Leap Year Wordless Wednesday: 2/29/2012

Color blocks. Meat Packing District. February 2012.

The view from the High Line in NYC. February 2012.

It’s never too late: Vivian Maier, the most amazing photographer we never knew until now.

Last year around this time in January, almost to the day, I heard the beautiful story of Vivian Maier in the NY Times Lens section and was enthralled with her  photographs and her life story, as well as the effort to make a documentary about her. I even posted a link to the video here.

Surprise, surprise! This morning I read the LA TIMES Arts&Books section and found a feature article on Vivian Maier! And even more joy followed when I read that there is a current and brief exhibit here in Los Angeles at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery. This news made me literally dance in my pijamas. I love women photographers who do street photography along the style of Lola Alvarez Bravo, Tina Modotti, Ruth Orkin, and Margaret Bourke-White.

Great surprise this morning tor ead about Vivian Maier in the LA Times.

You can read the article here. 

Vivian Maier was a nanny who lived in Chicago, and in the 1940′s took up street photography in her spare time. She produced the most beautiful black and white street photographs for the rest of her life.  She was never published, never discovered, and never famous, until in 2007, when a locker with undeveloped film rolls was auctioned off. A young guy by the name of John Maloof bought it for $400 dollars, for thousands of film rolls, not knowing the story nor images behind it.

Once he saw the images, he realized the treasure he had, and started researching her life, only to find out she had died a few days prior to buying her rolls of films. ( AAAH! It has all the elements of a wonderful movie, so it’s just lovely and absolutely necessary that they make a documentary about her life!) Afterwards he started a blog, and she was finally introduced to the world, even if she was no longer in it. Imagine that! Her life’s vision would have been unknown but for the guy who bought the film rolls, and yet you know how some things are meant to be. It was her destiny not be Anonymous.

Sunday afternoon at the Getty. Amazing photo exhibit!

Mi querida familia me visita de México, y cuando vienen los parientes, hay que pasearlos.

On Sunday afternoon we had a magnificent visit to the Getty Center in Los Angeles. High above the 405 freeway, nestled on a hill overlooking LA from downtown to the Pacific Ocean, it’s the sort of place that really makes you appreciate living in Los Angeles.

If you have some free time this summer and are looking for a nice place to take the kids (or a date!) then this is highly recommended. There’s beautiful gardens, wide open spaces, and great architecture.

Of course, there’s always the artwork to admire. We had a chance to look at lovely photographs by Walker Evans (circa 1933 in Havana) and other photographers in the “Cuba” exhibit, a very powerful set of images with a lot of history and cultural perspective. No se la pierdan.

But get there early! The Getty closes at 5:30pm.

Amazing lighting and people watching at the Getty Museum, on a Sunday afternoon.

The view is beautiful. Here is an angle looking east towards Century City and downtown.

Surprise! I don't know if she was modeling or showing off but she looked picture perfect.

The Cuba photography exhibit is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Que guapo CHE! The only snapshot I could snap before they asked me to put my phone away. (No pictures allowed inside the exhibit.)

Go for the architecture, go for the art, go for the fun of it. The Getty is a very unique place in LA.

Anthony Bourdain en Cuba!

The man loves pork. (And I love the man!) Anthony Bourdain in Cuba, July 11.

I ran into this promo today for “No Reservations” with my favorite guy in the world, Anthony Bourdain. (Bourdain Bourdain Bourdain, I just love your last name.)

Needless to say, I will be watching this episode, but also, after watching this clip, I’m about ready to book a trip to La Habana right now!! I would have to go via Mexico of course.

Miren nomas que belleza de fotografías! Y de fotógrafo, Roberto Salas. You can tell this is the kind of interview that gets Bourdain all juiced up, the kind of people he loves to meet in his travels.

All new episodes begin with No Reservations Cuba, which airs July 11 on the Travel Channel.

Photo Friday: Welcome to Hollywood

This must be the place.

(Photo taken at the Opening night of the Hola Mexico Film Fest, at the Ricardo Montalbán Theater on Vine St.)

Love it. Go See It: Bill Cunningham New York.

The marquee at the Nuart, LA. Go see this documentary asap. It's only playing this week.

From the NY Times: On the Street column, video, photos from Bill Cunningham. This alone is worth the new subscription rates!

