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| Series 1 no. 1, 24" x 45.5", by Robin H. Reynolds |
One of my favorite photos from our vacation to San Diego...the Dovecote in the Children's Zoo at the San Diego Zoo.
I am always so excited and happy when good things happen for good people. And even more so when they are people I care a lot about. Recently, my good friend James Bleecker (married to my cousin Jenny) had a feature about his work, home and family in the New York Social Diary. You may remember couple of posts about James HERE and HERE.
There is a wonderful interview and loads of pictures of every nook and cranny of their lovely apartment in New York. Perhaps the most striking thing about it is the use of James' beautiful art photos throughout the home.
So, hop on over HERE to see the whole thing. I love looking at homes that show off the talents of those who live there. Personal and unique.
And to see more of James' work, please visit his website HERE.
(I think that's my Dad in the photo with the three children on Jenny's vanity table! He is the one with the pageboy haircut on the left.)
Photos courtesy of New York Social Diary
My Birthday Flowers
I take alot of pictures for my little blog. Some turn out. Many don't. Some make me think," Did I really take this picture?! It almost looks sort of professional or something!". Sometimes I even think I have a new career ahead of me: "Stylist, photographer extraordinaire". Sometimes......then reality sets in and I realize, mostly, it is luck. Yes, I think I can compose a pretty good shot. But I have no special camera (just a point and shoot, Casio EXILIM), no special lighting . I have learned quite a bit about how to "get by" from reading other blogs out there. And I sometimes tweek a photo with Picasa.
Roses in the Evening
But sometimes, a photo just turns out all on it's own. And it makes me feel pretty good. Not only because I, and my little camera made this image, but because I will have a record of something I saw that was beautiful to me and was fleeting.
Vegetables from Napa
I said that photos turn out sometimes because of luck. But perhaps that is wrong to say. It is not really luck to recognize that something is worth recording, and to compose that "something" into an image that is clear, balanced and interesting. I think that comes with practice, and learning to adjust our mind's eye to the way the camera can capture a scene.
Flowers on Bench from Aspen Hollow
There are many bloggers out there that have mastered this quite well. A couple of bloggers who have amazing skills are Leah Phinney from A Day that is Dessert, and Isa from The World According to Isa. I have learned just by looking at their photos. If you visit and look through their posts, you will see what I mean.
Lake Tahoe Sunset
So....I have some questions for you. Have you taken photos that you think turned out exceptionally well? Did you learn on your own, or take a class? Do you take many of your own photos for your blog, if you have a blog? Do you have any tips that make for a great picture? I'd love to see your masterpieces and share with everyone if you would like to send them.
I wrote a blog about the Sacramento Antique Faire not too long ago (here), and included a series of images showing collections of things like the watches in the photo above. The Faire is a treasure trove of photo opportunities. A few weeks later, I received a note from a Nathalie Rattner who had been introduced to my blog through her father. As I read further, I was happily surprised to learn that Nathalie had attached what appeared to be a a black and white version of my photo. It was lovely and I thought to myself, I really should print out my photo and have it framed in black and white.
Obviously, by the time I opened the second attachment, I realized I had not been very thorough in my reading of Nathalie's note! This was not a photo at all, but a photo realistic drawing!
The second drawing made things crystal clear. Nathalie is a phenomenally talented artist. This was one of those moments when I ask myself, how does someone DO this?!?! It is SO accurate. I was just amazed. The second piece she sent helped visually explain the process.
I was lucky to begin a bit of a correspondence with Nathalie, and she sent me more images of her work. She specializes in photo realistic work, and has become quite well known for her Sports series.
These are some of her portraits:
Nathalie says of this image, "this is a drawing based on a vintage photograph in which I have combined my painting technique with the application of some copper foil."
Nathalie says, "This image is from a commission of an individuals grandchild. This image was done using my painted charcoal and graphite technique."
This piece of the Ziegfeld Follies girls is breathtaking to me. The way Nathalie captures light and shadow is perfection.
Nathalie says, "This is an image of the Ziegfeld follies in which I have combined a charcoal wash technique with pastel wash technique. I technique that I've recently developed."
Nathalie sent me the finished project of my pocket watch photo and asked if she could enter it in an art competition in Boston. I was very honored that she chose my image to show off her fine work. I said "YES" of course!
I asked Nathalie a little about herself:
"I was born and raised in Calgary Canada where I studies dance and attended a performing arts high school. After graduation I moved to Vancouver and later to L.A. to pursue my dance career where I was represented by McDonald Selznick. I am a largely self taught artist and have always been attracted to portraiture and began by doing oil paintings of native Americans based on the photographs of Edward Curtis. This series was well received and collected by people in Montana and Boston and several interior designers. This success encouraged me to continue and over the past several years I have developed a technique which is that based on “painting” with shaved graphite and charcoal which allows me to achieve a hyper-realistic or extended photograph quality. My goal is to bring life to photograph images and to bring the personal qualities of the subject to the viewers attention . A three part work based on multiple images of my Dad presented as a film strip where each drawing was placed in a cell of the film strip won a drawing competition in Boston and this led to a meeting with John ……Liffmann who encouraged me to do images of the greats of baseball. This series has met with great success and have been bought by baseball collectors and fans around the world and has found a place in some sports museums. I have also received commissions to do images of personal heroes, family members and a wide range of subject matter. My work is currently sold through ebay, sports auctions (legendaryauctions.com), through John Liffmann liffmann00@comcast.net or I can be contacted directly at nrattner@shaw.ca"
Nathalie was honored with the cover and a feature story about her Sports Figure work in January in Sports Collectors Digest:
Vintage yellow aluminum Love Seat with White Patent Leather Seat Cushion.
