stephen wilkes shares nyc, day to night

Thanks to a great tip from Tricia Vita over at Amusing the Zillion, I learned of a recently-opened exhibit at the CLAMPART gallery in Chelsea featuring the work of photographer Stephen Wilkes, whose masterpiece of Coney Island is below.

This photograph is part of Wilkes’ collection called “Day to Night,” and the pieces are impressive: huge composite photographs of iconic New York landscapes capturing the ebb and flow of the human masses — and the ever-changing light. In an interview with the Village Voice, he describes his process:

It dawned on me, I’m studying New York as an emergent life form, and the way you can see the city flow, it’s a form of emergent behavior. You realize that the pedestrians are communicating, the cabs, all these elements are coming together and creating a complex life form. In a way that’s how the city works. And, in a strange way, photographically, it’s almost an emergent form, the concept of a single photo is being changed in this way.

I can’t wait to go check the gallery out and see his large format pieces up close and personal — the exhibition at CLAMPART runs through October 29th.

flickr faves: six by six forever

My love for medium format film photography is no secret. And much to my delight, the volume of amazing work keeps increasing in our lovely Flickr pool, so the word must be spreading (or my proselytizing is working: yay!).

Check out some of my recent favorites below. And while we’re at it, can anyone recommend a good 645 medium format camera? I’m jonesing for a new format these days, and I’m pretty well decided on 645, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. Hasselblad? Contax? Pentax? Good ol’ Mamiya? I am paralyzed by all these vintage gear choices! I’d love your recommendations. Enjoy!

“8 AV,” by 12th St David:

“Kate’s Negroni at the Vanderbilt,” by Shawn Hoke:

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz:

“Broadway Brooklyn,” by Adam Lerner:

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz:

in pursuit of progress, not perfection

Once in awhile, the universe decides to remind me to relax a little bit. I’m usually grateful for the lesson, but the latest bout has been tough. No rest for the weary! The last six months or so have been pretty intense for my work and travel schedule, and the intensity has been bleeding into the anxiety I feel for completing house projects and actually taking a photograph or two once in awhile!

Speaking of the house, it was really nice to feel a sense of accomplishment after finishing the last project. Even if it was as superficial as painting a wall, rearranging some furniture, and adding a little drama to my day. As I hoped, it’s starting to inspire me to plan more fun projects for the house! (Is that some sick self-therapy, or what?)

But with photos, I was feeling a little lost. I recently got back this roll of film from the developer, and when I looked at it, it pretty much summed up my recent frustration. A whole roll of film, painstakingly shot with the old Leica, ruined when I opened the back of the camera to exposed film. And these light leaks, only discovered after wasting an hour scanning the roll. Ugh.

The more I stared at my mistakes though, the less I was bothered by them. In fact, I kind of love the photos and their crazy streaks. In other areas of my life (my job, my renovation), I am happy to pursue steady progress and iterative change until I’m happy with the end result. Why was I not expecting the same of myself in my personal pursuits? Maybe I just need to cut myself a break and embrace the splashes of light.

If anything, film has forced me to slow down, to think more about the process of making my photos, to select my materials carefully, expect ever-changing results and LEARN from them, good or bad. It really is an experiment — testing not my artistic perfection, but my patience and perspective.

And who knows? Maybe I’ll remember next time not to open the back of my stupid camera.

come on over to the dark side

Last week after the earthquake, Jen and I decided we needed to spend more time together before another natural disaster hit, so we made plans to spend a girls’ night in on Friday. Little did we know that a hurricane had other ideas for the weekend.

I convinced Jen to come over and drink wine motivate me while I finally took the plunge and cracked open the cans of paint waiting patiently in my basement (since April, cough). As you might’ve seen on Twitter, I shared a highly flattering picture of Jen’s taping skills to prove her hands-on participation. Thanks to Jen for the thrill. And all my straight lines because I hate taping.

I’ve been wanting to paint a wall charcoal ever since I saw how beautiful it was at D16 and SFGIRLBYBAY. But it takes some courage to commit to a black wall like that. It’s intimidating. I know, I know – I painted the bathroom black. And the front door (eventually) hot pink black. And our kitchen cabinets black. I might be slightly obsessed. Whatever.

One Hurricane Irene and approximately 27 hours of bad tv later, two coats of charcoal paint had gone up, plus trim and cove ceiling. The scary wind and rain couldn’t stop me!

Oh, yeah. And did I mention I picked up a set of vintage Bertoia chairs on eBay? They came all the way from New Orleans. I’m pretty sure the furniture designer who powdercoated them for me thought I was nuts when I asked him if they made hot pink powder. But — hoooo boy. I think he was just as psyched as me. Is it wrong to daydream about chairs?

(Pssst – he has more chairs. Leave a comment or tweet me and I’ll put you in touch!)

The teak sideboard, table, and chairs take on so much more of a reddish hue and seem so much warmer with the high-contrast paint. I really need to follow The Brick House’s wood restoring tutorial and not be lazy. But that would take some effort. Hmm…

I haven’t hung any art or mirrors yet, but I’m making plans. Strictly monotone or bright and colorful? I have to decide. Either way, I’m already in love with the high-contrast look, so I can’t wait to finish the room. By day, the colors seem more dramatic and by night it’s cozier and warmer. Another +1 for black paint!

For those interested in the specifics, the paint is BM “Wrought Iron,” in eggshell Natura. Trim is BM “Simply White,” in satin. And those are zinnias from my garden. I love them.