In the mid 1940s, Paris, France was struggling to regain it's footing as the fashion capital of the world. Materials and fabric shortages, not to mention food shortages, conspired to drive Parisien designers to near extinction. In 1945, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue hired Richard Avedon to photograph the Paris Collections in the way it was remembered before the war.

His glamourous photographs helped rejuvenate the spirit of Paris and became the standard for fashion photography for years to come. I recently was fortunate enough to see some of those original prints in New York over the summer. They remain stunning to this day.

I have many influences in my photography, and Avedon is at the top of the list. I used his books as my classroom when I began shooting fashion. So when I had the chance to shoot with the lovely Amiria Divine this fall, we created something inspired by those 50 year old photographs.

Classic fashion photography continues to inspire my work, aujourd'hui et toujours.

You can see new still images of Amiria Divine in the The Gallery of the Month Portfolio, at billysheahan.com

Postcard subscriptions through the mail are $25 for 12 months. Details here.

Thanks for your continued support.

Billy

My Billy Sheahan Photography iPhone app (link opens iTunes), has been out for a little over a week now. It's done phenomenally well. Beyond my wildest expectations. A little over 1000 installs every day. Really tremendous.

And besides all the installs, I've been getting a lot of questions about why I felt I needed an iPhone app and many more about how I promoted it to get so many people interested in downloading it. All good questions.

First the why. There are a lot of photographers out there. And a lot of people who have cameras who fancy themselves photographers. It's a very competitive business. Over the years I've sent out monthly postcards with a new photograph to clients and fans to keep my name and images in front of them on a regular basis. When the postage and printing of hundreds of mailings a month became too expensive from a business standpoint, I pared the mailing list down to a few dozen clients I wanted to stay in contact with and offered everyone else and fans the choice of a free email postcard, or switch to a subscription of $25 a year for 12 postcards.

And that's worked great. The surprise benefit of switching to email is that it was easy to track who was looking and who wasn't as well as giving people the ability to click reply and send me instant feedback. Always nice to hear what people think.

But email is becoming something people really only have time to glance at. Our email boxes are filled with so many things that's it's so easy to get lost in the clutter. It's becoming difficult to communicate with email.

Then there were the social networking sites. Friendster (for those who remember that one), MySpace (becoming less and less useful), Facebook (everyone is on Facebook), Tumblr, and finally, my favorite of them all, Twitter because sometimes I don't have time to write an entire blog entry, but I want to keep my name on people's minds. Also Twitter is actually a great resource for information. Really.

SoloModels and ModelMayhem are two additional sites I'm on. And I even have a listing on TED.

But these are things any and most photographers can do. So how to come up with another new way to differentiate myself?

I began working with SoloModels this year on an iPhone app they offer. I had explored the idea of downloading the Apple iPhone Software Developers Kit and learning how to code an iPhone app on my own, but the SoloModels version offered what I was looking to do without all the heavy learning on my part. They had totally figured it out so I didn't have to.

And there were a couple of things I liked about the SoloModels iPhone app. They had done it already and it worked. And even better, updating my photography, video and other content was easy since the iPhone app uses my SoloModels account to feed the app. I make a change on my SoloModels account and boom, my iPhone app is updated as well. My app always stays live. Couldn't be easier.

So then, how to promote it? I've worked in advertising for about 20 years now. I've seen how successful campaigns have been created and I've also seen how bad ones don't succeed. I decided to use that knowledge on promoting my own app.

I've edited hundreds of television commercials over the years. And I know that it's not just about getting the message across. You have to make a spot something people want to watch. Your message is usually plunked down in the middle of something entertaining people are watching. The commercial is an interruption. Something people would rather skip, unless it's interesting or compelling in some way.

So I knew any commercial I created for it had to be fun. To the point.

And I decided to treat it like a movie campaign. Before the app was even finished, I had the developer at SoloModels record video of him running the app through it's paces on his computer desktop, since it didn't physically exist on an iPhone yet. Basically a video screen capture.

I took that video and imported it into Final Cut Studio, cut out the developer's desktop background so all you could see was the iPhone and flew it around on a white background, showcasing what it would do once it was available to download. The editing process took about 20 hours.

Then I created two versions, a "Coming This November" version to run while it when through the Apple iTunes Store approval process, which usually takes a few weeks. The second version was the "It's Here" version.

I posted the "Coming This November" version everywhere I could think of: YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, MySpace, and Tumblr as well as my blog and Twitter. It ran for two weeks and generated a bit of buzz for the app. Just like a Coming Soon trailer for a movie, the idea was to get people aware of it before it was available.

When I got the email that the iPhone app had been approved and was on the Apple iTunes Store, I immediately took down all the "Coming This November" versions of the commercial and uploaded the "It's Here" version to the same places.

