Kurt R. Brown

Introducing... BODY OF MAN

2010-11-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

For those who want a unique piece of photographic art celebrating the male form, I am proud to announce the release of my limited-edition fine art photography book, "BODY OF MAN."

132 Men. 440 Pages. 200 Copies.

There will only be 200 of these books made - ever. 10% of proceeds go to charity. Pick up your copy before they're all gone for good.

Each book is signed and numbered by Kurt R. Brown, and includes a limited-edition print that's only available by purchasing the book. The print is also signed and numbered, and is ready for framing. Price: $875. More details are available on the website: www.KurtRBrown.com.

You can see a full preview of the book here: http://www.kurtbrownsstudio.com/buy/bodyofmanpreview.html

Here are some images from the preview:

New Calendar

2008-04-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well, those of you who I've spoken to about this know it came as a surprise, but it turns out I'm going to have another calendar with Village Lighthouse publishers. It's called, "Latin Men" 2009. My friend, Lorenzo Gomez is well-known for his work in this calendar. Please visit Lorenzo's website and show him some love. He's a great guy, and a talented photographer.
Here are the shots from the calendar they chose (attached). Click on the image for a larger view. Enjoy!
-Kurt.

Hawaii trip

2008-04-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been a long time since I've made a post, and I'm sure hearing about it!!! So, here's a little something to get things moving again. Got back from our trip to Hawaii last month and I've attached some shots for ya. I hadn't planned on doing many shoots while I was there, but I ended up shooting all but 3 days. So... I have a LOT of photos to go through and edit.
Hawaii was WONDERFUL... it was great seeing my Dad and some of my friends that I made while I lived there in 2006. Now it's back to (more) work.
Enjoy!
-Kurt.

"MAN Vol. 1"... It's Finally Here!

2007-11-20T23:05:00.000-08:00

My first photography book, "MAN Vol. 1" is finally here. You can preview and purchase it at this link. I'm excited to present this book in time for the holidays. It's hardcover, 200 pages, with 171 photos and measures 8" x 10". It sells for $59.95 (+ tax and s/h). I'm self-publishing it for the time being, but if I decide to have a publishing house take over the printing, marketing, and distribution, it may very well become a collector's item.

Take a look at the preview (I've also posted the index on my previous post) and let me know what you think.

Remember... books make great gifts, so order a bunch of them! :)

Thanks for your support!

-Kurt.

Final Draft?

2007-11-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

I got my 1st draft of my book in, which looked great, but there were about 20 changes to be made, so I did that, and have now ordered what I hope to be my final draft. I've attached the new index pages here. It's a 200-page book with 171 color and black & white photos, measuring 8" x 10", and the hardbound copies are going to sell for $59.95. (No soft cover books are available yet.) I'll send the link for previewing and purchasing the book as soon as I've made sure the book looks like I want.
All for now.
Kurt.

My book is on its way!

2007-11-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

So I've finished the 1st draft of my coffee table book. It's 200 pages, 8"x10", hardcover. I may make a soft cover as well. The draft is being printed as I write this, so I haven't seen the hard copy yet. Hopefully there won't be too many corrections to be made and I'll have the book ready in time for the holidays. I also plan on printing some copies and sending them to publishing houses for the mass market. If anyone has any tips or suggestions on this, please let me know... this is my 1st book, so I'm a newbie! :)
I've attached a couple images of the index for the book so you can see what photos are going to be inside.
Enjoy!

Calendar, Book, Greeting Cards

2007-10-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

I know this update is long-overdue...

My calendar, "Boy Next Door" is now in select bookstores, and available online through my website and Amazon.com. Please pick up a copy (or 10 - they make great gifts) and show your support. I've also got some holiday greeting cards that should be in stores soon, and I'm working on my 1st coffee-table book. I'm about 80% done with the book, so I'll be sending out another post once that is complete. It's a lot of work, but I'm enjoying it.

I'm still loving living in L.A. The traffic sucks, but I expected that. The weather is almost as great as in Hawaii, although it's starting to get colder now.

My friend/housemate Steven and I have outfitted the front door with a combination deadbolt so visiting models that need a place to sleep can stay over. It's worked out great, and it doesn't bother either of us having these guys around so much. Ah, what a life we lead! :)

I'm posting some recent images that are among hundreds I have to sort through and edit. Hope you enjoy!

-Kurt.

(P.S. Click this link to see the 'uncropped' image of Ray on the rock. Warning: Contains frontal nudity.)

Photoshoot with Benjamin Patterson

2007-07-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of shots with actor/model Benjamin Patterson. He's such a cool guy, and we did the shoot at his beautiful house in Los Angeles. Thanks again to my friend, Steven Blank, from PinkMafiaRadio.com for assisting on the shoot and for styling the iPod shot, and helping with the rest of the shoot.

More of Chris Darby

2007-07-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of Chris Darby. (The image in the stream has been enlarged and cropped to show detail.) Enjoy!

-Kurt.

CONTEST! Win a FREE 2008 'Boy Next Door' Calendar.

2007-07-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

Here's the challenge... I hadn't updated my website's images for a little while, but last night (and early this morning) I uploaded 15 new images. If you can figure out which ones they are, just send me an Email with links to 10 of the 15 new images (just go to the new image and copy/paste its URL in your Email - do this for all 10), and you'll be entered to win a 2008 'Boy Next Door' calendar. See the details on my website. And... enjoy the search! :)

-Kurt.

Chris Darby

2007-07-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo from my shoot with Chris Darby. He was so great to work with... I wish he lived in LA so we could shoot again soon, but I was happy to have one shoot with him. I'll hopefully have more shots picked out in the near future, but for now, enjoy this one.

-Kurt.

Kareem Ferguson

2007-07-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of my friend, Kareem Ferguson. Look for him on episode 2 of The DL Chronicles on the Here network. He's a great guy, and I saw him act for the first time during a screening of his episode a couple of nights ago. I'm happy to report that he's also a great actor, and the episode was well-written.

Enjoy the pic's. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of Kareem in the near future!

-Kurt.

LA Pride 2007

2007-06-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

A lot of people asked me to take photos of LA Pride so they could put them in their blogs, rags, and websites, but I decided to just have fun and not work... too much. I leave the event photography to my buddy - and soon-to-be-roommate - Steven, who is much better at it anyway. So, I don't have a chronology of the events, but I do have some photos that Steven took of me with some friends, old and new. Enjoy!

-Kurt.

Photos from my trip to San Fran to visit Mom

2007-05-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

GMag layout, Ascanio Leon pic

2007-05-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... it's been a while since I've posted. Bartending and photoshoots are keeping me busy.

Here's the layout of the May issue of GMag (German magazine), and a shot from my trip to San Fran with Nio (Ascanio) to visit my Mom.

Thanks for your help on the shoot, MOM! (The lighting is courtesy of God and Mom. God provided the sun, Mom held the reflector panel. :) )

All for now!

-Kurt.

More pic's of Kairon

2007-04-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Attached.

Well, I've been working like a mad dog... but it's all good. :) Things are going well... busy, busy.

-Kurt.

Another German Magazine

2007-04-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should move to Germany... a German calendar, and now 2 German magazines. The 6 photos here will be in next month's issue of "Du&Ich" magazine. And I'm told that in a few months they'll do another feature. :) Sorry the image is so small, but it's all I've got at this point.

-Kurt.

Photoshoots with Jason Steed and Alexis Jorge

2007-04-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't written in a while... I've been busy, ok?

But it's all good. :) I've been doing some great shoots, and I've started bartending - yes, bartending - about 5 nights a week. (Hey, I gotta' pay them bills!)

I did a photoshoot with Jason Steed (some of you may know him as 'Baby Gat' from the TV show, "Noah's Arc") last week, and then a shoot with Alexis Jorge from Puerto Rico on Sunday. They're both great guys. I've known Alexis for years via the internet, and it was great to meet him in person. And Jason is a very cool guy and yes, ladies, his British accent is for real.

I want to thank Steven Blank from PinkMafiaRadio.com again for his help on my shoot with Jason.

I'm just posting a few pic's, as I haven't made a whole lot of time for editing yet.

Enjoy!

-Kurt.

Photoshoot with Kairon John

2007-03-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from my shoot with Kairon. I have a LOT more to go through and edit, but this'll have to do for now. Busy, busy!

Kairon is a very cool guy, and we had a great time on our shoot. Special thanks to Steven Blank from PinkMafiaRadio for his help on the shoot!

For more information about Kairon, you can visit his website or his ModelMayhem profile.

Enjoy!

-Kurt.

Photos of Garibai

2007-02-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

I did a shoot with Garibai 2 days ago, and we got some great shots! I had worked with Garibai once before, and got some really great shots then too, such as the abandoned pool shot (at bottom). He's up for almost anything, and is willing to take risks during a shoot, and that's part of what makes working with him so awesome. The fact that the camera loves him doesn't hurt either. :) Luckily for me, Garibai recently moved to San Diego, so he was close enough to drive up to LA for the shoot. Garibai is a VERY cool guy, and a student at San Diego State University, majoring in psychology. He is also a singer and actor, and has the lead role in a film that will be featured in this year's Latin American Film Festival. You can see more pictures of Garibai on his ModelMayhem page, as well as throughout my website: www.KurtRBrown.com.

-Kurt.

Photos of Daniel Norell

2007-02-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots from yesterday's shoot with Daniel Norell. He's a very cool guy, and we've been hanging out a bit since he's been here in LA. Hopefully he won't have to go back to Sweden soon...

I broke my record with Daniel, shooting about 1,150 photos in one day with him. There are a LOT of great photos, but these are some that Daniel chose. Enjoy!

-Kurt.

