Friday, August 3, 2012

Favorite Pic of the Day for August 4th


Above:
Dakota Askins by Sean Cooper
-See More Below-

Check out today's birthday's HERE:

Swingin In The Rain...



Although this coat may keep off the rain, it is no guarantee you won't get wet. Menswear fashion designer Hannes Kettritz grabbed a bit of attention during his runway debut at this years Berlin Fashion Week. It's best feature to me, was covering the models overdone tattoos.





The Preserver: Dakota Askins by Sean Cooper



'Photography for me has always been about two related ideas, capturing the moment and preserving the feeling. Capturing the moment is the easy part, you simply press the shutter button. Preserving the feeling, however, is the hard part. Without a properly composed, exposed and edited picture, all you've got is a snapshot.'



When I first saw Maryland photographer Sean Cooper's images of Dakota Askins, a well preserved, but long forgotten, feeling instantly shot back to the surface. Dakota's smile, Dakota's face and body, and most precisely Dakota's hair, catapulted me directly back to the rink, the cold, and the lockeroom during the time I played minor hockey.



From the ages of 11 through 14, Saturday mornings at 5:30am meant heading to the rink. There was a guy on my team who, except for the fact that it was over 20 years ago, could easily be Dakota's doppelganger. Sean images not only sharply returned feelings, but also the sounds and smells.


I love Dakota's hair, and his look in general, and it certainly fits his occupation. In addition to dipping his toes into the modeling industry, 19 year old Dakota is a vocalist in a metal band. Sean was looking to add some great images to his portfolio of male photography and was thrilled with the results of his work with Dakota. The shoot began with Dakota ironing the pants that he had brought to the shoot and as you can see Sean got some incredible shots of Dakota in and out of that particular pair of pants.


'Dakota's shoot was fun! He's rather uninhibited and we got along great. One very unique thing about Dakota is his hair. I've seen lots of kids around with those long, unkempt mops, but Dakotas hair is very unique. It's Welsh/Irish curly, which are big loose curls that you don't find on men very often. He's also very personable and his voice is surprisingly forward and resonant, something that you don't find out until you meet him. As I said before, he is very pleasant and cooperative to work with, which is GREAT from a photographic standpoint.'


Originally from central New York, Sean Cooper now works as a professional photographer in the DC-metro area. As a university trained photographers, Sean uses a photojournalist approach to shooting. Sean says he loves studio work and tends to shy away from post-processing. 'I might correct deficiencies in the original capture, but I don't do a lot of effects or airbrushing or editing.'


'I began shooting by just "fooling around" with a friends camera for a bit, and that got me interested. Then, when I started my first "real" job, I went and purchased a Canon S1 IS (which I still have and occasionally use). THAT got me hooked. It was a great little camera and I took it everywhere with me. I still shoot Canon gear exclusively - they built up a lot of good karma with that first little camera. I started off shooting the silly stuff that every beginning photographer does - contrasty, poorly framed portraits, flower macros, trips to the zoo, etc. I'm still taking those same awful pictures, with much newer and more expensive gear!'








Matthew Perry: 44-Love



Besides acting, while growing up, actor Matthew Perry was also a top-ranked junior tennis player. In tennis, love basically means nil, zero. Zero is exactly what he is risking his career becoming by starring in yet another television show, this time, this falls Go On.



Perry, who turns 44 this month, must be close to holding the record for failed tv show attempts, many before Friends, and this, his third since. Perry was great on Friends, and over the course of the shows 10 seasons was making a million week. So why then is he again trying to headline yet another show? The cast of Friends has had mixed results since the show ended (The Comeback-brilliant, Joey-garbage). It can't be the money, so it must be fame Perry wants to hold on to. A hit show like Friends comes around once in a life time, and Perry was blessed. Overall his movie career has been lackluster and his attempts at leads on television poorly received. But... Perry has shined in guest appearances, most recently on The Good Wife. Perry should enjoy his life, his millions, guest on televisions shows and stop trying to catch something he has already caught and released.

Boy oh Philipp Boy



German gymnast Philipp Boy is not having a greatest week, but the 2011 European All Around Champion still worked through a hemorrhaging and swelling ankle. The agony of defeat.