Ken Hada

January 18, 2020January 18, 2020

Desire at NAMM 2020 exists, street photography gallery

Desire at NAMM 2020 exists. In fact, NAMM is brimming with passion. And there are many levels of desire at NAMM.

The NAMM show contains people who desire to be finished with their music business. And, there is a larger amount of people who have a curiosity about music. In essence, this is the NAMM phenomenon. And it all circles back to desire.

There are many levels of desire at the show. First the musicians

The NAMM show contains people who want to become better musicians and others who desire fame. And musicians who used to be famous who now desire recognition. Also, people who desire musical friendships. And some go to NAMM to keep up with old friends.

The business people

There are people who desire money from selling musical instruments. And, companies who desire the creation of new instruments. And, people who use the show to get away from their normal jobs. What happens at NAMM stays at NAMM. And now onto the pictures.

I shot these pictures in a Daido Moriyama street photography style with a fuji camera and my iPhone. My intent was to capture desire within the photographs. To walk and point my camera at people pursuing their “desire”.

October 26, 2019October 27, 2019

The End of Film Photography, an analog exploration

The end of film reminds me that there are ideas hidden in everything. To start, I recently created an Instagram account called the end of film or in the Instagram language @thendofilm. This all came about from a summer chore. And that chore was the archiving of old 35mm film negatives. Something I did over the summer in 2019. So how could a chore spark an idea?

During this chore, I found these half-pictures in just about every roll of film. In fact, the truncated photo occurs near the start of the film. And most times it would cut the image in half. And at first, these defective frames seemed useless. I thought these little imperfect images were sad. Because there was this possibly perfect picture cut in half. But sometimes the meaning of things change.

Soon I was collecting these unusual snippets of film. Because I began to find them interesting. I thought they showed potential instead of failure. The blown-out part of the film represented what could have been. At certain times the bright part of the film sort of looked like a gateway.

The end of film or this place where light washes away reality can be a fun concept to explore.

I look at these images and wonder what happened before everything went white. The gateway can represent a beginning or an end.

Is the blown-out area a jumping-off point for time travel?

Is the blown-out area space where time does not exist? And when the white fades into a legible picture is that the threshold where time begins? Or did I spend too much time on Inner Space when I was young?

In the end, this place where the machine starts or stops becomes an interesting place to explore. Check out my end of film pictures on my Instagram account @thendofilm

Scan this nametag on Instagram to follow thendofilm

How to scan a nametag on Instagram

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019

Ric Ocasek of The Cars death

I first heard Ric Ocasek of The Cars in 1979 over a console stereo in La Palma California. I was a 15-year-old drummer. And jamming with a young guitar player. In fact, either Mike Stevens or Luis Oliver was there too. Eventually, I bought The Cars record. Their music taught me about rock n roll. I still listen to the Cars. Their songs never got old to me. RIP, Ric Ocasek.

August 31, 2019August 31, 2019

I LIKE FILM AGAIN, lets explore analog again

I like film again. And I want to share my analog exploration with you. In fact, I used to (40 years ago) work in photography during the days of analog. And eventually (like everyone else) began shooting digital.

A few years back I took some photo classes. And this process brought me back to analog. Working with analog photography helped changed my entire photographic approach.

First I was reluctant to get back in the darkroom. And for a few years, I asked experts if they thought it was worth doing. In fact all of the experts agreed. Analog was an important component of all photography.

Of course, this took quite some time to happen. After rolls of film I began to see results. And not just 35mm, also 120mm and 4×5. As you may already know path is not cheap.

If you would like to see how the analog process affected my photography check out my skateboarding account on Instagram.

So if you are looking to improve your photos. Or maybe you have writer’s block? Then film, might be a good thing for your art.

July 9, 2019July 9, 2019

Does Disneyland Star Wars Land go to the Darkside?

Does Disneyland Star Wars Land go to the Darkside? Well, it did not do it for me or my 12-year-old son. In anticipation of visiting the new Star Wars land, I was hoping to have that Pirates of the Caribbean feeling. You know, when you emerge from the cave and see the pirate ship battling the fort? I’m sorry to say it didn’t happen for Apollo (my son) or me.

So what do I remember from my first visit to the new Star Wars land? Disney workers sweeping the ground while wearing Star Wars costumes. All kinds of food that seemed to be both familiar and from outer space, but did not hit the mark for my taste buds. And finally the ever ending opportunity to purchase Star Wars objects.

Why did Star Wars Land not appeal to me? It did not contain the spirit of Star Wars. And It seemed more geared for the parents than the kids. Finally it was so obviously not made by Walt Disney.

Would I visit Galaxy’s Edge again? Maybe to take pictures. And to give it a second chance. After all I was raised on Disneyland and Star Wars.

June 29, 2019June 29, 2019

Skateboard photographer Ray Zimmerman podcast

Skateboard photographer Ray Zimmerman is a misleading title, because Ray is photographer. In the first place he has made his living as a photographer his entire life. In the second place just have a look at his photography.

I first met Ray Zimmerman at Punkers pool ( a boutique made for skateboarding backyard pool) in Huntington Beach. I was shooting an add for someone (cant remember who). When I showed up to the pool there was Ray Zimmerman shooting. I froze in my tracks. I did not feel worthy. He said a friendly hello and said dont worry Ill be done in a few minutes. And after his shoot he came over to me and started to talk photography. He even showed me a flash hack that changed my photography. After this chance meeting with Ray my skateboard photography approach changed forever.

I had a long chat with Ray at the last Girls Combi Contest. And I asked him to do a podcast with me. I hope you get something out of our photography conversation that you can use in your own photography.

Skateboard Photographer Ray Zimmerman podcast

If you like skateboarding you might also check out my podcasts with

March 2, 2019March 2, 2019

The song “Home” Lyric Video

Home Lyric Video

Joey Grijalva and I wrote the song “Home” in 1992. The song lived on the album also named “Home” by our band Shoot The Moon. In fact Joey Grijalva and I wrote the entire Home album in a single evening.

If you owned a home studio in 1992 you could make a recording like this.

The Musicians

The musicians on Home are as follows, Joey Grijalva on guitars and vocals, Ken Hada, drums, keyboards, and backing vocals, John Horne Bass, and Julie Van Duren on backing vocals.

Joey Grijalva used a Carvin DC 135 through a Korg A3 for most of the rhythm guitar parts

John Horne used a Tobias Killer B bass plugged directly into the Studiomaster.

Ken Hada (me) used a Slingerland Maple drumset, with a DW wood snare drum. Ken hada used an assortment of Zildjian and Paiste cymbals.

For more information about how Shoot The Moon recorded their songs check out the Moon Studio section of this website.