Bogota,Columbia Day #3/Elton John Show

After the bomb scare we all eventually went to bed to wake up and start another day, business as usual. I was really excited about the day before, checking out Bogota and getting some good photos I really want to come back to Bogota. But now I had to spend much of the day post producing files of the show from Caracas, so spending the entire day in a hotel in Bogota was .....well.........work. Mark and I accomplished a lot and soon it was time to get ready for the show in Bogota. We made our usual routine of packing gear, checking all of the computers and so on. We ate at an italian restaurant right next to out hotel to save time. Everything is very well coordinated so you have to be on time or you risk having to find your own way there which can be dangerous. Since this trip 2 people have been robbed and a bomb exploded near our hotel. We all piled in the van and drove about 30 minutes to the venue. We got there and people were already waiting for Elton John, and when you pull up in a van with press passes people seem to wonder if you are associated with him in any way. The venue was amazing, really big with great colors, video projections, lots of space and a huge stage. Elton John has been playing with this guy Fonseca, apparently he is hot shit in Latin America I have been staring at this guys face for like 3 days now! The show went fine much better than in Caracas we got the final selects for Elton John and Fonseca and showed the images to their PR people.......job done. We packed up and got the hell out of there headed back to the hotel, we were all eager to get back being that we had to get up a 5 am only a few hours away. BHHHAAA BHHHAAAA BHHHAAAA!!!!! Shit its 5:15 already time to get up and fly to Mexico City. I haven't slept too much on this trip I always have a hard time when its not my bed. I rolled out of bed showered and before I knew it I was back in the van headed to a private airport where we took a chartered flight to Mexico City. We made a pit stop in southern Mexico to refuel take care of immigration then we were back in the air. About an hour later we were descending upon Mexico City ready for landing. Arriving in Mexico City was kind of a blur I have been really tired and not sleeping much. Mexico City is huge with a ton of cars and apparently the police are extremely feared in this town. It is always advised to carry cash with you so you have something to give your thief, 50 bucks could save your life in this town. We got out luggage and of course the cops started asking me for my passport, im convinced they are taken aback by my extreme good looks ;) I gave him my passport and he looked at me and just gave it back to me. We got back in the van and drove to the W hotel in Mexico City, I should actually say we sat in traffic for an hour and twenty minutes. Finally after 13 hours of traveling we made our destination! Tomorrow is the last show and the line up is Elton John and James Blunt......I'm pretty sure after this I will not be listening to Elton John for a good long while.

Bogota,Columbia Day #2

Well I actually had the day off yesterday.So Gabe,Rene,Andrea,Natalia and I went to check out Bogota. Andrea and Natalia do PR work for Buchannan's ,Andrea is from Brazil and Natalia is from Argentina. We started off by going to the laundry mat to drop of our dirty clothes. After that we went to Cerro de Monserrate, this is a mountain that has a church,a restaurant and a market at the top. Its 3.125 meters to the top and extremely steep and you get to the top via a tram. On the way up you can see all of Bogota its very beautiful,Bogota is a huge city. As you near the top, the city seems to be a mirage and then suddenly you find your self in one of the most beautiful places ever! On top of a mountain thats surrounded by more mountains in South America! After taking in the scene of the mountains and the city below we decided to walk around the market then have lunch in this old rustic restaurant. It was very dim lighting and concrete walls it and all natural wood every where, it was quite nice. For lunch I had a lobster bisque and a glass of Argentinean red wine. I was taking photographs all day of local people and got some very good shots I was quite pleased. Soon it was time to go and for me the scariest part the long descent to the bottom. I'm pretty sure everyone on the tram quietly had the same fear I had but alas we made it down safe. After that we headed to the old town square of Bogota,this place is great old world buildings and street everywhere! Upon walking to the square you pass lots of street vendors making plantains and other street food,then you hit the square a huge open area filled with people and pigeons with some of the most beautiful old world buildings I have ever seen. Natalia decided to feed the pigeons and they came in droves flying everywhere. I really love Bogota its a great city the people are very nice and it has quite a cosmopolitan feel. The downtown are of the city has gotten to be safe,kidnappings have gone down drastically although there was a bombing a block and a half away from my hotel. I was actually in the lobby and felt the entire building shake. Apparently a Block buster was bombed in some sort of extortion attempt.........Crazy.

