Los Angeles | Michael Helms Photography

Posted on January 27, 2013 Posted by pelican

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Today’s Odd Journey

I flew hang gliders for about 34 years but officially retired about 6 years ago. It was a sad day and I miss flying terribly. Today I drove over to the place where all the hang gliders land.

Soon as we exchanged greetings my friend Joe offered,”Hey wanna fly this glider?” and I said “Nah, I don’t have a harness” then another pilot/friend, Fred volunteered,”I’ve got a harness”. Me,”I don’t have a helmet”. Fred,”I have a helmet, too!”

Next thing I knew, I was headed up the mountain with a truck load of fellow flyers. We quickly set up our flying machines then ran off the mountain into the beautiful sky. I visited places a few miles away that I hadn’t seen in a long time and watched as a Red Tailed Hawk circled in an updraft hundreds of feet below me.

So many memories from hundreds of hours floating thousands of feet above the Earth were flooding my brain.

One particular memory was meeting my dear friend, Wayne Yentis. I met Wayne 25 years ago in the hang gliding landing zone (LZ). He was a tall lanky man with a twinkle in his eye and was most probably the brightest individual I have ever met. Truly a renaissance man… he was an artist, a photographer, an electrical engineer, a musician, a computer genius, an inventor (of the Clavitar) and a host of other things. He knew more about more than anyone I have ever known. Wayne had a recording studio in his house and was constantly sending me files of music he had written, played, and produced. Beautiful music.

One particular day I was in his studio and we were having a beer…or two…or many… and I got this goofy idea to take Karaoke music and substitute hang gliding lyrics. It was utterly silly stuff that made no sense to anyone other than another hang glider pilot but in our compromised condition, it seemed a marvelous plan.

I said to Wayne “How about “I got VG?” as I sang the tune of “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher. He beer giggled.

For non-hanglider pilots, VG stands for “Variable Geometry” and refers to a string a hang glider pilot can pull that changes the shape of the wing in flight.

Then I started singing “On the Road Again” just like Willie Nelson, except I sang “In the Air Again.”

More beer giggles as Wayne recorded and mixed it.

The following week, I played one of our recordings for a fellow pilot who unwittingly believed we were serious and asked for a copy of it! Nothing feeds a gag like having an audience so I drove back to Wayne’s house with more beer, more Karaoke, and more silly lyrics. We recorded 15 songs, 12 of which made our cut onto the “Pelican Tunes” CD. When word got out, the local pilots bought them like hotcakes, then the Editor of Hang Gliding Magazine somehow got his paws on a CD and gave it a rave review in the international magazine! We were amused that pilots enjoyed the absurdity and got the jokes. Orders started coming in and we sold this CD all over the world. That was over 7 years ago.

Today after about an hour of flight, I touched down and chatted with the guys in the LZ, when one of them mentioned “Pelican Tunes” had been used in a video of the European Hang Gliding Championships. I was shocked to say the least. SO…I did what any irresponsible gag writer would do, I Googled it…and wow….there it was…

I seriously considered doing “Pelican Tunes 2” but Wayne Yentis passed away this Wednesday January 23rd, and with the passing of my partner in crime, my motivation is gone. The lyrics in my desk drawer will have to collect dust as the ink fades.

But have a beer and enjoy our goofy time together on YouTube.

Here’s to Wayne.

Posted on December 23, 2012 Posted by pelican

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Repost – Japan Trip 2011 – Day Two – 11/12/11

Yesterday was eventful. I spent pretty much all day at a local studio. My gf, who does a lot of management, PR, scheduling, office duties, and a host of other things for my business, worked out a deal with the 3 owners of an art studio not too far from where we are staying at the Shinjuku Hilton.

