Paul Marotta

2011-01-13T14:58:00.001-05:00

First Night Boston 2011 Ice Sculptures at Copley Square. For more visit:

www.perfectbokehphotography.com

2010-01-20T07:19:00.001-05:00

I've launched my new web site with a whole new set of galleries,located here:

www.perfectbokehphotography.com

Study in Blue & White

2009-01-31T14:01:00.005-05:00

Or is it "White & Blue"?

www.perfectbokehphotography.com

Barnegat Light

2008-10-12T21:42:00.007-04:00

Went out to Barnegat Light today to shoot, gorgeous weather and fantastic light, one pic here below and more posted on:

www.perfectbokehphotography.com

New Jersey Motorsports Park Vintage Race

2008-09-23T20:19:00.001-04:00

Some fotos from last weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park Vintage Races in Millville. More here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmarotta/

Urban Youth Racing School Grand Prix in Philly

2008-09-09T09:09:00.006-04:00

Pictures are here from Sunday's terrific Urban Youth Racing School Philadelphia Grand Prix event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmarotta/

NJMP Rolex Grand Am Race photos

2008-08-31T18:24:00.004-04:00

Race was just a lot of fun today and some pics are here below, more are posted here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmarotta/sets/72157607040421806/

NJMP Shelby SAAC 33 event DAYTONA!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-18T21:11:00.004-04:00

Hi all, having trouble uploading fotos on blogspot tonight for some reason so pics are here now from the Shelby SAAC 33 event last weekend...cheers!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmarotta/sets/

NJMP Shelby Event Sunbeam

2008-08-18T18:49:00.000-04:00

More Lightning

2008-08-10T20:39:00.002-04:00

Lightning Strike

2008-08-10T20:02:00.002-04:00

Shot this tonight as this weather front moved through the area...and I must say it was more than a little spooky as I could feel the air around me get charged as the lightning bolt hit...

New Jersey Motorsports Park SVRA 08 09 08 Batch 6

2008-08-09T19:35:00.004-04:00

New Jersey Motorsports Park SVRA 08 09 08 Batch 5

2008-08-09T19:13:00.005-04:00

When the big block American cars show up (Datsun aside) the noise and power is just tremendous. These bad boys just plain thunder, literally! And the Gulf (McLaren or Saleen ?) showed up to look pretty and pose...and it was a beauty, I don't think it touched the track today. And the BMW 2002 was a pretty terrific machine as well! Oh and that #971 Porsche....nice!

New Jersey Motorsports Park SVRA 08 09 08 Batch 4

2008-08-09T18:52:00.003-04:00

Lots of power in this group.

New Jersey Motorsports Park SVRA 08 09 08 Batch 3

2008-08-09T18:32:00.004-04:00

The Porsches in this group were just exquisite, especially the powder blue #18.

New Jersey Motorsports Park SVRA 08 09 08 Batch 2

2008-08-09T17:58:00.005-04:00

It's always a great thing when the Lola's show up at a vintage race, and the BonGrip was sweet, as were the others, and the mint Lotus was terrific!

New Jersey Motorsports Park SVRA 08 09 08 Batch 1

2008-08-09T17:26:00.005-04:00

Went out to New Jersey Motorsports Park today to the SVRA Vintage race and here's the first batch of about 4 or 5 more sets I'll post tonight. The Mini is terrific as are the Saabs!

My Car -- 1973 Porsche Carrera RS

2008-08-09T17:23:00.003-04:00

Don't I wish! This has to be probably my ideal dream car...some day...after the little one is done college? I was out at NJMP this morning and this sweet 1973 Porsche Carrera RS parked near me...(that's my Volvo---boring!!!!---off to the side!)

Philadelphia Chinatown Festival

2008-08-08T22:31:00.003-04:00

Thunder and Lightning

2008-07-27T15:06:00.004-04:00

Wow, have been wanting to do this for a while...a major storm just blew through Cherry Hill and I managed to catch a shot or two of the lightning!

