Blog Moved to www.artflux.org!

Hey, there! I went ahead and bought the artflux.org domain and build a blog there. I'll miss the Blogger site, but we all have to grow up and leave the house someday. Drop on in and leave a comment! I'm still refining the site so stay tuned

Some Polaroids

Break the Addiction

Hello again. I’m checking in from the home front for another stimulating post. I saw a couple of movies this weekend. Break the Addiction: An Inconvenient Truth, the Al Gore documentary about global warming was scary. It’s ironic that the movie theatre was so cold that I should have brought along a jacket. Talk about energy wasting. Anyway if the charts and predictions are true things don't look too hopeful. I actually take this all with a grain of salt since the film is narrated by a politician, and probably exagerated somewhat.

Then Sunday night I took in an old 40’s movie at Anthology Archives in the East Village titled Rome: Open City A tense Resistance story, set during the German occupation of Rome, with subtitles in Italian. Shot newsreel style on Roman streets ravaged by war, the film still packs an enormous emotional punch, with fine performances from Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi. Again the theatre was ice old. And Anthology is supposed to be a non profit arts organization. I wonder where they are getting all the funding to run the AC. The only way to beat the inevitable global warming scenario is to eject from Western civilization as we know it.

Heat Wave Reprise

Buenas mis amigos. There’s a lot to catch up on since my last post so I apologize for not posting more regularly. I’ve been working on various photographic projects in the studio and lab. Yes I am still using film although the thought of going into the darkroom on frightfully hot days like today is not a pleasant one. So I’ve been transferring an old Calgary 88 Olympics video to DVD to remind me of the colder months of years past. The old VHS tapes are beginning to fade so I thought it was a good idea to compact them to DVD format.

Eventually I want to purchase a super 8 projector on ebay to transfer the family’s old 30 some year old movies before they dissolve away. The editing process is actually lots of fun. Stay tuned.

Heat Wave

Ralph Perkins

After a long sabbatical of sorts I'm back. I've been working on a new web site on my new domain that will host the blog eventually. Stay tuned. At the moment it is in the development stages. The url is artflux.org/gallery. If your interested in seeing the favorite photos from a recent session of Ralph Perkins I have a gallery at the above link. I met Ralph in the early 90's in Vegas where he was based for many years.

My cycling is primary my early morning activity before the heat of mid day arrives. I've biked 1464 miles so far this year. Last year at this time I had slightly more at 1529. I suspect that we have had more rain days this year. The rain has slowed meaning more favorable conditions for long early morning rides.

At the moment we are in the midst of a New York heat wave that is pushing the envelope of comfort tolerance. The temperatur has inched up to nearly 100F two days in a row The New York Triathlon was well attended this year Sunday morning. The finishing link was in Central Park so I was able to catch the finishing run to the line of some of the elite athletes were in the lead. I didn't take any photos as I tend to not carry a camera with me on my road bike.

I've actually been surviving the heat although working in the studio tends to make me a little lethargic at times. I managed to print in the lab this week of some negatives of Ralph that I took back in the 90's I'm in the process of transferring old VHS video to DVD. Some of the tapes are nearly 30 years old so I thought it was about time to convert them to digital. I've been using the Pinnacle MovieBox DV that works great with my new Nec DVD burner. I've also bought a new Seagate external drive to store some of the digital files that have filled both of the internal drives. The canon digital tends to eat up space. And gradually I've converted most of my CD collection to mp3 before more of them are lifted. It's discouraging to find that several seem to have mysteriously vanished perhaps from disgruntled roommates or drunken party guests that may have barrowed them 5 finger discount style.

I've been watching the Tour de France over the internet live on T/2 Danish TV. It's pay for view but well worth it. The European Sports Network has live audio that's free. Now that the riders are in the mountain stages of the race the climbing may be testing the endurance to the 10th degree. Michael Rasmussen seems to be hanging in there in 1st place. The Australian Robby McEwan is in the overall lead. I saw him race a couple of years ago in the New York City Pro Cycling Tour a couple of years ago. So adios for now.

Parade Times Sorta

This weekend looks wet. It’s New York’s gay pride weekend. And I had planned a little camping around this weekend as well. Oh well… New York City Metro Radar map doesn’t look very encouraging. And it seems that the parade happens rain or shine. So there’s going to be running makeup.