Over the course of the three weeks of the Coming this November and It's Here campaign, I monitored Google and found it had been picked up on a lot of iPhone app and photography websites. By putting it up in so many places and keywording the postings with "iPhone app" and "photography," it was easy for people who's job it is to find new iPhone apps to find it. It even got picked up by a Japanese language iPhone app site. In fact about 30% of the installs are from Japan, a market that I had been virtually unknown in previously.

But what does it cost? Photographers, the good ones anyway, spend thousands of dollars a year creating promotional pieces and marketing their work. Just like any other business, you have to surround yourself with good people and create a polished, well designed campaign for yourself. It's what separates the pro photographers from the GWCs (Guys with Cameras). The SoloModels iPhone app will run you about $1000 to get up and running. Is it worth it? Well, each photographer will have to make that assessment for themselves.

For me, it was a no-brainer because it's a new way to get my Billy Sheahan Photography Brand literally into the hands of thousands of people who I wouldn't have access to. Will it generate any future work for me? Too early to tell. But the feedback from my current clients so far has been very good. They show the app around to their network circles and more and more people learn about my photography.

I also decided to make my iPhone app a free download. I could have charged a buck or two for it, but the idea was not to make money from the app, but to get it into as many hands as possible. Rather than make a few dollars on the app, I'm hoping to make even more from actual photography work and build my client base.

We're already working on version 2.0 of Billy Sheahan Photography that will have more goodies.

I spend about 70% of my time on the business of photography and 30% of it actually photographing and retouching and what not. Behind every beautiful image is hours and hours of paperwork, research, marketing and meeting new clients before I even pick up my camera. It's a business.

Someday everyone and their mom will have an iPhone app, or a Droid app, or whatever the next thing is that we don't know about yet. But for now, my iPhone app seems to be ahead of the curve, generating nice buzz. It's just another piece of my photography marketing pie.

FADE IN: Billy sitting alone at a table at a cafe in New Orleans under a single light, that even though it's noon, illuminates only him. A cigarette dangles from his mouth, channeling William Shatner... or is it Stewie?

"She packed my bags... last night... pre-flight....

Zero hour... 5.... pm...

And I'm gonna be...

HIGH...

as a kite... by then...."

That is, unless Tropical Storm Ida has other plans for me.

It's been a great trip back to New Orleans again for the Octavia Art Gallery show last Saturday night. Although I've spent much more time working than playing this visit.

I brought a portable drive with work that seems to follow me around these days. But, if I have to be working, New Orleans is a lovely change of venue. Here's another photo from the opening, featuring the lovely Trixie Minx.

The opening at Octavia Art Gallery in New Orleans was tremendous and amazing. I really love it here. I met more incredible artists and people who came by to check out all the great photography at the Exotica Exhibition. The gallery manager Emily was so kind in the way she welcomed me and made me feel right at home in their lovely space. The gallery had been painted a rich deep red for the evening and it made all the artwork really stand out in a beautiful way.

Besides the art, the talented and lovely Trixie Minx performed two of her burlesque routines throughout the evening, adding another layer of fabulousness to the night.

I always enjoy my time here in The Big Easy and I always feel inspired while being here. The weather is warm, sunny and pleasant and there's nothing better than talking long walks through the Garden District. And I got my streetcar pass for those longer excursions when I'm traveling uptown or to the Quarter.



I made the mistake again of mentioning to one of the gallery patrons last night that my hotel was "east" of here, and was promptly reminded in that most friendly New Orleans way, that there is no north, south, east or west in New Orleans. It's all Uptown, Downtown, the Quarter, etc.. Ah, yes. Now I remember!

Turnout to the opening was really great. Octavia has a great following and there were all kinds of people coming by throughout the evening to view the artwork.

I had great long conversations with so many people about New Orleans, art and life in general. Always a great time to connect with some of the most warm and welcoming people on the planet.



In other news, I am completely astounded by the response to my new Billy Sheahan Photography iPhone app that came out late Thursday evening. As I write this, we're approaching 2000 installs worldwide. And it appears that I can now use the phrase, "I'm huge in Japan!" The Japanese are responsible for nearly half of the downloads. I guess they love the photography of this particular round-eye.


So it's been a great week. Incredibly busy. In fact I'm doing a lot of color correcting and retouching of photoshoots from the past couple of weeks while in New Orleans. But I can't complain. My office these days is a beautiful courtyard at my hotel under the warm sunny sky.

Life really couldn't be any more lovely at the moment. I'm feeling very fortunate and grateful.

The Billy Sheahan Photography iPhone App is Now available as a free download from the iTunes Store. (Link opens iTunes)

Well it's turning out to be a busy and productive Fall here at Billy Sheahan Photography. Lots of long days but plenty to show for it.

I've been shooting like someone's going to take away my camera. Incredibly prolific time these days. Everything from beauty to music to advertising and even a television commercial. And that's just in the last two weeks.

My computers are keeping the studio warm and cozy with all the photography processing going on. At least it will save on my heating bill as Chicago begins it's descent into cold weather hell.

