the COSMAS blog

Washington D.C. 2012

2012-01-13T00:15:00.000-05:00

We visited D.C. last weekend ahead of a reading my wife did for PEN Faulkner on Monday (it was really great!)Here are a selection of shots I took while there. We walked around the canal along Georgetown and visited a number of museums and memorials, so the photos are mostly of those things, but I tried to give them my own little personal twist, as usual.Check them out here.*Update: I've taken a number of the less interesting photos out of the set to provide a more streamlined experience.

VH1 Divas 2011 shoot selects

2011-12-29T23:20:00.000-05:00

I took these shots over a month ago when we did a full days worth of filming for VH1's 2011 Divas promo and show graphics. I've been dying to show them, but I obviously had to wait until the show aired (Dec 19). So, here are some of my selects from the stills I shot.

You can see some of the video and graphics work we did for the show at this link.

Happy Holidays 2011

2011-12-23T09:57:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays, everyone. Here's a little lighthearted fun we made at my company:

Animated Still Life

2011-11-26T01:21:00.001-05:00

Here's a recent experiment I did that I thought was interesting. It is meant to be presented as an endless loop, but this example is just one loop.

New Photos uploaded to Street Art album

2011-11-25T19:40:00.001-05:00

Here are some new shots I've recently added to my Street Art album

Street Art

Photographs of Richard Serra work

2011-10-29T23:18:00.001-04:00

I saw the Richard Serra show at the Gagosian Gallery today. I love photographing his work because it's a wonderful canvas with which to 'paint' an image. If you like abstract work, click here. (Once you've gone to the page, you can 'click' to advance each image.)

Joseph Saccio sculpture show at Silvermine, Sept 25, 2011

2011-10-09T20:28:00.002-04:00

I got to photograph my father's sculpture show at the Silmermine gallery in New Canaan, recently. I thought I'd share some selections here.I'm a big fan of his work and it's been great to see how prolific he's been this past year. It's really worth checking out!

Today at the Brooklyn Bridge Park

2011-10-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

Here's a couple iphone photos I took today during a nice walk along the Brooklyn Bridge Park area.

Cape Cod, September 2011

2011-09-24T15:43:00.000-04:00

I was able to get a few more days donated at a client's B&B again this year, so we had a very nice opportunity to hike around the Orleans and Wellfleet area of Cape Cod two weekends ago. Here are some shots I took. Nothing super special, but some a few nice nature shots. All in all, it was perfect weather and a good escape to nature again for me.

Labor Day Weekend Food (so far)

2011-09-05T00:34:00.000-04:00

Couldn't resist posting some shots of the food we've been having this weekend.

Ravenous: the new online food column by Monique Truong

2011-09-03T11:15:00.000-04:00

I'm not able to post my photos directly for this just yet, but please follow this link to see a really awesome new online column for the New York Times T Magazine that Monique Truong is writing on food. The first article is already up and yours truly took the food photos for it. It's my first work for the New York Times that has actually gotten credited to me, so that's certainly nice to see.

New Jersey / New York state line hike

2011-08-28T13:55:00.001-04:00

I went on a hike last weekend with some friends along the border of New Jersey and New York. It was interesting mostly for the numerous steep climbs/descents we had to make and the fact that much of the trail had turned into streams due to the excessive rains from previous days. Also, it was the first time that I got to give my Capture Camera Clip a good work out. Given all the scrabbling up and down rocks that we had to do, having my camera securely mounted to my backpack strap was incredibly helpful. It was instantly available anytime I wanted to take a photo, but completely out of my way when I didn't need it. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of breathtaking sites to photograph on this trip, but I got a few fun panoramas out of the trip. Take a look here.

Last weekend upstate

2011-08-21T18:17:00.004-04:00

We had the pleasure of being invited upstate to spend last weekend with some friends in Ghent, NY. Here are a some of my favorite shots from the weekend. (Some items of note: JR graffiti along the Bruckner Expressway, a Shaker community near Mt. Lebanon, and Kinderhook Farm.)

Photo shoot in the Hamptons and Montauk

2011-08-06T17:52:00.001-04:00

I was lucky enough to go on a photo shoot last week to capture panoramics of desolate Hamptons beaches. It was great to get some of the sea air (and cooler temps) in the midst of all this heat we've been getting. Here are two of the panoramics and a few other shots from a Montauk beach that was suffering some serious erosion. (Watch for promos for a new TV show this fall that will feature one of the panoramas)

Inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard

2011-07-17T16:38:00.002-04:00

I had a rare opportunity to get inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard recently. It was a crazy couple hours, as there was a brief freak storm that happened while I was there. It snapped a small tree in half, kicked up a huge amount of dirt and debris, caused the nearby waters to go crazy, and then ended in a full rainbow. My stay was very brief, but I managed to snap a few photos. Take a look here.