Preview of upcoming 2008 calendar

2007-02-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

This will be my 1st calendar with only my photos. :) This is just a working draft, not necessarily the final product. Hope you like it!

-Kurt.

Photos of Brian Bernie

2007-01-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

Just did a shoot with Brian Bernie yesterday. What a great guy. Very nice, humble, sexy, and for you women... straight. Some people may recognize him from the "Man Hunt" TV show on Bravo, while others may have seen him on a show called, "Date My Mom."

I had a great time with Brian, and we got some great shots along the way. Here are a couple.

Enjoy!

You can learn more about Brian on his MySpace and ModelMayhem pages.

-Kurt.

Photoshoot with Zac Titus and Daniel Gavin

2007-01-14T18:54:00.000-08:00

Here are a few shots from my shoot yesterday with Zac Titus and Daniel Gavin. (My 1st official shoot since I moved to L.A.) More to come later. Enjoy!

-Kurt.

Not to be paparazzi, but...

2007-01-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist posting this... it's a series of 3 shots I took of a guy who didn't know his picture was being taken. Contact me for information on getting the full-size images.

-Kurt.

More Pic's from Italy

2006-12-14T17:28:00.000-08:00

Just realized that I hadn't posted any more pic's from my trip to Italy with my Mom. Here ya go...

New Pic's of Brad

2006-12-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

Just edited some pic's that I took in Hawaii of my friend Brad. Thought I'd upload them here. Enjoy!
-Kurt.

In Loving Memory

2006-11-28T12:09:00.000-08:00

I'm doing this post in loving memory of my Grandfather, Mendell M. Roberts, who passed away the day after Thanksgiving, at the age of 92.
I'm thankful for many things: The time I had with Grandpa; my family and friends; the phonecall I got from my brother asking that I go home for Thanksgiving because it may be my last time to see grandpa; the fact that most of the family was around because of the holidays and we all got to gather at grandpa's bedside and we were able to have an impromptu semi-memorial during his last hours; and on and on.
Grandpa went peacefully in his sleep. He had been in the care of Hospice for a few days, and was not in any pain. Although he was not conscious when the family was there, I think he could hear us on a deeper level. Some of us told him that it was ok to let go when he was ready. We told him that we would be fine and it was ok for him to go home. He had been missing his home - the home he grew up in - during the last months of his life, and kept asking us to take him home. He also wondered why his mom and brothers and sisters never called, not remembering that they had long ago passed away. So now, he is no longer confused. He's no longer in pain. It was his time, and we were blessed to have had him for so long.
I'll miss you, grandpa, and I love you.
-Kurt.
(sorry for the poor quality of the photo - I used my camera phone.)

Sorry...

2006-11-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted much lately. Sorry about that.
I'm now pretty much settled in LA. I have more stuff to bring down from Northern California, but I'll get a lot of that when I go up for Thanksgiving.
I'm looking forward to seeing my mom and brother, as well as my grandfather. My grandfather's health is failing and my mom had to take him to the emergency room a couple of nights ago. They admitted him because he had pneumonia. It has passed now, but he's still in the hospital, refusing to eat, and shaking a lot, even in his sleep. I hope I get to see him at least once more.
On another note, I've been spending most of my time on the computer looking for opportunities for photography. The competition is fierce, and the "it's who you know that gets you the job" seems to hold true. I don't know many people down here, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Something worthwhile rarely is, right? I'm up for the challenge. :) I've been sending 8x10 promo cards to different agencies in the area, and hopefully that'll at least get my name out there a little bit. I've attached an image of the promo card.
I'm living in a little sh*t hole of a place near 3rd street and Rampart. Not the best neighborhood, but certainly not the worst, either. It's a gated apartment complex, and my car is also parked behind a gate, so that's a good thing.
I had forgotten that cockroaches are prevalent in SoCal - just like Hawaii - but tons of traps and spray have kept them pretty much at bay - for the time being. Yuck.
The apartment isn't much bigger than my place in Hawaii, which, as some of you know, was the smallest apartment on the island. It had to be. But, at least this apartment has room for a small kitchen and a regular-sized bathroom. And it has a good amount of closet space. So, it'll do for now.
Well, that's it for now... just wanted to update y'all.

Oh, here's my new MAILING address:

8934 Santa Monica Blvd., #297, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Ok, NOW that's all. Let's do lunch! ;)
-Kurt.

It's official - Now located in LA

2006-10-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official. I have rented an apartment in LA, and will be moving in on either the 1st or the 2nd of November. Goodbye for now, San Francisco!
More to come later...

Still in the Bay Area

2006-10-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have a LOT of stuff to get rid of. It's not going as quickly as I'd hoped, but that's the way it goes. I've been spending quite a bit of time with my 92-year-old Grandpa. He was recently moved to my hometown so he could be close to family. But he's very confused. He is not sure where he is, among other things. Family comes first, so I have to be patient and appreciate the time I'm able to spend with him.
Here are some recent edits. Blogger seems to be having problems and I can only upload 2 without errors, so see my website or my ModelMayhem profile for more. Enjoy!
-Kurt.

It's been a while...

2006-09-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry... I've been busy. Here are a couple of pictures of me jumping off a rock at the Waimea Falls Beach Park (not very high - Maunawili is at least 50% higher) and a picture I took above Maunawili Falls at a smaller waterfall. :)
Found out that I'm going to have 5 photos in the new VISIONS book that is due out next month and 4 photos in the 2008 German calendar, Black Men/Noir. :)
Working on getting images ready to submit to another company here in the U.S. that requested some for possible publication in calendars, greeting cards, magnets, etc., as well as clearing out my storage unit in San Francisco so I can gear up and move to LA.
Enjoy the pictures!
-Kurt.

Murphy's Law?

2006-09-20T04:41:00.000-07:00

Thought that since we missed almost every flight that involved security today and were thus bumped from flight to flight to flight, and since we're now stuck in the San Francisco airport (at 4:30am) and they can't find our bags - yet again - I might as well take the time and post at least one photo from our trip!
Enjoy!
-Kurt.

Lost Luggage (cont.)

2006-09-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

(Read the previous post to get up to this point.)
Not only would the woman at the Alitalia desk not let us proceed to the gate to board the plane that was supposed to leave 5 minutes later, but she told us we also had to go to the other terminal (from which we had just come, prior to the security checkpoint) to talk to the other airline (Virgin Atlantic) because we had missed our flight. She said they would need to issue us a new ticket, if in fact, the lateness was not our fault. (!) This meant we had to catch another shuttle. When we got there, there was a large line, and they weren't helping people in order because they were trying to help people that were late for a different flight. Aaagh!
Three of us that had the same problem went to the agent at the same time, and he quickly did some typing on the computer, and apologized for the inconvenience. "I've booked you on the next flight. You're all set!" he said.
So, back to the other terminal again on the shuttle. Luckily for us, the security agent took pity on us when I explained that we had already been through the security checkpoint, had missed our flight, and should not have to do it again, since it was the airport security procedures that made us miss our flight in the first place. (It also didn't hurt, I'm sure, when I pointed to my Mom and said that she would not be able to stand in the long lines another time. I'm sure they wouldn't want someone passing out from exhaustion at their security checkpoint, especially when they were already dealing with a lot of VERY unhappy faces and lots of loud murmuring [myself included] about how it was the worst-run outfit anyone there had ever encountered in all their travels.)
So, we breezed through security and went directly to the Alitalia desk to get our boarding passes. When we got there, the woman behind the desk told us that we were on standby. The flight was oversold. What??? I thought we were "booked" on this flight. Nope. Apparently, the different airlines have no way of looking at each others' seating charts, so there are no guarantees. "Don't worry... I'm sure you'll get on," she said. "But I thought you said the flight was oversold." "It is, but your chances are very good. Don't worry."
So, we went to the waiting area - London Heathrow Airport makes you wait until the last hour or less to see which gate from which you'll be departing. And when one is on standby, and it's a first-come, first-served standby basis (or should be), there's a mad rush to get to the gate when it's posted.
So, we waited. And waited. Of course, this was London, so everything was highly overpriced. But, we were going to be waiting for hours, so we ate. And waited.
Finally, the gate was announced and I was off. I was to meet Mom there. I got there, handed the man our documents, etc. and he told me to wait. So, we waited. A bunch of Italian-speaking people that showed up much later than I did managed to get on as standby. Curious, that. We did not. Yet another flight we missed. By this time, we were supposed to have landed in Rome and started seeing the sights. But we were stuck. Stuck at London's Heathrow Airport.
There was only one more flight out that night. We were set to be on standby but, could not get a standby number until the gate for the new flight was announced. Surprise, surprise. So, we waited again and I rushed to the gate when it was announced. I was the first one there - I was the only other one in the gate lobby besides the woman behind the desk when I arrived. She had been nice at the end of the previous boarding when we realized we were going to miss yet another flight. She remembered me (her name is Rosanna), and told me not to worry, that even though the last flight of the night was oversold, our chances were good that we would get on. I'd heard that somewhere before.
Well... we did make it on the flight. Those of us who had been stranded from the previous connecting flight would have settled for the cargo bay at that point.
We landed in Rome at 11-something in the evening. (We were supposed to have landed in the mid-afternoon.)
Then, as is obvious by the subject of this post, we had some missing luggage. But not only was some of our luggage missing, ALL of it was missing. And because London Heathrow Airport had forced us to check everything except a very small carry-on (the size of a laptop computer), and because of the new security standards not allowing any liquids, gels, or toiletries, we had practically nothing. All 5 cameras (3 of mine, 2 of my Mom's), all of our clothes, toothbrushes, etc., etc., were all missing.
The over-worked man at the missing baggage desk for Alitalia was very nice, took our names, the address where we were staying in Rome, and told us that our luggage was most-likely still at the airport in London (no surprise there) and that they would surely be delivered the next day to us in Rome.
We made our way to our room and slept.
The next morning, no bags. The people that worked at the desk where we were staying weren't exactly encouraging. They said, "Today, never. Tomorrow, possibly. Sometimes it takes them a week or more to find them."
So, we spent the day on the phone with the Alitalia agents, getting the runaround, telling us that there was "no note" about where our luggage was and to "call back later" after having been placed on hold so many times, getting disconnected (many more times than could have been by accident), and giving us other phone numbers for the other airline, the airport, etc., saying that it was not their fault, but the fault of the original airline. Of course, the original airline said it was Alitalia's fault. No one was any help. Every time we managed to talk to someone at Alitalia, their answer was always that there was "no note" about where our luggage was. I explained that my Mom's prescription medication was in one of the bags, and my cameras were in the other, let alone our clothes, and she said, "Please, you can buy these things!" I told her that the medications were prescriptions and we needed to get them from a doctor, and could she please put me on the phone with someone that could actually do something. Actually have someone look for our bags. She assured me that there was someone at each airport - both London and Rome - that was looking for our bags as we spoke. I said, "Really." She said, "Of course, sir!!!" (Later, I found out that it was a call center I had been calling, and not someone that actually worked at the airport. ...They wouldn't give me that number.)
So, a whole day pretty-much wasted. They told us that we would be reimbursed for the clothes we had to buy and toiletries, etc., so we bought some stuff. Good luck to us getting our money back!
The next day, still no bags. We decided to go to the Colosseum and Roman Forum and hopefully our bags would be waiting for us when we got back. Of course, we had no cameras, so we couldn't take pictures of any of it.
When we returned, still no bags. We went to a phone/internet center and while Mom waited on hold, I did some research about what the airlines cover in case of lost luggage. Surprise, surprise. They don't cover photographic or electronic equipment. They forced me to check it because of Heathrow Airport's rules, but they don't cover it. Great. And the stuff they do cover is up to a limit of $1,500 per person. That wouldn't even replace one of my cameras, let alone both... ah, but again, they don't cover cameras anyway. (Of COURSE the airlines missplace so much luggage! There's no accountability! If they had to replace what was actually lost due to their negligence, they would put systems in place to make sure they didn't lose it!)
When my Mom finally got through, it was the same old story... "no note, no message" about where our luggage was.