Bogota,Columbia Day #1

Check out time was 10:30am I ended up getting about four hours of sleep. I awoke to a dry tongue welded to the roof of my mouth. Gabe my roommate had asked me if I would like to go to

breakfast with him but I declined sleeping seemed a better option. I eventually woke up showered and headed to the lobby. In the lobby everyone associated with the Elton John Buchannans tour was checking out. We had about four euro vans for passengers and  four regular vans for luggage. From the Eurobuilding Hotel in Caracas we headed north to the airport located in Maiquentia. The drive out of Caracas was pretty amazing lots of graffitti and shanties piled on top of each other. Caracas is like a concrete jungle with the weight of the populous literally above the city. Driving here is crazy everyone is in such a hurry and people love honking there horns, they make New Yorkers seem like senior citizens at the wheel. There are a lot of older motor cyles in this city dodging in between cars at speeds up to 50 mph! After about 20 minutes we where making our way out of the city we started to hit the mountains. What a beautiful sight lush green mountains that seem to meander in every possible outward direction. Maiquentia is a small town on the coast of Venezuale the town is not much to speak of, the airport is the stability of that town. We got inside the airport and visually its pretty clean and simple with lots of military guards around. After getting thru customs and immigration we finally took off. The ascent was absolutely beautiful the Venezuelan coast line is really spectacular and the country from what I have seen is really breath taking. An hour and a half later we are descending on Bogota like some sort metallic bird of prey desperate to get back to its nest. We came in pretty hot,a blazing speed even for an airplane but the actually landing was very smooth. Eventually I stepped outside of the airport and had noticed that Bogota was chilly around 55 degrees,a natural effect of high elevation. We met our Bogota contacts got the crew together and headed to the hotel. Driving thru the city I noticed Bogota is really a progressive and sophisticated city ,its very lush here and I also noticed a lot of old Ford cars everywhere. After checking in and showering we went to diner at a Ceviche restaurant with 4 of our co-workers from Brazil. Dinner was amazing I had Camarones es au Punto in chipolte with some grilled Pesciado and a glass of white wine. Soon after dinner we all went back to our hotel rooms to retire from an exhausting day of travel.  

Caracas,Venezuela Day #4

Last night is over! One down two to go! I was actually stationed right across from Elton Johns

dressing room. Our home base was outside but it was nice and cool and a lot of action outside.

There were people running around like crazy! We were on a tight deadline we had to get artist managment approval on our images so we had to have everything ready as fast as possible! I actually saw Sir Elton quite a few times back stage,this was sort of a big event so there was a lot of security everywhere as you can imagine. Eventually the night ended we got our images approved and went back to the hotel. Gabe,Rene,Mark and I went back to the room to do some editing and tweaking on some final files to show Stuart, head of Buchannan marketing our boss.

Stuart is a really funny guy he knows exactly what he wants and he tells a hell of a story. I have noticed Stuart always seems to have some sort of cocktail in his hand a lot of the time. We ended showing him the final selects he loved them then we proceeded to drink whiskey till about 5 in the morning. (Brett, you would have been proud no mixer for me just ice!) I hit the sack around 5:30am and woke up this morning around 10:00am. We are now headed to the next city via a private jet to Bogota, Colombia.  As far as the photo up top I was doing a self portrait and didn't notice the person in the backround!

Caracas,Venezuela Day #3/ Elton John performs!

Well sleeping here has been a bit tough for me,I'm a litesleeper. Yesterday was a bunch of pre-production, stuck in a hotel on such gorgeous day. We got everything in check so we would be ready for today. We did however get to spend a little time at the pool (see photo above) about 20 minutes then back to work. We eventually went to a plush Caracas restaurant we were driven there in speeding all black Lincoln Continentals I felt like James bond. Today was a bunch of meeting and walk thoughts of the venue its like Fort Knox here. Everyone famous from Caracas is here media magazines everything this is a huge deal. I would like to write more but need to set up for the show!  

Caracas,Venezuela Day #2

Well today started off a little bit groggy. I ended up drinking my fill at the hotel bar last night and woke up a bit hung over this morning. The phone was screaming like a drill pressed up against my temple. We got the call for the meet time, a workflow meeting on how we are going to photograph this gig. Gabe and I eventually woke up took our showers and met in Mark and Rene's room. We printed some stuff off in the business center and all agreed that the best place to conduct our meeting was on the rooftop of the hotel. Opening the door to the roof top we were all greeted by the sunshine the warm breeze and bustling hum of the city below. Caracas is beautiful, crowded and constantly moving city. This is actually a very dangerous city. The Venezuelan National Counter Kidnapping Commission was created in 2006 and since then ,official statistics have shown an alarming 78 percent increase in the number of reported kidnappings. It is a wide known fact that if you go out in this city at night your chances of getting robbed or kidnapped increase dramatically. As side from the horror stories I love the look and feel of this city. From the rooftop you see the buildings towering above the shanties and the mountains towering over the buildings in the distance. There always seems to be a heavy blanket of clouds resting just atop the foothills that gradually turn into mountains. The buildings are all a very rough concrete color some darker than others and all grouped together like some city scape from a cubist painting.