Moustache strikes again

2011-07-11T20:53:00.000-04:00

From Street Art

Italy and Greece Photos

2011-06-19T18:35:00.006-04:00

I've finally finished going through all the photos I took from my recent trip to Italy and Greece, except for the time-lapse experiments I made. You can take a look here where I've posted some favorite regular shots, some panoramics, and a few HDR photos.
If you want to see more, a more comprehensive set of standard photos and Athens 'Street Art' can be found here.

New NYC photos - Arts Weekend in town

2011-06-12T11:19:00.010-04:00

I've not had a chance to post anything lately, and I'm still working on the large group of shots and time lapses I shot while in Italy and Greece.

However, in the meantime, I just had a great day yesterday checking out the American Academy of Arts and Letters, way up on West 155th St in Manhattan. My wife recently won an award from them, and they have a great exhibit of all of the award winners and inductees this year. I photographed some statuary on their grounds as well as some really cool works by architect Bill Massie and artist James Turrell.

After that, we went to the Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea to catch the Gaia, Miss Van, and Mario Martinez show and then finally on to the newly opened High Line extension between 20th and 30th Streets. I'd highly recommend (re-)visiting the High Line to see the extension, it's well worth it.

As we were finishing up our High Line visit, a rooftop dance performance by the Trisha Brown Dance Company began. It consisted of about 8 dancers on various rooftops and the High Line, acting out various moves that were picked up in succession (telephone-game style) and passed along from one dancer to the next.

Definitely a very New York-centric arts heavy day, but well worth it.

Check out this link for my interpretations of various things I saw yesterday.
First, some explanations: When you go to the link, try maximizing your browser to get the full effect (apple/windows-shift-f works on firefox)
The first images are of statuary at the American Academy, the next are details of a study model by Bill Massie's studio; then there are some images showing new holograms from James Turrell; Then there are various details from along the High Line and finally an image from the Trisha Brown dance performance. Hope you enjoy:

June 11, 2011 images

first night time time lapse

2011-04-27T00:12:00.002-04:00

First time I tried out a timelapse at night. The two moves are at two different speeds as you can see.

Interestingly, you can see the flight path for planes heading to LaGuardia airport and away from JFK pretty clearly.

...and 'uninterestingly', you can see there's a problem with the track not being fixed down :-(

Hanksy!

2011-04-24T19:53:00.004-04:00

Forget about Bansky, 'Hanksy' has just put this one up in Little Italy. (you may need to click to see the full size of this, as it's a bit far away.) This is like a joke on top of a joke on top of a joke!

MoCo Timelapse, here we go!

2011-04-24T19:19:00.011-04:00

Thanks to Dynamic Perception, I've finally taken the next step in my long quest to get set up with a motion controlled time lapse rig. I'm pretty excited. I've put together the unit and mastered the fundamentals of the dolly controller. I still need some essential pieces to the puzzle, but I have enough ready now that I was able to do a few tests.

Above are some pictures of it coming together and here's the first test video:

MoCo04 from Damijan Saccio on Vimeo.

First outdoor tests. I still need a battery pack and tripods, so possibilities are still pretty limited. Good stuff to come in a few weeks though!

MoCo05 from Damijan Saccio on Vimeo.

New Photo Session from the Jazz Standard posted

2011-04-19T12:38:00.007-04:00

I haven't had a lot of chances to post new photos lately, but just last week I was lucky enough to be invited to photograph Ben Allison's new band to help celebrate their new album release Action-Refraction.
Check out the pictures here

Street Art (recent photos)

2011-02-26T19:23:00.007-05:00

I haven't had a chance to capture any relevatory shots for a while, but I was just on an errand up Kent Ave today in Williamsburg and aside from all the frightful signs of rapid gentrification, I was able to grab a number of shots of some excellent street art. I was especially impressed by an entire building mural by twin artists How & Nosm, along with RRobots. Also of note are some works by noted artist ROA. Click HERE and go to the end of the list to see the other shots from today and previous ones.

Berlin trip photos

2010-11-28T23:10:00.006-05:00

Just got back from Germany tonight and thought I'd post some photos I took while there.
This link is for various art shots I took from various locations in Berlin such as the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial, and various other cool sites around town.
ps- Don't forget to check out the 2nd link for the street art, along the top of the page after the jump. Or click here directly.

Kevin Cummins at White Columns: Joy Division extravaganza

2010-11-02T21:58:00.005-04:00

So, I was able to steal a quick 15 minutes last night to stop by and meet Kevin Cummins at White Columns. He was signing his new collection of iconic photos of Joy Division, taken in the 70's. There was also a wonderful limited edition set of postcards from Polite. They were so reminiscent of those awesome Factory box cassettes from the 80's that I had to pick one up. The photos are truly remarkable and there are a number that have not been published before.

