Entry 11: 2nd Street Cigars and Gallery

This is a photography blog.  I need to keep reminding myself before I run off on some obscure tangent about this, that and the other thing.  Ok, back on November 17, 2010 I found myself in LA’s Art District again at the 2^nd Street Cigars and Gallery for another art show put on my friend Kendra Cryan.  This was a cool art show and really laid back.  That doesn’t do a lot for sales but it was a nice experience nonetheless.  I want to frame some of my photos and put them in one or two of Kendra’s shows but that cost money.  I am a bit short on cash at the moment (that means that I need a job and I have been looking for one daily – for months – hint, hint).  Still, I had a lot of fun and got a few shots off while I was at it.  I put a few shots up on my examiner page – about 16 or so (ok, I haven’t written that story yet but will shortly after this one).  These photos I didn’t use so I thought I put them up here.  I should put some up on my Facebook and MySpace too.  Yeah.  And my Photobucket page too.  Yeah…

Ok, we’ll do that later.  I took this shot just inside the door.  This is a nice place.  I don’t smoke cigars (anymore – did years ago in the Army) so I did not experience their wares but the place is basically a cigar bar that host art shows.  Those items on the shelf unit are humidifiers and other cigar paraphernalia.  The art on the wall was part of the show.  I didn’t get all of the names of the artist but was taken by the painting/drawings on the right side of this photo.  The work is by Milla Zeltzer and its four pieces with the white background.  They are renderings of not quite Rubenesque women but with abundant amounts of hips and thighs.  Just the way I like ‘em.

This photo has some nice paintings in it (I think the one on the left is a painting also but I’m not sure) but the one in the center really caught my attention.  “Man Eater” is the painting's title and Carlos Nieto III painted it.  The beautiful girl in the painting is kneeling on corpse of dead men.  Wicked.  The other artist names got away from me.  I have to do better.

This was just a shot of the cigar bar, minus the flash.  The first photo I shot with one of my crazy user settings and it looks like I didn’t use a flash but I did.  That’s good stuff when you want that look but need a flash to reduce the ‘virtual volume’ effect.  I didn’t need to do that with the first shot though because nothing was moving.  I couldn’t tell you why I did it.  I shot the “Man Eater” with my flash (my trusty Speedlite 430EX) but shot this one without the flash.  Cool shot because you get minimum camera notice because there is no flash.  Which is critical for the subsequent shots more so than the initial shot.  Lots of art on the walls too.

I took the next shot from the staircase.  That’s how I’m so high up.  I’m looking back to the front of the store.  The four-featured paintings are by two different artists.  The skull painting is by an artist unknown to me.  Oh well.  The other three are by Melissa Leslie-Quinones.  They gave me that California wine country feel.  On the other hand, it could even be the wine region of Tuscany but I’ve never been there.  Come to think of it, I’ve never been to the California wine country either.  Need to add that to my bucket list.

This is another shot facing outside from the middle of the store.  This one is ground level and captures a lot of art on the other wall.  It also captured Kendra without her knowledge.  It’s almost a reflex – if a woman is in the viewfinder, my finger is apt to fire the shutter. 

This last shot is from the street looking into the 2^nd Street Cigars and Gallery.  Obviously, no flash.  Just as obvious, another woman practically dead center in the frame.  If you look further towards the right, you can see a portion of the steps I mentioned earlier.  I know, that was very important for me to point out.  Anyways, check out the examiner story for a more formal approach and a few more photos.