Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Bond, James Bond



Recently a friend of mine emailed me about images on my street fashion blog, http://www.nycrunfashion.blogspot.com . She commented that by and large people walk around with messy hair and frumpy clothes, and that I selected my subjects well . Well, here is an antidote to all that mess. I am beginning to see more well groomed men donning expertly tailored clothes. Here are two uptown samples and one from downtown. What's interesting are some key elements that tie them together. Can you pick out those elements?

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Ornamentum Gallery at SOFA New York City


This past weekend my friend, Katherine, and I went to SOFA, the twelfth annual Sculpture Objects and Functional Arts Fair. Most of the galleries had an incredible array of objects, with a preponderance of the galleries displaying jewelry and other objects made of glass.  The use of glass to produce the objects was as varied as the objects themselves.  There were figurative shapes, as well as more traditional objects such as vases. Elsewhere, glass was used as an element of the whole piece, either as a foundation or as added texture.

What struck me most, however, were two pieces at the Ornamentum Gallery that were encased in acrylic, seen here. In my view , acrylic,  from a visual point of view is in the glass category, but not entirely. I think in this instance the use of acrylic rather than glass is a better choice. Acrylic has that look and feel of plastic that relates better to the objects enclosed in it.

What about the 45 caliber pistol and bullet. I think that there is an interplay of strong graphics with soft and hard textures.... and it all works. Perhaps the hues and colors unify all of the elements. Perhaps what makes all this attractive is that all the elements are familiar and could ostensibly be found together in more traditional circumstances and enclosures. 

  The work here is created by Ted Noten. See ornamentumgallery.com 

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Happy Spring

My third annual spring card.     Best wishes for a Happy Spring from exotic New York City .

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Street fashion.....5th Avenue at 57th New York

Why do I love these two images. Perhaps not for the reasons you might think. The purity of this image  harkens back to the film transparency days. You either got it in the camera or you didn't.  There was no cropping, or fancy footwork done in photoshop. Also, the symmetry and shapes all play a role, but what is most important are the personalities of the people that are compelling and pleasing to the eye. 

 As I am sitting here listening to a dance music station from Paris, I cant help but think how different the two cities are... but thats and a great topic for another day. 

Street fashion has lately taken over my life. While still keeping an eye on my more stylized work in fashion and portraiture, I cant help but see a new opportunity evolving in this type of photography.  Its interesting, because the photography here has permeated the work of more established photographers.  Clients are increasingly looking to photographers who can shoot this kind of an image. Don't get me wrong, you still have to know what you are doing . It would be difficult to just pick up a camera and go out shooting for the big boys. 

For street fashion images go to   http://www.nycrunfashion.blogspot.com

  

Monday, April 13, 2009

NYC... Gallery Gen Opening

Friday eve's opening at the Gallery Gen was yet another entertaining event.  More than ever the fashions of  the invited guests were befitting of the art.  Valerie Foley seen here in her Issey Miyake rain coat attracted  everyone's attention with her usual dress and banter. Standing next to Velerie is Jean Stone in her vintage Norma Kamali coat, wearing a MariaDelGreco.com  hat.
The gallery's recent move to its temporary spacious location on 201 Mulberry street in Manhattan was a success. The food was great and the formal tea ceremony performed by two expert volunteers was the highlight of the eve. 

Masako Dempo Yuki, the gallery owner seen here on the far left is wearing a Yoshiaki Yuki design. On the far right is Midori of Issey Miyake, is wearing an Issey Miyake ensemble. 

You may visit the gallery to view the show online and its permanent address at www.gallerygen.com, and the artist at www.yoshiakiyuki.com.  

Images by IPhone

Friday, April 10, 2009

NYC... dominating style


The first image shows a well proportioned and tailored coat ... its  essential. Yes, some of us need to grasp that concept. 

The second image on the right is equally fabulous, but its done with more pieces. In contrast to the first image, most of her pieces would not successfully stand alone as well as they do here in aggregate.  One interesting point. This can be sometimes difficult, but what unites these two women is their choice of one signature piece that makes the look pop. The coat and scarf respectively.... not to mention the confidence and a glow.

One other point. The time spent researching your clothes should also include hair.  Like the clothes,  your hair must be in harmony with the clothes that you wear to provide a sense of balance and complement your look; and be versatile with the cut. Till next time....


Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Fabulous Sixties continued.....



I just wanted to add some images to my April fourth note about the Fabulous Sixties. The tourists here, although dressed very much like Americans are form another country. That is a story in itself,  but the issue here is a multinational fascination with American cars.  Without getting into a long and elaborate  philosophical discussion about the difference between Europeans, or foreigners buying American cars and Americans buying European cars. It is safe to say that people on both sides of the pond buy each others automobiles for different reasons, with exceptions of course. On the numerous occasions that I have been to Europe, I noticed that an American car brought with it a cultural and lifestyle accessory; almost built into the car.  That is just my impression, but you can draw your own conclusions.

