inspiration: the ballet dancer misty copeland and photographer inez van lamsweerde

abt soloist misty copeland, as photographed by inez van lamsweerde for w magazine (december 2009)

***

as misty copeland and matthew prescott finished their performance of "falling" --choreographed by mr. prescott himself--at tonight's DRA benefit, my sister leaned toward me and whispered, "she is a gorgeous dancer."

impossible to disagree. (honestly, we could have been talking about her legs alone. amazing.)

when you have an opportunity to see her dance up close, as we could at the cedar lake theater, you'll notice she's even lighter, her muscles more precise than in any photos you'll see online. the gentle hyperextension in her knees deepens the drama of her leg action. but the extension through her whole upper body is just as exquisite. she doesn't do "bravado" or big ballet gestures (to be fair, the choreography didn't call for it, but still)...she just entrances you.

there are no high-quality, extended videos of "falling" (though there was a video crew at tonight's performance, so perhaps in the coming weeks, the dra will post one) but if you'd like to see a very short clip, start at the :22...

hear a little song: before you go

the back story here is that i was looking for some good wednesday night programming and turned to TCM. winona ryder (looking lovely but sounding awfully nervous) was the evening's co-host. she chose for our viewing pleasure a "screwball twist on snow white and the seven dwarfs"-- a film called "balls of fire." gary cooper plays a professor working on an encyclopedia, barbara stanwyck is the stripper who teaches him all about slang. and: there's an appearance by gene krupa. sounds like a winner, yes?

i wound up having to record the film, so can't provide a critique at the moment.

but this video tribute preceded the 10pm showing, and i thought it was quite a nice remembrance:



another version of the pretty song:

inspiration: the holiday edition

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”

(with apologies to ts eliot)

Scout Regalia Reel 02: Gingerbread Geodesic Dome from Scout Regalia on Vimeo.

(and will there indeed be time to make this for christmas?!)

hat tip to sister for the link, and scout regalia for the cheer and inspiration

inspiration: artessen

(a last bit of inspiration, from artessen.com)

inspiration: magnum, sport

i'm not a huge fan of soccer/football, but i fall for the idea of it every time i watch this--it can't be embedded, so click here for the video.

the marriage of visuals to the soundtrack (those the terrific rhythms, the play by play) elevates it beyond a mere "promo" piece, and it showcases how stills, properly edited, can have as much impact as live-action (i can't seem to convince a few producers i work with of this).

anyway, i come back to this again and again.
hope you like it, too.

***

here are few stills from the magnum photographers whose work is featured in the spot:

AFGHANISTAN. June 2006. Playing football in an empty swimming pool on a hill surrounding Kabul.

Copyright

Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum Photos

GB. ENGLAND. Liverpool. A street off Scotland Road. September 1986.

Copyright

Peter Marlow/Magnum Photos

CONGO. Brazzaville. March 5th. From left to right the French sound engineer Charles CARATINI, the Italian drummer Aldo ROMANO, and the French bassist Henri TEXIER and saxophonist Louis SCLAVIS.

Copyright

Guy Le Querrec/Magnum Photos

the dream of spring and summer

and...

the park at versailles

may 20, 2011

inspiration: the king

ah ha! i knew if i trolled the internet long enough i'd find my favorite version of this song (on disc 5 of the 50s masters). elvis is one of my favorite dancers of all time--i'll take his cool shimmy over gene kelly's happy tapping any day of the week. too bad there aren't any videos (that i can find so far) of him performing this one.

in my experience, this provides a great soundtrack for all the things you don't want to do around the house (dusting, mopping, dusting). chores go a lot quicker when you're dancing. unless you dance too much. then it takes all day...

enjoy

"take charge..."and "hope"

by christine wong yap

"take charge of your happiness" 2011. ribbon, thread, pins. 83 x 2 inches.

