Rick Hawkins Photography

in camera double exposure but quick

I'm fascinated by the in-camera double exposure. It allows me to play around in the world of abstraction. With film it always allowed me to court serendipity. I was tricking the camera into thinking I had advanced the film. Since I couldn't view on my camera much was left to luck. I was kind of worried that in shooting digital some of the happy accidents would be lost and that to me was the true magic of it. But as I've continued to explore this world digitally a new wrinkle emerged. When shooting the first image my camera only holds that shot for about 30 seconds in it's memory after which on switches out of the double exposure mode. This is an interesting problem because it means the second shot has to be close the first and the entire thing must be made in that short span of time. This being the case I'm stuck with whatever is right there..It's a fun game to play and a good exercise in viewing the surroundings. This particular shot is a decorative wind mobile hanging at a horse stable and the woods directly right behind. I'm thinking...put it on a shirt and sell it at music festivals.
More in the in-camera double exposure folder

Jimmy Hendrix Tribute

I recently shot the Jimmy Hendrix tribute tour at TPAC in Nashville. I met up at the show with Evan from American Songwriter The show featured several renowned players. The line-up was: Dweezil Zappa, Jonny Lang, Robert Randolph, Keb Mo, Kenny Wayne Shephard and Buddy Guy. There was guitar pyrotechnics all around. I was only allowed with the press pass to shoot the first song of each persons section in the show. This made it an intense experience. I wanted to get my standard journalistic shots right off and still have a few minutes to experiment and try some double exposures. Consequently I also got to watch the show as a member of the audience. Which often I feel removed from...unfortunately. The show was great. The sound was clear and not overbearingly loud. Robert Randolph really blew me away on the pedal steel. His guitar parts sometimes seemed to emulate background vocals. Buddy Guy was a real dude. He has a real understanding of "owning" the stage. I really feel fortunate that music photo-journalism has found me. It gives me the chance to go out and see music and photograph. Two of my favorite things, but at shows I'm "working" there an added level of intensity that I enjoy. Theres a heightened sense of atmosphere and more attention to the energy of the show. Now if Evan can land me the Roger Waters pass then it will be on. Oh yeah...then theres Bonnaroo.

dispatches from the road

I went on a river trip over winter break. The idea was to get some time in hunting up some winter trout in the Caney Fork river. When we got to the river we found it very high. At the dam they were running the sluice gates for flood control and two generators producing electricity for the TVA. The water was fast and we were out of our element. Our expectations remained high because another fisherman near us was catching all kinds of fish and several of them were huge. We studied what he did and then did it. It wasn't for lack of trying. After three days and about 14 hours on the water I went to the car and got the camera.

shaking the camera on the caney fork river

The river was up in the trees. The fish weren't biting. Time for photography. Photography and fishing are darn near the same thing. They're both the act of fishing. Shaking your camera is like taking a blind cast.

Granville Tn.

Driving the backroads looking for another access point on the Caney Fork river I stumbled on to the little town of Granville Tn. It was quiet during the day except for the man on the ladder who was removing the Christmas wreaths from the street lights. It's a interesting little place tucked right up to Cordell Hull lake. It was an odd exercise shooting a place that wasn't abandoned. I seldom ever stop on the rode to visit an inhabited place. Still, after I looked at what I shot I still felt that feeling and heard that man on the ladder, alone.


More in the dispatches from the road folder.

Fall portraits

I had several fun photo shoots. It's been cloudy most of the days I've shot but I kinda reveled in the flat light and windows.






Heres a few. More in the portraits folder.

more double exposure

I get alot pleasure from playing with the camera. In-camera double exposures have been a longtime fascination. The serendipity appeals to me.


More in the in-camera double exposure folder.

TV on the Radio

I shot several great concerts in late Summer and Fall for American Songwriter magazine. Elvis Costello, Wilco, Tv on the Radio and Broken Social Scene. It's been fun getting photo passes to the Ryman. Heres a few from Tv on the Radio.

shaking the camera on the caney fork river

Hanging out on the river is good for me. This bridge is on the Caney Fork river. I fish down here for trout. There are a couple of other photos of this area in the Dispatches folder. Heres the "shake" versions.

Olivia

Olivia is growing fast. This was our second photo shoot in 6 months and it is quite evident that she has grown. She is more alert now. Big eyes take in the world. Its hard to get a unique shot of children this age. Many folks go for the baby in a bucket shot at this stage but thankfully not the Branch family! Plus with the last name of Branch the baby on the tree works! In other information this site (for reasons unknown) is not accurately reproducing the colors of my photographs. I am suffering a loss in the richness of color. I have sent them an inquiry into this issue. The photos here are not looking like the photos I am uploading. They are for some reason somewhat muted. I'm putting this out there because I may have to soon change and upgrade this blog. It may be time for a big change!

