Picture of the Week #112 "Crossing the Line"

Picture of the Week #112 "Crossing the Line" Beijing / Peking, China 1980 Signed and Stamped

When I was in China over 30 years ago, I was scouting locations and working on the budget for a film I was supposed to direct hopefully with Ingrid Bergman in the starring role, titled "The Footprints of the Pheasant in the Snow". The American title was "Memories". Sadly she became sick and the film financing disappeared. I remained in China as a guest of the Shanghai Art Council. The above images were actually a composite of the famous Mao poster that I brought back home and a photo of General Huong who assisted the Beijing Film Studio in some capacity that I never could figure out. Anyway, last week I attended the Photo LA show in Santa Monica and was very impressed particularly by the Chinese photographers. This prompted me to run home and go through my archives and to create this image. I titled it "Crossing Over" as Communism seems to be falling by the wayside to Capitalism. I hope this picture symbolizes that step in a simple, yet graphic interpretation.

Bonus - Venice Carnival

Bonus image - Venice Carnivale Venice, Italy 2002 Signed and Stamped

This is a teaser for what I hope to accomplish when I go to this years Carnivale in March. Although the Festival starts in February I decided to just catch the last five or six days. My primary reason is to get full figure images of people Masquerading in 18th Century costumes for life size cut outs. Plus, it would be great to have some more incredible images from one of my favorite places.

Picture of the Week #111 "Proud Masai Woman"

Picture of the Week #111 "Proud Masai Woman" Masai Mara, Kenya 1997 Signed and Stamped

From our honeymoon safari and our visit to a Masai village, I encountered this proud woman of an undetermined age. She stoically posed for my camera and asked for nothing but respect with her unwavering look. Below the frame her breast was exposed, but she did nothing to conceal it. After a few clicks of my shutter I smiled and thanked her. She smiled back and nodded her acceptance of being a tourist attraction with dignity.

Picture of the Week #110 "Needs $$$"

Picture of the Week #110 "Needs $$$" Santa Monica, California USA 2010 Signed and Stamped

There are very few places on earth as colorful and bizarre as Venice Beach and the south end of Santa Monica. There must be some sort of magnet that draws all the crazies to congregate. I love it as you can't miss the photo ops wherever you turn. My goal this year is to carry my big Canon camera and start shooting in RAW and find those images that bring a smile to our face and yet at the same time express the desperation of the times. It's a sad but yet funny commentary as we enter 2011.

Picture of the Week #109 "Exercise Time"

Picture of the Week #109 "Exercise Time" Kathmandu, Nepal 2000 Signed and Stamped

I'd like to say that finding images that are unique and bring a smile to my face are usually hard to find. But in Kathmandu I had a field day. Yes, I manipulated the sky and brought out the color but these Holy Men were just sitting on a corner posing for anyone who happened by with a camera. I don't know how rare this is, but when we were there it was easy. Check out Picture of the Week #15 and #26 for other Holy Men. My cynical side once thought that these men were tourist attractions and this was their vocation, posing and begging.

Santa's Coming - Ho Ho Ho

Santa's Coming Ho Ho Ho Beverly Hills, California 2010

As Ann and I walked through Beverly Hills today I spotted this guy with his dog, and although we were not going to be sending out Christmas cards or even decorating the house this year, this image was too irresistible to pass up. So, at the last minute before Christmas I emailed this to 500 of our email friends. Merry Christmas.

Picture of the Week #108 "Clean Up at Gagosian"

Picture of the Week #108 "Clean Up at Gagosian" Beverly Hills, California USA 2010 Signed and Stamped

On my periodic walks through Beverly Hills, I always check out ACE and Gagosian Galleries as well as any one showing my work. One day they were installing this incredible piece at Gagosian. The gallery was closed for the installation but the street door was open. I snapped from my trusted point and shoot that is always attached to my belt and caught the moment perfectly.