Cheryl Spelts – Page 38

September 10, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

Hummers, keys, and Dave Navarro

I was in the middle of a conversation today, and we happened to be standing on the street next to this big black Hummer. Suddenly I see Dave Navarro heading toward us with Cell Phone up to his ear and head down, ignoring everyone around him. I was about three feet away from him, but he didn’t look up – and I completely understand why. I wouldn’t make eye contact with strangers in LA if I was him either!

But then he couldn’t get his key to work, so he told the person on the phone to hold on and without looking up, he said to us, “Is this my car?” As he fumbled with his keys I said his name and he ignored me, so I said it again and he still ignored me, but at that point I figured I might as well go for it, so I said “I own ROCKBAND.COM and you mentioned it on the air a while back. Thank you for that.”

And at that point he sort of half turned and said “I did? When did I do that?” and I said “You did! And thank you very much.” and he looked up at me finally and gave me a little smile with a tiny little bit of a sparkle, and said “You’re welcome.” It sounds totally innocuous, and it was, but it was still fun to see the recognition in his eyes!

September 6, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

Yeah, I love Mark Burnett…

I admit it, I love Rock Star and I’ve gotten really attached to the singers on the show. I felt this way last year too – I’m a big softie when it comes to artists fulfilling their dreams!

And I know it’s a reality show, and someone has to go home each week, but it’s tough to see it live – especially when the singer going home is as completely gracious in their goodbye as Storm. It was something to see! And I’ve detailed it more fully in the Episode Thread on ROCKBAND.COM.

After the taping this morning, I was walking down a hallway lined with people, and I was STILL all teary, and I saw Mark Burnett coming from the opposite direction, and I tried to look away because it’s not exactly cool to have your emotions so out there on display, but as we passed, he paused with a concerned look on his face, stopping me in my tracks, and then he gave me the sweetest smile. It was real and genuine and just very very sweet. And it hit me how much I love this man for giving me this show. So yeah, I love Mark Burnett!

August 18, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

Backstage at Rock Star: Supernova

On Sunday, August 13, 2006 I shot a photo essay backstage at Rock Star: Supernova and it’s huge, but I think it’s definitely worth viewing. You may even learn something! I spent about two hours backstage before the show started, and it was a lot of fun!

Here are a few of the images, the rest can be seen at
http://rockband.com/news/rock-star-backstage/

To see the rest of my photo essay, go to: http://rockband.com/news/rock-star-backstage/

If you have any questions about what you see in the images, ask them here and I’ll do my best to answer.

June 23, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

My INXS Vacation

I actually went to five stops on the INXS tour last week – totally over the top, but so much fun! I went with a bunch of friends and we stayed at the Bel Age Hotel in LA and saw two concerts at The Greek – which is the best venue for sound. I was in the pit the first night , and further back the second night – I think it was the third row behind the pit, so still fairly close but the sound was so much better – and I thought the sound was great the first night! Seriously, The Greek is the place to go for a concert – it’s beautiful and the sound is awesome! Rachel Hunter was across the aisle from me, Dave Goffin and Paul Mirkovich were right behind us. We heard Deanna Johnston was there too, but I never ran into her.

So LA was great, but that was only the first two of five concerts in one week! The next stop was Hemet and frankly I wasn’t expecting as much from that show, but front row tickets were cheap. I love Hemet, but how is Hemet supposed to compete with LA? Well I was wrong. Where the shows in LA were slick and professional and totally moving, the show in Hemet was hot, hot, hot. My theory is that after two shows in the entertainment capital of the world, the guys were ready to have some fun. It was the sexiest show I’ve ever seen – by far!

Next up was Pala – which is just a few miles from my home. I had a press pass for Pala – the other concerts I was just there to have fun, but at Pala I was there to work! The area for press is directly in front of the front row, and at this venue it was only about three feet deep and there were six photographers, so we were definitely tripping over each other! The best positions on the right and left were both staked out by the guys shooting video for the big screens, so I started down center – I don’t mind shooting straight up the band member’s noses! Later I moved right and then left, but I think my favorite shots were from the very center – especially when JD and then later Kirk got really really close – the shot looking up at JD with the cigarette is one of my favorites, and I was right under him. Great show too!

The last show for my friends and I was San Diego – right on the Bay. Beautiful venue! Insane crowd though… Several friends flew in for this concert from out of state, but one had to cancel at the last minute, so I got to use her front row center ticket instead of my own third row ticket – which was very cool! My friends were all staying at Hotel Solamar, a fabulous four-star hotel in the Gaslamp District, so after the concert we went back there since they have a fabulous rooftop bar – and who showed up later? INXS. The band was there with friends and we were having a great time already, so we didn’t interact much, but Kirk did come over to say hi. It was a fun evening, and a great way to cap off a great week!