We decided to make the trip back to the airport.

Finally, after searching in 3 different places in the Rome airport, we found 3 of the 4 bags (actually, Mom found them) - both of Mom's and 1 of mine. Of course, the airline still had "no message" in the system about any of them. What kind of "system" allows bags to leave one airport, arrive in another, leave again, and arrive again and have "no message!?!?" What are the bar codes for, decoration!?!?!?
Well, we waited for 2 more flights from London to arrive, waited for all of the luggage to go through, and still my bag was not there.

Of course, it was the one with my cameras. :/

But, our trip to the airporthad not been wasted. We had found 3 of the 4 bags, so we could at least dress properly.
The next day, my bag had still not been delivered. This came as absolutely no surprise. During our hours at the airport the evening prior, we watched everything pretty closely. There was no system in place that we could tell. No scanning of baggage. If we hadn't told them we found them, they would have had no idea the 3 bags had arrived. We also didn't see ANY bags being taken by a staff member to be delivered to anyone. Once the bags got there, that's where they stayed. Many bags we saw hadn't moved since the first night we arrived. There seemed to be no effort whatsoever to match bags with people. If people wanted them, they needed to go to the airport and find them themselves, because the staff wouldn't lift a finger. Of course, they don't tell you that. So much for having someone at each airport looking for my bags "as we speak" as the woman from the call center put it. I feel sorry for the people who waited longer than we did to have the luggage delivered as promised. Chances are, they never got delivered.
(Needless to say, I'm going to do my best to avoid Alitalia airlines and the London Heathrow Airport in the future.)
I decided it was pointless to call the call center about my last missing bag. So, I left Mom in Rome and went to the airport yet again. I spent about 3 minutes (if that) and found it!!! I pulled up the handle and rolled it away. I didn't bother to wait in line to tell them I had found it and that they could 'stop looking.' As if. Ha! As IF!!! And there was certainly no one to stop me as I left the terminal with it. No one to check my baggage tag and match it to my claim ticket. As far as they knew, I could have been leaving with anyone's bag. Luckily for me, it was mine, and all of my stuff appears to have been kept intact.

I did end up with someone else's deodorant in my bag, however,... how did that happen? I wonder if they have something of mine...

Well, that takes you to pretty much the end of our 1st 3 days. We had a nice dinner in the neighborhood to celebrate.
More to come later.
-Kurt.
P.S. I'd post a picture for ya, but this Internet Cafe sucks and doesn't have any computers that work right or that can read the disk.

Lost Luggage

2006-09-10T05:11:00.000-07:00

Well... It has been quite an experience so far. Mom and I left for Rome from San Francisco on Tuesday the 5th. When we went to check our baggage, we were informed that the London Heathrow Airport wouldn't allow any carry-on baggage larger than 6" in depth - basically the size of a small laptop case - no exceptions. So, reluctantly, I checked my cameras, etc., - basically everything except my laptop computer, and my Mom did the same.
We arrived on time to the London Heathrow Airport. But, it took them over 30 minutes to let us off the plane after we landed. We then proceeded to take 2 shuttles to get to the right terminal for our next departure. Our layover was for 1 hour and 40 minutes, so we should have had enough time. But no. We were stuck in London's security checkpoint for over an hour. Then when we went to the ticket counter for Alitalia, they refused to issue us a boarding pass because our flight was going to be leaving in 5 minutes.
(To be continued...) Mom is done on the computer, so we're going to go to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain.

Still doing our best to get there...

2006-09-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

Well... the 1st leg of our trip went pretty well. No problems at the SFO Int'l Airport. We had a fairly pleasant flight to London's Heathrow Airport, but that's where the problems started. It took us at least 30 minutes just to get off the plane to catch one of the 2 shuttles we had to take just to get to security. Then it was an hour or so of waiting in lines at security, which was horribly under-staffed. It was one of the most disgusting displays of airport inadequacy that I have ever seen. As a result, we missed our flight. Our layover was 1 hr, 40 min. I guess that's not enough to catch a connecting flight at the London Heathrow Airport.
To make matters worse, as we were told we were going to miss the flight, we were told we also needed to go back to Terminal 3, which is the terminal we were originally dropped off at (and where we caught the 2nd shuttle) to arrange for another flight through the other airline. So, we caught the shuttle back, waited in yet another somewhat long line, and told them of our situation (we weren't the only ones who'd missed the flight). Finally, the ticket agent helped the 3 of us (Mom, me, and another guy with the same problem) and said he got us on the next flight with the other airline and that we were "all set."
Back to Terminal 2 by shuttle.
Back through security (but luckily they took pity on us and gave us a fast track through - probably because they were afraid of Mom or me fainting and a subsequent lawsuit).
Back to the ticket agent for Alitalia to give us our boarding passes.
WHAT?!? We're on STANDBY? The flight is oversold??? I thought we were "all set." "Nope, sorry. The flight is oversold. All I can do is put you on standby. If you don't make that flight, you can get on standby for the following flight. Oh, but wait, that flight is oversold too," the ticket agent said. Wish us luck. Maybe we'll get seated in Business Class?
Now we sit and wait to see what gate we'll hopefully be departing from. Grabbing lunch, although I really haven't slept more than maybe 20 or 30 minutes combined since yesterday morning. Feel pretty good so far, but bet I'll crash out later.
If we ever get there.
Ok, that's it for now. This wireless hotspot charges by the minute, and who knows what the roaming charges are for T-Mobile. :TTYL.
Ciao for now.

Off to Italy!

2006-09-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Been a bit busy and a bit lazy, I guess. But I'm sitting here with my Mom in the San Francisco International Airport, and we're getting ready to board our plane to Rome. Mom has never been outside of North America, so it'll be her first time to Europe. We're going to have a great time. We're going to Rome, Florence, and Venice. I've been there before, so I won't feel as much of a need to be a tourist and run around seeing everything. She may actually have to wait for me to take all of my pictures - and I plan to take PLENTY.
We come back on the 19th. Then I'm all about clearing out my storage unit and finding a place to live and work in LA.
Well, that's it for now... wish us luck, and a trip free of run-ins from thieves!
Ciao!
-Kurt.

Some fairly recent edits

2006-08-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

Kainoa & Kaimana

2006-08-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

Here are 2 photos of two great guys - Kainoa and Kaimana. I'd worked with Kainoa my 1st couple weeks here in Hawaii, but we didn't have much time together for the shoot, so we gave it another shot. This time, it was overcast and rainy almost the whole time - even downpoured for about 10 minutes - so the lighting situation was crappy, but we managed to get some good shots anyway. Kainoa is the one in the waterfall, and Kaimana is the one in the vine. Enjoy!
-Kurt.

Kaimana LeBlanc

2006-08-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Kaimana and I hiked up to Maunawili Falls and took photos on the way there and back. He's a very cool guy. It was quite an adventure getting the camera equipment to the upper levels of waterfalls and pools. There's no real way to walk to them... you have to swim and then climb up the rocks. So, I took the equipment as far as I could along the rock wall, he swam around me and grabbed onto the rock wall, I handed it off to him, then swam around him and he handed it off to me. Ya do what ya gotta do. :) It was early in the morning when we left, so there was no one else there yet. The light levels were pretty low for some spots, but we managed to get a lot of great photos (in my highly unbiased opinion, of course). :)
Going back tomorrow with Kainoa and our friend, Jordan, who will be helping us with the light panel.
And yes... I jumped off the cliff into the pool again. Had to do it!
Enjoy the pic's!
-Kurt.