After going over equipment and getting our workflow down Mark, Rene,Gabe and I decided it was time to eat and experience a bit of Caracas. We called our Caracas contact David and arranged to have a driver take us to a restaurant and drop us off so we could explore a little. We ended up going to a restaurant about a mile and a half from our hotel our driver would pick us back up in two hours. We took a seat outside of the restuaraunt under a balcony and proceeded to watch the motorists and pedestrians in a raging war, one that rivals hyenas and lions. The cars here are constantly on the move with only one pace... fast and with out hesitation. You don't want to wander too long while crossing the street you must get your business done in an instant or be consumed by the unleashed fury of a 84' Toyota Celica . You must be an aggressive driver in this city, hesitation behind the wheel is not an option here. You also have to be an aggressive pedestrian alert at all times. After watching the happenings of the city our waiter arrives and asks if we are Americans, between our broken spanish and his broken english we a agree that he will order for us a little of everything. About 2o minutes later our first course arrives its a simple dish black beans,rice and pink tender pieces of pork, absolutely delicious. Then a waiter comes out with the steaks and sausage. The beef here tastes amazing very tender with a taste that any carnivore would kill for. Another 10 minutes later the same waiter brings us the sausage that looks like a red candy coating and tastes like an italian sausage. The last course arrives and it is another plate full of steakes. We also ordered some beers, there are only a few beers in Venezuela they are light and all tasting pretty much same.

We decide to get our bill and go explore a little. Now when the bill comes you have to do a little math. The currency here is called bolivar and the exchange rate is 2.5 bolivar to 1 us dollar. This town is really really expensive. We pay our bill and start walking I decided to lead the group into the streets of Caracas as we wonder around. Most of the women here like to show everyone how beautiful they are or think they are,granted many are beautiful. Strutting around with clothing that seems to be tattooed on their skin. I have also noticed that most of the women tend to enhance their figures with push up bras and plastic surgery. I recently asked my friend Maurin who was born and raised in Caracas and she tells me that a lot of the women here have had breast enhancement surgery because it is extremely cheap. Looking absolutely sexy all of the time seems to be a great concern for the women here. We walked around a bit then had to get back to the pickup point so we could get back to the hotel. We meet our driver and he races thru the busy congested streets with instinct of a stock car driver how he deals with this traffic on a day to day basis is beyond me. We get back directly go to Marks room and continue cleaning equipment and getting our software up to date. A few hours later we go and get dinner at the hotel and retire to our rooms day number 2 comes to a close.

Caracas,Venezuela

   Well today started extremely early for me. I went to a bar in Chicago with a few dear friends too see me off. I got home around 11:oopm and took a drunken nap until 2:45am got up took a shower and grabbed my bags. I left the house and dragged my tired and utterly cold body to the train and sat with a tired blank look all the way to O'hare.I got to the airport checked in got on my flight and wished how I had the power to soundly sleep in a steel structure going over 500 mph. Sadly I couldn't so I opened a booked and dosed off with out closing my eyes, more of a loss of concentration than anything. I arrived at the Miami International airport around 9:45 AM this morning in a zombie state of mind . The airport itself was a little more dilapidated than I had expected. Letdown by the lack of stimulation from the interior , I instantly headed to the nearest sports bar that this fine mess of an airport had to offer.......The Home Turf Sports Bar.

     I went to the bar and put my bags down and ordered a large Sam Adams from the manic russian lady behind the counter that went by the name of Marsila. I eventually ordered some food and talked a bit with Marslia when she wasn't trying to get me to drink shots for $3.00. Suddenly a girl walked up to the bar trying to order breakfast and was denied by Marsila. "Breakfest stops at 10:00 baby!" in her thick russian accent. Marsila called everyone baby. I befriended this lone traveler and learned her name, Michelle from Montreal. Michelle was attacked by a platoon of mosquitos in Puerto Rico and covered with bites she was headed home from her business trip. We talked a long while then it was time to fly. I eventually  made my  way to the gate to catch the flight heading to Caracas. The scene at the gate was very gentle a lot of really handsome and beautiful Venezuelans from what I could tell.

