Photography, Backgrounds, and Celebrities

 Many years ago when the IFC Awards first came to Santa Monica by the beach and hardly anyone knew about it, I shot some great photos of those attending.  However, the backgrounds were distracting.  Changing them with Photoshop would have been too time-consuming.  Recently some new photo software made changing the background easier and faster.

In addition to the IFC awards, I ran into Sidney Poitier at Kennedy Airport in NY the day I was discharged from the Air Force and asked if I might get a photo of him.  He agreed and I shot one exposure.  That was all I needed.  Years later, I met Wilt Chamberlain while a photographer for the Jockey Club in MDR, CA.  His photo is below.  I met Cathy Moriarty (Nominated for an Oscar for Raging Bull) through a mutual friend and used to hang out with them in Marina Del Rey.  We visited her on what was supposed to be Oscar night (March 30, 1981) but the Oscars were postponed 24 hours because President Reagan had gotten shot.  So we spent the evening with her at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, shooting photos and having dinner.

More celebrity photos on my next blog post, including pianist Van Cliburn.

Below are the photos of the people mentioned above with the original and new backgrounds.  Hope you enjoy them.

Sidney Poitier at the baggage claim area, as photographed.  Below is the same shot with only him.

Wilt Chamberlain as shot at the Jockey Club in Marina Del Rey, CA.  The guy next to him was about 6 ft tall.

And with changed backgrounds

The changed background was done without the new software, so the edges could be better.

The photos of Cathy Moriarty (in her Oscar gown) were shot at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.  It was not a planned session so we had to work with the background wallpaper.  

I tried a few different backgrounds with this photo:

The bottom two changes were before the new software, although they were pretty nice.

As for other subjects this week you can follow the latest health-related news at The Highwire.  The focus this week is on contrails or chemtrails.  Fascinating discussion.  There is also the CHD (Children's Health Defense) site, although it is more than only children.  And NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center).  

On a personal note, I've added a couple of new supplements to my diet:  Pterostilbene & Fisetin.  They are too new to determine if I'll notice any benefits.  Time will tell - you may want to research them, especially if you are over age 50.

And that's a wrap for this post.