Lately

Uh, I started this post about a month ago, but I never got around to finish it. I guess you can pretend that you were reading this a month ago up until November 22nd, I think. Anywho, here it is...


Well obviously it's been awhile, and a lot has happened since my last post on September 9th. I would apologize for not keeping you updated but I won't; everyone knows that once something you like doing becomes part of a class, it is no longer fun to do. That's what happened in this case. (No offense Professor Short!)

I'll post some photos here shortly, but first, I want to give a brief synopsis of what I've been up to lately. For the last month or so, I've been Atlanta nearly every weekend doing different kinds of work, working with production companies, directors, individual clients, concerts, shows, etc etc. Some were paid gigs, some weren't; that'll change soon though I suppose.

Nov 3rd-7th
RUSH and I were worked on filming/photographing a music video for A-Y's "Fall Back." The video came out awesome and I'd like to think that some of the photos I took behind the scenes came out okay as well. You can view the video here. Of course, the ever evolving Terence RUSHin shot, directed, and edited the video.



Nov. 5th
I was able to shoot the La Roux concert at the Tabernacle in Atlanta with, you guessed it, RUSH. I've heard some of her stuff before, due to Terence blaring her music in his room, and him randomly bursting into one of her songs in the middle walking from class. I enjoyed the show though; it was...different, but I liked it. She kept the crowd entertained, so entertained that the people behind me kept pushing against me while I was photographing the show. They left with a couple bruised ribs-I wasn't having that.



Nov. 7th
I made my way down to Little 5 Points in Atlanta for a photo shoot with the Born Dreamers Production Co. They were a fun group to work with and I got some pretty decent shots after experimenting with lighting and such. Later that night I caught up with Ms. Leslie Mack to shoot her and her new band at this dope little spot in Atlanta called Cloud IX. They sounded awesome and I also got to meet/photograph a couple of dope artists including CoCo Jones, BigRec, and 5IVE.





Nov. 13th
Georgia State had a fashion charity fashion show entitled "Fashion Reel" that RUSH and I had the opportunity to shoot. (If you haven't guessed already, Terence and I do a lot of work together). We were the only legit photographers there, so of course, we were able to make it rain with our business cards and gain a couple of contacts. Fun times.



Nov. 20th and 21st
My Aunt Nikki is 1/2 of the Neo-soul duo, Slick and Rose. They shot their music video for their latest song "Pop-Fresh" in downtown Atlanta, and I was asked to come on set take behind the scenes photos, as well as photos that will be featured in the video. We were able to wrap up the entire shoot in two days, and it was tons of fun. I was also able to meet and shoot well known underground hip-hop artist, Mike Flo, and a girl with awesome hair, Ahki. And of course, they got business cards from me.




Nov. 22nd
Far Out Ventures put on a spectacular show at Smith's Olde Bar sponsored by Deeper Than Dope, Giant Unplugged, Yellow Llama, Terence RUSHin Photography and Video, and myself-Tristan Ervin Photography. The show featured the sultry sounds of The Leslie Mack, the dope lyrics of Bias, and energetic "Black Elvis", Glenn Saddler. It's so awesome having musicians (that have actual talent)as friends. I'd rank this show among my favorite three shows I've been this year. They all had the crowd rocking the entire time..and of course, I was able to capture every moment of it.






You can check out music from Slick and Rose here:
http://www.myspace.com/slickandrose

The Leslie Mack can be heard here:
http://thelesliemack.bandcamp.com/
Follow her on twitter @TheLeslieMack

Bias has a couple of songs here:
http://www.myspace.com/imsobias

Mr. Glenn Saddler:
http://glenn.bandcamp.com/

Last but not least, you can view the full photo sets of all the above and MORE on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/

Happy Trails,
Tristan Ervin Photography

This Week in Tristan Ervin Photography [Aug. 29th-Sept. 4th]

Or....last week.
Last weekend was a huge weekend int he world of T.E.P. My good friend Caitlyn Peppers (now Weathers) married long time friend, Jordan Weathers, on Saturday. I had the privilege of photographing such a joyous occasion and have a fun time doing it! I got a ton of great shots, and I pretty confident that these pictures will help her always remember one of the best days of her life.







