Turtle Back Zoo, West Orange NJ, 9.19.10

A lot of fun... and so close to home!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FLICKR SET AT TURTLE BACK ZOO

Turtle Back Zoo opened June 3, 1963 with a collection of 140 animals of 40 species.  The zoo took its name from a rock formation located on the mountainside just east of the zoo. The Lanape Indians called this formation Turtle Back Rock.  The pattern on the rocks created by large balsatic crystals makes it appear that you are standing on the back of an enormous tortoise.  

In September 2006 Turtle Back Zoo was granted accreditation by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. This distinct honor places Turtle Back Zoo amongst the elite zoos and aquaria of the United States and means that the zoo adheres to the highest standards for zoos in the country.

Turtle Back Zoo
560 Northfield Avenue
West Orange, New Jersey, 07052
Main Phone Number: 973-731-5800

RINGWOOD MANOR ASSOCIATION OF THE ARTS AT THE BARN GALLERY

Here are a few shots from the art show.  It was fun seeing my photograph displayed to say the least!

RAILROAD MIST, OCTOBER 2008

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: KEITH HARING: 1958-1990

This year marks the 20th anniversary of artist Keith Haring’s passing.

Keith started the Keith Haring Foundation, Inc. to maintain his extensive collection of art and archival materials and to assist AIDS-related and children’s charities.

Some of the images here are in my private collection, the others are from a show last year at the Woodward Gallery in NYC.

“No matter how long you work, it’s always going to end sometime. And there’s always going to be things left undone. And it wouldn’t matter if you lived until you were seventy-five. There would still be new ideas. There would still be things that you wished you would have accomplished. You could work for several lifetimes. If I could clone myself, there would still be too much work to do – even if there were five of me. And there are no regrets.

Part of the reason that I’m not having trouble facing the reality of death is that it’s not a limitation, in a way. It could have happened any time, and it is going to happen sometime.”
-K. Haring, Rolling Stone Magazine

THE POP SHOP

HOUSE OF GAMES, 1987

Finally picked this CRITERION COLLECTION version up on Amazon, been a long time since I've seen it. (My first screen credit...!)

• New, restored, high-definition digital transfer
• Commentary by director David Mamet and actor Ricky Jay
• New video interviews with Joe Mantegna and Lindsay Crouse
• Short documentary: "David Mamet on House of Games"
• Storyboard detail
• Trailer
• An essay by critic Kent Jones and excerpts from Mamet's introduction to the published screenplay

Roger Ebert's 1987 review

 

David Mamet's 1987 directorial debut was this mesmerizing study of control and seduction between two kinds of detached observers: a gambler who is also a con artist, and a psychotherapist who is also an emerging pop-psych guru in the book market. The latter (played by Lindsay Crouse) meets the former (Joe Mantegna) when one of her clients is driven to despair from his debts to the card shark. Mantegna's character agrees to drop the IOUs in exchange for Crouse's attention at the seedy House of Games in Seattle, a mecca for con men to talk shop and hustle unsuspecting customers. The shrink gets so caught up in the arcane rules and world view of her guide over subsequent days that she observes--with no false rapture--various stings in progress inside and outside the club. Mamet's story finally becomes a fascinating study of two people protecting and extending their respective cosmologies the way rival predators fight for the same piece of turf. The psychological challenge is compelling; so is the stylized dialogue, with its pattern of pauses and hiccups and humming meter. Mostly shooting at night, Mamet also gave Seattle a different look from previous filmmakers, turning its familiar puddles into concentrations of liquid neon and poisonous noir. --Tom Keogh
Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and screenwriter David Mamet first sat in the director’s chair for this sly, merciless thriller, one of the most original and acclaimed films of the eighties. Mamet’s witty tale of a therapist and best-selling author (Lindsay Crouse) who must confront her own obsessions when she meets an attractive cardsharp (Joe Mantegna) is as psychologically acute as it is full of twists and turns, a rich character study told with the cold calculation of a career criminal.

CHOW BAR, NYC

I have been frequenting this place for years (at the site of the old, "Formerly JOE's) and the food, atmosphere, drinks and excellent staff, help make this eatery one of the best I have ever experienced.

Chef/Owner Peter Klein cooks contemporary Pan-Asian style fare that is always excellent.  The honey plum spare ribs are a MUST as well as the frites. 

Plus Danielle is the most gorgeous hostesses ever!

CHOW BAR

230 W. 4th St., New York, NY, 10014
at 10th St.
212-633-2212

PAM & BRIAN 4.23.10

Some shots of their spectacular wedding at CASTLE ON THE HUDSON in Tarrytown, NY

Their "first dance" video...

THE 100 STRANGERS PHOTO PROJECT

This is a project I started a while ago and seriously have to get back into soon...

John, My Stranger #1/100, 8.30.08

MEET THE STRANGERS

100 Strangers

Step out of your comfort zone to a new level of portrait photography: take 100 portraits of people you don't know.

The idea

The One Hundred Strangers project is a learning group for people who want to improve the social and technical skills needed for taking portraits of strangers and telling their stories. The method is learning by doing.
The project is lots of fun and improves photojournalistic skills. During the process you might expand your every day living experience - and who knows, maybe you will even get a couple of new friends during the process.
We welcome both beginner and advanced photographers. You may be new to photographing strangers or already have experience of this type of photography.

The challenge

Take 100 photographs of at least 100 people you don't know. Approach a person or group of people and ask for permission to both take a photo of them and to post it to the flickr 100 Strangers group. Get to know your subjects. Who are they? What is their life like?
Try to tell a small story with each photo you take. This may be a story about the person or how you felt approaching that particular individual. You may have, for example, tried a new approach or used a new photographic technique. Try to learn something from every encounter you make.