Wuttup…welcome to the music section of my photo blog. Music is my other artistic passion so I plan on photographing musicians A LOT.

That being said, if you like Reggae and live in the Denver area, I would check out Mono Verde’s CD Release party this weekend. This show is gonna be hot and I’ll be there, camera in hand.

Rafa, Mono Verde.  Photo: Ric Urrutia

They’ll will be playing with another one of my favorite bands: Quilombo. These cats mix up the reggae and the cumbia and also get the crowd CRUNK.  Onda and Huerfano will also be there.  I’ll be seeing them for the first time.

Ysmael, Quilombo.  Photo: Ric Urrutia

Chances are I’ll be blogging about these cats a lot. This is Debajo del Agua, the band for which I play bass. Standing L-R: Fafo, Dascrybe, Zay, Dov, Rogelio. Squatting L-R: Pablo, Pepe, me.

Me, Ric Urrutia.  Photo: Drew York

Our band is composed of musicians from Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, El Salvador, and France. We mix hip hop, Andean, Bossa, Cumbia, Reggae, Cuban Son, Funk, and other types of music and layer some bad ass revolutionary lyrics on top.

Chances are Debajo del Agua won’t be around after August. Sucks. Really sucks. I’ll leave that for Sunday’s blog though.

So we had an amazing photo session and now you’re trying to decide what kinda prints you want. Prints for your wall, portfolio, picture frame, photo album, to share with friends, family, tease your lover(s), etc.

K, there’s mainly four choices: glossy, matte, lustre, or metallic finishes.

Here’s how each breaks down:

Glossy
Probably the most popular style there is. The name says it all: it’s shiny and has a glossy surface.
The cool parts about glossy: the colors are really vibrant and well saturated.
The down sides to glossy: the larger the print size, the more likely you are to see glare from the glossiness. It’s also easy to notice fingerprints on them.

I recommend a glossy finish for smaller, color prints sized: 4″ x 6″ and 5″ x 7″. At this size they’re perfect for albums and smaller picture frames.

Matte
Probably the second most popular finish there is.

The cool parts about matte: matte prints are known for being fingerprint resistant and are perfect for presenting softer colors (including black & white). A matte finish is great for avoiding glare when you hang larger prints (sized 8″ x 10″ and larger) on a wall.
The down side to matte: a matte finish does not have the vibrant color saturation of glossy prints.

note: If you’re sticking mostly with smaller prints the matte vs. glossy decision is mostly a matter of preference.

Lustre
Lustre is the best of both worlds. It combines the vibrant color saturation of a glossy print with the fingerprint and glare resistance of a matte print.

It’s hard to go wrong with lustre at any size. This is the best finish for 16″ x 20″ prints.

Metallic
Metallic prints have a glossy finish and are great for vibrant, colorful, crisp images. The sharpness of a metallic finish presents details really well and brings out the visual depth of an image. These are ideal for vibrant, high-contrast images.

There’s a trazillion ways to get in touch and keep in touch these days…

Email: ric@behindthelens.net
Phone/text (yep, still a big fan of phones): 720.207.8313
Website: http://www.behindthelens.net
Gallery: http://gallery.behindthelens.net
(for prints, downloads, and a ton of other merchandise).
Blog: http://blog.behindthelens.net
Facebook: Behind the Lens Productions
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ricurrutia

See that bus cruisin’ around downtown Denver? The photo of the bus was taken by my good friend, Scott Kwasny. The photo on the side of the bus was taken by me! : )

If you go downtown any time soon you can those ads on a bunch of buses.

Here’s a close up. The photo is part of the Welcoming Colorado campaign (organized by the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition). This project gave me the opportunity to photograph immigrant workers in Colorado. The instructions for photographing my subjects were fairly simple: rule of thirds and convey dignity.

On our way to Denver International Airport (DIA) for the official shoot. Pretty handsome subject, huh?

…again, on our way to the airport. i’ve yet to meet a single person who likes that very evil blue horse with the red eyes in front of DIA.

So here’s how it went…our immigrant worker/cab driver/model took us right to the DIA “departures” section. The traffic cop agreed to let us do a five minute photo session in front of the airport. This beautiful photo was taken under such pressure.

No time for light meters, clothing changes, traffic consideration, or careful scrutiny of the images on the LCD screen of my camera. We needed amazing pics and had five (or less) minutes to take care of it. Of the few posing directions I gave to our subject that day was: “Okay, now look like you’re proud of the work you do.” His response: “That will be easy. I’m very proud.” …and then we took this pic. : )

This project will undoubtedly open many doors for more non-profit and social justice-related projects. Special thanks to the amazing Chandra Russo of CIRC for helping to put all of this together.

All photos: Ric Urrutia, www.behindthelens.net

downtown Denver.

somewhere in Grand Junction, CO there is an office with a big green nose strategically positioned to make an entire wall look like a face. it had to be photographed.

on the way back from Grand Junction.

Approaching the market in Jucuapa, El Salvador, depto de Usulutan. Jucuapa is the small town I grew up in from when I was 2 months old until four years old. It’s about 30 minutes from San Miguel, the second largest city in El Salvador.

Inside the market. I won’t front. I was like a homing pigeon returning to its nest in this pic. As a kid I always loved the light, colors and structure inside the main building so I had to capture it as an adult. I think if you put Jucuapa’s market next to any Whole Foods it would put Whole Foods out of business in a heart beat. The food in Jucuapa’s market is just as fresh, just as tasty (and usually tastier), within the economic means of most of the community, and it’s the spot for gossip on your neighbors. In short: it carries a feeling of community you can’t put a price on.

