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...

Part #5 of catching up with the now...

We're almost there... I have one more folder in my stash and of course another week to catch up on after that... Let's just get to it then, shall we?!

The top image speaks strongly to me... The door had just closed and I was lucky to get such an expressive shot of the woman who had just entered the train... Not sure what is really going on with her, but I like the intensity of the emotion...

Full on...

Shortly after...



Stripes are usually not my kind of thing...

Sephora bag as fashion accessory... What a statement! :)

Sweet to see...

Undistracted...

Reflections galore...

Nicely dressed...

Great face...

Wondering, thinking?

One of my favorite set ups... People getting off the train... 

Checking things out...

Rushing...

Summer definitely has its good sides... 

Exiting with a sense of purpose...

Somehow wholesome...

Alert...

End of the day... Or at least this blog entry...

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...