"hopexpectation" 2011. ribbon, thread, pins. 101 x 18 inches.

at the jenkins johnson gallery

521 west 26th street, 5th floor

ny, ny

***

and, please check out my friend, sonya sklaroff's paintings on the site too:

inspiration: paolo pellegrin

the deep, dark colors match my mood, but make it better.



see more of his work here...

inspiration: mfw at the IW/todd hido

2027b

i've recently converted another smart cookie to maximum favorite writer's camp. my cousin, jenny, declared herself officially to me, to my deep delight. she likes tennis, but obviously she already understands you don't need to be tennis-obsessed to appreciate his work. she just likes his writing. she called it relatable.

for me there is always something (a few somethings) in his posts, a phrase or image that will linger. there is one in particular that i relate to (and love) from the notebook post this week, on the view from the skies:

I’ve always liked looking out the windows of a plane; somehow the long view relaxes me, and this trip offered mostly cloudless, unimpeded views of the United States. I’ll never get enough of the sight of the lights of small cities dotting the countryside at night. There’s something warming about them, about the way they stick outside in the darkness, against the darkness. Like snowflakes and Grateful Dead shows, no two are exactly the same. Looking at them pass by slowly, I think, What can possibly be going wrong there, in that safe spot where people have decided to gather?

i am afraid of heights and flying--i actually cried the first time i got on a plane by myself, and believe me i was "old enough--but while actually aloft, i do love the marks of the land by day and the twinkling at night. it can be hard to explain to those who are unafraid, and to those who are upended by flying. he describes it simply, clearly and beautifully.

***

his line: what can possibly be going wrong there, in that safe spot where people have decided to gather? reminded me of some of the work of a favorite photographer of mine, todd hido.

he explores that idea-- from street level and from an outsider's point of view--with a series called "homes at night." unlike the dreamy, warm view from the plane, his series can suggest something disquieting, or at least not entirely....easy.

i've only selected a few here.

the night glow here is lonely and haunting. i think they are stunning.

he uses film, which allows for long exposures...you cannot capture this light with digital (except in photoshop).

2690

1862

2523

all images by todd hido, which you can find at toddhido.com

check out the landscapes, please.

inspiration: goings on about town

a floating screening, part of the rooftop films series. august 29, 2005. photo by sylvia plachy via thenewyorker.com

every week, when the new yorker arrives in the mail, the first thing i look at is...

the critics section. but the second thing i look at is the photo that opens the "goings on about town" section. and i admire. and dream...

elisabeth biondi, who has been the "visuals editor" since 1996, a couple of years after photography first started appearing in the magazine, is leaving to pursue curatorial projects.

the new yorker put together a tribute and slideshow, highlighting her favorites. i haven't pulled together my actual new yorker favorites yet (that should be a fun exercise) but i have loved sylvia plachy's work...and her book's been on my wish list for a while. have a look at the small selection here.

i'll leave you with these tonight...

“Jomama Jones * Radiate,”/Daniel Alexander Jones. photographed by Lisa Kereszi. via the newyorker.com

“new york city, 1953,” by elliott erwitt’s, which was part of a wonderful exhibition that i actually caught at the edwynn houk gallery a couple of years ago.via the newyorker.com

this one is for my sister...

carla bruni and comtesse jacqueline de ribes, in venice, italy. photo by jean pigozzi. 1991. via the newyorker.com

inspiration: kertész "on reading"

on view now through february 13, 2011 at the carnegie museum of art in pittsburgh is a collection of 100 photographs by andré kertész (a photographer less well-known than, but highly esteemed by, the likes of henri cartier-bresson, robert capa, and brassaï) devoted to the pleasure of reading.

hungarian born kertész was the son of a bookseller, with a deep interest in poetry --he was drawn to these public, yet intimate moments throughout his career.

as so many drift (surge?) toward e-readers, it could well be that these snapshots take on even greater appeal. they celebrate the romance, not just of reading, but of the books and newspapers themselves.

hope you like them.

greenwich village, new york (woman on rooftop reading), may 30, 1962.

andré kertész, american, b. austria-hungary, 1894-1985.

gelatin silver print © courtesy estate of andré kertész/higher pictures 2007

carnival, paris (woman reading behind stage), 1926.

andré kertész, american, b. austria-hungary, 1894-1985.

