Koop

Two Couches

2012-01-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = 14-24mm f2.8

Shot in the parking lot of my old studio in San Pedro, CA.

My Web Site

Return to Sacred Cove

2012-01-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm

Exposure = 1/50 second @ f2.8, ISO 3200

Unusually low tide that we had been waiting for many months, usually this area is under several feet of water. Just so happens my nephew was in town and got to go with us and shoot some shots for himself. It must have blown his mind to get to work with a world class art model like Rebel Smith and now of course I'm his photo hero, which amuses me to no end. "Uncle John, you have the best job ever!" I try to impress upon him the struggle and sacrifice it has taken to get to this point in my life. I remember how naive I was at 20 years old, it was a beautiful time. Life takes it twists and turns, but I have no regrets, I love what I do and hope to die with a camera in my hands.

Koop 1/7/12

My Web Site

Rebel Smith - Hard Light

2012-01-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Femme Fatale 1

The Guilt of Lady MacBeth

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 24-70mm f2.8

Lighting = Fresnel Tungsten Light

Location = Koop's loft in San Pedro, CA

My Web Site

Full Moon Transformation

2011-09-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

Exposure = 6 seconds @ f4 ISO 400

Lighting = Elinchrom 27" Beauty Dish with diffusion

Location = San Pedro, California

My Web Site

Sha Lynne

2011-07-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Model = Sha Lynne

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 vr

Exposure = 1/100 sec @ f5.6

ISO = 1600

My Web Site

Shadow Play

2011-06-28T13:46:00.001-07:00

Model = Stephanie Anne

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR

Exposure = 1/125 sec @ f5

Lighting = 2k Fresnel

My Web Site

Black Light

2011-06-02T17:37:00.001-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

My Web Site

Sheer Delight

2011-05-17T19:43:00.001-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

Lighting = Elinchrom Stobe

My Web Site

Shadows on my Balcony

2011-04-26T13:49:00.001-07:00

Model = Kelsey Dylan

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 105mm f2.8 vr

Location = My new studio

My Web Site

Looking Over My Shoulder

2011-04-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

Model = Floofie

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 24-70mm f2.8

My Web Site

Trump's Golf Course Black and White

2011-04-20T18:23:00.001-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

My Web Site

Kelsey Dylan on the Rocks

2011-04-19T21:25:00.001-07:00

Model = Kelsey Dylan

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm

Exposure = 1/1000 sec @ f6.3, ISO 400

My Web Site

Necklace

2011-04-04T17:32:00.001-07:00

Model = Kelsey Dylan

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 105mm f2.8

Lighting = Natural Light

My Web Site

Trump's Golf Course

2011-03-27T20:47:00.001-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

My Web Site

Domination

2011-03-20T00:02:00.000-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 24-70mm f2.8

My Web Site

Elevation

2011-03-12T14:22:00.001-08:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = 14-24mm f2.8

Exposure = f3.5 @ 1/100th sec. ISO 1600

My Web Site

Flasher 4

2011-02-20T12:32:00.001-08:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

Location = The Old Studio

My Web Site

Dance with the Devil

2011-02-14T23:45:00.001-08:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

Exposure = 6 seconds at f4.5 ISO 800

"Tell me something my friend, you ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? I always ask that of all my prey, I just like the sound of it." The Joker

My Web Site

Derail!

2011-02-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

Inside a Pittsburgh Subway Tunnel

Camera = Lumix LX3

Exposure = 1/6 second at f/2.8 @ ISO400 -2/3 exposure compensation

Lens focal length = 5.1mm lens

Temperature = 14 Degrees

Rebel Smith - Vintage

2011-02-01T18:40:00.001-08:00

"Forgiveness is a Choice"

Model = Rebel Smith

"Forgive Me For I Have Sinned"

My Web Site

Incinerator on a Good Day

2011-01-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

Model = Floofie

Camera = Nikon D3

Lenses = 14-24mm f2.8 and 24-70mm

Location = San Pedro, California

My Web Site

Flasher 2

2011-01-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Location = San Pedro, California

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

Exposure = ISO 3200, 1/30 sec. @ f.2.8

Lighting = Nikon SB-800 mixed with natural light

My Web Site

UFO Cloud

2011-01-01T11:03:00.001-08:00

Somewhere over New Mexico.

