July 29, 2014
Reds
By Catherine Bruce
The “Hip Shots” series of photographs will feature images that were grabbed “on the fly,” with little or no regard for framing and focus. The object of the exercise is to create dynamic pictures, not perfect ones. With this ” shoot-from-the-hip” method, the more frames exposed the better the chances are that you’ll come up with something interesting — a related series that may be arranged as a post. If you’d like additional tips for using the technique, or to submit your own images, drop a question or note in the “Leave a Comment” section, below.
Copyright © 2014 Catherine Bruce.
Leave a Comment » | 
abstractions, composition, graphic design, Hip Shots, images, lettering, letters, photography, pictures, reversals, signs | Tagged: abstractions, colors, compositions, framing, hip shots, images, lettering, photography, pictures, reversals, shapes, shoot-from-the-hip | 
Permalink
Posted by Jim
July 25, 2014
The FedEx logo is famous among graphic designers. It has won buckets of design awards and has been ranked by some experts as one of the best logo designs in the last 35 years—or as some claim—ever. Nearly every design school professor and graphic designer will praise it as such, and some will then try to draw you into a discussion about its clever use of negative space. Many, though—like me at one time—want to display their design knowledge. But I’ve reformed. Now I only brag about my honesty; about how, until someone pointed it out, I had failed to notice the directional arrow created naturally by the relationship of two of the letters. How about you, do you see it?
2 Comments | animals, art, business, canine, cartooning, corporate culture, dogs, drawing, education, FedEx, graphic design, illustration, images, lettering, packages, signs, teaching | Tagged: animals, art, business, business as usual, Fedex, graphic art careers, graphic arts, graphic design, graphics, images, logos, packages, work | Permalink
Posted by Jim
July 22, 2014
Hilary Mantel
“Memoir is not an easy form. It’s not for beginners, which is unfortunate, as it is where many people do begin. It’s hard for beginners to accept that un-mediated truth often sounds unlikely and unconvincing. If other people are to care about your life, art must intervene. The writer has to negotiate with her memories, and with her reader, and find a way, without interrupting the flow, to caution that this cannot be a true record; this is a version, seen from a single viewpoint.”
New York Times Book Review
May 19, 2013
Leave a Comment » | composition, conflict, fiction, historical novels, history, memoir, non-fiction, novels, quotes, relationships, short fiction, short stories, writing | Tagged: autobiography, fiction, historical novels, history, memoir, nonfiction, novels, quotes, relationships, writing | Permalink
Posted by Jim
July 13, 2014
Brooklyn for Brooklyn
By Jo-Ann Pilardi
(Click images for larger versions.)
The “Hip Shots” series of photographs will feature images that were grabbed “on the fly,” with little or no regard for framing and focus. The object of the exercise is to create dynamic pictures, not perfect ones. With this ” shoot-from-the-hip” method the more frames exposed, the better the chances are that you’ll come up with something interesting — a related series that may be arranged as a post. If you’d like additional tips for using the technique, or to submit your own images, drop a question or note in the “Leave a Comment” section, below.
Copyright © 2014 Jo-Ann Pilardi.
2 Comments | business, cityscapes, composition, Hip Shots, history, images, lettering, photography, pictures, shopping, signs, travel, vacation, Wall Street | Tagged: bank, Brooklyn, images, New York, photography, pictures, skyline, street scapes, travel, urban, vacation, Wall Street | Permalink
Posted by Jim
July 10, 2014
Copyright © 2014 Jim Sizemore.
2 Comments | animals, business, couples, food, gag cartoons, gags, marriage, relationships, restaurants | Tagged: animals, business, butter, couples, cows, diary, domestic conflict, farms, food, gag cartoons, gags, grass-fed, marriage, relationships, restaurants, Today's Gag | Permalink
Posted by Jim
July 6, 2014
I’ve been going through what seems like a ton of old letters, plus the drafts of my replies; the idea being to get rid of most of that stuff so my kids and/or grandkids won’t have to deal with it when—as the saying goes— “the time comes.” During this recent purge, I came across a scrawled attempt at comic verse that I had mailed to my younger brother some years ago in Virginia for his 69th birthday. Here it is:
Ernie
A man named Ernie
Lived by the tracks,
Ate little kids
Instead of snacks.
He was so mean
It was often said,
He’d never die
Just stay in bed.
He lived so long
(In the hundred-threes),
Then he finally did go
With brand new knees!
I know it sounds a bit like one of those “Burma Shave” series of “poetry” signs on the side of the road that I used to love to read as I whizzed past. His 75th birthday is coming up later this month and I’ll call him, as usual, and I plan to recite the verse to Ernie when I do. This year, I want to see if he remembers it, and if he does, I’ll ask him to remind me what he thinks of it. I have the feeling I’ll have to once again justify myself by saying, “Hey, it’s the thought that counts.”
Copyright © 2014, Jim Sizemore.
2 Comments | boys, buddies, death, family, friends, humor, humorous verse, images, kids, letters, life, light verse, men, photography, pictures, poetry, relationships, signs, writing | Tagged: brothers, death, family, humor, images, kids, life, light verse, photography, pictures, poetry, relationships, writing | Permalink
Posted by Jim