June 22, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

INXS at Pala Casino

I finally got to shoot INXS – and it was great! JD, Kirk, and Jon all played directly to my camera – which I was not expecting at all. With all the shows these guys play, and all the photographers following them, I assumed they’d be completely blasé about it – but they’re not!

To see this Photo Essay of INXS at Pala on 6/20/2006 at ROCKBAND.COM, go to:
http://rockband.com/news/2006-06-inxs-at-pala.asp

May 8, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

A Driveway…

I live in a beautiful area. I’m very fortunate! The driveway is lined with oak, pine, and eucalyptus trees. At this time of year a weed blooms along the driveway, and the blossoms are bright orange and golden orange and yellow-orange. They really are amazingly beautiful when you get in close – like a wild orchid, and yet it’s considered a weed.

Further down are yellow daisies, calla lilies, and yellow irises…

May 7, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

Purple Iris

All three of these images are of the same Iris – taken at different times of the day, over two days, four days apart. With a flower this gorgeous, just by varying the shooting angle and the light, you can get a whole series of images!

May 4, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

Cats and Computers

Ashley at 2:42 PM, today. You can see ROCKBAND.COM on the laptop… And Portia at 4:45 PM, today in the exact same spot.

Ashley and his brothers in 2000. I got the pick of the litter!

May 2, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

Guestbook, 1997-2005

My old guestbook – cool when I set it up in 1997 – recently has been attracting a lot of spam. In fact, I haven’t gotten a real comment in it since early 2005. So it’s officially no more! But, that doesn’t mean I wanted to lose everything – I did get a few fun comments over the years! So here’s some of the best, saved for the ages…

And if you scroll down far enough you’ll see where Seymour W. Duncan stopped by back in the early days – that was a big highlight!

Monday 04/04/2005 5:18:59pm
Name: Carmen
Homepage URL: http://www.equineseek.com/pet/4e/Pets/Dog-Breeds/
Location: Canada
Comments: It has been a pleasure to see your photos. I just past through here and I love it very much. I really appreciate your work here, I think it will serve to many for inspiration.

Wednesday 12/08/2004 9:56:56pm
Name: mac
Homepage URL: http://www.mixinvisuals.com
Comments: the fine art photos are really good. love the little kids face up close 🙂

Sunday 02/29/2004 1:55:56pm
Name: Bert Nordberg
E-Mail: bertnordberg@comcast.net
Location: Fresno, California
Comments: Hi Cheryl! Long time no hear from! Great photos, Very nice site. Keep up the great photos.
long lost friend,
Bert

Friday 01/30/2004 11:11:14pm
Name: Tom
Homepage URL: http://www.tomjutte.tk
Location: The Netherlands
Comments: Hello, my compliments for your nice website and photos! Please come see my website and photos sometime? Best regards from Tom.

Saturday 12/20/2003 3:09:14pm
Name: Leif Karlsson
Homepage URL: http://www.lk-panorama.com
Location: Sweden
Comments: I just surfed on your nice website and would like to take the opportunity to tell you how much I liked it, I will certainly come back and visit again to check it out for future updates. Please feel free to take a look at my Panorama photos at www.lk-panorama.com if you like.
Best regards/ Leif

Tuesday 12/16/2003 12:36:54am
Name: thebassguy
Homepage URL: http://thebassguy.com/cohen
Location: NYC
Comments: Great portrait work! Band stuff is super too……thebassguy

Wednesday 11/05/2003 10:54:47am
Name: Mike Kieffer
Homepage URL: http://www.lakemicro.com/photo/
Location: Saratoga Springs, Utah
Comments: Great site. I really like your work.

Tuesday 10/14/2003 4:56:45pm
Name: Patrou
Homepage URL: http://www.patrou.com
Comments: Just happened upon your Photography site, nice

Thursday 09/25/2003 6:34:35am
Name: Artgraphy
Homepage URL: http://www.online-photography-artgraphy.com
Location: France
Comments: Nice pictures, congratulations!

Monday 04/28/2003 8:12:26am
Name: John Matthews
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/jwmphotography/index.html
Location: Tennessee
Comments: Great photography Cheryl, you have a very unique style, which works fantastically – keep up the marvelous work—–

Friday 04/25/2003 2:47:12pm
Name: scott maiden
Homepage URL: http://www.scottmaiden.com
Location: Sunnyvale CA
Comments: l like the portfolio layout. Images show the subjects soul. very good

Monday 03/03/2003 4:02:57am
Name: Jay Kelly
Homepage URL: http://www.jaykellyphoto.com
Location: San Francisco
Comments: Very nice work!
Jay Kelly
http://www.jaykellyphoto.com
Jay Kelly Photography

Tuesday 02/04/2003 10:52:45am
Name: anthony j campbell
URL: http://www.bailenforcers.com
Comments: Thank you! I Love you always, Tony Campbell

Wednesday 07/18/2001 0:08:52am
Name: shad sluiter
Homepage URL: http://www.naturephotogallery.com
Location: USA
Comments: Good looking and creative eye you have.