gelatin silver print © courtesy estate of andré kertész/higher pictures 2007

new york (boy eating ice cream on a pile of newspapers), october 12, 1944.

andré kertész, american, b. austria-hungary, 1894-1985;

gelatin silver print © courtesy estate of andré kertész/higher pictures 2007

***

more on the exhibit here

if you can't make it there this winter, you can buy the book...

inspiration: eve arnold

i thought i would have a photo job tonight, shooting an event for a volunteer group that my friend works with, so last night i got everything together: recharged all the batteries, cleaned the lenses on both canons, freed up the memory on my cards, etc.

then i emailed my friend to get the last minute shot list and realized the job is for next thursday.

somebody needs to start taking her vitamins.

***
and somebody always needs a little inspiration:

"If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given.

It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument."

image via copula studio

eve arnold photo via http://www.cursumperficio.net/1956.html

if you have a few minutes, watch magnum's photo essay, she narrates the slideshow and has a few interesting stories about her most famous subjects (especially marilyn monroe and joan crawford)...

happy thursday, the 11th.

market seen: m quan

michele quan was one of my favorite models.

michele quan, 1987 © Deborah Feingold/Corbis

and then she pursued a career as a jewelry maker (i may always wish i'd invested in a particular 18k gold ring with a cascade of yellow sapphires that she, as part of me and ro, made.)

now independent of that collaboration, she is an artist (in a broader sense). her work has a spirit that i like very much. not sure there's much more to explain, except that it gives me a lift.

so you can imagine how excited i was to see her at the union square market on my way to work.

she still has the coolest hair....

photos of michele quan at union square @ anita aguilar

see fine pictures: bon jour...mlle. seberg

from bon jour tristesse...a super-stylish but otherwise mediocre melodrama.

photographed by the famed hollywood photographer, bob willoughby...

another bob willoughby shot from bjt...i love the light here. classic.

a favorite from breathless (which i actually only know from stills).

cousin joey calls her "mesmerizing" in breathless. this shot is his favorite.

inspiration: etcetera

on a monday, a couple of weeks ago, my sister came over to my apartment for coffee and snacks and some good relaxing sister time.

it wasn't even my birthday, but she surprised me with a present--this beautiful book, etcetera: creating beautiful interiors with things you love by sibella court.

as a design resource, the message is pretty simple:

embrace the things you love

treasure the things you have

don't be afraid of change

it encourages the practice of collecting (anything that inspires you, from shells to ceramics, or fabrics or prints or paintbrushes) and displaying your obsessions--even as they evolve. they will come to define your style and make your home more inviting because, ideally, they will reflect you...

my two favorite things about the book:

the emphasis on pre-loved things...

(what percentage am i sentimental? 85 % 98%? i don't know, but it's high--which perhaps explains why i'm not driven to shop and am mostly uninterested in "collectibles" but manage to have a lot of STUFF. my favorite things are books, art, photos, jewelry--some were gifts or items i've picked up on a trip, though these days photos are my souvenirs. i am working on doing a little recycling and re-gifting, you know, to let go a little bit, but as ms. court notes in the book--there are some things that should be treasured. i like the idea of vintage, but don't need many more things, especially other people's things. pre-loved sounds more personal--i like that idea very much.)

and: the photographs, taken by the author's brother, chris court (it's officially one of my dreams to collaborate on a book project like this). as you'll see below--the light and focus are soft and beautiful. his shots are 1000% inspiring...

all photos in this post by chris court...

this book will remain one of my personal treasures in part because it's gorgeous, in idea and execution...

but mostly because i will remember that on a monday, my sister came over to my apartment for coffee and snacks and some good relaxing sister time.

it wasn't even my birthday, but she surprised me with a present...

inspiration: sky and summer

via a desert rat:

Local Natives "World News" from Monte Lomax on Vimeo.

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

the sky...

a red camera at its brightest.

the cameramen i know don't love this cam for "talkies" or documentaries, but it's looking pretty good for music videos...