Cliff Jumping is FUN!

2006-08-07T17:18:00.000-07:00

Went cliff jumping at Maunawili Falls with some friends yesterday. Fun. I'm not sure how high the jumps are, but I think they're about 40 or 45 feet. High enough to make one think twice or ten times before jumping. Yesterday was my second time jumping at Maunawili Falls (the first time was the weekend prior), and I jumped 7 times (six times from one side, once from the other side, which is much harder to get to, and not as safe because of the rocks about 10 feet below that you have to clear when you jump). There as a big Marine in line to jump, but he was just standing there scared - for a long time - so people kept going ahead of him. I did my best to encourage him to jump, but nothing worked. I jumped 3 times during the time he was up there getting up the courage to jump. And that includes the 10 minutes a big line of us waited behind him as we thought he might finally do it. I almost said, "I'm a big homo, and you're a U.S. Marine. Are you telling me a U.S. Marine is more chicken than a homo?" But, I didn't go there. LOL. Almost, but didn't. LOL. Well, by the time he climbed back down the mountain to safety and his waiting friends and wife... let's just say he's not going to live it down for a long time. I've attached a few pictures... hopefully I'll get sent more later. (The blurry thing the red arrow points to is me.)
Going back tomorrow morning for a photoshoot, and we plan on jumping after we're done shooting. :)

Garrett & Chelsea

2006-08-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo from my shoot with Garrett and Chelsea... Enjoy! (Again, click on the images to get a bigger view.)

Too much DRAMA!

2006-07-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I knew that the photography world could be competitive and bitchy, but I just don't have the time or patience for it. There's just too much drama for my taste. But... I shall persevere.
On another note...

Here are some photos from 2 recent shoots. One is from my shoot with Kaimi (a friend who just happens to look great with his shirt off) and the other 2 are from my shoot with Julian Fantechi (who is this month's PLAYGIRL centerfold, and who has also been on the cover of multiple fitness magazines, etc.). After our shoot, we headed over to Waimea Falls Beach Park and went rock jumping. Yes, I jumped off the same rock - multiple times. Lots of fun! I could have done it all day long!
Ok, well that's all for now!
Big kiss,
Kurt.

Yes, more photos

2006-07-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!! I had a good time with you today, and didn't even get 2nd-degree burns like the last time we were there!

Ok, now here are some photos from some recent shoots. Enjoy!

And Mom... thanks for all of the ideas! Keep 'em coming!

All for now...
-Kurt.

P.S. I am planning on moving to L.A. after my trip to Italy in September, so I'll keep you updated on that front as I know more.

Another shoot with Garrett Neff

2006-07-18T01:28:00.000-07:00

If Garrett pursues modeling, he is going to be a success. He's got the whole package: good height, great body, face, and he's SO easy to work with... his attitude couldn't be better.
I'm looking forward to my next shoot with him. But in the meantime, here's a photo from Saturday's shoot.
Enjoy!
-Kurt.

Another shoot with Nio

2006-07-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Had another short shoot with Nio yesterday. Here are some pic's. Enjoy!

Photoshoot with Nio O'Dell

2006-07-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

Had a great shoot with Nio yesterday. What a great guy... smart, friendly, and as you can see... very handsome! He's an actor, dancer, and singer. Enjoy the pic's... more to come later.

New Model: Garrett Neff

2006-07-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

He's 21, over 6' tall, has a great face, body, and personality! And he's smart, too! I can definitely see him gracing the pages of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue and on billboards in Times Square. Here are a few shots I took of him today. What do you think?

KurtRBrown.com

2006-07-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, here's the deal. KurtBrownsStudio.com is now KurtRBrown.com. There are a number of reasons for this:
People keep putting the "S's" in the wrong place (KurtBrownStudios, KurtBrownStudio, etc.) and it's just plain confusing. Also, since I don't have a physical studio, it's confusing in that way too. People just don't get that it's an online studio. Most people can tell that I mostly shoot outdoors in natural light, and not typically in a studio setting, but I kept getting asked about it, so I'm changing it. People will still be able to get to my site by going to KurtBrownsStudio.com (in fact, it's still the major URL that is being hosted), but they can now also get there by going to KurtRBrown.com. I also added the "R" to distinguish me from the other Kurt Brown's out there, of which a few are photographers, which adds even more to the confusion. It's also a way of honoring my grandparents, after whom I'm named. (My grandmother is no longer with us, and my grandfather is 92 and my only living grandparent.)
So... here are the different ways to get to my website:
www.KurtRBrown.com
www.KurtRobertBrown.com
www.SFPhotoGuy.com
www.PhotographyByKurt.com
and the old standby... www.KurtBrownsStudio.com.
Ok, now that that's settled... here are a couple of pic's from some recent shoots.
I have more shoots coming up this weekend and next week that I'm looking forward to, so watch for those!!!
-Kurt.

Honolulu Pride Parade and Festival

2006-06-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

Although I'm used to the Pride parades and festivals in San Francisco, I have to say, I had a great time this weekend at Honolulu's much smaller parade and festival. The whole parade lasted just a little over an hour, and the festival was in an enclosed indoor/outdoor pavilion. The thing that was cool about this one was the ability to meet and talk to most of the people that were there. I have to admit, I was overly tipsy when I was walking around with my camera snapping shots, so I've since been running into people I met that I don't clearly remember meeting. My friend, Rob, was a great help by going up to people, handing out my 4x6 promo cards, asking if they wanted me to take their picture, etc. We had a great time and met a lot of people.
Here are some shots from the day - I have many more, but these are mostly pictures of people I actually know. LOL.
All for now!
Aloha!
-Kurt.

1st paid ad

2006-06-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've never paid for advertising before, but now that this is all I'm doing, I thought I'd better give it a shot. Here's the 1/4 page ad that will appear in the July issue of Hawaii's Odyssey magazine. -Kurt.

More photos of Robert

2006-06-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Just edited a couple more shots of Robert and thought I'd share. :)

Islands in the distance

2006-06-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

These shots are dedicated to my friend Alexsander who recommended the location. :) Thanks, Alex!

Yes, it's been a while...

2006-06-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

...since I've posted, but here it is. Not much in the mood to write since I've been stuck inside editing photos all morning and early afternoon, just looking at the BEAUTIFUL weather and surfers going by. So, I'll post some pictures from a couple recent shoots and call it quits for the day.
The pictures are of Kainoa and Lorenzo. Both VERY cool guys. :)
Enjoy!
-Kurt.

Most Holy Redeemer

2006-06-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, as you can tell, I'm not calling myself the holy redeemer. There's nothing holy about me. Spiritual, yes. Holy, no way. LOL.
The reason for the title of this post is this: I feel redeemed after this morning's shoot with Robert. We met at 7am this time, and beat the crowd to the waterfall, and the light was a little better. Got a lot of great shots. MUCH happier this time. :) Attached a waterfall pic, but also got a lot of great shots of him in jeans.
Ok, my computer battery is about to die, and I'm at a cafe because my apartment doesn't have internet access, so I'd better post this and go.
Hawaii is GORGEOUS!!!
All for now!
-Kurt.

Gotta' trust my instincts

2006-05-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Had what could have been a GREAT shoot yesterday. The model was great, the location was great,... the lighting was not great. Something told me that we were starting too late at 3pm for the shoot, and then when it started to rain, I knew the lighting was going to be too low. But the model and I had already had issues finding each other, and I wanted to give it a shot anyway. We hiked about 25 minutes in the rain, and got to a beautiful waterfall. The good thing about the rain was that there weren't a lot of people at the waterfall. The bad thing, of course, was the lighting. Almost all of the photos are ruined because the light was so low. I'm very disappointed. But, we got a couple passable shots, and we're going to do it again, starting early in the morning in a week or so. Hopefully it will be a much more successful shoot. I'll even resort to flash if I have to. I felt really bad because the model was in freezing water for the shoot. But, he's willing to give me another chance. Sweet guy. Sorry ladies and gentlemen... he's straight and married. :) Enjoy the pic's. More to come later.
-Kurt.

Again... no internet sucks!

2006-05-27T01:54:00.000-07:00

...But I'm connected for the moment, so thought I'd post some pic's. Still doing photoshoots and editing. Moving out of the condo tomorrow morning, and staying with my Dad until the 1st. Then I'll be living in the dinky room until the end of August.
Ok, that's it for now. Enjoy the pic's. (If you want to see nudes, you'll have to go to my website.) :)
-Kurt.

Doing well in Hawaii

2006-05-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say... Hawaii is paradise. :) I've had 3 photoshoots in the week I've been here, and I'm very pleased with all of them. The guys are all very cool and were fun to work with,... and they look great!

I've included pictures of each of them (Jason, Brad, and Jerome - in that order), although the guy jumping from the cliff is not one of my models, but he jumped during today's shoot, so I couldn't resist snapping a shot.

Gotta' take a nap before going out tonight. I'm right in Honolulu, so I might as well take advantage of it! Yes, I'm going to be living in Waikiki for 3 months, but who knows how busy or wiped out I'll get, so I'm going to grab each chance I get. :)

My Dad and I were invited to dinner at the home of Jeff from BlueOx photography, and it was great meeting him and his partner. Love talking shop. :)

Thank you again to Jason, Brad, and Jerome! You guys are great!!!

Looking forward to my other shoots too...

All for now.
-Kurt.

View of my home for 3 months starting in June

2006-05-21T01:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a panoramic view of the area where I'll be staying for 3 months starting June 1st (click on it to see it larger). Too bad I can't stay in my Dad's timeshare condo (which I am buying from him this month) during that time, because the view is great and it's about 3 1/2 times the size of the little apartment I'll be renting. Moved into the timeshare condo today, just after a photoshoot and right before going on a catamaran cruise. Fun. Pictures of the view from the timeshare and today's shoot coming soon...

