Jewels

I bought my first Hasselblad 25 years ago and my third about 5 years ago when I added the digital back. They’ve served me well and are a marvel of engineering and design but it’s time to move on, I have a new love now, yes Canon, it’s you. So I sold them all for a tiny fraction of what I paid but I suddenly feel freer and lighter. I’m free of cords and external hard drives hanging off me, free from the ever present tripod and now have the lovely autofocus working for me. It was a huge decision to give up medium format and my beloved square but now that it’s done I’m excited about creating new lighter pictures, and working within a rectangle. So thank you Hasselblad, I will not forget you!

My new Canon makes it so much easier to document daily life, this is my son playing his bass

As a long time Hasselblad shooter I never thought I would be using 35mm again. I picked up some Canon equipment recently and love it. The lenses are beautiful, it’s soo much smaller and easier to handle than my clunky but loved square format. I’m using both formats on jobs right now but can see that with the addition of a few more lenses I may make the complete switch to Canon.

This was part of a story on Jamestown, RI I shot for Yankee Magazine. Love the warm, end of summer light and the iconic Dels truck. I submitted it to the Teacher/Student show at the West Hartford Art League where I’ve been teaching photography workshops for a few years now. The show is at the Clubhouse Gallery and up until the end of June.

This show of Chuck Close photographs is up at Univ of Hartford’s Joselof Gallery until the end of June.
The tonality of the photos is so rich and beautiful, they almost look 3 dimensional.
Daguerreotypes, photogravures, digital prints and tapestries are all used to show the same image in different ways.
The photogravures looked flat to me compared to the digital prints and the tapestries invite you to get really close (NPI)
and see the individual threads making up the whole.
Aperture produced this show that you should see if it travels your way.

“Wax and Wane #1″

I’m included in a an exhibit featuring work by West Hartford Art League members Frank Federico, Carol Ganick, Lee Goode, Elizabeth Lazaren, and John Rohatsch. The show is at 100 Pearl Gallery in Hartford, CT and will be up until the end of April.

The opening is Wednesday, March 31st from 5:30 – 7:30

The most interesting looking people come to art openings.. these were at the Ellen Carey show at West Hartford Art League that opened last night…shot with my Canon G11… the first is art dealer and collector Marion Harris..

and here is a video I shot of Ellen Carey talking about her show

WHAL_TheBlackSwansOfEllenCarey

I wanted to see the Rembrandt show at the Wadsworth Atheneum before it closed so I asked Brian if he wanted to go with me. To my surprise he said yes…act casual Julie… whenever my almost 21 year old son wants to do something with me I’m thrilled… So we went down on a cold Sunday afternoon to see the show. It was small group of paintings but worth seeing… any photographer that wants to learn about beautiful portrait lighting needs to study Rembrandt and the old masters.

My favorite painting in the museum is this one by Panini…I wonder if the sandwich is named after him…anyway… it’s really amazing in person.. following is a description from the Atheneum:

Interior of a Picture Gallery with the Collection of Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga
Artist: Giovanni Paolo Panini
(Italian, 1691-1765)
1740
The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1948.478

Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1690-1756), whose picture gallery is shown in this painting, was secretary of state to Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758). In addition to his duties in the papal service, he took a keen interest in the arts, helping to found and install the Pinacoteca Capitolina, to reopen the Accademia di San Luca, to preserve ancient museums from plundering, and to regulate the exportation of works of art. Cardinal Gonzaga was also an avid collector, and the fruits of his collecting are partially depicted here. (The Cardinal stands with the artist in the center of the composition beside an enlarged copy of Raphael’s Madonna della Sedia).

We ended up seeing pretty much the whole museum.. a great way to spend a winter afternoon. Here is Brian in a contemporary gallery pondering shades of gray.