The Importance of good light

The flickr image did make me want to redo my "what's in your bag" exercise, but I quickly realized that proper lighting can work wonders for these exercises. This took too long for me not to post it, but for obvious reasons, i'm not super happy with the outcome, but it was a learning experience for sure. It made me think about all the times in undergrad that we created basswood models that took so long to create, but no proper light room to photograph them.
I'll have to read up on how to photograph items (and models) successfully so that they aren't so dimly lit when being photographed, and will look better in portfolios.

Portrait Photography - Jelmar Geertsma

I came across a flickr album from an artist named Jelmar Geertsma, and wanted to share his work. He did a series of photographs where he painted a picture of someone from his family, and then assembled a portrait with different items that pertained to the family member.
Look familiar?
I like the way the artist set up this picture - the painting does not become the focal point of this photo, the picture as a whole does. This photo explains so much about the lady, without saying a word. From this piece, I can tell that she is a cat lady, likes drinking wine and cooking, and enjoys collecting home decor pieces from the 1950s.
This photo also contains many things, but is neatly organized to where it is not full of unimportant material.
I found it very cool, so I thought I'd share.

Thesis Ideas/Concepts

The Love/Hate Relationship of Times Square

My sister lives in Harlem, which is a quick subway ride to Times Square. Any time anyone goes to visit her, the first place they want to go is Times Square - this maker her roll her eyes and resent the fact that she lives so close. As December hits, she starts planning her New Years plans. It actually rarely involves New York City at all.
Times Square belongs to the tourists. How can we remodel this space so that it is a better experience for the locals, as well as a cleaner experience for the visitors? This must be studied in several scales - streetwise, it still must retain the current appearance of neon lights layered over itself. Individually, the pedestrians are constantly avoiding other people and taxis. What can be done in order to help this situation, not only during New Years, but any time of the year?


Can you even imagine how different it would look with the park in between the buildings?! Would Times Square lose its "charm" with such a drastic change? You would almost need to study the sociology of the locals vs. the tourists in order to know how successful this could be.

hips, and eaves and gables, oh my!

My brain is mashed potatoes right now. I've been staring at this roof plan for a senior living home for 9 hours straight. Why is it that something that seems SO simple is SO hard to understand? It's basically a bunch of 45 degree angles that should theoretically all connect and drain water off the building.

DAY (2)01(1)

IS IT TRUE THAT THEY SARAN-WRAP THE STREETS OF TIMES SQUARE FOR NYE?
(THERE SHOULD BE A MORE PERMANENT SOLUTION)