My Favorite King Kong Movie...Part 1

So there have been a few new films produced by Warner Brothers based on King Kong, and Godzilla that my friends are telling me are actually pretty good. I have not seen them. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a film snob or anything like that, it’s just that when it comes to a movie about a giant monster stamping out a city, I’m really into the olde skool special effects. It’s probably linked to my childhood and the wonder I had when I watched those movies. As a child, they looked so real, but I knew they could not be. I actually had this fantasy that Godzilla was a giant mechanical machine driven by a stuntman as he stomped out a real city. Well, when I saw these films when I was older, and reminded of my old ideas, I was quite embarrassed for myself. Still I love these guys in sweat filled suits stomping on toys and ignoring the strings on the copters and jets, and pretending that they are not swishing around in an indoor pool when there is a water scene.

This brings me to my favorite Kong movie of all. The 1976 Dino De Laurentiis King Kong remake. I do not know when I first saw this, but I did see it in the theater. It was not first run, but I do remember that when I was a kid here in Portland, in the late 70s there was a deal my parents got, where my little sister and I could see one movie a week in the summer and saw some awesome movies. This was when it was just fine to send your 2 under 10 year old kids to the movies for the day and not bat an eye.

This is a badass movie poster!

Anyways, on with the flick. This movie has it all. Jeff Bridges, The Dude himself, and Jessica Lang In her first acting job, creenplay by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. of the Batman TV show fame (another favorite), and a ferocious Kong. The third act in the city where kong goes on his rampage is classic. The audience is directed to feel empathy for the ape and what he is going through. Several views of him zoom in on his eyes, as if the viewers are invited to see Kongs actual vision. The scene at the end where he climbs the twin towers of the World Trade Center, is a classic reimagining of the original where Kong climbs the Empire State Building. Special effects are sub-par by todays standards but for the 1970s they were pretty epic. There was even a 40 foot tall mechanical Kong, though it was used sparingly (it really looked bad).

I wanted to show this film to my 6 year old, but decided to watch it first. Good thing too. The part where Kong kills a giant snake is very gory, as well as when the Hueys shoot Kong off the buildings-very bloody and graphic. I guess she will need to keep watching the Toyo movies at least for now. More Kong to come!

Posting 3D Photography...

While going through my server and cleaning out files, I found some Anaglyph 3D images I have not posted anywhere before and thought it would be great to share these shots. You will need a pair of red and blue glasses to view these images just like the old 3D movies of the 50s.

Remember these?

My first Anaglyph shot in this series will be of the former Tramway Gas Station in Palm Springs. This iconic building has since been converted to a visitors center just outside of the city as you approach from LA.

Tramway Gas Station, Palm Springs California. Converted to a visitors center.

Stay tuned for more anaglyph images from my archive and tutorials on how I created these images!

A*P*E movie from 1976

Anyone who knows me knows I love gorillas. I have a collection of rubber gorilla toys from the 70s on. I own a gorilla suit (2 actually). I especially love gorilla movies, and since 1933s King Kong there have been plenty of remakes and knock offs. Some great, some bad, but since they have a gorilla in them, I cannot resist.

And since we have been in this global pandemic, one of the best ways to pass the time in isolation has been to watch B-Movies and experience them with friends over the phone-which in lieu of a face-to-face meeting has been very fun!

Recently I watched a Kong knock off called: A*P*E. I have seen posters and artwork from this Korean-American film from 1976, rushed into production to compete with what I think is an excellent Kong movie, the Dino De Laurentis remake from that same year. I have always wanted to see this film, but it never really had the opportunity, that is, until now.

See A*P*E. Actully, don’t bother!

Now I have seen some good Kong knock offs and some very very bad ones. This one falls in the latter category. The Ape is clearly a guy in a suit, even has cuffs on the arms where the fur shirt meets the gloves. Even my crappiest gorilla suit looks better than this thing. And the fights, oh man, these are really bad. He fights a “giant snake” and you can tell its just a normal sized snake. They also have the Ape fight a shark, but it just looks like a guy doing his laundry at night in a river. The effects are super cheap.

