3 YEARS AGO....

3 years ago this month, I traded my KISS electric snowglobe to Kyle MacDonald, for an afternoon with Alice Cooper. I found this Cincinnati news clip that talks about the One Red Paperclip trade.

Married At Last.....

Mark Herrmann and Carrie Gustafson married August 23, 2008.

And check out that Groom's cake. KISS fan?

The BIG Day

This past October, I took my girlfriend Carrie to Gatlinburg, TN. She has never been there before, and she was very excited. We stayed in a nice little cabin in the woods. The second day there, we went up into the mountains to take some pictures. As a photographer, I had my tripod ready. We found a few great locations to take some pictures. On our way out of the mountains, we found a cool creek with some huge rocks. We climbed out onto the rock and set the tripod up. I did two practice runs, to make sure I could hit the timer on the camera and get to Carrie before the picture took. On the third try, I hit the timer, ran over to Carrie, pulled out the ring and got on one knee.(Well, close enough) You can see by the look on her face she was VERY surprised. She said "YES" of course, and the rest is history. The picture turned out great, and everyone who sees it, Loves it. We are getting married in August, and are very excited.

The cabins we stayed in are called Terrace on the Water. Their web site is http://www.terraceontheparkway.com/ Check it out, and tell them Mark from Cinci sent ya.

Capture Cincinnati Photo Contest(You Can Vote)

The Capture Cincinnati Photo Contest is on once again. I have about 60 photos in the contest now. The best part about this contest, YOU get to vote for your favorite photos. The contest runs through Sept. 08, so go to the link below and vote for the photos you like best. You do have to register on the site to vote, but it is FREE.(unless you WANT to send me some money) http://seed.capturecincinnati.com/people/markh75

International Photo Contest

I have this photo in an International Photo Contest. The best part is, YOU can go to the web site and vote. After you vote, be sure to send this link to all your friends so they can also vote. Thanks for your support! http://www.picture.com/voteforme/photovote1.asp?PID=2336460

Capture Cincinnati

If you live in the Cincinnati area, you should check out this new book. Capture Cincinnati is a great book which features photos taken by the people of the area. The book is filled with over 300 photos, and includes a DVD that has 1,500 more photos. It also has a great photo of mine from the Cincinnati Zoo(page 37). You can find it at any local book store, or online at www.capturecincinnati.com

One Red Paperclip "The Book"

Kyle MacDonald's book about his One Red Paperclip adventure, is now in stores. Here is a link to Kyle's site so you can order your copy. http://www.oneredpaperclip.com/ This book will be translated in nine different languages, and shipped around the world. The book will also feature one of my Alice Cooper photos. Very Cool. Be the first one on your block to own this great book. Order yours today.

Hollywood

Hollywood Blvd
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/herrmannspics/.

Well, I have returned to the cold weather of Cincinnati. LA was beautiful, sunny, and warm. The only bad thing about LA is the traffic. I think people sit in traffic for about 2 to 3 hours everyday. Its really not that much fun.

Working on a movie set is great. I met lots of people and made a few contacts for the road ahead. Corbin is a great person and fun to work with. The days were long, mostly 12 hours days. I think I shot about 1000 photos for the movie Donna On Demand. I will post a few next week. Click on the photo above to see more photos of Hollywood and LA.

DONNA ON DEMAND

Happy New Year to all!

In February, I'll be flying out to California, to work with Corbin Bernsen(the proud owner of my electric KISS snow globe) on his new movie Donna On Demand. I will be the Set Photographer, shooting Stills(photos) for the movie. Corbin is the CEO/President of Public Media Works. To read more about Donna on Demand and other movies from Public Media Works, visit http://www.publicmediaworks.com/

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

I wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I am making plans to hang out with Alice Cooper on tour next year. Be sure to visit again to see all the pictures. I just bought a new Nikon digital camera. I can't wait to use it.