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro vr

Exposure = 1s0 800, 1/1000 sec, f11

My Web Site

Flasher 1

2010-10-25T15:57:00.001-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = Nikon 14-24mm f2.8

Exposure = ISO 1600, 1/50 sec. @ f.2.8

Lighting = Nikon SB-800 mixed with natural light

My Web Site

In Between Set-ups

2010-10-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

Model = Milloux

My Web Site

San Pedro Incinerator

2010-10-05T17:22:00.001-07:00

Model = Milloux

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = 24-70mm f2.8

My Web Site

Glowing Goo

2010-09-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

Model and Goo Maker = Rebel Smith

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = 70-200mm f2.8

ISO = 3200

Exposure = f2.8 @ 125th sec.

Lighting = Black lights

My Web Site

San Pedro 2

2010-09-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

Model = Rebel Smith

My Web Site

Kelsey Dylan

2010-09-14T07:41:00.001-07:00

Model = Kelsey Dylan

My Web Site

Where's the Pool

2010-08-31T19:40:00.001-07:00

Yucca Flats Proving Grounds, Nevada.

Over 1,000 nuclear detonations were made here between 1951 and 1992, both above and below ground. I felt many of the shock waves from the underground explosions in Los Angeles, they feel just like earthquakes. The site is still in use today. The Energy Department estimates that more than 300 million curies of radiation remain, making the site one of the most radioactively contaminated places in the United States.

My Web Site

Breasts

2010-08-09T11:54:00.001-07:00

Rebel Smith

Zinn Star

Isobel Wren

My Web Site

San Pedro Shadows

2010-08-04T09:09:00.001-07:00

Model = Sarah Jain

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = 14-24mm f2.8

My Web Site

Nettie R. Harris at the Standard

2010-08-02T18:21:00.001-07:00

Model = Nettie R. Harris

Camera = Leica M6 TTL

Lens = 50mm

Film = Tri-X

My Web Site

Model = Rebel Smith

2010-07-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

My Web Site

A Day of Shooting at my Studio

2010-06-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

Model = Muse_

My Web Site

Taking a Powder 2

2010-06-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

Zinn Star

My Web Site

Censorship, Art vs. Commerce, getting old

2010-05-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

I recently received a call from one of my clients, a very prestigious educational institution here in Los Angeles saying that a female student was offended by my web site Fine Art Undressed. My first reaction was what the fuck, really? But the action I took was the balancing act of Art vs. Commerce. Their commerce provides me with the funds to do my art. In the final analysis its comical that they pay me to offend their students and faculty with my art work, yet they don't want me to stop working for them because they value my artistic ability to create images that sell their alumni on giving billions of dollars in donations to the school.

This whole situation has me questioning what I do and why I do it. I have been shooting shocking, perverse and disgusting photos for a potential gallery show. If I make these pictures public my money making capability will be reduced to zero. This is confirmed by a recent conversation I had with a model friend who worked with two of the most renowned living fine art nude shooters. She said that both of them are supported by their significant others and will most likely live out their final days in poverty.

Basically, I've come to realize that I have been censored by capitalism, by money, not the Christian Right. If I didn't need money for my old age (fast approaching) I would tell the whole world to fuck off. I will continue to shoot whatever I damn well please, I just can't show anyone until I'm dead and gone.

Taking a Powder

2010-05-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Model = Zinn Star

My Web Site

Angst

2010-05-02T22:44:00.001-07:00

Model = Zinn Star

My Web Site

Zinn Sin

2010-05-02T22:42:00.001-07:00

Model = Zinn Star

My Web Site

The Standard Hotel Part 2

2010-04-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Ode to Kirsten Dunst

Nettie R. Harris

My Web Site

The Standard Hotel

2010-04-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Nettie R. Harris at the Standard

My Web Site

What to do on a Rainy Day

2010-02-23T23:07:00.001-08:00

Red Sonia Art

Stephanie Anne Landers

Candace Nirvana

My Web Site

Single Payer?

2010-02-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

Models = Stella Dean and Candace Nirvana

For profit health care is immoral. This debate is really not a debate at all. People who oppose Single Payer health care like to pretend that people can take care of themselves. Why should my taxes go to help the poor? Because it does already (ie. Medicare) and its the right thing to do. Have you ever tried to live on $10 an hour? $20? Its not easy. Its not just the poor, its the middle-class who if they have a serious illness end up bankrupt. Why should rich people have to share? Because the same economic system that made them rich punishes poor people (just look at our justice system or education system) and keeps them poor and living in slums.

