Approximately 10 years ago, a bright, creative young lady was kind enough to drive Jazz great, musician Hugh Brodie to our studio for a Photo Shoot. She then assisted me on a very intense shoot of Mr. Brodie. The young lady was Marisa Scheinfeld & she had a voracious appetite for photography.  Over the years, she's come back to me many times for advice, asking my opinion on what direction to go in, where photography is going in the future, what equipment to procure and so on. Like all other interns and assistants both JoAnne and I have an open door policy because we truly enjoy seeing them succeed. It now appears Marisa is well on her way to not only a productive career but a rewarding one as well. Please see the following link.  There is an old Italian word we use for this - Mazel tov Marisa!

http://www.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/will-parson/2011/may/19/marisa-scheinfeld-leftover-borscht/

PaPA Opening May 28

Ron and Yvonne Parker will be hosting their new gallery, art space, at PaPA, which stands for Parker and Parker Art on Saturday, May 28. With the decades of experience that Ron Parker brings and the beauty and talent of Yvonne Parker, this should be quite an event!

"Ronald Parker has enjoyed a varied career as a psychologist, professor, entrepreneur and artist.Throughout his adult life he enjoyed drawing and sculpting.  Over the last 15 years he created an interesting series called “Parker People”, which many have called “off center and on target”. Additionally, he found time to be a nationally syndicated columnist, author of one book and fifteen monographs and a performance artist (“Love Lessons” and “Lies”). As a psychologist and academician he practiced and taught at The Graduate Center of the City University of NY and Florida State University. His entrepreneurial interests included business in America, Europe and Africa. As past President of two NASDAQ companies, he managed dozens of art galleries and was the CEO of several major art publishing companies. Parker’s art includes drawing, painting and assemblages, which he creates from auto parts and found objects. The most enduring theme of his work has been the American flag, which he has included in his work for over 20 years. Over 200 flags have been created on almost every imaginable surface. A collection of his flags were exhibited during the summer of 2010 in a show entitled 'Old Glory, New Story' at The Columns Museum in Milford, PA. Other exhibitions include shows at Merrill Chase Gallery in Chicago, Galerie Damien in Paris, The Armory Art Center in Palm Beach and numerous other venues. He is happily married to Yvonne, an artist, with whom he resides in a converted nunnery in PA and maintains a winter residence in FL.

His current major project is developing Parker and Parker Art, 'PaPA', housed in a 33,000 sq foot historic building in White Mills, PA. 'Come to PaPA, since you no doubt have been to MoMA'."

"Yvonne’s art ranges from individual works to creating total environments for homes. The words artful living express who she is and how she lives her life. Through her art she creates a world of beauty, romance and peace. Her calling is to beautify everything she interacts with. Her work has been exhibited widely, including a recent one-woman show at The Armory Art Center in Palm Beach, Florida and her solo show “Then and Now” at The Columns Museum in Milford, PA.The studio she is working in reflects the art she is creating. In Florida, she focuses on her “Fragmented Beauty” series and in Pennsylvania on her mixed-media two dimensional works and site-specific installations. Born in Europe, where she received her art education, she later studied at the NY School of Interior Design. Antonio Gaudi and Niki de Saint Phalle have served as sources of inspiration for her art and design. Yvonne lives with her husband, Ron, (an artist) in a converted nunnery in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania and maintains a studio/winter residence in West Palm Beach, FL.

Her current major project is developing Parker and Parker Art 'PaPA',

http://www.barryvilleareaarts.org/

http://www.parkerandparkerart.com (website to be completed shortly)

Use it or Lose it!

One of the biggest complaints JoAnne and I hear from amateurs and pros is that they have nothing to photograph. When I hear that sometimes my jaw clenches, and if I'm not careful, I could break a tooth. The reality is you could spend half a lifetime in your backyard and never make the same photograph twice. Let's beat up two more cliches, Practice makes perfect. The other complaint I hear is that, "I don't have enough time in the day to make great photos." My answer is, MAKE THE TIME! One of my students, Larry Malang, asked if I would do his portrait for his webpage. Of course I would be happy to do his portrait for a $1500 sitting fee. Larry thought that was fair. We spent about 20 minutes in the studio, had several usable frames. Oops! I don't mean frames I mean digital images. Sometimes I fall back to  ASA. Okay, I know it's ISO. One of the reasons I jumped at this photographic opportunity is because he is an extremely bright and creative gentleman. He has been reincarnated several times. I find his face and his intensity charming. Larry, the check is in the mail right?

Time to Re-Boot

The whole concept of social networking sometimes leaves me in a tizzy. I've been told that when you put things out on the internet, someday it may come back and bite you on the ass. That has not bothered me from day one. So why start worrying about it now! Many photographers and filmmakers who have joined me at the Learning Center know that I like to have a work station outside, especially in great weather. In the Fall, the upper Delaware Valley can be gloriously beautiful, with vibrant colors and crisp air. It is a great time to be alive. But every once in a while, there is an instant and severe LM storm. In my dear friend, Bill DeSmedt's book "Singularity" there is a passage, " When all else fails, re-boot." So here I am re-booting. As soon as I figure out how to upload the HD video, you can see some of the outtakes, which are pretty funny! By the way, which way to the life boats? To all the ships at sea. Signing off
Joe D.