Street Art extravaganza: The Underbelly Project

2010-11-01T00:25:00.002-04:00

(image from Vandalog)

All I can say is 'wow'. I can't wait until I can figure out how to visit this place and take photos of my own!
Until then, check out these three links:
Gothamist
LTV Squad
Vandalog

Right now...

2010-10-19T22:50:00.001-04:00

Terminal 5. At Dawn. My Morning Jacket

Paris Food Trip

2010-10-17T11:09:00.007-04:00

Wow. That's about all I can say after getting back from Paris this past week. I spent 4 days over a long weekend running around with my wife while she researched an article for a lifestyle magazine on Parisian pastries and hotel accommodations. That basically meant that we were at 5-6 pastry shops per day and stayed at three different hotels over those four days. It was completely and utterly exhausting, but a truly unforgettable experience. My takeaway was mostly food pictures for reference for my wife, but I was able to spot a good deal of street art as well, which is always fun for my continually expanding street art photo album.
Here's the photo set of selects I pulled from my trip. Click on the image below. Hope you enjoy. I have to say that I had the best lunch of my life (at the Four Seasons at the George V Hotel), two of my favorite dinners of all time (Le Petit Verdot, and Chez Jean), had amazing Cous Cous at our favorite Moroccan place (404) and saw Janet Jackson at one of my hotels. Definitely an eventful trip.

Patricia Piccinini at Haunch of Venison

2010-10-03T13:02:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite contemporary artists, Patricia Piccinini is exhibiting currently at Haunch of Venison in Manhattan. The exhibit ends October 30, so make sure you check it out. These are merely low res iphone photos, so you really want to check this exhibit out in person to grasp the full majesty of Ms. Piccinini's work. It's truly phenomenal and Haunch of Venison has really good taste in artists that they represent, so it's a great place to check out on a recurring basis. Click on the image below to see a photo set from the exhibit.

Joseph Saccio Sculpture - Open Studios, Sept 25, 2010

2010-09-26T12:28:00.003-04:00

I was in New Haven very briefly to catch some of the open studios in New Haven. Here are shots from Joseph Saccio's studio. Click on the image below to launch the photo set.

Houston

2010-09-19T20:01:00.001-04:00

I'm in Houston this weekend visiting the inlaws. Mostly eating my way through the weekend, but we managed to squeeze in a bit of art as well. This is looking up in part of the Museum of Fine Arts

East Village Street Art

2010-09-12T19:56:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple shots from a location in the East Village right next to each other. Very nice work.

Bambi Kino at Bowery Electric!

2010-09-05T13:47:00.005-04:00

We had a chance to see Bambi Kino at Bowery Electric in Manhattan on Thursday. Absolutely superb performance and they played 3 sets! 'Little Richard' even showed up. Please click HERE to get more info on Bambi Kino. They are basically an indie super group that is faithfully recreating the sound and songs of the young Beatles from their 1960's Hamburg years.

Manhattan and Brooklyn Street Art

2010-09-05T13:38:00.003-04:00

Here are two sites I shot in the past couple of days. Both brightened my mood as I passed by. The face is in SoHo, maybe on Greene St or Wooster. The Brooklyn Bridge fence with Brooklyn brownstones on one side and the Manhattan skyline on the other is just below Cobble Park, in Cobble Hill on Clinton St.

Cape Cod

2010-08-23T17:32:00.004-04:00

Was able to get an arrangement to stay at A Little Inn on Pleasant Bay this weekend. (I'm hiding from NYC for my birthday for part of this week.) Here are a few super long exposure photos I took around midnight on the first night. You'd think I took them during the day if it weren't for the stars in the sky:

August Street Art

2010-08-18T23:19:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple interesting pieces I saw the other day while getting lunch in the 'hood.

Wall: Across from Cafe Habana and Quilted Bike: on Elizabeth near Broome.

It's Here!!!

2010-08-03T21:07:00.003-04:00

We just got in the first hard covers of Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong. Woo hoo! Don't forget to pre-order from your favorite distributor! It's officially out August 31.

UVPH panoramas

2010-07-24T17:18:00.003-04:00

Just checked out a new app called You Gotta See This!. Here are two panoramas I took with it. UVPHACTORY inside and outside

I love Community Supported Agriculture

2010-07-18T00:02:00.003-04:00

mmmm, CSA day is Saturday in my neighborhood and it always seems to be a case of 'how many CSA veges can we fit into our breakfast?' This morning was a wonderfully fresh beet salad (red and candy-striped), and a sweet Italian sausage (thanks Staubitz) and CSA summer squash frittata with fresh CSA basil and eggs. Mmmmmm Mmmmmm Mmmmmm!!

Memories of a cooler season...

