Michael Helms | Michael Helms Photography

Posted on December 23, 2012 Posted by pelican

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 – Day One 11/11/11

Time is certainly displaced. We’re not really suffering jet lag but it’s obvious our bodies are weirded out by being here.
My girlfriend and I traveled today to Atsugi, about an hour train ride from Tokyo. We had some business to take care of there. It was a bit frustrating because we couldn’t get everything done we needed to, but the traveling to and from was delightful.
I was amazed, looking out the train window, there was not ONE piece of litter. I think we traveled 20 miles or more before I saw so much as a tissue paper beside the tracks. The Japanese, even in the less affluent areas, are incredibly tidy.
During the morning commute, the subway trains are packed so full there are literally uniformed individuals called “pushers” whose job it is to shove people into the cars as tightly as possible. As the doors slide shut they get very aggressive and carry out their job of sardine commuter packing very seriously… and they do it with smiles and white gloves and a charm that everyone not only tolerates but respects.
It seems there is a favored practice here, especially in Tokyo, if one desires to remove himself from the gene pool, to use a swiftly moving subway train as an exit strategy. Flinging oneself in front of said speeding subway is pretty effective and dependable. It’s also an efficacious way of thumbing one’s nose at those left behind because there is a hefty fine levied on the surviving family of the jumper. Today we sat in the subway for an extra 7 minutes so the cleanup crews could gather parts and pieces of some disgruntled soul. I don’t think “cleanup crew” is a job I would ever apply for. I prefer to interact with human beings with all their parts assembled correctly and firmly attached. What amazes me is we were only delayed 7 minutes…these guys clean up fast! In Japan it is disgraceful to be late, so perhaps this manner of suicide has more implications than the obvious.
We continued our journey and it was amusing to see modern architecture blended in among old old temples. We passes mile after mile of packed high rise apartment buildings. It terrifies me to imagine what a lethal virus could do in Tokyo.
We did have a short bit of entertainment from a psychotic dude on the train. Seems a few of his personalities were along for the ride and they decided it was a good time to announce he was gonna take a singing test. He then became his teacher and said a few corrective words, then went back to being “himself” and proceeded to sing for us all. It was short and ceased to be amusing after the third or fourth time through his recital. But it was a way to pass time as we sat waiting for arms and legs to be tossed into plastic bags somewhere down the tracks.
Then there are all these young Japanese girls in school girl outfits. Perhaps it is the better part of discretion not to comment here.. Geeeeeeez
Tonight we went to Budo Kan and saw Def Tech. I had no idea what either of those things were but there I was shooting photos of the whole thing. It was loud, young, and Def Tech certainly seemed well received. Maybe I’m getting old but I’m truly not impressed by electronics. BUT there were some tunes they played that made it obvious there was talent on stage. Guess I’m an old fart… I just LIKE rock and roll.
After the concert we took a long stroll in the rain and went to a little hole in the wall restraint I love here in Tokyo. If you’ve never had shishito peppers….yum…. get some!
I passed on the horse sashimi.
I am here with my girlfriend and my dear friend, Jim Beaver, who is one of the lead cast members of a TV show called “Supernatural”. I’ve know Jim many years and it’s fun to see his career doing so well. He gets recognized a lot here in Japan and he said there was a “small mob” waiting for him when he got off the plane here. How do people find out these things??
Tomorrow night there is a dinner here for him… a bit of PR for the show.
More later… Asahi in Japan, mmmm….good beer.

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 July 22, 2012 Posted by pelican

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Today I am heartbroken

This past week our nation witnessed one of the most horrific violations in history. A beast that I refuse to name, planned and then killed 12 people in a theatre in Colorado. I won’t go into details of how, why, or who committed this atrocity.

What I WILL address is the idea of our Constitutional “right to bear arms”. The misconstrued perception of this “right”, saddens and confuses me. The archaic belief that having a gun in our houses will enable us to “defend ourselves” is not only statistically improbable, it is metaphorically AND literally unsettling to those who live with us. A loaded gun in a house says,”I don’t trust people”, “I am afraid someone will break in and hurt us”, and also “I am willing to shoot to kill another human being”.
If you have a gun in your house and it is NOT loaded, the statistical probability of you being able to get to it, load it, and confront a home invader AND for the outcome of that confrontation to be positive in ANY way, is insignificantly small.

This is not to say I don’t think we should be prepared. It is not to say that I don’t think we should defend ourselves and those we love but having a dog and a home alarm system are profoundly more effective. The idea is to not have your home be very appealing to those who would invade it.

What all this brings me to is a conclusion I came to in my teens. There is NO REASON for assault rifles to be in the hands of the public. There is NO REASON for hand guns to be in the possession of the public. Hand guns and assault rifles were invented for ONE single purpose and that is to kill other human beings. SO – what do I say to those who claim they have a “right to collect” weapons?

I say,”Get a life and collect ceramic frogs, lawn gnomes, or goldfish”. Collect something that adds life to the world, not something that is designed to destroy life. What possible joy can a human being derive out of owning a collection of assault rifles??

What fearful illusional self perception of manhood needs to revel in the ownership of something designed to take away the life of another being?

When I see a photo of a guy standing around with his buddies and brandishing their prize AK-47’s, I wonder if it makes them feel powerful, macho, and strong? It also makes me wonder where this need for that sense of power came from. Is there a correlation between this behavior and the violent idiotic murderous video games? There are even TV shows dedicated to showing off “powerful weapons”. I get nauseous when I pass by these shows on my way to the Discovery Channel.

I come from a long line of poor people in the South and I remember well my Father and my Uncles going out hunting and bringing home rabbit, deer, squirrels, and quail to feed our family. I’ve personally hunted and helped clean our kill to add to our dinner table. I understand the need to eat and I understand the idea of hunting to sustain loved ones. But I’ve never seen an AK-47 used in deer hunting and a hand gun is impractical for hunting anything other than humans.

So, I am not without understanding when it comes to the “right to bear arms” but the bastardization of this “right” has becomes the mantra of lobbyists with special interests in Washington and it sickens and disheartens me.

12 people are dead and 58 wounded, because of this “right”. This monster had the “right” to buy machines made for the purpose of killing human beings. He bought everything LEGALLY on line.

To those who will say to me,”Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, I say,”Tell that to the families of those murdered in Colorado. These types of guns ARE what kill people, furthermore, they are singly designed for that purpose. Yes, people kill people and it is these types of guns they use to do it.

I say ban assault rifles and hand guns. It certainly won’t stop this kind of thing from happening but it WILL cut down on the number of lives lost and make the whole process more difficult.

Washington MUST do something…. but I’ve been to Washington, photographed Senators and Congressmen, so I know how it works up on the Hill and I recognize the fact money speaks louder than the voices of grieving family members.

Today I feel powerless. How many innocent people and how many good presidents must die to make these weapons illegal?

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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