When Joe Philipson asked me to accompany him to Japan Nite at The Viper Room over the phone from Austin while he was hanging out at the SXSW Music Festival I just said yes. I didn’t really even know what the heck he was talking about. Seriously… it sounded cool… but I still had no idea.

It wasn’t, in fact, until we actually got to The Viper Room on the night of ??the concert that I even found out exactly what was going on. A bunch of Japanese bands playing one after the other at a really cool LA venue. There was Chatmonchy, JinnyOops, Red Bacteria Vacuum, Omodaka and OKAMOTO’S. Ok, this I could dig… if I like the music.

I did.

My favorite band was JinnyOops, although the version I loved was not the full band… as they were missing their horn players… but I do still enjoy their recorded music very much!

I brought my iPhone and the Olympus E-P2 that I have on loan from Olympus… and was amazingly impressed with both cameras. I haven’t really used the iPhone for much, but recently downloaded Hipstamatic app and have been shooting some fun shots with it… and I used it on the crazily lit stage with some pretty cool results.

OKAMOTO’S via iPhone regular camera app:

OKAMOTO’S via iPhone Hipstamatic app:

chatmonchy via iPhone Hipstamatic app:

OKAMOTO’S via Olympus E-P2 :

JinnyOops via Olympus E-P2 :

You can see the entire set HERE.

I’m looking forward to shooting more with the iPhone and a LOT more with Hipstamatic. I didn’t do much with the Olympus this night… but it’s been amazing otherwise… so some great images should be forthcoming.

Amy, Ashley Rose, Ashley (not Rose) and Carlie asked me to come down and light a fun fashion photography shoot they wanted to do of Ashley Rose… with wonderful makeup and styling (as always) by Carlie.

I brought the Alien Bees down to Ladera Ranch, we climbed a hill… and photographic adventure ensued. I wasn’t really there to shoot, just sorta show them how I’d light the various things they wanted to shoot… since they are all wedding photographers they wanted to learn a little about fashion lighting when it’s dark. Lighting is just one of those things that isn’t the most obvious thing to figure out, and having a little guidance from someone who does photographic lighting often can make a big difference.

I brought my Holga which I had just cleaned out and loaded with film the day before… and decided to take a few shots of Carlie while we were all set up. I didn’t bother dialing in exposure or trying to get anything perfect… just had Carlie pose how she wanted and I snapped off 11 shots. These are the 5 I like. No PS, just Lightroom adjustments because the exposure was WAY off. I didn’t even remove the dust.

I see more Holga Fashion Photography in my future.

Holga photography is a lot of fun. You get unexpected results, not just from the camera but from yourself. Through the crappy little plastic viewfinder things look a little different, and so you look at things a little different. Also, looking through a square is a different experience as well, your cropping is completely new and fresh. Basically what I’m saying is that you should go and buy one. Just PLEASE don’t buy one from Urban Outfitters with their flashy colors and $45 price tag.

Go to Freestyle Camera and get one for $28 or click the photo below to buy from Amazon (it’s the same price as Freestyle but I get like $1.20, which is cool) and have some FUN.

Well, the concert went off without MUCH of a hitch. We ended up starting almost a half hour late due to audio issues, but once we got started the show was awesome… and both the live and the internet viewers had a blast. After the show we went out to the back balcony (Keats’ place is awesome!) and had snacks, pizza and conversation. All in all… awesome night.

I shot a few photos outside… love the metal siding background thing. Unfortunately it was only about 5′ tall so I had to sit people down… but it worked out. I’ll post more shots to Flickr tomorrow or so.

We went to San Luis Obispo yesterday to help a friend and aspiring wedding photographer, Bonnie Tsang, who was shooting her second wedding. We went mostly as support and to do a little second shooting… but we also took the opportunity to shoot a little video that we’ll be putting out in the next few weeks.

I’ll probably post a few shots from the wedding one of these days, but here are a few shots that Lan and I did in another room during the reception when everyone was pretty much stuffing their faces… typically not the best time for photographs.