NY Times Lens blog

I've lived long enough to know I don't have a clue what's coming next. I've always been amazed that some people can make five-year plans. Hell, I can hardly make a five-minute plan! Tonight is a perfect example.

Yes, I'd known since late September that Jim Estrin of the NY Times Lens blog was interested in my self portraits project, "Falling Into Place." We'd been in email contact, but it wasn't until he came up to me at the Burn gallery exhibit at David Alan Harvey's loft in Brooklyn on Friday, October 9, and said he wanted to interview me for a blog entry, that I knew he was serious about showcasing my work. Two weeks ago we'd had a good hour-long interview by Skype, and a few hours ago we completed the process with a fact-checking phone call. But I must admit I was surprised when he answered my question about when the post might run by saying, "At 12:01 am tonight."

If I were to say this is a dream come true, I'd be lying. I could NEVER have dreamed my work would be featured on the NY Times Lens blog! This is unimaginable. But there it is. I can't ignore the fact that it is up and running. And Jim's words touch me deeply. He is such a gentle soul, a truly compassionate man. The link is:

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/showcase-74/

There are so many people who are behind this miracle, foremost being David Alan Harvey who mentored me on this project from the start. Without his encouragement, skilled edits, and belief in the worth of this project, I would have given it up long ago. And all the photographers I've met on DAH's original blog, Road Trips, on his "Photography Magazine of the Year" Burn magazine, and earlier on PBase.com...all of whom have helped me hone my skills and find my way in this new-to-me world of photography. Even the iconic photographers Mary Ellen Mark, Eugene Richards and James Nachtwey have supported me in this work. God, I am so lucky.

So now it is 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning. I wonder if sleep will find me tonight. Right now I'm still vibrating. I always say that life is an adventure. Well, my friends, tonight I know that it is. Oh yes, it most certainly is.

Reimar has recovered!

After a mere seven weeks, my friend Reimar's face is again equal on both sides. He really beat that Bell's Palsy in a hurry. I say his positive attitude had a lot to do with it. Yea, Reimar! And yea, Skype, for keeping us in such close touch. I realy look forward to our Sunday visits. Isn't the internet great???

more from Burn Gallery Exhibit/Loft Workshop Slideshow

Mike Courvoisier with Rebecca Norris Webb


DAH


Mike troubleshots a computer/slideshow snafu








Patricia & Anton. Photo by Mike Young.

Burn Gallery Exhibit & Loft Workshop Slideshow

A portion of the Burn Gallery Exhibit


Erica, Anton & Vivek


Alex Webb presents his and Rebecca Norris Webb's work.


DAH introduces the loft workshop students.

my friend Reimar in Westphalia, Germany

When I was a child back in the 1940s, people used to say the time would come when we'd be able to see moving pictures of the person we were talking to on the phone. By the time I was a teen in the '50s, I didn't think that was too cool an idea. I mean, who would want to be seen with your hair up in rollers and your pimples uncovered by make-up? Well, now that day has come thanks to Skype, and at 67 I no longer care how I might look to my callers. Just being able to visit with my friends is good enough for me.

But what I could not have imagined was that Skype would be free -- at least to those of us with broadband internet access -- and that it would mean I could talk with persons from around the world. I guess back in the 1940s and 50s, I couldn't have imagined I'd even HAVE friends who lived in almost every time zone on the planet. Or that I would have met these folks not in person but on the computer. How times have changed!

So, for the past three weekends, Reimar Ott and I have been Skyping one another. We'd already been email buddies but this is SO different. It really is like sitting across the kitchen table and shooting the breeze. And for me, it's been a special joy to see Reimar's progress in recovering from the facial paralysis that came on suddenly on Wednesday, September 9. Each week the left side of his face is becoming more plastic again. This week he could even wrinkle his brow on both sides!

There may be down sides to this technological age, but this is definitey an UP side. Anything that brings people closer together is to be celebrated. Let's hear it for Skype!

candy time

I continue to play with my Blue Mirror Project wherever I go. After six months and tens of thousands of images, I have a pretty large collection of possible keepers. CLICK HERE to see the most recent edit. When you see the drop-down menu under Portfolios, click on The Blue Mirror Project. I intend to stay with this project for at least a year. It is such fun!

portrait of Ed

I've been looking at a book of Yousuf Karsh's portraits that I recently bought at a used bookstore. Yes, they are posed -- sometimes in a rather cliched way -- and many are so familiar it's hard to view them with fresh eyes, but I think the man was a genius. When he captures a subject's soul, you know it. It's like a light shining from within. To me, his portraits of artists are among his best.

So tonight I'm sitting in our living room looking at Karsh's photographs. Every time I look up, there is my Eddie sitting in his old leather chair with one side of his face in shadow and the other highlighted by the lamp. It takes me awhile but I finally wake up to the fact that a Karsh moment is right before my eyes. What you see here is just one of my efforts to show the essence of this man I've loved for over 43 years. Such a gentle spirit.