I love documentaries. One of the best I’ve seen recently is “Bill Cunningham, New York,” which peeks into the life of the original fashion street photographer from his earlier days until now. It is simply a cool, funny, passionate little movie about an 80 something year old man who lives for his art, for his city, for his work.

Here’s the trailer from Vimeo:

It’s only playing for a week in LA at the Nuart (405 and Santa Monica Blvd) on the westside. Hope you get a chance to see it.

(Thanks to Olivia who alerted me about it and made me go last Saturday. She got me out of the house early, which is a triumph! Gracias friend. )

Olivia and the movie poster.

Martes in the morning in LA.

Good morning por la mañana.

(Photos by yours truly.)

Pasadena Hollywood freeway.

Another shot from the freeway.

Cool color combo: Orange and blue.

Waiting for the metro. (Love the L.A.M.B. bag on her.)

First Friday 2011. Let’s make it a photo day.

How’s you’re new year going so far? I’m doing swell, thank you very much.

Here’s a little inspiration for your first Friday morning, courtesy of The Sartorialist and the NYT. Beautiful street photographers, 60 years apart: Vivian Meier and Scott Schuman.

Here’s a NYT link to Vivian’s work: New Street Photography, 60 Years Old.

Self Portrait. Vivian Meier. From the New York Times Article published today.

And here’s a beautiful video you will love if you’re a Sartorialist fan:

Museos y más museos: Rufino Tamayo

Still here in DF. One of the things unique to the city is the amount of accessible culture and arts one can peruse daily. I did a little experiment last week: got on the metro, got to several museums and randomly enjoyed whatever they had going on. A Carpe Diem sort of plan, if you catch my drift.

Surprise, surprise. The plan did not disappoint. First stop was Polanco, where I went to the Museo Rufino Tamayo. I love this place. The architecture is amazing and the museum always has interesting exhibits going on.

I was particularly impressed with a small exhibit of letters by the photographer Tina Modotti. Maybe it’s the sort of “trip” I am on, but her letters to her friend, fellow photographer Edward Weston are an inspiration and made me admire her even more. Bravo to brave and courageous women artists everywhere. We need more of those.

Entrance to Museo Rufino Tamayo.

Tina's letter to Edward Weston after she was deported from Mexico, falsely accused of planning to kill Mexican president Ruiz Cortines in 1930. She had to leave the country with only a few belongings and start over in pre-war Germany. In the letters, she mixes in a little Spanglish here and there. You can sense her anxiousness and the troubles she was going through at the time where she had to reinvent herself-again- as an artist.

A photo by Tina Modotti of her teacher and friend, Edward Weston, the recipient of the letters. From what she writes, we don't know if she ever received any letters back from him.

"I feel there must be something for me but I have not found it yet. And in the meantime the days go by and I spend sleepless nights wondering which way to turn and where to begin. I have begun to go out with the camera but, NADA...I know the material found in the streets is rich and wonderful, but my experience is that the way I am accustomed to work, slowly, planning my composition, is not suited for such work...I guess I want to do the impossible and therefore I do nothing. And yet, I shall have to decide soon what to do, for although I can still afford to 'take it easy', this can not go on forever."

View of the lobby at Rufino Tamayo.

Happy Birthday John Lennon

John Lennon would’ve been 70 on October 9. Can you Imagine?? It always makes me sad that he was gone too soon. But here’s living proof that his son Julian completely embodies John Lennon’s spirit in the words of his most famous songs. A beautiful, talented, creative person, Julian is now 47 years old and branching out into photography. I think you’ll have a new appreciation for his talent and his story, and his love for his baby brother Sean, as it was shown recently on CBS Sunday Morning. Take a look at the clip, it’s really worth it.

And by the way, why not “give peace a chance”?  Just let it go, like Julian did. Hey, if you can forgive Yoko, you can get over anything!

Blanco y Negro

Downtown LA. Aug. 28, 2010.

Get me that same old feeling

Call me a little nostalgic, but I was thinking the other night of how much photos and images and data in general have evolved during the last 5 years. And I’m not sure that it’s entirely for the best.

Not to be anti-progress, because I can’t live without the internet. It’s just that our familiar processes have all changed. No more 35 mm rolls of film, no more anticipation to see images, no more printing and sharing tangible pictures. Now in the span of seconds you take it, see it, share it with everybody. The world is a  facebook oyster. (Disculpas a los fans de Shakespeare por hacer trizas su quote.)