All for now!

Alooooo-Ha!

-Kurt.

Staying in Hawaii for a while...

2006-05-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Well... I decided to stay a while in Hawaii. I just reserved a VERY SMALL apartment in Waikiki for 3 months (June through August). Did I mention it's very small? It's very small. Very. Small. LOL. It's a studio with a queen-sized sofa bed. ...And that's about it. Well, it has a small refrigerator, microwave, small table, etc., and a lanai (with not much of a view), but it will do. If I was independently wealthy, maybe I'd be willing to spend more, but... I'm not. Independently wealthy, that is. So all you people reading this thinking I'm going to be buying all the dinners and drinks while I'm here,... you have another thing coming.
I'll be with my Dad in his condo until Saturday, then I move to the condo in Waikiki for a week, and then I move to the studio apartment for 3 months. I'd say, "everyone come visit," but did I mention that the apartment is very small???
For those of you that know Waikiki, it's in the same building as Hula's bar, on the 7th floor: The Waikiki Grand. Yes... I know. I know. LOL. Ok, those of you who don't know Waikiki, that makes no sense to you, but let's just say, it's a PERFECT location. Location, location, location. (But still very small. Ok, I'll stop.)
So, thank you in advance to Jaden, who will be checking my mail for me in San Francisco, and thank you to my Mom, who will be watching and driving my car so it doesn't die while I'm gone.
I've included a picture from the last time I was here with my friends John and Jaden. We went on a REALLY FUN catamaran cruise, and my Dad and I have already reserved a spot on the one this Saturday. Looking forward to it.
Have a shoot scheduled Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday, so looking forward to those and many more while I'm here.
I have my new phone for anyone who tried to reach me and couldn't get through before (my phone was stolen by an airport official in Marrakech), so feel free to call me again.
Oh, and here's a photo I took the time before last with Joe in some bamboo, a model I'll most-likely do another shoot with while I'm here.
That's all for now.
ALOHA!
-Kurt.

Off to Honolulu

2006-05-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well... had a GREAT time visiting my buddy John, his partner Gregg, and their friend and roomie Dave in Boston. John and I went to a Redsox game at Fenway Park (pronounced, "Fenway Paaaahk"). Luckily I was staying with him instead of at a hotel, because the airline left my luggage in Paris, and I didn't get it until the following night at midnight. So, at least I was able to borrow some of John's clothes. Had to replace the new luggage I had just bought because it was completely demolished by the luggage belt (or something), but at least the contents were unharmed, and they're reimbursing me for more than I paid for the previous bag. So, it's all good.
Visited Mom for her Birthday on the 10th (Happy Birthday, Mom!) and we drove down to Santa Cruz to visit my 92-year-old grandfather. It was good to see him. Not sure how much longer he's going to be with us.
Then stayed with my friend Jaden in San Francisco for 3 nights (thanks, Jaden!!!!) and spent some time with some of my friends there, and now I'm at my Mom's again for Mother's Day. We booked our tickets for Italy in September, so we're happy about that, saw a movie with my brother, and had a great day overall.
Now it's time to pack and get ready for my trip to Honolulu. The plan is to stay there for 2 weeks, visit with my Dad, who lives on Oahu, and do some photoshoots. If I find something that can justify staying longer, I might just do that. I'm also thinking about going to Miami/Southbeach after Hawaii, as I've never been there, and I think I'd get a lot out of it.
It's great to be back in the states. Although I really do love Europe, there are little things about being in the states that I missed... like being able to buy the antiperspirant I like. LOL. Or Listerine strips. Or any number of other sundry items. But I sure do miss the coffee in Spain. And the nightlife. And just the thought of BEING in Europe. Ah well... September's not TOO far off.
So... I'm signing off for now. Talk to you soon!
If you know of any good clubs to go to in Honolulu, let me know!
-Kurt.

Home to the states!

2006-05-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

Well... I leave tomorrow morning - have a taxi arranged to pick me up in front of my apartment at 4:15am. Ick. So... I'm just going to stay up all night. It's not like 4:15am is late for me here anyway. But if I tried to go to bed and wake up... that's not going to happen. Probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Looking forward to seeing my friends Johnny Boy and Greggie Pooh. (I'm sure Gregg hates that name.) And I'm looking forward to being home in the states. I love Barcelona, but I haven't been here long enough for it to really feel like home. Although, I've been comfortable here lately, even with my lack of language skills. I will miss my friends here, the architecture, the narrow streets, the nightlife, and other little things that come with living in the Spanish style.
I've attached some pic's I edited yesterday for Toni, one of the models here I worked with, as well as a new friend from Israel who's here for a couple of weeks and looking for work. (Anyone in Barcelona reading this, if you have any ideas for him, let me know and I'll put you in touch with him.)
Signing off for the last time in Barcelona - this trip - and until my next post wherever I am...

Un besito!
-Kurt.

Back from Ibiza

2006-04-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

Stayed with my friend, Danny, in Ibiza for the weekend. He just moved there on Tuesday, so he was getting settled himself, and learning the ins and outs of the island. His sister also lives there, with her boyfriend. They are both very sweet, and I liked them instantly. I ended up doing a shoot with them yesterday, as well. It wore me out - didn't plan on doing any 'model' shoots while I was there - and when it came time to go out last night, I was wiped. Danny and I went back to his apartment after spending the better part of the afternoon and evening with his sister (Chantal/Maria) and her boyfriend (Rodrigo), and made an effort to go out and enjoy a Saturday night in Ibiza. The clubbing life had just started to get somewhat active the night before - which was lots of fun - and there still wasn't a whole lot going on at the first club we went to. We decided to - in our run-down raggedy state - try going to Pacha, which is arguably the most-popular and famous club on the island. There was a pretty big line (consisting of a wide range of people - teenie boppers to early baby boomers, hip fashionistas to tacky tourists), and when I saw that the entrance fee was 30 Euros, I said, 'let's forget it.' I wasn't feeling it. AT ALL. Maybe if I wasn't so exhausted, I would have plunked down 30 Euros - well, probably 60, since I probably would have also paid for Danny - to give it a try, but no. Even though I had no energy to stay out, I'm very glad we did the shoot. It was a lot of fun, and made for lots of good memories. :)

So... I'm back now. And attached are some pic's from my weekend!

Enjoy!

-Kurt.

Don't know why

2006-04-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

...these other photos wouldn't upload into the last post, so... here they are.

Where has the time gone???

2006-04-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

With just a little more than a week left in Spain, I'm wondering where the time went. There are a lot of things I had in the back of my mind to do that I simply will not have time to do. I am doing one of them, though, tomorrow. I have an early flight (6am - ick) to Ibiza, where I'll spend most of the weekend with my friend who just moved there on Tuesday. It's supposed to be a very active weekend in Ibiza, so I'm looking forward to it. My friend tells me it's absolutely beautiful and he wants to spend the rest of his days there.
There are many things that I could list that I would have liked to do, or that I would have liked to do better (like learn Spanish). But, I won't dwell on what I didn't do right now. I have accomplished a lot of what I wanted.
I just sent out a CD of images to a calendar company in Germany, at their request, so I'm hoping something comes of that. At least it motivated me to get some image editing done. I revisited a few of my old photoshoots and found some images I really liked. I've included some of the previously 'unseen' photos in this post for your viewing pleasure.
So, that's it for now. Looking forward to getting back to the states where I can see my friends and family, and earn some cash (because I don't have a work visa for Spain). Three months without income... it can't last forever!
-Kurt.

I can't keep calling these posts "A couple of shots..."

2006-04-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

But here are some shots from today's shoot with Jordi. What a great guy! Ladies, he's 21, speaks Spanish, Catalan, and English, and is a native of Spain/Catalonia. We had a lot to talk about, and I had to force myself to shut up and take photos. LOL. Could have shot photos of him much longer, but the sun was going down...
-Kurt.

A couple of shots from today's shoot.

2006-04-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of quick pic's from today's shoot with Toni - first model I've worked with here who's born and raised in Barcelona, or Spain, for that matter. Ok, now I'm off to the shower and then to the clubs! No shoots tomorrow, so I can sleep in a little. :)

A couple of shots from yesterday's shoot

2006-04-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

He's 20, a world-traveler, intelligent, has a good personality, and ladies... he's single. :)

Photo of Joshua Garcia

2006-04-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, this has absolutely nothing to do with my time here in Barcelona other than it's one of the images from a previous shoot that I just edited, um, here in Barcelona. ;) I really like it, and I'm surprised I didn't edit it sooner. That was a good day in SF. :) (As always, you can click on the image to see the full-size web version.)

MySpace Slideshow

2006-04-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a slideshow from my MySpace profile. If you haven't joined yet, it's very cool. (But it would be cooler if you joined.) :) Here's the link to my profile: http://www.myspace.com/kurt_brown.

Back to the states soon

2006-04-17T07:38:00.002-07:00

Well, my time in Barcelona is drawing to an end soon. I've learned a lot about people and myself. It has been very good for me to be here. I do miss my city of San Francisco, though. And my friends and family - all of whom have been supportive of me. I am very blessed. :)

My main struggle in getting models for photoshoots here has been the language barrier. I've found I'm not so outgoing and assertive in approaching models here because of that. It has been somewhat difficult for me to learn as much Spanish here as I'd hoped because a lot of people here speak Catalan first, and Spanish second. I've found myself tuning out if it's Catalan, which sounds like a mixture of French and Spanish, and tuning out when you're living somewhere trying to learn the language is not such a great idea. Maybe I'll go to Mexico for a while where they only speak Spanish. It should be cheaper to live there - not like the 900 Euros I'm spending every month on my little apartment, and I've never really been to Mexico. Tijuana and Baja California don't count. I really do want to improve my Spanish. We'll see... Not sure yet.

