50 years ago, Beatlemania hit the US shores like a tsunami. From the first playing of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on the local radio stations, to the epic performances on the Ed Sullivan Show, no other music group changed the way we did so many things.
Not Elvis, Not Sinatra.
And the fascination with these 4 musicians (do I really need to name them?) was grabbed by the media, with both hands. More if they had them.

Beatles in Limo
© Curt Gunther, 1964
Estate Stamped

One of our finest fine art music photo galleries is currently showing 50th Anniversary of The Beatles’ First US Tour, on both East and West coasts a selection of photos from a variety of photogs from that seminal year.
The Morrison Hotel Gallery is one the niche galleries that speaks to a darn huge segment of the population: Music lovers!
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( This article was first posted in 2008. Updated,it still feels the same.)

Not like “This is not a pipe” (Ceci n’est pas une pipe) the famous painting by Rene Magritte, below

Nothing like that. Well, maybe a little borrowed concept for the sake of this post.

Instead it’s a bit of memory that has a photo of an object as it’s touch point.

When I was a kid, we used to have thanksgiving dinner at our apt. The cousins always joined us, the good flatware came out, and that’s just what you did.
Mom cooked the turkey in a paper bag to keep it at a certain moisture level, and the pies were a sweet pecan.
But the appetizer was the most unique item.
A seafood mixture with a creamy binder, the origins of which I can’t remember, and bread crumbs.

All mixed together and served in shells. Like the one shown above.
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Today, Nikon announces the coming of the new D4s, the professionals choice for years, and gets an update.
Oh yeah, that 409,600 ISO is not a misprint.

Not the biggest secret out there. It was due.
But make no mistake: this is a camera for the pros. This is the top of the line Nikon camera; built like a tank, utilizing the best technology available in a workhorse package.

What’s new? Continue Reading »

MOMA is long known for having a love affair with photography, and maintaining one of the most sophisticated palettes, while evolving and promoting the new talent.

And now,Quentin Bajac, MOMA’s new chief curator of photography, has a chance to show a fresh vision in curation in one of the temples of photography.
A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio February 08, 2014–October 05, 2014
I won’t lie: It took 2 visits to appreciate.

Man Ray. Laboratory of the Future. 1935. Gelatin silver print, 9 1/16 x 7″ (23.1 x 17.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of James Johnson Sweeney © 2014 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Each room is broken up into an exploration of the different uses of the studio: As Stage; Set; Neutral Space (where time and space have no relation ala Avedon); Virtual Space, as created by the darkroom or computer,And as Playground.

At first blush, the promise of exploration of a photographic artists space is a huge chunk to bite off.
With quotes from Man-Ray, and a continuous running film of an artist setting up a simple studio for the 20’s, the ride was on.
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…APS-C new camera from Sony!

At this point all we can do is drool over the stats: 11FPS! Claiming to be the world’s fastest AF performance at just 0.06 seconds. Continue Reading »