I've been photographing the lovely Amiria Divine quite a bit lately. It turns out that we work very well together and we both have a long list of projects to get to. Here's one of her in beautiful red that we made about a week ago. We shot HD of the photoshoot as well and it's looking amazing as I begin the edit of it.



I've also been spending a lot of time in the recording studio the last week. I had three shoots at Chicago Recording Company for publicity/CD covers of several musicians. One of them, Veronika Horvath, is a country singer... from Hungary. Her story of how she got from there to Nashville is going to make a great film someday. She was charming and talented and not afraid to have fun for my camera. And an amazing voice as well.



Growing up, I was in a band in high school, always thinking maybe we didn't have to be studying for the chemistry test on Friday because we might get signed before then. I'm glad I studied. Yesterday I photographed a couple of musicians who are still in high school, but blew me away with their playing abilities. I photographed Jacob here as he was laying down a guitar track in the studio. The kid has mad skills. An amazing talent and he's only going to get better. And a really nice guy. It's clearly all about the music with him.

Last Saturday, I got a call asking if I could shoot shoot a television commercial on Sunday... the next day. We shot about 100 scenes in my studio and locations around Chicago. A long day and certainly a very quick way to shoot something like that. But it was a bit of an emergency and I'm always up for an insane challenge.

My new iPhone App is out at Apple waiting for their approval before it goes online at the iTunes store. It took a month of design and coding to get it ready and it looks great. I'm really excited about another little bit of promotion for my work. I get fewer and fewer calls to see my physical photography portfolio. I still keep it updated because there is really nothing like looking at big beautiful prints on paper, but with my website and the schedules of art directors and art buyers, it's just easier for them to click and enjoy.



I've noticed lately that emails are just becoming a lot of noise and people, even people I work closely with, aren't bothering to actually read much past the first sentence or two. We've Twittered ourselves into attention spans of 140 characters or less and it makes for difficult communication sometimes. So I'll continue to look for new and inventive ways to get people excited about viewing my work. It certainly seems to be working these days.

A show of more of my Naked Work opens in New Orleans in a week at Octavia Art Gallery. It's going to be a great show and it seems like that city has really gotten turned on to Billy. Opening Night is November 7th and is going to be an amazing time with performances and burlesque dancers. Opening night is called A Night to Remember, and I'm sure it will be. A perfect time of year to visit one of my favorite warm cities for art and sexy fun.

So that's a small peek into my photography world. And since it's Halloween, I'll leave you with another photograph that Amiria and I made recently. She was literally climbing my walls at one point during the shoot. She's great. Much much more to come with her!

What a difference a couple of miles makes. New Orleans is a complicated city. One of my favorites in the world. But complicated.

When I visited there last February for a gallery exhibition I was showing my photography in, most of New Orleans looked like it was getting back to normal 3-1/2 years after Katrina. But when I visited the Lower 9th Ward. It remained frozen in time. Very little progress had been made.

I made lot of photographs of that neighborhood and then returned to the French Quarter and Canal Street. The streetcars rolled past. The tourists on Bourbon Street laughed and imbibed. Life had moved on for a large part of the city. But not all.

But it's a great art community there and I'll be returning in November to show my photography at Octavia Art Gallery. I love the warm generous people of New Orleans. It feels like my second artistic home in many ways.

You can see new still images of New Orleans in the The Gallery of the Month Portfolio, and the :30 commercial called "Where Can I Help?" created from my photographs of the Lower 9th Ward (by brilliant film editor Joe Clear) in my Motion Portfolio, both at billysheahan.com

Postcard subscriptions through the mail are $25 for 12 months. Details here.

Thanks for your continued support.

Billy

Billy Sheahan Photography iPhone app preview from Billy Sheahan on Vimeo.

In a few weeks you'll be able to download the Billy Sheahan Photography iPhone App.

News, photos, videos, gallery exhibition information and more.

It will be a free download from the iTunes store.

Coming this November.

I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've gone in years without writing in my blog here. Exactly a month ago was the last entry. I've learned that sometimes it's just not possible to accomplish everything on one's to do list and still get enough sleep to remain healthy.

There is simply: What do I wish to accomplish and what is possible to accomplish? Mix those two and I end up with, what are the most important things to accomplish... and go with that. And then I do it.

So blogging has been on the wish list, but not on the most important list.

My Photography Life has been full of amazing things lately.

I have a photography exhibition opening in New Orleans again on Saturday November 7th at the beautiful Octavia Gallery. So I've been getting prints ready for the gallery. Big beautiful prints of some of my naked work.

It's going to be a great show. Now all that's left is signing the prints, and getting all the gallery contracts signed and delivered.

I had a lovely time shooting Amiria Divine and Asphyxia again. That's her in the polka dots at the top of the blog. Two incredible muses that inspire me to make the most lovely images. They were a great discovery this year and I will continue to work with them for a long, long time. Now I just have to find a few hours to edit the new work! A fun part of my job, but one that requires me to sit down with a clear head and go through all the choices.