I was recently introduced to Gardenhouse, a wonderful shop located in West Palm Beach Florida. Owned by a very creative couple, Cheryl Maeder Antonio and her husband Gary. As with any creative person, Cheryl is multi talented. She studied photography in Switzerland and traveled Europe before moving to San Francisco to start a photography studio there. In San Francisco, she met her sculptor husband Gary. They began antique hunting for fun and the fun soon turned into a passion....which ultimately resulted in their very colorful and happy shop, Gardenhouse.
I am smitten....and knew you would be too. So I am so excited to share some of the objects of my affection.
Red High Gloss Wood Bench for Outdoor Canopy or Indoors
Each piece is lovingly transformed by Cheryl's unique point of view which she describes as "vintage, with a modern twist". Happy paint colors and modern fabrics certainly give each piece new life and vitality.
Vintage Metal Table Lamp with Green Metal Shade.
Cheryl has many more brilliantly reborn vintage finds, so I hope you have minute to click on over and check out Gardenhouse.
Chalkboard Dresser. Unfortunately already sold....but had to show you!
Black and White Slipper Chair with Decorative Nailheads.
OHHH!! And be sure to check out Cheryl's dreamlike seaside photos on the Gardenhouse site as well. Here is just a little sampling:
Beach Series VI
Sea and Sky V
I am headed off to dream of new furniture for my naked back patio, and sunny summers at the beach .......while the rain beats steadily outside my window.
A new body of work by photographer James Bleecker is now showing at the Allen Sheppard Gallery in New York. You have until December 13th to catch it. So if you are in town, high tail it over to "High Line". You won't be dissapointed. Here are a few of his amazingly ethereal images.
" The building of the High Line Park has underscored that shift. Photographer James
Bleecker in his latest series, High Line, has captured the noir atmosphere of both pre and post
gentrification of West Chelsea in each magnificent picture.
These powerfully large prints of High Line images are alive with rich tonality and light, providing irresistible pleasure for the viewer. One senses idealization of subject and a feeling suggesting a depiction beyond reality. This serves to elevate the viewer's awareness of this sleek, beautiful relic of New York City's industrial age that, heretofore, has been just an unnoticed feature (to some, an eyesore) of the West Chelsea urbanscape. This remarkable series of photographs washes over the viewer with a mood exhorting a visual experience that is at once contemporary and timeless."
James Bleecker is a commercial and fine arts photographer who resides in New York City. He
has received commissions from David Rockefeller, The Morgan Library, The Frick Collection, and The American Museum of Natural History. In 2007 he photographed “Tuxedo Park: The Historic Houses,” (Tuxedo Historical Society/Black Dome Press).
A portion of all proceeds will be donated for the benefit of the Friends of the High Line.
Why did I pick this photo to begin a profile on photographer, James Bleecker you may be asking yourselves. Having asked myself the same question, my answer has to be this: it seems to tell a poignant story. There is a path to follow, to a place that seems a bit other-worldly with a mysterious sort of beauty that calls for you to proceed even if you are unsure what might happen when you get there.
James Bleecker has this way about his art. He has a way of creating a story with his lens...of capturing a moment in time, that is yet timeless. And James has lived quite a story himself as well. James has been creating photography in his home state of New York since 1982. Having studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, James proceeded to gain prestigious commissions from The Frick Collection, The Morgan Library, the Rockefeller family and The American Museum of Natural History.
I am not just a little impressed with his skill. He has been asked to photograph some of the most beautiful and historic homes in New York, and particularly the Hudson Valley. I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with James and , his wife (and my cousin), Jenny and their son Jamie a summer ago at his country home in New Concord. There I got to see genius at work. With his studio in their red barn, James showed us how he printed his photos onto special archival paper. We got to see some of his very amazing work of prize livestock and stunning architecture that clients had commissioned.
Red Devon
We had begun a correspondence and James has been kind enough to agree to an interview about his recent projects, including his Tuxedo Park project for the Tuxedo Historical Society, as well as upcoming projects.
2) There are so many genres/styles of photography. What inspired your subject matter choices?
The subject chose me. Architecture created between the Civil War and the Depression – the Gilded Age – captured my imagination as student, and hasn't let go.
I don't give much thought to style. I did, however, stumble upon a method of producing black-and-white slides while I was in art school. If you projected them on a screen using two slide projectors hooked up to an electronic "dissolve unit," you could create the most ethereal effects. Often an uninvited ghost image would materialize as one slide dissolved into the next. If you designed a sequence in which every two images created a surprise third, you had something that was hypnotic. Set that sequence to music and now you had a show: a seeming story or poem, and quite haunting.