It's still there, homlessness in Philadelphia

2008-07-27T10:19:00.003-04:00

I guess I had been looking forward to getting up and out early this morning to shoot more than I realized: I had a dream during the night which I had forgotten about until I got back from shooting early this morning. When I returned, soaking wet as the humidity was already pretty high, I plugged in the camera to download the pics onto my computer and only at that very instant did a remembrance of that dream return.

In that dream I had been handed someone’s camera to shoot for them and the tactile experience of handling that camera in my dream was very real. It turns out it was my very first 35mm film camera from some 35 years ago: an Exacta VX500. As I looked through the camera to shoot in the dream and pressed the shutter, I could feel it fire in my hands. The memory of that experience is still there for me, apparently very real today, as real as it was to me 35 years ago as a young photographer.

What is also still there is the reality of homelessness on the streets of Philadelphia today. There has been a lot of news lately about the soiling so to speak of Rittenhouse Square by the homeless in a recent article in the Inquirer titled “Homeless remain a problem in elegant Phila. Park.” There is even a poll in the Inquirer asking readers what they think should be done about the problem. Incidentally, it seems only a very small handful of people have voted. I’m not sure if that’s a statement about either lack of readership or a general apathy about the issue?

Well, when I was out and about this morning and not happy due to the lack of inspiration as well as the poor flat light, I did shoot a couple things…the piece of graffiti as well as this one individual fast asleep on the sidewalk near the Kimmel Center, both pictured below. It seems to me that no amount of waking people up early from the park by police so that strollers can enjoy a nice walk to work is going to solve the underlying issue for these people, many of whom suffer mental illness, addiction and/or just plain bad luck.

Where is the social program that gets them into rehabilitation and perhaps into a home or environment where they can be treated? They have no money, they have in many cases no ability to earn money to pay for treatment, sometimes they have blown their money on drugs and alcohol which is a separate problem unto itself, and sometimes they’re just plain violent…all of which require programs and treatment.

I know, some say they decline treatment and we they can’t be forced…at what point do we say, sorry, you need treatment and we’re here for you? Does a police car driving through the park setting off its siren at 6am to wake them up and move them out really solve the problem? Are we asking hard enough questions of ourselves as a society about how we might solve this “problem?”

Apathy and empathy are two different things. Apathy forces us to walk away and to want to make them walk away from us. Empathy forces us to think about what we’ve seen and forces that image to stay with us. And when that empathy is profound enough it can move us to want to take action, to do something positive and constructive. This “problem” is still here, what will we do?

New Jersey Motorsports Park: A Day at the SCCA SJR Club Races

2008-07-19T20:12:00.023-04:00

A good friend and colleague at work invited me to spend the day with him and his wife and friends at a day of SCCA club racing at the brand spanking new openned just this week New Jersey Motorsports Park in south Jersey, in Millville. Wow, man, these guys are serious, with all manner of vehicle showing up to flex their muscle...home brews and serious retired machines as well as whole seperate Mazda class. The weather was beautiful, the practice and qualifying sessions fast and furious, the company great, and the track itself is just spectacular. We'll be back for some pro races and vintage stock as well in August. Cheers!

http://www.njmp.com

Click on the images for a larger version and let me know what you think...

Philly Alley

2008-07-19T18:38:00.002-04:00

Rain

2008-07-07T19:37:00.002-04:00

B&W Conversions

2008-07-06T10:13:00.005-04:00

This was originally shot on Fuji Velvia 100 slide film on a trip to London a few years ago, scanned in, and today I've started working with converting a few things to B&W using the channel mixer feature on Photoshop.