I guess it going to be a rain out. The forecast is for it to continue through Sunday night. For all those who were planning roof deck parties and the pier dance will be flooded unfortunately. I noticed they were setting up the electrical wiring for the disco lights Thursday morning. Just prey there’s no lightening.

So as it seems I’m all dresses up with nowhere to go. But there is hope. There’s a brief clearing moving in from the southwest.

The virtual Second Life world might be an alternative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen bad weather there. Actually by coincidence there’s a celebration going on there as well this weekend. See you in virtual space.

Biking Update

Now that summer is almost here the weather has been warming up during the day. Mornings have been cool though with temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s making for ideal cycling. So far this month I’ve clocked just over 300 miles in Central Park. Now that I have new Panaracer Stratius Extreme tires and a supply of tubes that I was in need of I will venture across the George Washington Bridge to the Palisades this weekend. The replaced set was riddled with holes and had worn thin from last season’s riding. The glass on the New York City streets stress even tires which are supposed to be puncture proof. I’ve had three flats so far this year.

The bike was in desperate need of cleaning so I thoroughly scrubbed it yesterday afternoon. The derailer was so dirty that that chain was barely able to grip the teeth. I’ll replace the handle bar tape today. It’s ready for a 50 mile ride tomorrow morning.

The Continuing Saga

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve made it a point to sit down and write something. Answering emails has been my preoccupation over the past few weeks. So here goes it again. At long last I’ve found someone to share the studio again. Boris Pale arrived on at my door just off the plane from Zurich Switzerland a place that I’ve never been to although the word is that it is so clean there that you can practically eat off the sidewalk. This is the diametric opposite of NYC. The experience of stepping through garbage filled streets here may be hard for Boris to get used to.

A broken elevator has us climbing up and down five flights of steps now as it seems that the motor is acting up due to a ConEd transformer that was recently installed to convert the AC to DC. We were given the word that it is not safe. I’m not complaining though. The walk up and down is not that bad and I am sure the others at their young age will be able to survive a little stepping.

If only I could levitate like in Second Life. I’ve recently discovered the virtual work that has me teleporting around in space. My avatar is Victor Carson so if you happen to run into me say hello. Here’s a picture of what I sometimes look like although my appearance changes like the weather.

So I spend a day loading up photos for auction on EBAY. Some of them have never shown before. It’s amazing how much can me missed in the rush from days past.

Well I better get on with my day. I wanted to spend a little time today being Friday to say hey…

Some new photos are in the works so stay tuned…

Art Photography Sells on Ebay

You’ll love to know that there is plenty of excellent art available at affordably prices, by well know artists, on Ebay. Now, you might think that the quality of the work sold online would not be competitive with images offered by high brow auction houses like Sotheby's and Phillips de Pury & Company and gallery dealers in New York. Some of the same artist whose work sold for overly high prices this year are selling their work on Ebay for much less.

Works by GREGORY CREWDSON are currently available at a fraction of the prices that galleries and autions houses are asking. It’s true that selling in this way sometimes cuts out the gallery dealers and auction house's commisions. After all dealers often take 50 – 70 % of the proceeds to pay for their high rent so there's not much left for the artists. Others who regualarly sell works on Ebay are HELMUT NEWTON, HIROSHI SUGIMOTO, JOCK STURGES, THOMAS RUFF, JOHN DOUGDALE, JOHN WATERS, LARRY CLARK, PHILIPPE HALSMAN, and many others.

A print titled 'Man in Woods #2' by GREGORY CREWDSON recently sold for only $1525.00 much less than the galleries and auction houses are asking. A HELMUT NEWTON signed print sold for only $36.66! That’s remarkable since one of his female nudes recently sold for the highest price of all the listed artists in the catalogue at Phillips de Pury & Company. A signed print of his wife sold recently for a a mere $149.00. HIROSHI SUGIMOTO’s minimalist landscapes signed and numbered have recently sold for $300.00. in New York. The Russell Levin Gallery has recently made available JOCK STURGES’s photograph of Floss that sold for 921.00.

A group of auction houses have been offering photography in live auctions that simultaneously take place on Ebay. Sotheby’s has discontinued their Ebay auctions that were notched with a blue logo to separate them form the rest of the crowd. I think that they were not welcome in this Ebay venue.

