Here is some good advice that I found on a street in Lisbon. While I wouldn’t say that one should adhere strictly to this statement, the sentiment of valuing one’s own work output and taking responsibility for entering into arrangements with your eyes wide open is a gem.
Brandon Stanton’s photojournalistic project, Humans of New York is a wonderful idea in which he photographs portraits of people in the city and plots the images onto an interactive map of the neighborhoods he found them in.
Here are a few more snaps from my time in Lisbon. The street images are around Bairro Alto and the butcher is at the Mercado da Ribeiro.
I recently spent time in Lisbon. These are a few snaps shot with my beloved Yashica T4. Top two photos shot at Mercado da Ribeiro. Third from top at Castelo de Sao Jorge and the last is at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian.
Marfa, Texas is a notoriously unique artistic stronghold in the middle of a vast Texas desert. I’ve been daydreaming of holing up at The Thunderbird Motel on a creative sabbatical. More on Marfa in a video here.
Get lost in the photographic work of Tim Navis. His light and shadow play is equally mesmerizing in shots of people and places as those of objects.
9 Eyes is an extraordinary photo project that displays unexpected screen grabs taken from Google Map’s street view cam.
The old-world concept of a tavern providing food, drink and lodging has been revived by the folks behind Chicago’s Longman & Eagle. Recently, six design-conscious rooms were made available for overnight stays ranging from $75 - $200. The food portion of the establishment had already been well known for their cocktails and locally sourced ingredients. Another unique twist is that the bar offers a selection of 38 different whiskies all for the same price of just $3 a shot, fulfilling their motto “eat, sleep. whisky.”
A visit to The Frick Collection Museum reveals a secret room, a rather opulent bowling alley.
(via kottke)
Its quite disheartening to see the state of these 75 abandoned theaters across the US. They stand as reminders to the rise of corporate America and the decline of great towns and cities. Its striking to see how an eye for detail and design was once an important part of our cultural landscape, and not just for the grand theaters but the local small ones too. On a positive note, #49 in Brooklyn is in the process of being renovated.
The Standing Dead is an exploration of San Francisco’s lost movie theaters. Below is a current photo from the inside of the New Mission Theater. I recently spent a good amount of time looking out the office windows of Typekit wondering how this iconic location could really be left in such a condition. This project was created for The Bold Italic, a pretty brilliant platform created by enthusiastic SF dwellers to share the culture of their town. This is just my cup of tea.
I recently took a flight from JFK to SFO. Now that I’ve come across these photos from the same journey taken by designer/photographer Paul Octavious, I wished I had pointed my lens out the plane’s window.
Post WWII trailer-style homes began to pop up around Palm Springs. A culture of customizing these homes into a more personalized expression began to take shape. Photographer Jeffrey Milstein documented these homes his photo series Small Dreams, Trailer Parks in Palm Springs.
Big Sur. 22 February 11.
Skateistan: To Live And Skate Kabul is a gorgeous short film portrait that focuses on how skateboarding and a skate park provides a young generation of Afghani boys and girls alike with hope in a place riddled with tragedy.
Bluejake is a photoblog showing the work of photographer Jake Dobkin. He mostly shoots urban landscapes. The majority of the work on his site is shot in NYC. His archives is an incredible location resource.
2010 - The world in photos.
When the ever prolific Dave Eggers isn’t writing scripts for Where The Wild Things Are or working on a new volume from McSweeney’s, his efforts are dedicated to his 826 literacy program. I’m fortunate enough to live a few blocks away from one of these endeavors, the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. Now Eggers has taken the mission across the pond opening Hoxton Street Monster Supplies.
You’ve probably heard about the 2011 TED Prize winning French street artist JR who favors photography as a texture for redesigning environments. Here is a collection of images showcasing his brilliant works in Shanghai.
Sometimes New Yorkers take their subway system for granted. The system, much of which is over 100 years old moves more than 5 million people a day. Here is a wonderful photo retrospective of the NYC subway through the decades.
I know it’s not good to covet material things, but this home wants so badly to be mine.
