Happy New Year!

Ode to things, by Pablo Neruda

I have a crazy,

crazy love of things.

I like pliers,

and scissors. 

I love

cups, 

rings,

and bowls – 

not to speak, or course,

of hats.

I love

all things,

not just

the grandest, 

also

the 

infinite-

ly

small – 

thimbles, 

spurs,

plates,

and flower vases.

Oh yes,

the planet 

is sublime!

It’s full of pipes

weaving

hand-held

through tobacco smoke,

and keys

and salt shakers – 

everything,

I mean,

that is made 

by the hand of man, every little thing: 

shapely shoes,

and fabric,

and each new

bloodless birth

of gold,

eyeglasses

carpenter’s nails,

brushes,

clocks, compasses, 

coins, and the so-soft

softness of chairs.

Mankind has 

built 

oh so many

perfect

things!

Built them of wool

and of wood, 

of glass and

of rope: 

remarkable

tables, 

ships, and stairways.

I love

all

things,

not because they are

passionate

or sweet-smelling

but because,

I don’t know,

because

this ocean is yours,

and mine; 

these buttons

and wheels

and little

forgotten

treasures,

fans upon

whose feathers

love has scattered

its blossoms,

glasses, knives and

scissors – 

all bear

the trace

of someone’s fingers

on their handle or surface,

the trace of a distant hand

lost

in the depths of forgetfulness.

I pause in houses,

streets and 

elevators

touching things,

identifying objects

that I secretly covet; 

this one because it rings,

that one because 

it’s as soft

as the softness of a woman’s hip,

that one there for its deep-sea color,

and that one for its velvet feel.

O irrevocable 

river

of things: 

no one can say

that I loved

only

fish, 

or the plants of the jungle and the field, 

that I loved

only

those things that leap and climb, desire, and survive.

It’s not true: 

many things conspired

to tell me the whole story.

Not only did they touch me,

or my hand touched them: 

they were

so close

that they were a part

of my being,

they were so alive with me

that they lived half my life

and will die half my death.

Controlled Burn, Easter Island, October 2012

5th Annual Secular Holiday Digital Advent Calendar

Happy December Everyone! Please enjoy my 5th Annual Secular Holiday Digital Advent Calendar. It will be updated daily through December 24. You have to find the number that corresponds to the day of the month and click it for a special treat. Don't click ahead (you won't find anything there). Lots of fun and surprises in store! Come back everyday or on the 24th to see the entire calendar. Please feel free to share...

Exhibition - Hotel Room Portraits

If you are in the Lambertville, NJ / New Hope, PA area check out my exhibition of Hotel Room Portraits at Wessel & O'Connor Fine Art. Running until December 23 there are over two dozen prints from this ongoing double self-portrait series. 

This is the first group hotel room portrait from our recent trip to Bolivia.

Left to Right: Theo, Richard, Seth, Vincent, Willemijn, and Nikola.

Loius CK

Louis CK is definitely one of the greatest comics of our generation.  I just completed watching the third season of Louis (which is running on the FX network).  Louis CK is not only the star of the show but he is also the writer, director, editor, and musical director. The semi-autobiographical premise of the show is about the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged stand up comedian who is lonely and out of shape. Each episode is only twenty-two minutes in length but Louis CK manages to pack them with poignancy, humor, sadness, and surrealism. The character Louis is honest, vulnerable, and socially conscious. I simply love him.  The girls playing his two daughters Lily (hilarious) and Jane are both incredible young actresses. I think this show goes above and beyond anything in the canon of fictionalized autobiographical sitcoms that have come before it (specifically Sienfeld & Curb Your Enthusiasm). Louis CK is an auteur like Woody Allen but he doesn’t live in a bubble like Allen and he depicts his life and shows a vision of New York City that is both real and accessible. A nice perk is that there are often really great guest stars that sometimes appear in multiple episodes. This most recent season there were outstanding performances by David Lynch, Parker Posey, and Chloe Sivigny to name a few.

Easter Island, October 2012

Aéroport

As I am about to embark on a big trip to South America check out my project Aéroport - a photographic series from years and years of air travel. Additionally, take a look at a recent blog post on the project at Forbes.com

Early Color

Have a look at this slideshow on Time's Lightbox of early color photographs by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii of Czarist Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. Magnificent!

Two Prisoners in Shackles, between 1905 and 1915

Dwight Henry and "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

This evening I saw the film  “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, which was a big hit at Sundance this year. It's quite a magical and special film: dreamlike, poetic, and a little bit sad.

I've been wanting to see it since I was in New Orleans last month to photograph the lead actor Dwight Henry for New York Times T Magazine. I spent the day with Dwight and met his lovely family and very sweet publicist Anjulee. This was Dwight's first film, as he is actually a baker and a very good one at that (I was fortunate enough to try his famous Buttermilk drops at the Buttermilk Bakery and Café in New Orleans). Good things are happening for Dwight Henry - he is appearing in a Steve McQueen film due next year and planing to open an outpost of his bakery in Harlem. I'm glad that our paths crossed and that I got to experience meeting Dwight who has an aura of kindness and warmth around him.  Speaking of auras, New Orleans has about one of the best of all the cities in the USA. 

More Photos About Buildings and Food

I have work in a group show opening in Philly tomorrow. It's up through December 22. If you are in Philadelphia this fall - check it out!

Hotel Room Portraits in The Advocate

The Large Format Portrait, ICP - Summer 2012

I just finished my 4th annual large format portrait class at ICP this week and I couldn't be prouder of the work and energy of this years class. Here is a little peek at what these view camera virgins were able to accomplish.

The Large Format Portrait, August 2012

Cary Tijerina - Astoria Skate Park

Cary Tijerina - Astoria Skate Park

Daria Galli - Untitled

Daria Galli - Untitled

Eliot Nolen - Henry

Eliot Nolen - Smoker

Lee Chantler - Jacob

Lee Chantler - Zod

Matthew Freedman - Dan

Matthew Freedman - Ed

Meghan Hickey - Lucy & Triada

Meghan Hickey - Tito

Mikkel  Jorgensen - Albert & Joan

Mikkel  Jorgensen - Forbidden Ones Brooklyn

Ottavia Musini - Untitled

Ottavia Musini - Untitled 

Alp Klanten - Eugene

Alp Klanten - Ruslan

Tommy Mendes - West 4th Street Hood

Tommy Mendes - Grandma

Varvara Abramova - Untitled

Varvara Abramova - Untitled

The Big Top

Carson & Barnes Circus; Geneva, Ohio
 July, 2012

Hotel Room Portraits

Mannschaft Magazine recently featured my Hotel Room Portraits as a cover story in their July 2012 issue.  Hotel Room Portraits (1999 - present)  is an ongoing series by my partner Seth Boyd and me.  On the surface, this body of work is a series of self-portraits, but if you take a deeper look it's also a journal. In our hotel room "journal" what is being recorded is intimacy, aging and physical change, the architecture of hospitality, and a comprehensive travelogue.  Have a look at the Mannschaft article here and the complete series here.

The Contractor

Bogdon, June 2012