I could go on and probably will, but for now just think: Why do 44 million people in the richest country in the world have to suffer?

My Web Site

Feed the Homeless

2010-01-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Model = Red Sonia Art

Test shoot for my series "Man's Inhumanity to Man." The theme here is focused on corporate greed. The final image will incorporate a rich bitch with her high-heeled foot on top of the box reading the Wall Street Journal.

My Web Site

Model Sarah

2010-01-06T18:12:00.001-08:00

Model Sarah

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = 200mm

Location = New Albany, Ohio

My Web Site

0 Degrees

2010-01-06T16:15:00.001-08:00

Model Sarah in Columbus, Ohio

My Web Site

Kelsey Dylan

2010-01-01T12:53:00.001-08:00

Model = Kelsey Dylan Model Mayhem Link

Location = New Albany, Ohio

Camera = Nikon D3

Lens = 24-70mm f2.8 afs

My Web Site

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm f2.8 lens test

2009-12-17T23:29:00.000-08:00

Model = Red Sonia Art

And the results are...wonderful tools for use in the craft of photography. The Nikon D3 is what I like to call "a real camera." What I mean to say is it performs and handles at the level of the best cameras ever made. I still think the Nikon F5 handles the best and if you are still shooting film you can pick up a beautiful one on Ebay for under $500. One of my best friends has the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III and we recently shot a cover for National Geographic Books so I was able to compare the cameras side by side. Both cameras make beautiful images and each one does things the other doesn't. After reviewing the images I'm very happy with the D3, the only drawback (as with the Canon) is its size and weight. Advantages for the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III: More pixels, great lenses. Nikon D3: Better color, faster auto focus and frames per second, dual Memory card slots, horizon indicator, easy to navigate menus, ergonomic button layout, great lenses.

Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 afs: Fantastic lens, sharp at every aperture. The physical design of the lens is perfect, smaller than the Canon 24-70mm it is very responsive and the controls all work to perfection.

In conclusion: I'm so happy I stuck with Nikon because when the EOS 1D first came out it was the only game in town. The D3's full frame sensor is a thing of beauty and Nikon's obsession with designing the perfect camera is shared by me enthusiastically. And don't worry about only having 12.1 megapixels, the lower pixel count (as compared to the EOS 1Ds Mk III) allows for larger pixels that capture light more efficiently resulting in better color and low light capability.

My Web Site

Making Money

2009-10-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

If anybody wonders where I've been, this is where I was yesterday. I started out shooting advertising 35 years ago and then got in the film business and then back to photography about 3 years ago. This year has seen my corporate communications company take off with job after job. This still is from a corporate branding campaign that I'm producing and directing. I hope to get back to work on my "Man's Inhumanity to Man" series soon. To all my model friends, thanks for all your patience waiting for your pictures.
Koop

My Web Site

Siam at Sacred Cove

2009-09-28T21:34:00.001-07:00

Model = Siam

What can I say about Siam that the photos don't? I can't help but find beauty in rocks and the human form. Its nice to be around such beauty in an otherwise ugly world (if you read the news.) Siam is an excellent model.

My Web Site

Sacred Cove Deux

2009-09-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

Sacred Cove 1

Sacred Cove Revisited

This is one of my favorite locations, a beautiful cove and bluff in Palos Verdes, CA. The first time I shot there was for my "Inside Red" series and I fell in love. Actually I've been going there for many years but not until recently with a camera and model. My model friend Rebel Smith loves "Sacred Cove 1" and wanted to shoot there (I should not have told her that the other model was scared by the waves). It has been proven to me time and time again that once you get a great shot (Sacred Cove 1) and you try to improve on it you are doomed to fail. I'm always impressed with Rebel's desire to make great art and her doing anything to get it attitude. In "Sacred Cove Revisited" she showed her guts by crouching on top of a sharp slippery rock waiting to get pummeled by the biggest wave of the day. As I have many years of experience with waves I instinctively pressed the shutter release (anticipating the exact timing of the splash) and turned my back to the wave to prevent the camera from getting wet. I got soaked up to my shorts, so I knew Rebel took quite an impact. I turned back to her only to find her clinging to the rock totally soaked and yelling at me "Did you get it?"

