Old Houses in Riverside

I've had a thing for downtown Riverside for years. I've always loved little old houses, and streets with lots of old houses are just heaven for me. But I'd never seen so many old houses, in such good condition until I found Riverside.

In 1885, Riverside California had the highest per capita income of any city in the United States because of the orange groves. And a lot of the houses built in that era still exist - huge Victorians on tiny city lots, with no backyards, but big trees in front. The economy stayed strong into the next century, and the houses built reflected that - the Craftsmen Homes pictured above were probably built between 1900 and 1905. And a decade or so later, art deco bungalows started to appear. Nearly every house in the downtown area is charming and full of authentic period details - and the styles represented range from Victorians in the 1880's through 1940's modern.

But a funny thing happened after 1950. Riverside's economy started to suffer, and the wealthier people started to move out of the downtown area. In downtown San Diego and Los Angeles lots of old houses were torn down in the 1950's and 60's - they were just old houses, and out of fashion, and the land was valuable, so the houses had to go. But in Riverside, the land was not in demand - so the houses stayed. And in many cases there was very little effort made to renovate or redecorate. The houses may have been old fashioned, and not as desirable, but they still made good homes for less wealthy families.

When I first discovered downtown Riverside, it was in 1995 at the very bottom of the market. Cute little Victorians that were completely authentic and totally untouched by misguided renovators were selling for very very little. I went to an auction and saw several go for less than $10,000 each - and they were livable homes.

That was the bottom. But the real estate boom of the early part of this decade changed everything. I spent six months living in the top story of a hundred-year-old house in 1998 and paid $450 a month in rent - it was great! And I looked at cute little bungalows selling for $90,000 and wondered where the $10,000 houses I'd seen three years before had gone? Then in 2005 I saw those same houses going for $350,000 and up. It was madness.

The worst part for me though, is that all that money meant that almost all of those houses have had significant "improvements" made in the last ten years. Most people that like old houses, don't reallllly like old houses - they want it to look old, but still have a modern kitchen and bathroom. Not me! I loved the original ceramic tile I had in one house, and the little drop leaf table. I love old plumbing fixtures, and doors that creak, and windows that let a draft in, around the edges. It makes me really sad to think about all those improvements.

The fact that Riverside suffered economically in the middle of the last century protected all those great old houses - and the fact that Riverside prospered more recently means that a lot of them have been gutted and renovated recently. It's sad.

Even sadder is the fact that more old houses have been lost in the last two or three years, than in two or three decades before. There are way too many empty lots where old houses used to stand. They claim it's progress, but it's not even close to progress in my opinion - it's short-sighted greed. And I remember those houses - they may be gone - but I remember.

I love Fallbrook, and it's my home, but I also love downtown Riverside and the tree-lined streets and so many beautiful little houses. Streets like the one above call out to me...

Richard and Darlene

I did a really quick engagement session with Richard and Darlene back in March, and these images are from that session. They're getting married in July!











I think the last image is my favorite. Everything about it - the lines, the colors, the feeling - is just so romantic...

Lukas Rossi and Stars Down

Last Friday night I went to see a brand new band - Stars Down - featuring one of my favorite singers, Lukas Rossi. It was their very first show, and they opened for Berlin at Crash Mansion in Los Angeles. It was great! Lukas and his new bandmates play like they've been together forever - it was a totally polished performance. Plus, I just love seeing Lukas with a full band!

Then the next night they threw a party for their families, friends and a few of their biggest fans at The Mint. I got to go because I know a few of his biggest fans, and they got me in - and I was really grateful, because it was a fun show! The images below are all from that night!













You can see more of my images on RBL at:
http://rockbandlounge.com/news/2008-05-stars-down.asp

Backstage at MTV's Rock the Cradle

Lucy Walsh, daughter of Joe Walsh, guitarist for the the Eagles.


Lucy Walsh


Crosby Loggins, son of singer Kenny Loggins.


Dee Snider of Twister Sister, and father of Jesse Blaze Snider.


Lara Johnston, daughter of Doobie Brothers' singer Tom Johnston.


Rafael Moreira, lead guitarist in the House Band.


Nate Morton, drummer in the House Band.


Jesse Blaze Snider and Dee Snider


Lucy Walsh


Lucy Walsh




Nate Morton


Chloe Lattanzi, Executive Producer David Goffin, Lucy Walsh, and Jesse Snider.


Chloe Lattanzi, daughter of singer Olivia Newton-John and actor Matt Lattanzi.




Rafael Moreira





The finale of Rock the Cradle is this week - Thursday night at 10PM - and it's live! The final three singers in the competition are Chloe Lattanzi, Crosby Loggins, and Jesse Blaze Snider - three VERY different performers - so it looks to be a really fun finale!