And somehow I think the volume of images and the instant gratification makes pictures lose a little value. Stay with me here… Remeber how before you would look at an image in Life Magazine or National Geographic and you knew those people were true artists, masters of their craft, using a mechanical object to grab a moment in time. They staked out their subject, found an interesting angle, and would produce art in a process that has since become extinct. Now we have megapixels and photoshop and flickr and everything needs to be done with the computer. Yes it’s easier, more practical, even less expensive…but it seems it doesn’t hold its value for long. I’ve recently been longing for the moment when you would anticipate developing a roll of film, how you had to wait at least one hour and then you would either love or hate the turnout. You only had 24 or 36 chances to get it right each time. So each image was more thought out.

Anyways…the good people at NPR.org have mentioned today is World Photography Day. I’m not sure that is even observed anywhere but here in the US, but it seems like a good idea. I think I’ll go out with my camera tonight just to commemorate it and the summertime magic hour in California.

And I was also inspired by this image below. I’d like to fantasize that SHE is my close relative, somebody who put the photo genes in the family and now we are following her footsteps. I can’t explain how much I like this photograph. The image is from NPR’s website page, the picture show, and it is from the Eastman Kodak Archive. I’m sure we must be related. She even looks a little like me, don’t you think?

"Woman with Camera" taken from the archives of Eastman Kodak. This image moved me so much. We must be family!

Happy Friday. Feeling strappy!

Bill Cunningham from the NY Times is my favorite fashion observer/photographer (along with The Sartorialist). I love his  weekly video posts to the NY Times Style section. It’s called “On the Street.” He is a true inspiration, as he has been a photographer most of his life and he is already in his 80′s!

Follow Bill Cunningham every week "On The Street" from the NYT.com

This week, it’s all about summer sandals and strappy shoes in NYC. And who doesn’t love that? It’s Friday, so como dice Bill, “Have fun with it!”

Watch the video here. (click)

Happens every 4 years, but totally worth it.

I’m really enjoying the first Saturday of the World Cup. Right now I’m between games, anticipating the US vs England match. A ver si no hay guamazos! The NY times has a good article about it today:

Read it here: www.nytimes.com

Also, I just finished my chilaquiles, cafecito and am browsing through this month’s Vanity Fair issue  for June 2010. Amazing photos of some of the best players. Get yourself a copy if you can.

Look at the beautiful pix by Annie Leibovitz on the front cover and the coolest ad (in my humble opinion) so far for the World Cup in the back cover. It’s for Louis Vuitton and the journeys series and has 3 LEGENDS of the game: Pelé, Zizou and Maradona. (You can see it also on louisvuittonjourneys.com)

Portada/Cover Vanity Fair 2010 by Annie Leibovitz on newstands now. (Hey, nice abs Cristiano!)

Back Cover also by Annie Leibovitz. Even more beautiful and frame worthy, if you happen to be a soccer fan.

“Smash His Camera!” A Must watch documentary on HBO

If you love photography and celebrities (dos de mis vicios bastante conocidos) then you must see “Smash His Camera” on HBO. This is a recent documentary on the work of Ron Galella, the original Paparazzi and stalker photographer. Estuvo en Sundance this year and it was a hit. The title is perfect! Apparently, Jackie O was not too pleased with Mr. Galella and famously ordered one of her security agents to “smash his camera.”

Of course Galella’s most favorite subject was Jackie, and do you blame him? Look a this picture and tell me this isn’t an iconic image of a mythic woman. This image immediately makes you stop and analyze her. Which didn’t make her very happy because eventually she got a restraining order against him.

Jackie, 1971. Photo by Ron Gallela

But check it out for yourself. Go to the link below to watch the trailer and a slide show of wonderful photos. Ah! The beautiful people!

“Smash His Camera” on HBO.com

He lives and breathes…

And takes the metro to Pasadena!

Elvis is alive and well…”thank you, thank you very much.”

Sighting: Elvis on his way to Pasadena. Monday, March 1, 2010.

A little night music…

Hoy es noche de rarencias, no encontré nada que subir, así me puse a ver mis “random” shots y me encontré esta foto que tomé de unas palomitas comadres echando el chal en Pasadena, on my way home.