My Web Site

The Dominator

2009-09-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

Camera = Mamiya 645af

Lens = 150mm f3.5

Filter = Red 26

Film = T-Max 400 asa

Model = Zinn Star

Location: The Dominator ship wreck
Camera = Mamiya 645af
Lens = 35mm f3.5
Film = Fuji Velvia pro 50

Filter = polarizer

My Web Site

St. Merrique

2009-08-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

St. Merrique

Occasionally I see things through the viewfinder that activate my impulse to press the shutter-release. I was enthralled with Merrique from our first meeting. The connection is a strong one and it shows in the photo. I always have a special appreciation for photos that come out looking exactly like what I saw on the camera's ground glass.

My Web Site

The Wall

2009-08-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

The Wall Revisited

I nearly walked by this location on the way back to the van from shooting at Sacred Cove in Palos Verdes, CA. Lucky for me the model, Rebel Smith, said where's that wall? I stopped and and turned to look at her and there it was. The first model I shot there was scared to stand up because the wind just howls as it comes up the canyon. Rebel being the kind of person who will do anything for a great photo says that when she looks at this photo she thinks of how scared she was up there. I can't thank her enough for being the great collaborator that she is, this pose was entirely her idea.

My Web Site

Art Heart and St. Merrique

2009-08-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

Art Heart and St. Merrique

My Web Site

The Detainee 2

2009-08-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

The horrors of war can only be fully understood by those who have lived through them.

My Web Site

"Man's Inhumanity to Man" Part 1

2009-08-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Detainee 1

From Man was made to Mourn: A Dirge, 1785:

'Many and sharp the num'rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves
Regret, remorse, and shame!
And Man, whose heav'n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn, -
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!'

by Robert Burns

My Web Site

Muse_

2009-07-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

Muse_

My Web Site

The First Roll in my New Camera

2009-07-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

The "New Camera" a Mamiya 645af with 35mm lens

If you find the Ramona Bakery, then you've found my studio.

I started shooting film in 1966-68 and developing and printing in 1970. I bought my first digital camera in 1999. So I have been using film for about 40 years and digital for 10. Each process has it's place as a tool in my craft. Film is how I know how to see, the organic quality of grains of silver halide on celluloid is far superior has a capture medium to the electronic pixel electrons of digital. But I have embraced digital because of its work flow and resolution. Having always shot with large format film I find digital compelling because of its sharpness.

What I don't like about it is the way it handles Black and White. This is the reason for me choosing 2 1/4" TMax 100 asa as my film of choice. The exposure latitude of digital is horrible compared to TMax (I guessing a 5 to 7 stop difference). Digital really suffers in the highlights and shadows. The Ramona Bakery is an example of the beautiful tones available on film.

My Web Site

Death Valley 1

2009-06-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

Homage to Edward Weston and Charis Wilson

Model = Art Heart [link]

Location = Stove Pipe Wells, Death Valley, CA

Exposed on 4/19/09
Camera = Nikon F5
Lens = Nikon 24-120mm
Film = T-Max 100 asa
Filter = Nikon R60 (red)

The Story behind the photo:
Its funny how the little events can help shape your destiny. I'd been to Stove Pipe Wells before and stayed over night in the campground there. I don't have a visual recollection of the sand dunes there, but I had seen many photographs so I knew I had to photograph them. A adventurous model friend was up for a weekend road trip but our first departure date was delayed a month by corporate assignments. I knew this would be the last sane weather opportunity because of the heat. The extra month gave me time to make some last minute changes to my equipment (I bought a Nikon 18-35mm lens), test some film stock, and plan an itinerary. My preparations were nearly complete, I had just finished looking a every photo of the Stove Pipe Wells sand dunes on the internet and decided to do some channel surfing. Ovation TV had a documentary on called "The Eloquent Nude." Its about Charis Wilson, Edward Weston's third wife and photographic muse. I can't tell you how much it affected me and on the eve of a photo adventure that would basically mimic Weston's 1937 trip to Death Valley, my hopes were high that I might make some worthy art.
My Web Site

Standard Widow Light

2009-06-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Model = Kitty Pantera link
My goal is to post a photo a day for till I run out.
My Web Site

Kitty Pantera

2009-06-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

I just love Kitty. Natural light at The Standard Hotel. Camera=Nikon D200 Lens=85mm f1.8
My Web Site

Art Imitates Life

2009-06-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Art Imitates Life
Proposition 8 reverses the right for persons of the same sex to enter into legal marriage in California. Popularly know has the Ban Against Gay Marriage.