2010-07-17T17:40:00.001-04:00

Ah, PTown, take me back! It's so hot and humid in NYC right now, but here's a panorama I took back in April when when the weather was much more pleasant.

July 4th dumplings

2010-07-05T00:00:00.003-04:00

Eating through Independence Day weekend continues: Incredible homemade dumplings tonight from Monique. (Made with the help of Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings book)

Independence Day weekend off to a great start!

2010-07-02T23:28:00.004-04:00

I just ate the best pizza of my life tonight at home. Fresh mozzarella and extra sharp provolone (from Caputo's Fine Foods), oven roasted plum tomatoes, bell peppers, fresh basil (backyard), fleur de sel, and sweet italian sausage (from Staubitz)

Independence Day weekend is starting out right!!

Super Rad Website

2010-07-02T00:39:00.004-04:00

Check out Monique's new website. Really well done. Programming by Eric Gordon and artwork by Briony Morrow-Cribbs

Fireworks over the East River last night

2010-06-27T15:06:00.002-04:00

I was at a house warming last night on the 28th floor of a Brooklyn Heights high rise. It afforded a perfect view of a double-barge fireworks display. Here are a few phone-photos:

Red Hook Street Art

2010-06-27T14:58:00.002-04:00

I love walking around in Red Hook. There are still so many great little finds. Here are two pieces of street art I found next to each other last week:

From Street Art

Out and About this past week

2010-06-14T00:48:00.008-04:00

Took a few lame quality phone-photos about town this past week and thought I'd share:

From Street Art

This is a piece of Shepard Fairey street art that I somehow had missed when the exhibit went up last month at the Deitch Gallery. This wall is at the corner of Grand and Wooster, by the way.

and this is our nice view from the rooftop bar at the Thompson Hotel after the owner of the ground floor restaurant Kittichai, Jean Marc, invited us up.

and finally, this is a shot of the past 10 years' winners at the 10th annual New York Public Library Young Lions Awards. Each author wrote a special dedication to Ethan Hawke, co-founder and host of the awards, and they were subsequently given to him at the end of the evening.

New book!

2010-05-24T23:27:00.006-04:00

Those who know me know I'm pretty excited about this. Hot off the press (pub date is actually June 1) from the UK, Shadowplayers by James Nice (LTM records founder, etc.) seeks to be the definitive word on the rise and fall of Factory Records. And if Simon Reynolds and Jon Savage both have good things to say about it, you know that's a good sign. Can't wait to start it soon.

Found in the old offices of Kid Robot

2010-05-18T23:35:00.003-04:00

I was just in the recently vacated offices of Kid Robot and found this graffiti on the wall in one of the rooms. I thought I'd share:

From Street Art

Don't Forget to check out the Shepard Fairey show at Deitch Projects

2010-05-16T23:09:00.005-04:00

I recently got a chance to check out the Fairey's 'ad' for his new show at Deitch Projects.

This mural is located at Houston and Bowery. The show at Deitch Projects is their FINAL show and it's up until May 29, so hurry and see it now. Fairey is even crediting the original sources for the images he used (bravo!). Anyway, good stuff. Check it out. Here's a link: Deitch Projects

Doha, Qatar

2010-05-09T01:08:00.005-04:00

I had a brief business trip to Doha that I just got back from and of course I was able to squeeze in a few photos. Click on any below to jump to the photo set.

Provincetown Photos, part 2

2010-04-26T00:08:00.002-04:00

I just uploaded a new photo set from Provincetown. It was a great experience getting to go up here a few times. I hope I get more chances in the future. We saw a few whales: a right whale a couple weeks ago and a Humpback and a couple Finbacks today. Click the images below for a link to the photo set. Please note that there are two sets that you can link from at the top of the page in the photo set.

Still good 20 years later

2010-04-22T00:12:00.004-04:00

So, Nada Surf came out with a new all covers album recently and it got me re-listening to some of their other music, which in turn got me rummaging through my aging cassette collection. I dug up this original demo tape that the precursor to Nada Surf, Because Because Because, gave me back in 1990 when I was putting on shows back in college. I liked it so much, I had them play that year. After listening to it again, it turns out this early work still rocks. Way to go, guys!

Cosmas Music Mix 01 - Mid 2009

2010-04-18T11:29:00.004-04:00

I'll be posting some links to some music compilations I've made over the past year soon. I've been trying to figure out a way to show the collections in a way that encourages people to actually buy the music. It's actually not super easy as a number of the songs I've put on the compilations are out of print or not available on places like iTunes. This first one seemed to work for iTunes' iMix feature, so I'll start with this. Hope people take a look and investigate these bands.

