almost 4 months since i've submitted anything besides updates to my blog ... i guess ... it's my way of protesting the flicker-ization of photo community sites ...

yes, hdr and photoshop ... yes ... they make pretty landscapes.

what i think is funny ... is that all of these hdr-fuckos ... lets see them shoot people.

i guess they probably won't though .. they'll just go to flickr and put "pro" next to their name because a us$20 fee definitely makes you pro.

and what the fuck does this have to do with kanye? well ... at the vma's he had a bit of a tirade-strewn-melt-down.

and, honestly, besides meeting him at the vma's in miami when i didn't really know who the fuck he was ... i really hadn't had much contact with mr. west. in fact, i've heard him perform a few times ... but ... i'm not really listening ... i'm making photos.

so ... last night ... at the opening of the latest place for the angeleno denizens and japanese tourists to spend and consume ...

i got a chance to actually talk to the guy.

it wasn't as prolific as mr. malkovich ... but ... i found kanye to be pretty damn cool.

a lot more humble than i would have expected ...

then again, he was alone (i mean, with a girlfriend) ... and there was no entourage to "hop him up" as has been the case before when i saw him launch into a tirade about awards and who should and who should not get them.

he's passionate.

i think that's a good thing.

passionate people are misunderstood i think.

i know i am.

when i showed kanye the back of the camera after having said, "this is the photo i wanted to make all night, bro."

he said, "and you did this in the middle of a party."

'twas a very cool exchange.

and ... interestingly enough ... that was the last photo i made with this particular leica m8. pretty much killed the fucker ... but .. it's obviously still making nice photos...

leica m8. summilux 35/1.4 at 1.4. 320 iso. 1/60th second. b/w native mode. adj levels. add +cont.