Friendly Skies

2008-07-01T20:53:00.001-04:00

Summer reading: Glenn Gould

2008-06-30T14:28:00.005-04:00

What are you reading this summer? I just tore through this terrific book in 2-3 sittings. It's a fast read, which is probably not what an author wants to hear, but a terrific book nonetheless. Her style of writing is such that you feel the anxiety, depression, obsessiveness and more of Gould as he relentlessly chases his ideal piano through the years of his career. All the meanwhile his addiction to drugs increases, his phobias increase, and his playing matures, even when his ideal mate, Steinway CD 318, is nearly demolishd and rendered unuseable. Made me pull out all my Glenn Gould recordings which I hadn't listened to in years and I'm reminded just how brilliant the man was, an artist sorely missed today.

Here's the author's website:

http://katiehafner.com/

Mmmm, can almost taste that tomato now...

2008-06-30T14:12:00.003-04:00

Our City, Philly Early Morning Journal Part I

2008-06-29T12:20:00.004-04:00

Got up really early this morning, Sunday, to wander about the city, see what's there--light was great, no shortage of "pretty" pics to take, but also no shortage of life on the streets in Philly...

Our City, Philly Journal Early Morning Part II

2008-06-29T12:16:00.003-04:00

Let's face it, for many folks the economy has never been great, whether it's up or a down time, and there are a lot of folks on the street in Philly right now.

Wheat

2008-06-28T18:43:00.003-04:00

Spring Garden

2008-06-28T12:59:00.002-04:00

Building as Canvas

2008-06-28T12:57:00.003-04:00

Downtown Camden, Part I, Hotel Plaza

2008-06-26T18:18:00.004-04:00

BF Bridge Cables

2008-06-25T19:30:00.002-04:00

BF Bridge

2008-06-25T19:27:00.001-04:00

Both Directions

2008-06-25T19:21:00.003-04:00

What's a Missing Window or Two

2008-06-23T21:03:00.002-04:00

Always Look Behind You

2008-06-23T21:02:00.000-04:00

At Rest after a Long Day at Work

2008-06-23T21:01:00.002-04:00

The Words, not The Picture

2008-06-23T21:00:00.001-04:00

Philly Evening Walkabout

2008-06-23T20:53:00.005-04:00

Peeling

2008-06-23T20:52:00.001-04:00

Dust on the sensor?

2008-06-22T22:14:00.003-04:00

Is that what these spots are at the top of this shot? Ugh! How to clean???? Any advice out there????? Safest way to do it without ruining the sensor?

Minutiae

2008-06-22T13:57:00.002-04:00

Amber Waves of Grain

2008-06-21T20:40:00.005-04:00

Beautiful. Nice light, gorgeous setting...no? Soon to be an upscale apartment complex on this lot, a former farmfield, out in Cherry Hill. That is if the developer can certify it as being free of pcb's and other toxins left over from when it was a farm. Seems as the plot was graded the residents nearby were concerned about toxic runoff, EPA came in and stopped the development. And to think we used to eat the produce from such farm fields grown with the same fertilizer now poisoning nearby lawns...all just ironic...but hey, makes a pretty picture, no?

Cherry Hill at Sunset

2008-06-21T20:37:00.001-04:00

Academies at Englewood Graduation: The Next Generation: Perry and Satia

2008-06-19T19:12:00.010-04:00

My only complaint...

2008-06-15T19:24:00.005-04:00

...with this Zeiss lens is that it doesn't have a macro feature, this is as close as I can get...still pretty good tho....

Tomato Leaf and Sun (almost)

2008-06-15T18:47:00.002-04:00

More Cherry Hill, June 15

2008-06-15T18:23:00.003-04:00

Spent Clematis

Fungus

Cracked Water

June 1 cropped differently

2008-06-14T21:25:00.006-04:00

Thought I would try a panorama crop on this flower shot I posted earlier plus a nearly square crop on the rusted gate. These are both on the Schuylkill and the flowering vine is actually pretty small, each flower no bigger than my smallest fingernail.