SUNDAY!! As of Sunday, August 5th, 2010, I am no longer a carless photographer that misses out on opportunity after opportunity due to not having a source of transportation. I bought a 1999 Purple/Burgandy/whatever Mistubishi Eclipse RS. It was one of the happiest days of MY life and I also have photos that will help me remember how much excitement I had when I drove off the...apartment complex lot that I got it from.
...Okay I lied. I didn't drive it off the lot because I didn't know how to drive a stick. I drove the automatic Equinox and watched my dad drive my car back home. Haha. But still, I was excited about it. My dad gave me manual shift lessons AT NIGHT, and I caught on pretty quickly, I think. I learned the basics within two hours, and I also know how to conquer hills now. It's not as hard as it seemed at first. Right now I'm still trying to get use to the car, but I'm liking it. A few things that need to be done:
New Paint Job
I need some damn BASS in the back
My friend Jonathan installed a new stereo in it, I bought rather cheap from Walmart, and it's pretty decent. It's convenient too since the cigarette lighter in my car doesn't work. It has a USB port for my iPhone and iPod, as well as an auxiliary jack. I think I'm done talking about it now though. Take a look.

Remember the Name: Leslie Mack

Now before I get started, click this link. Right here. And Listen.




When I first heard Leslie play back back in the spring of 2007, my mind was blown and I just had to have her play in my "FreeCreditReport.com" video...except I was the one singing. I've seen her play her acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and singing, and it seems as if she gets better and better every time. Her raw talent is able to captivate anyone and everyone if they're in the presence of her song.

Remember when I said that we're trying to become..."famous?" Well it seems as if we're getting closer. Leslie and I have been working behind the scenes a lot for her upcoming performance at the University of West Georgia on Saturday night. At times it seemed dim, but everything is slowly but surely coming together. Apart from watching her perform, concert goers will be able to pick up some awesome merch that we've put together. I can't reveal what it (they) are because it's gonna be sort of a surprise?...or treat?

Music lovers from the Metropolitan Atlanta area and West Georgia students will be in for a treat Saturday night when she opens up for rapper, Rude Boy B. You can RSVP for the event via Facebook by clicking on this link.

For More of The Leslie Mack:
Become a Fan!
Follow Her!
BandCamp!
Myspace!

Documentary Photography Class

This semester I'm taking a Documentary Photo class. Unlike the photography classes I've taken before, this one has a catch. We have to work on ONE project that has to withstand the entire semester. Now, this is something that has the potential to be extremely awesome, or extremely horrible. Hopefully it won't be the latter of the two. Here's the e-mail I wrote to my professor. Let me know what you think, please?

"This is super late, I know. But I have finally come up with what I may want to do for this class. The reason it has taken me so long to talk to you about it is because of uncertainty; this is one idea that has stuck with me the longest but I didn't think it could withstand the longevity of the semester, so I've entertained other thoughts ideas. This is it though.

This past summer I think I've found my niche and exactly what I want to do in the field of photography, and that is music. Towards the end of last semester, I found myself shooting local show after local show, and even used my images for my final project. After the school year ended, I shot three huge concerts in Atlanta and it was the most satisfying experience I've had with a camera. It seems as if shooting music, in general, fulfills me more than shooting in any other realm of photography (portraits, weddings, fashion, sports, etc).

So here it is, I have figured since this is the one thing I know I'm good at and the one thing I love, why not keep doing it for not only myself but for this class.
So far I've had about 4 ideas, but I would like to narrow it down to two perspectives, and tell two different stories. I would like to tell two stories from two different perspectives.

1.)The Artist's side- There's one artist and one band that I would like to follow, and I know they're more than willing to allow me to do so. These are local artists and I frequent their shows. The great thing about them is that I know them personally, and I know how they are when they aren't doing music. You can still tell that even when they aren't holding a guitar, or drumsticks, that they eat, sleep, and breathe music. With the one artist, I've been helping her out a lot behind the scenes in terms of her trying to get herself out there in order to perform more frequently, at more venues, and to begin to expose herself, music wise of course. It's the small things that matter the most, and these are the things that we have been working on. I don't think I want to reveal them in this message; I'd like my photos to do that. With the band, I would like to do almost the same thing. They just recently signed with and Indie label and they're extremely amped up about it. I haven't worked with them directly yet, but that can definitely change. They're well known in Carrollton, and in the metro-Atlanta area. They've traveled a lot around the state and have even been outside the state a few times. THIS is something that I would like to document. I guess you can say I want to capture "the good/the bad/ the ugly." I want to get shots of them practicing, traveling, performing; I want to know what drives them, what's they're motivation, why they do what they do, etc.

2.)The "fan's" side- I believe that this will be done on a much broader scale because there are a variety of fans out there, and there will be an abundance of people to talk to and take photos of. Again, narrowing it down to two within this portion of the project , I would like take a shot at "local fans" vs. the fans that attend the huge shows, the sold out concerts, the fans who finally get to see the one person that they've always wanted to see perform live. Several questions I would like to answer are questions include:

What does music mean to you?
How important/why is music important to you?
What does it do for you?

