Categories
April Rocha Happenings

Photographing Grace Notes & Anvils at The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

IMG_8448

Capture

IMG_8473

IMG_9094

IMG_9045

IMG_9111

It is always nice when friends reach a great success with a project, i.e., a book, a play or a photography project. It is especially pleasing when it’s a really old friend who achieves such a success.

I have known Ron Marasco since I was a college student at Loyola Marymount University. Ron was my theatre professor and we quickly transcended from a student/teacher relationship to a just plain old great friendship. Ron is the most observant person I have ever known and is also wickedly funny (always a good mix).

Ron, along with writing partner Brian Shuff, wrote a book entitled Grace Notes: Insights, Setbacks, Grace Notes, Taboos. Ron and Brian have since adapted it to a play that is currently playing at The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble with guest actors and actresses. The play started its run with Roxanne Hart and then Morgan Fairchild. I had the pleasure of photographing both of them performing the play.

Since I’m a photographer and not a writer I’m going to provide you with a quote from the Los Angeles Times (Critic’s Choice).

So say Ron Marasco and Brian Shuff, authors of “About Grief: Insights, Setbacks, Grace Notes, Taboos.” Their exploration of the tricky subject of grief is a specialty hybrid of staged reading, topical symposium and group therapy session. Aptly, it plays on its own subjectively personal terms.

That it works, and it does, is due to the benignly acerbic Marasco and the collegially sincere Shuff, who adroitly keep things rolling. Then, there’s Hart, as sensitive and emotionally direct an actress as we’ve got, fixing the viewer in her laser-beam gaze while delivering a key point.
It’s hardly high-end dramaturgy, but it totally achieves its aim — to universalize and raise discourse on a topic that most people avoid. As someone forever transformed by his partner’s 1994 demise and still processing his mother’s passing in December, this reviewer can attest that bereaved attendees will find “Grace Notes & Anvils” empathetic, therapeutic and invaluable.

You can read the entire review by David C. Nichols here.

You can find out more about show times and to purchase tickets here.

To see a video about the play and it’s writers by clicking here.

Categories
April Rocha Happenings Holgaroid Polaroid Film Santa Monica Why I Love Film

PHOTOBOOK Cali is finally available and for sale

Capture

Capture_2

Capture_3

Capture_4

Capture_5

Capture_6

Capture_7

I am so honored to have an image of mine included in the PHOTOBOOK Cali, the second installment of PHOTOBOOK projects presented by Photo District News and Blurb.

PDN and Blurb put out a call for the best images one could capture up and down the Golden State and they received a spectacular tribute to one of the world’s most iconic locations. From the City of Angels to the Bay Area, through the deserts and into to the wild surf, the 36 winners presented all that draws us west and captures the dreams and pioneering spirit that California embodies.

I was especially pleased that the image they chose was of my hometown of Santa Monica.

I love everything about this book — from the images chosen, to the design, to the cover image.

You can view the entire book here.

More information on how to purchase your own copy of this book can be found here.

Categories
Adorable Animals Anthropologie April Rocha Happenings Incredible Events

Sit.Stay.Love event at Anthropologie Beverly Hills

Capture1

Capture2

IMG_5620

IMG_5624

IMG_5675

IMG_5682
IMG_5692

IMG_5706

IMG_5671

I was honored that for the second year in a row Anthropologie asked me to shoot their Sit.Stay.Love event at their Beverly Hills store.  The event at this store brought animals in need of adoption from the  Much Love Animal Rescue and fun was had by all (humans, employees and dogs!)

It didn ‘t take much convincing on my part to have the Anthropologie store employees shoot photos with these rescued dogs.

Categories
April Rocha Happenings Diana Toy Camera Why I Love Film

Road Trip! Exhibit at the Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction, Vermont

DarkroomGallery

Austin_34

Rocha_April_Gate_to_Nowhere

Rocha_April_Leaving
Rocha_April_Abandoned_Six_Flags

It is with great honor that I announce I have four images in the upcoming “Road Trip” exhibit at the Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction, Vermont.  The superb photographer Douglas Beasley was the juror for this exhibit and I am so flattered that he chose some of my images.

Three of the images are from my trip to Austin, Texas this year and the fourth image is from my trip last year to New Orleans, Louisiana.  

Douglas had this to say about this how he chose the images for this exhibit: 

The Road Trip is the most classic of photo themes and one that got many of us started down the path of making photography a serious part of our lives. The very thought of imparting on a road trip is the start of the journey, which is both internal as well as external. A road trip can be as much spiritual journey as it is physical journey.

 In judging photos, I am looking for photos that speak to me, that have something to say. This is completely subjective and it is important to realize it is only my opinion and not fact. It does not mean one photo is better than another. But it is an informed and educated opinion. Yet still opinion, not fact…….