3)How did your career progress after after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design?
It progressed from these student slide shows I made. Historical societies and museums commissioned me to make multi-media shows that communicated stories to visitors. My first and best show was Hudson River Gothic, produced for Hudson River Heritage in 1983. The subject was crumbling mansions along the river. Later I won several awards, including a Gold Award from the American Association of Museums, for my film, Up the River: Sing Sing Prison. Some of my commissions have been permanently installed in museums: if you visit the Frick Collection you'll see a show I made back in 1993.
4) How did you become involved in the Tuxedo Park project?
The Tuxedo Park project came to me by way of someone who attended a screening of Hudson River Gothic. This gentleman introduced himself as president of the Tuxedo Historical Society and said, "some day we'll do a book together." I didn't hear from him for several years. Then two years ago I received a call from his associate, who reminded me of that earlier meeting and said, "let's get to work."
Tuxedo Park: The Historic Houses was privately published last year by Tuxedo Historical Society, with money raised from homeowners. It's designed by a top graphic artist named Hilary Kliros and printed on sumptuous Italian paper. I've shown it to commercial publishers who said they couldn't match its quality. The project has changed my thinking about the potential of private publishing. (The book, co-edited by Christian R. Sonne and Chiu yin Hempel, is available at http://www.tuxedohistoricalsociety.org/.)
Tuxedo Park School
Allee
Tennis House Columns
Lake and Tennis House
5) What has been your favorite photography project/subject and why?
Tuxedo Park has been among my favorite projects. The place has a craggy, Picturesque character, with rustic stone houses designed by Bruce Price that seem to grow right out of the cliffs. I love rain, and it seemed to rain almost constantly during my six months of shooting there. The place became a rain forest. I was blessed each day with uncanny effects from the heavens: sun bursts through dark clouds, fog banks drifting up the steep hills; rain drops glistening on gardens. This atmosphere pervades the book. Another editor might have grumbled, "more sun." But my editors knew the Park and knew we had it right. A perfect project.
Hills in Mist
6) What is your favorite pastime after your career in photography?
Hiking with my wife Jenny, son Jamie, and our new dog. At nine, Jamie's just turned a corner: he now walks ahead of us, enjoys steep open faces, and is more or less fearless. New York City is not unlike San Francisco in that's it's surrounded with magnificent parks, mainly to the north along the Hudson River.
7) What are you reading at the moment?
The Intelligence of Dogs, by Stanely Coren. My puppy Retriever is resisting house breaking, and I hope this book will reveal whether her many accidents are truly those, or if she has, in fact, a cruel design upon our antique oak floors.
8)Where do you like to go to get "away from it all"?
We have a small Greek Revival house in the farm country that we escape to on weekends. Though it was surely built by a local carpenter, it has fine proportions. In its whiteness (no shudders) it becomes a gleaming sculpture. I can stare at it for hours. I've taken many pictures of it, some of which you can see on my Web site. (http://www.jamesbleecker.com/)
House, New Concord
9) What are you never without?
I should say my camera, right? I will correct that soon by buying a small digital camera that I can keep glued to my hand.
Sutherland Pond
10) If you could be anywhere anytime, where and when would that be?
I would be transported to the southeast coast of Maui in rainy season. That's the steep side of the island. The twisty road along the ocean threads in and out of the mountains and past innumerable waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet. It's all shrouded in mist and you can only imagine the height of the peaks above you. Rain and fog: is there a motif running through this conversation?
11) Who are your heroes and why?
While he was more of a grouch than a hero, I admire Walker Evans. His iconic photos of Depression-era towns stop me in my tracks. He brings dignity and stature to simple buildings like a vernacular Southern church or a gas station. It's partly his straight-on, no-nonsense compositions, and partly his soft Pictorialism: opposing styles brought together without irony. I feel his pictures are honest and ennobling. That, to me, is close to a heroic accomplishment – at least in artistic terms.
Barn, New Concord
12. What are you up to at the moment?
I'm working on my next show in Chelsea, which will feature giant prints of the High Line. The High Line is a massive, rusting elevated railway cutting through the Chelsea gallery district of Manhattan. It threads its way into and out of the old warehouses here, the buildings actually enveloping it. I suppose it was too massive for anyone to take on the task of demolishing it, so it sat idle for years. Now it's being adapted as a greenway park; imagine walking through thirty blocks of Manhattan at an elevation of 30 feet, like King Kong.
The High Line appeals to my love of old or abandoned structures – in this case one that cuts through some of New York's swankest new architecture, making for startling juxtapositions. New York's only contribution from Frank Gehry, the new IAC building, is the backdrop for one of my photographs.
It's fun not to be photographing houses for a change. But guess what? One building along the High Line is a semi-ruinous 19th-century office that someone has stabilized. They've built a modernist townhouse within – and peeking out from – the crumbling walls. Now that's a house I could live in.
(This show opens in November at Allen Sheppard Gallery, 530 West 25th Street. http://www.allensheppardgallery.com/)
Rockefeller Center
Please take a moment to check out James' website to see many more stunning photos and find out more about the book Tuxedo Park: the Historic Houses.