I finally made it to Dia:Beacon. The giant old factory turned into a large scale art space is home to work from the 1960’s to present. It was quiet exciting to see so much work from so many of my favorite modern artists including: Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Fred Sandback and Dan Flavin. Though it was the mathematical wall drawings of Sol LeWitt that I wanted to stare at most. See time-lapse of one of his wall drawings here.
Earlier today in Brooklyn…
I sometimes forget that Coney Island is just a short subway ride away. I went for a visit yesterday. We had some fried clams and beer at Ruby’s and took in all of the craziness. Kids were diving off the pier. Impromptu boardwalk dance parties made for surreal cultural mashings of Latinos, African Americans, hipsters, and transvestites. The rhythms were provided by older Latin men. Then we made our way down to the Russian neighborhood of Brighton Beach and sampled the vareniki, pelmeni and pickled watermelon at Cafe Glechik.
There has been a good amount of buzz about Prime Meats which opened earlier this year in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The praise is quite worthy. The restaurant’s interior is designed with lots of wooden details and oil-style lamps that create an environment that harkens back to earlier times in America. Prim waiters uniformed in button-downs, brace suspenders, and raw denim add to the upscale meets old world working class vibe. This all really works. And truth told; one can dine at Prime Meats modesty or go for the pricier selections. The choice is yours. The house made drinks are refreshing and delicious. Good luck making them as good at home. Nothing that I ate was less than fantastic: celery salad, raw oysters, steak frites, a soft shell crab dish, and a mean chocolate cake. It’s also worth mentioning that Prime Meats locally sources their ingredients and also does all of their own butchering in-house.
Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre take photos of places that were once quite populated and are now long forgotten. The Ruins of Detroit is a testament to the decline of the city from having once been a dense place of culture. The same can be said of their series on Theaters.
When it’s not a volcano in Iceland, a hurricane in Louisiana, an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, or an earthquake in Haiti, disaster strikes in the form of a massive sinkhole in Guatemala.
I’m always inspired by photographs like these taken by Claire Harlan. The man made environments that are void of people feel like perfect places to stage unexpected scenes to disturb the quiet.
Here are some incredible photos of the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has kept European planes grounded since last week. And here is the wowing spectacle shot from a helicopter.
I just discovered this photo taken while location scouting for the MTA spot that I directed. Chinatown is truly a city within a city. This image reminds me of something that Woody Alllen once said, “I’m astounded by people who want to ‘know” the universe when it’s hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.
Here is a collection of Vans and the Places They Were Found.
This is a nice poster of the neighborhoods that make up Brooklyn. Other cities are available too.
Pictory curates submission-based series of photo-works that tell a story. This collection’s theme is Overseas and Overwhelmed : 25 Stories of Culture Shock. The story on visiting Berlin in 1974 is pretty fantastic.
Jason Koxvold’s large format landscape photography is not to be missed.
The changing landscape of NYC has long been of great interest to me. I came across this piece about the Eagle Clothing factory space which is practically in my backyard. I hope this sign stays exactly where it is for a long time to come.
J. Bennett Fitt’s photo series entitled No Lifeguard on Duty seems to appropriately echo the mood of this grey Fall day.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have something of a yearning to open a proper old-world gentleman’s barber shop in the neighborhood in Brooklyn that I call home. Perhaps it is some sort of omen that I’ve discovered another beautiful shop that is quite similar to what I have in mind. I discovered The New York Shaving Company while strolling around Nolita.
Dumpster-diving has a whole new connotation. An NYC based real estate developer is experimenting with how to utilize unused space in the city. He has rented a land plot adjacent to my neighborhood and outfitted it with a few swimming pools made from converted industrial dumpsters.
Jacob Holdt is a photographer of Danish descent. He began hitchhiking across the US in the 1970s armed with a small camera. A theme emerged. His massive body of work includes photos shot around the world, but it is his intimate gaze into social class structure of America that strikes me as the most fascinating material.
