black ops studio » Travel

Queen of the Angels

duane fernandez — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:20:01 +0000

Did you know that Los Angeles was originally named: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula [The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels on the Porciúncula River]. I like the original name so much better.
Just got home from another awesome trip to LA. Good times with friends and colleagues.
I love LA so much, there is no other city like it in the world. From the beautiful mountains, to the incredible beach cities. Whenever I return to my ‘city of origin’ – It’s overwhelming. Sensory overload mixed in with a bit of emotional overload. Wherever you look, there are opportunities.
This trip was quite intense, with projects in Hollywood, Venice, Hermosa, Pasadena, San Clemente, Silver Lake, Glendale, Downtown, Lincoln Heights… It was awesome.
As with every trip back to LA, I try to find something new to rave about. A new place to eat, a new artist, a new song…
I had just landed at LAX, picked up my rental car and was making my way to Downtown LA. I was starving! My good friend Jamal recommended a little spot in Echo Park called Sage Vegan Bistro. Knowing I’m a vegetarian, he keeps tabs on the areas healthier restaurants and things.
I highly recommend Sage. As seen in my featured image above, the space is lovely. The windows are incredible, the exposed brick columns offer an authentic feel and it’s just a fun space. They did a great job of renovating.
The food is amazing.

I went with the “Tacos” – Chili seasoned jackfruit in corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, lime and micro greens served with black beans, gazpacho and sliced mango. – $7.95
I wanted to go back for every meal and have these tacos over and over and over and over and over again. They were so amazing.
The staff was friendly and the service was right on.
Other items I wanted to enjoy: Black Bean and Plantain Focaccia, Smoked Soyrizo Burrito, Macaroni and Cheese…
Be sure to go when you’re in the area and let me know what you think.
More info about Sage: www.sageveganbistro.com

To conclude, my trip to LA was fantastic. Thanks to everyone that helped to make it a successful one.
[from - www.duanefernandez.com]

Woody Guthrie Festival: Day 3 + 4

duane fernandez — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:06:22 +0000

The last set of photos from WoodyFest. Photos of our dude Maurice Baker [from Newcastle], Annie Guthrie, the incredible David Jacobs-Strain [take a look at his tour schedule, if he is coming to a town near you - be there], the wonderful and extremely talented Rachel Davis, Jess Klein, John Wort Hannam and Sam Baker.

Photo info:
One photo of Maurice Baker – If you missed my thoughts on Maurice, read more here.
One photo of Annie Guthrie
Two photos of David Jacobs-Strain - The kid is incredible. I mean, absolutely incredible.
Four photos of Rachael Davis – Looking back at the festival, Maurice was our favorite story, David Jacobs-Strain was an impressive musician, but Rachael Davis was my favorite overall artist. She was adorable. She was accompanied on stage by her husband who played the upright bass. She was a great story teller. Her song selection was on point. Loved them!
Two photos of Jess Klein
One photo of John Wort Hannam
This next photo is of Radoslav Lorkovic‘s Accordion transport case.
And finally one photo of Sam Baker

Main photo: Our favorite artists from a couple years back – the Broken Wing Routine

Woody Guthrie Festival: Day 1 + 2

duane fernandez — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:05:56 +0000

I found some time to post a few of my favorite Woody Guthrie Festival photos. As most of you know, since meeting my wife, I have taken to Mr. Guthrie. She introduced me to him and my life hasn’t been the same since. It’s hard for me to think of a greater American icon than Woody. [He'd probably prefer that I call him Woody and quit with the "Mr. Guthrie."] I hope that you all find a moment to look into his life. “Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don’t change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow.” – Woody

Needless to say, I was honored to be one of the event photographers at WoodyFest. My job was to cover the historic Crystal Theatre. In the song booklet Woody and Lefty Lou’s Favorite Collection: Old Time Hill Country Songs (circa 1938), in reference to “Midnight Special” Woody wrote: “At the Crystal Theatre down in Okemah, Oklahoma, I heard Otto Gray’s Cowboy Band play this old song. I just barely could hear above the rattle of them pop-corn sacks, so I had to add the last three verses myself. Nobody knows where it got started, I don’t guess. I don’t even know what a midnight special is…”

Days one and two:

Photo info:
Two photos of Ramsey Midwood opening for Arlo Guthrie
Two photos of Arlo Guthrie, one photo of Arlo with some of his family
Thursday we went out to the Pastures of Plenty to enjoy a few of the evening shows – two photos
A multi-media presentation “My Name is New York: Exploring Woody Guthrie’s New York City” by Tiffany Colannino with the Woody Guthrie Archives
Two photos of Jack Hardy and company
A photo of Jonathan Byrd
A photo of Audrey Auld
A photo of Ronny Elliot
A photo of Don Conscenti
Four photos of the home town hero: John Fullbright

Days three and four coming in the next few days.

