David Hoptman

Cezanne

Hoptman

When I first saw this image on The Online Photographer, a photography blog, I thought I was looking at a image by Cezanne. But how could that be? So I looked further to discover it was taken by master photographer David Hoptman.  He teaches a Tuscan Light Photo Workshop and clearly is on to something.
From what I can glean from his site, he is very much about form, texture, color and design.  Obviously with a captivating eye.  And he works with a variety of styles and approaches.  Here are a few examples I liked.

There's obviously much more on his site and he writes about the creative process as well. It's not surprising that he does landscape and architectural photography, still lifes and interiors.  But he also works with Picassoesque abstractions, a Minox camera which creates a diffused, pointillistic image, and stylized nudes. Everything elegantly presented. And one of those happy accidental encounters that make the digital world so seductive.

Follow Your Dream Part Two

When you think back to that perfect time in your life, when everything seemed full of promise and life stretched out before you in a beautiful arc, what comes to mind?  Well, of course it's different for everyone, right?  And for some, the looking backwards is a way of moving forward, too.

 

Carter Olcott

For Carter Olcott it was the years 93-94.  When, as he puts it, snowboarding was great and people did it because it was fun and cool.   And those two years represent a time in his life that he's been trying to recapture.  It's kind of a lifestyle thing.  And a chance to recreate the magic.  


So, following in the great American entrepreneurial tradition, Carter, who's always marketed other people's stuff, designed his own imagery and affixed it to clothing that personifies that time of his youth.  And he put 93-94 out there on the Web, hoping to catch fire.  


At this point I should mention that Carter is a family friend.  And yes, every day thousands of people like Carter follow their own dreams and try to create something from nothing.  It's that "just-do-it" spirit which is so ingrained in our culture.  


But what makes 93-94 even possible is the Web.  It's a way to share that dream that keeps you up at night and maybe build it into something that other people can connect with.  Or just create a new business and market something you believe in.  Or share the fun and pride of ownership because you're doing your own thing and, with the Web, you can. 

Why Did Craig F. Walker Win the Pulitzer?

Denver Post photographer Craig F. Walker, center, listens as the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography is announced. His wife, Jamie Cotton, right, lifts her hands in celebration, while photo editors Tim Rasmussen, left, and John Sunderland, seated, celebrate. (Aaron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography went to the man in the middle of this photograph, Craig F. Walker.  His 2011 photo essay "Welcome Home:  The Story of Scott Olstrom" follows an Iraqi war vet struggling to put his life together as he copes with PTSD.  The powerful yet intimate images are accompanied by Scott's painfully honest words.  It's easy to see why it won the Pulitzer.

Photo by Craig F. Walker

It's the kind of documentary work that terrifies and inspires. Terrifying because of the pain and anxiety that infuse Scott Ostrom's waking moments.  And inspiring because the images are so vivid and tell such a compelling story. Witnessing Scott's efforts to respond to his PTSD and set himself towards a more stable and healthy life is incredibly moving.  He's a brave man and you want him to succeed.  You can view the photos at the Denver Post Photo Blog .  


I'd also like to note that the photo series ran only as part of the photo blog, not in the paper itself.  And the photos tell a much more powerful story for having been taken over an 8 month period.  Another example of the Web as a catalyst for change.  Creating, in the words of the Pulitzer committee, "a compassionate chronicle... images that enable viewers to better grasp a national issue."  

Follow Your Dream Part One: Caine's Arcade

America is built on dreams.  Or so we're told.  It's a lot easier to follow yours when you're young.  That's a time when anything is possible, and the vision of something wonderful floats before your eyes so close you can almost touch it.  When you're young, you can just wake up one morning and say, "let's do it."

This is Caine.  He's 9 years old.  He was hanging out at his dad's auto parts store in East LA.  And there were all those cardboard boxes, hanging out there too.  So Caine decided to build an arcade.  Because he really likes arcades.  And it would be fun.  Here's a link to a video that tells you about Caine's Arcade.  And you'll see, it's a pretty cool story. 

There are three things about Caine's Arcade that just knock me out.  First, he had the gumption and creativity to make it happen .  Second, it's so elaborate -- it takes his dream way beyond what you would expect from a nine year old boy -- and that makes it downright inspiring.  And third, it reminds us of that world of imagination, energy and vision that so many of us put aside as we wend our way to adulthood.  

Nirvan Mullick by Dave Bullock

And there's more.  Serendipity and luck play a part in all of our dreams.  And that was personified by the filmmaker  Nirvan Mullick who just happened upon Caine's Arcade when he needed a part for his car.  And decided to make the video.  And did it so well, with such respect for Caine and his dream, that it went viral.  Now you can read about it in the LA Times and Wall Street Journal.  


And Nirvan set up a scholarship fund for Caine that's raised almost $150,000.  Amazing what we can accomplish when we follow our dreams.


A big shout out to my nephew for telling me about the video.  Thanks, Brendan.

Felicia Day, Web Diva

Today I met Felicia Day.  Virtually.  Which is fitting for a Web Diva.  And having spent a little time together, virtually of course, I can say Felicia Day rocks.  According to the Washington Post, she's a geeky gamer goddess.  Which of course leaves me clueless, not knowing which end of the dragon is up, so to speak.  But Felicia's just launched her very own YouTube Channel, Geek and Sundry which features shows by her friends and her own funny feature, The Flog, that any of us clueless types can enjoy.  And millions and millions do.  The Flog, which launched April 2, had over 200,000 hits by the next day.