Philly afterwork June 13

2008-06-14T21:06:00.004-04:00

Shot these afterwork on Friday evening. Had a very lovely conversation with a gentleman in blue on the (BF) bridge concerning the second shot (=nearly had an extended stay in Philly overnight courtesy the city...who knew architectural details were considered sensitive)

Some scenes from around Cherry Hill

2008-06-14T20:57:00.004-04:00

Light was not great early this morning when I went out early so this was a bit challenging, but I'm settting as a goal for myself shooting every day...I didn't Photoshop any of these, they're straight out of the camera... June 14

Ick

2008-06-11T20:04:00.009-04:00

Had this grand idea early this morning that since the heat was letting up and was going to be a nice day in the end that I would bring my camera to work with me...and go running around afterward, and, being really inspired, would get some great stuff...well I guess I had a rotten day so as I walked around I was totally uninspired, didn't feel like a photographer, wondered why I bought the camera, spent a gazillion dollars on a beautiful German lens....do I really deserve to call myself a photographer, blah blah blah....shot a couple things, more to better understand the new lens than to "create"...I get home make dinner, open a bottle of wine, look at what I got...ick...so I start playing with photoshop to fix balances, etc...then whoa, start playing with hue and saturation...and this happens...

So here's the question...the difference between film and digital, instant gratifacation vs long slow set up of a shot, the brain says "hey I can shoot this fast and if it's no good I can just throw it out"...whereas with film I say to myself "wait, go slow, think, understand, set it up, don't waste the film, is it really a good shot, what will it look like in the end, etc..." ...so is it still art afterward when I don't feel inspired, make a quick shot to test the new lens, gt home and fool around with the shot in photoshop, can I still call it "art" afterward???

Below is the original and a few variations...and the final variation became my new desktop background/wallpaper....

Do you call yourself an artist? I make no pretentions to being one myself, only attempts at it...you? And is this art?

Italian Car show in Philly

2008-06-08T15:40:00.009-04:00

This was a lot of fun today. A colleague at work produces this show and collects Italian sports cars, Fiats in fact. There were Fiats, Lancias, Lambos, Ferraris, and Alfas, as well s a section dedicated to Cadillac Allantes today. I tried to avoid the standard full on frontal shot of the cars, but focused on some of the details, the motors, headlights, badges, and more. Styling is beautiful in these cars and this only represents a small sampling of what I shot today. I've just switchd to digital from film and am using this excellent Zeiss lens now being made for Nikon. It's a beautiful piece of glass and smooth throughout its entire range. It's a 50mm f1.4, and not exactly what I would prefer, I'll probably get the 25mm version eventually as well so I can shoot wider. Overall it's great tho....

Philly International Bike Race

2008-06-08T15:34:00.005-04:00

The Philly bike race was just a blast to be at, but I must say shooting with this manual focus lens, as great as it is, posed a lot of challenges, espcially with something as fast paced as this.

Sunday in the City

2008-06-08T15:30:00.002-04:00

Some of general city shots with the the Zeiss 50mm ZF f1.4. Obviously still getting to know and understand it but clearly its range and smootness and richness are impressive.

New Zeiss Lens

2008-06-07T20:05:00.006-04:00

Just bought this new Zeiss 50mm f1/4 ZF lens and man, what a beautiful piece of glass...this is the first of the weekend shoots, with a whole lot more planned for Sunday.

More Trash in Philly

2008-06-01T15:42:00.000-04:00

Axe in Hand in Philly

2008-06-01T15:35:00.002-04:00

Graffiti Art in Philly

2008-06-01T15:32:00.002-04:00

Flowering Vine

2008-06-01T15:27:00.003-04:00

Ick! Can you ID this spot in Philly?