The Natural State

duane fernandez — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:27:14 +0000

Have you ever been to Arkansas? I have. A few times now. I’m typically heading that way for work, I rip right through the state and make my way to Little Rock. It’s always a quick trip, we arrive on set, shoot, wrap up production and head home. However, last weekend I had my first vacation to Arkansas. My wife and her mother and her aunt and I drove to Mountain View to visit the ground from which her mother’s family descended. It’s a truly beautiful place.
From my observations, the city of Mountain View is the bluegrass capital of the world. You can always find someone willing to pick a guitar or a banjo for you. Sometimes that person is accompanied by a friend with an upright bass, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, or an autoharp. Music is everywhere. It’s rather fantastic.
When you are not enjoying the local music, you can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities like: hiking, fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, etc. Personally, I would recommend heading down into the Blanchard Spring Caverns. The first photo is of a column, [A "column" is created when a stalactite and stalagmite join to make one. They said it takes a hundred years for a stalactite to grow one inch.], inside the Blanchard Spring Caverns. It’s about sixty feet tall.
More of my flicks:

We picked up a new instrument while we were there, a mandolin. We love it. I’m hoping to be able to play something by the Woody Guthrie festival in July. We shall see.
It was an incredible trip.

In related Music/Woody Guthrie news: Rebecca just sent me a story about her very talented friend John Fullbright. He is always one of my favorite musicians at the Woody Guthrie Festival. He has an unbelievable voice. Check out the story and be sure to watch the video: music fog / John fullbright

white water

duane fernandez — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:15:04 +0000

I love white water rafting. I need more of it in my life. I’m thinking about doing a 4 day trip next summer. This flick was from last weekend. The morning before my brothers wedding in Colorado. All of us [just the dudes] got together and did a quick 4 hour trip down the Arkansas River – It was awesome.

Man I look intense. Back right. [that is where the power is..]

woody guthrie festival

duane fernandez — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:18:34 +0000

Woody fest was perfect.
This year we spent a lot of time enjoying the music.
People watching was incredible.
We ate lots of good food.
When was the last time you had an organic burrito [sans any meat] made by hippies on the tailgate of a truck?
One of the best burritos I have ever had. AND I’m pretty sure the only thing that was cooked, was the rice. It contained: Rice, beans, home made pico de gallo, sour cream and okie grown squash.
It was stupid good.
Shortly after ordering the burrito a Scottish gentlemen walked up and picked up chef’s guitar and started playing Woody Guthrie songs. It was my favorite 5 minutes of the trip.
I promise you…. This week, today, this hour… You are going to take your life a little too seriously. You shouldn’t.
Woody fest is a great reminder that life is about passion and not status and money.
Numerous times throughout the weekend I was reminded of how easy life can be.
Do what you love and love what you do. Everything else just falls into place. One way or another.
I thought about something I read a few weeks ago:
“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” – Woody Allen
I could get into semantics here, and I won’t.
But what does failure mean to you? And are you uncomfortable with it? I think most people are. But how do we grow if we do not fail? I’ve said it a many time. I will fail. I hope never to fail because of blind negligence, but I am sure as aware as I try to be, I will. And that’s OK. I push the limits pretty hard and as a result I will fall on my face plenty.
Every artist I saw this weekend was incredible! I might not appreciate every one of them artistically, but technically they were superb. They were happy.
I learned a lot this weekend.
On the last day we went back down to Brickstreet (my favorite place in Okemah) to support an event that the locals were throwing to raise money for a beautiful little girl that has been diagnosed with bone cancer.
She is 15.
Seeing this small town rally together to raise money for her was quite beautiful.
A pie auction.
A rather delicious fundraiser.
A very talented singer/songwriter from Okemah provided the upbeat and energetic ambiance.
Okemah is my favorite place in Oklahoma. And most would grin at those words. But it is true. It’s a town with a rich history and an unfortunate present. In the root definition of the word: No fortune. A non thriving community.
Since my first trip to Okemah I could see that there is a lot of pride in this almost forgotten town. There is also a lot of heart.
I often wonder why people stay in these small towns which are sprinkled along the interstates, so far from the city.
Maybe it is just that.
So who is really fortunate here?