MY NEXT TRADE

The next trade I am looking for, is an afternoon with Gene Simmons of KISS. I have been a KISS fan for a long time. When I was 4, I got a KISS toy guitar for Christmas. I still have it. My apartment looks like a KISS museum. Every wall is covered. The afternoon with Alice Cooper was great. Alice was a huge influence on KISS. I know it sounds strange, but KISS has been a big influence on my life. Now I want to meet the legend in person. Being a photographer, this would be a great concert to shoot. If anyone knows Gene, or knows someone who has contact with Gene, please contact me. redkiss197555@hotmail.com I am willing to trade ANYTHING. Maybe an Alice Cooper snow globe will work for this trade.

THE BIG PARTY!!!!

Hey Everyone, I hope you have made plans to be at Kyle's HUGE house warming party on Labor Day weekend. There will be people from around the world at this party. Yes, I will be there. I will be flying into town on Friday night Sept. 1st. I have been talking to Corbin Bernsen. He will also be at the party. For more info on the party, go to www.oneredpaperclip.com. To see my photos, go to "Links" on the right.

Photos For Sale

Thanks to everyone who has been checking out my photos. 5,462 views so far. I was thinking of selling 8x10 prints of my photos at Kyle's BIG housewarming party on Labor Day weekend. www.oneredpaperclip.com Just want to see if anyone is interested first. If you are going to be at the party, and are interested in buying photos, leave me a comment at the end of this entry. Photo link- http://www.flickr.com/photos/herrmannspics Thanks, Mark redkiss197555@hotmail.com

Alice Cooper Painting

The artist of the painting that Alice Cooper gave me is Jason Bogart. To see this and other paintings by Jason, go to www.thebogartshow.com This guy has a unique imagination.

Alice Cooper Photos

I'm starting to get my photos on the site. There will be many more to come in the next few days. Be sure to check back. Go to.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/herrmannspics

Update

http://www.flickr.com/photos/herrmannspics I'm Finished with the photos. Now I'm downloading them to my computer. It's a very slow computer. Hopefully it won't take that long. I have been invited to hang out with Alice this Thurs. 20th in Dayton, OH. Look for me in the photo pit and at the Meet & Greet after the show. redkiss197555@hotmail.com

HERRMANN MEETS COOPER

First, I would like to say a Very Special Thank You to Alice, Shep, Toby, Calico, and the rest of the band and crew. They were all very friendly and treated me like I was a member of the family.

So how long IS an afternoon with Alice Cooper? A little over ten hours.

I met Alice at the hotel around 2:30pm. We sat in the lobby for about ten minutes waiting on our ride to the mall. That's right, we went shopping. Alice took me on a quick tour of his bus while we were waiting and got his hat. He put his hair up under his hat to disguise himself from other people. It worked...not really. Calico(Alice's daughter) went shopping as well. And yes guys, she IS beautiful.

As we walked through the mall, I was waiting for a mob of fans to surround us. It never happened. A few people here and there came up for a picture or autograph. Alice was more than happy to do both. The girls were hungry, so they went up to the food court. Alice needed a new pair of pants for the show that night, so we kept shopping. We finally found them. I found a cool shirt for myself. When we were in line to pay, he grabbed the shirt and paid for it along with his pants. Yes, Alice bought my shirt for me. The little teenage girl(not knowing who Alice Cooper was) asked to see his I.D. with the credit card. I thought that was pretty funny. We talked about everything. Old albums, new albums in the works, golf, the shows, my photography, everything. He even talked about some personal things. Things you wouldn't think you would talk about after knowing someone for only an hour. He was very open, and you could tell he was very proud of all he has accomplished. We met Calico and her friend at the car and went back to the hotel.

Alice had a radio interview at 4:30. I hung out with Calico while she got her things together for the show that night. I drove her to the venue while Alice was doing the interview. She took me on a tour around the place. I saw all the props and learned how they work. NOT TELLING!! I met the rest of the band in a back room and had dinner with them. They were all very friendly and wanted to know how I made the trade with a snow globe. After dinner, I had about two hours to roam around until the show started.