A*P*E is not the worst Kongish movie out there, but its probably the second worst. Filmed in 3D this movie has some obvious 3D shot setups but viewing it streaming you never see the “cool factor”. I don’t mind when I see strings on special effects, but The end of the clip above, APE flips off the helicopter, or was it, in reality, the audience?

Doesn’t this look exciting? Sorry, it’s not.

Fully Vaccinated!

Finally, this cat has his vax! Fully vaccinated here at the cat’s lair!

death of a space hippy

Found out today that actress Mary Linda Rapelye, also know as Irina Gallulin, or Checkov’s girlfriend has died.

She is one of 4 space hippies, the third to die. Preceeded by Skip Homeler who played Dr Sevrin, Charles Napier who played Adam. There is now only one space hippie left, Tongo Rad, played by Victor Brandt.

Hippies in space

Marly Linda Rapelye died yesterday.

Hoarding Toilet Paper again?

Here we go again with the craziness. People are hoarding TP and going nuts at the stores.

Luckily we here at Black Cat Imaging use a litter box!

We are not affiliated with this guy. Besides we prefer Johnny Cat….

Stay safe out there. And please wear a damn mask!

IVY PARK E-Comm

Worked on some Ivy Park E-Commerce images and they were just posted to the Adidas website.

Holy Cow, this stuff sold out in like 2 days! I’ll post a gallery of before and afters later. You can see the product here. Enjoy!

I voted!

I voted, and so should you!

Wonderful thing mail in voting, got all my stuff done at the kitchen table, no waiting in line and guess what? It’s totally legit! Oregon has had vote by mail for 20 years. And guess what? No voter fraud. Well actually there has been. Lets look at a quote from an article in the “Willy Week”:

"The division obtained 38 criminal convictions for voter fraud out of the 60.9 million ballots in Oregon elections cast over a 19-year period. That amounts to a rate of 0.0000006%. These figures demonstrate that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in Oregon." Voter fraud is also exceedingly rare across the country, LFO noted: "In June 2020, the Heritage Foundation reviewed all voter fraud cases it could find over a 36-year period. Heritage found 1,285 cases of voter fraud out of more than 1.8 billion ballots cast in all 50 states from 1982 to 2018. That amounts to a rate of 0.0000007%.”

WOW! Thats a whole lotta nothing in my book. Seems vote by mail is totally legit!

Oregon was the first state to hold a presidential election by mail, and it has been great! If your state does not offer this wonderful ability, maybe you should contact your local representatives and tell them you want them to make it happen!

I’m black cat and I approve this message!

Hey folks! News flash, elections have consequences, so please wherever you are, wherever you live, please be sure to vote! Meow!

My 5 Year Old Daughter Discovers Bob Ross

Well, it was actually I who introduced her to the magic of Bob Ross. She loves painting and one day I decided to show her how to make Happy Little Trees by showing some great youtube vids of the master painter himself, and you know what? She actually got it. I gave her some paint and set up her easel and she started in, but asked for a specific paint brush, and lo and behold, she made some happy little trees:

Just look a those tree textures! Wow.

I was seriously impressed. The trees and bushes she made with a brush are wonderful. I’m so proud of my little girl!

Thanks Bob!

COVID Sale Continues!!!

Black Cat Imaging Is Still offering our amazing COVID Sale!

15% off your first invoice under 40 hours!

25% off your first invoice over 40 hours!

Save money, get work done!

Don’t look at the car look at the sign!!

Retro lenses on digital? Sign me up!

OMGosh do I ever love my old camera collection, but unfortunately my desire for instant gratification, coupled with my lack of desire to spend money on film and processing, (and lets not even get to the issue with the envionment-chemicals are such a bummer)… I have pretty much neglected them. They now populate a spot in my basement, and they have done nothing for like 20 years.

But now that can be over! I found this little gem on the internets and gives me some hope that maybe those cameras, or at least the glass will be utilized. See, when digital was just becoming a thing, I was graduating from college with a soon to be useless degree in commercial, analog, film photography. I was totally broke with a very sweet Toyo GX yaw free 4x5 and a bunch of other stuff, but all anyone wanted was digital.