I've also had the good fortune of beginning to collaborate with the good people at SoloModels. Their owner and lead designer is a great guy called Hoss who found me last month and we've decided to do some cross promotion between our sites. A lot of my work is scrolling across the SoloModels homepage this week. He's currently designing another great surprise to promote my photography that is almost ready for release...


My Billy Sheahan Photography iPhone App! Yes, Billy Sheahan Photography... there's an App for that. It's really been an exciting process and we're putting the finishing touches on the coding of it as I write this. It will be a free App from the iTunes Store and now you'll be able to carry my photography and videos around with you in your pocket. Perfect for those long commutes when you're tired of staring at the guy sitting across from you.

I'm continuing to create a lot of motion work for my Directing and Film Editing Reels. It's been really incredible to shoot HD video during my still shoots and creates an entirely new way to express my artistic vision. I'll have another great piece that fellow editor Joe Clear created for me using my photography of the New Orleans Lower 9th Ward which will be part of the October Photography Postcard, due out any day now. Another one of those important things to finish on my to do list these days.


My photograph of the President Obama Rally in Chicago's Grant Park on Election Night is continuing to make the rounds in Washington DC Galleries. It will be moving to a FOTOWEEK show at the Edison Place Gallery in Penn Quarter and the Crystal City BID beginning next month after a run all summer at the Newseum.

And speaking of that photograph, a few weeks ago I received a lovely thank you note from the President and First Lady for large framed photograph that I sent them at The White House during Inauguration Week last January. It's the same photograph that is being exhibited at the galleries there. I'm actually glad it took them this long to write back. I'd rather see them working on the Health Care Bill than stopping to write thank you notes to me.

And I'm going to be having a short exhibition of my Paris Foncé (Dark Paris) work back up at The Gallery at The Colonie for the next month or so. It's work I created during my visit to Paris in 2008 taken almost exclusively in the middle of the night during long walks through my favorite city.

Whew. A lot going on, but it's all been great. 2009 has turned out to be a great year. I feel fortunate to be as busy as I am, so when I start to feel the crush of my to do list, there's really no where else I'd rather be.

"Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real."

That's how the great writer Nelson Algren once described the city. My city. Chicago.

I've traveled all over the world, but I keep coming back to Chicago. I often tell people, "If summer lasted year round here, the whole place would be overrun." The cold winters keep the less hearty away.

Chicago has a history as colorful as any other world class city, maybe more so. When it burned down in 1871, it had the rare chance to rebuild itself and the great architects of the world flocked here to reinvent how cities were built. Evidence of this is clearly visible today with every walk I take through the city's streets.

When I come home from traveling, sometimes I forget to photograph my own backyard, but I'm learning to remember to do that more and more each year. I took this photograph from 25 stories up last year. It's a perfect cross section of the old and new. Building details that are seldom bothered with in modern construction are frozen in time in the Wrigley Building.

Never a lovely so real.

______________

You can see more still images of my Chicago in the The Gallery of the Month Portfolio, and my new short film called "Chicago Noir," in my Motion Portfolio, both at billysheahan.com

Postcard subscriptions through the mail are $25 for 12 months. Details here.

Thanks for your continued support.

Billy

After pretty much abandoning myspace (I only sign on a few times a month when I get a message from someone), I'm starting to grow weary of facebook as well.

Maybe I'm just prioritizing my time better, but I find I can go days without checking facebook and I feel I really don't miss it much. I much more enjoy spending time with friends face to face instead of wall to wall.

And then there are the facebook ads. They're out of control. Today in my right hand column I saw, "Be my Daddy," with a picture of an attractive woman under it.

Really, facebook? Be my daddy? It may be time to pull the plug on facebook.

On a more positive note, it's been really great to get all the lovely feedback on the August postcard and video of Jillian. I really have been enjoying doing more motion shooting the last six months. I used to direct years ago, and it seems like everything has come full circle again. Nice to be doing that again.

And after an extremely busy summer, I needed to pull the plug and take some time off, so I cleared my schedule the week before Labor Day and got some nice decompression time. Not exactly rest because there was a lot of paperwork and work around the studio that's needed some attention. No phones, no surfing. Just some nice quiet time and a chance to catch up at a leisurely pace. It was necessary and I feel like I'm ready to take on the next few months now.

I usually try to keep politics out of the blog, but I have to say, it's been very disheartening seeing the state of the "debate" on the health care issue facing the country. In the last decade or so, I'd have to say my internal political gut has been pretty much 100% correct the last decade or so. Hindsight seems to match my opinions years ago. And my something is really wrong meter is in the red over all the misinformation being passed off as fact the last few months.

