minor keys

2011-05-06T23:05:00.000-04:00

Ah, the art of a perfect gif.

2011-04-03T22:51:00.002-04:00

Very moving scene from Angel-a, dir. Luc Besson (2005).

2011-04-02T12:28:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite animals, definitely.

2011-04-02T12:08:00.004-04:00

Looking through my archives I always notice variations on the themes that speak clearly to me.

2011-03-11T10:47:00.000-05:00

An amazing talk by 2011's TED Prize winner.

2011-03-10T19:49:00.002-05:00

Music: Fever Ray, When I Grow Up

Art: unknown

2011-02-18T21:22:00.003-05:00

There's that first day when you step outside, and the cold does not bite at your neck;

some people think of spring, but me,

I always think of water.

2011-02-12T22:25:00.003-05:00

Two works I love deeply.

Hermaphroditus by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1620.

Crouching Nude, Back View, by Egon Schiele, 1917.

2011-02-11T18:52:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite movements of any sonata ever: 3rd of Beethoven Appassionata. Interpreted here by Valentina Litsitsa.

Photo by Hedi Slimane.

2011-02-10T18:35:00.002-05:00

I just watched Roman Polanski's The Pianist for the first time.

Here's the piece Adrien Brody's character plays for the German soldier: Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G minor.

Click the youtube button to watch the scene.

2011-02-08T12:28:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Jules Verne.

Did you see the great Google doodle?

2011-02-03T21:38:00.003-05:00

A sailor's life is a life for me.

Chega de saudade, por João Gilberto e Bebel, sua filha

2011-01-29T14:58:00.002-05:00

Siberia, 1989

Cool kids.

Anyone know the photographer?

2011-01-27T00:24:00.002-05:00

Since this, I've watched almost every video the immensely talented Justin Wu has up online.

Here's his blog.

2011-01-25T20:04:00.004-05:00

Sharon Van Etten Love More

2011-01-23T17:59:00.004-05:00

So beautiful can't look away.

This is what I like: clean, white, minimalist.

Liu Wen by Daniel Jackson for Vogue China, April 2009.

2011-01-18T23:30:00.002-05:00

"This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that's what I had." -Steve Jobs, 1982

Photo by Diane Walker

I just read an incredibly insightful, candid interview by former Apple CEO John Sculley about Steve Jobs. It's long but so worth it!

2011-01-17T15:09:00.000-05:00

Three Kings by Richard Avedon, 1963.

2011-01-12T11:00:00.002-05:00

There was a time I dreamed of working for NASA.

Space still thrills and delights me.

2011-01-07T15:37:00.003-05:00

Old favorites, revisited.

It's snowing again here in New York.

Picture Sacha Dumain; Song Sufjan Stevens, For the Widows in Paradise.

2011-01-02T14:23:00.004-05:00

Thank you so much for reading.

This project has been difficult at times, as the year has been too, but sometimes very beautiful.

Best wishes for 2011! I send you dreams!

Photos: hardtoexplain, jak&jil. Song is live acoustic version of Chicago, by Sufjan Stevens. Listen to this, it might change you as it did me.

2011-01-01T17:44:00.006-05:00

New decade!! First photo is Hedi Slimane, song is "To the Lighthouse," Memoryhouse.

2010-12-24T01:38:00.004-05:00

Such a great gif. Vincent and Mia and I wishing you a good holiday, and reminding, keep dancing.

2010-12-21T15:13:00.004-05:00

0:25 to 0:40 always gives me chills, so beautiful.

I'm unspeakably dismayed that I missed this...

I would have stayed up the 4 hrs till dawn.

2010-12-18T23:30:00.005-05:00

Music: Albert Hammond Jr., In Transit (live version)

A recurring theme, it seems.

2010-12-16T13:47:00.003-05:00

Srcs unknown, song is "Lover's Start" whose music video is set to a clip from 1971 film Franz, starring Jacques Brel.

2010-12-12T23:30:00.003-05:00

A truly beautiful song; let it take you away.

Penny and the Quarters for film Blue Valentine.