Friday 06/22/2001 4:33:11pm
Name: AMY
Location: north carolina
Comments: I’m 19 and in school now for photography. I really want to go into the commercial field. I love to take pictures of people..but, not so much portrait..like, not school pictures and that kind of thing. I want to do fashion photography because it is so interesting to me. I’m not sure, but i thought Id ask if you ever did any internships ? I mean, if you ever had, or would even want to have someone come intern with you. Just a thought.

Friday 06/01/2001 1:42:27pm
Name: andi
Homepage URL: http://andiland.dreamwater.com
Location: ohio.
Comments: beautiful work.

Tuesday 04/17/2001 1:30:18am
Name: marty tetloff
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/micromarty/lizardcity.html
Location: Tacoma, WA
Comments: Nice work.

Monday 01/22/2001 11:26:42pm
Name: Jim Gamble
Location: MD
Comments: Cheryl, I was surfing and saw your site and just wanted to say WOW your photos are GREAT I hope to start shooting people soon to build my own portfolio hope mine turn out as good as yours

Tuesday 11/14/2000 11:18:08pm
Name: Michael
Homepage URL: http://www.paidtoread.com
Comments: One word Cheryl, “awesome”! You have a great eye. I did portfolios in NYC for about 5 years, your work brings back memories…

Site bookmarked!

Thursday 11/02/2000 6:26:30am
Name: Chris Michaels
Homepage URL: http://www.chrismichaels.com
Location: San Diego
Comments: Hi Cheryl,

Found your site after doing a search, for kicks, on my namesake Chris(tian) Michaels.
Little did I know there is a popular musician with my same name. Eventually led to your excellently designed site, and your wonderful polaroid transfers. Nice, creative work, in general – even the writing. I’m a professional photographer too and use that technique on occaision also. If you ever get near downtown SD, give me a ring – we can chat and laugh about the industry! My photos can be seen at chrismichaels.com if you’re interested.

Best,
The other Chris Michaels

Friday 10/27/2000 4:08:24pm
Name: Dennis Coughlin
Homepage URL: http://www.denniscoughlin.com
Location: New Hampshire
Comments: Hi Cheryl,
I found your page through e-groups and am happy to have found it. I like your work and wish you continued success!
Take care,
Dennis

Wednesday 05/31/2000 9:14:00pm
Name: Carly Rodgers
Location: Northern Ireland
Comments: WOW! There fantastic pictures. I’m 18 and I’m trying to take Portrait pictures. My dream (now don’t laugh!) is to photograph portraits of celebrities. I love your work, and trust me I’ll be back again. Keep on at it!
Carly Rodgers

Friday 03/31/2000 11:00:00am
Name: Richard Gerard Gay
E-Mail: rickygtech@photographer.net
Location: Philippines
Comments: Your website is cool! I love it!!!

Friday 07/31/1998 6:30:00am
Name: Geoff Wilbur
Homepage URL: http://membrane.com/renegade
Location: East Lansing, MI
Comments: Hello! Actual proof that people DO surf — got here via the Ces Jacuzzi site from your message in the discussion on the indiebiz list. Thought since the thread had to do with web surfing (and I’m not sleeping like I should be), I’d check out some web sites. Cheers!

Wednesday 06/10/1998 2:56:00am
Name: Hrayr
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/4319/
Location: Rochester NY
Comments: Impressive portfolio. I liked both the content and the technique of your photos

Monday 06/08/1998 9:52:00pm
Name: john christiano
Homepage URL: http://home.att.net/~christiano
Location: LA CA
Comments: compelling work.

Sunday 05/31/1998 7:50:00am
Name: Fred Tracey
Homepage URL: http://members.tripod.com/~Ovation619
Location: The mecca that is north county
Comments: Just stumbled upon this site. Kinda interesting.

Wednesday 01/21/1998 8:50:00pm
Name: Ruth
Homepage URL: http://www.octonet.com/~steinfat/
Location: Victoria, B.C. Canada
Comments: Great work Cheryl.. you obviously have a great career ahead of you.. Congratulations.

Friday 01/02/1998 8:06:00am
Name: Kari Tanskanen
Homepage URL: http://tappi.me.tut.fi/~ktanskan/english.html
Location: Finland
Comments: Very nice! My minimalist sense of style especially liked numbers 14, 16 and 55.