I had my ALL ACCESS pass and my PHOTO PASS, I was ready. I was in the photo pit, right in front of the stage. The usual time allowed to shoot, is the first three songs. I was up there the entire show. I think I used about nine rolls of film. The show was GREAT!! I was in front of the front row. Alice kicked ass and rocked the audience with his music and stage show. Everyone had a blast.

Afterwards, Alice came back to the room where we had dinner. A few of his close friends were there. He signed autographs and took pictures with everyone. When it was my turn, he said he had something for me. He came over with a painting that he had hanging in his bus. (see above photo)It was very cool. To personally get something that belonged to Alice Cooper was awesome. He signed the frame and a few other things for me. Then he was going over to see the fans at the meet & greet. By that time, it was around 11:30pm. I was tired and I had a two hour drive home. Alice told me that I have an open invitation to come back and see him whenever I wanted. I asked him about the July 20th show in Dayton, OH. He said to come on down. Another afternoon with Alice Cooper. Will the ride ever end? I hope not.

As far as my pictures go, I am in the process of developing them now. Give me a few days to get them organized and downloaded to my site. I won't put all nine rolls on. Just a few of the good ones. I'm not sure if I will be selling them right now. I think I will give a few of them away to all of you, the fans. The people who have been by Alice's side through the good times and bad. We ALL deserve an afternoon with Alice. For now, I can give you some great photos. But, you might have to help me in return.....

The BEST part about this whole experience, I made a few new friends.

the BIG day!!!!!!

The BIG day is finally here. The day I/We have been waiting for. I will be hanging out with Alice Cooper in Columbus, OH this Sat. the 8th. I can't give you all the details now, but check back next Tues or Wed for the full story. I will be photographing the concert, so look for me down by the stage. Actually, anything could happen, so look for me on the stage as well. I will also be at the meet & greet after the concert. Stop by and say Hi if you see me. If you get a picture of you and me together, email it to me at redkiss197555@hotmail.com and I will post it on my site. If you haven't done so already, go out and get Alice's new album DIRTY DIAMONDS. This album KICKS ASS!!!!

MORE THAN MUSIC..........

First, a quick update about the Alice Cooper meeting. I talked to Alice's manager the other day. He said Alice will be back from touring in Europe at the end of June, then they will contact me about the meet. Check back for more updates.

To answer a question many people have asked me, YES, I do have other interests besides concert photography. I spend a lot of time at the Cincinnati Zoo. It is a beautiful place that should be on your "to do" list when you are in Cinci. The wolves and gorillas are my favorite subjects there. They seem to understand the term "posing for a picture". Maybe they are smarter than we think. Growing up, I had a love for trains. I had a big train set when I was young, and as a teen I worked at a train museum restoring old cars and locomotives. It didn't pay anything, but it was a lot of fun. So my box of train pictures is overflowing. I really have no limits to my pictures. If I see something that would make a good picture, I'll take it.
I have posted many new pictures. There are also some pictures of Bret Michaels of Poison that I shot last summer. To see them click on the flashing pictures at the top right. Take care. redkiss197555@hotmail.com