This is a story of coincidence, happenstance and my desire to say something more than "look at my pretty pictures." After 35 years of struggle to capture images of women that are more than just record shots I've finally got to a place where I finally feel like I'm saying something.

I have spent much of the last 18 years making documentary films and it is this experience that has influenced me the most in my current work. I have seen devastation, poverty, cruelty, intolerance, death and destruction all in the name of God and Country. I have also interviewed, shot (wish I had a gun, but no just my camera) and seen the inner workings of the people who control our daily lives (that 1% of the population that controls 60% of the wealth.) It has been an eye opening experience. And frankly, it upsets me. These people have no soul and they worship false gods (power, money and the church). I know that I'm preaching to the choir here because these people can't see themselves for what they really are. So this photo is as much about narrow minded, head in the sand people as it is about the people who spent 43 million dollars to take freedom and liberty away from their fellow human beings. One of the saddest parts of this story is how millions of people fell victim to a ad campaign that was full of scare tactics, lies, and manipulation. I don't want to forget the people who live their lives according to their inner feelings, even though it can cause them great shame, humiliation and pain. They are ones that “Art Imitates Life” is for.

I'm not going to get into the specifics of the difference between domestic partnership and marriage, but it is significant in areas of death, taxes, health and freedom. It is downright cruel to deny your fellow citizen's these basic human rights based on religious values. My photograph "This is How Prop 8 Affects Me" illustrates this.

"Lesbian Beauty Queens" started with Miss California. I was watching MSNBC as usual while working on the computer when Perez Hilton showed up in an interview. I was intrigued by the drama unfolding before me, an inarticulate Beauty Queen repeating empty rhetoric to a savvy openly gay blogger. I was fascinated and shocked that even my own mother and sister felt the same way as Miss California. When I explained how cruel and inhuman it is to deny marriage to people who love each other they were shocked that they could feel that way. They are both born again Christens. I was setting up a shoot with Muse_ and we started talking about Miss California and her stupid statements and came up with the concept of "Lesbian Beauty Queens." I bought all the props on ebay, the sashes and tiaras but didn't really think about who would be in the photo with her, in fact I thought it should be two gay men. As chance would have it Rebel Smith showed up on my doorstep the day before I was scheduled to shoot Muse_. It was a great collaboration between the three of us that produced the photo.

"This is how Prop 8 Affects Me" was a total coincidence. I just happened to be in West Hollywood on another shoot when I looked out the window and Sunset Blvd. was shut down. The news helicopters were circling. I could hear chanting coming from around the corner. The sound swelled and suddenly 5,000 people came marching down the street. The crowd's energy was like crack cocaine to the eye as everywhere I looked I saw photo opportunities. The photograph sums up what I saw.

While I'm a realist and I have seen first hand that all humans have the capacity for good and evil, I do believe in the power of images to change opinions and values in the viewer. I view the combination of these two images as editorial on one hand (Art) and reality on the other hand (Life.) My hope is that in this case art imitating life is more art inspiring life and that as human beings we can rise above our prejudices and learned beliefs to embrace the meaning of "All Humans are Created Equal."

John Middelkoop

My Web Site

Univers d'Artistes: First Feature

2009-06-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend David Winge for posting this: UdA First Feature-John Middelkoop

My Web Site

My first post

2009-06-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about writing more about photography as I've always held the view that creativity is not a conscious act, therefore should not be intellectualized. I've been influenced to alter this view because of Charis Wilson. She was Edward Weston's third wife and perhaps most influential model. She wrote a book called "Through Another Lens-My Years with Edward Weston" that has awakened my thought process of how I approach photography.

I taught for 5 years at UCLA Extension and I've held many seminars mostly dealing with filmmaking. So maybe I can help inspire someone, maybe sharing my years of experience will benefit a photographer or two. Its not like I don't self examine my work, I'm very critical of it in fact.

My approach to photography is summed up by this quote from Edward Weston: "I always work better when I do not reason, when no question of right enters in–when my pulse quickens to the form before me without hesitation or calculation." Those of you who have worked with me will understand this. My agent however does not and is always frustrated with my answer to his question "How'd you think of that shot?" to which I always reply "I didn't."

My Web Site