Oh and the only issue that I have with selling and buying photography on Ebay is the that Ebay does not allow any kind of frontal nudity in the images in the main art photography category. To list such items you need to move them to a mature audience category that is difficlut for buyers to get to. The images there are of lower quality and actually many buyers are reluctant to visit there as a result. The other problem is blocking payment by Papal. It would be in their interest to change this practice.

Good luck and bidding. Feel free to browse for images from Artflux Productions currently up for sale. Good luck and bidding!

Imperial Court of New York Silent Auction

Every year the Imperial Court of New York holds a fund raising event to raise money for charity. There is a silent auction that I have contributed photography to yearly. This year's event the 20th Annual Night of a Thousand Gowns was held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel here in Manhattan. The honorary chairpersons were Whoopi Godberg, Joan Rivers and Blaine Trump. The entire event benefits Gods Love We Deliver. I was pleased to hear that the 11 x 14 signed edition silver gelatin print from the boot series that I contributed sold for $450. Thanks to Bruce Goudy who purchased the photograph title “John Kelly’s Boots.”

Bermuda to JFK in My Virtual Learjet

Untitled Bermuda 1982

The weekend has been rather cool in the mornings. Temperatures are a bit below 50 in the early mornings so my thirty mile cycle rides have been less frequent. The spring weather brings out multitudes of wondering tourists, skate boarders, joggers and there was a March of Dimes Walkathon. So I slept in more than I should have. There was the Peace march down Broadway that I watched from the balcony that unexpectedly flowed for hours to City Hall where Susan Sarandon and Jessie Jackson spoke. I took a bunch on digital photos as well as some frames with my Leica on film. Charlie invited me over to check out his new Fuji digital camera. Figuring out how to move the images from the camera to the computer was a problem until I figured the Dazzle card reader didn’t like the XD cards. It probably has something to do with the formatting. Anyway I headed home late to virtually fly back from Bermuda to Kennedy in my Lierjet before hitting the sack. The clouds photo was taken in Bermuda.

I Love Spring

On my list of things to do today the top of the list is to write. I woke up later this morning having had a really good night’s sleep. So here's an new digital image that I took as the sun was coming up making for good vibes for my house plants. The Spring weather has been spectacular so I did a short bike ride yesterday afternoon up the Hudson River Park.

Tuesday Afternoon

Untitled 1989

I bought the Leica in 89 before heading to London to photograph a theater production that was in rehearsal. I took this photograph there before heading to the south of France for a few days.

I sprung the gear cable on my bike earlier last week. I decided that I would try to repair it myself to save a little money, so I bought the new cable, and proceeded to install it not knowing exactly how. There’s parts that cannot be removed without destroying the mechanics of the thing. No knowing this I popped a spring that was nearly impossible to reinstall without a so called spring installation tool I found online. So I eventually gave up to return to have the bike mechanic for some help. I knoew it would run me about $100.00 He told me that it would have to be replaced because the spring needed to be factory installed. The part was going to cost me $300.00. Needless to say I checked ebay for a less expensive replacement. I really waned to go on my ride the next day so I tried again. I managing to piece it together! It shifts nearly perfectly. I’ve clocked about 58 miles since.

Back on the Trail

Untitled 1983

I flatted my front tire today on my ride. The gear cable snapped as well. Fortunately it was near the end of the 30 miles so I didn't have to stop. I guess it's time for a tune up.

The jogger/cycle path is much nicer than it was back in the early 80's. The Hudson River Park project made way for spectacular flower gardens as well as improved traffic lights for cyclists.

Geek Stuff

Leo Laprorte the tech guy has a very cool tech webcast going on KFI in LA on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. It covers the full gamut of anything that contains a chip from computers to Ipods. I first heard about him on TWIAR (This Week in Amateur Radio) another weekly podcast that I listen to. There’s a load of new software on my computer since listening to the program that has really made things run a lot simpler. I now use Spybot Search and Destroy as well as Adaware that I’ve been using for years. No single application will clean everything so it’s a good idea to used several. Spyware Blaster is running as well targeting Internet Explorer. My browser of choice is Firefox. I've have been using for about a year.

I’ve also been playing with Linux Live CD’s as an alternative operating system. The ones I have tried are Ubuntu, Knoppix, and Mandeiva. All run fine on the PC. They are all free! There’s no spyware of viruses on Linux.

There are a whole slew of new gadgets that I have on my wish list now as a result of listening to the program. One of the things I love about the tech revolution is that it is contenting changing. Exploring and discovering what the PC and technology can do is baffling. I like to build my own computers although the cost is not much less than buying a pre made Dell. The advantage to building is customizing it.