I'm very well read, from multiple sources. So it pains me that the "low-information voters" are fighting against their own interests again. Ask yourself, are you getting your information and news from more than one source, and more importantly from more than one "side?" If you're not, then you might be one of those low-information voters that are stacking the deck against yourselves. Cable news is designed to push your buttons, no matter which side of the fence you sit on. It's not really news anymore. It's commentary. And not always truthful or in your best interests.

Please, for the good of the country, expand your horizons. Check out factcheck.org once in a while. It calls out people on both sides when they bend the truth or outright lie. Try a new news source occasionally. Ask yourself if the people you trust for your news are in the business to make money keeping the polarizing at fever pitch. Do a little research and find out if that grass roots group is really organized by ordinary citizens or is it astroturfing by big corporations hiding behind a wall of those same low-information voters?

A little digging beneath the surface will help us all in the long run.

On a less serious note, one way to see how companies are feeling the pinch of the sagging economy is to see how they're advertising. Take my razor. I can milk a blade set for a month, waaaay longer than Gillette would like me too. So they are running commercials like I've never seen in the years since I've been old enough to shave about when to change my blade because I know I'm not the only one stretching a razor blade until it's as dull as a tax seminar.

And happily, the weather in Chicago has been downright spectacular the last month or so. I made the photographs above a couple of weeks ago at a free summer concert at Pritzker Pavillion at Millennium Park. Completely pleasant. There is not a better time to be in this city. I made a few phone calls so it lasts a little longer this year before fall and winter knock on the door. You're welcome, fellow Chicagoans!

Buckminster Fuller, the American philosopher, architect, and inventor once said,

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

I've been getting a lot of requests this year to direct television commercials. Creatives from a few advertising agencies who have been fans of my still photography, looking for new ways to bring a distinctive look to their own work, have been asking me to translate my photographic point of view to moving images.

So I've been shooting a lot of motion the last few months. And if you're wondering what the image on this month's postcard might look like if it was in motion, well, I have a special treat for you. When Jillian and I were done with the still shoot that produced the image you see here, I shot some moving footage of her. And I edited that into a 30 second promo spot.

Building a new model is easy when you have a beautiful one right in front of you.
______________

You can see more photos of my collaborations with Jillian, in the The Gallery of the Month portfolio, and the :30 video called "Jillian," in my Motion Portfolio, both at billysheahan.com

Postcard subscriptions through the mail are $25 for 12 months. Details here.

Thanks for your continued support.

Billy

I really don't have time to be blogging tonight. But sometimes I need to make time to write. It makes me slow down and breathe for a few minutes. And it's way past time time I did that.

I'm very happy with everything that's going on in my life right now, but there is simply too much of it at the moment. Much of it is getting barely completed by the deadlines that keep popping up like level 8 of a video game, but a great deal of it is getting done with my fingers crossed hoping it's all being done correctly. I know things are slipping through the cracks. It's not how I like to work.

I remember in mid-July telling a lot of my friends to bear with me, that I'd be available for fun and play come August. It's now mid-August and my social calendar continues to be eclipsed by work projects. I've resisted saying that out loud, because in this economy, it's good to be working.

But is it good to be always working? I need to take things down a couple of notches.


Last night I took a moment to go up to my roof, to spend a little time looking up at the night sky before my building's massive roof project begins this week and roof top sky viewing comes to a close for a few months until construction is completed.

It was nice to do that.

It was also nice to manage to get last week's work done in the nick of time to run out to the Double Door on Friday night just in time to catch 56 Hope Road who hit the stage at 10pm.

It was a great show and only the second time this summer I've managed to get out to see some live music where I wasn't working as a photographer. iPhone photos like these don't count. They're easy and I don't have to prepare or think very hard about them.

Later that Friday evening, or early Saturday morning, more accurately, I decided to head home and get a decent night's sleep so I could tackle a few more projects over the weekend.


But first, I walked past my favorite club, and said hello to the doorman who's always very nice to me. Even though the club was closed for the evening, he told me to "get in there," and I decided to stop in for a minute and say hello to some of my friends there who were closing down for the evening.

"Billy Sheahan!!!" came the cry ringing out from somewhere in the darkness as soon as I made it through the door. After catching up with everyone and having a few shots of something, I found myself being whisked away in the rented SUV of Matt Skiba, the lead singer of Alkaline Trio and then to the VIP room of Crobar where more mayhem ensued.

Matt looked at some of my photography and we may end up working together on a project in the near future. Very cool.

Not long after that, the night turned into a bit of a blur, which I probably desperately needed considering that the last three months have been pretty much all work and no play. I woke up late Saturday morning and decided to put most of my projects on temporary hold and relax for a the rest of the weekend even though there is really no time for that.

I decided to make my own little film festival with the theme of Paris. Always a good way to take my mind away from the crush of day to day reality.

Frantic - 1988 - Roman Polasnki, Harrison Ford and the lovely Emmanuelle Seigner

Ronin - 1998 - John Frankenheimer, Robert DeNiro and a guy who always makes a movie great, Jean Reno

Angel-A - 2005 - Luc Besson, Jamel Debbouze, and the strikingly lovely Rie Rasmussen. This movie may be my favorite film of all time. Paris in Black and White.

