On the Road in Northern California

Driving along Highway 1, north of San Francisco, on the way to Sea Ranch.

Iphone: Journey Home

Shot and processed on the Iphone.

Paris in Black and White (Part Deux)

The second batch of photographs from lovely Paris.

Houston Street Wall

During the past year, street art masters have been following in the footsteps of Keith Haring, taking turns placing giant murals on a blank wall on Houston Street near Bowery. I missed the Os Gemeos and Shep Fairey walls, but was able to catch up with works done by Barry Mcgee and Kenny Scharf. The wall is nice and big, so the pieces have a great sense of scale. Check it out if you're in the neighborhood.

The Strange Case of Vivian Maier

By now you've probably at least heard of Vivian Maier, and the amazing story of her discovery. If not, here's a handy primer video.

Only time will tell if she joins the all-time greats. Her story and what I've seen of her work absolutely make for a compelling argument.

Guggenheim Restoration

A few years back, I was lucky enough to shoot the most recent restoration of the Guggenheim Museum. It was an amazing project, one that took quite a bit of modern day engineering and architecture. Looking at the building today, you wouldn't guess it had all the cracks shown in the graphic above!

WASA Architects and Robert Silman Associates, experts in the field of restoration, were called in to laser survey, computer model, and put a very cracked tea cup back together again. After all was said and done, the team was able to maintain the Frank Lloyd Wright classic's signature look.

I was chomping at the bit thinking this would be an exciting project to shoot, but all the drama was in the design, not necessarily the work, which was done in tight, dark spaces that were closed off from any other visual reference to the museum's trademark curves. At the end of the day the photos were interesting but quite a bit less dramatic than I had hoped going in.

In the above shots you can see a few phases of the work: crack and building movement monitoring (yes, buildings move and the Guggenheim, given the shape, type of construction, and seasonal temperatures, moves quite a bit), restoration of the steel ribs inside the outside walls, and carbon-fiber reinforcement of the curved concrete outside walls (a space age "belt" that retains the curved concrete from moving outward).

Cheryl Dunn's Everybody Street

This past week, The New Yorker posed a bunch of clips from what looks to be a major must see, Cheryl Dunn's Everybody Street. I've had this film on my radar for the better part of the last 6 months and have been eagerly anticipating seeing the entire work. The film was supposed to screen at the Seaport Museum in conjunction with the Alfred Stieglitz exhibit that just closed a week ago, but the screening schedule was never posted. Did I miss it? Please tell me I didn't.

When it does finally hit screens, I'm gonna load up on the popcorn and enjoy what promises to be a photographer's delight. Ms. Dunn has assembled a who's who of living NYC street legends and up-and-comers who share their insights on living and working in our great city. Check out the clips below for a sampling from legends Joel Meyerowitz, Bruce Davidson, Mary Ellen Mark, Bruce Gilden, and Ricky Powell (all courtesy of The New Yorker) who are among the many shooters featured in the film. All of these people just ooze personality and you get a sense of how they work even in the short clips. Be prepared for musings on the photographer-subject relationship, some true NYC characters, in your face shooting, and tons of unforgettable images.

Go see Everybody Street when it opens!

Paris in Black and White (Part Un)

I was going through some of my travel shots this past weekend and came across a whole bunch of black and white shots of Paris I took on a 3-day weekend back in 2009. Here's the first batch.

NYC Street Art

Some bold, simple NYC street art.

Iphone: Con Ed-On It!

Shot and processed with the Iphone.

Levi's Photo Workshop (the Yearbook)

It's been almost a month since the beloved Levi's Photo Workshop down on Wooster Street closed the doors after a roaring month-and-a-half run as a popup store in the old Deitch Projects space. I can't describe what a cool place this was--you just had to be there to get what it was all about. I met lots of other photographers here and made a few large prints for free.

I know the whole idea of the workshop is that it was temporary, but I would have loved to see it stay indefinitely. Bravo to Levi's and the other sponsors for opening this space and creating something special!

Anyway, these dudes called Hamburger Eyes (gotta love the name) put together a nice little recap yearbook that includes selections from the Every Photographer in New York project and photos from events and happenings at the Workshop.

You can get the general gist of how the workshop functioned from the video. The print version of the yearbook was handed out to those who went to the closing party, but you can also download it. I've taken the liberty of giving you a selection from the Every Photographer in New York project yearbook pictures (below).

High Line Happy New Year: Big Things Ahead

Happy New Year to all of you out there! The above is from the High Line, circa 2008. Its a new decade and with that hopefully comes bigger and better things. I for one have plans to step things up this year with some more ambitious projects. Time to take things to the next level. Stay tuned!