I always wished there was a digital thingy you could stuff into a camera, maybe shaped like a roll of film so you could take digital shots with your Holga, or Lomo, or maybe that Russian made CMEHA camera with a plastic lens. Well maybe you can, and someone tried to do that. Well kinda like that.

Check out this vid below by Becca Farsace telling the story about her build of a Raspberry Pi camera with the c mount lenses:

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Well…it sounds like its not quite ready for prime time but I’m sure some nerd will get the code right sometime in the future, and who knows what will be possible then? My C-Mount lenses might have a purpose after all. My strange cameras with weird glass might be coming back out. Maybe I can even dig out the old enlarger lenses I saved for who know what reason.

Maybe some interesting light leaks and distortions too. None of that crappy instagram fake stuff for me!

Stay tuned!

Finally getting a haircut!

Well I did think it was silly when people were protesting not being able to get a haircut but I do gotta say it is a relief to finally get one. My hair was so long it was getting in my eyes and under my stylus.

For a while there I was wishing I had that stupid Flowbee thing I always joke with my barber about.

vacuum not included…

Maybe things will feel a tad bit normal, now that I dont look like a total hermit, just a partial one I guess. Now to sweep out the lair and get going with life! NO more hats!

Are we really open?

Are we really open for business in Multnomah County?

Black Cat Imaging has been open for business throughout the pandemic, but now there is hope the economy will be moving forward. The COVID-19 Sale is still going on, so maybe you have a tight budget or just want to have some extra padding for the (yikes) second wave. Sale goes on until I say it's done!

Take Care, Be Safe. Meow.

Reopen Multnomah County?

Looks like we have been given false hope that our fair city will be opening for business. Last night, at the last minute, the Governor made a change, looking to reopen possibly in another seven days.

While this makes no difference for us we work autonomously, no germ filled office here in the cat’s lair, it is still frustrating.

Honestly if the Governor really cared about stopping COVID-19, she would make masks mandatory, not only for employees of grocery stores and pharmacies but for everybody.

In my adventures out of the lair, I have seen some pretty silly mask use. Either on the mouth, but not the nose (?) or on the chin keeping the nose and mouth uncovered (???). My favorite was when I was at Home Depot, and I saw a customer approach a worker to ask a question. The gentleman responded first by removing his mask to talk!

Well one thing that is libel to happen is when my barber finally gets to fix my pompadour he will have a lot of hair to make a really ugly wig.

Remember our COVID-19 Sale is still going on!

Stay safe out there, and please for the sake of yourselves, families and everyone else…wear a mask!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

So here we go again, with another innocent life extinguished by police who are entrusted to “protect and serve”. This absolutely sickens me, and how it can continue in this day and age is appalling. Politicians should be shaking in their boots, but from what I’ve seen virtually little has been done to make this problem go away.

The systemic racism in America and anywhere for that matter must end-now!

The one good thing about this happening, if you can call it that is the COVID-19 Pandemic. I think that in the past it has been simple for politicians to ignore the screams from people across all racial groups has been one of timing. Someone gets killed for no reason, protests happen, then Monday everyone has to go back to work. The politicians forget-easily.

This is not happening and people are still motivated. Change will happen. It’s already happening. Confederate monuments are being torn down (finally). Even NASCAR has banned the southern swastika (though I’d like to see how they plan to enforce that). Policing is being looked at for reform.

I think its extremely ironic how protests over police brutality are being met with more police brutality. Police are acting like victims whining about how they have been treated. Demanding respect from a frightened public. People of color are afraid of the police. They are afraid for their lives. If police want respect they need to fucking earn it. Rubber bullets are not acceptable. Pepper spray is not acceptable. And Tear Gas? Most people are not aware that it was banned in combat by the Geneva Convention.

Please, America. Take note. This racism crap is wrong. If you feel people who get killed by police “deserved it” then you are in the wrong too.

