My article for Monocle magazine about the recent drug violence in Mexico

My article for Monocle magazine about the recent drug violence in Mexico

I’m having a photography exhibit with my brother Rand at the White Tiger in Athens, GA. It’s an exhibit of our medium format photography shot with a Holga or Zeiss Ikonoflex cameras.
The exhibit runs from January 8-31.
MorningGravy.com has more details and some low-priced prints.

I’m having a photography exhibit with my brother Rand at the White Tiger in Athens, GA. It’s an exhibit of our medium format photography shot with a Holga or Zeiss Ikonoflex cameras.

The exhibit runs from January 8-31.

MorningGravy.com has more details and some low-priced prints.

Reykjavik: A boom in innovation

The tech scene in Iceland is buzzing, as I wrote for Monocle magazine.

governors island ferry back to manhattan (flickr)

governors island ferry back to manhattan (flickr)

Watch full screen with HD turned on (or, better yet, see full res version)
So this is my submission for the opening titles to the 2009 New York Film Festival. The Film Society of Lincoln Center held a contest via Poptent to create the titles that precede each film shown during the festival. Today they announced the winners. I was a finalist, but not the winner. Well, no hard feelings. They had some nice things to say about my piece in their announcement video.

Thanks to the fine people below for helping out. I’ll buy you some ice creams, yes even you David Byrne:
Penmanship by Nadya Wasylko
Narration by Sarah Harlan
Music by Rand Lines and David Byrne:
“Whatever Works” by Rand Lines
“My Fair Lady” by David Byrne, licensed under a Creative Commons Commercial Sampling Plus License.

a railroad swing bridge in Portland, ME / Holga (flickr)

a railroad swing bridge in Portland, ME / Holga (flickr)

Lake Como, Italy: my 2006 photo of a 1960s postcard.
As a rule of thumb, the past was glorious.

reblogged from Hudsn.org

Lake Como, Italy: my 2006 photo of a 1960s postcard.

As a rule of thumb, the past was glorious.

reblogged from Hudsn.org

I gave a talk on June 1 at Ignite NYC to the tech community of New York. It’s a comic tale about getting mugged and the real-time serendipity of social media. Here is the format of Ignite: you have five minutes to present a geek talk using 20 slides that auto-advance after 15 seconds. I saw it as an opportunity to confront my longstanding fear of public speaking. My talk submission was accepted, oh crap, I prepared and it went quite well. If you missed it live, then here it is on youtube. The crowd, which you can’t see, was said to be over 500 people at New World Stages.

reblogged from Hudsn.org

two fedex shipments to process 4 cartridges of Super8mm film, one film stock to Burbank and another to Mass. at 3-4 minutes per cartridge that gives me 12-16 minutes i could’ve had instantly with any digital device, even my google phone. super8 may take longer and cost more to use, foot by foot, but there’s nothing quite like the feeling of sending out your film and wondering what you’ll get back.

two fedex shipments to process 4 cartridges of Super8mm film, one film stock to Burbank and another to Mass. at 3-4 minutes per cartridge that gives me 12-16 minutes i could’ve had instantly with any digital device, even my google phone. super8 may take longer and cost more to use, foot by foot, but there’s nothing quite like the feeling of sending out your film and wondering what you’ll get back.

the city as a sound wave // sound.hudsn.org

the city as a sound wave // sound.hudsn.org

Saturday late-night, Chase ATM in Clinton Hill edition

from Hudsn.org

Saturday late-night, Chase ATM in Clinton Hill edition

from Hudsn.org

In January I did this audio tour of the south bronx, narrated by graffiti artist BG183 of Tats Cru. Round the corner of one block, just like any other in Hunt’s Point, you find this:Homage to the People of the Bronx: Double Dutch at Kelly Street I (Frieda, Javette, Towana and Stancey), 1981-82cast fiberglass sculptures on building façade, 10’ x 20’by John Ahearn & Rigoberto TorresAhearn and Torres created this and two other murals installed on the exterior walls of apartment buildings with funding from HUD, through the DCA Community Development Program and the Bronx Council on the Arts.    Holga (on flickr)

In January I did this audio tour of the south bronx, narrated by graffiti artist BG183 of Tats Cru. Round the corner of one block, just like any other in Hunt’s Point, you find this:

Homage to the People of the Bronx: Double Dutch at Kelly Street I (Frieda, Javette, Towana and Stancey), 1981-82
cast fiberglass sculptures on building façade, 10’ x 20’
by John Ahearn & Rigoberto Torres

Ahearn and Torres created this and two other murals installed on the exterior walls of apartment buildings with funding from HUD, through the DCA Community Development Program and the Bronx Council on the Arts.   

Holga (on flickr)

Michael waxes philosophical on the art of Super 8mm.
ablproject:

Sprockets, the sound of it ripping through the gate, silver halide and many unknowns…..ahhh, super8mm film. We shot 750 feet of 500T color neg film. Some will know this, especially if you wanted a cheaper alternative to 16mm film to go along with your newly purchased 1932 Ford Roadster back in the day: It was in 1932 that Kodak first released regular 8mm film. 77 years later, after many reformulations of the emulsion, Kodak recently announced (yes recently as in Nov. 2008) the latest and greatest in the super8mm format….Vision 3 500T Color Negative Film. This project represents for us, in more ways than one, the convergence of the old and the new.
So in my studio lies a bag of 750 feet of unprocessed film. Maybe there was dust and hair in the camera gate and it will come back flawed. Maybe the images will be too clean and we’ll have the colorist drag the film on the floor, collecting more dust and grit along the way. Maybe, just maybe, all the flaws, mistakes and unplanned opportunities we encounter in this creative process will result in a piece of art that will be enjoyed for generations. That is our hope.  - Michael (abiyoyo productions)

Michael waxes philosophical on the art of Super 8mm.

ablproject:

Sprockets, the sound of it ripping through the gate, silver halide and many unknowns…..ahhh, super8mm film. We shot 750 feet of 500T color neg film. Some will know this, especially if you wanted a cheaper alternative to 16mm film to go along with your newly purchased 1932 Ford Roadster back in the day: It was in 1932 that Kodak first released regular 8mm film. 77 years later, after many reformulations of the emulsion, Kodak recently announced (yes recently as in Nov. 2008) the latest and greatest in the super8mm format….Vision 3 500T Color Negative Film. This project represents for us, in more ways than one, the convergence of the old and the new.

So in my studio lies a bag of 750 feet of unprocessed film. Maybe there was dust and hair in the camera gate and it will come back flawed. Maybe the images will be too clean and we’ll have the colorist drag the film on the floor, collecting more dust and grit along the way. Maybe, just maybe, all the flaws, mistakes and unplanned opportunities we encounter in this creative process will result in a piece of art that will be enjoyed for generations. That is our hope.
- Michael (abiyoyo productions)

Holga set: Hunts Points, the Bronx / Athens, GA (flickr)

Holga set: Hunts Points, the Bronx / Athens, GA (flickr)

The Alva B. Lines Project

a production blog about the making of a film (by abiyoyo productions and hudson lines)