2008-06-01T15:12:00.003-04:00

Abandoned House Morph

2008-05-31T19:58:00.001-04:00

Just a Whisper

2008-05-31T12:22:00.003-04:00

A Matter of Scale

2008-05-30T20:35:00.000-04:00

Norfolk Pine

2008-05-25T18:05:00.002-04:00

Day Two of New Nikon D200

2008-05-25T14:21:00.008-04:00

This is Day II of using my new Nikon D200

We wnt to the Philly Museum to see the Ansel Adams exhibit, most if which we've seen before, but it had me wondering why I made the switch to digital? Do I miss my darkroom? THis was fun tho, I reset white balances, and am getting a handle on manual exposure. These are all without any work in Photoshop

More New Photos

2008-05-24T14:00:00.003-04:00

Have spent some time now working with my new Nikon D200 and here's the latest batch of pics,

Flowers, Stones and Clouds

Storm Passed

2008-05-18T18:51:00.002-04:00

The birds returned...the sky cleared, and puddles were left in its wake!

Passing Storm

2008-05-18T18:30:00.004-04:00

This storm blew in Sunday evening in literally a matter of minutes. my complex, normally a virtual aviary, birds literally everywhere. was suddenly empty of winged flight and chirping as the birds disappeared in a matter of minutes! The rain cam down in buckets with thunder and lightning, and it was a sight to behold. As I get to know a new digital camera, I'll be posting regularly...film it's not, but it's pretty good, and fast!

Spring has sprung!

2008-05-11T12:17:00.009-04:00

I'll be making the transition this month to digital from film based photography, and here are a few tests with a camera I've borrowed. I've put in the Rosemary and Basil plants, and they seem happy on the balcony.

Namaste

2007-08-26T19:05:00.000-04:00

Clouds

2007-07-20T17:26:00.000-04:00

Sand and Water Series

2007-07-20T17:13:00.000-04:00

Philadelphia Pieces

2007-07-16T21:46:00.000-04:00

This second day of shooting was when a light went on in my head after walking through the Japanese Masters exhibit. It seemed to me I needed to rethink the use of space in composition, subjects and the space they're in needed to be set in conflict somehow, framing and composition needed to be in more of a state of tension? Subjects beautifully framed, neatly framed, say one thing, a subject reaching in to a frame, jutting into view, clamoring for attention, striving to be seen, says something else entirely.

This is something I'll be working with more, I have another roll ready to be developed, another in the camera ready to be finished, and a few more ideas in my head for more of same....

Philadelphia Sculpture

2007-07-16T21:38:00.000-04:00

This is the newly installed sculpture up by the Museum and my first roll shot after not shooting for more than a year, and with a camera I didn't know all that well to boot! That being said, I am not all together unhappy with the results, just know that I scanned these quickly tonight to see what I had to work with, they're all low res scans and hastily color corrected..c'est la vie...however, this was great fun to work with, and reminds me of why I love film so much, shot on my favorite Fuji Velvia 100 slide film. Lots of angles to play with made for a great hour of shooting!

Philadelphia

2007-07-14T23:33:00.001-04:00

Night Photo

2007-07-14T22:34:00.001-04:00

Black and White photos

2007-07-14T21:50:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the results of my darkroom work last year. Beseler enlarger, Schneider lens, Seagul paper. Most of this was shot on the Cape one summer.

Abstract Shadow

Bench

Fence

Wood Mushroom

Swing

Billowing Sails

Log and Poison Ivy

Philadelphia Museum Japanese Masters of the Brush

2007-07-14T16:57:00.000-04:00

I was reluctant at first to go to the Japanese Masters of the Brush exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum. No knowing enough about an ancient culture, as well as knowing very little about a genre or style or form of art can be intimidating, let alone the issues around not knowing the language.

Well, I’ve been back to the exhibit now three times, each time taking away more and more from these two, the husband and wife artists Ike Taiga (1723-1776) and Tokuyama Gyokuran (1727-1784). Brilliant and exquisite in their technique, and visionary in their form and style, personally I found their work extremely artistically inspirational. Her use of color is subtle and rich at the same time, and his work excels when he is at his most abstract. And they both use white space as a mechanism to create remarkable tension in a given piece.