This is the house I grew up in until I was four. It’s less than three blocks from the market.

For those of you who didn’t know, my mom and Ken got engaged recently! : ) Here they are, both looking lovely in my studio. Their love is very youthful and romantic and I love seeing them together.

Cavem Moetavation. I dunno what to call this guy. I know him as an MC, a DJ, a conga player, a reggae singer, food activist, teacher…just all around talent. The video below is of this cat performing.

This is what you get when you drop righteous hip hop rhymes about environmental sustainability and green jobs. Cavem is using his rhymes to compete in a contest to promote environmental and food consciousness. Vote for him by clicking here!

DUDE! INDIE RAWK!!!

IN A GARAGE!!!

From Philadelphia: Hermit Thrushes!!! I hate to admit it cuz indie rock shows remind me of many an awkward/insecure college night out but…these guys were pretty good.

I thought the drummer was particularly good and i wanted to talk to him but…

…there was just something about how that orange jump suit fit him that made him slightly unapproachable. …like i wouldn’t be able to maintain eye contact.

But for real, check out The Giragge when you’re in Grand Junction. it looks like the guy who owns (the garage) is gettin’ all types of undiscovered acts cutting through there. i heard Denver’s Pirate Signal had recently been there as well.

Sooo…last night was Super Bowl Sunday.

and…i found myself in a situation where i met a couple of the Denver Broncos cheerleaders.

they kept begging me and begging me to take a picture with them.

…but i was like “look, really, i can’t. i’m Behind the Lens…and i’m on the job right now.”

…and so we worked something out. …where both they and i could be happy.

they signed this poster for me. correctly. like: ric with no k cuz it’s short for ricardo. how sweet?

cat caught in a clear plastic death box.

the art work of Jolt, a local graffiti muralist and artist. you can see more of his work by clicking here.  you could also see more of his work by just walking/driving through Denver.  Jolt’s a big fan of Debajo and we’re a big fan of him.  We performed at the opening of his art gallery.  you can check the first song of the night by clicking here.

i heard this was supposed to be good luck. my dad did this to my mom’s shoes when i was a kid and we were walking through Elizabeth, NJ. i wonder if they’re still hanging there.

Rebelle is a hot little shop.

Some of my favorite people in the world work there.  They take care of you.  They take care of me. 

They tell me stuff like: “Time to get a hair cut, Ric.”  or “Whoa Ric, your hair looks hot.”  One time they even got me to sit and get a mini mani (after insisting I drink a glowing blue cocktail)…keep me looking presentable!  hell yeah!  …don’t wanna go out there looking like i’m falling apart knawmsayin’?

This weekend they had a men’s fashion show.

Roar!

clothes came off.

…just a little bit, right? enough to keep things interesting.

…and then a burlesque show!

…and i really like this shot.

a local celebrity.

More pics from the fashion show available at: http://gallery.behindthelens.net/fashion/rebelle

Click here for the Rebelle website.

DJ Icewater, performing with…

Aju Soulaju and…

…Molina Soleil, who together make up the hip hop group: Soulaju.

Okay, let’s start with this: THESE CATS SPIT IN FIVE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!!!

Equally important: they drop hip hop with consciousness

…and on top of all that: they’re hot ass eye candy.

Oh, and DJ Icewater: spins ol’ school hip hop and classic beats/bass lines.

phew! damn. : )

They’re playing in Denver again this Friday. My advice: GO! Here’s their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/soulaju

Soulaju is creative, conscious, energetic, sexy, intellectual, and overall: bad ass. i left with the tremendous hope that hip hop, as in conscious, intellectual, and soulful hip hop is making a comeback.

…as if that wasn’t enough, they were joined by these cats:

Mike Wird

DJ Cavem

…and of course, Pablo Kee of Debajo del Agua. I really appreciated this, actually. I rarely have a chance to photograph my band mates performing. I’ve taken the camera on stage during performances before but it’s a little too nuts to deal with and I can mostly only get pics of the sides/backs of everyone’s head.

I’m really happy with the way the pics turned out. You can check more of them here: http://gallery.behindthelens.net/Music/

Soulaju, can I drop a bass line for you guys some time?  please?  pretty please?  : )

Please consider sharing this blog on Facebook (click below).  I’d like Soulaju and socially conscious groups like Soulaju to get more recognition.

‘Merica! The stock show was in Denver last week.

tractors rolled through downtown.

I think the red tractor is by far more gangsta than the green tractor.

PONY! If I was out jogging I’d also wanna jog next to cute cowgirls on cute ponies, hell yeah. PONY!

More partners.

howdy city slicker.

this is now a very common sight in Denver. Dispensaries are all over the place. the Westword, Denver’s alternative weekly, has literally 12 (TWELVE!!!) pages filled with advertising for medicinal marijuana. it’s out, it’s official. the people in Denver have voted time and again to ease restrictions on marijuana and now the government has acknowledged its medicinal value. crazy world. …what next?

next we’ll discover that the coca leaf has every vitamin under the sun along with the calories that could help ease famine. i can tell you from experience: chewing a wad of coca leaves is comparable to the amount of energy you’d get from having one cup of coffee per hour MINUS all the nasty side effects of caffeine. it’s quite the perfect plant. it’s problem? it’s eradication is justified by the fact that it takes massive quantities of coca leaves to make cocaine.

…and then someone will discover that one acre of hemp produces as much paper as four acres of old growth forest.

me.

PLEASE! HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS DUCK?!

A thing grows in Denver.

metal.

steel.