Michael and Xuan's Wedding - NYC

I had the great honor of photographing the wedding of my Cousin Michael and his lovely bride Xuan This past Saturday in NYC.  They were a blast to photograph.  We did some photos up on the High Line (a park created from abandoned elevated freight train tracks on the west side of Manhattan) and at the ceremony.  It was a real treat to get to document their big day.  I wish them a lifetime of joy and happiness together!

I was a bit nervous having not photographed a wedding in ten years, but it was like riding a bicycle and came back to me quickly.  I also had the benefit of Wendy being my assistant and suggesting shots.  We made a great team.

In the past three weeks I have done a model shoot and a wedding.... Not my normal stuff and all the more satisfying because of it.

Keep Makin' Art!
Carl

My Paintings at Flywheel Gallery!

After two years as a member and tw successful solo photography shows I have finally gotten up the courage to put a few of my watercolors up in the new group show in the traditional gallery at Flywheel Gallery.  They will be on display for the next 6 weeks.  If you are in the area stop into the gallery and take a look.

Keep Makin' Art!

Carl

Imatge NYC - Showcase

Makeup being applied

 Model: Suzanne K. Milton

 Model: Cherry Fu

Last Friday night at 10pm my friend (photographer Susan Magnano was looking for a photographer for a model showcase as part of the final exams for Makeup Artist School at Imatge Consulting.  I jumped at the chance having not done any people photography in a while.  The task was to shoot the models with the makeup being applied and after they were made-up.  There was no formal set up for the shots and they had to be done very quickly.  I ended up placing the models near the end of a long corridor to make a non descript  background and bounced the light off of the wall left of camera.  I really am pleased with the final images and glad to know I don't have to take every photo on a tripod with a thirty second exposure.

Keep Makin' Art!

Carl

The View From my Handlebars

I  am loving the views I am seeing from my bike.  This shot was on the Heritage Rail trail outside of Chester, NY.

Selfie of me on my bike near an old rail car used to store produce from local farms until trucks come to take it to market.

I wanted to give a quick update on my balance project.  I was back at work this week so it was the first test of whether or not I could balance the riding into my schedule or not.  I did great!  Rode 75 miles this week.  I keep the bike on the bike rack and kept riding gear ready to go.  This allowed me to ride the rail trail after work.  Hopefully I can keep doing this.  I love the way the riding makes my whole outlook better.

Keep Maikn' Art!

Carl

Citi Bikes - NYC

I was in the city yesterday and had the chance to take a shot of the Citi Bike program.  I have wanted to do this since I have already photographed the Barclay Bikes in London.  You can't beat that pop of color and repeating form.  It just makes for an awesome photo.

Keep Makin' Art!

Carl

All New England Juried Exhibit at Cape Cod Art Association

I found out today my infrared B&W image of the dunes at Linger Longer by the Sea has been accepted for the 2013 All New England Juried Exhibit at Cape Cod Art Association!  It has been a while since i had one of my pieces in a show at CCAA, so I am really happy.  Hopefully I will be able to get up to the cape and see the show while it is hanging this fall.  This photo has special meaning to me as I took when we were on the Cape with my folks celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Keep Makin' Art!
Carl

Daylily

First sketch for a painting I am going to go of a photo I took on Cape Cod of a beautiful daylily I found.  Sketch is 6x9" final will be bigger.  I like the composition very much as well as the lost and found edges.  All in all not bad considering I have not had a brush in my hands in 6 months.

Keep Makin' Art!
Carl

Balancing Act

 My new Ride... a Cannondale Quick4 Hybrid

 Cape Cod Rail Trail

Out for a ride with my friend Laura on the CCRT 

Me and Chloe on one of our rides on the CCRT

Welcome to post 901 on Artistic Balance!  Where does the time go?  I have to thank everyone who has read and posted on my blog over the past 5 years.  Toady's post will be getting back to one of my original themes for this blog... balance.

I have been trying to come to grips for a long time now with how to balance the many things I like to do with having a demanding (and sometimes stressful) job.  Working in IT Management for a large health care company has its pluses and minuses The biggest downside is feeling like you are ALWAYS on call.  This has gotten better over the years as we have been able to build a strong team of IT professionals to support the company's needs, but can still be a challenge to you peace of mind.  Another thing that has gotten in the way of balance for me has been over-extending myself with my hobbies and community involvement.  I used to go on vacation and stress about not having enough time for ALL of my hobbies (kinda twisted really).  I have done two things to resolve this and feel like a new person.  First I cut back on what i expected from myself on my free time.  If i do not play my mandolin or paint on vacation so what?  I'll get to it.  A hobby is not supposed to add to your stress.  At the same time I cut back on my community stuff.  I was suffering from the same overload fatigue there as well.  I have not stopped any of them, but given myself the OK to remember I am volunteering at these things and don't need to put the weight of the world on my shoulders for that.  the second thing I did was  (while technically adding a hobby) was to remember how much I used to enjoy biking and finally broke down and bought a new bike this spring and have been using it to to de-stress and get back into shape.  At first 3 miles of riding around my town felt like a marathon, but that changes quickly when you put some miles on the bike.  I picked a Cannondale Quick4 (hybrid road bike) after several test rides at my local bike shop (Joe Fix It's).  If you are considering getting into biking I strongly recommend a good, local bike shop so you can get fitted out correctly and in most cases get a year of adjustments and tuneups included.  This week we did not get all sunshine on the cape so not everyday was a beach day, but with the company of my friends John, Laura and Chloe  I logged over a 100 miles on the Cape Cod Rail Trail this week.  It was a great way to work off some of that awesome Cape Cod seafood and see beautiful cranberry bogs and ponds you can't see from the road.  I have slowly built up mileage over the summer and it has changed my whole attitude about everything.  Today was our first day home and I put 18 miles on the bike on the Heritage Rail Trail near home.  I will take some photos of it on my next ride there... maybe tomorrow morning.  Does the riding eat into my free time?  Of course it does, but it is very enjoyable in and of itself and I find the time I spend at work and doing all of my other things (like painting and photography) are more productive because I am happier.  

So my lesson here for you all is to stop stressing.  Take a look at the things you are doing and make some adjustments if you need to.  For me increasing my exercise in a way I enjoy made everything else seem better...

I'll be working on the rest of my Cape Cod photos and doing a posts with them this week.  

Keep Makin' Art!

Carl