Where I found this inspirational in my own work as a photographer is a complicated matter. Not sure I can explain this, but today, on my third visit, I found myself moving through the entire museum quickly and in a somewhat agitated state, through every wing and style and period very quickly looking for something in particular. Taiga and Gyokuran understood how to create tension with in a space, whether through movement, abstraction, use of white space, or use of horizontal strokes in a vertical piece…but I had been shooting some things in the past couple weeks that were entirely new for me that I think, for me anyway, redefined the use of space from a viewers standpoint.

Not sure if I can explain this just yet or if I can quite put it into words, but here’s an attempt…Virtually everything I saw in the museum, no matter what genre or era or country or style created structure and/or tension within a centered or well defined space in the work or zone. When a viewer looks at a Miro or a Dali or a Cezanne or a Caravaggio, what they see is something beautifully constructed or deconstructed within specifically define parameters or grids. The statement fights the grid which is the anchor or works entirely within it, all of which stays within a well defined field of view.

Normally when I shoot, I find a subject, I compose the shot, understand the light, frame it up in the way I see fit, and shoot…one object or item at a time, often an unrelated series of objects.

First off, when I went to the Japanese exhibit the first time, I was so inspired I made a vow to myself to shoot serially or structurally, meaning I would try to find a single subject or topic and work with it as a series. I did. But then something happened, I was so obsessed with and troubled by the concept of the use of space and the tension within it that I started to shoot differently.

Very differently. I’ve shot a couple rolls of film now, due back this week from the film shop, on my film of choice these days, Fuji Velvia 100 slide film, overly rich with color saturation, and I can’t wait to see it. I’ll post some, if all went well, this coming week. What I shot, as I was shooting it, completely surprised me. If it works, it could be the beginning of a portfolio. If it works, it will explore the use of space and tension within it in a different way for me.

I won’t say much just yet until I see the results and scan some of the slides, but we’ve had some great weather these past few weeks with deep deep blue skies, and with various elements of the city fighting their way into that deep blue background, it could be an interesting experiment.

I think the tension and movement and collision created in this particular shot is a beginning of that tension in the use of space that I may have been able to expand upon.

I shot this some years ago and was surprised by the apparent tension in it. It seems the two circular elements are in a sense colliding upon hitting the concrete. It was an accident, but one that I was pleased with.

We'll see what I get back this week!

Paul

Parents Wedding Picture

2007-07-14T16:46:00.001-04:00

Wow, where did 60 plus years go. I moved a couple years ago and am finally getting to those last few unpacked boxes and came across this delightful find, Phil and Fran on their wedding day…so stylish, so happy…I’ll say no more except..where does the time go…

Poison 'Shrooms

2006-11-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

From all the research I've been able to find on the web about these babies...what one does is cut and harvest them, dry them carefully in the oven at a set or certain tempertaure which then converts the deadly toxins to hallucinogens which you consume by either eating them dried or soaking them to make a soup of some kind...the enzymes convert somehow in the process or some such thing...and that American Indians and other indigenous peoples have been doing that for centuries...but who did it first and how was that determined centuries ago? I mean, who was brave enough to try a new process after their hunting buddy died eating one of these? I mean, I've tried some crazy things in my life like solo climbing in winter with broken bones, etc...but I'm not sure it was truly death defying like eating pretty yellow poison 'shrooms?

I came home from work one night and as I parked the car, there these were growing under a pine tree, which is I gather their natural habitat. They are large and I shot them over the course of nearly two weeks as they flourished and developed. They started out large as buds or pods (?) and as they grew and eventually developed, the largest, when fully opoened flat was the size of a dinner plate probably 10-12 inches across! There is a web site where I found a good of info, Roger's Mushrooms, here:

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5545.asp.

These Amanitas are "Amanita muscaria var. formosa".