We arrived at the studio, and the first thing the head dude said to me was he knew me from DA and was a fan. That seemed to me a good way to start but the next words out of his mouth were asking if I’d shoot some nudes of HIM! OK….awkward moment. I assumed the other two guys knew my work also (figured he told them) so I said,”Sure…no problem”.
I spent the entire day shooting the 3 guys and doing wacky images of them and of course, a nude of the leader of the pack. Part of the deal is, I had to shoot photos of their studio for the web. They moved into this new space just two weeks ago and were pretty excited to get the ball rolling on renting and doing their art thing. I was impressed at some of the paintings and sculpture around. There was a five foot long and 4 foot tall walking fish that was equally amusing and creepy.
Another deal that my lovely gf worked out was for me to shoot a few photos in exchange for my tour guide services and translator. So after spending the entire day shooting, I was ready to take a break.
BUT… a dinner was held here at the Hilton in honor of my friend Jim Beaver who is here with us. I mentioned in my last journal, he is one of the lead actors on “Supernatural”. I have never seen the show, so I had no idea of it’s popularity but I’ve been educated by the people mobbing him. Poor guy. He is ever so gracious to his fans.
Again, my gf did the event planning, so the dinner was wonderful. She had scheduled him time at every table, so not one fan was disappointed. Each fan got to ask him a couple of questions, have a photo op (guess who took those photos?), and be generally in the presence of someone they admired. I DO have to say that I never really understand the whole star struck thing though. Guess I’ve been living in LA and rubbing shoulders with enough celebs that I have a clear idea about them being just ordinary people with extraordinary jobs. Jim however, is an extraordinary guy.
He walked around Tokyo yesterday site seeing by himself. But it seems his iPhone GPS signal was bouncing off the buildings so was horribly inaccurate. He got lost. He was a bit frustrated but decided to sit, have a meal, and figure it out. Thing is, he had bought a rather expensive gift for his daughter and didn’t have enough money to pay for lunch! LOL His Japanese is sparse, so he struggled and struggled to try and tell the poor waitress his issue. He finally returned to his iPhone and a translation app, and was able to tell the story. The waitress was fairly upset because she said the owner would be upset at her. It was a tiny lil hole in the wall place (where the best food is always found), and so they didn’t take credit cards. He wandered around FOREVER (his words) to find an ATM, then went back and paid the balance. The waitress was ASTONISHED that he returned. I’m not… it’s exactly what I would expect of him, and of course, exactly what I would do.
He got lost on his way back to the hotel, but finally made it in time to shower for dinner.
After dinner, I was surprised to find out one of the fans had GIFTED us all with a “nice” visit to the local KARAOKE bar!!!! Can I just state for the record, how much I detest even the IDEA of karaoke?? OMFG. SO…off we go, and I ordered copious amount of Asahi to survive. Self medication was MY approach to surviving karaoke. I could write 27 entire journals about the evils of karaoke, but the Japanese are freaks for it… well, that and panchinko….but that’s another story. So there we sat, Jim, my gf and I, and a bunch of Japanese fans of Supernatural, in a room with a HUGE video screen, two unfortunate microphones, lots of beer for me, and OMFG… (you really can’t make this stuff up)…TAMBORINES!!! I no longer have any fear of hell because I certainly have been there.
Afterwards, the three of us strolled (well, THEY strolled, I staggered) back to the hotel, through streets of hookers, temples, BAD American fast food (yes – you CAN get a SPAM burger here at the local Burger King), and shop after shop of souvenirs.
How the tour guide/translator, one of our friends, Jim, my gf, and someone I still don’t know, all ended up back in our room drinking, I have no idea….but I fell asleep…content with another madhouse day in Japan.

Posted on December 23, 2012 Posted by pelican

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re-Post – Japan Trip 2011 Part 1 – “Off to Japan”

Nov 6, 2011, 11:44:12 PM

Well…My girlfriend and I are off to Japan next Wednesday, the 9th. We’re pretty excited. Although we’re gonna be there for more than two weeks, I think we only have two days off. We have speaking engagements teaching engagements, and I have shooting to do. We arrive in Tokyo and then head West to Osaka and Okayama. We’re gonna speak at the Osaka Mode Institute of Beauty. Then to Okayama to visit a Sake brewery that we are trying to help bring their distributorship to the US. I’ll probably shoot some of the corporate dudes there.
Then we’re off to Nagoya to visit another institute and speak. Back to Tokyo for a second then on to Sendai. We’ll stop by our house there and take a few pix and check the harbor we loved so much. Most of it is probably destroyed but I’m gonna shoot a lot there and try to get some record of the recovery efforts taking place. After that, we head North to Akita International University. My girlfriend and I are both speaking there to students about characteristics of successful international entrepreneurs. Her topics will be “body language, image, and cultural norms in corporate structure. My topics will include image making, demographic identification, and marketing – all of course with emphasis on photography. I’ll also be shooting some actress there who is evidently well known in Japan….geeez…I don’t know.
Then we’re heading back down to Sendai and Minamisanriku, which was pretty much earthquake ground zero. 95% of the town was destroyed and 50% of the population is gone. I’m gonna try to focus on the recovery and not the devastation. If you go to Google Earth and type in Minamisanriku, it is a sad sight to see.
From there we head back to Tokyo where I’ll be teaching a head shot workshop. We head home the next day. Somewhere in there we have a day off I think.If you are in Japan, please stalk us!!

OK….I mean let’s have some SAKE!!!!
Here’s our itenerary:[link]

Maybe I’ll even get lucky and get a shot of a cute Harajuku girl! I’ll be there too!

Posted on October 28, 2012 Posted by pelican

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Moving Headshot – Does it work for actors?

Cannot wait to read his memoir "she ain't heavy - she is my mother." www.brianbatt.com

I’ve been hearing and reading about an interesting new phenomenon in the head shot world. It seems there is a new trend toward shooting video for head shots also known as Moving Head Shots. The idea is to then go back and sift through the images for a still shot that is the “ultimate moment” captured to print or use on line.

What I am amazed to hear is how many people think Moving Head Shots is not only a good idea, but that it will somehow revolutionize the world of head shots. Some think Moving Headshots will redefine the way a portrait is captured and that it will improve our art.

