Chris Crumley Blog

We're back in the pool again after a long (but mild) winter.

Jenna Crumley; Sunday, May 5, 2008, aged 7 years, 9 months. Born when I was shooting on Barbados. Nickname: WaterRat

Chuck Guthrie and I have been working for months on the logistics for shooting this privately owned Chopper and its companion, a silver Ferrarri.

Finally, this past Saturday, all the pieces came together with availability of the bike, enough warmth to work in the water, availability of models Liz Harlow and Christina Macfarlane, proper biker leather boots and other clothing courtesy of biker chicks Kathy Moore and Lori Reed and availability of shooting space late at night.

It's a 39MPix digital capture, so has extraordinary detail. It's destined for some large displays, so needed the resolution.

We are on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, about 4,000 feet down from the rim. This is a majestic sight for an east coast flatlander.

When we city slickers think about handguns, we think about composite body pistols with a metal slide; something like a semi-automatic 9mm with 14-round magazines.

But, this week I'm up close and personal with an aged six-shooter. Yikes. Pull back the hammer, fire, pull back the hammer, fire, etc. Or, maybe fan the hammer with a free hand. Double yikes.

Day before yesterday, I found this poster on a restroom wall in a tiny outpost in Dolan, AZ. This was before my time, but think I'll try to find a DVD of the movie.

Taking this picture Monday made me think about the many different ways people look when they're going to work.

Probably a lot more tires, busses and subway wheels than hooves.

Today we're deep in the heart of Hualapai Indian country dropping off the western rim down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in a noisy Eurocopter jet helicopter.

We are putting together more of the fishbowl photocompositions for a stock agency in London. Each one is an exercise in thinking outside the box, er, bowl.

We are working with actor Julius McCullough doing some pictures. Here's one.

The volunteer board for the American Society of Media Photographers - Central Virginia Chapter (ASMPCV) during a lunch break from their day-long planning Retreat in the country outside Richmond, Virginia, Saturday, March 29, 2008.

(l-to-r) Doug Buerlein, John Henley, Chip Mitchell, Chris Crumley (kneeling), Skip Jones, Christopher Winton-Stahle and Allen Jones

I've had these bottles of Sassafras Dipping Oil for a while and they find their way into the studio every so often. I'm kinda nutty about the bottles and their color and keep them safe for food setups. I'd like to be dipping things into them, but can't. They're like that bottle of wine in the cellar we know will be good, but can't bear to pop the cork.

It's more difficult because Saffaras has disappeared and it appears these can't be replaced.

Sure were a lot of people running around in green things today.

When the aviation fuel truck pulls alongside the plane on the ORF airport tarmac, this is where they got their supply. Each of the larger tanks holds 210,000 gallons and a cluster of them are nestled in a fuel farm at the periphery of ORF. Each tank is tested for moisture daily and transferred to the plane-side delivery truck as needed.

There is no TSA here, but an escort is needed to get into the "fuel farm" for photos.

Last week we spent some time at Bob Minnick and Malena Sharkey's Reflection Pool in Portsmouth, VA. This day belonged to model Liz Harlow.