Attention Blog Audience!!

Yes I realize I am only talking to the two of you jokers when i say "blog audience," but... just in case a random visitor stops by my corner of the internet, I want them to feel like they are part of the team.

The news of the day is that this blog and its lame ass url ( i hate the stupid word 'blogspot' ) are getting kicked to the curb. Fear not though! I am replacing it with the somewhat streamlined, and kind of, sort of sleeker sounding "andrewkemmis.com/blog". This new beast of a blog is powered by Word Press and promises to be a real thing of beauty. Of course she's kind of bare bones right now, but rest assured, I will be puttin' some lipstick and high heels on her as time goes by. With any luck she'll be ready to show off by the time prom rolls around.

If you visit my site - andrewkemmis.com - and click on blog, you will be taken to this new blog that is full of the same once-every-three-months nonsense that you have come to know and love. Once there, you can click on the Feed button at the top and then sit back and relax as my witty banter flows seamlessly into your digital mind space. This blogspot nonsense will be erased from the worlds history at some point in the future, but no more content will be posted here.

you've been warned.

Now go have a fantastic weekend.

ak

PHOTO CONTEST + ME = VOTE PLEASE

I entered a photo from TotalFest in a music photo contest and am now trying to strong-arm everyone I know, sort of know, or used to know, to vote for my image.

I want you to vote for it...or me...or it and me. Please?


HERE'S HOW TO SEE THE IMAGE AND VOTE FOR IT:

Go here: http://www.billboardphotocontest.com/bin/Rate

Search for 'andrew kemmis' - click Go.

My image will appear.

Click 'Vote"

Tell your friends.

PULITZER SHOW

Despite all of the time I spent shooting Total Fest over the weekend, I did manage to squeeze in a visit to the University of Montana on Saturday to check out the extensive display of Pulitzer Prize photographs that are on display.
The traveling exhibition is the largest display of Pulitzer Prize winning photos ever shown in the U.S. I think it is nothing less than amazing and fantastic that it will be spending some time in Missoula. Kudos to the Montana Museum of Art & Culture for bringing it here. Comprised of 143 photos dating back to 1942, the exhibition is rock solid. I spent several hours walking through the galleries, reading the stories and staring at the images. Some I had seen before; many i had not. Each image demands you spend a bit of time with it, thinking about the context in which it was taken, and reading the stories that explain the situations. Seeing pictures from Vietnam, September 11, Iraq War and many other moments in U.S. history definitely brought about a wide range of emotion.
Also went to the showing of the documentary, Moment of Impact last night which told the stories of 6 of the images. Not as impressive as the show itself, but super cool to see interviews with the photographers and subjects several decades later.

If you are in the Missoula area, and are interested in having your mind blown, plan on checking this show out.

Some of my personal highlights from the exhibit include:

1) Being reminded of the most important thing in photography: "It's not whatcha got, it's whatcha get!"
(an important reminder when you see the price of camera gear these days)

2) Learning fascinating things about each image such as:

I never knew that Bob Jackson, the guy who took the picture of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, worked the story for 3 solid days to get that shot, and that when JFK was shot, he saw the barrel of a gun pointing out of a 6th story window, but WAS OUT OF FILM AT THE TIME! Damn!

And, I never knew that after taking the image of a little girl who was covered in napalm in Vietnam, Nick Ut took the little girl to the hospital before developing his film. Today, she lives in Canada.

3) Learning that Vincent LaForet won a Pulitzer for an image he captured.
Now I am even more excited about seeing him speak in September.

4) Spending a Saturday afternoon hangin' out with my mom!


There are more events surrounding this photo exhibit, which i plan of checking out. Will be recapping things here as they go down.

TOTALFEST IMAGES ARE UP

Attention followers...(yes, both of you)...i have posted a selection of my images from Totalfest VIII on my site for your viewing pleasure. Kindly take a jaunt over to andrewkemmis.com and check 'em out.

Tell your friends.

TOTALFEST VIII: Part 2

The madness continues...or should i say continued, since last night was the third and final night of Totalfest VIII. The line-up proved to be just as raucous and rollus as the previous night.

Personal favorites last night included a ghost of Missoula past - Thee Hedons, Goddamit Boyhowdy from the town of Browning, MT on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the one-man band appropriately named Limbs, wishing i could play the drums after watching Helms Alee drummer make it look fun as all hell, and of course the juice-drinking, cucumber-tossing, crowd-pleasing Japanther. Need i say more?

In the coming days/weeks I am going to be going through the 1100+ images i took over the weekend and creating a Totalfest gallery on my web site (andrewkemmis.com), and giving the images to Josh and Niki to post as well. If there are any questions/comments about the images you see from TFVIII, please drop me an email at akp@andrewkemmis.com. I'd love to hear from ya'...

In the meantime, here are a few gems from last night:

Limbs...


Wildlife...


Josh May of Thee Hedons...


Japanther...

TOTALFEST VIII: Part 1

It's late August, 2009. Our quiet little Montana burg has been overrun by axe-wielding monsters. They descended upon our unassuming, peaceful valley all full of piss-n-vinegar and show no signs of letting up until every last townie is deaf, drunk and sunburnt. This monster is known only as...Totalfest VIII.

Last night was night #2 of the 3-day rock-your-ass off, sweat fest. There were far too many highlights to show here, but I have posted a few images from last night's mayhem to wet your appetite. My personal highlights were compliments of RVIVR's ability to get the crowd whipped up into a giggling frenzy, Vile Blue Shades' stage presence, Le Force...as always, and of course, Herb Hogen's maniacal face-shaking. Clockin' in at twice the age of many in attendance, Herb's ability to rock out makes me realize what a pansy i really am. Thanks Herb.

Many thanks to Josh, Niki and everyone else involved in pulling Totalfest together year after year, and for letting me get in there and point my camera at some awesome shit. Your efforts do not go unnoticed.

Le Force...


Taco Cat...


Leaders...


Lamborghiniz...


Pretty Boy Thorson...

LOCALS Project

A few posts ago I mentioned I was shooting photos of people at the skatepark. Nothing too fancy - just simple head-and-shoulder shots of the people that frequent the park. I did some more shooting last night - in between runs - and am real happy with the results and thankful that everyone has been into having their picture taken. Two thumbs pointin' way up...so far.

For a teaser, i thought i'd post a picture of Kim Petersen taken on the first day of shooting this project. I guess she had too much Rocky Erickson that evening.