À Bout de Souffle (Breathless) - 1960- Jean-Luc Goddard, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg.

And when my little movie escape was finished, I recalled the advice of a very wise photographer friend of mine, Doug Menuez who reminded me last year, "You know, there's nothing more powerful and healthy than saying, no."

So I look forward to dusting off that word in the next few weeks, like a two year old who has just added it to his new vocabulary.

I am fortunate that I am busy this summer. Bordering on too busy, but I'm not complaining. I'll admit I'm getting a little crispy though. So when I get a day to play, it's really appreciated. I took in my second baseball game of the summer with my new friend Lexi, watching the White Sox pound the Yankees. I have mixed feelings about that because I love New York. But it was fun to see a very high scoring game.

She had great tickets in the 4th row of the upper deck looking down the right field line. A very nice vantage point.



We talked and enjoyed ourselves all afternoon. One of the reasons I love going to baseball games is that it's very relaxing to sit outside for a few hours in summer weather. Especially lately. Relaxing once in a while is very necessary.

Oh, and don't let the dark iPhone images fool you. It really was a nice day for the ball game. Sometimes I just like to make my photos look a little dramatic. That kind of things happens when you spend too much time indoors working all summer.

Growing up, I was a huge White Sox fan. Loved going to old Comiskey Park. Nothing like it. When they torn it down, a little part of my love for baseball and the White Sox died. But I found a new beautiful park to love on the North Side. I began sending Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf my Cubs ticket stubs for a few years after that. He never wrote back. I'm sure he meant to.



After the game, Lexi and I made our way up to Logan Square, where I met up with more friends on the roof of their two flat on what I leaned was the 10th Annual Rooftop Movie Night.

Jeff and Loo go to estate sales looking for long forgotten 8mm and 16mm films. They come back with boxes of them and cull through them looking for Rooftop Movie Night material. As the sun set, a nice group of us enjoyed an amazing dinner before we got the blankets out for the film portion of the evening.



This year's presentation included a recently deceased Chicago actor's 1960s corporate films, including a sales film on the new Frigidaire 1961 model year washers and dryers with a very detailed explanation on a state of the art agitator. Pure Sales Action!

Another film on telephone etiquette was also very amusing. "Use your normal speaking voice and articulate clearly when talking on the phone. Notice how Sarah is repeating everything back to the caller for clarity."

The perfect way to spend a cool summer night.

There haven't been too many free evenings like this, this summer. So you make the most of them when you come up for air for a bit.

I managed to get the July postcard out the first week of August. I'm hoping to begin working on the August postcard in a few days. I'd really like to be back on schedule before the end of summer. It's going to be a good one again this month.



I got a lot of great compliments on the July postcard, featuring Asphyxia. I'm looking forward to making more images with her maybe as soon as this month.

Oh and I stumbled across something that warmed my heart a bit walking downtown this past week. The godless in Chicago RV was parked near the Tribune Tower. I was walking one level below, or I would have stopped in to say hello.

It's the vehicle of Rob Sherman who has for years been loudly advocating what more and more of us believe these days.

It made me smile.

As the old song goes... "Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin', into the future..." Where has the summer gone already? It's gone into a prolific amount of work, happily. New adventures and new inspiring muses.

One of the new models I have been fortunate enough to begin working with is Asphyxia. Of all the women I've photographed over the years, she comes to play better than any other. More expressions than you can shake a stick at, and incredibly beautifully contorted poses. A sheer pleasure to photograph. It's been a while since I've had a new model who I've connected with so well photographically. She makes creating beautiful images so
easy.

The photograph on the postcard this month was from our second shoot during a week of shooting. It was difficult to pick a single image out of all of our work together.

It always makes me extremely happy to find models that exude the energy that Asphyxia does. When around the corner of every click of the shutter is a happy surprise. Good collaborations are the result of me pushing her and her pushing me. Laughing all the while. That moment of discovery when you realize something special is happening. Capturing and freezing a moment in time... before it slips into the future.

______________

You can see more of my photography collaboration with Asphyxia, online, at billysheahan.com in the Gallery of the Month.

Postcard subscriptions through the mail are $25 for 12 months. Details here.

Thanks for all your support.

Billy

It's been a long busy summer and evenings of fun have been few and far between the last few months. But every once in a while I get to go play and tonight was one of those nights!

The great folks at Chicago Recording Company took us all out to a Cubs game tonight in grand style. When we arrived at CRC, there was a huge party bus waiting for us. We cracked open the coolers of beer they had for us and laughed and pregamed on the way.

When we arrived at Wrigley Field we were directed to the Batter's Eye in center field, a new glassed in area in dead center field with a beautiful view of the game, full of great food and an open bar.


Here are some of the pictures from tonight from my iPhone. Thanks to Paul Rogers, Rose, Nikki, Cornelia and everyone at CRC!

