Time with Tom

Photo of the Week – Concert Shirt

Back in 2006, I got a  call from a friend that asked if I wanted to go to a concert in Boston, over at the Paradise Rock Club. I asked her who was playing, and she told me Apocalyptica. I asked her if she meant those guys that had that album where they played Metallica songs on cellos, and she told me yes, and then lent me their album Cult. So I listened to it, got really into them, and went to the concert.

Fast forward four years. As of Monday, Apocalyptica had released six albums, every single one of which is fantastic. The only one I took issue with was Worlds Collide, where they collaborated with a whole bunch of other musicians to create an album that was much more commercial (although, honestly, no less packed full of talent) than their previous efforts. You see, Apocalyptica is a group of Finnish cello players, that use their cellos (and one drum set) to create a classical/metal blend that sits up there with some of the greatest music out there. They’re finally getting the recognition they deserve (thanks to Worlds Collide), and just released their 7th album on Tuesday, titled 7th Symphony. It has all the raw energy and refined playing of their other six albums, and is worth every penny.

On Thursday, I went with one of those two friends that took me to the first concert (along with a few new people, including Brandon), and saw them on the new tour, this time at the Royale Boston. The venue, in case you’ve never been there, is a good three times bigger than Paradise, and they still filled the place really well. Dir En Grey, the opening act, was solid but, honestly, not my cup of tea (or, I guess, my pint of beer. This is a metal show, after all). When Apocalyptica took the stage, the crowd went nuts, and didn’t stop going nuts until the second encore (their rendition of “Hall of the Mountain King”) ended and the band finally walked off stage admist cheers and rollicking applause. It was an awesome show.

Naturally, I bought a t-shirt (because I am a consumer whore). I took a picture of the front of it and posted it as my Thursday Photo of the Day. According to some notice that was hanging up at the merch booth, this was a limited edition tour shirt that was only being sold no more than 35 times at each show. When you have hundreds of kids, 35 is not a high number. Luckily, I was able to grab one in my size, and now I can proudly show the world that I’m a fan of a group of Finnish metal cellists that went on tour with a Japanese metal band that features a tiny screaming shirtless Japanese man.

Life is a wonderful thing.

Tom

Photo of the Week – Feet and Flags

I apologize for falling a few days behind in this project. I am still getting these once-a-week posts up, and I am still getting my photos up each day, but I do realize that I need to get back on top of the timing for it. Ah well.

This particular photo is from a larger set. I haven’t done much in the way of shooting with models yet (this marks my third, although I have a fourth lined up with ideas for a fifth and sixth), so I’m always excited when one sort of just appears on my radar with a unique idea or situation. This friend of mine apparently spins poi, which from my understanding means ludicrously bright flags that make really cool snapping sounds as they make their circuits around her. If you’ve ever seen fire dancing, this is sort of a minor league version of that (I believe).

It was kind of a windy day when we took these, so the flags are doing some cool puffing and flapping in the breeze in a few pictures. If you’re interested in seeing the larger set, you can find it here. I plan on expanding that as we find new places and new equipment for her (such as flags lined with LED lights). If you have any ideas for cool spots in or around Boston we could use for something like this, let me know (comments, e-mail, messenger pigeon – whatever works). You know me, I’m always open for new ideas.

Tom

Photo of the Week – Birthday Afternoon

It was a gorgeous day back on my birthday this past week, so I grabbed my book and headed down to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir for the afternoon. A perfect day, all in all.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering: the book in question is The Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, a sort of prequel to the Foundation series. Foundation was better, though.

Tom

Photo of the Week – Droplets in Motion

Water can be difficult.

Drinking it’s easy enough, and playing in it can be a lot of fun. But getting it in pictures can be tricky. Not standing water, mind you – I mean moving water. Rain. Fountains. Rivers. They’re tricky because of the motion, because there is a way to get moving water that captures it in still without sacrificing its movement that can give people problems. Sometimes, though, you get lucky.

I don’t know how many photographers are willing to admit how big a piece luck plays in their work. I may ruminate on that later, but for now I will say that I am one that is more than willing to admit that luck is probably 90% of my work. The other 10% is applying what I know (or, sometimes, what I think I know) to try to capture the picture when Lady Luck hands me a moment.

In the words of Woody Allen: “90% of life is just showing up.”

With all that in mind, I found myself standing at the fountain in the Christian Science Center in Boston, camera in hand. So I did what any normal person would do: I took pictures of the water. At first, I did it with my zoom lens on, then I switched back to the kit lens. They each got photos that the other probably couldn’t get. What you see below was taken with the zoom lens, remarkably enough.

If you want to see the rest of the set, head on over to here to check it out. There are more pictures of the fountain, and a whole bunch more of the Center itself. I hope you enjoy it all.

Tom

Photo of the Week – Decoration

One of the things I promised myself when I was going to move into my current apartment was that I was going to decorate the hell out of it with my own pictures. It is now July, and although I have a fair amount up, there is still too much white space on the walls. Frames, of course, are expensive, but it’s all worth it to see something I took – sometimes very quickly, more reactionary than planned – hanging up where all my visitors can see it. I’m not a vain man, but that does give me a certain amount of satisfation.

This picture was taken last weekend, when HP and I went on a bit of a cleaning and decorating binge. It marked the first time I’ve combined pictures into larger frames, and I think it went rather well. The pictures in there were all taken in Boston – from the Public Gardens, the Christian Science Center, the 4th of July fireworks over the Charles, and after the fireworks, when I had a wonderful view of the skyline of Boston. If you’re interested in seeing full size versions, those links will lead you to the respective pictures.

Or you can always visit. Since I got this shot, HP hung up a poster-sized collage of pictures from his trip to DC. They’re all in black and white, and I rather think that our pictures class this place up pretty well. Don’t you?

Tom