Mount Washington Trip, March 2010

2010-03-27T21:13:00.009-04:00

My father had his 75th birthday late last year and I promised him that I'd go hiking with him for his present (it's one of his favorite activities). Well, he loves hiking in the snow and one of his favorite places to go is Mount Washington, the highest peak in the US, East of the Rockies. So, I was able to oblige last weekend finally, and here are some pictures of the two days we spent hiking.

The first day, we went up Mount Washington itself by way of Lion's Head. This trail let us try out micro spikes/partial crampons, and then when the trail started going straight up, full-on crampons and ice axes.

On the second day, I wanted to try snowshoeing for the first time, so I was told about the Glen Boulder trail which was seldom frequented and thus had unpacked snow. It was an interesting day/trail, as the weather changed radically as I got above tree line and it started snowing and visibility sank quite drastically. Fortunately it started clearing a tiny bit just in time for me to spot the giant 'Glen Boulder', since the trail was often hard to see. All in all, I had an absolutely amazing time and I can't believe people don't do this all the time. It's great exercise (yeah, I can still feel it) and incredibly exhilarating. It made me feel like a kid again, scampering up almost vertical inclines with my crampons. It's very difficult to fully convey the inclines or majesty of the views, but click on the images below to see the photo set I made.

MoMA, March 2010

2010-03-27T15:46:00.005-04:00

I went to MoMA recently to see the William Kentridge show. I can not emphasize enough that you should all try to make it to this retrospective. It's really worth seeing, especially if you have any interest at all in motion design. It's a wonderful selection of works and well worth a visit, even if you've seen a lot of his work before. I guarantee that there will be things of his you haven't seen yet here. Very sadly, they don't allow photography in the exhibit, so here are a few shots from other exhibits going on that are worth seeing.

Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present

Projects 92: Yin Xiuzhen

Ernesto Neto: Navedenga

Also, worth checking out if you are near Bryant Park is a public artwork by a friend of mine. It's a stationary zoetrope-like art piece where you can see motion as you move past it. It's worth a look. Enter the D and F station at the North West corner of Bryant Park to see it.

Provincetown Photos, part 1

2010-03-27T15:31:00.004-04:00

OK, I've finally gotten around to going through my photos from my recent trip to PTown. It's definitely a wonderful place to visit, especially off season. The deal is that M got a residency there for a couple months, complete with a house. Not bad! Click on the image above to see the photo set.

New Photos Coming!

2010-03-27T15:30:00.002-04:00

Been super busy lately, but I've been three places worthy of photos recently, so stay tuned...

PTown, March 2010!

2010-03-02T19:04:00.002-05:00

Whoa, what am I doing in Provincetown instead of being at work? First time in a year and a half that I'm trying to take several days away from the office. We'll see if I make it. M gets to stay here 2 months! It's so beautiful. Hopefully photos to follow!

Happenstance

2010-02-21T01:43:00.002-05:00

Weird - we were walking by our local thrift store on Court St and I looked down and saw a 1955 edition of 'House of Dolls' sitting on top of a pile of books outside. It was only a dollar, so, being a huge J.D. fan, I had to pick it up. Here are some pix. You can see the cover and the page where Ian Curtis got the lines in 'No Love Lost'. Sorry for the crap quality iphone-quality images.

New York gets snow again

2010-02-10T21:51:00.003-05:00

They always bill it as some sort of major blizzard that everyone should be scared about and stay home. It was totally no big deal for anyone in the 5 boroughs. I know it was much worse for people in the mid Atlantic region, but I think people in the NYC area just over reacted a bit too much. Anyway, at least it was very beautiful in my back yard:

Tết 2010 - go Tiger!

2010-02-10T21:47:00.002-05:00

Looking Forward to Tết this year. Quince Blossoms in place!

A little bit of time traveling this past Christmas...

2010-01-10T00:40:00.004-05:00

Here's an iphone photo collage of two shots I took over this past holiday. It's a portrait in more ways than one. It's also a bit of a time capsule dating from 1977.

This frightens me...

2009-12-28T10:11:00.004-05:00

I was out in the 'burbs recently and saw this.

Vietnamese comfort food

2009-12-12T15:08:00.004-05:00

Soooo good last night: Canh Chua and Thịt Kho. Oh my God, I'm still stuffed. Oh wait maybe that's because we just ate the left overs for breakfast!

(Thanks Trac for the Thịt Kho!)

Trees and herbs staying in for the winter

2009-12-12T03:01:00.004-05:00

One nice thing about winter time is that we get to enjoy our little 'forest' inside.

Photo from around 1940

2009-10-27T23:04:00.005-04:00

I assure you, this is no propaganda poster. This is actually a photo of my mom as a little girl from around 1940. This was taken by a relative of her next door neighbor (pictured on the left) who apparently won a photo prize with it and it was shown nationally in a magazine in the US. Pretty wild. Thought I'd share.

more strange mobile phone pictures

2009-10-26T23:39:00.003-04:00

Saw this the other night.

