Buzz magazine. Check it out, all the performer images you see below were shot by us.
The Feb. 2009 cover of the Colorado Music Buzz was shot by Selena and Allen Klosowski.
Colorado Music Buzz is high on the Pipe.
Despite the un-Funk of Disco and the whitewash of its derivatives, you can’t deny the pure Funk, and it’s oozing all over the place with the help of one of Denver’s brightest and most promising Funk-flavored outfits, U.S. Pipe.
Read the whole article here.
The show was shot with a mixture of the Canon MkIII 1D, a Canon 5D, Canon 16-35 2.8 L, Sigma 50mm 1.4, and Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS lenses and bodies using ISO 1600-3200 as appropriate.
We want to thank US Pipe and Colorado Music Buzz for having us out to the show. It was a great time and we can’t wait for the next one.
Oh, and pics of George Clinton and the PFunk will be coming soon!
