RLGMedia Blog

Pisa: Faces & Places – March 17, 2011

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:02:02 +0000

Thursday, March 17, 2011. A side trip to Pisa – more rain.

All images: © Photo: Ronald L. Glassman

Piazza Dei Cavalieri, Pisa

Duomo, Pisa. Making the most of a rainy day

Tuscan Countryside

Firenze: Faces & Places – March, 14 2011

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:54:49 +0000

Monday, March 14, 2011. Firenze. I spent the entire day walking through the city, beginning at the hotel which is in city center north. For most of the week the weather was uncharacteristically rainy for Firenze, though there were a few hours of sunshine on the 14th. Crossed the Arno to the Oltrarno (across the Arno) and climbed the hillside to the plateau that overlooks the town and then onto the church of San Miniato al Monte. I was rewarded with a few good images – the woman in the orange sweater, statues in front of the church and on the way down the hillside I was able to capture the Duomo in sunlight.

The shoemaker was one of the first shots I took – not far from the hotel. He saw that I had a camera and walked out from behind his counter. We smiled at one another and I shot about 10 frames. This shot is outside his shop…obviously proud of his product.

All images: © Photo: Ronald L. Glassman

Cobbler: Florence, Italy

The Arno - although a silty river the shadows above make it seem otherwise.

The south side of Florence, along the Arno

The top of the hill overlooking the city is a tourist spot – lots of people posing with the city in the bg. I took this shot rather quickly and it’s the only image that I have of the woman. I wanted to take more, but she was was gone. I think the look is very Italian/fashion statement – without trying.

Italian woman

Hands of a Statue - outside the church of San Miniato al Monte

Statue - Church of San Miniato al Monte

Costa Dei Magnoli - side street on the Oltrarno

The banks of the Arno with Ponte Vecchio in the background

Ramadan Ashraf, Street Artist -outside the Uffizi. An Egyptian national living in Firenze with his family.

Piazza Della Repubblica - composite of street musician and an appreciative audience member.

(continued below)

Firenze: Faces & Places – March 15, 2011

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:17:29 +0000

Tuesday, March 15, 2011. I spent a good part of a cloudy day walking through the Mercato Centrale, the huge outdoor/ indoor market place. I photographed the two leather merchants (below) after talking with them for some time. The man on the left speaks seven languages,works seven days a week and expressed to me that he doesn’t see much more in his life than what he is doing now. On the right the merchant has dreams of selling his coats in the U.S. His fiance is getting a graduate degree in business at an east coast college. He has aspirations for the two of them to start a business in the U.S. After talking with many young people I heard more than once how difficult they feel things are for them. Apparently the bureaucracy/ red tape hinders their ambitions.

All images: © Photo: Ronald L. Glassman

Two Leather Merchants – Mercato Centrale

The indoor market is an incredible place. What interested me was the relationship between the buyer and seller. Haggling obviously is a way of life. Opinions abound freely and unsolicited. The dynamics, though, of the seller, he/she hands on with their goods and then handing it over to the buyer was like seeing someone give up something that they truly loved.

..Below two faces – in the produce market.

Two Produce Sellers - Mercato Centrale

The Produce:

Red Lettuce – Mercato Centrale

Red & Green Lettuce - Mercato Centrale

Riddichio - Mercato Centrale

A Shop Inside the Market - Mercato Centrale

Two Merchants - Mercato Centrale

Selling Cheese & Meat - Mercato Centrale

The Duomo seen from a side street

Above the Duomo from a side street north of the cathedral.

At the end of Tuesday while walking along Via Dante Aligheri and the small side streets I captured the images below. I took these two shots of a new friend, the artist, Anastazija Pampaloni (www.etsy.com) outside and inside her shop. She won’t be happy with the shot of her smoking, but I walked into the shot and I asked her not to move. She hid the cigarette, but the shot is so much better with it, because after all that is why she was outside.

Anastazija Pampaloni, ceramic artist, outside her shop

Anastazija inside her shop

Street Scene - Via Dante Aligheri

Theater Production Images

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:47:38 +0000

I have been the long time production photographer for the Castillo Theater, www.castillo.org, based in NYC. Castillo has a history of producing avant-garde politically themed productions that are provocative, entertaining and visually stimulating. I photograph a rehearsal just prior to opening night so the show is pretty much set. I usually know very little about what will unfold, hence i shoot a lot images in a 1.5 – 2.5 hour period. Exposure is always a nightmare, so there is a lot of editing to uncover the gems. Fortunately i am given a lot of leeway to shoot which allows me to find unique angles. Recently we have begun to shoot some promo images for advertising which is a controlled situation. The challenge here is capture a dramatic moment. Here are some recent images.

production: Mr. Hirsch Died Yesterday
written by Fred Newman
directed by Woodie King Jr.

The two images above where shot for publicity purposes on a partially built set. The first image features (l-r) LIndsay Arber, Lenora B. Fulani and Moshe Yassur. In the second shot the actor Ben Prayz is on the left. Below are some shots from the production.

production: Safe at Third (or Josh Gibson Don’t Bunt)
written & directed by Fred Newman
cast: Earl Griffin, Gabrielle Kurlander, David Nackman, Johanny Paulino

Produced in October 2010, Safe at Third (or Josh Gibson Don’t Bunt) is the story of legendary Negro League Baseball great Josh Gibson’s surreal encounter with Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart and Otto Rene Castillo (the revolutionary poet). Think of the laws of relativity meeting The Wizard of Oz at home plate.

production: Playing with Heiner Muller
texts by Heiner Muller, songs by Fred Newman
directed by Gabrielle L. Kurlander

Castillo has been the long time presenter of works by East German playwright Heiner Muller, who according to Wikipedia is, “arguably the most important German dramatist of the 20th century after Bertolt Brecht. His “enigmatic, fragmentary pieces” are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postdramatic theatre.” The drama is driven by politics, religion, sex, life and death. Below are some images from the fall of 2010. The first set of images are the promotional shots and following are the production stills.