No Domping

2009-10-18T22:08:00.000-04:00

We saw this near the Gowanus Canal. Had to share.

Fig Harvest

2009-10-10T16:24:00.003-04:00

Well one great thing about the fall, aside from not having to deal with impossibly hot and humid days anymore, is harvest time. For me this year (it was a very tough growing season) that mostly means figs from my fig tree. The tree has gotten so big at this point since I planted it some 5 years ago that I can't even reach the highest ones with a ladder. So, I guess this year the birds and the squirrels will have to fight amongst themselves for those ones.

Trung Thu (Mid Autumn Festival) 2009

2009-10-03T14:43:00.003-04:00

To celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival last night, we had some friends over and had some incredibly delicious home made Goi Ga (a Vietnamese chicken salad) shrimp crackers (an Indonesian brand called Komodo - definitely the best I've ever had), and shrimp/crab/pork Cha Gio (spring rolls) from Saigon Eggrolls in Houston. (Saigon Eggrolls, 11920 Beechnut St, Houston, TX 77072). For dessert we had Moon Cakes (of course) from Cafe Queen Bakery, 2869 Senter Road, San Jose, CA 95111. Tel: 408-226-1627. (Thanks Trac). Yum!

September 11th Memorial Lights

2009-10-03T14:38:00.003-04:00

I've had a little side project of photographing the 911 memorial lights each year since 2002 from my roof. Strangely this year, it was so overcast that all you could see from Brooklyn was an eerie glow from Ground Zero.

My neighborhood is not completely gentrified yet ;-)

2009-09-13T22:59:00.003-04:00

So, fortunately it seems that the hipsters haven't completely run the old-school Italians out of my neighborhood yet. Here's a typical Sunday on Court St.

MTV VMAs

2009-09-13T14:19:00.004-04:00

we (UVPHACTORY) worked on the Lady Gaga CG set backdrop for her performance tonight on the MTV VMAs. Check it out tonight broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall. Here are a few shots I took a couple days ago when we tested the lighting and CG set.

Philip Johnson estate (photos)

2009-09-13T01:09:00.006-04:00

OK, so I was a bit delayed in getting these on line. Here is a photo set I took while on the 'long tour'. Hope you enjoy. Click Here

Philip Johnson estate!

2009-08-23T21:01:00.003-04:00

Stay tuned, I just got back from the 'long tour' at the Philip Johnson estate in New Canaan just now and I took a whole slew of photos. I hope to post them within a week. Regardless of what you think of the man (and believe me, I'm no fan) it's still fully worthwhile to check out the place.

Roxy Paine at the Met

2009-08-22T14:36:00.006-04:00

We were checking out the last day of the (really excellent) Francis Bacon retrospective at the Met the other week so we went up to the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (my favorite spot) to see the Roxy Paine installation "Maelstrom". If you go to the Met, make sure to check it out! (warning bad iphone photos follow)

Street Art???

2009-08-22T14:33:00.003-04:00

Uh, this is sort of the old-school Carroll Gardens aesthetic. What do you think- a sort of suburban street art? ;-)

July '09 Street Art

2009-08-22T14:05:00.007-04:00

Trying to catch up on some stuff I wanted to share from this summer...
Make sure to check out the new(ish) mural by Brazilian brothers Octavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, known as Os Gemeos, that went up mid-July on the North West corner of Houston and Bowery. These lame iphone photos do not do it justice, since it's quite detailed and needs to be seen in it's entirety.

MoMA visit

2009-07-26T22:33:00.008-04:00

We went to the MoMA today to check out some of the current exhibits. There's been a lot brewing there over these past months. There's an interesting exhibit on the New York punk and post punk scene called Looking at Music: Side 2. They've got some nice listening stations in the exhibit as well as some videos and a bunch of memorabilia. I saw the "Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight" music video among others. Wow, remember that tune? Another interesting exhibit by Roman Ondak allows the viewer to participate. Your name and the date you visited gets recorded on the wall of a room at your height. One of most notable exhibit's is by Song Dong. He meticulously lays out all of the belongings of his mother's house. I've included a number of photos from the various exhibits here.

Renegade Cabaret at the High Line

2009-07-19T21:30:00.005-04:00

I forgot to post this last week, but last Friday we went down to the High Line again ('cause we love it so much) and got a chance to check out the Renegade Cabaret, which I would definitely recommend. Make sure to check their schedule and time your next trip to the High Line so you can see it. Don't forget to donate!

