Cheryl Spelts – Page 23

December 15, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

Brrrrr…

Yes, it does indeed snow in Southern California – if you’re in the mountains!

It started snowing on Saturday night, and by yesterday morning there was a blanket several inches deep covering everything. I finally ventured out in the afternoon and scraping the snow off my windshield was sort of fun – it was soft and fluffy and light – and pretty! Then more snow last night, and lots more snow this morning. Judging by the snow on the roof of the house next door, it must be almost a foot deep at this point. And it’s not stopping. The forecast is for three more days of this. Will I even be able to see my car if it continues at this rate?

Last summer we got a hard thunderstorm that dumped more rain faster than Idyllwild had seen in 30 years. That was impressive! But I’m sort of thinking that was nothing compared to several feet of snow?

It’s going to be an interesting winter!

December 14, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

CD Covers and Magazine Features

It’s been a good couple of weeks! Late last month Lukas Rossi released a holiday CD single with one of my images on the cover, and this week a CD single from Marty Casey surfaced, also with one of my images on the cover.

It’s only available as a complimentary gift, if you buy a piece from his Silver Elements Collection, and there are limited quantities, so if you want one, you might want to act soon. It’s a beautiful song – one of my all-time favorites – I loop it over and over!

My big goal, career-wise, is CD covers and magazine features. I remember when I first started seriously studying photography, I wanted to shoot features for People Magazine. I loved their 50 Most Beautiful People issue, and how they did beauty shots for each of the celebrities chosen – but they weren’t standard beauty shots, they told stories! There was an artistic element that I loved. Then later I gravitated toward Vanity Fair. But my real love was always Rolling Stone. THAT is what I wanted to do!

And then CD covers? That’s an even bigger high for someone with a fine art background! I love doing the commercial stuff – especially when it’s edgy, and beautiful, and fun. But when I get to combine that kind of commercial work, with what my artistic impulses lead me to, and there are no limits? Simply put, that’s what I was meant to do.

So here’s to more CD covers and magazine features in 2009 – I’m ready!

December 11, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

Ryan Star | Sophie @ 103.7’s Green Christmas

Last night I got to attend Sophie @ 103.7’s Green Christmas – an acoustic event in San Diego, benefitting the San Diego Oceans Foundation. Ryan Star played a VIP event before the main concert, and as far as I’m concerned, it was the highlight of the night! He sounded fabulous! Maybe I’ve just been missing him, since this is his first gig in San Diego in over two years, but I really think he’s better than ever. And with a new album on the way, it meant we got to hear all new material – with only one song from the previous CD – my old favorite, Back Of Your Car. He played up on the third floor in the Fireside Lounge – so it was a very intimate concert. I felt really privileged getting to see such a special show.

The headliner was Alanis Morissette, and Buckcherry, O.A.R., Justin Nozuka, and SafetySuit were also on the bill – so it was a great show! And it took place at my new favorite venue, Anthology on India Street, downtown. They have the best sound system I’ve ever experienced. I was there for soundcheck and the sound of one guitar being tuned, was so magnificent, if was heartbreaking. Even in the bathrooms the sound quality is that good. The owners have evidently sunk a lot of money into that system, and wow is it ever worth it!

I’ve seen Alanis in concert twice before – she’s definitely one of my favorite artists – and her voice sounded better last night as well. I think it was a combination of a magic night, and a really really great venue.

I’ll have a slideshow of images to post later this week – but for now let the image above serve as a teaser…

December 9, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

Grandma Rose and Great-Grandma Rie

I shot my Great-Grandma Rie’s Christmas card today! Her name is Marie McBurney and she’s 91. She lives in a resort retirement home called Camelot, in Hemet, so we shot her portrait on her little patio – and my favorite shot of the day, was this one, when my Grandma, Virgina Rose joined her.

December 3, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

America’s Sweetheart of Song

Back in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s my grandfather’s cousin was the top female singer in the United States. Her name was Ruth Etting and she started in a little club in Chicago, then starred on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies, and ended up in Hollywood. Early on she was known as the Sweetheart of Chicago, and then the Sweetheart of Columbia Records, and finally America’s Sweetheart of Song. She had over 60 hit recordings including multiple number ones. She was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, with “Love Me Or Leave Me”, which she introduced in the 1928, and for “Ten Cents A Dance”, from 1930.

Her star on Hollywood Boulevard is located at the intersection where Whitley Avenue crosses the Boulevard, right in front of a check cashing place. Classy!