Part of this thinking (Moving Headshots) has been set up by the digital revolution. Back in the day, a photographer was limited to 36 exposures on a roll of 35mm film. That meant he had to be aware of moments that were fleeting and he had to be specific about what he chose to shoot and the timing of when to push the button.
These days, photographers have huge memory cards that hold hundreds of photos. Where a photographer used to shoot 3 rolls of 36 exposure film (108 frames), now it is not unusual to shoot 200-400 images in a session. This is not necessarily a good thing because more is not always better.
In so many areas we have replaced quality with quantity. I even see photographer’s web sites where they boast “unlimited” number of images.

The photographers who have attempted to shoot video (super high resolution video) and then sift through the images for the “perfect frame”, have found this task daunting to say the least. If you think of shooting 24 frames a second over a period of time, it takes VERY LITTLE time to amass HUGE numbers of frames. For instance, if a photographer shoots video at 24 frames a second and he shoots for 10 minutes, he will have 144,000 frames to go through for a head shot. If his client is wanting to shoot 3 or 4 “looks”, then he can conceivably end up with over half a million frames. I’m wondering how many agents will be willing to look through half a million frames to find the “perfect” head shot?? How many clients have the time to go through that number of frames?

Basically – it’s not practical – and is counterintuitive to what a good photographer is about. One of the gifts of a talented photographer is knowing WHEN to push the button. Not only when, but having the ability to set up a situation where this magic moment CAN happen.

If an actor comes to me wanting 4 different types of head shots, I will shoot anywhere from 15 to 50 frames on average. I listen to what my clients needs are and provide the shots they want. Perhaps 35 years in the business gives me some insight into how to set up a shot and make it happen. Perhaps enjoying the company of the people I shoot makes for a relaxed atmosphere. Perhaps it is because I ask people to be specific about their ideas for the images they want.
For whatever reason, I seem to shoot fewer frames and have a higher percentage of “winning” photos than beginner photographers who hope quantity can overcome lack of quality.

All the great photographers have been able to set up a shot, be clear what their objective was, and know when to push the button.
It is this “magic” that separates the mediocre from the marvelous. I have had instances where I shot less than 10 frames with a client because I KNOW we got the shot. Half a million frames would not have changed that fact.

Video is good for video but for head shots, it’s not a good idea.

Thank you for reading my article about why Moving Headshot is not practical for working actors.

Posted on April 20, 2011 Posted by pelican

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Actors Headshots by photographer Michael Helms

I have been blessed to be able to make a nice living as an Actors Headshot photographer for the last 30 plus years in Los Angeles.

Today I am starting a new blog. I’m a newbie to all this, so perhaps it is fitting that I start off on my daughter’s BIRTHDAY!!!! I can’t tell ya how old she is because she’d kill me. So…for her birthday I bought MYSELF and iPad! YAY…good Daddy! OK, fine….I bought her whole new computer. Got her a Apple Powerbook. She’s happy.

Other than her birthday, the only news is, I went to a photo show tonight at a gallery over on the West side. The show shall go unmentioned because it was pretty awful. Since I’ve been a photographer for over 35 years, it takes a lot to impress me. I’m NOT impressed when photographers BRAG about NOT using Photoshop. They take a peculiar high and mighty stance as if they were “purists” when, in truth, they are just bragging about what I see as a shortcoming. Photoshop is just like any other tool…a lens, a camera, a filter, and all the decisions made around those items. To proclaim,”I didn’t manipulate it…this is how it really looked!” is incorrect, naive, and snobby BS. It simply just isn’t so. Human eyes see differently than cameras. Digital or film sees differently than human eyes. A camera lens does NOT replicate the exact image a human eye sees. Most importantly of all…we are all different from each other, so when we both look at the Grand Canyon, we see something different. And don’t even get me started on Black and White imagery. While I DO enjoy some B&W images (like the works of Ansel Adams and Helmut Newton), we would not even KNOW about it if color had been available from the beginning. Weird how habit can become a standard by which other things are measured…even when it is BAD!

I use the best equipment available to me. I use the best post processing software available to me. This is the same as a painter using the best paint and canvas he can afford.I no longer even OWN a film camera. If I shot film, I would be out of business in less than a year. No client is going to “wait for a couple days” for film to be processed any more.

SO…back to this show. I will concede that some people enjoy the random errors introduced by a lousy camera. From my point of view, if you can’t repeat what you have done, then it is not a controllable art form. Perhaps that is the draw for some artists, but that just makes me uncomfortable and subjects my “art” to the random failing of equipment. All of the “camera flaws” aside, what we have left are the basic concepts of good photography. Composition, line, form, movement, texture. The images in this show weren’t even well composed. In Photo 101 students learn basic art principles like the “Rule of Thirds”. If the basic concepts of art are missing, no matter how randomly “cool” the effects are, we are still left with an ill composed, flatly printed, and poorly executed piece of wannabe “art”.

Bad photography doesn’t become good just because someone has enough money or backing to publicly display it. It’s still just BAD.

This blog COULD degenerate into a discussion of “what is Art”…but suffice it to say…bad photography is just BAD PHOTOGRAPHY. I say,”Raise the Bar!!”

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