Stereoscopic Red Camera rig

2009-07-19T21:25:00.002-04:00

An early look at the prototype ...just in case you're into that sort of thing ;-)

Haunch of Venison

2009-07-08T23:53:00.008-04:00

I went to a very interesting art opening at a super swanky gallery tonight, high above midtown, called Haunch of Venison

that a friend of ours is associate director of. The show is called 'The Figure and Dr Freud' and is actually pretty interesting. There's definitely something for everyone here. They have works by 31 artists, spanning this past century. So, there's people from the canon like Picasso, Giacometti, Chuck Close, Maplethorpe, Arbus, etc. as well as newer folks like Patricia Piccinini (I love her work)

and Robert Lazzarini (this is the same 'skull' photographed from two different angles)

and Richard Butler. Butler has two works, one of which I'm showing below. It's quite traditional in composition, but actually totally tweaked and interesting. The photo below really doesn't do it justice at all, so check it out in person. Well, the piece really interested me and I was trying to figure out what I knew of this artist when suddenly I see Psychedelic Furs frontman, Richard Butler walk by and I realize 'oh that Richard Butler.' At any rate, I got to talking with him and he's quite nice and definitely a talented painter.

There are a number of other good pieces that are worth seeing, so if you're around between now and August 22, be sure to check it out:
Haunch of Venison New york, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, 20th Floor. 212-259-0000

July 4th weekend in Greenport, NY

2009-07-08T23:41:00.006-04:00

We were lucky enough to be offered free accommodations in Greenport last weekend, which is in the North Fork of Long Island (thanks S&R). So, of course we had to say yes to a break from the constant noise of the highway construction project going on outside our window each morning. Here are some photos of Greenport, Shelter Island, and Orient Point. We did a really good job finding vacant areas in which to hang out. It's been super stressful for us lately, so this really helped us relax a tiny bit.

New Music video for SOUR

2009-07-04T13:40:00.006-04:00

Magico and Masa finished up that music video that they did for SOUR that I was in. Take a look. I think it came our very nicely. They have credits for the video on the you tube site. (If you look closely, you can see me in 4 sections.)

Sunday: Hello High Line Park! or Rock on Diller Scofidio + Renfro and James Corner Field Operations!

2009-06-15T21:18:00.007-04:00

Finally it stopped raining long enough for us to check out the newly opened High Line Park. I think this is the best urban park I have been to! It was amazinging! There are such amazing privileged views you get from up there. That alone makes it a must see. But the really great pleasant surprise is that the architectural and landscape design is actually most impressive and expertly done. I'm so glad to see how far Diller and Scofidio have come since their 'talkitecture' days back when I was still in architecture school. This work is really quite successful and really makes me excited to see more works from D&S in the city (I know they've got a few things in the works still). Please check it out if you're able, and if not check out these photos I took! By the way, yes, there was a line, but it moved instantly, so there was really NO wait. Do not worry.

Saturday: Making a Music Video, or Rock on Magico and Masa!

2009-06-15T21:06:00.006-04:00

Saturday was pretty interesting for me. I recorded several sequences for a new music video that friends Masa Nakamura and his wife Magico are directing on Saturday. The video is going to be very cool. It's highly choreographed, so it was definitely tricky getting all the moves right, but fortunately things went very well and I can't wait to show the final product. You'll have to stay tuned for a couple weeks though. In the meantime, here's a still from the shoot:

Friday: Southern Foodways Alliance, Rock On! (or- I got to meet Jacques Pepin!!)

2009-06-13T18:59:00.016-04:00

Wow, I had a really great time at the Southern Foodways Alliance's event 'Craig Claiborne: Mississippi Boy Makes Good, Defines and Deifies American Cookery.' This was a free event on Friday Evening at the Astor Center, but apparently you had to know about it way in advance in order to reserve a spot. Fortunately my wife has some connections with the Alliance and had our places reserved. I'm not very knowledgeable about US culinary history, so this was actually a fascinating experience for me to learn about how much Craig Claiborne helped to shape our modern views on Food in America.
The panelists were Jacques Pepin, Zarela Martinez, Edward Giobbi, contributing editor of Vanity Fair and author David Kamp, and moderator Pete Wells (editor of NY Times Dining Section).
Coloring my opinion of the evening in a major way was the fact that I got to meet and have a conversation with Jacques Pepin who it turns out is incredibly nice and super down to earth. I had a great time chatting with him and it was especially cool that he got to meet my wife, to whom he had provided a most witty blurb for her first novel, a number of years ago.
Another great thing about the event was of course that they served a few representative dishes of Mississippi and had plenty of Champagne flowing and some wonderful bourbon at the end. The coup de grace was the parting gift of Southern biscuits with country ham folded in. Oh my God, I did not know how amazing country ham tastes. I'm a convert!
Here are some photos of the event.