The images above are just the highlights, for the full photo essay go to:
http://www.rockbandlounge.com/news/2008-05-rock-the-cradle-backstage.asp

And the discussion thread is here:
http://www.rockbandlounge.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=6436

Catching up...

Bunch of little things to report today!

First one actually isn't so little... I got to shoot backstage at MTV's Rock the Cradle last night - and it was amazing! It's going to take me a few days to process all the images, but I've posted a sneak preview on RBL, at:
http://www.rockbandlounge.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=6436

Second, one of my images is being used on the poster for a show Marty Casey is doing in Cleveland at the Roc Bar on May 9th. If you're anywhere in Ohio, or in a neighboring state, you should find a way to get there - he's amazing live - and this will be an acoustic show in an intimate setting - it sounds like a great show!
http://www.martycasey.org/posters/OHposter.jpg

Third, two of my images from the film festival were published in our local newspaper alongside a great article by Nathalie Taylor. It doesn't appear to be online yet - just in the printed newspaper - but hopefully it will be soon.

And last but not least, I get to go to a concert tonight! It's going to be a good weekend!

Fallbrook Film Festival, Awards Ceremony

The makers of Paper Dolls are interviewed by Fallbrook Film Factory.
















Australian filmmaker Robin Ramsay, the producer of Tao of the Traveler, which was shot in Australia, New Zealand and India.


Chase Masterson, Tom Del Ruth, and James Kerwin.




Actor and filmmaker, Brent Gorcie of Encinitas.




Tom Del Ruth A.S.C. receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. Del Ruth is a cinematographer and worked on Clint Eastwood's Outlaw Jose Wales, Stand By Me, The Mighty Ducks, The Breakfast Club, Look Who’s Talking and The West Wing. The award was presented by Linda Mandrayer.




Dean LeCrone, of Dean LeCrone vs. The Mutants of Comic-Con.


Bryan Nest's film, The Vaudevillian was named Best Narrative Short.


Craig and Lisa James after winning the Director's Choice Award for their film, Defying Gravity.








Chase Masterson and Festival Director, Brigitte Schlemmer.

Fallbrook Film Festival, Tattered Angel

Outside the theater, Flo Villane is interviewed by Fallbrook Film Factory about Fallbrook High's new film program.


Fallbrook artist, Jack Ragland.





Tattered Angel is on the surface a story about the disappearance of an eleven-year-old girl - but ironically the last person to see her before she vanished, is a man racked by grief and guilt over the abduction and murder of his eleven-year-old sister, when he was a small boy. Adding to his troubles is a steady stream of alcohol, and between his grief over his sister's death and his mother's more recent death, he starts to hallucinate and the lines between the two disappearances blur - and soon he's not sure what he saw - which of course puts him in a difficult situation with the police. But even more pressing than the threat of being blamed for the disappearance, is his need to separate reality from memory - and he ignores the directive from a police officer to stay out of it, and launches himself into the mystery full force.

Duffy Hudson wrote, produced and stars in the film, and Linda Carter of Wonder Woman fame has a supporting role as the missing girl's mother.



Duffy Hudson at a Q&A session after the screening, sharing how he took his initial story idea and first fashioned it into a theater workshop production in New York City, which featured Brooke Shields, and then let the material evolve into a feature film.

Fallbrook Film Festival, Tom Del Ruth, A.S.C.

A few years ago when my mother mentioned that one of her acquaintances was married to a cinematographer, I barely paid attention. Then she mentioned that he'd worked on lots of movies that she knew I'd heard of - and still, I wasn't that interested. But then she said, "Oh, and he's currently working on The West Wing - and that piqued my interest!

To me, The West Wing was the most beautiful show on TV - ever. I always noticed the light, the color, the motion. It was predominantly shot indoors - yet that was never a limitation - it was always visually stunning. And it was also a bit mysterious. There was always something about the shadows...

So what a surprise to learn that the man ultimately responsible for that look, Tom Del Ruth, lived right here in Northern San Diego County? He and his wife Patricia have since moved to Oregon, but they were back in town for the film festival this weekend. Tom is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, and he also gave a seminar on Saturday morning.

He talked about his childhood growing up in Los Angeles with well-known parents, his early career, and how he managed his career. Then he showed his reel - the most visually interesting 20 minutes of his career, culled from a variety of his films and television shows. And with no sound, he was able to talk us through the scenes, as they spun by on the screen.

Honestly, it was a dream come true. How could it not be? Breathtakingly beautiful footage, and the creator in the same room explaining how and why - it was the best!

