EngelFish.Net

Kent Rogowski’s Site

These images, of teddy bears turned inside out, are strangely compelling.  In spite of their bizarre appearance, they still manage to maintain their “cuteness”.  They make me think of the island of lost toys.  I wonder if the same concept could be applied to other things photographically.  Photograph them viewed from an unexpected perspective (e.g. cars from underneath; bicycles from above; deflated sports-toy balls; etc..)

Although we attended several parties this past weekend, the majority of the time (including all day Sunday) was spent working around the house.  The unseasonal warmth made clearing the roof, gutters, and yard of leaves a sweat provoking activity, which was actually quite welcome and enjoyable.  I was able to get a fair amount of wedding photo editing done as well, and I’m approaching the end of the edit phase of this particular job.  I expect I’ll be able to finish the editing this week and begin work on the album, which will be another welcome milestone.  I’m sure I am not alone in feeling a sense of pleasure and accomplishment in ticking another item off my “to do” list.

Last night Taryn and I watched a really amazing, and profoundly sad movie called “Dancer in the Dark”.  While the film had a terrific cast of performers, Bjork was the star and delivered a jaw-dropping performance.  It was heart-wrenching to watch, but impossible to look away from.  While I do like, but only occassionally listen to, her music, if given the opportunity to meet her, the first thing I would do is thank her for this piece.  My reaction to this film was similar to that of “Spitfire Grill” and “Nobody’s Fool”.  It is a strong, quiet, and profound awareness that the world is not a kind and nuturing place, and that in our life and in our suffering it is up to us to find the strength to do what we have to do to be at peace with ourselves and our fate.

IMAGE:  Last weekend I got a set of cheap fluorescent lights to use in my portraits.  This was a test image I did that first night.  It’s a neat effect, and I’ve seen it used by several pro shooters to create compelling images.  We actually shot a bunch of really funny pictures with these lights on Friday night, and I’ll be posting them in the next few weeks to my Flickr account.

Outside my office window is a tree that I stop at least once a day to notice.  I have watched it roll through the seasons for a couple of years now.  Today, it looks like a funky lollipop, with reddish-amber leaves fringing an inner ring of golden-yellow, and a heart of the remaining pale-green leaves.  The sun rides pretty low in the sky this time of year, and there is a period during the day when it illuminates the tree from inside, causing it to glow with rich colors.  The wind today, although not strong, is constant, and the tree is slowly losing the battle.  Every day I can see more of the limbs and trunk, and less of the color.  In a handful of weeks it will be completely bare.  That thought makes me want to pull on a sweater, warm up a mug of hot chocolate, and settle in for the winter. 

IMAGE: Taryn with the puppies, who will officially be dogs on Thanksgiving, their first birthday.

I recently returned from the annual trip to NYC for the marathon.  While some folks can’t make it every year, it is a pretty regular group.  Kim, David, Dan, and I were this year’s attendees.  With all “significant others” being absent, the roster mirrored our first trip up a few years ago.  I, as usual, documented the weekend with a couple of hundred photographs.  The requests to see the final photoset began on the flight home.  That was last week, and last night was a ‘Musketeers’ night out with Kim, David, and me.  I picked my favorite 200+ images (under 30% of the images I made) and brought them along in a slideshow.  This image was made on the last day, with me laying on my back on the floor of the Guggenheim.  It is a pretty decent shot, and was worth the strange looks thrown my way.  I doubt if I will post the whole set to flickr, but I’ll probably put up a web gallery of images in the next few days, and provide a link here.

We’re in the city for the weekend, and on day two we’ve spent the morning having Starbucks with Hot & Crusty bagels, and doing home repairs around the apartment for Mr. Potter.  New light bulbs, un-squeeked hinges, and new door knobs and clothing hooks are the order of the day.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the rest of today, but I think some wandering, shooting, and shopping might be included.  A trip to Bryant Park to see the skating and photo exhibit are also possibilities.  There’s also lots of coffee shops and Central Park to try.  Choices, choices, choices.  I have not been shooting much, just a few shots of Mr. P and the city in general as we walk around.  We’ll see what I can find this afternoon.
IMAGE:  This is another image from the light tests while we set up for Halloween.  It’s turning out to be quite a favorite over on Flickr.