I’ve been toying around with the idea of opening up an old world nostalgic barber shop in Brooklyn - something of a fantasy project really. There is a perfect tiny storefront located just one block from my apartment and on the walk to the subway. The space which is perfectly sized for a two chair operation has been sitting for many years unused and off the market. I just noticed that there is now a sign indicating that the space is available for lease. I also happened upon two other old world shops in the past week which are both eerily similar to the kind of place I want to open. While Tommy Guns is really more of a hair salon dressed up as a fancy barber shop, Freeman’s Sporting Club is something of a men’s lifestyle company which offers clothing and tailoring in addition to their grooming services. Aesthetically speaking, both shops are absolutely intriguing and would make for a fine film set. However, the shop I’d like to open would not only be quaint and modestly priced, but would also boast the skills of elderly gentlemen who have spent a lifetime perfecting their trade. And of course, they would be uniformed in a proper white collared barber’s coat with their names embroidered. Maybe I’m onto something.
There was once a time when skateboarding was considered counter-culter in the US. This was while I was growing up. No skating signs were posted just about everywhere. The image of a teen with a skateboard came to represent a punk ethos. Times have changed. I remember reading a few years ago that in the US more children own skateboards than baseball bats and gloves. I probably shouldn’t be surprised to see that skating has seeped into cultures of underdeveloped nations like Uganda. Check out these fantastic photos documenting an East African skate park.
(via WMIG)
I’ve just returned from some R&R in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. The island and people are simply beautiful. The mellow town is painted with colors that are muted from the sun’s persistent baking. Stray dogs and cats are never too shy to beg for scraps. Iguanas bask in the heat, but would prefer to go unnoticed. The otherwise quiet town hums with the buzz of mopeds. Often families of four or five can be seen getting about that way. At night, front doors are left ajar and people can be seen sitting on curbs talking or huddled around TVs that have been placed outside to watch the football game. Sol cerveza and Coca Cola cool the blistering heat.
Nadav Kander is a photographer who shoots both people and places. His diverse body of work includes portraits of people ranging from Obama to Kissenger and Pele to Bertolucci. He has photographed the the Yangtze River, the Arcticle Circle, Chernobyl and explored the human form as a landscape.
While everyone else worries about swine-flu, I’ll be taking advantage of the discounted travel costs. If Conde Nast Traveler thinks Hotel Secreto is one of the 50 best hotels in the world, I’m more than pleased to spend a week in Isla Mujeres.
I just discovered the work of photographer, Carl Wooley. His photo series of places at night explores similar territory to work by Todd Hido, Dan Holdsworth and Will Govus.
Signs of American Life is a photo series that documents photographer, Stephen Tamiesie’s travels across the rural American landscapes.
As some of you may already know, my very dear friend and an exceptionally talented poet, professor and father, Craig Arnold, has gone missing on the small volcanic island of Kuchino-erabu-shima while on a creative exchange fellowship. An independent expert search and rescue group is on the island looking for Craig until the 9th, but the official search by Japanese authorities has been called off. They believe that military assets would make the search very efficient and effective, and we hope the consulate will move forward with the possibility of engaging local US military/DOD assets in the search at this stage. Please help us contact your local Congressional delegation and encourage them to support the consulate in this effort. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE CONSULATE OR EMBASSY - THEY ARE BUSY WORKING VERY HARD FOR US AND WE NEED THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO SO, WITHOUT DISTRACTION. THEY HAVE BEEN EXCELLENT PARTNERS IN THIS PROCESS. PLEASE CONTACT SENATORS AND CONGRESSPEOPLE.
WE NEED EVERYONE’S HELP contacting their local congressional delegation and asking their assistance in encouraging the Fukuoka consulate to engage local US military/DOD assets on the ground in Japan. They have been thinking about it and we respectfully request them to move forward with that as quickly as possible. (To donate to the fund, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/cofj63)
Right now, what we need most is for everyone to contact your state Senators NOW:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Calls and faxes are most efficient, e-mails are important too.
When contacting your Senators:
Please include a request for US military assistance from the local bases.
An example of a letter and of the kinds of things one might say over the phone are included below. Feel free to edit, but please take care not to give out inaccurate information. Thank you so much for your help.
Dear Senator _______,
I am writing to you to express my concern for an exceptionally talented American poet, Prof. Craig Arnold. He has gone missing on a small volcanic island in Japan called Kuchino-erabu-shima while representing his country on a U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission’s U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship. Craig, an experienced explorer of volcanoes, never returned to his inn after leaving alone to visit the island’s volcano for the afternoon. As a concerned constituent, I respectfully request that you please contact the U.S. consulate in Fukuoka and the U.S. Embassy in Japan and urgently request that they continue the search for University of Wyoming Professor Craig Arnold using local U.S. military and D.O.D. assets, specifically those on Okinawa.