Enjoy, and if you want me to harvest them for you next year when they come back, at your own risk of course, give me a shout! JUST KIDDING, DON'T EVEN ASK, WOULDN'T TOUCH "EM PERSONALLY!!!!!!

Paul

Old Family Pics

2006-01-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

I just love old black and white family pics from the 1940s-1960s. We seem to have bucket loads of them at my parents house, and I'm on a bit of a personal mission to save them. I have a scanner and am learning as I go along here...and am glad I'm doing it as many are torn, fading, etc...seems as tho we can lose a piece of our family history with the loss of a single simple picture? As memory fades, grandparents pass, parents develop symptons of old age, our children grow up, all this becomes more and more vital.

The best friends we ever have, some say, is when we're young, it's uncomplicated by competition, male hormones, girls, career, money, life's troubles...

Left to right are Larry, me, and John, sixth grade. Of course, we've all lost touch with each other.

Upstairs in my grandparents house...the little one is me.

I love this shot, just says so much.

Left to right are my uncle Rico, my uncle Vito, and my dad Phil...

Aaargh, the four boys, how's this for an unhappy group of campers...

...except Robert, the youngest...a veritible squirm bucket.
My Dad and his dad. I never knew my paternal grandfather as he died of cancer the year I was born, 1957, but I understand he was a stern man!

What Purpose Personal Creativity and Art

2006-01-23T08:11:00.000-05:00

Creativity and art has been an important part of my life ever since I was a young child. There was always music in the house--my dad was a frustrated tenor sax player who studied at Berklee and we always listened to the likes of John Coltrane and Lee Morgan and Ella Fitzgerald and Dave Brubeck--a varied palate. I then trained as a musician and earned my undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from Boston and New England Conservatory but chose to abandon performance in favor of arts administration and have never looked back.

At the same time, tho in scattered form, photography has been extremely important in my life as well. I'm still in the arts, and surrounded by art and performance all day every day at the Kimmel Center. The urge to create is strong as I see and witness the creative process first hand. That process is a joy to see and one I can understand and "feel" first hand in a very direct way.

Hence, I have been creative and active as a photographer in recent years in a way that has, for me anyway, produced a body of work I'm beginning to feel has something to say. I've worked with great photographers in recent years on film projects as a publicist--Sebastiao Salgado and James Nachtwey most notably, and I've learned a lot from them. Not about photography or photographic technique per se, but more from their sense of humanity. I've also worked with art photographers as well--Spencer Tunick and Sally Mann. Both types teach and encourage you to see and interprete the world in your own way.

Which brings me to the subject at hand here. What do I see as a photographer? Every photographer (as well painter, musician, sculptor, etc) struggles with technique, and struggles with vision and statement. How do I define myself as an artist and what do I see/have to say? Is it of value? And to whom? Me? A collector? A magazine or newspaper reader? My son? My parents? Now that I have a body of work of some kind, what do I do with it? Spend yet more money and try to get it published? Go through the great expense of getting professional prints and search for a place to exhibit? Or put it back in storage boxes and go on to something else?

Not sure. My personal life has had some upheavals recently, and I've taken great comfort and solace in my own personal creative life. It's helped me define myself and understand my self worth in greater clarity and I will therefore continue the creative process. Plus I enjoy it, despite the technical struggles of scanning and adjusting colors and trying to get prints I'm happy with etc... I often pull my hair out over these things and swear it all off for days or weeks, only to return to it later and discover maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

There, my ramblings and musings, for all to read. And as a friend and mentor once said in an attempt to comfort me at work after a bad moment some years ago, "There you have it. My advice. Free. Worth what you paid for it!"

Paul

Abstractions 2

2006-01-22T16:25:00.000-05:00

As we wander, we spend so much time looking either up or straight ahead. Looking down yielded a wealth of almost abstract animation in what would normally be seen as inanimate objects. Things seem to point toward somewhere, crash into things or space, or squeeze into each other.