Take care,

Peace.

COVID-19 SALE!!!

If you are in need of work during the pandemic I am excited to announce a COVID-19 sale on retouching!

Black Cat Imaging is offering a 15% discount on any work under 40 hours during the pandemic, but it gets even better. We are offering a 25% discount on any work over 40 hours!

Please contact us for further details or for a quote.

Stay safe out there!

Covid-19 got you down?

Coronavirus has struck everywhere, and everyone is either impacted by this or in complete denial. We have never seen anything like this in our lifetime. For the last couple of weeks I have been saying this is the “Dawning of the Planet of the Apes”, comparing this to the original 5 Planet of the Apes films I enjoyed as a kid. But there is another film that describes this calamity to nearly a T, and that would be the 1971 film The Omega Man. This film was shown often on weekend afternoons growing up in Portland. KPTV Channel 12 showed it at least once a year, and though it gave my brother nightmares and I was not allowed to watch it in his presence, I made sure to caught it every time.

In the movie, Charlton Heston is the last man left after a plague has ravaged the world, changing people into light sensitive, albino mutants who scorn all technology. They only come out at night to try kill Heston.

The story is one of the many post apocalyptic films from the era, predicting the end of the world in the near future (this one takes place in 1977, a mere 6 years from when the film was released). Though the plague in this film is a result of bacteriological warfare, there are some similarities to what we are seeing now. In the film they shot scenes in downtown LA some very early Sunday morning. This was the only way they could have empty streets in the bustling business district of one of America’s most populous cities. The impact on film was powerful, but not as powerful as the images I have seen of empty streets all over our country, from Los Angels to New York, and the world as well. I’m staying home at the Cat’s Lair, but I imagine the silence in these areas is…...disquieting.

Don’t forget your machine gun when you go jogging….

Empty streets in Queens, NY. Taken March of 2020. Photo by Juan Arredondo for the NY Times.

Shopping has also changed for the public, many stores across the country limiting the amount of people that can enter a store at a time. But that wasn’t an issue for the Omega Man. Crash a car or run out of gas? Just get a new one. Outfit too sweaty from jogging with your automatic? Drop in to a store and help yourself to one off the rack:

Wait a minute, where are the men’s clothes in this store? Say…. with nobody to judge I can wear whatever!

I know there is a lot of anxiety out there about what is going on, but if you have time on your hands and access to the movie, check out The Omega Man. Keep yourself safe and home if you can. Come to think of it, I never saw old Chuck wash his hand once in the film. 20 seconds of washing could have saved him a lot of grief.

Adidas Space Tech Laydowns

Always enjoy space photoshoots! These laydowns were a fun way to present these products for Champs online campaign. Check out the pages below, or our work here. Roundhouse agency was responsible for the design.

The Thing Title Sequence

One of the movies we enjoy here in the lounge area of the Cat’s Lair is John Carpenters 1982 classic The Thing. I recently saw how the title sequence was made. Back when there was no CGI, special effects were engineered with creativity and improvisation. Special Optical Effects Supervisor Peter Kuran explains the effect, taken from the documentary “The Thing: Terror Takes Shape”:

“When I did the effect for the title… a fish tank that was about, I don’t know, four feet wide by two feet high. and I put smoke in the fish tank and on the back of the tank I put the title “the Thing” I Drew it on an animation cel, ah, behind that I had a piece of garage bag plastic which I stretched over a frame and behind that I had a light with was pointed through the letters. And When I photographed it, I hit the garbage bag put a flame from a match to the plastic. The plastic would open up and let the light through the letters. That is how the letters look like they form and burn on with the [light] rays. It was a simple process but we went through a lot of takes….”

garbage bag, smoke, and a fish tank…

You can check out the documentary here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=iaZ1iopdKVs&feature=emb_title

Enjoy

Damian Lillard Billboard

Got to work on this billboard for Adidas and Roundhouse Agency. You can find the retouched image HERE.

Here it is in the wild. Those of you in Portland you can see it on the grain silos along the willamette, across from the rose garden!