Yesterday 4.8.08

Kore
On Mine
Andrew came home from his month and change in India. He went out to visit his now ex-girlfriend who is at school in Bangalore. He regaled us with tales of ear infection scams, possible typhoid, and bank robbery. The Kali statue that is sitting on his lap is the gift he brought home for me. I'm definitely thrilled that Andrew is back. Woot to the return of a close compatriot!
On Her's
I really like the texture in this shot. The grain of the black and white implies this creepy aged feeling that is fantastic. I think it's really funny that I immediately knew exactly where this in em's mama casa.
Em
On Mine
I suppose my last few pictures have been a little lazy. I took this picture bored at my mothers house. She has a bunch of antiques there from when we shipped my Grandmother out from NY. The empty chairs and the unused room where all of these things reside remind me that she is gone. My Grandmother was the matriarch of our small family, and although I had quite the troubled relationship for most of my life, toward the end of hers we mended many of those hurts. The darkness of this picture also lends to a nostalgic feeling that pairs well with the empty chair.
On Her's
I love Andrew's smile in this picture. Like usual, Karina gets some amazing candid shots of people. Andrew's goofy kind personality rings true in this photograph. At first glance, it looked like he was knitting in this picture, causing me to take a second look and clarify that he was, from my now studied perception, rolling a cigarette.

Yesterday 4.7.08

Kore
On Mine
On Monday I went to my Dad's house in Queens. I've been cleaning out my old room so my Dad can turn it into a guest room. Since we were all going to be together (my Dad, my sister, and me,) my Dad invited my Mother over to have a family discussion about tuition. My sister and I are both starting new schools in the fall; Miriam is going into her freshman year of college, and I am transferring. Seeing my parents in the same room together is always strange for me, though they have certainly gotten better about it. It used to be that putting them in the same space for an excess of 10 minutes would almost guarantee a fight(example: my H.S. graduation.) This discussion could've turned into a major trainwreck, but thankfully it didn't. I dont know if time truly heals all wounds, but at least the big gorey ones are bandaid secured.
On Her's
Doesn't Mojo look so regal in this photo? If this were a painting it could easily hang in London's National Gallery or in the Uffizi. Wonderful as Mojo is and seems, the thing that makes this photo for me is the flower peeking in through the frame. It's also fantastic that Mojo is looking directly at it, as if to see who his competition is for adoration in this photo.
Em
On Mine
I don't have too much to say about this picture as it was a snap shot of the pup. I love the yellow flower in the corner, and I agree with Karina that this could be quite the painting. Perhaps Mojo could find a new career as a dog model for art students! Most adorable dog ever!
On Her's
Karina's parents have always seemed like a mystery to me, until her mother became my dentist. They have quite the interesting family dichotomy, and I believe that one part of that is illustrated quite well in this picture. I love the circular composition of this picture, and you can tell that at least a few family members are photographers as they are seemingly unaffected by the person standing over them snapping this shot. What's great about that is that it lends to a real honesty in this candid photo.

Yesterday 4.6.08

Kore
On Mine
Yay bathtime! I've been trying to improve my self poratraiture skills lately, in conjunction with the upcoming Self-Portrait theme. This shoot resulted in almost 100 fabulous photos of yours truly. I decided to draw the line between those photos which I felt represented some aspect of myself (thus making them true self portraits,) and those which were just simply well taken photos of me. The self portraits are saved for the theme, and this was em's choice of the best of my "pretty me" photos.
On Her's
This photo looks like something straight out of Gourmet magazine, or any other prestigious foodie publication. Everytime I look at this photo, It makes me hungry. On a purely visceral level, I adore the arc created by the placement of the food. It leads the eye to more and more delicious delights! ok now I really need to eat something...
Em
On Mine
Well. Charles and I both love to cook, and my mother loves when we cook for her. We spent a lot of the day watching Food Network and later Charles mentioned that he really wanted to eat polenta for dinner. We ran out to the store after agreeing that I would cook and grabbed pre-made polenta and honey for the two parts of the recipe I needed. (If you would like to give it a shot go here!) I was very proud of the taste tangy, sweet and savory! Good texture to me as well. The spinach was crispy as it only wilts a bit from the heat, the goat cheese was creamy and the polenta was, well, polenta-y! On top of all of that it LOOKED good! I thought it was so colorful and vibrant that I snapped a picture!
On Her's
I am not really sure if words can describe how much I love this picture. Karina looks straight out of some fantasy novel, ethereal and nymph like. She could be gliding through the water or floating past the photographer suspended in the air (of course we all know she is the photographer lol). Tendrils of hair purposely kiss her lightly pursed lips. Very evocative. You can't see her eyes which gives this photograph the feeling that this window contains only a brief glimpse into a singular moment of the subject. I don't think I can go on any more about this one, I could just simply dote on this picture for a few more paragraphs, but I am sure that my adoration would get sickening. So yes, big fan of this portrait of Karina.