I would like to interview these people to get direct answers, and also attempt to catch them candidly while the show is going on- I believe these portraits will answer those questions because of the raw emotion. Right now this part seems a little on the surface but I'll be able to dig a lot deeper as the semester goes on because more questions, situations, and topics will begin to arise.

I think I'm more than capable of making this series last not just the entire semester, but I see it going further than that. I feel that strongly about it. What I look to gain from this project is better understanding of how music works, for lack of better words. I want to know what it’s like to be a musician. I want to know how other people view music and musicians. Of course, this project isn’t something only I would like to gain something from, but I would love for people who view these photos to gain the exact same thing, if not more."

We May Be Famous

"You never know who you know"
That was pretty much the gist of our conversation last night. Why just slumber in your free time when you can go out and do something? Something you're passionate about. Something that you enjoy. Something that can make an impact on others.
That's our mission this year. We're going to skyrocket.

Photo by....Myself.

How It Happened

So we left for Six Flags to shoot the Bobby Ray (B.o.B.) at around 3 in the afternoon and got there around 4:30. The doors to the ampitheatre opened at 4:00, so we were half an hour "late". We got into the park and as we made our way to the venue, we saw signs that said "No Cameras Allowed Beyond This Point". That kinda...put a damper on things but hey, our cameras were in book bags so it's not like anyone could tell. Once we get in, the ampitheatre is halfway packed; of course everyone is towards the front. We walked around and eventually sat about 10-15 rows back away from the stage. At this point we're thinking:
a.) How are we going to get to the front?
b.) Well...even if we did get up there, we're not allowed to have cameras so...

As we're sitting there dumbfounded, Terence and I see this dude who's all dressed up with a Six Flags name tag, so we figured he was official. Terence got up to go talk to him. He asked the guy who was in charge of the photography for the show that day, and he referred us to one of the event photographers...you know, the bounty hunters who take you down when you first walk into the park, wanting to take your photos. Of course, Terence asked them who was in charge, and they referred him BACK the the same guy he just talked to.

So we're back to square one with the same questions we had last time.

a.) How are we going to get to the front?
b.) Well...even if we did get up there, we're not allowed to have cameras so...

A couple of minutes go by, and then I see this guy who looked AWFULLY familiar walk from the back stage area. I point and say.."Terence...isn't that...." and before I could finish my sentence, dude got up and speed walked to him. His name is Jon Gist and he graduated from West Georgia two years ago. They were about 100 yards away from me and the whole time I had my eyes on them, watching how the conversation went. Terence asked him who was in charge of the media pit. "I am"
That was the ticket. Terence looked at me and gave a weird grin and text me "bring the bags nigga."

We were able to get press passes to get into the media pit to shoot the show! If you read the previous blog, you know how the show went. It was SICK. After the show we got invited backstage to meet B.o.B and shoot his meet and greet.

Today Terence's photos were published to the Channel 2 Action News website, The Source, Yahoo! via the Associated Press, and Newsshoppers.com Big ups to him on getting exposure!

As for me, my shit was looked at, and wasn't good enough. It kinda sucks but...whatever.

July C, The Cool Kids, Bobby Ray aka B.o.B.-What More Can I Ask For?

Maybe a new camera, because I'm starting to grow rapidly out from my D60. A new D300 is in the works though. Man, this past week has been crazy. Sleepless nights, sweet concerts, one beautiful model. I've been one hard working man. Want to see what I did? Well the fruits of my photography loins are right below this, so check them out!

I was able to turn my room in to a mini-studio. I had to take my BABY BABY photos down in order make space for a white wall. I used my flash/umbrella kit and photographed Miss July C.
July C


The Cool Kids, at West Georgia? What? SAC surprised us all by bringing these guys here. The show was okay, they could've been a little more enthusiastic though. At least my homies Terence Rushin and Twist made the show look more fun than it was. [It was still fun, but I thought it could have been better. I'm not hatin' though]
The Cool Kids



Man, I missed out on Bobby Ray's free show at the beginning of the month at Center Stage in Atlanta because I had R.A. stuff to do. I thought it'd be my only chance to shoot. Little did I know, he'd be in Atlanta performing again at Six Flags! I ended up goin' with my man RUSH and, again, he was able to hook me up. I got in for $10 with his season pass! I'll blog about the whole experience shortly in the Loser's Always Win Blog. I'll just say this, we got SUPER DUPER lucky. Here are my fav photos from the show.

B.o.B.







Each set from which the photos are from are available at the following links:
July C: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/72157624610165807/

The Cool Kids: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/72157624646687561/

B.o.B.: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/72157624790733652/

P.S.