I had to ask one stupid question - the room was full of filmmakers and then there was me. Not a filmmaker... But definitely a visual person. And he started to talked about lens choices, and I didn't know how to relate it to the lenses I do know. It's like the difference between a 35mm camera and a medium format camera - for the first a 50mm is considered the normal lens - neither telephoto nor wide - it mimics the human eye. And for medium format an 80mm lens is normal. But where does a film camera fit? So I had to ask. I know, way way beginner question and I'm in a room full of filmmakers! But it would have driven me nuts not to understand as he threw out lens choices - and once he told me 75mm was about normal - then it all made sense.

That hour was the highlight of the weekend for me - and I suspect I'm not the only who feels that way.










Bob Fisher, Historian of Cinematography.





There was also a Q&A session with the makers of most of the major features screening over the weekend.






David Blair, director of Paper Dolls.

Fallbrook Film Festival, D.O.P.E.

Fallbrook Film Festival, Thieves & Liars

Local San Diego band, Thieves & Liars appears on the soundtrack for DOPE - a very personal documentary that traces the huge rise, and subsequent fall, and rise again of four world class skateboard champions.

The band played a short set before the film was screened.

Fallbrook Film Festival, Adam McKay

Recognize the car? It appeared in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, with Will Ferrell - and that's writer and director Adam McKay behind the wheel.

In town for a Q&A with aspiring and established filmmakers, Adam took a moment to hop in the car and pose for me - he was a good sport! The car was sold to a local resident after the film wrapped, and it was parked in front of the Art Center during the seminar - and attracting a lot of attention!

Adam spoke about how he got his start in several comedy troops in Chicago. Next he became a writer on Saturday Night Live, and a year later the head writer. His first day at SNL was also the first day for Will Ferrell - and the two have been linked by work ever since. After SNL they worked on Elf together in 2003, and in 2004 made Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Talladega Nights came in 2006, and next up is Step Brothers, set to be released later this year.







After the Q&A Adam hung around out front, giving advice and talking about film. The filmmakers in attendance took full advantage of the opportunity to talk one on one with him!

Fallbrook Film Festival, Opening Night

Production Designer and Art Director, Gregory Mannino is here in support of his film Paper Dolls, showing on Saturday night.


Director James Kerwin and Producer and Lead Actress Chase Masterson of Yesterday Was a Lie, at the Opening Night Party.


Linda Mandrayer, Ronald Shattuck, and Film Festival Director Brigitte Schlemmer.




Producer, Writer, and Lead Actor Adam Pitman talks up his film, Paper Dolls.




Actress Christiana Minga and Peter Hulst, the Director of Photography for Misunderstood.


Jingles and Colleen Aichle.















After the opening party, it was time to officially begin the festival with a few films! The Flyboys was at the Mission Theater - the largest venue - it's stars Stephen Baldwin and Tom Sizemore and was released in March. JJ Purty's showed The Matter with Clark.

And at the Art Center, Yesterday Was a Lie was shown. Described as a groundbreaking new noir film, combining the thrills of a classic detective mystery with the imagination of science fantasy, Yesterday Was a Lie was directed by a Fallbrook resident - and one of the lead actresses was there. So for me, it was the obvious choice.

I remember when I took cinema classes in college, having to let go and trust that my professor had chosen wisely - because ground-breaking, genre-warping films can be mind-numbingly awesome, or mind-numbingly awful. You have to go with it, and trust that it'll be awesome - you can't approach it half-heartedly - you have to let it take you for the full ride. And if it's awesome, it's great! And if it's awful, all you can do is vow to read more reviews next time...

But isn't a film festival the time to take a risk and see a film that challenges you?

The director, James Kerwin was introduced before the film started and he made a comment about not worrying if you don't get it - that it takes most people multiple viewings to really get all the layers. So fair warning!

The look of the film is gorgeous - it's what I call glowy black and white. Mr. Kerwin explained the process at a Q&A after the viewing, and it's similar to how I'd achieve the same look digitally in a still image - duplicate the image, blur one version, and layer them. It mimics the look of film - and the way light can bounce around when hitting the film.

The film features two beautiful blondes, and you never really know for sure if they're two different people, two sides of the same person, or if one is a figment of the other's imagination. That sounds complicated - but it's not. When you're along for the ride, it all makes sense - even the fact that you're not sure, makes sense. That's the whole thing - the fun of it all - being unsure and wondering.

But unlike a lot of films that leave you hanging, and leave you unsatisfied - this one has an ending that fulfills. Things aren't wrapped up with a bow - it could never be that simple! And I may interpret the ending one way, and you another, and I think that's a beautiful thing!

In other words, it was awesome!


Producer and Lead Actress Chase Masterson, and the Director, Fallbrook resident James Kerwin at the Q&A after the film.


Chase Masterson talks about the challenges and the joys of producing her first film.