Assignment 3 - Take Two

Galleries in the Design District

I thought I would explore some galleries in Dallas and those are the first on my list. Consider it my first entry on the cultural events list for this week.

"This is where many interior decorator showrooms are located. It's the hot spot for art galleries! Located off Oak Lawn just south of I-30. Many galleries are located on Dragon Street.

• Craighead-Green   §   www.craigheadgreen.com
  1011 Dragon, 214-855-0779. Hours: Tue - Fri 10-5:30, Sat 11-5. Comments: A large space showing contemporary art by mostly Texas artists. One of the better galleries.
• Conduit   §   www.conduitgallery.com
  1626-C Hi Line, 214-939-0064 Hours: Wed - Sat 11:30-5:30. Comments: Large gallery space located just North of Dragon. Contemporary art by mostly Texas artists.
• Holly Johnson   §   www.hollyjohnsongallery.com
  1411 Dragron, 214-369-0169 Hours: Tue - Sat 10-5. Comments: New gallery, great space with contemporary art by Texas artists.
• Marty Walker   §   www.martywalkergallery.com
  2135 Farrington St., 214-749-0066. Hours: Tue - Fri 11-6, Sat Noon-5.. Comments: Located just West of Oak Lawn. Large space with contemporary art by Texas artists.
• PDNB Gallery   §   www.pdnbgallery.com
  1202 Dragon Street, Suite 103, 214-969-1852. Hours: Tue - Sat 11-6. Comments: Formerly called Photographs Do Not Bend. PDNB shows contemporary photography by national and regional artists."

Assignment 3 - Creating reality

Set Inspiration

Finally it came to me. My set. Involving rabbits or rather, a single rabbit, trapped in the headlights. I have already started working on my car and I spent the whole morning looking for the right flash lights that I could use as reflectors. I found two different kinds at Walmart and one of them is actually pretty faithful to the car lights.

I cut out the barn (on the right) from the foam, made my own horizon (all bw paper mash) and I got a black rabbit from Toys R Us. The car is also made of foam and it has real lights! Can't wait for the evening to try my props out!

Key West a year ago...

Freakin' Rabbits on my Mind...

I spent at least 3 hours looking at different pictures involving rabbits. I wanted to create a set which would be simple yet suspenseful and real. Yes, a set with raving rabbits killing everything they can get to. I put too many of them in my shot and I was not happy with the result. I am starting over again. Sigh.

Luke Chueh

I don't know why I ended up on Luke Chueh website. I am happy I did - don't get me wrong. His paintings have that "something" that I think people are looking for (pay attention to the "sold" tag under almost each work).

Cooltural Pick of the Week 5

One Day on Earth

I think that this might be an interesting project for me to do. It is called One Day on Earth and everyone with the camera can participate. All you have to do is register on the One Day on Earth page and deliver a video from this one special day (10/10/10). I will be in Yosemite National Park that day, so maybe something interesting will be born, who knows.

What is One Day on Earth exactly? The website explains it really well:

"On October 10, 2010 (10.10.10), across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period and contribute their voice to the largest participatory media event in history.

Founded in 2008, ONE DAY ON EARTH is creating an online community, shared archive, and film. Together, we will showcase the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occur in one day. We invite you to join our international community of thousands of filmmakers, hundreds of schools, and dozens of non-profits, and contribute to this unique global mosaic. Through the One Day on Earth platform, we will establish a community that not only watches, but participates."

One Day on Earth Participant Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

Call for Action?

America still amazes me. I was driving back from Target and I stopped at this sign:

Assignment 2 - Paper + Some More Modulated Light

I got up too early today, sat in my couch and saw the reflection of the sun coming through the window at the LCD monitor. That was a cool effect! You can get exactly the same result if you point your led light on a plasma TV. Pretty amazing, I am telling you guys!

Then, while having a cup of tea I saw the reflection of it on my kitchen table. Again, I run straight to my room to get the camera.

The third picture has the name of a restaurant I visited in Oak Cliff. It is called "Spiral" and the Logo made out of stickers appeared on the floor and even though it is a shadow play it is also modulation, since glass and light were involved.

Paper was difficult to me since I did not want to use books or the toilet paper. The first picture below is one of my old ones - I took it in a restaurant called House of Geisha in Dallas. It was a modern piece of art with a whole bunch of Chinese scrolls attached to the frame.

The rest of paper shots is new - I was finally playing with my new lights and stands and tripod and all that jazz. It came on Saturday and I got some time today to play with it. I got Lowel Tota 750 and it is still bright like nobody's business.

Assignment 2 - Glass + Modulated Light

I played a bit with a glass paper weight in our studio. It was worth doing because I got some cool modulated light effects and I killed two birds with one stone. Yay!

Right under the glass ball you can see some picture of the Glory Window from the Thanksgiving Square in Dallas. Since I live nearby, I decided to get some photos of the famous stained glass within the Thanksgiving Chapel. You need to pay a small fee to get in and lay down on the floor to take the pictures, but altogether, it is worth it. The spiral is pretty amazing and the light dancing on the ceiling is very interesting.

I also got a plasma lamp that I thought would be worth photographing. I took it to the bathroom and took its picture with the mirror. It happened a while ago, but I keep all my files backed up on my main external hard drive and this one simply came handy.

The pictures of the light coming through the windows is from Milan, Italy. The other one where the light comes from the top is from Pompeii, Italy. It was early morning and the light was just making it's way through the glass.

The picture of an angel came from Dallas and it was made by means of a circular filter which you put on the top of your camera lens. I had so much fun with it and whenever I want to be dramatic with my angels I use it.

I still need to work on my paper samples. It will come eventually (like by Tuesday), but I don't want to rush anything and only take pictures of random paper. I am going to work on some more modulated light, too. You can't have too much on your blog, right?

Assignment 2 - Eggs

4 Product photographers

1. Warning! This guy is going to make you hungry. Ladies and Gentlemen - Lou Manna (I did not include his pictures on purpose - go and see them when you have access to some food).

2. Jeffrey Vanhoutte is pretty amazing, too. I think that Gallery #3 has some faces with modulated light.

3. Graphic artist and sculptor Andreas Scheiger recently came across the book “The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering” (1918) by famous type designer Frederic W. Goudy, which analyzes the alphabet and compares letters to human organisms. Scheiger was fascinated by this notion and decided to translate the idea into a literal representation, seen here in his Evolution of Type series.

4. Martin Waugh and his mesmerizing water drops. A must see!