Constant dropping wears away a stone

Back to present on of my most labor intensive and dearest hybrid media pieces yet... It started with an assignment to cover our sensei & dojo for a German magazine a while back... You can read about that here.

Now I had some great images of Imaizumi Sensei and our dojo. And I was getting more involved in the multi media aspect of things as well... So I tried to figure out what other ingredients the piece was still missing... I wanted a narrator who was somehow personally connected with the piece. After sensei declined I approached some of our more senior students until I ended up asking Warren Wynshaw for his input. It wasn't that he was low on my list, but I didn't want to bother him with what I felt "unimportant" stuff... Not that it was unimportant to me, but not necessarily important for other people... To my huge surprise he immediately agreed to participate and we ended up recording his voice over just a few weeks later...

The last obstacle was - as usual - in my mind. I started writing the soundtrack early on and there were only minor changes to it over time... One thing that bothered me was the "fake guitar" that I had used to create a measure of grit and earthiness... It was fine, but lacked the authenticity I was looking for... I approached two of my friends (Christian Wilkes and John F. Richards), who after a series of delays delivered their tracks to me within days of each other... So, I ended up with two distinctly different, but cool guitar tracks that I really liked... An embarrassment of riches... It took me quite a while to figure out what to do. Fellow aikidoist, jazz alto saxphonist and friend Richard Tabnik came to the rescue and suggested using both of them in different sections of the piece...

In the end it came together quite beautifully me thinks. And it comes to show that persistence does have its merits after all... I guess the trick is to figure out if there is a message with projects that get stuck... And what that message could be...

Slideshows! Not new, but new for me!

Last summer a friend suggested to play more with the combination of sound and images... Slideshows came to mind as I do not like videos that much... I mean for myself... I am a photographer after all... So, this is the first one of a series of personal slideshow projects on people that I find interesting... I feel that being able to match audio with the images gives the whole piece an added dimension...
It took me quite a while to get comfortable with this new media set up, so please forgive my lack of posts here!
I hope to post these pieces here now more regularly from now on!

I saw Daniel Robinson first when he conducted a fitness boot camp thingy in the gym where I work out... He was visually so perfect for the part of the bad drill instructor that I had to grin wildly... He was not amused! Running into each other in the neighborhood and the gym we started talking at some point... What a kind and generous soul he is! I was very happy when he agreed to take part in this piece about him, a true New York icon... Yes, indeed you can see him training outside pretty regularly... (when there is no snow that is!) ;)

You can get in touch with him via his email: Drmaxtrain@gmail.com

Part #4... Mastery or Luck?

Still using images from my recent stash... All over sudden I was much happier with the results I was getting... Did my skills improve or was I just more lucky? Hopefully a little of both... Check them out!

Not sure why I picked the top image today... For me it's a typical New York City moment... But why?
Mmh... I think it's his mood...

Far, far away...

This is just so beautiful... 

Closed...

Funky focus, but full of emotions...

That way?

Girl from before...

The mix of people make this city...

 Love when the writing in the image plays into what is happening...

Nerdy and determined...

Tough to read... But intense...

 There is happiness in the city after all!

Different worlds...

Pretty in lace...

Wow...

Not sure what is going on here emotionally...

Full of life...

Springing into (or being in) action... 

After a beat down...

Not super special, but still typical... Times Square impressions...

Part #3... Conviction!

Here is the next installment of pictures from my stash... This project has gotten quite big and I'm trying to get a handle how to better edit it... Trying to give it another life beyond this little, cozy blog...
The number of images is quite deep and of course that presents a wealth of material... But for me it's hard to conquer as I seem to be too involved... Might need to step back from it somehow to be able to look at it more clearly... Due to a family emergency a photo editor friend is taking a break from helping me with this... Now, what to do? Wait for him to reemerge or try to go at it myself now? Mmmh...

In any case: I have a fascination with tattoos... I find them visually appealing... In all states... Not that I would seek out artists or get one done... But when they occur naturally around me... ;) And I guess he feels he's been blessed! I like it!

Going down...

What?

Spirited...

Foreground - background...

 The moon (Tarot card XVIII) in action...

Hard body apparently...

Beautiful tats... 

My friend Donna...

Somehow reminding me of Ruth Orkin's image "American Girl in Italy"...

Thinking... Deep...

Exuberant...

Waiting for the Superway... :P (Sorry, couldn't help it!)

Checking me out...

One of those moments where perfect focus would have ruined the shot...

I don't get the message... (On the shirt that is!)

What's going on there?

Just resting the eyes a little...

Lady with kombucha...

Calm... Maybe...

Next one up...

Not sure what to make of the quite limited amount of resonance these days... Must be the holidays or the heat / humidity... In any case... Showing the next batch from my stash...

I feel that the top image is one of the ones I like best from this selection... The glasses and the suit together with his expression make the shot... Tension...

Faces in a crowd... Small crowd though...

Expressive...

Surprised?

Nice... Patterns and more patterns...

Bright eyes...

In the Times Square tunnels... Take # 235... 

Pop culture references galore: iPad, Marilyn and Elmo... What a combo!

 
Impacted...
 

In repose?

Concerned?

Don't tell me there is no fun in the subway!

Introverted.

Man in front of hat art...

Doing the smart thing: Staying hydrated!

A hard day's work...

Confident...

Playing ball... Or carrying it around?

Ready for something...