I look for photographs that have a sense of mystery, a deeper meaning or even layers of meaning. The composition must be strong and purposeful, not haphazard. The photographer should have an awareness of the whole frame not just subject and background. The intention or ‘voice’ of the photographer should come through. I look for a strong and personal point of view rather than a ‘me too-I can shoot like that’ visual attitude. I want to feel the photographer had a personal connection on some level to their chosen subject rather than finding a random pretty or interesting scene. I would rather see photos with a fresh perspective or an authentic voice than the same tired subjects redone. I would rather the photographer look deeper within his or her self and photograph from an authentic place of connection to the subject rather than copying past photo contest winners-which is a little like coloring inside the lines when you were a kid because you knew you might get praise. I would rather see a photograph that erases the lines altogether.

A compelling image may ask more questions than it answers. A good photo leaves room for mystery and interpretation and is more like a poem than a novel. The novel tells you everything in exacting detail but the poem hints at the story in the simplest possible way, removing all that is not essential to get to an essence, leaving room for mystery and interpretation. To me the best photographs show not only what the photographer saw but what and how they felt. This way of interpreting your subject is much harder to do but well worth exploring…

 The exhibit opens August 16 and includes an exhibit catalog.   You can view all of the images in this exhibit here

Categories
April Rocha Happenings Holgaroid Infrared Film Polaroid Film Why I Love Film

I Love L.A. Exhibition Gala Reception

280791_163559667046259_162692707132955_340414_5991435_o

Rocha_April_ChildhoodMemories2

20x24.2.Print

I am pleased to be a part of the I LOVE L.A. Exhibit at the Duncan Miller Gallery in Venice, California.

Two of my images are in the exhibit “Childhood Memories” and “Griffith to Hollywood.”

There is a book signing and Gala Reception on Thursday, August 11 from 7-9 pm at the Wilshire Grand Hotel.

To prepurchase the “I Love LA” book featuring the 50 images included in the exhibit, click here.

To see all 50 images in the exhibit, click here.

Categories
April Rocha Happenings

Camille K

File0125.border

File0213

I was honored to be hired by Carla Labat to photograph her Camille K and Camille K Couture jewelry line for her new website. The necklace above is a piece from her Camille K Couture line, which is created by hand using 18th century findings from Paris flea markets.

Carla also allowed me to photograph her new headshot (where she is of course wearing one of her pieces).

Her Atelier in Northern California is filled with awe inspiring jewels, trim and other vintage finds. More about that next week……………

Categories
April Rocha Happenings

Social Media Headshot Event this coming Sunday in Santa Monica

Capture_3

Register for Headshots for Social Media, Online Dating and Professional Use in Santa Monica, CA  on Eventbrite

If you need a new headshot for your website or a new Facebook profile photo consider coming to my Social Media Headshot event this coming Sunday, June 26 from 10-4 in Santa Monica.

Photo sessions can be purchased for $60. with makeup as an option for an additional $50.  If you use code APRIL10 before midnight tonight you can get $10 off the photo session.

Click here to learn more about this event and register.

Categories
April Rocha Happenings Holgaroid kudos Polaroid Film Santa Monica Toy Camera Why I Love Film

One of the Winners of the Photobook Cali Project

PhotoBookCali.Logo

PhotoCali.Final

PDN (Photo District News) created a project with Blurb and B&H Photo calling for the best California related photography.  The project is called the Photobook Cali Project.  The sponsors wanted us to show the Golden State as we know it (with a special emphasis on a series of images).

In showcasing the state of California it’s without question that I would choose to show my hometown of Santa Monica, shot of course with Polaroid film and a toy camera.

I was honored to find out today that I one of the 35 winners of this project.  The project will be published in an PDN branded special edition book celebrating the images that capture the true California experience.

You can view all the winner’s images here.

Categories
April Rocha Happenings Diana Photography Project Toy Camera Why I Love Film

Sneak Peek of Photo Adventure in Austin, Texas

Hollywood_083

As I was scanning the negatives from my recent trip to Austin, Texas  I was reminded why I love what I do so much.

My friend Suzi Q. Varin and I went on a photo adventure to small towns outside Austin looking for abandoned houses and old cemeteries.  Not only did we succeed the day of our adventure but the images I just scanned prove the true success of that trip.

Stay tuned for more………….

Categories
April Rocha Happenings

Letters of Friendship

IMG_7154

Can you tell I was busy today writing notes to friends………….

From Hill’s Manual of Social Business Forms chapter on “Letters of Friendship and Relationship” (printed in 1883)

Do not fail to write very promptly to the one that is away.  Give all the news.  Go into all the little particulars, just as you would.  After you have written up matters of general moment, come down to little personal gossip that is of particular interest.  Give the details fully about Sallie Williams marrying John Hunt, and her parents being opposed to the match.  Be explicit about the new minister, how many sociables you have a month, and the general condition of affairs among your intimate acquaintances.  

I just love finding this kind of stuff……………

I have much more to share from the this great old book I recently purchased……………