Quote 05

To dwell in the past is to drive a car using only the rear view mirror.

John Maeda

A gift from Italy

Yesterday, I opened a bottle of Gargiuolo lemon flavored olive oil that P brought back from Italy and tried it with a simple dish- sauteed broccolini. I poured about a tablespoon of the full bodied oil in the heated pan, added some chopped garlic and onions followed by 5 stalks of thinly sliced broccolini. I mixed the ingredients together and covered it to cook for three minutes. Just before the timer went off, I lifted the cover and a cloud of steam released a lemon garlic fragrance in the air. I stirred the broccolini dish one last time before turning off the stove. I added the dish on top of jasmin rice and scraped the last bits of garlic, broccolini and drippings of oil into the bowl. Delicious!

Today, I went to Berkeley Bowl and bought organic basil and a pack of chicken apple smoked sausage. I wanted to try the other bottle, the orange flavored olive oil to make a pasta dish that my brother taught me. We had it for lunch and T gave it a thumbs up. Both dishes came alive just by substituting a key ingredient with a good quality product. Amazing--Thanks P for the gift!

Danny Wilcox Frasier on Mediastorm

"Do stories that you feel so passionately about.. that you know in your heart, you are the perfect person..not the only.. but the perfect person to tell that story. Work that out first and everything will fall into place."

Visit Mediastorm for the full interview with Danny Wilcox Frasier. He talks about his work, Driftless: Stories from Iowa.

Great photography comes from seeing

An excerpt from Myles at Heather Morton/Art Buyer blog. He writes:

"Great photography does not come from being good on a computer - it can help, but unless you know how to see your computer is only a trick. Nor does great photography come from riding the same wave as every other photographer in that market.

You can argue with me until you are blue in the face but the simple fact remains: Great photography comes from seeing. Interpret how you will.

And right now I feel there are a whole lot of shooters out there who are wearing the same dark sunglasses."

Alec Soth on visiting art schools

"One of the things that really amazes me when I visit art schools is that students are apparently learning creativity and then when it comes to your life outside of school it’s so uncreative! “I either teach or go to grad school or I assist somebody.” That’s it. (laughter). But there are other things out there!"

Source: Too Much Chocolate

Rodney Smith on composition

Welcome to the blogosphere, Mr. S.

"The second thing—which has to do with photography in general, not only this one photograph—is composition. Composition is to photography what rhythm is to music. It is about symmetry and proportion, resonance between the photographer and subject; where everything fits just so. Almost like iambic pentameter in poetry, or natural cadence and body rhythm. To me this picture represents not only everything in its right place, but also the right proportions, the right relationships, the right cadence. Composition is seriously lacking in most photography in the 21st century. It has been abandoned—whether due to lack of skill or lack of interest I’m not sure. It seems to me losing a sense of composition is synonymous to having an irregular heartbeat."

Nothing of significance

©Stella Kalaw

Just something I happen to notice before I walked in the front door of our town home this afternoon. After going through a long and hectic work week, the act of bring the camera to my eye and pressing the shutter is always my little moment of joy.

Quote 04

Patience is often an uncredited virtue because it appears like you are doing nothing. You are and yet you aren't.

John Maeda

Gandhi, the movie

Saturday night, T placed Gandhi on the watch instantly queue on Netflix. She had never seen the film. I thought it was a good idea to see it again. The first time I watched it was via a Betamax machine back in the 1980's. Twenty five years later, Ben Kingsley's portrayal of Gandhi is as powerful and poignant as I recalled it. Now that I am older and more aware of current events, the struggles Gandhi fought for still parallels what is happening in the world today. I have profound respect and admiration for him. It was truly worth seeing the movie again. The following day, I found these black and white film stills from the set of Gandhi at the BAFTA website.

Wandering 56

Jupiters, Berkeley, CA.

Wandering is a collection of photographs from my occasional observations of everyday life. It is a means for me to reconnect to what drew me to the medium in the first place. And that's really all it is: my repeated attempts at recapturing that feeling which energizes me to continue taking pictures.

©Stella Kalaw

I have to remind myself..

Emeryville marina, 2009

that T&I live in a wonderful city by the bay. This afternoon, we took a break from working in front of the computer and walked along the path at the marina just a five minute drive from home. Hard to believe that we do not this more often. It's one of those things I tend to overlook when I get caught up with the routine of every day life.

Places

Teacher’s Lounge, Trivandrum, South India, 2001
©Beatrix Reinhardt

From the Venezuelan portfolio
©Andrew Cutraro

From the series, Banglore: Steady State 2012
©Mahesh Shantaram

A few of my favorite images from going through the blogs on my reader this week. I like these three images because I am intrigued by the places chosen by each photographer.

Sources: Flakphoto, EV +/- Exposure Compensation and Asian Photography Blog

Richard Avedon Retrospective at SFMOMA opens July 11

Richard Avedon, self portrait
Provo, UT August 20, 1980
© The Richard Avedon Foundation

Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946-2004

Whether photographing politicians, artists, writers, fashion models, or movie stars, Richard Avedon revolutionized the genre of portraiture. He rejected conventional stiff-and-staid poses and instead captured both motion and emotion in the faces of his subjects, often encapsulating their intrigue in a single charged moment. SFMOMA is proud to be the only U.S. venue for this retrospective that spans the artist's remarkable career. Featuring more than 200 photographs along with a selection of vintage magazines, the exhibition presents work spanning Avedon's entire career, from his earliest street scenes to his breakthrough 1950s Paris fashion pictures and the iconic celebrity portraits that brought him world renown. This in-depth retrospective reveals Avedon's singular ability to blur the lines between photojournalism, fashion photography, and fine art.

July 11- November 29, 2009
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Source: SFMOMA website