Kat Von D 's candle -o-rama

Kat Von D is huge. Not her actual size, but her star presence. Considering she is subject to producers seeking ratings with the power of editors at their finger tips she is really a cool down to earth person. I have only seen her show a few times but more often than not she is made out to be a pain in the ass. Quite the contrary she is actually pretty sweet.

I was contacted by my friend Sinuhe to do a mellow shoot with her and writer Anthony Bozza. Anthony is a former Rolling Stone writer and biographer working with artists Slash, Eminem and Tommy Lee. Now Anthony, working with Harper Collins, is working with Kat on a book of stories, photos and art of the life up to now of Kat Von D and her path to becoming the tattoo star artist she is today. I hung out with Kat and Anthony for the better part of today while Kat gave Anthony a tattoo of a Falcon on his left arm. Anthony proceeded to tell me more than I ever knew about the birds. Pretty cool guy.

Kat took the Tattoo world by storm as the bratty star on the Miami Ink reality TV show. You would have to be a complete blind man not to see her own show coming down the pipeline after she left the boys in Miami. Now back in her hometown of Hollywood, Kat and crew work out of her shop on LaBrea where her own show LA Ink is shot and aired on TLC.

As I have shot with Kat before it was cool to see her again. And even tho I am a virgin to the inked needle she is always very cool and very welcoming into her world. I must say that her working studio is probably one of the coolest rooms I have been in for some time. Filled with old world paintings of the likes of Thomas Gainsborouhs " The Blue Boy" and countless portraits of Beethoven. Not to mention the hundreds and hundreds of candles. The collection of art books was equally interesting to me as well.

Here are a few little facts about Kat Von D you might not have noticed.

- Most think she is older but she is actually only 26
- She is a classically trained pianist. (hence the countless paintings and busts of Beethoven in her studio)
- She was born in Mexico
- She gave her first tattoo at the ripe old age of 14
- She is a lot more petite than she looks on TV
- She texts more than any human being I have ever met in my life
- Her phone is actually bedazzled


I will be shooting again with her in Venice on Tuesday so I'll keep you posted on what happens that day.

I can make the ass drop

This is just a quick one. Recently I worked on a commercial and met this guy. He was one of the PA's. At the end of the shoot he got in his car to leave and hit the switches. I laughed so hard I think a little pee came out. I mean, it ain't even a dope ride. Just some shitty Cutlass Supreme with hydraulics. Booya.

What a fucking mess!

Ok ok I know I have no one to blame but myself. Every year I say to myself; "self, this is the year you are going to be organized!" And am I ever organized? Nadda. Niet. Nein. I am swimming in receipts. And my eyes? Well I imagine they look like two pissholes in the snow right about now. $47.22 for some random receipt from House Of Pies???? WTF? I really gotta get my shit together man.

And since we are on the subject of taxes, here is a thought. How come if there is nothing in the constitution about paying "Federal Taxes" we all pay them, yet there is not one single law on the books ANYWHERE that says we MUST pay federal taxes. Federal taxes do nothing except pay the bill for the interest on the money the US Gov borrows off of the federal Reserve. And the Federal Reserve is a PRIVATE FUCKING BANK!?! To borrow a quote from some other rocket scientist, the Federal Reserve is about as "Federal" as Federal Express. But like little lemmings with a keen eye for the obvious, we all tend to keep paying out Federal taxes. Feeding the war machine.

You know one of these days I am going to just leave this sinking ship and move back to Canada. Just you watch me.

The big blow

I'm working on an art commission for some big wigs up in Canada right now. It is pretty cool being able to go and create anything you want that will be enlarged to ginormous sizes and hung on an office wall. It is even cooler than someone else will be paying for it. As a photographer it is always a treat when you are afforded to see your work enlarged to a size that you might normally not be able to achieve without the financial help of someone who has... well....finances.

I find these windfarms to be quite mesmerizing. Sure some might say this is not original, but when you really think about it what art ever is? I try to put my own little spin on it so hopefully they will do their job and make some people happy when they look at them.