I’m thinking about eventually backing up the whole system when I get around to it. There’s so much stuff on the drives now that if there was a crash I would really loose a lot. Ghosting the drive was going to take up 65 CD’s so I will have to wait until I get a new recordable DVD drive to back up. I did some Spring cleaning by reinstalling XP Pro on one of my computers. It’s cleaned up of all the junk that had been accumulating from installing and uninstalling programs through the years.

I also put together a tool kit of free software to troubleshoot should the inevitable crash occur.. I made Hiren’s Boot CD 7.9 and EBCD Emergency boot CD. There’s a ton of handy applications on both of them.

To find any file on the computer I installed the Yahoo Desktop based on Enterprise desktop Search and it’s free. It will take you to any file you’re looking for just by typing it into search.

More From the Archives

Landscape - Algonquin Provincial Park Ontario 1996

I scanned and copy photographed a few new photos. It’s definitely weird looking over stuff from past decades.

Click here to see more from the archives.

Boots

I photographed a series of boots. They were mainly friends who were visiting the studio. No release form needed to be signed for there. These were my own that I used for the invitation for my first solo show in New York at La Mama Galleria.

These were taken in London.





Cliff Adams left his worn boots for me to photograph.





Donald Arrington an actor friend must have bought them for the specific purpose of being photographed. They looked like they had never been worn.





An artist friend Jameson was visiting from London. I have a pair just like them.





John Kelly's boots had interesting shoe strings. I exhibited them last summer.

From Peru

In 1983 I visited Peru briefly with a couple of friends. I returned the following summer to work on a series of documentary photographs. I rented an apartment along the Pacific Ocean in the Lima suburb of Mira Flores. It was the Peruvian winter although it hardly could be considered winter with the warm waters from the ‘garrua’ to keep things summer like. The Instituto Cultural Peruano-Norteamericano hosted an exhibition of my work. I studied Spanish at the institute as well. They actually published a photograph of two New York drag queens on the front page of the main newspaper La Commercial. I’m not sure that they realized that they were not women. When I returned I exhibited the photographs are the Tony Jones Gallery in Houston Texas.

Click here to see the Peru Gallery.

Underwater Seascapes

Curacao Underwater Seascape 1987

FotoFest in Houston hosted the biennial photography mega exhibit on the theme of water. I unfortunately had found out about it too late to enter my underwater seascapes. They will hopefully be exhibited here in New York this spring at the Sirens' Song Galley in Greenport. Some of the images where taken on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Others were taken in Curacao off the coast of South America where there is incredible beach diving. I received my Padi diving certification in Bermuda where I began taking underwater photographs.

Click here to see the water gallery.

snow vision rainbow

snow vision rainbow, originally uploaded by kd2he.

Snow and ice in the winter made some cool rainbow lens effects. Taking a break from watching the Olympics in Torino I headed to the country for a radio contest. First of all I'd like to thank everybody for inviting me to N3AD again. Saturday I was out taking some photos with a couple of cameras in hand focused on shooting some of the lake. I unknowingly stepped on a patch of ice. My ankle was twisted pretty bad. It was a little awkward operating the station with one foot elevated on the desk with an ice pack on it. I managed to get the swelling down enough to feel a little better for the return trip to NYC. Actually it’s doing OK and fortunately I didn’t break it.

Club 57 In the Mix

Club 57 was situated in the basement of the Holy Cross Polish National Church on St. Marks Place in New York where I met Andy Reese who was manager at the time. It was the late 70’s when rents were reasonable so there was a community of artists on the lower east side who hung out together creating events there. Ann Magnuson, Keith Harring, Kenny Scharf, John Sex, Wendy Wild, Klaus Nomi, Joey Arias, Tseng Kwong Chi, Tom Rubnitz, David McDermott and Peter McGough, and countless others got together there to show their work. Tom Hawk mastered the music for the events. Tom had a huge collection of vinyl at this Elizabeth Street apartment that he shared with William Lively who was choreographing dance and theater. While rummaging though so old cassette tapes I ran across one of his tapes.

Click here to hear the Tom Hawk Club 57 Podcast.