Abstractions 1

2006-01-22T16:13:00.000-05:00

I found this wonderful orange slime stuff growing in a drainage ditch in Fort Lee. As disgusting as it is, it's quite beautiful in its own way. It was a bit difficult to work with because balancing the reflected surface of the water on top with trying to get at the orange color underneath was not easy.

Doorways in London

2006-01-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

Londoners love to paint their doors bright colors. My challenge was to not get arrested shooting everyone's front doors as some sort of voyeur!

London 2004

2006-01-22T12:46:00.000-05:00

Pigeons descended upon the stairs during the work of performance art!

Michael and Dvora are excellent gardeners and this was among the many fine plants growing in their backyard.

I had the good fortune to have some dear friends in London at the London Symphony Orchestra offer to take us in for a couple weeks for a vacation in what I think is probably the most expensive city in the world, yet supremely beautiful. We were just blessed with 2 weeks solid of the most unbelievable weather London has ever seen!

N Scale Trains

2006-01-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

This flat car was built from an Alan Curtis (UK) kit.

Engine terminal/shop is a scratch-built facility.

This beat-up, rusted old building is a kit bash from a Walthers kit with an add-on section and was featured last year in the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine as a monthly Kitbasher's award.

Trains trains trains and more trains...N scale and otherwise. These are few shots from a layout I built that no longer exists...a new one is in the planning stages!

Vintage Race Cars

2006-01-22T11:47:00.000-05:00

Martini sponsored Porsche 917

Under the hood of the Nissan

One of the Ferrari's raced in the Steve McQueen film LeMans.

Chevron

Two of the Andretti family collection of cars, a pair of Porsche 956's

My other passion is race cars. Not ordinary race cars mind you--but vintage sports race cars. These machines were the height of form and function--Porsche, Ferrari, Nissan--and others, all had machines of beauty, prototype race cars that were the best of the best, and raced in anger. These have now been taken off the road-superceded by advancements in technology and new safety features, and bought by collectors for millions of dollars, and, if you can believe it, raced for fun at race tracks around the country. These were shot at Watkins Glen, and the fun here is that you can simply just walk up to the mechanics, the cars, and the drivers--Brian Redman, Paul Newman, etc...say hi, talk, and snap away!

Cape Cod

2006-01-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

Every summer (mostly!) I try to get to Cape Cod for a week or so. I find it a wonderful creative refresher and shoot like crazy, mostly color slides, and recently the wonderfully saturated Fuji Velvia 100 slide film.

Philly

2006-01-22T10:22:00.000-05:00

I moved to Philly last year, and have spent some considerable time wandering the city, shooting, geting to meet people, and some pics are here, including the Mummer's Parade, the view from my window, etc...

Antarctic South Georgia Island

2006-01-22T09:59:00.000-05:00

Taking a break on our own crossing of South Georgia Island high in the mountains.

Also at NOVA, I worked on the IMAX Shackleton film and documentaries. A month on a boat, a Russian ice breaker, may or may not be some people's idea of a good time, especially when the world's worst storm hits and you simply want to die rather than be so sick for 5 days...but this was truly a gift, an honor. To be on a film project with some of the world's best climbers, Conrad Anker, Reinhold Messner, retracing the foot steps of great explorer Ernest Shackleton was an experience I will never forget.

Nepal

2006-01-22T09:51:00.000-05:00

I worked at PBS for a number of years with NOVA, the science series produced from WGBH in Boston. I went to Nepal for a month to work on one of our Everest documentaries and had some free time to travel the countryside and markets. The people are poor, and proud in the face of enormous difficulties, including the current Maoist revolt gripping the country.

Travels

2006-01-22T09:43:00.000-05:00

I traveled quite a bit over the past few years, and I'll start to post some of those pics and travails here over the course of the next few weeks. We were in London last year and was fortunate enough to go to Silverstone for the F1 race. This incredible piece of machinery, Schumacher's winning Ferrari from the previous season, was on display for all to see and touch!