For the Flog, which is her video bloggy thingy, she masters the cutey-jump-cut-facial-gag-rejoinder-whatever mode of quick cut editing.  And having a great old time with it.  Makes me wish I was 16 again so I could pine away for her.  


After you've flogged yourself, if you're still aching for more, you can check out these videos.  There's I'm the One That's Cool featuring her posse aka The Guild.  It's all about geek payback.  You know, they're the ones making the big bucks these days.  And Do You Want to Date My Avatar again featuring her Guild pals.  Which is a great sendup of the gamers alter egos.  A talented bunch.

So who is she in real life?  Here's a link to her bio.  A very creative and funny person, this Felicia Day.  And sounds like she's just getting started.

In the Company of Animals

All photos by Graham Haber for The Morgan Library

My son Ben is creating videos for The Morgan Library exhibit In the Company of Animals on how animals can inspire the creative process and I wanted to write about his approach.  You can see the video featuring Emma Straub on Youtube here.   

This is basically an A Capella piece; all you hear is Emma Straub's voice.  It was recorded very close to the microphone, so it has a very intimate quality.  The effect is that you feel like it's just the two of you and she's telling you her secrets. It makes her very present and, in a quiet way, it draws you in.  

And of course the voice is edited, but you can't tell -- the spacing of the words and movement of the story just flows along.  Graham, the photographer, did a wonderful job capturing the interactions between Emma and her cats.  You can see that Emma knows you're there watching, but it's more like she's letting you in on the joke, sharing her space and her pets with you.  Which also makes the piece so effective. 


You can she how intertwined she is with her two cats.  All of which helps you understand how she practices her art, and her writing, in the company of animals.

Anyone But Me

from the web series Anyone But Me

This is at once a happy and sad story. One of achievement, frustration and heartbreak. Okay, maybe that's a little melodramatic. But the subject of this post is a very well-produced web drama, Anyone But Me.  It's innovative.  Award-winning.  An original web series with good writing and direction.  And excellent lead actors.  


Anyone But Me is a story about relationships, a touching and very modern series about young people in the process of finding themselves.  And about two girls in love.

Susan Miller

Tina Cesa Ward

Anyone But Me is the very engaging work of two women creators, Susan Miller and Tina Cesa Ward.  But after winning the first-ever Writers Guild Award for Original New Series, Anyone But Me is done, after just two and a half seasons.  The web series had critical acclaim, numerous awards, dedicated fans and an international audience with over 11 million views.  And, sad to say, it's ended with a shortened third season after Susan and Tina were unable to reach their budgeted $120,000 for ten episodes.  Thus the happy sad story.  Ground-breaking series run a ground.

So what did I like about Anyone But Me?  First, I'd have to say the writing.  Conceptually, I liked the way the feelings of a character would propel the action and how their awkwardness, insecurity and indecision struggled with their need for emotional honesty and to just be real.  


Yes there were plenty of confrontations.  Plenty of hurt and confused feelings.  And great scene-ending moments.  But everything was delivered in what felt like an authentic milieu.  And the issues certainly resonated.  I could identify with the question of being true to who you are, the fear of having secrets revealed and the need to be yourself.  And we've all gone through those awkward teenage years of discovery.  


I liked that the writing was spare.  A lot was communicated with few words.  Many of the episodes could serve as a primer on how to do more with less.

Second I'd have to say I liked the directing (and editing).  Those credits go to Tina Cesa Ward.  The short episodes felt like they were lifted out of a well-made TV movie.  A variety of night and daytime scenes, lots of locations, tight and wide shots edited for maximum effect, nice handling of dramatic moments.  The locations felt right.  And Tina would often punctuate a series of tight dialogue shots with a revealing wide shot to cap the scene.  This was a show about relationships, and often it was her visuals that told the story.

The principle actors were all excellent.

Rachel Hip-Flores

Rachel Hip-Flores was the heart and soul of the show and deserved her Best Actress award.  This was her first acting job out of college, yet she played her character with an intelligence and vulnerabilty that was captivating.  And she made you feel all the tangled emotions that played across her face.  

Nicole Pacent

Her free-spirit love interest was very well-played by Nicole Pacent.  Yes, she was a girl with big emotions, but she delivered a character that was also confident, intelligent and helped steady her more skittish girlfriend.

Jessy Hodges

And the third principle actor, girl-next-door Jesse Hodges was also excellent as the high school beauty with boyfriend issues, trying to renew her friendship with Rachel's character and bumping into all her fears and insecurity.  

So call it drama, soap opera, whatever, I found Anyone But Me drew me into their lives and issues (there are adults in the series too, all well-played) and I was sad after I screened the last episode.  And I give Susan and Tina kudos for making the series stories so universal and appealing.

So, as you might imagine there's been lots written about the series.  If you're wondering about Susan and Tina's creative process and their thoughts about how to create a successful dramatic web series, here's a link to a very informative webcast interview.  And here's a link to their thinking as they prepared for the show finale.  

As a final thought, what first caught my attention was this photo of the two key actresses.  There's something about the intensity of their shared moment that made me curious.  And, like so many imaginings you can explore as you stumble around the web, I found it a trip well worth taking.