So why have you never heard of her? Well she made one big mistake in her life – she married a guy in Chicago with ties to the mob – small time for sure, but still, not the best move on her part. And by 1937 she divorced him and then fell in love with her piano player. But her ex-husband was incensed by the new relationship, and shot the new boyfriend. The boyfriend survived and later became her husband, and the ex-husband went to jail, but Ruth’s career did not survive the scandal. She did a few minor projects after that, but the heyday of her career was effectively over. Hollywood came calling again in 1955, with an offer to make a movie about her life. Love Me or Leave Me starred Doris Day and James Cagney, and was nominated for six Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Story. Most people who have heard of her today, only know what the saw in the movie – they know Doris Day as Ruth, not the real Ruth Etting.

Why am I posting this today? Well two reasons! One, I’ve been combing through my archive for 2008 and trying to post anything that I hadn’t yet – and I shot this image back in May, so it was time! And two, because last night I republished RuthEtting.com, the site I maintain in her memory. I switched servers recently, and so the site was down temporarily, but it’s up now, so it seemed like a good time to plug it here!

Her style of singing today seems sentimental and syrupy and dated – it’s definitely an acquired taste! But she really was one of the premier singers of her generation and a true legend.

December 2, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

Lukas Rossi | So This Is Christmas

Lukas Rossi just released a new Christmas EP – available for digital download on Amazon.com – and the cover features one of my images. The EP features two new songs, War Is Over and Revolving Doors, and you can listen to a preview of both on the site, and then download for $1.98.

Lukas has amazing eyes – they tell stories – and the image they chose really shows them off. We got a lot of really good stuff in that session, but this particular image is just special. It was a good choice and I’m glad it’s getting a wider audience!

Edited on 12/6/2008 to add that it’s now available on iTunes as well! Just search for Lukas Rossi, and you’ll find it!

December 1, 2008June 25, 2018

Ryan Star, Right Now

November 30, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

Expectations versus the Unexpected

Last month I went to a concert with exactly one goal – to get one perfect image with all five band members at the peak of action. Lofty, lofty goal. Too lofty really, but it was what I wanted. So I checked out the venue a couple of days before – a little club on the beach in Pacific Beach. The club is now 710 Beach Club, but prior to the summer of 2006 it was Blind Melons. So I knew the club – sort of – but things can change, and I really wanted that one perfect image, so it was worth a little research. Besides, how taxing is it to go check out a little bar on the beach? Not very!

On the night of the concert I had a plan, and I was ready! My expectation was that I would get that one perfect shot. But some days the universe has other plans, and no matter how much you plan and plot and no matter how clear your vision, you may get something you never expected. Maybe good, maybe bad…

So an expectation fulfilled versus something you never expected? Which is better? Can you roll with it? Can you appreciate the unexpected if it screws up an expectation?

I remember Blind Melons being a hot place for local bands to play. It was always crowded with students from SDSU and UCSD, so even a baby band with few fans could play for a full house, if they got on the bill there. And on a Friday night? Big crowd! But I’d heard rumors that things had changed. So I had zero expectations about the club itself, or about the crowd – and I was pleasantly surprised when the club was packed at midnight – just like the old days! And the crowd was enthusiastic and fun, and hell bent on having a good time. It soon became apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to get the shot I had in my head – there was just no way – too many people crowded up way too close to the edge of the stage – even if I could get in front, I’d be too close to the band to get all five band members in one shot, even with my widest wide angle lens. The crowd was a mass of waving arms, and bobbing heads, so I had no choice but to join the party!

Whenever an expectation goes unfulfilled there’s a moment of regret – I mean I really did want to get the image I had in my head! But at the same time, how could I reject the unexpected when it came in the form of a party? It’s FUN to experience a band I love with an enthusiastic crowd. It’s fun to dance with strangers and scream my head off. It’s fun to just let go, and figure there will be another day, and another concert, and another chance to get that perfect shot.

Sometimes the unexpected is worth the diversion from what I expected.

So no perfect shot of L.A. Guns for me that night. I had a different kind of fun! And there is a little slideshow of that below, if you’re interested. It’s a large file, so let it download fully, then watch it fast! It’s not the same as being there, but it’s a taste…

November 30, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

Caitlin in Idyllwild

November 29, 2008 by Cheryl Spelts

High School Senior Portrait, San Jacinto

Patrick is a musician and a high school senior. He’s also my nephew!

We did his senior portrait session in San Jacinto – both downtown and out in the countryside. It was a brilliantly sunny day – perfect for a session like this.