2010-12-07T19:41:00.002-05:00

I'm working on a "Heroes" wall for my flat- a homage to my greatest influences, in form of my favorite genre of photography, the portrait.

The idea is to find (or take) the portrait that most most truthfully captures the essence of a character as I perceive it.

Here's one: Jimmy Page by Neal Preston, 1977.

2010-12-03T17:14:00.004-05:00

yes, be kind

2010-12-03T16:04:00.004-05:00

Louis Garrel / The National "29 Years"

2010-12-03T15:46:00.006-05:00

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

2010-11-29T12:13:00.004-05:00

First sketch is Gustav Klimt.

days are a thinly veiled melancholy

2010-11-18T12:39:00.001-05:00

There's something wonderful about all-white everything aesthetic.

2010-11-14T17:58:00.002-05:00

Life is a duality, but how to find homeostasis?

2010-11-05T17:24:00.003-04:00

2010-10-03T15:41:00.008-04:00

2010-10-01T12:47:00.003-04:00

2010-09-04T10:05:00.005-04:00

Sintra, Portugal

Quinta da Regaleira

Como uma terra de fadas

(fairy land castle, just outside Lisboa)

With one of my favorite songs (remake of Bowie classic by Brasilian artist Seu Jorge in Portuguese language).

2010-08-21T11:33:00.005-04:00

Voici la belle Lyon, lors de la soirée, avec la voix de Gainsbourg.

These days feel strange to me. I miss my trip.

I feel something is going to change, but what?

2010-08-14T10:54:00.002-04:00

Remixed jingle from French SNCF trains.

2010-08-03T13:05:00.003-04:00

(mine, taken over the big pond)

Travel may be the best thing in this world...!

2010-06-14T09:04:00.003-04:00

My dear readers, I am going for 6 weeks travel in 5 countries: Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Belgium. Too many cities to list.

As I am not bringing my Mac, I will be posting sporadically if at all.

But trust that when I return I will have many good things to share.

Take care, all and see you!

EDIT, from Barcelona, one of my 2 favorite cities so far! The other is Lisboa! See you later!

2010-06-12T14:09:00.003-04:00

In the next 6 weeks, I am undertaking the trip "of a lifetime."

I feel like this Bothanica performance- taken in Rome, one of the last cities in my itinerary.

2010-06-09T21:01:00.004-04:00

I really love the work of Hedi Slimane.

I admire those who cultivate a distinctive and clear vision, especially when it feels consistent with my own.

2010-06-06T09:59:00.004-04:00

No secret I am in love with oceans.

Must be dualities: minimalism and opportunity simultaneously.

2010-06-04T23:00:00.004-04:00

I was born here- Shanghai, by Garance.

2010-06-03T00:05:00.001-04:00

I'm just looking for magic.

2010-05-31T19:40:00.005-04:00

2010-05-31T19:36:00.004-04:00

2010-05-29T20:41:00.001-04:00

Go where there is no path and leave a trail. -R.W. Emerson

2010-05-28T21:50:00.006-04:00

I loved and saved this photo very long time ago, before beginning to note all sources. I am kind of fascinated by photographs of children.

This song I discovered today.

2010-05-26T23:00:00.003-04:00

A very beautiful, weathered elegance in this Florentine gentleman. By the Sart.

2010-05-25T22:41:00.002-04:00

It's a kindness that the mind can go where it wishes. -Publius Ovidius Naso, Poems of Exile.

2010-05-24T23:07:00.005-04:00

Leonard's still in my eyes and in my ears, and I am so tired.

2010-05-19T01:51:00.005-04:00

There's really no way to explain what this song means to me.

Gutted the first time, destroyed.

2010-05-18T09:31:00.006-04:00

(mine)

Speaking of piers... do you have a favorite spot? I found mine on Sunday, a tiny dock jutting into the Long Island Sound. I like that piers move with the current. Makes me feel closer to the water.

2010-05-18T09:26:00.007-04:00

(?)

Seems everything is fixed (for now). The thought of losing a year's dedication was devastating at best.

If you're reading, thanks for sticking around. Kate's happy to be back too.

2010-05-16T10:15:00.002-04:00

There's a big problem right now on Minor Keys with photos disappearing.