Oh, and the Cubs won the game in the 13th inning on a grand slam by Alfonso Soriano. A truly great evening!

For the better part of the day today, that was me. NY2-398. Apparently I can't say much more about what this means exactly, because I signed a lot of paperwork agreeing not to. What I can tell you is that I spent a lot of time with some amazing artists in Greenwich Village for about 6 hours this morning, all of us trying to advance our careers with one giant leap. However, a little after noon, our new little group of happy artists all found out that while our work was very good, this adventure had come to an end for us.

But you know, it didn't matter. There are so many clichés that would apply here.

You have to play to win.

90 percent of making it is just showing up.



And they're all very true. There's nothing better than being a part of something that could potentially be huge. And even when I don't completely succeed, it's impossible for me to feel anything but good about it. I know I'm better for the experience. Going through something like this gives me experience that gives me much more of an edge the next time something like this comes up.

The amount of work involved in preparing for anything that can move you onward and upward is money in the bank as far as life goes. That refining of ideas, focus and my artistic mission will continue to serve me well into the future.

But enough of this vague, I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you, writing.



New York continues to be a close second as my favorite city in the world, right behind Paris, of course. But I enjoy my time here nearly as much. It's a great walking city, especially during a beautiful weekend like this one was. Today I walked from 29th and Broadway, down to the secret project at 13th and 8th, and before the day was over, back up 6th Avenue to 57th to spend a few relaxing moments in Central Park.

In the middle of all of that walking I managed to visit the International Center of Photography this afternoon to take in the amazing exhibit of Richard Avedon's fashion photography. The ICP is an incredible photography resource and at least once a year they have a must see exhibit there. The Avedon show was one of those must sees. And much like the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit that I just managed to catch before it closed a couple of years ago, I wasn't sure if I would get to New York in time to see the Avedon exhibit.



So when my day opened up before my evening flight home, I made a beeline for the ICP. And the Avedon show was... nothing short of inspiring.

The beginnings of his prolific fashion career began with his work for Harper's Bazaar in Paris in 1945 just as World War II was ending. Paris was in pretty bad shape after the occupation and food, materials and even electricity were in short supply. Avedon's assignment: show us the Paris that we remembered before the war as the fashion and glamour capital of the world.

Avedon lit up Parisien city blocks like a movie set, washing away the reality of what people were struggling through and replacing it with beautiful photographs. Eventually, as fabrics and other materials became more available, the designers were able to return to their glory. Avedon's work in Paris just reminded everyone what was possible. Stunning photography and composition that hold up today.

No one shot fashion they way he did. All the way through to 2004, Avedon continued to make fashion images that were so much more than fashion. And it was all on display at the ICP. It was tremendous to see all those prints with my own eyes.



And as a companion part to the Avedon show, there was a small exhibit of photographs documenting the ingenious way the Parisien designers began to basically start from nothing after WW II. As I mentioned before, fabric and materials were almost nonexistent in Paris immediately after the war, so the fashion community used small dolls about a meter in height and invited the designers to create miniature couture with those limited supplies they had. It worked. It got the fashion world's attention back on Paris, and before long the industry began to recover.

One of those original Parisien Dolls from 1944 was at the ICP in a display case. A literally small piece of frozen time and a fitting supplement to Avedon's photos.

A completely inspiring day in New York City. The photos above are more of my iPhone photography. Part of the traveling light philosophy of this trip.

And one more large thank you to Team Billy for making this weekend possible.

I work hard. I am passionate about my work. But I know I can't always do it all alone. What makes it possible is this incredible group of supportive people in my life. A group I call

TEAM BILLY

I'm writing this entry during another one of my whirlwind visits to one of my favorite cities in the world. New York City. I'm in the lobby of the beautiful Ace Hotel in midtown Manhattan, doing a little writing before accepting an invitation I received earlier this evening to join everyone at the bar.

On Thursday of this week, I didn't know I'd be in New York in two days. Things sometimes happen like that. You have to keep your eyes open when the door of opportunity cracks open.

I'm here on a bit of a secret mission that is going to require to me to be in bed fairly early tonight so I can get down to a gallery in Greenwich Village while people are still in bed dreaming NYC dreams.


The Ace is a brilliant hotel. Beautifully designed and fun. Yes, fun. The staff is amazing and after a brief chat with them after I arrived this afternoon they gave me a free upgrade to a deluxe room. A nice way to start my NY project.

I did a little reconnaissance this evening heading down to The Village and checking out the gallery. And while I was there, I realized I hadn't really eaten anything since yesterday so I walked down the cobblestone streets until I happened upon Cafe Cluny.

A fortuitous choice. It's a beautiful little restaurant, just what you'd hope for in Greenwich, and they had a delicious Prix Fixe menu. The service was outstanding and the meal was one of the best I've had in a long time.