I'll be flying to Boston early in the morning on May 6th, staying with my friend John for a few nights, and then flying to San Francisco on the 9th. My Mom's Birthday is on the 10th, so I'll spend that day with her. Then hopefully catch up with friends a bit until the 14th, which is Mother's Day (again, I'll spend with my Mom in Vallejo), and then on the 15th, I fly to Honolulu, Hawaii. My Dad lives there, and it'll be good to see him.

After Honolulu... I don't know. Maybe SF, maybe Mexico, maybe somewhere else...

By the way... I've updated my website recently, so if you haven't checked it out, here's the link: www.KurtBrownsStudio.com.

All for now.
Un besito!

Back from Paris, Part 2

2006-04-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

My energy is still zapped. Must not be getting any younger. (Or maybe it's because I was up pretty late last night and had a 9am shoot this morning...)

Ok... Paris. Is. Amazing.

The architecture, the statues, the food, the museums, and yes... even the people (like I said, I really didn't have any problems with the people). Ok, my hotel (and I use the word, "hotel" lightly) sucked, but I didn't spend much time there anyway.

Day one: After a slight flight delay, I arrived in Paris at 3pm. The flight was about 1.5 hours from Barcelona. It then took me over 2 hours to get to the hotel, due to traffic, only to find that the hotel had been over-booked and they had arranged for me to stay at another one of their hotels in the chain. Of course, it was farther away from the city center. By this time, I was pretty tired of lugging my luggage and photo equipment around, but when I got to the second desk, the clerk was very nice and said that they had given me a double room for 2 people for my trouble. Sweet. The room was in the last of 3 buildings, on the third (and top) floor, to which there were only uneven, winding stairs - no elevator. I've never heard of a hotel not having an elevator. I was only going to be there for 4 nights, so I could deal. And if this was the big room, I wonder what the small rooms were like!!! I dropped off my stuff and walked to the Seinne River and Notre Dame. By this time, the sun was starting to set, and the lighting was good for photos. Took many. Had dinner at a local restaurant. Nothing special, but the creme brulee was very good. I've learned that most restaurants here in Europe offer Menus Del Dia (Menu of the day), which are usually a better deal, and you get a 3- or 4-course meal for a very reasonable price - usually. Now the sun was gone and it got cold quickly. Very cold. So, I lucked out and caught a cab as someone was getting out. I've never had so much trouble catching a cab before. The whole time I was in Paris, it was a problem. The taxis didn't stop at the designated taxi stops, and they often wouldn't pick someone up if they weren't at a designated taxi stop. But yet, most of them were full all the time anyway. (I told John-David [the model I did a shoot with] that my two bad experiences had both been with taxi drivers, and he told me that they were notorious for being rude and unfriendly.) Went back to the hotel, took a quick nap, and headed out to check out the nightlife. The front desk clerk asked me for my key, which I thought was odd, but I gave it to him. (As it turns out, it is the norm in Paris for hotel guests to leave their keys with the front desk when they leave, and pick them up when they come back. Ok.) The night life, I have to say, was off the hizzle. Fa shizzle. I went to a dance club called, "Le Depot." It was written up in the tour book I picked up, and it lived up to its reputation. LOL. Ah, gay Pair-ee. Fo sho. ;)

Day two: Woke up at around 10 am to a knock on the door. I had put the "do not disturb" sign up, but no matter, they needed to clean the room, and they only had one shift of housecleaners to do it. "Ok, give me 15 minutes, and I'll be out." Needed to get up anyway. Managed to catch a cab to the Eiffel Tower. Beautiful. Some in Paris hate it, some love it. I love it. It's the color of a cafe con leche. I promised a friend in Barcelona that I would go to the top, and I'm glad I made that promise, because I might have otherwise skipped it due to the lines. The view was amazing, and I'll never forget being up there. Again, took a lot of pictures, on and around the tower. Had a cappuccino and baguette sandwich up there and hung out for a bit. Caught one of those double-decker tour busses (yes, I know they're cheesy and touristy, but they're also a great way to get a lay of the land and learn some of the history) for 22 Euros (for 2 days of 'hop on, hop off') and only used it once - to get to the Louvre Museum. I figured my trip to Paris would be incomplete without a trip there to see the Mona Lisa, which I did. :) I also saw a number of other famous paintings and sculptures, and although I was only inside for about an hour, I took in a lot. Again... took a lot of pictures (outside, mostly, because the rule of 'no photography of any kind' was strictly enforced inside many parts of the museum).

Day three: Was awakened again around 10am, despite my 'do not disturb' sign prominently displayed on the door. "I don't need my room cleaned today, thanks. I've hardly been here." I wouldn't have been sleeping in so late if the night life wasn't so active. :) Took a boat tour on the Seinne River and walked a LOT around the city. The day's a bit of a blur. But I have pictures. :)

Day four: Every day a new adventure. :) Had a photoshoot at 2pm. Actually, it started around 3pm. Got some great photos of John-David, a model I'd met online and arranged a shoot with prior to my arrival in Paris. Nice guy. (A couple of pic's of him are on the previous post.) We took some shots in my 'hotel' room, in the ivy 'garden,' and then we hopped on his motorcycle and went to a location near the Eiffel Tower. I got to see a lot of the city I hadn't seen in taxis from the back of his motorcycle (yes, Mom, I was wearing a helmet). I saw the Moulin Rouge, Chat Noir, Arc de Triumph, etc. It was a fun ride, and he was a pretty good rider, especially for a 20-year-old.
We continued our shoot near the tower, and as the sun started to go down, we were getting cold and hungry, so we grabbed a bite to eat. About 1.5 hours later, he was running late to meet a friend, so he arranged for the friend to meet us back at my 'hotel.' He told me that my hotel was located in the worst and most-dangerous part of Paris. (Thanks, TravelPlan travel agency!) I told him that if he thought that area was bad, he should try going to the Tenderloin district of San Francisco (or Hunter's Point). I actually never felt the least bit threatened in the area where my 'hotel' was. LOL. But at the same time, I knew it wasn't the nice part of Paris, either.
We met his friend at the metro station and went back to my room, looked at pictures from the shoot, and chatted. They were going to be going to a local club as party photographers (so they could get in and pick up girls for free) and invited me to go along. If I wasn't going to be catching a flight the next afternoon, I would have taken them up on it. Couldn't have fit all 3 of us on his motorcycle anyway. :)
Getting to the airport by metro and then train was a bit of an adventure in itself, so I'm glad I got almost enough sleep.

Ok, enough talk for now. I'm going to take a nap.
Un besito!
-Kurt.

Back from Paris, part 1

2006-04-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well, that was quite fun. I have to say... I LOVE Paris! It's a BEAUTIFUL city. And the only unpleasant people I encountered were 2 taxi drivers. Other than that, everyone I came across was friendly. I didn't even try to speak French beyond the general greetings, etc., and it was no problem.

I just returned this afternoon, and I'm completely wiped out, but wanted to post a quick message and a few pic's because I haven't updated my blog in a while. I will write more about my trip soon. Until then, here are 2 photos from my shoot with John-David (what a sweet guy) and one of Notre Dame.

Au revoir pour le moment.

Off to Paris soon

2006-03-29T05:27:00.000-08:00

Just confirmed my trip to Paris last night. Just have to pay for the rest of it today. I've never been to Paris before, or France, for that matter. I've got a lot of research to do before I leave on the 6th. I'll only be there for 4 nights, which I'm sure isn't enough time, but it'll have to do for now. Suggestions are welcome. :)
-Kurt.

Back from Morocco, Pt. 2

2006-03-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

Morocco was a trip (literally and figuratively). In many ways, it was very beautiful. But, I've never witnessed such a level of poverty before. I know there are more severe examples of poverty than what I witnessed, but this was the most severe I've seen. (And I thought the Tenderloin of San Francisco district was bad.)
I saw people taking the insoles of old shoes out, and then cutting them up to sew them into something else. Heavy-duty baskets made from old worn out tires. Beggars everywhere. Everywhere. (Ok, not in the hotel or inside restaurants, but everywhere else.) Kids around 9 and 10 doing hard labor - digging ditches, using electric saws and sanders on metal (without protective eye gear, of course), pounding on glowing iron in blacksmith's shops. Everywhere we walked, people tried to pull us into their shops (some actually did grab us and pull us in). "Just for look!" Yeah, right. That's what they say to get you in there, but then you're stuck. You have to experience it yourself to really understand it. Everyone is very nice, which made it all the harder to leave without buying something I never wanted in the first place.
I learned to take a lot of small change with me very early. It goes quickly. Change for the kids (a crowd of them) that show you how to get back to the main part of town when you get lost. Change for anyone that shows you practically anything, in fact. Like I said, the people were very nice. But many of them were overly nice, and that's when you could tell they were going to ask you to pay for their "service."
I never felt as though I was going to get robbed in Morocco, but I definitely felt like a scam was around every corner. I guess stealing is morally reprehensible there, but if you can scam someone into giving you their money, that's ok. LOL.
And just because Morocco is a Muslim country, you can forget about what you might have heard regarding about treating the body like a temple, etc.