Wednesday 12/10/1997 3:26:00pm
Name: Art Wilson
Location: God only knows
Comments: Cheryl:
Just a short note to say how much I enjoy your talents. Oh, by the way, Who’s butt are you showing in MODELS & ACTORS??

Wednesday 11/26/1997 4:44:00am
Name: Seymour W. Duncan
Homepage URL: http://www.seymourduncan.com
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Comments: I enjoy the work of Cheryl Spelts and she had a great eye and I will be watching her work…Seymour W. Duncan (Vintage Guitar Magazine & Seymour Duncan guitar pickups)

Monday 11/10/1997 2:11:00am
Name: Michelle Buendel
Location: Bonsall Calif
Comments: Your site is great!! I had not been aware of it till tonight! Keep up the great work!!

Wednesday 11/05/1997 8:34:00pm
Name: Brenda
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/heartland/prairie/3801
Location: NJ
Comments: I loved spending time browsing through your pages. I thought the fine art was one of the best parts.

Friday 10/31/1997 4:22:00pm
Name: Maths Lundsbye
Homepage URL: http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-20275/blackmail.html
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Comments: You have done a great job here, Cheryl – a good looking site with great photos.
I wish you could take their photo! They make great music, but we don’t have any good band photos. You’re welcome to visit BLACKMAIL HOME CAVE anytime you want to listen to good rock’n’roll in streaming Real Audio.

Thursday 10/30/1997 4:00:00am
Name: Tina
Homepage URL: http://www.eisa.net.au/~imagin
Location: Melbourne, Vic. Australia
Comments: I really enjoyed looking at your photos, they’re excellent. I’m one of those snap-happy people who loves to take photos of anything and everything, just for the memories. I have about 60 albums with 120 photos in each, and that’s not counting the special albums…like one for each of my kids and the holiday albums etc. My Dad recently lost all his old photos in a fire, and it was like part of the family had gone forever, so sad. Anyway, all the best from me, Tina

Tuesday 10/28/1997 4:13:00pm
Name: Tim Jeffries
Homepage URL: http://www.cesjacuzzi.com
Location: Chicago
Comments: Good job! I like it I like it. Keep the fresh pictures and images coming.

Tuesday 10/28/1997 5:41:00am
Name: Hank
Homepage URL: http://www.ecs.tacet.com
Location: San Marcos , Ca.
Comments: Hi cheryl! Great site. I wish you the best. it’s great to know and work with you! Hank!

Monday 10/27/1997 11:22:00pm
Name: Wendy Piedmonte
Homepage URL: http://www.ecs.com/bellwood
Comments: Cheryl,
I am more than flattered to find the photo of me and my hounds with your models and actors. As you know I am niether. Anytime you want to do some animal work, come on over. I could use alot more shots of my gang.
Great Page!!!!!

If you want to see the original spam-filled version, it still exists, for now…

February 4, 2006 by Cheryl Spelts

Estudillo Mansion, San Jacinto, California

The Estudillo Mansion was built in 1885 by Fransisco Estudillo in San Jacinto, California. It’s still the most beautiful home in the town, over 120 years later!

We got a special tour from Dick Kroker, a friend of my grandparents from way way back. He and his wife Del have been involved with mansion for many years, so he was a great tour guide!

The staircase is beautiful, but it’s very steep and the railing is really low. The average person one-hundred-years ago was significantly smaller than we are today, but this railing is so low, it makes me wonder if the Estudillo family was even shorter than the norm?

Upstairs are several bedrooms, and if you look in the closets you can see traces of wallpaper from several different decades. This house was a home for many years.

The old plaster has cracked away in places, and you can see that even though the brickwork on the exterior is even and perfectly aligned, on the interior they used left-over bits and pieces, since they planned to cover it up with plaster anyway. The house was recently retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, but I believe this damage was caused by an earthquake in the past.

A bit of the past is visible through the flaking paint in the dining room. How far back this goes, I don’t know? Could it be original to the house – or was it added later?

The fireplace mantle is carved marble – and features two cameos, one on each side. It’s got a dorky little modern screen in front of it now, but I’m sure they’ll eventually remove it and get a more authentic solution in place.

This interior is of a window on the front of the house. You can see the bricks are more evenly aligned here, and you can see the curved brick-work above the window. On the exterior that curved brick-work is visible in the top photo.

Several years ago the wrap-around porch was accidentally destroyed by an overly zealous construction crew. The gingerbread was salvaged and is back in place today, but the columns and porch roof are unfortunately all new construction. Even when a building is well-loved by the community and on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s still at risk as long as there are people who don’t understand the historical significance.

Edited to add: I went back in 2010, and got some really beautiful shots of the exterior – definitely worth checking out! http://cherylspelts.com/blog/2010/07/estudillo-mansion-in-san-jacinto/