   I made my way to the plane found my seat and awaited for my coworker whom I have never met.  As I was stowing my belongings away I heard in a soft southern voice "You must be Steve!" Alas I have met the fabled Gabe.  We shook hands and I could tell I would instantly like this person. Gabe is a photographer from New York City, originally from the south with a very sweet demeanor , stirring interest on world  politics and a very well traveled person. We talked the entire flight to Caracas and he told me of his photo series on truck drivers he is doing. Gabe has actually become a truck driver to get the portraits for his series. He has started out west and is trying to cover the United States. Our conversation ends as we start to see the mountains  of Venezuela. We have made it! We both share the same excitement both immersed in the beauty of the fog covered landscape.

    We grab our luggage and walk off the plan next stop customs. As we are walking I notice how clean this airport is. Everything is white and polished and everything is very orderly. We get through customs get out luggage and await for the arrival of the second part of our team, Rene and Marko. We head out of the airport and find Isabella our contact in Caracus awaiting with a driver. Isabella is a breath of fresh air she is young ,beautiful and very smart. We all pile into the van and we make our 45 minute drive to our hotel away from the coast and into the foothills of Caracas.  The sun has set and its dark and you can see the lights from the houses illuminating the hills. As we get closer the traffic is very bad everyone driving with aggression. I was told that in Caracas you don't have to take a driving test so anyone can get a license....anyone.  Motorcycles are passing us on both-sides and at least four ambulances passed us. As we pass corners and billboards you start to see the shadowy side of the city, figures appearing out of thin air and dark places then disappearing again...everyone seems illusive in this city. As we turn the corner we pull up and arrive at the hotel. 

     As I get out of the van I look over and see my friend Brandon walk out of the hotel! Brandon is an ex coworker of mine that met a beautiful ,charming and intelligent girl from Venezuela by the name of Maurin. They met each other in Chicago fell in love and moved to Venezuela. Brandon is one of the nicest people I have ever met and I hope to be friends with him for a good long while......we instantly mesh he always feels like an old friend.  We check in, get our rooms and drop off our luggage. We are all starving from a very early day of traveling we just want get drinks and food,so we go to restaurant which is outside. The weather at this point cooled off to a nice 70 F with a slight breeze incredibly gorgeous. We talk about Chavez and the the latest political uprising which is happening tomorrow. A protest of 400,000 students that are being denied the right to vote......another side note Chavez has also changed the time ahead in Caracas by a half an hour so when his children get up for school the sun will be over the horizon. We ended dinner with good conversation and everyone went to the sauna except for Brandon, Maurin and myself we went to the bar and had about four more drinks said our good byes and now here I sit sleep deprived and awake.

An Historic Day!

History was made and I think we are all glad to be Americans today! I was relieved to see that helicopter flying away with the Bush family. I wondered today if Bush was sitting in that helicopter with any sort feeling of guilt about his administration. A blunder of an administration and an arrogant man-child in charge of a nation, somehow he slithered his way into the oval office for two terms. How pathetically amazing that an administration could dupe an entire continent of people. This year has  also shown me how far we have come as a country. Who would have thought that an African American would ever be president?  A breath of fresh air has come to Washington, to our nation and to the world, a spark of hope. Finally a person of intelligence is actually in charge of our nation and I couldn't be happier!

B Movie Madness at the Portage Theater

I attended the B Horror Movie Festival with my good friend Matt Carr a.k.a Putrid. Matt is an incredibly talented gore artist with a passion for horror movies. The festival was being held at The Portage Theater on the north side of Chicago. This movie theater is one of the biggest I have ever seen. The theater can pack in over 1300 people,when you first walk in its a bit overwhelming, an endless sea of vacant seats. There were only about 50 people in attendance for the movie festival so finding a seat was not an issue as you can imagine. While sitting back enjoying Driller Killers I snapped a few shots in the theater. I didn't really get the vastness of the space but did capture some of the intricate design in the ceiling.

Testing the new point and shoot!

Well as some of you know I am off to South America and Mexico for 10 days! I'm doing some digital tech work on a shoot for Buchanan Whiskey. We will be photographing Elton John and James Blunt.I leave on January 22nd and will be flying to Miami and then on to Caracas, Venezuela! Then from there to Bogota, Colombia and the last stop on the tour will be Mexico City, Mexico. I bought a point and shoot for this trip,I bought the Panasonic LX3, its a wonderful little camera.