Happy Halloween

A Sarcophagus at the Cementerio de Montjuïc, Barcelona, 2009

With Halloween nearly upon us and the Day of the Dead shortly thereafter, I have uploaded a gallery with photos from two of the world's most interesting cemeteries, Cementerio de Montjuïc in Barcelona and Père Lachaise in Paris. The two are completely different. Click here to view the gallery.

Montjuïc sits on a rocky hill in the far outskirts of Barcelona. I visited in 2009 with my daughter on a hot, clear and bright June day. Because of this, the photos show a brilliance to the day that makes a strong counterpoint to the subject. Built on a series of terraces cut into a hillside with staircases leading from one to the next, Montjuïc is huge. Although we spent most of the day there, I think we barely saw a quarter of the place.

My experience with Père Lachaise was exactly the opposite. First, it was cold and pouring rain most of the day, which makes for pretty gloomy photography that matches the theme. Also, although not centrally located in Paris, it is nonetheless a short walk from the metro in Paris proper. Many celebrities are also burried in Père Lachaise including Jim Morrison, Edith Piaff, and Oscar Wilde.

Wilde's grave is by far the most interesting of all. Done in an Egyptian/Art Deco style it attracts so many visitors that it is cordoned off with a wall of inch-thick plexiglass on which people have written their dedications to his memory. The dedications are both intimate and moving. It's obvious that his writings and his life have touched many people.

All the photos in the gallery are available for purchase in sizes from 8x10 to 20x30 and can even be delivered already mounted and framed in a wide selection of styles. Click here to view gallery and purchase prints.

Happy Halloween.

Paris, Je T'Aime

When I was asked to do a solo show, I spent a good deal of time culling over my best work looking for some theme that I could turn into a show appropriate for the venue, The Stage Miami.  It was really a great exercise as it reacquainted me with some photos I had not seen in a while.  I had several themes lined up including shots of Wynwood, Coney Island, and, my personal favorite, New York.  Given my impending trip to London and Paris, I also thought of doing a selection from Barcelona, New York, Chicago, London and Paris and calling it "Great Cities".  I may still do that someday.

I then set everything aside, shut down my computer and boarded the Iberia flight to London.  Three days there, then the Chunnel to Paris for four days.  I'd heard London was exciting and Paris was magical.  Well, there's truth in the former, but as to the latter, that's a certainty.  Paris is truly magical.

London is a young lover, one who is exciting and to a great extent unpredictable, but Paris, well, that's on a whole other level.  Paris is the mature lover, the one who has seen life, who has seen the world, who might be a bit jaded for it, but you can chalk that up to character and experience.  The young lover may appeal for a while, but the mature lover gets under your skin and pulls you back time and again.  This is Paris.  London is the city you visit, but Paris is the one you love.

After four days in Paris, I had my theme: Paris, Je T'Aime.
 
My very first day back in Miami, still blurry-eyed and jet-lagged, I reviewed the photos of Paris and fell in love all over again.  There was the Seine, the Métropolitain, the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées, and the residents of this marvelous city.

The opening reception is November 10, 2012 at 8PM at The Stage Miami, coinciding with the Second Saturday Wynwood Art Walk.  Click here for directions.