New Portfolio

The new book is slowly but surely coming together. I've been more or less trying to do at least one good portrait shoot per week, and then going through the whole processing, scanning and retouching routine (I know, why don't I "go digital?" It's a long subject) Anyway, things should be finished within a few weeks, and then the major marketing push begins. I'm noticing that in most of my portraits, the subject stares straight into the camera. While this is obviously partly to do with my direction and with my selection of images, there is something interesting in its consistancy.

Ricky Powell

This week I shot some promos for the MTV Movie Awards. We did Man-On-The-Street interviews with Ricky "The Fourth Beastie Boy" Powell asking the questions. He's a street photographer/man on the scene type guy who refers to himself, quite brilliantly as both a "Sophisticated Hobo" and the "Hip-Hop Oscar Madison," at one point rubbing the mustard from his pretzel onto his face and shirt and continuing to interview Soho fashion types. I was able to shoot a couple rolls of film as well, so have a few great portraits of him, though he thinks I shot up his nostrils and he doesn't look good.

Homeboy throw in the towel, your girl got dicked by Ricky Powell...

New Computer

So I bought a new, very fast computer on Friday, we'll see how extra productive I become

That's Incredible!

Korean BBQ in Flushing, Queens

Anne and I have a tradition, Sunday driving excursions to various, sort of random parts of the five boroughs in search of food. We treat them as 'voyages of discovery,' and last night's was to San Soo Gap San, at 171st and Northern Blvd. We got there around 10pm, the place was about 1/3 full, several tables of older women eating and sharing bottles of Soju. There are grills in every table and large, industrial vents above them. A huge banner announces that they serve Black Angus beef, and the short ribs we had were delicious.

Late Night, San Francisco, 1994

Home at about 1:00 a.m., 40 of Mickey's,.........

Ian Fleming Foundation

Coincidently, just hours after establishing the car photo concept with Kenny Trice, I'm contacted by Doug Redenius, Vice-President of the Ian Fleming Foundation. One of their primary missions is to collect and preserve vehicles from the James Bond films, and they have a pretty significant collection. I had been working on a James Bond fan culture documentary and had the chance to ride around Nob Hill, in San Francisco, in the Mustang from Diamonds Are Forever. I think the documentary will be rejuvenated.

Isabell |Trice Photography

Today we (photographer Kenny Trice) and I had our first real meeting about Isabell |Trice Photography, a collaborative endeavour to become the World's most notable Automobile Photographer's. You can look forward to a new website as well as a blog detailing the developments in this project. The Isabell |Trice photo blog will be live shortly and the website will follow. The ultimate goal: Yachter's view of the Monte Carlo Gran Prix.

James Bond Expert

A couple months ago I was interviewed by Jon Alain Guzik, Editor-At-Large for Yahoo! Autos for an article about the Astin Martin from James Bond's Casino Royale. The article appears here...http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/geneva_auto_show_2007/105/Drive-Like-Bond-James-Bond-The-2008-Aston-Martin-DBS--

Carl Barat interview in YouTube's Top 25

The interview with Carl Barat of the Dirty Pretty Things that I posted a couple of days ago on YouTube is in today's top 25 in both the Music and England categories. It's from last year's South By Southwest festival where photographer Max Vadukul and I interviewed something like 20 or 30 musicians for a documentary about indie music in today's musical climate. We spent about an hour with them, interviewing each member and eating steaks.

eyespyfilms.com and michaelisabell.com

Be sure to check out the eyespyfilms website for all of your new film needs. We're going through a major overhaul on the site and adding a lot of new video samples and company information. Be sure to check back often. Also, michaelisabell.com will be operational soon, showcasing my recent and archived work.

Ghost Town

Sitting in the studio today, a bit bored yet inspired by the increasingly good weather, I've forgone working on my photography and am dedicating some time to watching my favorite music videos. This video by The Specials was one of the first I remember seeing, in 7th grade. I bought the record shortly after and in many ways this started my lifelong obsession with music.

Spike Lee and Armen Martirossian

So yesterday I shot an interview with Spike Lee for the Criterion Collection, and did a quick still portrait as well. He spoke about the Billy Wilder film 'Ace in the Hole' and it's inspiration for him and his filmmaking. He was very tangential and cracked himself up quite a bit. It was great just to watch his thought process and it's always interesting to meet someone who's accomplished so much in the arts and to get a sense of how they are inspired. Today was an entirely different shoot, speaking to Armen Martirossian, the Armenian Ambassador to the United Nations, about issues of genocide for the British NGO the Aegis Trust. After a quick interview and still portrait shoot in the upstairs conference room of their building on East 36th Street, we sat downstairs for coffee and cookies (Pepperidge Farm and not some hopefully delicious Armenian treat). The funnest part of this work is the variety of the people I meet, and the situations I'm able to be in.

The First Entry

As I begin my foray into the Blogsphere, I struggle to imagine how this is actually going to develop. As a way to keep current with all of the developments at Michael Isabell Photography, as well as eyespy films, this blog will, I'm sure, become long, tangential, crowded and (dare I say) incredible.