by Matt on December 24, 2012
A heavyset man with an admirable beard and a lust for milk and cookies is set to slither down the chimney of many a home this evening. While his methods might be considered unsound, his intentions are the sort that can bring warmth to the coldest of hearts.
It is with these intentions in mind that everyone here at Westside wish you the merriest of Christmas’, the happiest of belated Chanukah’s, and the greatest of “whatever you may celebrate during this holiday season”.
See you in 2013 kids. Thanks for another awesome year.
by Matt on November 23, 2012
Nikki Ormerod was doing a bit of computer clean up this week when she came across a good chunk of work from her days as a younger photographer. She was going to just continue on with her backing up and clearing disk space, when she thought,
why not give the kids a good hard PHOTOGASM for their Friday afternoon.
So in celebration of the wildness that is today, the blackest of Fridays, we bring to you a showcase of images from some of Nikki’s favorite Metal concerts, as seen through her lens.
If you really want to set the mood, I suggest turning up the volume and letting Mastodon blow your office into “Oblivion”. And if you’re wondering who your looking at, just hover over the image to get learned.
Enjoy the weekend everyone \m/
All Images © Nikki Ormerod
by Matt on November 22, 2012
What follows is an excerpt from Tyler Gray’s upcoming novel, Shades of Gray. An in depth autobiography that recounts Tyler’s later years of adolescence, leading into his days of parenthood. Erotic, amusing, and brutally honest, readers will be given a unprecedented look at the unique life of the talented Mr. Gray.
A mear eight-teen years at the time, I found myself travelling the backroads of this great nation, alone and carefree. Those long stretches of abandoned asphalt come in handy when you’re doing 160km in a ‘borrowed’ Mustang. And said ‘borrowed’ Mustang comes in handy when you’re making a stop for gas at Billy Hill’s Gas Depot and notice Billy’s cute daughter sittin’ all by her lonesome.
We exchanged smiles while I filled up Blue Lightning (my name for the beast), which I guess Billy noticed from his perch behind the cash because by the time I had made my way inside to pay, the old man’s .22 Long Range had started gettin’ a fresh polish. Taking the hint, we did our business quickly and I made way back to Blue doing my best to avoid Elly May on the way. But didn’t I know she’d be trouble.
“Name’s Bessie,” she shouted with just the right amount of twang. An’ before I got a chance to say otherwise she was up front ridin’ shotgun and we were off with nothing but the warm summers’ night ahead of us….
For the cover of his latest literary work Tyler set out to recreate that fateful night with Bessie, and because he’s that kind of guy he sent along his image complete with dust jacket sleeve, featuring a portrait of the eloquent author at home.
All Images © Tyler Gray
by Matt on November 13, 2012
Like the first alien to abducted a human being, Ryan Enn Hughes continues to probe the .GIF medium for new ways of bringing small sized motion to our visually based pleasure sensors. In his latest creation, Ryan puts his own twist on headshot portraiture. Give either image a click to check out more recent work over on his Tumblr.
Images © Ryan Enn Hughes
by Matt on November 8, 2012
As this is sure to be the only time and place you’ll find the following three people grouped together, it’s a real pleasure to introduce the following shoots from Matt Barnes in the form of a three way PHOTOGASM. All titans in their respective trades, these well known names recently passed by Matt’s lens; and while each was for different reasons, all three allowed Matt the time to whip up some of that tasty 90 proof Barnes Gold that we all know and love. Leaving the words to Matt’s main man Dylan over on THE PASSING SHOT, so give a click to the images if you want more to the story.
Alright boys and girls get yourselves ready for a triple shot of Barnes – and we won’t take no for an answer – ’cause today it’s on the house! Enjoy.
KEVIN O’LEARY
TILA TEQUILA
ALBERT WATSON
All Images © Matt Barnes
by Matt on November 5, 2012
by Matt on October 26, 2012
Grip Limited celebrated their tin-th anniversary last night with a wicked good time and Lady Caitlin wants to tell you all about it!
Here’s to 10 great years Grip!
What a fabulous event, starting with a killer venue. Airship 37 is a sweet venue down on the East side of town, great space for a party!
Tons of familiar faces, boozy drinks, giant Jenga and a photo booth, you knew this party was going to be off the hook! And it was! Thanks for letting us celebrate a milestone with you Grip, you guys ROCK! So do your hangovers today, I’m sure!
Here’s a few tasty treats from our photo booth abuse last night, enjoy!
by Matt on October 2, 2012
When Derek Shapton put together his tissue box last spring – whether it was intentional or not – he set a new creative bar for his fellow shooters looking to do promotional mailers of their own. Fortunately creativity is something we stock in abundance here at Westside, as we saw two weeks ago when the Ormerod Soda Company stopped by with samples of their latest flavors.
Today we continue our pilgrimage of promotion as we journey eastward, to the far reaches of Studio B, home to one of the fiercest members of the W clan, Shanghoon. Legend states he was born with a Hasselblad system for a left hand and possesses the ability to manipulate sunlight to suit whatever his setup might require. Known to many as ‘The Beverage Bushido’, this Westside Warrior is presently on a mission to remind advertising agencies that he is omnipresent in the realm of photography and should they be in need of his service, he is there for them… always.
You may have noticed Shanghoon‘s star tearing through that banana above – causing its inner flesh to explode throughout the frame – well it wasn’t just Mr. Chiquita to feel the wrath of ‘Hoon, others too fell by way of his star.
Now before anyone throws up their arms and starts referencing the Good Times With Weapons episode of South Park, Shanghoon is not handing out ninja stars so you can dole out justice to the person leaving dirty dishes in the sink. Fear not kitchen perpetrator, these S marked shuriken are actually sweet office tacks so you can ensure your important list doesn’t leave your cubicle wall (or dart board).
So keep your eyes peeled agency folk, you may find your mailbox has been visited by ‘The Photo Shinobi’.
Images © Shanghoon
by Matt on September 28, 2012
by Matt on September 24, 2012
I remember the first time I played ExciteBike for NES I wanted to be a badass dirt-biker and go off sweet jumps. It didn’t pan out. Many years later XBOX 360 launched the arcade game called TRIALS, it was/is hard as hell and made me want to go on the internet and watch people go off sweet jumps. It was awesome. I’m recalling this because of what arrived in my inbox over the weekend from Chris Gordaneer, don’t worry, I’m taking you somewhere.
If you don’t know, motorcycle trials is an insane form of motocross that is about overcoming scored obstacles rather than speed. Prominent elements of trials racing are: the bikes have no seat and the riders have no fear – watch this if you need proof of their pouch size. It seems Chris knows some trial riders, and on a recent trip to the cottage he spent the day with the boys out on the trails putting together todays gas powered creative.
All Images © Chris Gordaneer