Yesterday 4.2.08

Kore
On Mine
So this is what people see when they walk into the Rhonda Schaller Studio on a Wednesday afternoon. I'm setting up a database for their ArtLink network. I spent most of my day entering the information in that binder to my left into it. When I'm at work, I drink tea all day. Rhonda is a fellow tea enthusiast which just makes me like her more. Self-portraiture isn't my forte, but I'm definitely trying to improve. I'm also really partial to portraits where part of the face is out of the frame...
On Her's
...So is anyone surprised that I chose this photo? I love it. Maybe this is just nitpicking, but given all the photos I've taken of em I really adore the way she holds a glass. Every photo I can think of where she does this, she emits this elegance that hits you in the face. Em's elegance hits hard. Ouchie.
Em
On Mine
Whoa. So apparently the wondertwin brain power is syncing up again. Apparently we just have this ability to take very similar pictures or pictures with very similar themes. Anyway, I took this picture while Charles and I were sitting outside my mother's house. I have always been comfortable hanging out on my mom's porch in the sunlight with a glass of wine and a book, only this time Charles had the book and I had the wine.
On Her's
Ah, once again the studio Karina works in serves for a wonderful backdrop for pictures that she takes. I love the large amount of white blank space going on in this picture, and I can't help finding it amusing that Karina, me and Charles are all facing the same direction. Spooky!

Yesterday 3.30.08

Kore
On Mine
I've been making tea muffins alot recently, but switching up the kind of tea I use to change the flavor. For this batch, I used Celestial Seasonings' Sugar Plum Spice tea and let me tell you, these muffins were amazing. Its really great, because I have way too much tea that I'm not a fan of drinking but taste fantastic in a muffin. I think the next batch I make will go back to the original Earl Gray recipie, but I'm going to halve the white chocolate and replace it with dried cranberries. Delicious!
On Her's
This photo is so sweet it kind of makes me want to purge the contents of my stomach. Now that I'm thinking about it, Mojo and Mama de em share lots of positive qualities. They're both fun, kind, loyal, caring, and goofballs. I remember when em was still in NYC, how badly she wanted Mojo to have a place where he could run free and play whenever he wanted. Its so wonderful that now he has that.
Em
On Mine
My mother decided a long time ago that she was adopting my dog Mojo. He occasionally spends the night at her house and is very sad when he comes back to my house. It's not me or Charles, but the fact that she spoils him rotten and he has a huge backyard to run around in. You can tell how much she loves him in this photo. She is cradling him in her arms like a baby and giving him kisses. I was on the opposite end of the dog, the ass end, as this is what normally happens when he gets up on the couch. I also really like this picture of my mom because as the first picture of her in this blog, I feel that it shows her warmth and goofiness at the same time.
On Her's
I was not totally sure what this was when I first saw this picture. I really liked the brown/white/black contrast of the picture, and the texture of the mystery white powder. I finally figured out that this was flour etc, probably a muffin mix.

Yesterday 3.15.08

Kore
On Mine
Some friends and I went to Buttermilk, a bar in my neighborhood. This is by far the least scandalous of all the photos I took that night. Ben and I could not decide if the lettering on the wall said "vote" or "love". Such is park slope living.
On Her's
This was such a hard decision! I ultimately went with this photo because its compositionally good, and is also really funny. I also love that Charles is smirking devilishly in the background. Yet another pair of randomly matching photos. Bizarre!
Em
On Mine
Once again Charles and I visited Garth in Esco. We were going to be going to Desi's show in L.A., but she was not feeling well and her band was going on earlier than expected so instead we stayed in at Garth's, had some drinks and played a game called Talisman. It was fun and Charles, though the most reluctant to play, seriously kicked our asses. My character, at one point in the game, was turned evil, resulting in this picture.
On Her's
Firstly I have to reiterate that I have always been a big fan of the candid portraits that Kore takes. Even more so, I love the pictures that she takes of Ben. The texture in this picture is awesome, as well as the color and the composition. Another amusing point I find is the Indiana's "Love" picture above his head contrasting with the "Evil" in my picture. I picked this one out of my adoration for Ben, as well as the fact that it's a great picture.

Yesterday 3.13.08

Kore
On Mine
On Thursday night Ben and I went out to Happy Endings on the LES for our friend Clifton's birthday. Thats him in the picture. An all around fantastic time was had, with plenty of dancing Natashas (a la Party Girl) abounding. I told Clifton to look devastating and pushed the shutter release. oh the anxiety of angles! Later that night, I assisted a drunk Brooke Sheilds in finding a bottle of Chimay in a bougie 24hour grocery store.
On Her's
That cat looks like a panda. Em loves pandas. I also really like that the colors of the cat match the colors of the room.
Em
On Mine
I hung out with Garth and Charles in Esco and played Zombies. Tacky is Garth and Desi's new kitten and I happen to like her quite a bit regardless of her tiny little head. Although, I do have to say I think that she looks a little like a kitty alien.
On Her's
I love Kore's photography of people. Especially candid, though I am not sure but I think this one was posed! The first thing I thought when I saw this picture was that Clifton was obviously studying America's Next Top Model. This was a hard choice for me, however, as the three pictures I was given to choose from were all very good. I had to go with this one, though, and I think it pairs up nicely with the cat.