We met a very cool guy who was working at one of the many food establishments that magically appeared every night in the main market square. His name is Eunice. I know. ...I know. Anyway,... we drank 3 glasses of his "Moroccan Whiskey" (mint tea) and I, in my infinite wisdom, asked him where was a good place to get REAL whiskey. Within 2 minutes, he had taken off his uniform, handed it to a co-worker, who wasn't pleased Eunice was leaving his shift, and we were in a cab on our way to we knew not where. We ended up at club with no name - just a door. We later discovered it was a club of ill-repute, if you know what I mean. Great.
So, we polished off about 12 or 16 Moroccan beers (I don't remember how many beers, actually, but I know it was made in Marrakech, which I found interesting) between the four of us. Yes, I said four. That's Steve, Eunice, myself, and... a woman of the evening who had joined us for some titillating conversation (she didn't speak a LICK of English). Of course, we paid for the beers, and the cigarettes that everyone at the table was consuming. Steve and I don't smoke. But man, she was a very good smoker... and drinker. She had those skills down. LOL. Actually, she was very nice, and I kept making her laugh, so that was fun.
When the upstairs bar closed, we proceeded downstairs. There was a dance club down there with a live band and multiple booths. It was actually quite cool.
Side note: In Morocco, men are very affectionate with each other. They ride scooters together, walk arm-in-arm, hug, kiss on the cheek, dance together, etc. Homosexuality, however, is Not Accepted - AT ALL. It is a Muslim country, after all. And I was very aware of that fact during our trip.
Well, Eunice was being very friendly with Steve and me. As was our female companion (whose name I really can't remember). The four of us would go out to the dance floor from time to time, usually at Eunice's insistence. Eunice would pull me out to dance, hold my hand, and both hands as we danced (as a man and woman would normally in a straight club in the U.S.). It was definitely a little... weird. I knew that Eunice was straight, but the social mores threw me for a bit of a loop. I've never danced with a heterosexual man in even close to such a manner. During the course of the evening (we were drinking whiskey and Coke now), he kissed me on the forehead, cheeks, and neck. All perfectly heterosexual behavior for two Moroccan men.
But it made what happened next even more uncomfortable.
Eunice started pressuring me to kiss our female companion. She obviously "liked" me (my $$), of course I should kiss her!!! "For change your life!," he said. Yes, I'm sure it would. I knew where this conversation led. I had 'been there, done that' many times. But not for a LONG time. Usually, I would simply say, "I'm gay" and that would be the end of it. But considering we were surrounded by a bunch of machismo drunks in the basement of a club of ill-repute (which I assume wasn't exactly a legal establishment), I wasn't in a rush to proclaim my fruittiness. Especially since he had been so affectionate with me - on the assumption that I was straight.
The short end to the story is that I let Steve know that I was ready to leave, because I wasn't going to pretend to be something I'm not, and I preferred not to proclaim it in that environment. So, we said our goodbyes, paid for all of the whiskey and Coke and more cigarrettes, and left.

Berfore that experience, however, Steve and I took a day trip to Ouarzazate (about 4 hours away by car, including pit stops). There were 9 of us in total: Steve and myself, Isham (our driver), Mike & Carol (a middle-aged couple from Canada), Antonio (a man of about 65 from Spain), Josh (a late 30's or early 40's guy from Malibu, CA), and 2 French guys (mid-forties) whose names we never got. They kept to themselves.
It was a bit of a crazy drive over the Atlas mountains. There were quite a few times when I looked over at Josh or Steve and we gave each other an "Oh My God" look because of some move the driver pulled. Actually, he was a very good driver for the conditions, but it was very out of the ordinary for the rest of us. There were a couple of times we joked about who whould die first if we were to go tumbling or flying off the cliffs of which we were so perilously close. It seemed as though the driver sped up for sharp turns and slowed down for straight stretches of road (there weren't many). We passed on curves, weaved in and out of oncoming traffic, etc. It was almost like being in a chase scene in a movie. Almost. No one was shooting at us.
When we finally made it to Ouarzazate, and after we ate lunch at a place where the driver undoubtedly gets a kickback, we had about 1 1/2 hours to explore the city. Luckily, we (Josh, Steve, and I) were quickly adopted by a 15-year-old boy who took it upon himself to show us the ins and outs of the city. His name is Said (sah-eed). He showed us areas that were used in the filming of "Gladiator" and a beautiful 4-room hotel (like a pension) where only women were allowed to stay. Then we met the owner and designer of the interiors. She has a shop very nearby, and we were asked to take a look and buy something. We didn't buy anything, but the pressure wasn't nearly what it was in Marrakech. Ouarzazate was actually a very beautiful city, and we all talked about wanting to stay there instead of Marrakech if we were ever to return to Morocco.
On the way back from Ouarzazate, we were at a pitstop that we had stopped at on our way there, and where the driver undoubtedly gets another kickback. Josh came up to me with a shocked expression and said "Anotonio just felt me up!" LOL. Apparently, Antonio (who was very quiet the first 1 1/2 hours of the trip, but became more and more talkative - and singative - after throwing back a few swigs of some herbal tonic he'd brought with him at pitstops) had gone up to Josh and said, "You very tall" and then grabbed him in the crotch. And to Josh's amazement, Antonio repeated the gesture. "You very tall." Grab. Although Josh felt violated by the incident, he and I laughed for a long while about that one. I wonder what Antonio's story is. Apparently he has a house on the beach in Mallorca and a beautiful grandaughter or daughter (not sure) that he was trying to get Steve to meet (I think). We're not too sure. He only spoke Spanish, and it was very quick. Steve may now be indirectly betrothed to this woman for all I know. LOL.

So many things happened in a short period of time that it seems like a dream in fast-forward. It was definitely an eye-opening experience, and I'm glad we went. I will remember many of the experiences for a long time.

Back From Morocco!

2006-03-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

A BIG Welcome! Steve and I heard that many times. (It was often followed by "we are friends" and almost "now give me money." I'll explain later... maybe.

The first 2 images are from our first day in Marrakech. The whole snake incident is a bit of a blur, and if that cobra looks like it was too close, that's because... it was.

The images here are: Me in front of a mud city on our trip to Ouarzazete; a youth with 2 camels; 2 kids walking home from school (also on our way to Ouarzazete); Steve and me at lunch on our first full day in Marrakech, near the main square; ; a man with a big cart of strawberries for sale (yes, some dropped onto the street among the mule poop, and yes, he stopped, picked them up, and put them back on the cart - yummy!); the sitting room in our hotel; the lobby in our hotel (there wasn't much to do in the hotel, but it was beautiful. Lots of hand-painted wood and mosaic tile everywhere.).

Well, that's it for now. Don't forget... you can click on any of the images to enlarge them.

Ciao for now.

Off to Africa!

2006-03-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

My good buddy Steve is here visiting for a couple of weeks. We've never spent this long in each other's face before, but we're both surviving. :)
Steve and I bought our tickets for Marrakesh, Morocco today. We leave on Sunday night and come back late on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it. I don't know much at all about Morocco, but when Steve said he wanted to go there, I thought it sounded exotic, so here we go. LOL. I guess I should do more research. Before I left for Barcelona, my friend Jaden asked me what I was taking with me. I told him about all of the equipment I planned to take, and then he said, "What about clothes? Do you know what the weather is like in Barcelona this time of year?" I told him that I wasn't sure. LOL. I think he was a little frustrated that I hadn't done my homework and checked into the weather during the months I'll be here. He was right... it's very COLD here most of the time. I have to laugh at myself because it's not exactly what I had in mind and it serves me right. LOL.
The travel agent said the weather in Marrakesh is warm during the day and 'quite cold' at night. Steve did a weather search for the days we'll be there, and said they're planning for rain every day.
We went to a restaurant called "FOC" in our neighborhood for a late lunch/early dinner. It was good and the staff is very friendly. But you would want to be aware of your surroundings while talking about the restaurant. FOC sounds too much like Fuck, of course, so it makes for some interesting dialogue. "Where are we going? Are we going to Foc?"
Saw the Diane Arbus photo exhibition here in Barcelona. I saw it where it originated, in San Francisco, but a friend of mine here in BCN wanted to see it, so Steve and I went with her. Although I can appreciate Diane Arbus' work (and I do), I can't really say I like it. I would recommend seeing it though, as it evokes a variety of emotions. My friend Tami suggested I see it in San Francisco, and it was interesting to see some of those images that had burned into my brain again.
It's now about 11pm and Steve and I are relaxing before getting ready to go out. Things don't really start until after midnight here. We're going to another place of his choosing tonight, and then tomorrow, it's my choice. He will have some female companions to surround him so not too many guys make moves. Steve and I don't really go out to clubs together, so this is somewhat new for us. "Straight Steve" as I affectionately call him, is somewhat uncomfortable in gay clubs, so the women will be a welcome addition. Almost necessity. He gets hit on by gay guys with too much regularity, and it becomes tiresome. But I will suffer the clubs that cater to a hetero crowd yet again (as if most everything in this world doesn't), so he can survive one night surrounded by a bunch of Euro-gays. (Are you reading this, Steve?) ;) LOL.
Ok, that's it for now.
Wish us luck in Morocco!
-Kurt.

No internet sucks!!!

2006-03-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

(again, click on an image to inlarge)

Sorry for the lack of posts (for those who care), but to say getting access to the internet is sketchy is an understatement.
Mi amigo Steve is visiting for a while, so I'm going to keep this short and just post a few pictures.
Enjoy!

Ok, NOW I'm going to bed.

2006-03-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

Not in the mood to write, but here are some pic's...

2006-03-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

Both of these pictures were taken at the end of La Rambla. The first one is the statue of Columbus, pointing toward the new world (America), and the second one is of some ships in the harbor with sea birds. All is going well, just not in the mood to write, and I'm off to bed early on a Saturday night (whah????). :) All for now. -Kurt.

Anyone Hungry?

