diptych # 143 / kitchen sink # 28 / tourist polaroid / life in pictures #19 ~ a picture making dilemma of sorts

graffiti ~ New York, NY • click to embiggen
hotdog debri ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
red umbrella / Hugo ~ 1000 Islands, NY • click to embiggen
Chanel N˚5 ~ New York, NY • click to embiggen

Over the past few weeks I have been moving about the landscape and have managed to make almost 100 pictures. As is my wont, those pictures are all over the landscape (metaphorically writing), referent wise. Some of the pictures fit into some of my various bodies of work but most do not.

Consequently, as I sit viewing all of the pictures - all open on my screen - I find myself ill at ease with the notion that I may be making too many pictures for my own good inasmuch as I don't know how to organize / categorize the ones which do not fit into one or the other of my existing bodies of work.

Some of the pictures suggest opportunities to create new bodies of work, assuming that I want to do so. While I have, in fact, been contemplating my next picture making thing, I am limited by my location in pursuing specific picture making opportunities. As an example, I live in a rather remote area so any thought of pursuing a body of work which requires regular access to big-city stuff - reference the graffiti pictures in this entry - is somewhat of a lost cause. So, looking the reality of the situation in the eye, I feel that I should (must?) find a new picture making thing which is within reach, literally and figuratively.

While I will never be able to rein in my picture making promiscuity, I do have the desire to sink my picture making teeth into a focused endeavor. Fortunately, thanks to a couple angst filled days of staring at my recent accumulation of pictures, I believe I have come up with an idea for my next picture making thing.

civilized ku # 2918 / diptych # 141 ~ lots of Buffalo

beer taps / Pearl Street Brewery ~ Buffalo, NY • click to embiggen
Buffalo Trace ~ Buffalo, NY • click to embiggen

Before departing to Buffalo I picked up a bottle of Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon to have for the hotel room. During my walk about in downtown Buffalo, I stopped into the Pearl Street Brewery for lunch and to sample some of their beers.

As I sat at the bar, right there in front of me was a Buffalo Trace napkin / straw fixture. Needless to write, I wanted it but no amount of offers (money wise) could get it in my hands. As it turned out, that was a good thing because the wife said I would have to get my own apartment if I showed up with it.

FYI, Buffalo Trace bourbon is not made in Buffalo. It is made in Kentucky, as are most bourbons, at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. The name of the bourbon derives from the fact that the distillery - 200 years old and named as a National Historic Landmark - is located near what was once a buffalo path/trail. In Kentucky, a path or trail is referred to as a trace. Hence, the name.

If one is not a bourbon aficionado, one would not know the distillery makes (under contract to various recipe holders) quite a number of highly sought after bourbons including the # 1 rated bourbon in the world, Van Winkle.

civilized ku # 2914 / triptych (civilized ku # 2915-17) ~ hanging with and smelling like the cows

Holsteins ~ Miner Institute / Chazy, NY - near the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
2220 and infrastructure ~ Miner Institute / Chazy, NY - near the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Estate Tax and Succession Planning ad for the agriculture community • click to embiggen

Been kinda busy over the past 5-6 days with a client project. Since I am the Creative Director / Art Director / Copy Writer / Picture Maker / Media Research and Placement Coordinator on the project, it has consumed most of my working time. Hence, no blog entries.

Fortunately, the end is within sight and things should return to a more normal balance of work and play soon ... soon being after this week's hockey tournament (Thursday - Sunday) in Buffalo, NY (at the other end of the NY State).

FYI # 1, the Holsteins were pictured at the Miner Institute, an institution which "conducts integrated, cutting-edge education, research, and demonstration programs that optimize the biological and economic relationships among forage-crop production, dairy and equine management, and environmental stewardship".

And, if you want a picture making challenge, try making a picture wherein ad message specific facial expressions of 3 different people need to be captured simultaneously (in one frame). That is always somewhat of a challenge. Now try it by substituting a cow for one of the people. That's a real picture making challenge if ever there was one.

FYI # 2, the ad project is focused on estate tax and succession planning services for the agriculture community - in this case, dairy farmers. The ad, with only the headline in place, can be viewed above.

diptych # 140 ~ mixed message

2 ideas, re: art ~ New York, NY • click to embiggenTo make or not to make. That is the question.

diptych # 139 ~ flying bag and the juggler illusion

flying objects ~ New York, NY • click to embiggen

When in NYC, it's almost impossible to resist the pull of making street pictures. I would assume that to be true, at least for me, in any big city.

That written, my take on street picturing is a bit different from the "norm" inasmuch as Street Photography pictures are most often pictures which focus on the people on the street. In my case, I like to place people within the context of the street. Perhaps a better name / descriptor for my street pictures would be something along the lines of "streetscapes". In any event, when making streetscapes, I am always on the look out for situational happenstance.

In the case of this diptych, the flying bag and the illusion of a man juggling a white ball were only apparent after viewing the pictures on the camera LCD screen (chimping). These visual elements and illusions were truly an example of lucky happenstance. But of course, one makes their own luck because luck favors the prepared and I am always prepared with 2 cameras - 1 with a moderate WA lens and the other with a moderate tele lens - at hand.

Now, it's off to Rhode Island for the next installment of Hugo's hockey quest. I'll be near Boston and some other seaside cities so perhaps some more streetscape pictures will be in order. Each day, all of Hugo's hockey will be over by noon, leaving us plenty of time to explore the area.

diptych # 138 ~ dark places

garage / subway ~ New York, NY • click to embiggen

diptych # 137 ~ the circle is complete

art maker and his art ~ here and there • click to embiggen

On very cold day in late November 2013, I was roaming the streets of Pittsburgh, PA making pictures. While doing so, I came upon a person painting / making a picture so I made a picture of the the scene. A scene which struck me (amongst other things) as an exercise in extreme dedication to craft/art.

Now, fast forward to yesterday evening when, at the dinner table, grad school-girl - formerly coma-girl - soon to be attorney-girl, presented the wife and I with a to-be-shared his-and-her's birthdays gift of a book, PITTSBURGH ~ 90 Neighborhoods. Lo and behold, the paintings were made by Ron Donoughe, none other than the earnest and dedicated painter pictured in my picture.

Nice book, nice gift with a seemingly random connection.

diptych # 136 / civilized ku # 2904 ~ New York, New York

desktop - NYC collection ~ Au Sable Forks, NY _ in the Adirondack PARK
garbage day ~ East Village / New York, New York • click to embiggen
NYC sunrise / sunset (your choice) ~ Chelsea / New York, New York • click to embiggen
No Photography ~ Governors Island / New York, New York • click to embiggen

Back home in the desktop once again - processing 50+ pictures made during my NYC visit - albeit only a very brief reprieve inasmuch as the Summer hockey tournament travel continues today. The NYC visit was very productive, picture making wise. I made more than enough "serious" pictures to last for more than a month of posting / entries. Although, I'll probably post more than one picture per entry since there a few diptych pairings in the group as well as a spate of referent-related pictures. And, I think that there's also a book in it.