Archive for the “photo” Category

The Northern Avenue bridge was illuminaled in orange and blue but I didn’t get even halfway across when a security guy called out that we had to clear the bridge because it was going to open.  Open?  I had no idea it could.  Turns out it’s the spinny kind of drawbridge.  Here are some shots from the adjacent Moakley bridge as the Northern ave slowly turned to admit an invisible ship.

Update: check out Lance’s different perspective on the same bridge swing.

Tonight was supposedly the last night of Boston Illuminale (warning: annoying flash site, see also more photos on flickr), wherein several Boston sites were festooned with fancy lighting.  I didn’t get to all the sites, but I’m not sure if they were all in fact illuminaled.  The Moakley bridge over the Fort Point channel was lit up in blue, but I thought that was a year-round thing.  Either way, here are some pics of the area.  Stay tuned for further shots of the more dramatic goings-on at the Northern Avenue bridge.

I’m pretty sure that’s the planet Venus up there in the lower right picture, not any kind of extraterrestrial craft or paranormal phenomenon, but the spotlights were scanning the sky just in case.

You know you have a problem when you go shopping for something when you have recently purchased examples of that same thing sitting around your house, unopened.  Well, maybe not in the case of food.  But in the case of art, I think I might have this problem.   Last year around this time I blogged about the photo auction season.  I also bought a couple of things, and not all of them have made it into rotation on my walls.  And it’s that time of year again, and I’m making a shopping list.

Last week it was Skinner’s auction of fine wines.  I didn’t get it together to go, and I hope I can find the sale prices online somewhere.  Morbid curiosity, I think.  The $12 screw-cap Bordeaux should fill my needs for now.

This weekend, it’s The DeCordova Museum’s annual benefit and auction.  I’ve never been to this one, and it looks like I’ll miss it again this weekend, but I’ve been having great times at the DeCordova lately so will pay more attention next year.

Coming up on October 11 is The Center for Photography at Woodstock’s Benefit Gala and 30th annual benefit auction.  For the second year in a row, they’re cutting the format back to a smaller sale of much higher-quality work.  I might be priced out, but I’m going anyway.  last year, I scored a beautiful Keith Carter print.

Just two weeks after that, on the 25th - not much time for budget relief - is The Photographic Resource Center’s annual benefit auction.  With almost 200 works in total and 3/4 of that in a silent auction, you can expect some bargains here, but also expect to see some amazing work sold for breathtaking prices.

November 1 brings us ARTcetera at the Boston Center for the Arts, a fundraiser for the AIDS action committee.  Keep an eye on this one, there’s an amazing variety of work - not just photos - on offer.

This is far from an exhaustive list, but it’s what’s on the limeduck radar these days.  I’m very interested to see how these events play out.  Economic uncertainty suggests that people will be bidding timidly, but that also suggests that those with the guts and the cash might get some exceptional bargains.  It’s also possible that some investors will look to art as a better store of value than commodities or equities.  In any case, it’s a great way to buy local and get a unique gift for yourself or a loved one.

The air at street level was crisp but still.  At higher altitudes, something was definitely happening.

It looks almost calligraphic, and reminds me a bit of the yud-shaped building at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

It also reminds me that there’s abundant beauty in natural, random phenomena.  Who needs fancy latte art when you can search for meaning in the flow of foam?  What do you see here?

While you ponder the abstract expressionism of this, also ponder if you should really be getting coffee in a paper or plastic cup (and plastic lid and paper sleeve) if you’re going to drink it in the shop?

It’s rare that I know something about social media that C.C. Chapman doesn’t, but earlier this evening I left the third WBUR social media get-together and saw this tweet.

So, for C.C. and others, let me set the context.  WBUR’s social media guy, Ken George, called the third WBUR tweet-up, the usual informal social media gabfest with the added lure of a tour of the station.  I was lucky enough to be in on the first such event, but missed the second. I hope C.C. can join us for one in the future.

The discussion was pretty free-flowing, and I’m sure it flowed even freeer when the crew decamped to the bar, but I’ll try to mention some of the interesting people and themes I noticed.

David Boeri, host of WBUR’s Radio Boston, kicked things off with a discussion of using twitter and other social media to source stories or find trends and ideas as they bubble up.  He came with an attitude of “beginners mind” and probably left with a headache.  The crowd was eager to help, but I’m not sure if even those of us swimming in new media fully understand what it is we’re in the midst of.  As one said, “I have over 800 followers [on twitter] and I have no idea why.”

A soft-spoken woman named Angie mentioned an event called Courteous Mass, a reaction to the sometimes controversial Critical Mass, but specifically committed to obeying traffic laws (in contrast to the “corking” through red lights common to Critical Mass) and being nice to both pedestrians and drivers while celebrating urban bike-riding. Bravo, I say.  As a pedestrian and a driver, I find the behavior of many cyclists unnerving and reckless while wishing that more people could safely ride bikes in the city.

Manifest Magazine is a twice-monthly free magazine about “ordinary people with extraordinary experiences” delivered, oddly to my mind, in PDF via a blog.  The creator of the magazine spoke of his use of “most favorited” searches to find interesting and up-and-coming authors and interview subjects.  Worth a look, as I’m sure will be whatever this gentleman does next.

On the way home, I walked over the BU bridge and watched the moon peek in and out of the clouds.