Update May 31

Thanks to all who have visited my site. Please leave comments if you like. Good or bad. I think there are a lot of mixed feelings about the trade. A KISS snow globe for an afternoon with Alice Cooper? It DOES sound crazy, but I have a good feeling that this will lead to something amazing.
Alice will be on tour out of the country until the end of June. Its my guess, that this is when we will have our afternoon. I will let you know when I get more info.
Many people have send questions to me by email. They want to know how I got started in photography, and if I have any influences. I think I was born with a camera in my hand. Every summer, my family would take a vacation to different parts of the country. I ALWAYS had my camera. It was just a little 35mm camera, nothing fancy. I would be crouched down behind walls or climbing a fence to get different angles. I'm sure my parents thought I was a little weird. I really didn't know what I was doing. I just enjoyed taking photos.
As I got older, I started taking my camera to concerts. By now, I had a zoom lens camera. I would get to the venue before the doors opened, so I could get down front by the stage. During the concert, I would stand there with the camera to my face, waiting for a good shot. I think I made a lot of people mad by doing this. They were all jumping around, and I was trying to stand still. Over the years I got some good shots. Later,I found an easy way to meet the bands, and I got them to autograph the photos.
Now I have a great camera. I came up with a way to sneak the camera into the concerts. In most cases, the venues don't mind cameras in general, however, they don't want "pro" cameras in the building. I have to hide from security and other workers so I don't get my camera taken away. So far I have been pretty lucky. The last concert was KISS. I used ten rolls of film in two hours. I was in the sixth row from the stage. Its hard to get good shots through five rows of arms in the air and dodging security. Overall, I was very pleased. I am in the process of posting them now. Click on the flashing pictures at the top to see them.
As far as influences go, I really didn't see someone's photos and decided to be a photographer. It just happened naturally. I DO have two photographers that I admire greatly, and would someday like to be on the same professional level. They are Barry Levine, and Warning Abbott. They have worked with many bands since the Seventies. One of the biggest is KISS. Yes I know, everything is KISS with me. Hey, I've been a fan since I was four. Anyway, they have had the pleasure of touring with KISS through the years, and getting great photos on and off stage. Maybe they would like an apprentice. Be sure to check out their books at your local store. My goal is to make some contacts with Alice Cooper's manager and do some photography for them and other bands. The sky's the limit.

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING....

Hey, no laughing. I know the photo is a little cheesy, but it does the job.
Thanks to Kyle MacDonald at oneredpaperclip.com, for the opportunity to spend an afternoon with rock legend Alice Cooper. alicecooper.com No doubt, this will be a day I will NEVER forget.
So, you want the story behind the KISS snow globe. Besides being a huge Alice Cooper fan, I am also a photographer. My main interest is concert photography. Over the past two years, I've found out that it is hard to get a photo pass for concerts. I contacted record companies through phone calls and email. Usually, they don't want to bother with you unless you are working for a magazine or newspaper. Magazines and newspapers won't hire you unless you have experience. Its a no win situation.
One day on the way to work, I caught the end of Kyle's interview on the Bob and Tom Show. When he said he was trading for an afternoon with Alice Cooper, I knew immediately that this could be my ticket to a career in the photography business. I thought of things all day that I could trade. I didn't know if Kyle was looking for value or a good trade to keep people on their toes. Then, I thought of my cool KISS snow globe. It's electric, and has a fan in the bottom to keep the snow/glitter spinning. The colors are constantly changing through the guitar and KISS logo inside. Who wouldn't want one!
I sent Kyle an email with some picture. A few days later I called to make sure he received the email. My five minute call quickly turned into a two hour conversation. He seemed to like the snow globe from the beginning.
Now it is Wednesday night. I have so much energy, I know I won't sleep at all tonight. Can you imagine spending the afternoon with Alice Cooper. I'm prepared for anything and everything.
Since this site is new, I don't have many photos to post right now. Keep checking back for the photos of Alice Cooper. If you have any connections with other bands that need a photographer, please let me know. Again, I have many plans, so keep checking back for new developments.

Take care and thanks again for visiting my site. Sincerely, Mark redkiss197555@hotmail.com

MY FIRST CONCERT

The first concert(that I didn't have to sneak my camera into) was Black Label Society. Zakk Wylde, as you may know, has been with Ozzy Osbourne for many years now. He is one of the best guitar players in the world. He gives nothing less than 120% during his concerts. If you haven't seen Black Label Society yet, make plans to do so.
I made several calls and emails to the record company. Finally, I was able to obtain a photo pass for the concert. Actually, there were two concerts. One in Columbus, OH, and the second in Cincinnati, OH. If I remember correctly, they were both sold out.
This was IT! I was up front between the stage and security fence. There were a few other photographers at both concerts. They were hired through music magazines. Generally, the pass is good for the first three songs. After that, you have to go to the back. In Cincinnati, the fans were packed in so tight, I was trapped. Luckily, the security guys let me stay up front for the entire concert. I think I used about twelve rolls of film between the two concerts. Needless to say, I got some great shots. I will be posting more photos in the future. I will probably be selling them on eBay or something similar. Check back for more info.