Please bear with me as we try to fix it.

Cheers, and stay well.

2010-05-12T01:31:00.004-04:00

I'm planning last minute for big summer travels.

My priorities are: Portugal, Morocco, Spain, France, and Italy.

Time dependent, circle around to Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria.

Thought of finally going is thrilling, but itineraries are quite overwhelming.

Any suggestions are greatly welcome and appreciated. Help!

2010-05-09T22:37:00.004-04:00

It seems banal to show a flower on Mother's Day, but this is quite a flower, no?

Stunning work from The Photodiarist.

2010-05-08T13:14:00.003-04:00

Mm, one of my fave colour combinations.

Adornment should move, whether physically or imaginatively.

2010-05-07T09:36:00.003-04:00

Happy 170th, Tchaikovsky.

Google likes his ballets; I like his piano concerti.

2010-05-06T23:23:00.003-04:00

If you read Vonnegut, you'll note the quote.

2nd is an older photograph for which I have some inexplicable fondness.

2010-05-06T16:03:00.005-04:00

There is an attractive quality about jellies, no?

Very primitive, yet very refined.

2010-05-05T20:22:00.001-04:00

Adriana é muito legal, ne?

My fave shot from her editorial in US Elle, March 2009.

2010-05-04T10:21:00.007-04:00

Afraid of stagnancy.

2010-05-03T08:30:00.007-04:00

Minor Keys is 1 year today.

2010-04-27T20:57:00.007-04:00

But yeah, I love colour still.

In the 2nd: cranes in migration rest in Brandenburg.

2010-04-26T22:51:00.004-04:00

Colour has its moments, but there is something inimitable about black and white.

I don't know what; a nostalgia, some dark simple place I can relate to.

2010-04-24T22:51:00.007-04:00

Amazing minute video...!

This girl sure knows how to edit.

2010-04-24T19:09:00.006-04:00

Lovers in real life as well.

Shot by Jeffrey Cohen.

2010-04-22T22:33:00.004-04:00

When asked, what do you carry in that bag of yours?, the answer is: All my hopes and dreams for this short gossamer life.

2010-04-20T15:02:00.005-04:00

I kind of like this space, although some spots feel cluttered. Incredible light and thoughtfully chosen pieces give it warmth, like it could be home.

This is in Stockholm.

2010-04-19T19:37:00.007-04:00

Another stunning face shot, this one by Irving Penn.

Happy birthday Murray Perahia; RIP Charles Darwin.

2010-04-17T15:43:00.007-04:00

One of the most recognizable and striking covers of National Geographic, June 1985.

Afghan refugee photographed by Steve McCurry in Peshawar, Pakistan.

2010-04-15T21:17:00.008-04:00

Here's Natalia in one of my all-time favorite portraits.

Highly evocative of an iconic image (that comes next) - can you guess?

2010-04-13T23:59:00.007-04:00

Tonight I heard a mind-blowing piano concert.

It personified the crux of my love affair with music.

A performance with the immensity and triumphant freedom of a wild horse.

2010-04-11T09:16:00.003-04:00

I like everything about this photo- the color, shape, clarity, DOF-

and it reminded me very much of my Penn header.

2010-04-07T23:15:00.003-04:00

To suit the mood, something with calmer delicate character.

Utterly Parisian, just right in black and white.

2010-04-05T20:13:00.003-04:00

Do you ever think that two people's ways of thinking are so different their disagreements can never be reconciled?

I think so. And that worries me.

Photograph is Fred Herzog.

2010-04-04T11:46:00.003-04:00

Amazing what a little cleansing of belongings can do for personal outlook.

Minimalism is a fine concept.

2010-04-01T20:14:00.016-04:00

Certain photographs just work well together in my mind, whether for parallels or contrasts.

Henceforth, clicking on any photograph featured here will take you directly to its source, thereby eliminating the need for links below. Thoughts on this minimalization are, as always, more than welcome.

contemplatingthevoid

2010-03-30T23:37:00.007-04:00

(mine)

As far as museum architecture, nothing comes close to the Guggenheim in my eyes.