Prof. Craig Arnold has made a profound, significant contribution to American arts and letters. He is also an inspiring and deeply caring father, brother, son, and much beloved by his family and his partner of six years, Rebecca. He is a generous and devoted friend and teacher to many. We have reason to be hopeful, as the small independent search-and-rescue team on the island has picked up Craig’s trail, and a little bit of rain has given us hope that he might not be too dehydrated. But time is of the essence. The island is small enough that an extended search performed by experienced searchers WILL lead to Craig’s discovery, but we understand that more searchers on the ground are needed immediately.
Will you please keep me informed of action being taken to continue the search? Thank you.
Sincerely,
Please join this facebook group to support the search effort.
Here is more on what you can do:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=73877053262&ref=nf
Here you can read Craig’s travel blog that he had maintained until the evening he went missing:
Utilizing time-lapse photography and what appears to be a shift-tilt lenses, a photographer named Keith Loutit manages to make people seem like toy miniatures placed in colorful landscapes. These films are documents of twelve months of life in Sydney.
These abandoned villas in Taiwan may not look like the vacation destination originally intended, but they sure would make for a great location to shoot a film.
Here is a photo series shot in Pripyat, Ukraine. The abandoned town had once been home to many of the workers at Chernobyl and was evacuated after the disaster 23 years ago.
In an effort to reduce traffic congestion, NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg has introduced plans to turn section’s of Broadway into a pedestrian walkway in the Times Square and Herald Square areas. The idea seems to be solid and has found very little in the way of opposition.
My friend and musical collaborator Erik Snyder is an extraordinary photographer. He recently went on a trip to Louisiana to shoot a project entitled Kingdom of Heaven.
This past summer we saw many images of China’s new shiny architecture proudly on display for the world during the Olympic events. One of the structures that had been frequently seen in newspapers and on TV was the China Central Television Complex. Part of the CCTV complex was the soon to be opened Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The building has been completely destroyed in a fire accidently set by stray fireworks from the annual Lantern Festival that marks the first full moon of the Chinese New Year. Here are more images of the building ablaze. Remarkably the incident only claimed one life, that of a firefighter.
NYC love expressed through LEGOs.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! It’s cold out. I’ve got a feeling we are in for an endless winter in NYC. I wish that I were back in Costa Rica right this instant.
The miserable economy has everyone concerned with good reason. I’m going to try to stay very optimistic despite my urge to share this photo series of bankrupt offices by Phillip Toledano.
My barber Kosta is a charming man in his late seventies who originally comes from Greece. I generally stop by the shop once a week for a touchup, but mainly to see that he is okay and to shoot the breeze. Truth told, I often don’t understand everything that he is saying word for word through his thick accent; though I usually catch the jist. Last week, I mentioned that I heard that there was rioting and problems in his homeland. Suddenly I couldn’t grab a word other than “bullshit” repeated over and over. He clearly was angry. Here are some photos of the events currently taking place in Greece.
I recently discovered Greg White’s photography. While he clearly is interested in using geometric forms to shape his compositions, it is his cold pristine lighting that has caught my eye.
Click around Richard Power’s photo portfolio of architecture and you will be certain to find a dream home. The abode below is looking pretty good to me right now.
The work of photographer Jeff Brouws resonates with me in a strong way. His images feel like moments lifted from one of my favorite films, Wim Wender’s Paris,Texas. His photos are often of built environments in flux and void of people.
I first encountered Edward Burtynsky’s work at a show curated by the Brooklyn Museum of Art. There is an emotional paradox one feels when looking at his massive prints. The images are so beautiful and crafted with a masterful eye for detail. And yet, these photos are documents of how industry has changed our visual landscape. Burtynsky gave a TED talk a few years back which is certainly worth checking out. Additionally, a documentary entitled Manufactured Landscapes on the photographer’s work was released last year.
Square America is a web-archive of found snapshot photos dating from the 1890’s-1970’s. These extraordinary images present a unique window into the past.
