GerenM
musician — photographer — human
Music…
I’ve been a musician and sound engineer for much of my life. Not counting the toy piano I received for my third Christmas, I started by playing clarinet and piano in elementary school — first classical, then jazz, and then a little rock. And then in 1983, I injured my right hand, and stopped playing. But I never gave up on live sound and recording. It was anticipated that my hand would never heal correctly, but I eventually found that I could use it completely normally. I figured — correctly — that I’d be able to play keyboards again, and immediately purchased a used Yamaha CP35 from a friend. I’ve not looked back!
Over the years, I’ve had a number of wonderful keyboards and a wide variety of musical gear, some of which I wish I still owned and some of which is documented through the various posts and pages of this site. However, as I’ve gotten older I’ve found it better to reduce and refine the gear I keep and carry.
Recently, I’ve had the occasion to reevaluate my musical path, and came to the startling realization that somewhere along the lines, I’d unconsciously lost my way (see more about that in my post “Five Years Gone“). I had forgotten what had fascinated and excited me about music in the first place. That influence was not classical or jazz or rock and roll. It was not Mozart or Bach or Tchaikovsky or Liszt. It was not Brubeck or Peterson or Ponty or Ritenour. It was not Emerson or Scholz or Jones or Lord. Instead, it was the soundscapes created by the likes of Wendy Carlos and Suzanne Ciani and Brian Eno and Tomita and John Cage through the use of electronic synthesizers and other means. The outcome of this realization, as well as a second injury to my right arm and wrist, is that I’ve “retired” from playing keyboards in area bands, and I have instead redirected my energy toward pursuing my original musical passion.
If you’re curious, you can read about the Music Gear in the Disaster Room Studio. There are rather a lot of goodies listed.
Photography…
I’ve also been a photographer for most of my life, beginning my photographic “career” by using my father’s Baby Rolleiflex 4×4 twin lens reflex camera. Over the years, I’ve used a variety of cameras, both film and digital, from (in no particular order) Rolleiflex, Polaroid, Mamiya, Yashica, Konica, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, Sony, and Fujifilm. Now, I use a Sony a6100 mirrorless compact digital camera, along with a Canon G7 X mkII, a Sony RX100 mkIII, and a Fujifilm X10 to capture my digital images. If you’re interested you can see my complete list of photo gear, and some of my photography has been grouped into various galleries here on the site.
While my photographic influences are wide and varied, I’ve been most recently inspired by photographic artists Tony Sweet, Karen Messick, and Rick Sammon, as well as past masters such as Irving Penn, Edward Weston, and William Mortensen (no relation). Much of the newer work on this site reflects this inspiration. The various galleries feature collections of my favorite photographs, and will be updated periodically.
I welcome all kinds of visually interesting photographic assignments, including creative, environmental, glamour, and boudoir portraiture; music, dance and performance photography; real estate photography; traditional commercial, event, and product photography; and imagery for museum and gallery displays.
Writing…
The blog, now referred to as Words, has existed in some form or another since sometime in the ’90s. Pretty much anything not directly relating to photography or music goes there. Photo- and Music-related content can be found under the appropriate tabs above. Some of the content from previous iterations of gerenm.net, especially the posts and pages that related specifically to photography and music, remain, but most of the old general posts were deleted long ago. Some of the old posts that still remain will appear almost exactly as they did originally, while others will be edited or abridged, and some may be missing links to pictures.
Professional Life…
Those interested in my professional life can see a snapshot of the last twenty-plus years by viewing a recent version of my professional resume, which focuses closely on my “second life” in video and audio production, engineering, sales and consulting.
If you would like to get in contact, click over to the Contact page, where there’s a nice little form for any inquiries, comments, or suggestions.