My favourite exhibit last weekend was the 50th Anniversary commemoration and self-reflexive folly, in which 200 artists imagined their dream interventions in the space.

inthespiritofminimalism

2010-03-29T20:47:00.011-04:00

(mine)

Contrast is a powerful tool. I took this late afternoon shot from a speedy car crossing a bridge.

I tend to prefer extra contrast, but I don't mind the flatter versions in this case.

Any thoughts? 1st is the original.

2010-03-27T12:41:00.003-04:00

(fotokuo / natgeo)

I love Argentine Tango; it is so intimate and elegant.

Our instructor said, a gentleman who can dance can have any lady in the room. I agree.

A different but equally poignant intimacy below, in one of my favorite photographs: a couple in New Zealand.

2010-03-22T19:32:00.003-04:00

(mine)

Here's the bassist from the same band as the sax player below.

I like double basses for their substantiality, their gravity.

The bassist in one salsa band I had the pleasure of enjoying had an electric instrument with the entire huge wooden body missing. Easy to transport, not so easy on the eyes.

2010-03-20T22:19:00.005-04:00

(mine via Canon 450D)

Were you in glorious Central Park today? Seemed like all New York was.

Perfect occasion to take my 55-250mm lens for its first run.

I'm just a newbie to photography, so I'm amazed at what new glass can do!

Location: behind the Maine monument, Columbus Circle.

Inspiration to shoot street musicians came from the best, The Photodiarist.

2010-03-17T18:55:00.006-04:00

(hardtoexplain / youtube)

There's always a place for virtuosic music.

This is how I feel when I listen to Liszt's Mazeppa, interpreted here by Berezovsky.

In D minor, appropriately.

2010-03-16T23:50:00.012-04:00

(milk)

Greetings friends.

I guess I missed the crazy storm.

Balmy weather welcomes back to New York, but everything seems so different upon return...

2010-03-04T20:26:00.003-05:00

(cherry)

I love you but I am going away for awhile...

wish it were to here, but it's not, bit closer to home.

Mais je rentre après une semaine et demi!

2010-03-03T21:14:00.006-05:00

(ilove / JGL via abird)

All I could say was, your hands,

your hands...

Life; can you laugh at it, and is there reason to?

2010-03-01T23:59:00.004-05:00

(garancedoré)

This is a truly stunning portrait of Dree Hemingway.

Perfect in platinum and black, touches of slate grey in the eyes and on the fingernails...

Temporary tattoos are Chanel.

2010-03-01T01:03:00.002-05:00

(luxirare / ?)

There's magic in jellyfish, and in Kate Moss by Annie Leibovitz, 1999.

Two of my absolute favorites...

2010-02-28T17:16:00.004-05:00

(hardtoexplain)

The strangest things stay with me: for example, stages of the moon.

Waxing and waning, crescent, half, gibbus, whole, new.

To exist together? a Space Odyssey-vibe, creepy magic.

And 1st March will be full and bright. Look up and be awed.

2010-02-28T15:13:00.003-05:00

(thebigpicture)

Oh Chile... que le vaya mejor!

Donate here.

2010-02-26T10:55:00.002-05:00

(milk)

I tried very hard to break up these photographs (restraint) but it didn't work.

Some things are meant to be shown in a set.

One of the most beautiful series I've seen in awhile; insane Swedish girl in Mexico.

200

2010-02-25T14:14:00.003-05:00

(somuchtotellyou)

Things most improbable can happen.

To visitors: thank you for your support! I hope some of these images touched you as they did me. Besos!

2010-02-24T22:47:00.003-05:00

(maandrew)

One of my favorite "minimalist" photographs.

What I love here: the rain through this lens looks so warm and soft. Inviting.

I believe this is Barbados.

And definitely check out this British photographer's other works; really phenomenal.

2010-02-24T14:22:00.005-05:00

(various)

Taiwanese music student aims to kiss and document 100 strangers in Paris.

These 3 are favorite shots of this bold girl with few dashing gentlemen.

Article here, her blog with pictures here.

2010-02-23T16:45:00.002-05:00

(?)

Wishing more than ever to go forth...

and for aridity.

It's frightening how much my mood correlates with weather.