Perspective.
My thoughts are with this young girl in Okemah.
I pray she will be happy.

nonsense

duane fernandez — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:51:49 +0000

Six states in seven days.
With that being said, there has been a lot of downtime to contemplate many different things. Including but not limited to: Patience, friends, life, social media, travel etiquette, photography, love, smiles, work, research, faith, perseverance, character, honesty, eyes, communication, hate, fear…
I’ve come up with some new theories. I am going to work on them for a while and share with you all very soon.
One of the best quotes from the weekend came by way of Bad-Foot-Barringer:
“I am going to marry the first girl I see wearing Lakers pasties.”
I don’t care who you are, that’s brilliant. And I think he was being honest.
I’m currently sitting in Denver International Airport (again) and only have a few moments to wrap up this nonsense.
Yesterday was a difficult day. Without getting into the details: I miss my best friend.
I know he is always down here when I need him or when we need prime lake conditions, [thanks for the glassy waters P], but it’s not enough.
I miss my west coast family. I need to see them more often. Thank you guys for an incredible weekend.
Airport observation: Crocs > Nike/Jordan
Across the country observation: Gladiator Sandals are everywhere. I initially hated their fashion invasion, but I guess they are cute.
Have faith and do what you love to do on a daily basis, only good things will come your way. When bad things do arise, breath and revert to: Have faith and follow your heart.

Monocle now open

duane fernandez — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:41:04 +0000

If you haven’t picked up an issue of Monocle yet – please do so. It’s a fantastic magazine.
“Complimenting their initial foray into the retail scene in London, The Monocle Shop LA recently opened its doors in Los Angeles’ Brentwood location. The magazine’s store now offers another brick and mortar point of retail for not only the magazine’s print issues but also some of its collaborative ventures with the likes of Porter, COMME des GARCONS and various fashion-related items. Forthcoming, expect a third store to join the ranks, potentially in Japan.”
www.monocle.com

The Monocle Shop LA*
225 26th St., 19b
Santa Monica
p: 310.395.4180
Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m
Sunday: 12:00 pm – 5 p.m.

* I can’t wait to visit.

stop that train

duane fernandez — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:34:08 +0000

I was wondering the other day….
How long does it take for a train to stop?

“Trains can’t stop quickly or swerve. The average freight train is about 1 to 1¼ miles in length (90 to 120 rail cars). When it’s moving at 55 miles an hour, it can take a mile or more to stop after the locomotive engineer fully applies the emergency brake. An 8-car passenger train moving at 80 miles an hour needs about a mile to stop.”

little rock

duane fernandez — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:29:48 +0000

It was my first trip to Little Rock. I was there for two days and from what I saw of the Hotel, (our make shift studio), it’s a fantastic place. I hope to go back soon and get to see downtown or the river or something…

free refills

duane fernandez — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:51:47 +0000

Not sure if you can remember back in the day when NOT all fast food restaurants offered free refills…. It was lame. The moment one restaurant offered the service, ALL the restaurants should have offered it. The ones that did NOT, got a thumbs down in my book. 2009′s version of the Free Refill: Airports NOT offering free Wifi…. WTF?! It’s 2009 already – Get with the program Tulsa and St. Louis. You’ll make far more money – I promise… Here is D’s comprehensive biz plan: Offer free Wifi – Users are automatically directed to Airports FREE WiFi “Agreement of Services” page. Link to flight [arrival and departure] info, a map of places to eat and shop in the terminal and perhaps the National Weather Service Dopler Radar… (I love radars)….. Throw up some ads on these pages and with the thousands of free WiFi stickers you place all over your airport you will drive tens of thousands of browsers to your page hourly… Shouldn’t be all that hard to make triple what you are making now with all those impressions…. I’m just sayin’. Now make it happen.

Had one of the craziest days today! Up by 4:30AM – Airport by 5:30 – In St. Louis by 8:30 – Set up remote “studio” by 9:30 – Obtain key shots by 10:45 – Wrap up set by 11:30 – Back to Airport by noon – Fly out by 2:15 – Back to Tulsa by 3:30 – Sitting in my studio by 4:00……. It was the fastest work trip I have ever taken. We spent a total of 5 hours in our destination city. It was a little risky, old me would have been anxious the entire time, stressing about all the things that could have gone wrong to disrupt my insane time line….. But not anymore. I’ve been working on tweaking my perspective for almost a year now…. Focusing on what could go wrong kind of steers you right into it. Prepare – that’s all you can do. Then enjoy. Everything that happens along the way… Well, that’s just life.

*submitted by duane fernandez

phoenix

duane fernandez — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:33:19 +0000

Phoenix was grand. The sun was amazing. I forget how nice it is to be back home. Good times all around. Here are just a few of the photos… And yes, in a couple of photos my wrists are wrapped and I am rockin a wrist band – That’s because of Rock Band and Beer Pong. Also – who buys a handle of Crown? yikes. The best photo of the weekend is the one of Jill on the drums. rad. Matt’s one bad ass soccer coach – super proud of you Matt, those kids are ridiculously talented. By the way – I clearly remember telling Devon how annoyed I was that he showed up (Once again) sans drink and schooled us at beer pong. Not fair. I want a rematch. Actually, I think the photo I took of Kamie at her office might be my favorite. I can’t decide.
Matt and Kamie – thank you for everything. I can’t wait to see you again. Thank you thank you thank you.. It was awesome to see everyone.
photo: highpoint – perhaps the greatest shoe store ever… http://highpointshoes.com/