Ed Cunicelli
I met Earl yesterday in the middle of the street… I asked for a little bit of his time and gave him $10 to find out his story. Earl is 32 years old and he and his dog JoJo travel back and forth from New Hampshire trying to put together some kind of minute by minute existence… “Everyday is a new adventure trying to stay way from them damn cops…” He will hitch hike and hop freighter trains to get to this spot. “The snow makes it hard on us and I can’t wait to get warm”. This time he’s here to see his girlfriend who works the opposite corner about six blocks away. They find refuge in an abandoned house in South Philly and as Earl put’s it ” …to try and stay invisible”. He says Philly is the roughest town he knows but somehow the people are the most generous… “they even bring me dog food!” I’m glad I payed attention to that nudge to go up and meet him. Hopefully, I will be able to say hi again when it gets warm.
Jim is one of the best in the business. Please visit his site ACCORDION Films and be on the look out for the section with his still work. This guy can shoot anything with a lens. His latest short film on Chris Potter promises to be right up there with; “Straight to the Top”, Feat. Chips Cooney and my favorite; “A Taste of Nate ” shot here in Philadelphia. Jim’s work is vintage, it’s real and it’s all JIM. A Taste of Nate combines all the elements of Jim’s work and his passion for Jazz. As Nate says, . “…I’m not a Coltrane you know, I’m just Nate Wiley and I like to swing. I like to tell it like it is…” Photo Courtesy of Jim McGorman
In my humble opinion one of the best sites on the web is: Unphotographable … this one will keep you laughing when you feel like crying. We’ve all been there and wondered why didn’t I make that picture happen? 
Shopping in a Tokyo Mall can be hazardous to your health. Faced with so many choices and a weak dollar presented problems for this average American consumer. Please visit the mini series: “Pick One” … {coming soon}
Do yourself a favor and go see a flick!
Get your credit cards ready! Today Leica is releasing this super expensive Hermes limited edition Leica M 7… For a mere $14,000.00 it can be yours… and mine because I will rent it from you. Wouldn’t that be great?
We could use this very affordable $2.99 roll of film
Photos Courtesy of Jack Loftus
Photo Courtesy of Jack Loftus
Photo Courtsey of Naoya Hatakeyama
Getting ready for another trip to Japan and wanted to share a couple of my favorite photographers from this wildly interesting place… Naoya Hatakeyama
Photo Courtesy of Daido Moriyama
Hiroshi Sugimoto {from the diorama series}
Photo Courtesy of Hiroshi Sugimoto
I mean, I’m driving down 9th and Chestnut and there he is just standing there. Philadelphia’s own Joe Frazier. I’d recently seen the documentary, Thrilla in Manila and was totally taken in by it. Especially the fact he and Ali once were friends only deepened my respect for Joe. I quickly looked for a place to park which proved almost impossible so I had to go around the block and by the time I did he was gone…Just like that. Like a dream. He was standing on the corner staring but not moving… like a picture waiting to be taken… The traffic knocked me out, I’m looking for a re-match. Photo Courtesy of Joe Frazier
On a recent trip back to Whiteriver, AZ, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Don Burke. Only met him once but it felt like I new him a lifetime. After spotting him in the parking lot of the “H” market I decided to make an introduction. At first it seemed kind of scary as he took in my over eager personality (holding a large knife in his mouth) but after he learned what I was up too, he agreed to work with me… well, after I gave him a lift. I quickly realized, This was no ordinary man. Don was an elite firefighter in the Apache Hotshots. His job was to travel all over the western U.S. fighting big wild fires. Man did he have some cool stories to tell. “Narrowly escaping death…” seemed to be said more times than I could count. Now, I can’t help but look at this simple portrait of him with a different understanding. Considering his life on the reservation, surviving massive wildfires would come easy. He had that look in his eyes that said he’d seen a few things. After about an hour of listening, I made some photographs. He in turn thanked me by giving me his commemorative Apache Hotshot Fire Jumper Jacket… A BIG DEAL (as in out of the helicopter and into the fire jacket!!!) plus some old photos of him on the job. Don, what did I do to deserve that? A question, I guess he wants me to sit with. Everything still smelled like smoke. In that moment, the wind took a hard turn and with a glance upward I could see Don was asking me to pay attention to it. Little did I know we wouldn’t see each other again… or at least not in this lifetime. A true master of living.
My friend Dwayne “Chuck” Wilcox, Oglala Lakota artist… is a damn funny man and a serious National Treasure. Take some time and look at his magnificent work: www.doghatstudio.com. Here’s what was written about him by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University: www.peabody.harvard.edu
‘Mr. Wilcox’s drawings and paintings “ledger-style” artwork reflects a contemporary way of life rather than the past, often depicting pow-wows, people preparing for dances, families spending time together and other everyday scenes. According to Mr. Wilcox, “I’m alive now. Our time is just as important as the past” Chuck was raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota…’ Yo, I love this guy
Be a sport and go check out my friends at P’unk Ave!
www.punkave.com. They create most excellent websites and are the founders of Apostrophe …”the most friendly open source CMS you’ll ever use…” They are worth a sit down. They speak their own language and blog tons of stuff that makes no sense to me but maybe it will to you… Thanks Geoff, Rick and John Benson. Great site builders. Photo: Courtesy of P’unk Ave.
Another semester at DCAD has begun. I’m looking forward to working with all of you in the Beyond The Surface II Portrait Class. That is if they find us a classroom where we won’t be asked to leave!!
The DCAD Twelve
This is where I post the first blog. I can’t capitalize my r’s on my new Mac Pro keyboard…so if you see an r instead of an R… you’ll know why. read on. r’s have always been a problem for me.
The important information I would like to share is what’s on the turntable at this time…really good Paul Bley. Look for Paul Bley and all other top jazz artists, mainstream and otherwise at: www.jazzloft.com