CCL 50 years young

This year marked the 50th birthday of a place near and dear to my heart. As young boy I gained new perspectives and insights from my time spent at summer camp. I was an awkward camper. I was somewhat intimidated by some of the other boys. This is not a negative on my fellow campers, it is simply a recognition of my shortcomings in youth. Camp helped my shortcomings but in ways that would not become obvious to me until later in life. Every persons experience of camp is different I'm sure. This was evident at this years alumni reunion. Stories were told and boys became legends and heros. I wasn't that camper. I was tied to the place as much as the people. I have always belonged outdoors so camp was a realization of what I am in that respect. My place as a camper came later as I took my photography there and attempted to catch what I had always found magical. It was and is through my camera that I can express to current campers and alumni my understanding of the magic. The action of boys and the green glorious summer of the cumberland plateau. Thank you Malcolm and Patsy for retaining the integrity and simple magic so that we can all continue to learn and pull from our experiences that came from our time in your place.
More photos can be found in the CCl folder and available for ordering on http://pictage.com/1098194

CCL gearing up for the 50th

Camp Country Lad is one of my favorite on-going photography projects. Of course I'm biased from being a camper there as a kid. It's a wonderful place that has kept it's traditions and place unchanged for 5o years. This month is the 50th birthday and I will be returning to photograph for the second time this summer. My July 4th visit was great and I got some interesting shots as the senior staff put on a great fireworks show. Large rockets zoomed overhead from the dam while others went straight up from a canoe. All reflected in the lake. I also did a few night shots that I liked that caught one of my favorite things about camp...the absence of ambient light pollution. The sky is bright with stars.


I have taken alot of photographs but never shot the big dipper. It's always fun to scratch one off the list. I'll blog again after the 50th and I'll see all you CCL folks there. If you are not a CCL person and have questions about this wonderful experience for your child contact me. I'm more than willing to describe to you how what I learned at the camp has benefitted my life and how it may be as valuable as any education I ever received. More photos in the CCL folder. Oh yeah...heres me at 14 with a big fish at camp. Thats another story for another time.

NYC abstracts

On my recent trip to NYC I found myself challenged. It's hard to photograph a place that has been photographed as much as any place on Earth. There are so many incredible photographers that have made NYC their subject if not their home. I quickly turned to one of my favorite techniques, in-camera double exposure. My camera allows me to make multiple exposures but I have a limited time to do it before the mode goes to sleep. So most of these exposures occur within a minute of each other. What usually happened is I would find something that was interesting, shoot and then make a mad scramble to find some kind of texture to mix in. Many of the times the second exposure was pavement or concrete. I also tried some multiple exposures of the same scene..one in and one out of focus. I shot probably 600 double exposures of which most were confusing and abstract to the point of silliness. I did get some I like and feel my attempt was fairly successful. The editing job has been monumental but I will continue to fine tune these until the get show worthy.




More in the in-camera double exposure folder.

NYC walkabout

I had the good fortune of being able to visit New York City this summer. I also benifited from having a great place to stay on Brooklyn. Long time friend Sammy Baker lives up there with his wonderful wife. I took many walks around the city. I found my self avoiding major NYC tourist spots and just focusing my walks through neighborhoods in and around their area. I found myself employing my standard walkabout technique. I'm a sucker for color and texture and NYC has an unending supply.


I had been to NY before but it was always a very quick trip. This time I was able to slow down and pay attention to the subtle details. I got lost several times on subways and was always given help by the friendly locals. I had an extended conversation with one of an extended group of fisherman...in Central Park! They had never fished anywhere else! I offered up free guide service if they ever came to Tennessee. I tried in vain to get in a couple of the world famous museums but the lines were long and I was actually enjoying the walking so much I gave up on that. After all NYC is like a living, breathing museum within itself. Ever changing culture and art is mixed with traditional ethnic pride into a soup that beautifully represents one of the most impressive cities in the world. NYC is the best example of the old American slogan...melting pot.

I became fans of these guys at the Puerto Rican Pride Parade. Retired guys working on bikes in the free time. The members of the Puerto Rican Schwinn club are all much older than they look. A couple were in their late 70's. I wanted to join up. Maybe I'll just have to start my own club. More photos in the dispatches from the road folder. Click on these images to enlarge.

