Back in the day, I had a Dog named Ace. We were told he was a toy collie, when he was one year old he weighed ninety pounds. Ace had a knack for being in the way. In this shot I was shooting a model in a fur jacket on a piano bench with a 6 x7 CM camera which had pretty high resolution. This was the bottom half of one of the shots. Eventually he laid down on the couch and we could finish the shoot. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Ace
I don’t know her name or official title, but she was clearly one of the Production Assistants on the 1978 Production of Dawn of the Dead. She was very friendly and helpful and extremely busy. Each shot started with her announcing the shot and take, just like in the movies! You can buy a print of this slice of history at my commercial site by clicking here.
Production Assistant on Dawn of the Dead
As a journalist on a movie set you have a license to observe and report. What I found interesting was the mood swings that are cause by events. In this image, the Director, George Romero and Director of Photography (DP) Michael Gornick were trying to figure out how to deal with the reflections from the fountain. The two shots were taken seconds apart on the set of Dawn of the Dead at Monroeville Mall in 1978.. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
The Joy and Anguish of Directing George Romero 1978
Currently they are dismantling the old Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. It is kind of sad for me, I saw so many great concerts there and also, of course, The Pittsburgh Penguins. I only saw Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull play once and it was at the civic arena. I remember after the warm up band, all these roadies cam out dressed in British Trench Coats and set up the equipment for Tull. It was great concert from the Thick as a Brick Tour. You can buy a copy of this print in my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Jethro Tull at Pittsburgh Civic Arena
George Duke is an amazing piano and keyboard player. He played with Frank Zappa on Chunga’s Revenge, 200 Motels, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, Apostrophe, Over-Nite Sensation, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury and Roxy and Elsewhere. He has also played with other artists like Stanley Clarke and Jean Luc Ponty and has a successful and current career as a solo artist. The original photo for this digital creation was taken during a show with Frank Zappa on the Apostrophe Tour in Pittsburgh. You can buy a print on my commercial gallery by clicking here.
George Duke with Frank Zappa
Early on in the Grateful Dead, Bob Weir was known as Ace. His first solo was also entitled Ace. It was also the name of my first dog as an adult, but we didn’t name him after Bob. A great writer and guitarist in his own right, he was a key element of the Grateful Dead’s sound. Here he is the last time I saw him with the Grateful Dead in Madison Square Garden in 1993. You can buy a print of this image on Red Bubble
Grateful Dead Madison Square Garden 1993
Phil Lesh is arguably one of the best pick bassists of all time. He is very musical and like all the other great bass guitar players uses the whole fret board and exchanges leads with the other players. What keeps off the all time best list in my opinion is that he always plays with a pick and never plays finger style or slap bass. Here he is with the Grateful Dead in a concert at Madison Square Garden in 1993.
Phil Lesch at Madison Square Garden 1993
A long time ago I used to shoot photographs for model’s portfolios. Most of these were done in my studio under controlled lighting. Kim was a model that I used for my Photography classes in Pittsburgh and she wanted to have some fashion photographs in exterior locations. We found this old deserted barn and did most of the shots outside the barn where there was decent light. I have always like this one the best however and think it is one of the best back-lit images in my collection.
Kim at the Barn
Last year I saw Jean Luc Ponty play with Return to Forever at the Beacon Theather. The warm up band was Zappa Plays Zappa and Jean Luc came out and played “Fifty Fifty” with the band. I had only seen him play once before and that was with Dweezil’s Dad at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. You can buy a T-Shirt of this image at Red Bubble.
Jean Luc Ponty
Stanley Clarke playing at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The guitarist was Ray Gomez and was part of the School Days album tour in 1976. We recently saw him play with Return to Forever and he has not lost a lick. One of the best bass guitarists of all time.
Stanley Clarke at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh
Imagery Photography 