My laudromat has lost their lease and now I have to start using the old spot again. The down side is that it is a longer walk and the lady who works there is a real grouch; I mean the type that kids are afraid to go near. On the other hand, her husband pictured below is one of those sweeter than sugar people that always has a smile plastered to his face. He once let me do a test shoot there at no charge. Time to go pick up some laundry. I wonder which one I’ll encounter today.
I just found out about the Chinatown Soccer Club. The league has been around since 2002 and is comprised of creative people whose passions off the pitch range from careers in design and writing to photography and skateboarding. The squad includes accomplished artist Ryan McGinness and skateboarder Mark Gonzalez. Apparently these guys take their game seriously, playing in the mornings before work and go late into the cold season. I so want in. Where do I sign up?
Kim Holtermand is a photographer from Denmark who takes fantastic photos of landscapes and architecture. Environments in my dreams often look like some of Kim’s night photos; so no wonder I like the work so much.
Scientists have unearthed a large grave site containing remains from two separate Stone Age civilizations dating back to the Sahara Desert’s green period. One particularly moving discovery was the grave of a mother embracing her two small children (see below).
A few nights ago, I met a group of other directors at a little summer roof party. One of the directors, Joe Stevens was telling me about a short documentary that he recently finished. The film’s focus is on a group of teens in Queens who have taken to rigging big stereo equipment to their BMX bikes. Coincidentally, yesterday I came across a nice bit of press on the project. Made in Queens looks quite interesting.
Despite the popularity of boxing as a means to stay in shape, the number of proper boxing gyms in NYC has plummeted over the years. This weekend, I spent a day filming in the world renowned Gleason’s Gym in DUMBO. The environment is simply inspiring. Every angle of the gym provided a visual feast to the camera’s lens; the walls are wrapped with the faces of champions.
This boxing gym is a place of pure inspiration. Though everyone from Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson have trained in Gleason’s, a novice can easily see themselves hitting the bag there even if only for a good workout. The sweaty smell of the air is the perfect accompaniment to the worn ropes on the ring and fading paint on the lockers. The gym is clearly a melting pot of race, gender and age. Boxers range from small children to men well into their fifties. And while I was there to shoot one particular female fighter whom had recently won the Golden Gloves Tournament, I was overwhelmed by the number of ladies training tough as nails. Like the boardwalk of Coney Island or the small shops of the Lower East Side, Gleason’s Gym is one of the very special old-world parts of New York that simply can’t be replicated.
Thank you for all of your help and generosity Bruce & Fire.
Plans for the world’s first rotating skyscraper are under way with the goal of finishing the building in Dubai by 2010.
Here are 30 amazing satellite images of the earth. Below is an image of a 45,000 square mile desert in Iran known as Dasht-e Kavir.
Michael Cook is a Toronto based urban explorer. He maintains the website Vanishing Point.
This is a website about spaces that exist at the boundaries of modern control, as concessions to the landscape, as the debris left by economic transition, as evidence of the transient nature of our place upon this earth.
Check out an interview with Cook on BLDG BLOG.
The Blur Building was designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro for the 2002 Swiss Expo. I’m not so sure that I really understand the project’s intent, but it sure looks cool.
A gallery of images from this year’s “Running of the Bulls” week in Pamplona, Spain. Culture seems like an absurd excuse for such a barbaric game that is built entirely on machismo. So every time a person is gored by the animal, my congratulations to that bull.
When I retire, I’ll need many cases of wine and a second home with a view away from everyone.
Many of us will walk through life never really knowing “what we want to do with ourselves.” Others may discover late in life what their great passion is. For some folks dog grooming is where its at. But how does one become a dog groomer? If you live in New York, you go to the New York School of Dog Grooming. Documentary director, Amy Nicholson, made a very surreal short film called Beauty School about this very institution.
I’ve always been very proud of my Philadelphia roots. The city has always been a great center for art and artists. Just walking around one can’t miss the rich culture of mural making. Check out this photo slide show of some of its most known street murals.
Many people in Shanghai are wearing pyjamas in public and they aren’t trying to make a fashion statement.
Artists Arakawa and Madeline Gins designed a house intended to extend life. What does this mean? According to Gins, when living in this home “everyday you are practicing how not to die.”