2006-02-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

About to take a shower and get ready to go to Sitges (again) for Carnival. Tonight is supposedly the big celebration. Gotta' eat dinner first though. Here's a photo from the market on La Rambla. Anyone hungry? ;)

New Base of Operations in BCN

2006-02-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

Some people have been asking for pictures of my new apartment, so here they are. I'm all moved in now, and it's great. It's a small apartment, but much better than the room I was renting. It's just the right size for me right now. It's on the 3rd floor, and the stairs leading to and from are just barely wide enough for one person at a time, and very steep. It's in an old fishing district that has recently become more and more desireable. "Up and coming." If you click on the image on the left, you'll get a larger view of the montage. The first 2 pictures are pretty much what you see when you walk in. Then, it's the view from the 'bedroom,' the bed (obviously), the bathroom, the kitchen sink (chiseled marble, very cool), and the view from the balcony toward the Mediterranean. I can see the sea from my balcony today, because it's pretty clear and only a couple of blocks away.
Ok, that's all for now. Back to the laundry (I'll be hanging it from the balcony because that's what everyone here does, and although I have a washing machine in my apartment, there is no dryer).
On a side note... I discovered CAVA recently. It's Spain's alternative to champagne. A friend came over last night to look at my apartment, and we ended up polishing off 2 bottles! Yikes! It's very good, very cheap, and... well... it goes down too easily!
All for now!
Besos!
-Kurt.

Moving tomorrow

2006-02-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

That´s it! I´ve had enough! I give up! ...Ok, I´m just kidding. ;) But, I´m moving to another place tomorrow morning. I rented a little studio apartment in the Barceloneta district of Barcelona, and it will be nice to have a place that doesn´t feel quite so temporary. It´s about a 2-minute walk to the beach, and there are a lot of restaurants and shops nearby, so I´m looking forward to it. I´ll take some pictures and post them when I get a chance.
Things are going well here so far. I´m meeting a lot of really cool people from all over the world. I´m a little shaky from lack of good sleep and too much imbibing 2 nights in a row. It´s the weekend, and the start of Carnival here, so that´s my excuse. :) Didn´t get to bed until after 7am this morning or last. I´m not used to that... I just didn´t really do that in SF except perhaps once or twice in the more than 10 years I lived there.
The language barrier is a bit challenging, to say the least, but that´s part of the reason I´m here. It´s actually great when I´m talking with someone who speaks very little English. With their broken English, and my broken Spanish, we can usually communicate ok, and it´s good for me to have to speak Spanish.
My time on this computer is about to end, so I´ll sign off for now, but I´ll do my best to update this blog again soon. And I´ll upload some pic´s (can´t do that at the internet cafe).
Ciao for now.
-Kurt.

Getting by with a little help from my friends...

2006-02-16T06:05:00.000-08:00

No hablo espanol muy bien. I now know the true frustration that comes from not being a native speaker of either of the prevailing languages in a foreign land. It will come, I just have to be patient and persistent. Only somewhat trivial things are a challenge... I've got the food and shelter thing down. :) Something as simple as connecting wirelessly has been a challenge, and I struggled all morning to connect at various WiFi internet cafe's, but with VERY limited success. So, here I am in my room, piggybacking someone else's connection. Hope they don't mind... and hope it lasts. Uploading images is otherwise seemingly impossible because of the setup at the non-WiFi cafe's. Blah, blah, enough of that.
Here are some images I've taken, as promised.
The first image is of my 'breakfast' at 11:30am my first morning: a cappuccino and some sort of bread/salami/tomato creation. I had to take a picture of it because it just looked so pretty (and it looked just as good the next day). I have to say... capuccinos in Europe far surpass what I've had in the states. Except for 'American' caupuccinos in Europe, that is. I tried one at Starbucks here, and it tasted the same as in the U.S. I'm now spoiled, so I threw 1/2 of it away.
The second image is of a building on Las Ramblas. I liked the shadows of the trees on the building, so I snapped a few shots.

I've taken hundreds of photos so far, but have not edited many yet. I edited one last night, but it was from a shoot of David that I did months ago. I was up until after 5am last night, 4am the night before, and I imagine I'll be up late again tonight. Just living the Spanish way. ;) Sleeping late, staying up late.
I finally went to La Sagrada Familia yesterday... my new friend Yu showed me how to get there on the metro, which was very easy (if you knew what you were doing). Yu is very cool. She's a young woman I met through my buddy, Steve. She is not Spanish, but she speaks the language quite well, and lives here while holding down 2 jobs. She also helped me to get a local mobile phone, and took me to lunch. :) It was refreshing (after only 2 days!) to speak English with someone who understood me!
Well... I'm off to look for a pension (pen-si-ohn: a guest house) to move into after my 2 weeks are up in this apartment. Wish me luck!
Here's a picture of one of the Gaudi houses:
Adios para ahora!

Could this be Love?

2006-02-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

I landed in Barcelona today. I love it already -- at least my very limited experience of it. I arrived at 4pm (Barcelona time), so once I got to my temporary apartment, it was a little late to wander around too too much. It´s true what they say about Barcelona... there are a LOT of very attractive people here. The manager of my apartment even used to be a model (and yes, I could see why, and yes, he still does some modeling on the side), and he´s even from Seattle!
I have gotten over the whole issue around exiting through the wrong terminal, unable to retrieve my checked baggage because... I was in the wrong building... and having to go back through the security checkpoint in the correct building and being questioned by a very friendly (and yes, very attractive) police officer, and then proceeding to the correct baggage claim area, where my luggage was waiting patiently for me.
I have quickly learned that just because one has an adapter for electric appliances, it doesn´t mean they won´t explode or cause the circuit breaker to break (It all depends on the allowable voltage for the item, and U.S. items operate on MUCH LOWER voltage, so the proper transformer is necessary). Unfortunately for me, I only figured this out after my surge protector for my computer fried into a piece of smoky, worthless junk. Lesson learned.
Long story short, everything is going ok so far... no major barriers to my enjoyment of the moments. For example...
I could have eaten a SUBWAY sandwich at this local internet cafe, but I opted out. I wasn´t going to let my first night in BCN go that way. So, I found Las Ramblas (which turns out to be a group of Ramblas, not one street called, "Las Ramblas") and stopped into the first restaurant that looked promising. Restaurante Nuria @ Rambla de Canaletas, 133. I had the seafood salad (which I won´t be ordering again, but it was ok) and the mixed paella dinner with a small order of house red wine. The house red wine as about 5.50 euros ($1.25 = 1 Euro). It came in a small bottle that equalled about 3 glasses. Pretty good wine, especially for the price, and the paella was excellent. I found myself savoring each bite. It had whole shrimp, mussels, squid, pork, chicken (although I don´t remember one bite of chicken), and some other unknown pieces of delectable meat in it. The squid practically melted in my mouth. It was the best paella I´ve ever had. I found myself giggling at it all. There I was, in Barcelona, eating FANTASTIC paella on my first night, getting tipsy off of good-but-cheap wine, and loving it all!
But the best part of the restaurant was the waiter. I´m not sure if he was the owner or not, but he was a man of about 65 or so, with a ready smile and perfect broken English. ;) He was very friendly and accommodating, and as I watched him interact with his cohorts, I could tell that he was well-liked by everyone that worked there. The men here don´t seem to have any of the hangups that most American men have around being affectionate toward each other. He´d go up behind a male coworker and put his arm around him, tell him something, perhaps a quick joke, and then they were back to work. It´s very refreshing.
Anyway, I ordered another ´glass´of wine, and drank 1 1/2 glasses of it and asked if I could take the rest with me - over 1/2 a bottle left - to which he replied, "of course!" It´s a beautiful thing. :)
Well, it´s about 11:15pm here. I know, that´s almost the time Barcelonians start getting ready to go out, but I think I´m about done for the night.
Tomorrow, I plan to go to the Sagrada Familia (famous Gaudi church that may take until 2040 to complete), walk down Las Ramblas to the Mediterrenean, and possibly walk to a few other Gaudi buildings as well.
Hope everyone´s doing well!
Besos!
-Kurt

Weekday Photoshoots

2006-02-04T23:57:00.000-08:00

Ah, to be able to finally do photoshoots during the week... it's a beautiful thing! I took the image to the left on Friday, 02.03.06 in the afternoon. :) There's another one of him on my website as well, and I will hopefully post more soon. I did a shoot on Wednesday morning (the day after my last day at Oracle) as well, but haven't posted any images yet. Oh... but I will... :)
I leave for Barcelona one week from today (now that it's 12 midnight). I'm very excited, but it doesn't seem very real yet, probably because I still have a lot to do to get ready.
It's all good. All for now. Gotta' get ready for my last Sunday at church in the mornin'!
Anyone want to watch the Super Bowl at the Pilsner Inn tomorrow/today? I'll be there around 2:30pm.

2006-01-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

That's me in the yellow shirt.

Welcome!

2006-01-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new SF Photo Guy blog, written by yours truly, Kurt Brown. I'll be using this blog space to chronicle my thoughts and experiences from time to time, so check back... from time to time. (I know, I already said, "from time to time" but this is my space so I can do what I want.) Speaking of my space, you can check out my MySpace profile at www.myspace.com/kurt_brown. And here's a link to my website: www.KurtBrownsStudio.com. (If it's easier to remember, you can also get there by going to www.PhotographyByKurt.com, www.KurtBrownPhoto.com, or www.KurtRobertBrown.com. - they'll all take you to the same place.)

This blog is NOT meant to be a business-like representation of me, so if you're looking for 'strictly professional,' please go to my website and never return here. It may get unruly. You've been warned.

I started this blog because I will be going to Barcelona, Spain, very soon - on the 12th of Feb. '06 - and this will be my vehicle for sharing photos and experiences with my family, friends, and anyone else who drops by.

That's it for now!
Besos!
-Kurt.