Reconnaissance Mission

I recently went artist-stalking at Brooklyn Art Space (formerly Brooklyn Artists Gym where I took my watercolor painting class) in order to collect more scraps for my photo series, "Discarted," for challenge no. 12.

Not only did I get to take some pictures, but I met a few artists who welcomed me anytime to their work space to take more pictures of their used paper towels (you can imagine the awkward opening question). And, if you're curious, the overwhelming majority of painters prefer Bounty over any other brand.

Here are some of my favorite images from the visit (this artist preferred old t-shirts over paper towels, and I think it made for some really interesting shots):

Photo Series Part Two

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of the moms out there (including my own, who has held the no. 1 spot since about 6:00 p.m. on November 26, 1982).

So it was rather appropriate that on this day I completed another session toward my photo series in which small children style their parent(s) for a portrait.

This one I call Abstract Cupcake: 

And it is my great pleasure to introduce the artist behind this masterpiece:

Photo Series. Go.

Challenge no. 12 is to create a conceptual photo series. As of yesterday, this one is in full swing. Introducing: STYLED BY CHILD. The name is a placeholder, but the idea is that kids ages three to five style one or both of their parents (this includes the outfit, accessories, hair and makeup), and then I do a portrait of the parent as styled by their kid(s). The parent has no say in how they look. They are at the stylistic mercy of their offspring.

I will post more photos as I collect more portraits, but here is a series sneak peek. She looked like a gypsy who had been coal mining. It was awesome: 

More Aperturious

I've added a few photography prints to my Etsy shop, Aperturious. View them here. And feel free to spread the word.

Window Seat

Challenge no. 5 has been completed! Click on the photo below to view my Window Seat series on Flickr:

Italy Wins

Italy has officially stolen my heart. I'm too tired to search my brain for the most potent adjective to describe our trip, but just know that it was one of the best weeks of my life.

We were lucky enough to experience a wide range of what Italy has to offer, from colossal Rome to a Tuscan village of 200 people and everything in between. My favorite part? All of it. But here are some strong recommendations/opinions while they're still fresh in my mind:

• If you are planning a trip to Tuscany, stay at least one night if not your whole life at Villa San Rocco, a 6-century-old ten bedroom retreat nestled in the hills overlooking Bagni di Lucca. It left me speechless. 
• Best pizza I've ever had: Dar Poeta in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome.
• Best gelato: Right outside Vatican City at a place called Old Bridge.
• Take the fast trains. Worth it.
• Order whatever your server recommends. Worth it.
• Grappa is a vile substance. 
• Sciacchetra (unique to Cinque Terre) is my new favorite drink.
• Venice is a maze for grown-ups. Whatever you do, get lost in it.

I can mark part of challenge no. 19 off my list (fly across an ocean). And I'll be posting my Window Seat series (challenge no. 5) as well as some other photos in a few days. Right now I have to concentrate on not letting my forehead meet my keyboard.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a big shiny new post.

Camera Adventures

Since three of my challenges involve photography, I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my camera. I've had my Nikon D90 for a few years now, and while it has been the best camera I've ever owned, I'm ready for the next level.

The next level for me is a Canon 5D Mark II. Yes, I'm making the switch from Nikon to Canon. And I don't feel bad about it. I gave a good ten years and thousands of dollars to Nikon.

Knowing I wanted to purchase the new camera before our Italy trip, I took Nikon out for one last adventure over the weekend. Austin, Dagmar, Nikon and I went down to Washington Square Park, found a bench in the sun, and listened to some beautiful live piano music. After a while we ventured out for some falafel, followed by a trip to the art store so I could gather up some watercolor supplies for challenge no. 25.

Many hours later, Austin, Dagmar and I headed home.

Me. Austin. Dagmar.

I left Nikon listening to piano music on a bench in Washington Square Park. For three hours. On a warm, beautiful day. In New York City. Honestly, I almost didn't go back. I was sure it was gone and didn't want to waste a cab ride downtown when I would just end up making an embarrassingly tearful scene in public. But I did go back.

Nikon was still there. Unbelievable, I know. And an embarrassingly tearful scene in public ended up happening anyway. However, it was a short-lived reunion as just this morning I put Nikon up for sale on eBay.

I look forward to my new relationship with Canon and all of the beautiful images we will create together.

Aperturious

I was going to wait until I completed Challenge #12 (create a photo series) until I tackled Challenge #18 (get a photo or photos in a gallery and/or sell one of your photos). But I've been wanting to set up an Etsy shop for a while now, and I thought that it might be a good avenue to sell a photo or two.

Once I create a photo series, I'm still going to try to have them shown somewhere, but until then, the "or" part of Challenge #18 is the route I'm taking. My shop went live today on Etsy.com. It's called APERTURIOUS: A PHOTOGRAPHY SHOP. I still have to create a header, and more photographs might be added later, but at least we're up and running.

This isn't a cheap plug to get you to head on over to my Etsy shop. Most of you have probably seen these photos anyway. I'm hoping for a total stranger to come across something they like enough to frame and hang on their wall. Then I will consider the challenge officially met.

If anyone has an Etsy shop of their own and/or any advice to share, feel free to leave a comment or email me here.