(between you and me, i would change what the boys are wearing. but it's what the cool kids dig these days...)

inspiration: "so lonely, so pretty, such a lack of diplomacy"

last summer i confessed my adoration for this phoenix song. it takes me a while to warm up to new stuff (working right now to decide how i feel about david byrne's imelda marcos record...) but once something takes hold i take a long time to let go. the lisztomania CD is still in heavy rotation, but the other song that i listen to repeatedly on days like today: lasso.

don't you know

don't do it

what you do

oh what you do to me

forever is a long long time

when you've lost your way

could you run into

could you run into

could you go and run into me

anyway-- i wanted to post a video but i don't think there is an official one.

so i thought, let me find a photo...too obvious to pick someone with a...lasso. but i started thinking about cowboys...

and i remember my cousin has a wonderful photo of a guy in a cowboy hat on his site.

it doesn't really match the up vibe of the song, but i wanted to share:

i hadn't looked at his portfolio in a while, though it is permalinked on my sidebar under "visual inspiration." i had forgotten how much i love his eye and his rendition of color. he has some new shots that i think are just beautiful...

have a look at matiasaguilar.com--i hope you'll appreciate the visual journey as i do.

inspiration: the tilt-shift

handsome writer friend is particularly gifted at creating intimacy through his writing. i could be having "a day," be in "a mood", or stuck somewhere (like port atrocity) with chaos swirling all around me, and within a minute or two of reading his work, i am quieted and the rest of the world just falls away...i tried to describe it to him once-- "it's like in west side story, when maria and tony meet at the dance...."



i know--it's a cornball comparison. i kinda can't believe i said it--and that he's still talking to me. but i think he understood what i meant, or at least, that i meant it most earnestly as a compliment.

but i've been thinking about it a lot lately--and it's been cracking me up--because a few friends of mine have become enamored of "tilt shift photography," a technique that alters the depth of field and perspective to interesting effect, including the rendering of "minis" like this...

mini eiffel, via smashing magazine and flickr

neat? but best if used judiciously...

but i really like its application to sports photography, which vincent laforet has mastered (and this is where it sort of reminds me of tony and maria at the dance). it creates a specific focus for the viewer--as he explains it, in a typical sports photograph, there can be a lot going on...on-field action, crowd reaction, all of which can make for a compelling photo. but this tilt-shift allows him to direct the attention toward what he wants to emphasize. again, maybe not something you want to see all the time, but still fun and dramatic.

i like the blur and the clouds of light...

i love that he found the guy in blue in the foreground

what do you think?

more minis via smashing magazine here.
and more vincent laforet...

inspiration: pin-ups

do you have an inspiration board?

i've been living in my apartment for almost 3 years. it's mostly furnished, but the walls are mostly unadorned. i just haven't had the resources to invest or commit to enough "real" art, not yet. but i've started to build a (temporary) collage on one of them--the one that i consider the "studio" wall-- with images that, apart from being pretty, are a reminder of the ways to use light and shadow to greater effect. a reminder of the "possibilities." i like having some pages up to look at, though if it stays up for very long in this DIY fashion, my mom is surely going to have something to say about it.

what i'm liking right now, torn from the pages of various international fashion magazines (thank you, sister):
--a photo from japanese vogue, of daria werbowy -- i think--shot by mikael jansson, gently backlit, with a shimmer across a bit of the headwrap and her hair;
--a nature/fantasy shot of natalia vodianova, by nick knight, though this involves a lot more graphic art and photoshop than i'm capable of;
--guinevere van seenus, photographed by javier vanhollrat, which i love for its use of various, whimsical, artificial light sources (i've got to play with those);
--a ysl "shoe" showcase, side lit, casting a terrific bold shadow of someone's very nice legs;
--phoebe philo, photographed by patrick demarchelier. i love it because a) she is cool, and b) i am a sucker for turtlenecks, and people who "hide" in them. but the more i've been looking at it the more i appreciate what a perfectly balanced "grey" shot it is. very demarchelier...
--a black and white portrait of marion cotillard from l'officiel. if i took that one myself, i would probably junk it, thinking that i ruined it because her eyes are shadowed by the brim of her hat. but koto bolofo got a great look from her. the gentle light on her chin works...

what goes up next? perhaps shots involving the terre battue...