I decided to travel light on my little excursion tonight, so I left my big camera back at the hotel. But that didn't mean I could resist the lovely light as evening descended on Manhattan. I've been using my iPhone a lot to allow myself to make photographs without pre-planning. Sometimes you just have to travel light.

Especially coming off the last month and a half. I worked 42 hours over Memorial Day weekend and I haven't stopped since. My evening tonight in NYC is really the first time in I don't know how long I've been able to just stop and catch my breath. Funny that I had to come here to do it.


However, the rest will be a short one. I hit the ground running tomorrow, throwing the dice at an incredible long shot, but one that will change things forever if I manage to pull it off.

The incredible support of Team Billy has made this one possible. I cannot thank them enough for coming through like they always do. Giving me that extra push if I hesitate for a brief moment. Working behind the scenes for me in ways that always astound me. Getting my itinerary worked out before I even have a chance to think about it.

I am a fortunate man.

Wish me luck!

The last time I glimpsed the Statue of Liberty with my own eyes, it was a year after the World Trade Towers came down. I made this photograph with the Statue in the distance from the base of Battery Park. Well, I should clarify that. The last time I glimpsed the Statue of Liberty with my own eyes in this country, it was a year after the towers came down. I actually last glimpsed the Statue of Liberty with my own eyes a little over a year ago about four thousand miles away. The original Statue of Liberty which was officially called La Liberté Éclairant le Monde, which translates to Liberty Enlightening the World, was sculpted in 1870 is located today in le Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.



Many people know that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States in 1886 to celebrate the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What fewer people know is that there are three more Lady Liberties, two in Paris and one in Maceió, a city just outside of Brazil. And one more bit of obscure information is that the enormous Statue of Liberty that currently stands in New York Harbor was fully constructed over ten years in Paris before being dismantled and packed in hundred of crates for her journey to America.

The original inspiration for the Statue of Liberty was actually to serve both the United States and France. In the mid nineteenth century, France was wrestling with the idea of returning to a monarchy and the Statue represented a more democratic vision that could focus the people of France on the idea that it should remain a republic nearly 100 years after the French Revolution of the 1790s.

Frédéric Bartholdi enlisted the engineering help of Gustave Eiffel, yes that Eiffel, to help design the huge copper sculpture after Bartholdi's original 1870 design.

Today marks the first day since September 11th that the public will be allowed to climb up into the crown. However in 1878, thousands of Parisiens were given the first chance to climb into the crown, although the head of the Statue was temporarily installed on the ground.

I've spent the better part of the 4th of July Holiday reading books and continuing my research on the histories of the United States and France and how incredibly intertwined they are. Both counties would be very different today without the other.

I recently aquired a 1967 edition of Mon Cher Papa, Franklin and the Ladies of Paris by Claude-Anne Lopez, an expert on Ben Franklin's time in Paris from 1777 to 1785. It had been a library book in Hopkinsville, Kentucky before finding it's way into my hands. And in another odd coincidence, Hopkinsville is not far from Louisville, Kentucky which is named after King Louis XVI, who Ben Franklin met with at the Royal Château de Versailles during his 8 years in Paris to secure money, troops, ships and weapons from the French for the American Revolution. As he blended very well into the French culture, he even gambled at the Palace with Marie Antionette.

Franklin spent his time in Paris in Passy at 66 rue Raynouard, which is now part of Paris proper in the 16th Arrondissement on the Right Bank, a short walk away from the Eiffel Tower.

So why all this research on the French and American Revolutions and Ben Franklin, Louis XVI and Marie Antionette? It's a bit of a long story. But in a nutshell, it all began during my travels to Paris during the last 15 years. Whenever I travel abroad I take it as my responsibility to be a good ambassador. I love learning about other cultures as well as myth-busting those of my own. And during the unpleasantness of the Bush Administration I found myself having to do a lot of explaining in Europe.

The more I examined the histories of France and the United States, I found, even more than I had suspected, that both countries have needed and have benefited by good relations in the last 250 years. Relations that had become a bit strained until very recently. Both of our current systems of government were born out of the time when Franklin was a guest of Louis XVI's Court, during our and just preceding the French Revolution. It's hard to imagine what the United States and France would look like today without the other.

Last February I was standing on what had been French soil a little more than 200 years ago in New Orleans, Louisiana. Airport signs there in English, French and Spanish, still bear this out.


The lightning rods installed on many of the historic buildings of Paris were originally put there by Ben Franklin himself when he was in his late 70s. I have looked down on his old neighborhood from the top of Napoleon's Arc de Triomphe.

There is a very compelling photographic story in this history and one I have been diligently working on for the last several years. It's a bit like the thesis I never wrote. Until now. And that I will do it in both photographs and words.

So today as we celebrate the 4th of July, I give a grateful nod to Franklin and the French who helped make it possible. And in 11 days, I will also celebrate Bastille Day, which commemorates the French Revolution.

Vive la France, et vive les États-Unis!