So on Sunday Stacey and I drove out to Palm Springs and sat around the windmills all day long. You might think it would be quite boring, but to be honest we had a great time. There is something so whimsical about these things that it becomes rather soothing to just sit and listen to the blades whipping around in the wind.

Some things we saw and did:

Drank Red Bull
Drank water
Loaded film
Snuck up dirt roads
Listened to Radiohead
Bought useless things at truckstop
Ate burgers at Ruby's accompanied by milkshakes
Made out a little

Bob Lablah Law Blog

Spent a bunch of time redoing my website to make it look even more ghetto than it already did. Ghetto chic. My scanner is busted so I can't even put up some new images that I have shot. Oh well. Give it a look see and tell me if it sucks.

hugs and kisses

Hollywoodland

Today out of the blue my friend Sinuhe called me and said "Hey let's hike up to the Hollywood sign!" I was a little shocked that he had never been up to it in all the years he has lived here. It was one of the first things I did when I first moved here and love the history of the sign itself.

Most people don't realize that the Hollywood sign was originally nothing more than a billboard for a lamer than lame realty venture called HOLLYWOODLAND REALTY. Originally erected in 1923 the sign did little for the realty business and soon became nothing more than a marquee for the city itself. With no maintenance the sign sat in a state of decay until 1949 when the chamber of commerce saw an opportunity to use the sign as a local attraction. They dropped the "LAND" and spruced up the remaining letters.

After years of neglect the sign once again became more of an eyesore and an embarrassment to the city of Hollywood until in the mid 1970's rocker legend Alice Cooper, Gene Autry, Hugh Hefner and other sponsors renovated the sign at $27,700 a letter.

Here are some cool facts about the sign

• The sign company owner, Thomas Fisk Goff (1890–1984) designed the sign. Each letter of the sign was 30 ft (9 m) wide and 50 ft (15 m) high

• Original cost was $21,000. Letters were 30 feet wide and 50 feet tall, and were studded with low wattage light bulbs, 4,000 altogether. The Sign was expected to last a year and a half.

• Maintenance of the Sign was discontinued in 1939. Late in 1944, the M. H. Sherman Company, developers of the Hollywoodlands, quit claimed to the City of Los Angeles about 455 acres of land adjoining Griffith Park, which property included the Sign.

• Actress Peg Entwistle, Despondent over her lagging film career, leaped to her death from the letter H in 1932.

• In 1976 trouble makers altered the sign to read HOLLYWEED to tout the newly changed marijuana laws that had just been passed. And then in 1987 changed the sign to read HOLYWOOD during a visit by Pope John Paul II

As we found out on our hike, the sign has 24 hour surveillance, motion detectors, park rangers and webcams. Not the best place for two guys with greencards to be snooping around. So if you come to Hollywood it is always a fun trip up to see the sign. You can find out a lot more about the signs history as well as the best vantage points for photos at the hollywoodsign website

useless moments in time

Not too long ago, like so many other people spazzing for the newest technology, my good friend and fellow photographer Jeff Curtes and I got iPhones. We started to send each one photo a day taken with the iPhones as a little project to basically waste time. It turned out to be quite addictive and more often than not humorous.

Disco Dog - 1999 - 2008

Yesterday we had to take our beloved Disco Dog down for the big sleep because of cancer. I feel so empty right now it is like having an arm cut off because you know something is missing. She filled our lives with so much happiness and laughter that it would take me hours to write it all down.

Here are some highlights.

- Every time we came home she would greet us at the top of the stairs wiggling her nub
- She would sing only to Pink Floyd's "The Wall"
- Every time I came home after a little too long on the road she would piddle with excitement
- She greeted people by walking up to them and drooping her head down between your knees
- She loved to play catch with her favorite stuffed toy always "going long"
- She would never eat anything round
- She was actually afraid of small dogs
- She loved, loved, LOVED when I would take her on our daily hike in the hills
- She would watch TV. I mean ACTUALLY watch TV
- She loved her mom
- She loved me
- NO dog will ever compare to her and my heart feels empty right now

We miss her so very much and it has only been a day. If you are a dog owner go play outside with them right now. Give them lots of treats and love and enjoy every minute of them.

Disco was our beloved pet, friend, companion and in some ways our child. She will be dearly missed.