gavin hammond's london

image courtesy of magnum photos

Henri Cartier-Bresson's 1932 image of a jumping man's reflection in a puddle has always been a favorite of mine. The symmetries created by the reflection along with the jumping figure on the poster in the background create a beautifully composed image that seems so spur of the moment that it's hard to believe it was caught.

So when I saw the London in Puddles series by Gavin Hammond I was excited to see some similar uses of symmetry and the alluring portrayal of a dreary London.

I particularly enjoy the dark silhouettes against the geometric patterns created by the sidewalk stones. It's almost as if you're looking at an old daguerreotype photograph and the world just couldn't stand still long enough for the photograph to be taken. It's a very dream-like way to look at the world where you can't quite make out the details but the overall feeling of the environment is more important anyway.

For more information on Henri Cartier-Bresson, check out Artsy. Artsy's mission is to make art accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

oxford circus in a puddle

regent street in a puddle

it's all go on oxford street - captured in a puddle

kevin cyr's vans

I've probably only shared this with a few people, but I have a serious love for big, boxy, dilapidated vans. Whenever I see one, I think to myself about how I would love to drive one. It makes no sense, but I'd love to travel the country in one, sleeping on a mattress in the back and laying on the top to stargaze.

So Kevin Cyr's derelict vans really appeal to me. I love how they are taken out of their environment and displayed almost as a portrait. Each solitary van is given an importance that is usually reserved for unused or restored vehicles in pristine condition. These colorful oil paintings capture the worst of the worst and for me that means the best. I can almost hear them rumble to life.

wythe

richardson

stanhope

humbolt

dark chocolate ganache with cherries and a shortbread crust

I realized the other day that while I bake quite often, I never post about it. I rarely remember to take pictures and if I do they are never quite as high quality as I want them to be. So I've decided to try a little series of food blogging, although I make no promises about length or quality. Here's to experimenting!

The cherry crop in Michigan didn't do very well this year, but I was able to get a hold of some and knew I had to bake something with them before they disappeared. I went with a cherry ganache tart with shortbread crust recipe I saw over at Always With Butter and it did not disappoint.

The shortbread crust was absolutely delicious and I was really impressed by how smooth the ganache was. Next time I would add more cherries because they really helped balance the richness of the rest of the dessert. Speaking of which, did you know you can pit cherries with a paper clip? It worked extremely well and left the rest of the cherry intact for presentation.

writing neon

1. uni-ball woodnote gel ink pen 2. marvy 4300 lepen porous point marker pen 3. kokuyo campus junior mechanical pencil 4. eco highlighter pencil 5. caran d'ache ballpoint pen 6. ohto rouge gel highlighter

cork city bangle

cork city bangle

Typically bangles are not my preferred piece of jewelry because I feel like you have to wear more than one and then they make a lot of noise clanking into each other. I can only imagine what that would sound like in a quite library. But anyway, I'm really loving this Kate Spade bangle and the contrast between the cork and the gold. The use of such an unexpected material adds interest to the piece. 

got a light?

My first impressions of these photographs were based solely on the fact that they are beautify composed. But as I researched the project a little bit more it became disturbing just how many lighters were found around waterfronts in New York City from August 2010 to May 2011. 1,946 lighters were found from 47 different locations, which were all logged and photographed. You can learn more about the project here and see even more collections of lighters, ranging from as few as one to the 488 found at Bergen Beach seen below.

So many of the products that we use daily are disposable and we think very little about what it going to happen to those items once we've gotten our use out of them. I personally own three disposable lighters because I very rarely use them and when a birthday comes around it's usually easier to pick up a new one than try to find the one I used last year. This is exactly the mentality that I need to change because these small conveniences are not always the best.

488 from bergen beach

19 from plum beach east

16 from summerfield creek

"blank"

I love this modern recreation of the old message-in-a-bottle idea. A cute little empty bottle capable of holding 2GB of your most secret messages. Find out more over at Spoon & Tamago.

"blank" designed by Saburo Sakata

alex maclean's arial photography

Arial photography has always had a special place in my heart. There's just something about the physical separation from the objects pictured that allows you to see so much more, both physically and mentally. When you're sitting at a stoplight surrounded by ten other cars you probably don't think very much about them at all, but seen from above you start to remember just how many people there are in the world and how you're surrounded by so many other people going about their lives all the time. On the ground it seems chaotic, but from above it almost seems choreographed.

Alex MacLean's photographs go beyond just giving the viewer a new perspective. The way he frames and crops his images create almost abstract geometric arrangements. Along with interesting color palates, patterns begin to emerge that you would never think exist on the ground.

B-52 "bone yard"

floating daisy docks

I highly recommend checking out his other pieces, specifically his series on beaches and abandonment.