Steve Miller

Again I got the call from American Songwriter to cover The Steve Miller Band at the Ryman. I love the Ryman and grew up with Steve Miller. His Book of Dreams record was the first record I ever bought with my own money. His career is interesting in that it was going nowhere then he almost died and during his recovery time wrote all the songs that would go on to be on the albums Book of Dreams and Fly Like an Eagle. Many huge hits came from that time and many of those songs have been run into the ground even to this day on classic rock radio. It was neat to see a performer that is basically an old blues dude who just happened to figure out how to write pop songs. He has sold over 35 million records!
At this show I tried some new things. I had been experimenting alot with in-camera double exposure while in NYC. I tried this technique for the first time on a "big" band at this show. I think I'll keep throwing it in the mix.

I love those Ryman windows! Click on photos to enlarge!

Willie Nelson

I photographed Willie Nelson this summer for American Songwriter magazine. It was great to gets so close to a living legend. There aren't many songwriters/performers of Willies caliber still alive and doing business. He belongs up there with Ray Charles and Johnny Cash and he performed and wrote songs for both of those fellows. People joke about his partying but he is one of the hardest working men in the business. His current tour helped raise funds for tornado relief in Alabama. He is 79 years old and still kicking butt.
The stories that guitar could tell! That instrument could have been in the Country Music Hall of Fame 30 years ago!

Bonnaroo Backstage

My access to Bonnaroo is due to my wonderful friend Lij Shaw. Lij is the man in charge of the backstage studio. He has a great crew of studio dudes that record an amazing amount of material in a short time span. They had around 30 artists come through the doors of the hay studio during the weekend. It really is amazing what they do. All the artists are so different from each other and the knowledge that the crew has of microphone placement and other technical nightmares is impressive. The session last about an hour and the artist is asked for three songs. Its amazing they pull this off. And with wonderful results. Google Bonnaroo radio and you'll find their recordings on any number of affiliates.




The studio is very challenging photography wise. It's a tight area with lights kept unobtrusive. I'll have to have some different gear next year. A faster lens would help alot. If you are interested in more of the Bonnaroo photography friend Jackson Pollock Microphone on facebook. I keep most of my music oriented projects there. If you are looking for a good studio. Look up Lij at the Toybox studio in Nashville.
They call it the Hay studio for obvious reasons. It's a trailer incased in hay bales. The sound from the other stages can bleed onto the tracks they are recording. This muffles the sound and helps immensely. I love the hay studio and look forward to getting in there again.

the summer of music and photography

My summer photography work changed before my eyes. I didn't seek it. It just happened that way. My early years in photography were dominated by music oriented projects so I guess it's natural for me to swing back that direction from time to time. This was my second year photographing the Bonnaroo music and Arts festival. I'm there due to my good friend Lij Shaw who runs the backstage recording studio. I get out in the festival proper as often as I can or should I say when I can muster up the gumption. It's HOT out there in the middle of the day and the dust can take a toll. That said, the collection of music that Bonnaroo brings in is amazing. You can hear all kinds of interesting sounds.


The band above is The Walkmen. I'm a big fan of their last record. I also photographed them in the backstage studio. The last photo shows what I was up against in the photo pit. I think there might have been more photographers than musicians. They were all generally nice but they definitely are very competitive.
Arcade Fire was another band I was looking forward to. Not just me apparently. The crowd got very large as the marched in riding high on their recent Grammy award. They brought the big show and had the epic sing along songs. I didn't even try to get close!


The first photo of these three is special to me. I was walking behind famed music photographer Danny Clinch. Mr. Clinch has taken many famous musician photographs. He has worked alot with Rolling Stone and is the official Bonnaroo photographer. He has the super duper access. He is usually ON the stage. As I was walking behind him he stopped suddenly to photograph the guy walking in front of him in a harsh beam of light. So I did the same. I'm sure he heard my camera fire. But he never turned around.
Shooting at Bonnaroo is always a challenge. I'm always glad I did it. Although I must admit it's not easy getting sleep at the tent with music vibrating your skull until 4 or 5 in the morning. I bet Danny Clinch has got the sweet hang!

at the park

I met the Buttreys and The Millers in Nashville for a family photo shoot. Centennial Park is an interesting spot to photograph. There was a big wedding at the Parthenon so we used the pond and the gardens. Neat spots! It was hot but that didn't stop the young'uns from running about and jumping.
I like getting families together in the same shot. It always adds some historical perspective getting folks together.

the Watts

I like doing home visits. I like trying to catch the connection between the people and the place. The comfort level of the subjects is visible. The Watts are located on a little slice of Tn. heaven. A long straight gravel drive bordered by a horse that greets you on the way in. They had great trees all around and a happy dog. Life is good!

More in the portraits folder! Click on an image to enlarge! Thanks to the Watts!