Muy simple, I know. Pero bueno, es lunes/martes a la midnight and off to zzz’s I go.

Scenes from the Metro

I am loving the LA Metro experience. Es como mi nueva obsesión. Después de andar en metro, uno se puede hacer muy flojo para manejar, subirse al freeway y estresarse con el tráfico de LA. My commute is not short, about 1hour 35 minutes, pero me encanta que me puedo ir leyendo, meditando, transportándome a otro lugar con el ipod, escribiendo y tomando fotos. Aqui les dejo unas fotos de mis últimas andadas. Happy Labor Day!

View from the Green Line train 105 at 110 freeway.

Interesting light angles play at 5 pm by Pershing Square station, Red Line, Downtown LA.

People watching amongst my fellow train and metro riders, I came across the "Union Station Guapo."

Close up...a ver si lo vuelvo a ver para tomarle mejor foto.

Great and Gratis…Karsh Photo exhibit at LAPL

One of my most favorite moments in LA is when you literally STUMBLE UPON (and I don’t mean the website) a great art show. This time I was returning an overdue library book at the Central Library (sí, confieso mi pecado) and oh joy!! I noticed black and white oversize portraits against a bright red wall.

The expo currently on hand is called Karsh 100. If you go see it, you’ll instantly recognize the people in the portraits. The photographer, Yousef Karsh, born 100 years ago on Dec. 28, 1908, was one of the premier portrait photographers of the last century. Here are a few samples of his work:

Audrey Hepburn, lovely!

A young and beautiful Jackie Kennedy in 1957. She was already married to JFK at the time of this picture.

Sofia Loren...amazing photograph taken in 1985.

And then we have this interesting juxtapositon of good and evil*:

(* I may add that this is just my opinion, by the way. )

Powerful images, side by side. Mother Teresa and Fidel Castro.

Here’s a little excerpt from the biography and Yousef Karsh as part of the exhibit:

“For many viewers around the world, Yousef Karsh defined the photographic portrait in the 20th century. Specializing in iconic images of the world’s leading figures- statesmen, writers, actors, musicians and scientists- Karsh made images that resonated with his audience. Karsh left his native country of Armenia at age 14 and settled in Ottawa. His rise to international success began in 1941 with a portrait of Winston Churchill that became the iconic representation of the statesman. By the end of the decade, Karsh had become the most sought after photographer of famous and powerful people. His exquisite, gentlemanly manners and professionalism made sitters comfortable, and privileged individuals trusted Karsh to record their likeness in a way that would protect their reputations. Many of the photographs he made have become the definitive images of his subjects, the images that the world remembers. At the end of his life, Karsh moved to Boston, Massachussets. He died there in 2002 at the age of 94. During hi sixty year career he had held over 15 thousand sittings and produced some 150 thousand negatives.”

Exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Library Foundation of Los Angeles, Farmers Insurance Group; and LAPL. Go see it if you can at the lobby of the Central LAPL, 630 W. 5th Street, Downtown LA (corner of Figueroa.)

Pictures of the Year International Exhibit in LA

If you are a photography aficionado or a news junkie, then you must head over to the Annenberg Space for Photography for the Pictures of the Year Exhibit.

Currently running until November 1, 2009, it is a wonderful place to see the best images from competitions “captured by premiere photojournalists and visual editors from around the globe.” And admission is FREE!!!!

The space in itself is an architectural gem in Century City. Located just behind the impressive CAA tower (affectionately called the “North Star” due to its power agents that live in it) and neighboring with the restaurant Craft (Tom Colicchio’s place, from Top Chef) you’ll find it to be a very cool and modern space for photography.

Being that the pictures are from newsworthy world events, some of them can be uncomfortable to look at and some are literally eye opening. If you follow the news closely, you’ll be excited to see an image of an event you remember watching on TV. Of course there are those that you would rather not see because you know this is not a still image from a movie but rather a grim reality looking back at you. But one of the things I really liked was an amazing touch screen slide show on a computer based “coffee table”, that you control with your hand as you comfortably sit on a couch.

Hours are Weds-Sunday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Address is 2000 Avenue of the Stars #10 in Century City. They offer parking validation. My only complaint is that you can’t take pictures of the exhibit, but it’s understandable with all the pirating and copyright issues.