Artflux’s New Portraits

Bill Crawford NYC 1991

Well it’s been a wild snow storm. They say it was the biggest since the 40’s huh… Not really… It’s all media hype you know. Anyway it was a good time to get down to posting a new portrait gallery. The time span runs from around 1978 to last year so it’s an eclectic collection including some never shown before. The winter Olympics in Torino Italy has been catching my attention these days. I did a spin class since there was no chance of cycling in Central Park.

Click to see the gallery of new portraits.

Wall Surfaces

Untitled 2006

While traveling in South America I photographed graffiti on wall surfaces. The light was intense in Equador where most of the images were taken. Aaron Suskind, who I met at the Houston Center for Photography while there for a seminar given by him served as inspiration. Click here to see the wall surfaces gallery.

It's Been a While... Happy Belated Birthday!

It's a little over a year since I started the Artflux blog. Sorry for the brief gap. It's official! It is my blog's birthday, one year old already and still going strong. It's been a good year of posts and photos. Feel free to browse through my archives of the last year. I very soon will to release some interesting new galleries as well. Stay tuned.

Tis the Season

To All a Very Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year 2006!

Brokeback Mountain

I went to see Brokeback Mountain last weekend. I was impressed. The cinematography was superb even if it was not really filmed in the American Rockies but in Canada's Alberta instead. The reviews set me up for the emotional rollercoaster as predicted. I read the interview in The Advocate with Heath Ledger. He's a fellow New Yorker living in Brooklyn where he says he can live without being recognized void of aggressive paparazzi. His cowboy accent fooled me as being authentic. I had no idea that he was Australian.

New York has a transit strike that actually is nice for me. I bike everywhere so it really doesn't effect me. The neighborhood has been pleasantly quiet without the tourists. The rattle or the early morning N R trains under the building is gone. I can actually sleep in.



Jim Lamb 1991

Here’s another photo from the archives that I recently uncovered. It’s up for auction on Ebay now. Good luck and bidding.

For All You Last Minute Shoppers

Nude Dancer - New York City 2000
5 inches x 7 inches


Some of my photographs are up for auction on Ebay. Type Carnuccio in the search window or click here to see my EBAY auctions. Thanks in advance for looking. Good luck and bidding!

I Knew It Was Coming

The deep cold winds have blown in from the north bringing frigid temperatures and the ever dreaded snow. Here’s a photo taken in Washington Square Park during the big snow of 96. It’s time to play video games and watch DVD’s. Microsoft Flight Simulator, Grand Theft Auto, Sim City, Civilization III, and World of Warcraft. X-Box is not around any more so am using the computers. Recent movies watched are Philadelphia, Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring, and Goldmemeber.

RIDING BIKE WRONG WAY

The weather turned cold so for now I am back to the trainer to satisfy my cycling appetite. So far this year I managed to clock 3813 miles around New York City and the surrounding area mainly in Central Park. I cycled in Colorado last spring as well. The hills out there were very inspiring.

The beautiful thing about it is that it was without a single crash. I read that during a race in the park last August, someone was run down by a racing cyclist. Unfortunately the person died the next day. Even at 6AM there are those who stray into the bike lanes. I tend to ride at sunrise before the infiltration of baby carriages, wondering bird watchers, tourists, roller bladders, dog walkers, etc arrive. Weekends are impossible.

In addition to by road bike rides I use my mountain bike for transportation around town as I have been for the past 35 some years without any major accidents. Recently the NYPD has taken to obnoxious harassment of street bikers. Apparently they told me that the mayor has decided to crack down on city bikers. I was slapped with a summons for biking the wrong way on a one was street on 21st st and 7th Avenue while running an errand. 'RIDING BIKE WRONG WAY' was scribbled in the description. I guess the city is really hard up for some extra cash flow. The summons will set me back 40.00 which is not so bad considering my last summons for cycling through Washington Square that cost me 100.00. You would think that the police would have more important things to so with their time.

New Camera

Hi all. Thanks for reading the blog. I have some more favorites from the archives coming soon. Stand by. This month I rented a new camera to give it a run for it’s high priced money. There’s nothing like silver gelatin prints though. My collectors will prefer prints rather than inkjet’s from my printer. It’s sort of a lost art really. Being a master printer is definitely a plus. There’s so much flexibility\ with digital images though.

Today I rented a 20D Canon camera to take some portraits this weekend. I wanted to take some street photos earlier afternoon to test the new toy. I’ll try to get some taken tomorrow once I check out the manual so that I know the capabilities of the machine.