John T. Edge presenting the panel

Uninvited Guest

2009-06-07T13:41:00.003-04:00

An uninvited guest for late night expresso

Ernesto Neto at the Armory, New York City

2009-05-31T14:43:00.008-04:00

I visited the Ernesto Neto show a couple weeks ago and finally got a chance to post my photos. I highly recommend checking out the show. It will be up until June 14, so hurry up and check it out! 643 Park Ave between 66th and 67th. Oh, and make sure to check out the rest of the Armory while you're there. It's a fascinating building!

Still more Street Art at Broadway and Howard St.

2009-05-28T17:36:00.006-04:00

I caught the Karl Haendel 'scribble' street art going up recently and have been meaning to post it. It's finished now as you can see by the second shot. It's kind of a interesting process when the reproduction of the original work takes much longer and is much more painstaking to make than the original work.

The Crystal Method Live at Webster Hall

2009-05-11T12:26:00.011-04:00

So, The Crystal Method played Webster Hall on Saturday and they guest-listed a few of my crew so we could check out the graphics we did and I even got a chance to show our video as a way of intro-ing the band. Matisyahu showed up for an inpromptu performance with TCM on a song as well. The band and their crew were all very cool and appreciative of the work we did for the show. All in all, it was a fun experience, especially as it gave me a chance to try out shooting a show, for the first time. I'm not a big fan of flash and lighting, so it was cool to work with the existing light show to time shots and such. Click the image above to go to the photo gallery.

More Spring Season Street Art

2009-05-03T11:22:00.007-04:00

I had been meaning to photograph this for quite a while. It's on a phone booth around the corner from my place, so I see it every day. Turns out this Tommy Kane guy has been quite prolific - you've definitely seen his advertising stuff before. I guess now he's focusing more on his illustration work and he's quite good. Here's his illustration site.

new Crystal Method video out, featuring Matisyahu - "Drown in the Now"

2009-04-25T18:21:00.005-04:00

Just in case you haven't seen it yet, our video for 'Drown in the Now' was released earlier this week. Click for the link to a high res version of the video.

Spring Season Street Art

2009-04-24T15:08:00.009-04:00

So, with this amazingly nice day of spring in New York City, I was out in the 'hood and found this piece of street art on Howard, just around the corner from Broadway.
I quite like it. Anyone know who did it? I've seen this person's stuff before, but can't remember who it is.

The Crystal Method video shoot

2009-02-22T22:26:00.006-05:00

I just got out of our latest music video shoot for the Crystal Method, featuring Matisyahu. I don't really want to give anything away yet, but here are two shots of Matisyahu at our green screen shoot. Stay tuned!

"Transformative" Art Opening

2009-02-08T22:20:00.008-05:00

On February 1, I visited the Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven to see the opening for my father and Keith Johnson's new show. Of course I took photos of my father's work that you can see here. However, it's definitely worth checking out in person if you're in the neighborhood. (I didn't post any photos of Johnson's work since it's kind of pointless to take photos of photos. However, his work is really great, so all the more reason to go down and check out the show in person!)

New Shots from my father's studio

2008-12-30T00:27:00.006-05:00

My father is busy preparing for a show on February 1, 2009 so he's got a number of new works in progress. I snuck a look and if you click the link you'll see what's new! I was very impressed with the amount of new work, given that it's not been that long since his last show. Also, I've included some prepared shots of a very old piece that he did when I was very young which you can see pictured to the left.
JS Sculpture Studio Dec 08

Houston Food and Environment photos

2008-12-07T20:05:00.008-05:00

...and here are some of my photos from my recent Houston trip. I was really psyched to eat lots of good food and finally see James Turrell's light piece that connects the two parts of the Museum of Fine Arts. So, I thought I'd share a few of the shots with you. (click the image above)

Houston, TX Vietnamese Restaurant recommendations

2008-12-07T19:13:00.004-05:00

Since we were in Houston for Thanksgiving this year, we made a point of stopping by some of the best Vietnamese Restaurants for some of the dishes we wanted. Typically, VN restaurants have one or two main specialties, so here are a list of dishes and the best place to get them at:

Bánh cuốn (probably my favorite VN dish. You must try the version with BBQ pork. It's soooo good)
Thiên Thanh
11210 Bellaire Blvd. #140
Houston, TX 77072
tel: 281.564.0419

Phơ (classic beef Phơ)
Phơ Danh #2
Bellaire Blvd C#25
Houston, TX
tel: 281.879.9940

Phơ Gà (chicken Phơ)
Phơ Gà Dakao
11778 Bellaire Blvd
Houston, TX 77072
tel: 281-879-5899

Bún Bò Huế
www.kimchaurestaurant.com
6806 Long Point Rd # I
Houston, TX 77055
(713) 683-8277

Wha?

2008-12-06T20:57:00.003-05:00

I saw this in the Houston airport over Thanksgiving weekend and I had to post it. What the *$#@? You can buy iPods in vending machines now? Somehow I find this very odd.