John Morrison Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 Some rather splendid pix here... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 Nice, John. However, I tend to stay home and wearing my raincoat, just in case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Mine isn’t nearly so dramatic… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 6 hours ago, Sally R said: Hi Betty, your image reminds me of Eric Meola's images of storms in the United States, including in your state of Kansas. I first knew of his work doing the album photography for Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album. I love his photography. You can see some of his storm images here (if you click on the first photo it will take you to the next one): https://ericmeola.com/STORMS/STORMS-II/1/caption He used to have a bunch of his tornado images up too, but I think most of them are not on the website now as they've been published in a book, but he does provide some bits of the book on the website where, again, if you click on the image or text it takes you to the next page: https://ericmeola.com/Bio-&-Books/Recent-Book-Project/1/caption The wheatbelt here in Western Australia has vast areas of cleared land now filled with wheat fields, and you get kind of similar imagery to what you see in parts of the USA with storms looming over the landscape, except that we don't usually get the big tornadoes you get! Back in my early 20s, I assisting other photographers while I was trying to get my own career going. I mostly worked with out-of-town photographers coming to DC to do shoots...a lot of New York and Los Angeles photogs. I got a call from Eric Meola's studio one day about assisting on a three day shoot for Hilton Hotels in DC. I was beyond excited as I was already a big fan of his work. The shoot went well and Eric and I became good friends. He is as nice as can be and such a talent of a photographer. We keep in touch and he has sent me his books when they come out. The "Fierce Beauty" book is absolutely stunning. He is mostly retired now but still gives himself these personal projects just to keep busy. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Those are some beautiful, powerful images. I wanted to get pictures of storms, but almost always when we see clouds like that in these parts, they drop hail big enough to knock out windshields (wind screens). I was afraid to get my car beat up. If I’d have lived on a country acreage, I could have bought a beater to use and had room to park it. In town, my neighbors wouldn’t have appreciated a junker parked on the street! We kept our two main cars in the garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 3 hours ago, Sally R said: I can understand about protecting your car. We rarely have big hail storms here but one happened in 2010 and my car parked on the street ended up with a cracked wind screen and dimples all over it. I was renting what we call a granny flat here at the time (separate dwelling in a backyard) and it flooded from the hail storm. Lightning strikes were happening around me and I heard a tree split close by as it was hit. With some of the strikes everything just went kind of orange and white outside, like a kind of photo negative. It was surreal. My possessions were literally floating around the floor as I huddled on my bed wondering if I was going to get electrocuted. The woman living across the road at the time was huddling against a wall shielding her baby as the window glass behind her was being smashed and shards of glasses were actually embedding in the wall around her. Just before the storm struck there were strange looking mammatus clouds with a green tinge to them, a bit like some of the one's in Eric Meola's images. So anywhere with those weird clouds I can see why you would look out for an impending hail storm! Yes, it would be great to have the acreage and a beater for storms, but you'd also want a way of protecting yourself if the windows smashed like something you could quickly cover yourself with. Despite so many people having their cars smashed during the hail storm here it was amazing and fortunate the lack of serious injuries. You are right that hail is dangerous. There have been some hail so large (small grapefruit size) that they came through the roofs of houses. I redid the exterior of my home 2 years ago from hail damage, and the hail was only marble to golf ball size. Damaged my roof and siding. I wouldn’t want to be caught outdoors in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 9 hours ago, Sally R said: Oh wow! That's fantastic you got to work with him Michael and have become good friends. I'm a big Bruce Springsteen fan and just love the images he did for Born to Run, which is why I looked to find more of his work and found his website. I can imagine he would be a nice guy. There's something about the way he captures people in his images as well as his sensitive eye to the patterns of the world around him. A few of the sections of his website just have one image in now instead of multiple images, so I thought he might have some more photographic books on the way with those images and has removed them as they are soon going to be published in books. I'm sure updates will appear on his website if more books are coming out. He does have a book out about his Springsteen photos, I think it came out about ten years ago. A funny story he told me about how he met Springsteen and got the Born to Run album shoot. Bruce and his band was doing a free outdoor concert in Central Park, in NYC. It was a hot summer day and the heavens opens up into a big rainstorm. Eric was taking photos and he ran to take cover under a large tree and so did Bruce, Clarence and the rest of the band. While waiting for the storm to pass, they got chatting and Eric convinced them to come to his studio to do some photos later. Bruce and Eric