Boo.

Drive By Shooting in the Rain

So what do you do when a client books you for a Hudson Valley photo tour and it's pouring rain? 

Use it!

Bridge leading into Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park, NY

We started at the Vanderbilt Mansion, in Hyde Park, NY -- always good for autumn color and vistas.  We shot these through the rain-lashed windshield -- I love the blurred colors.

Vanderbilt Mansion lawn, Hyde Park, NY

We had a great day of shooting.  Rain darkens tree bark and highlights color.  As long as you can keep your camera dry, it's a great time to photograph.  I brought along a couple of microfiber cloths, and Cherree and I basically sat in the car and shot through the open windows. If the shot looked really good, we might even deign to get out of the car and stand beside it. 

We hit peak color and got great stuff and had a wonderful time.  (cue Gene Kelly, Singing in the Rain)

Dia Day

Dia: Beacon parking lot

For my birthday,  I decided to do something I have never done -- tour Dia:Beacon, the world's largest contemporary museum.  In short, I loved it.  The space and light are beautiful, and I enjoyed the art - particularly those pieces that emphasized repetition and geometry.  Peering through 2 strings strung parallel from floor to ceiling -- I could see a portal to another world (I watch a lot of sci fi...).    I just don't get video, so the basement was less interesting, but tucked up into the attic is an extraordinary monstrous spider by Louise Bourgeois.  Unfortunately, Dia does not allow any photography -- a real shame because the place is so photogenic -- I could have taken a hundred cool shots while I was there.  But I was good and limited myself to "legal" shots -- at the cafe and the ladies' room.  So, inspired by the Dia artists, here's my day:

Cafe table

Cafe table foot

Cafe floor I

Cafe floor II

View out the window

Ladies Room

Stall door

I think I moved the camera too much -- but I like it!

Looking Up

Montepulciano

Rome - Frescoed

Rome - Gilded

2013 Calendar: Candidates for January & February

January: Roman Window

February: 3 Cypress

I've been working on my 2013 desk calendar and the theme this year, no surprise, is Italy.  I like the Roman window image for January because a) I really like the color, the shadows, the light and b) January tends to be kinda grey and I think people will prefer looking at something sunny.

I like the 3 cypress (cypresses?) for February because its moodiness contrasts with January (February is in some sense an inward-looking month), and it's my most evocative cypress photo from the last trip -- and every Italian calendar needs these iconic trees!

2 Weeks from now...

Linda Richichi and I will be leading a painting/photography workshop in the Hudson Valley.

View from Bear Mountain, pastel, Linda Richichi

We'll be visiting 6 of the best sites in the area for making images.  All levels are welcome, either in painting and photography or both.  Friday night we're meeting in Beacon to meet and learn some new techniques.  Saturday we drive to Olana, spend the afternoon in Hudson, and have a gala dinner at my house!  Sunday we get up early to sketch/photograph/paint Plum Point, Iona Marsh, Bear Mountain and the Beacon waterfront, with a nice brunch at the appropriate time!  Participants can sign up for the whole weekend, or each day individually.  We'll end the weekend with great images of the Hudson Valley, good conversation, and new direction for our art.  Contact me for more information or look at the bottom of the home page of the RiverWinds Gallery website, www.riverwindsgallery.com.

Beacon waterfront, photograph, Mary Ann Glass

Corniglia: Where I'll be a year from today

I will be here this time next year!

Corniglia, the middle town of the Cinque Terre

The third of the five towns of Cinque Terre,  Corniglia  is perched high above the sea, surrounded on three sides by picturesque terraces and vineyards. while the fourth side looks down on the sea.  Accessible only by a long long stairway or a winding road,  Corniglia is quieter, less visited by tourists.

Corniglia is a tiny village, of only 240 people. with colorful homes stretching across the one main street.  The Trip Advisor notes, "One of the nice things about visiting this particular town of the Cinque Terre is you can sit in the town square all day and read a book, hike the nearby trails, taste the local wines or food, or sit in a cafe in the sunshine.  Whatever you do, you will be participating in Il dolce far niente -- the sweetness of doing nothing."

Next year the Painting/Photography Workshop - with Linda Richichi - will spend 6 days in Cinque Terre and another 4 days in Lucca, one of the wonderful charming Tuscan towns.  Contact me for more information.

A year from today I will be at...

Clearly, I'm going to work this theme til none of us can stand it anymore....but I am really really excited about leading a painting/photography workshop in Italy again next year, this time to an area I haven't been to before but have always wanted to go to.  Think what fabulous photos and paintings we will come home with!  The mind boggles...

Coming into Cinque Terre by boat

Christine, whose photos these are, remarked on the incredible blue hues of the water there.

Incredible beautiful water hues!

So if you, too, want to be here this day next year, contact me for details. 

Where I will be this day next year!!!!

One of the Cinque Terre, from the harbor

My good friend, Christine, just came back from spending time in Lucca and Cinque Terre, and has shared her great photos with me.  This is where we are going next year -- starts October 3, 2013 -- for our 2nd Italy Painting/Photography Workshop. 

Another Cinque Terre village

Cinque Terre is a string of five small towns, clinging to the coastline, famous for their charm and beauty.

Cinque Terre village, along the coast

The towns are connected with a hiking path, boats and a small train.  We will be staying in one of the villages for 6 days, enabling us to settle in, relax, and really explore these unique paintable/photographable locations.  Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Arriving at one of the Cinque Terre villages

Image of the Day: Rome

Beauty of Rome

I took this photo the first morning I arrived in Rome, and it's one of my all-time favorites.  To me, it speaks Italy -- I love the raked light across the building, the open and closed shutters, and the beauty of the faded stucco colors and the faded Madonna.  I like the slanted angle -- I think it gives the image good energy and interest.  The angle also enabled me to get more information into the photo.

 This was taken with my iPhone, with the Hipstamatic App.  This image was featured this weekend in the Southern Dutchess Focus section of the Poughkeepsie Journal, along with one of Linda Richichi's pastels, and a nice write-up by Liz Con Savage.  God bless the Pok Journal -- more than half-dozen couples came into RiverWinds as a result of the article!   Needless to say, this very same photo is for sale at RiverWinds Gallery in Beacon, NY, www.riverwindsgallery.com.  To highlight the happy color, I printed the image on metallic paper, giving it a nice sheen.