Wednesday, March 23, 2011

joianne bittle at churner & churner

Remember the incredible Joianne Bittle? Well, I am thrilled to announce the opening of her first solo exhibit in New York, at Churner and Churner gallery in New York. If you missed "Preserving Mass Extinction" in Marfa, "No Man's Land" can be found in Chelsea, opening tomorrow night from 6-8 p.m.


"No Man's Land" will showcase together some of Joi's most recent striking work— the portable diorama from "Preserving Mass Extinction" (now the first of a series, "Portable Landscapes") and the recently completed group of paintings called "Jackrabbits" (2008-2011), which will be shown together for the first time. Presented with these works is an artists' book, Field Companion.


Image courtesy of Joianne Bittle


The exhibit can be viewed through April 27 at
Churner and Churner




205 10th Avenue
NY, NY 10011

inky crash

Car crashes are no good, but if they have to happen, they might as well be pretty, right?

Photo by Winlsow Townson for The Boston Globe, courtesy of Boston.com


Two weeks ago, a semi truck hauling industrial printer cartridges rolled over on a Massachusetts interstate, spilling ink all over.
Unfortunately, the ink presents health risks for clean-up workers. Fortunately, the ink is not considered a hazardous material and the driver of the truck was the only person involved in the crash and is uninjured.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

wheaten terrier puppies

Some of our dear friends, Carol and Mike, have these super sweet Wheaten terriers. If you've never played with one, these dogs are just so much fun. They are gentle and energetic and snuggly and sweet. And they don't shed, which is something we love because that means they swim in the pool with us in the summer. Carol and Mike's dogs Bailey and Barkley recently had puppies. Last week, I got a chance to photograph the four two-month-old siblings a day before they went to their respective new homes.




The papa, Barkley

Mama Bailey with one of her puppies






Barkley


happy 21st, yolanda!

One of my oldest friends, Yolanda, turns 21 today! Happy birthday, sister!!


Yolanda as a baby
with her mom, my godmother, Carol


Yolanda as a lady

xo

Monday, March 21, 2011

ahhh... spring!

Deep breath— I am so ready for this. Crazy to think that this is my last spring of college. But I feel so rejuvenated. I spent most of my spring break in a floaty strapless sun dress, letting the sun bake my shoulders. Yesterday, my drive through Indiana was inspirational, to say the least. At one point, I found myself on a winding road. On my left: a sweeping field, a hillside dotted with brown and black cows, and even little calfs. On my right: a line of innumerable white sycamores, their bark standing boldly in the setting sunlight, the repetition of the white branches mesmerizing. And in my rearview mirror: the sun, perfectly centered over the road, a massive globe in a deep, rich, radiating pink-orange. It was so perfect, it would have been a waste to try to take a picture.

Just for kicks, though, here are some images I shot last spring and summer.





photos by Shanti Knight

And a couple of perfect quotes:
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
-Albert Einstein

"Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty, if only we have the eyes to see them."
-John Ruskin

I'm back!

It's been a while since I blogged, and I promise I have a good reason. It's because I went to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas last week! Wowzers. What an experience. There's no explaining it— there was such an overwhelming concentration of people, innovation, creativity, communication and passion, and it was like being in the center of the world. Such fun.

The Austin skyline from my hotel room window.
Photo by Shanti Knight

On a different note, I want to express my extreme sadness about the disasters happening in Japan, and extend my prayers for healing there.

Monday, March 7, 2011

real-life flying house

Did you see Up? I'll be honest... I haven't yet. But how cool is this experiment to create a real-life version of the flying house from the movie?


The National Geographic Channel was the genius— and those who had the sense of adventure to ask, "How hard can it be?"— behind this mission, which involved an overnight excursion to California's high desert, where dozens of volunteers gathered in freezing temperatures to make the project possible.

The result? Setting the world record for the largest cluster balloon flight ever.

See more photos and watch a video with the full story here.

Friday, March 4, 2011

taekwondo for tykes

My goodness, how sweet.

the moon is down

Today, on this New Moon, I'm inspired by these sweet photos via FunnBee
(photographer is, unfortunately, unknown)
















And by this sweet song...


"The Moon is Down"
by John Prine


The moon is down
All over town
The forecast is gray
Now that she's gone away

The stars in the skies
Fell out of her eyes
They shattered when they hit the ground
And now the moon is down

The sun will be fine
It'll still shine all the time.
The sky will be blue
And do what it's supposed to do.
You see gravity pulls—
But it can't keep you around.
It'll be one long day...
And now the moon is down.

The moon is down
All over town
The stars in the skies
Fell out of her eyes
The gravity pulls
But it can't hold you down
It'll be one long day
And now the moon is down.

It'll be one long day...
And now the moon is down.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

105-year-old movie clip

105 years ago in San Francisco, somebody had the foresight to attach a video camera containing some of the first 35mm film ever to the front of a cable car. The most conspicuous landmark in this video is the clock tower, which is still there today, at the end of Market Street at the Embarcadero wharf.


I got this in a chain email, the author of which revealed more details of this piece of history. David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum read New York trade papers' announcing of the film showing. He researched car registrations and plate numbers. He also observed the weather conditions seen in the video (wet streets from recent heavy rainfall) and shadows indicating time of year, then compared these to weather records from the time period. From all of this, he concluded this was shot on April 14, 1906— just four days prior to the Great San Francisco Earthquake. It was shipped to New York via train to be processed.


For me, seeing something like this and truly appreciating it can be a bit of a challenge. Our movie industry is so awesome, it makes me almost desensitized to seeing this actual footage and realizing that these are actual people, not actors, and these were actually their lives. For me, the trick is letting go of everything I think I know and just letting myself sink in and really see this. These are people, like you and me, just dodging streetcars and horse-pulled wagons and going to work. Except that at work, there were no computers. And Teddy Roosevelt was the President. The Titanic hadn't even sunk yet!


I'm struck by how few women are on the street. There are women, but in proportion to the men— quite few. The author of the email noted that at the 33-second mark, a policeman crosses in front of the cable car. He's carrying a truncheon, which apparently was a 26-inch club. I kind of like the way he carries it so casually. The author also astutely observed that some of the steering wheels on the cars are still on the right side and wondered about when they were standardized. (According to this answer from the Antique Automobile Club of America, it was around the early 1920s, though, of course, it's still technically legal today.)


And just so it doesn't go unsaid— awesome music choice, am I right? It almost feels like a Luke Wilson movie. That's just the vibe. But the beat of the music seems to jive perfectly with the pace of the street.