bonded over that shoot and Eric was then asked to shoot the Born to Run album. I think they continue to be friends. https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Unseen-Photos-Limited/dp/1933784083/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Meola+Springsteen&qid=1623197755&sr=8-3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 7 hours ago, Sally R said: What a great story! It shows the value of just being there and the chances it opens up. What a great thing that rainstorm happened. What I love about those images of Bruce and Clarence is that they are so genuinely joyful. I didn't think I was ever going to get to see Bruce Springsteen live, and then in 2013 he came to the east coast of Australia. So I flew to Melbourne and saw him there. I was really hoping he would play Out in the Street and The Promised Land, the first for its joyful exuberance and the second because it got me through a really tough time in my life a few years earlier. Well, the first song he burst onto the stage playing was Out in the Street followed by The Promised Land! I was over the moon. I then saw him here in Perth in 2014 and twice in 2017. I've just been inspired to find and rewatch versions of each, Out in the Street https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYeWAcp037E and The Promised Land https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJx0HftF6Vk The energy, joy and raw emotion of his concerts is really something. He wants to take the audience on a transformative journey with him, lift people out of their everyday struggles and give them hope. I have not seen him live but I am a fan. He is the real deal and you can tell he loves what he does and enjoys connecting with his audience. I always enjoy hearing a Bruce song when it comes on the radio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted June 9, 2021 Share Posted June 9, 2021 (edited) A young Eric Meola was one of the photographers I interviewed for the Nikon Image Book. He was smart, low-key, and intense. One of the best of the best. https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Image-Ed-Rooney/dp/B00185WPUE Edited June 9, 2021 by Ed Rooney 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 22 hours ago, Ed Rooney said: A young Eric Meola was one of the photographers I interviewed for the Nikon Image Book. He was smart, low-key, and intense. One of the best of the best. https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Image-Ed-Rooney/dp/B00185WPUE I remember that book! That is quite the venerable list of photographers from that era!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxzoomy Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 In Ha Tinh, Vietnam, where it can rain harder than in Manchester, uk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxzoomy Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 On 09/06/2021 at 12:31, Ed Rooney said: A young Eric Meola was one of the photographers I interviewed for the Nikon Image Book. He was smart, low-key, and intense. One of the best of the best. https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Image-Ed-Rooney/dp/B00185WPUE I'd forgotten that Eric Meola was apprenticed to Pete Turner, one of my idols. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 7 minutes ago, zxzoomy said: I'd forgotten that Eric Meola was apprenticed to Pete Turner, one of my idols. Both of them were "rock star" photographers to me as I was learning the craft. I was so fortunate to assist Eric whenever he came to DC for a shoot. I photo copied the first check I got from Eric. Was in my early 20s and pinching myself that I was working for him, and not a dream. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 On 06/06/2021 at 16:43, Ed Rooney said: Nice, John. However, I tend to stay home and wearing my raincoat, just in case. Bet you are sat in your rowing boat too. JIC. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 (edited) Just about all the photogs I interviewed for that Nikon book were stars — Jay Maisel, Henry Wolf, Art Kane, Douglas Kirkland, as well as Eric and Pete and others. Edited July 30, 2021 by Ed Rooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 25 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said: Just about all the photogs I interviewed for that Nikon book were stars — Jay Maisel, Henry Wolf, Art Kane, Douglas Kirkland, as well as Eric and Pete and others. Very true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 (edited) On 08/06/2021 at 19:19, Michael Ventura said: He does have a book out about his Springsteen photos, I think it came out about ten years ago. A funny story he told me about how he met Springsteen and got the Born to Run album shoot. Bruce and his band was doing a free outdoor concert in Central Park, in NYC. It was a hot summer day and the heavens opens up into a big rainstorm. Eric was taking photos and he ran to take cover under a large tree and so did Bruce, Clarence and the rest of the band. While waiting for the storm to pass, they got chatting and Eric convinced them to come to his studio to do some photos later. Bruce and Eric bonded over that shoot and Eric was then asked to shoot the Born to Run album. I think they continue to be friends. https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Unseen-Photos-Limited/dp/1933784083/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Meola+Springsteen&qid=1623197755&sr=8-3 I remember running for shelter under a large stand-alone tree with my husband when a storm with lightning came while on a golf course. Everything around us flat, and there we are under a tall lightning attractor. With metal clubs by us. Wet is better than dead. I’ve often remembered that, and thought how stupid we were. Edited July 30, 2021 by Betty LaRue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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