Ric Kallaher's "Judge This!" - Starring Hal Curtis & His Doppelgangers, and featuring Kevin Roddy as "El Creato"

Now here was an interesting assignment. I was invited by the Art Directors Club to create portraits of 90 judges judging -- and it wasn't even Christmas! No, this was for the 85th Annual ADC Awards. The judges represented some of the best creative talents from around the world -- the US, Thailand, Japan, China, Amsterdam, Germany, England, and more -- gathering in New York City to review submissions from around the world in seven categories: Advertising, Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography, Interactive & Hybrid.

I was inspired, not to mention determined, to present anything but another glorified high school yearbook of 'handsome' headshots and the results can be seen in my new book "JUDGE THIS - How I Learned To Stop Worrying & Love the Gold".



Big THANX to Diane Love for all of her enthusiasm and encouragement on the project, and to the judges for being such good sports & playing along (especially since they had not been expecting to be photographed). An extra special bow must go to Hal Curtis (& His Doppelgangers) of Wieden + Kennedy, as well as Kevin Roddy, the Executive Creative Director of BBH/NY in a photo series spoofing "the dark side" of being a creative.

monuments&gardens

the recent work in vizcaya -- see the blog link -- has reminded me of a group of my images that i've neglected for awhile. i'm placing them in a new set on the website (under the travel galleries) to be entitled: 'monuments&gardens'. this image from madison square in new york city is one of a series there and one of my favorites.

lake placid

as a point of contrast to florida, courtesy of watching the olympics and the inevitable airings of 'miracle on ice' (not a bad movie, actually), i was reminded of a trip this past thanksgiving which took us through lake placid. it was a perfect snowfall, like being inside a snow crystal. quiet. serene. .
as a result, i could not pass up this beautiful bend in the west ausable river

vizcaya

the real reason for the trip to miami -- vizcaya. it suffered a lot of damage in the hurricane. however, with the particular statuary in its gardens, in one appealing sense the results of the storm made it all the more beautiful.

more to come.

So Be

a photo project has been calling me to miami for several months now and so i finally succumbed -- those images will be posted later since b&w negs take longer than chromes. yet what would a trip to miami be without a little "r'n'r" in south beach?

yes, it's a strange place and loses it's allure rather quickly. but the beach is still the beach, esp to a new yorker in january . . . and love those lifeguard huts.

background on 'the assemblies' - pt 2

early on, the concept had preceded the idea, even had preceded the possibilities for executing the idea -- rome in '90, who knew? (well, by then, perhaps some wizard working somewhere in silicon valley.) but still the visions danced in the head.

at last, as scanners & desktop printers were developed & escaped into the marketplace, these blind 'segments' of a whole were able to be 'assembled' into a new interpretation. a translation that better conveyed the sense of the experience without being literal. for never was it intended to put the images together seamlessly. quite the contrary.

naturally, the possibilities revealed, this led to intentionally segmenting a panorama or setting. . . . more to come.

background on 'the assemblies' - pt 1

the concept of the "assemblies" came from several different directions & inspirations.

partially, they were the result of ideas / images / visions that were experienced in response to ruminating about what MORE could be done with any individual photograph. recording a moment often never adequately expressed what went into the reason for choosing that particular person/place/thing to photograph in the first place. while the medium of photography was/is stimulating, another voice always whispers "something is missing" & "there has to be something more".

carey, 2nd from the left in this assembly, had been a friend & photo subject for quite some time. when she began dating her future husband, martin (first left), she would say "just because we are a 'we', doesn't mean you have to just photograph 'us'". thus began the intent to photograph both of them each as individuals while also depicting the context of their being together. . . . more to come. 'til then, click on the title of this blog to link to the website. Once there, proceed to the 'concepts' gallery.

assembly - #1

two great things about the digital realm: realization & capacity.

fine tuning the new site realizes an opportunity: revisit work - specifically, the "assemblies."

"taos cross" was the first assembly ('collage' never having had the right ring). completed in 1998, it actually began many years before with a trip to the mystical realm of new mexico. after passing a roadside memorial several times on various excursions, an insistent & persistsent muse finally called for a stop to honor the site. the individual image that resulted grew into a vision. at that time, though, there was no clear method for bringing the vision into reality. years went by. then, scanners & desktop printers appeared in the world. with them, the vision reappeared, and, with that, the path to its realization.

now, the capacity of the website recalls these visions. it presents a new opportunity to re-assemble the assemblies into their own separate gallery. doing so has only inspired even more new/old ideas but first: to the site. more to come . . .

(this image can be viewed on the website [the link is the title of this blog] in the 'conceptuals' gallery

blade runner

last night, the first night back in town, called for wetware like something out of blade runner. my studio is very near times square & on strolling thru I saw only pedestrians. no replicants in sight. . . . i don't think.

pathways

back in the new york studio -- at the core of manhattan's "fashion district". working on the path(s) to follow for the new year.

newyearworkphotositeblog

At long last, the revised site is up! Same Address (www.ric-kallaher.com). New Channels!
Long in gestation but worth it. Many thanx to Maggie Ryder, my web architect extraordinaire.