Pictured here is a 71 and 66 Dodge Charger. I guess 71 is close enough to the sixties since technically 1972 was probably the end on an era for those fabulous cars.
So, enjoy, because they are few and far between.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Fabulous Sixties are back

As much as I try to focus on the task at hand I seem to lose my concentration when I hear the scream of a supercharger. I don't think it kicked in on this brief stretch  of 57th street, but surely I could hear the jets opening up.  This was no ordinary Mustang.  This was a fully tricked-out "Stang" with all of the goodies the man behind the wheel dreamed about.  

Unless you are a car nut, you may not pick up on the vibe here, but it screams at you like the roar of the jets that suck the gas that feed the horses.  It was truly an emotional time for me.  I have owned a 1969 Mustang Fastback. Albeit a few years older, my Mach 1, 351 cu was just as impressive in its day as this 2009. In fact, my car was so great that Ford decided to bring it back. So here it is, enjoy, you may drive one someday.  Till next time......

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Russian Beauty



Oh yes, we we , my light is good for you...... but the tricky part is getting the hair just right.
Till next time.......

Monday, April 6, 2009

Beauty.... on Greenwich

This image was very difficult in terms of color correction. In my earlier post (label camera , canon 5d mark 2) I discussed the problems of DPP. This is a prime example. The image is correct on my website  but here as I am posting, it seems to be really magenta. Lets see how it posts here on the blog.  Note: the lighting did not take long to setup, and just a couple of digital "polaroids" if you will.  Till next time.........

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Beauty..... Gisele

It started out to be a good day. Everyone was cheerful.... but then the hair stylist did not show up. I was unfazed.  The shoot went on and I got the shot. This and other images came out well according to those who saw them.  Hats off to my makeup person, Georgi Sandev. He worked so hard on this project. Till next time........ 

Saturday, April 4, 2009

The Fabulous Sixties

I have always been fascinated by cars, particularly those with great personalities. Probably no other era has seen greater design success than the sixties. Though certain models saw a longer period of design excellence , like the Cadillac , Mustang , Camaro , and the occasional Olds, as well as few others ( Chrysler Imperial seen here). The sixties are what we all look back to to inspire fashion shoots and hipsters who want to live that life. The europeans  have also been bitten by the bug. On Lafayette street the other day I saw several groups of tourists stopped in their tracks to pose in front of a 71 and a 66 Charger. The images form that day will be posted  another time. Till next time.........

Friday, April 3, 2009

Staley Wise Galllery



The Staley Wise Gallery  exhibit "America the Beautiful"  has on display iconic images from photographers working in fashion and journalism. Some of whom are with us and others are not forgotten. This is a trip worth making. The show will run until May 9. These pictures were taken with the I Phone 
 Till next time........  

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Canon 5D alert

A quick note about the Canon 5D. While looking through the usacanon.com website , under downloads (software updates) I noticed a list of all the cameras that were being recalled. I am only mentioning the 5D because I still own and use it as a backup. The issue is potentially serious due to a mirror mount which could brake off and cause the mirror to break other parts. The camera is great, but why would they glue in such an important part, particularly one that is in constant motion. 

Today I sent the camera back to Canon for a free fix. Somehow I am not reassured by their efforts since they told me that stronger glue will be used. Its still glue. 

There are other Canon cameras being recalled for one reason or another, so please check the website. Till next time......... 

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Corporate Shoot



                                FUMI in action on a different day


We drove deep into New Jersey for this shoot.

Fumi, my assistant loaded up the car with equipment and off we went. I must say, I am still impressed with the way she threw those equipment cases around. 

It was a hot day.... thankfully we worked inside. I am happy to report that we got some good shots in spite of the many unattractive backgrounds. We did find one as a third  option, not seen here, with a well appointed corporate decor. We shot.  The client picked it as one of his selects, but ultimately the final image selected for the lead article is the second form the top seen on this page.  It was printed full bleed.

Canon 5D mark 2

New addition to my imaging tools. The Canon 5D Mark 2.  So far so good. What I am most happy about is that Digital Photo Professional is no longer casting a magenta hue over the images. This was a major problem since I always had to explain to everyone.... don't worry, the cast will go away in Photoshop....... and no, you could not calibrate your monitor to take care of the problem.  

For now its not an issue , but further testing will tell..... so look for upcoming posts. Till next time........

Ps  image taken with I Phone

Splash Page

Those of you who may not know about contact information on your website, here is an important note. Periodically check to see if the link works properly. A few months ago I clicked on my email link and guess what, it lead me to some company that had a similar name to the program used to create my website. Evidently the company that made the program went out of business..... the domain was discontinued and the link was somehow redirected to another similar sounding company.  Several hundred dollars later and a lot of aggravation the problem was mostly solved...... few glitches remained that were fixed over a two week period.

While fixing my html problems I decided to redesign the look of my site. Why not, the  web designer was going to charge me the same whether I used the old or added a new splash page , and  any of the subsequent pages.  Soooo... this is the new splash page that I designed , and if you go into my website you might want to comment on the pages as you bounce back and forth. 
I wonder how much work was lost because of the email problem.  Till next time........