kahn's esherick house/2

Thought I would continue on with images I shot of Louis Kahn's Esherick House. This is one of my favorites but I could not get that screen down all the way on the lower right window...and how I tried!

kahn's esherick house/

Awhile back I had the opportunity to photograph Louis Kahn's Esherick House in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I knew of the house and had seen beautiful pictures of it, but I was mostly interested in the kitchen. Wharton Esherick had done all the kitchen cabinets, etc. for his niece (whose house it was). I have stared at this image a lot and have debated whether or not to put it up. What is it a picture of really? yet I am still staring at it. So here it is. Tell me your thoughts on this one.

my morning walk/

Nice to be back in San Francisco.

ray kappe/outake

Pic of the day for today is an outake from Ray Kappe's house. He had such an immense collection of books I had to move a couple of piles. As I looked back, the light was hitting them just right...as you can see.

kay sekimachi/

Pic of the day. One more from Kay Sekimachi's home in Berkeley, CA. What is it about this photo that I love so much...I keep coming back to it.

The woven piece on the wall is from Japan.

what is a "pic of the day"/

I guess it is pretty obvious - a picture of the day - but I will give a little background info. For quite a few years, I have been sending a group of about 20 friends and family (sometimes more, sometimes a little less) a pic of the day when the mood struck me. usually I was travelling, often I was shooting one of the houses for my book, Handcrafted Modern, or on a commercial job. Many of them were shot on my iphone. The idea behind it was twofold. 1) who doesn't like to see a pretty picture waiting in their inbox. A little mental vacation to take at some point in their day. 2) I just had to share some of the amazing things I was seeing when I was shooting my book with people who I knew would get it! I was pretty sporadic about it. When I was travelling there would be one a day and then everyone would know I was out of town, etc. With this blog, I plan to be much more consistent about it. Here is one I shot last year on my way to shoot the Eames house. I ended up driving the coast down through Big Sur so I could stop for a glass of wine and a really good meal at the Big Sur Bakery (super yum for those of you who aren't familiar!). The light in Big Sur is so indescribable sometimes. It is obvious why Edward Weston and Henry Miller and all those other icons of art and life settled on this part of the California coast. This is still a favorite shot of mine. When I look at it, I convince myself I can smell the ocean and the scent of cypress trees. A perfect picture to end the week.

kay sekimachi/

I have been thinking quite a bit about craft lately. It seems to be very of the moment, but also harkens to the past in so many ways. In particular, I have been thinking about pottery and fiber arts. Why you might ask? Well, the answer is easy. Tonight I went to an open house at Greenwich House Pottery and a couple of weeks ago I met with Kay Sekimachi at her home in Berkeley and saw many of her incredible pieces that she has made on her loom and through other knotting techniques (I hope that is the right way to phrase that...). Thought I would share an image from my quick scouting photos of Kay Sekimachi's home. I will be returning to do a proper shoot in the coming weeks and really cannot wait. These necklaces are from a series Kay is working on where she incorporates pieces she has collected on a beach in Hawaii (wish I could remember which beach!) over the last 40 years.

jb blunk/

Detail from JB Blunk's bedroom. I love the balsa wood light pull.

nyc subway/

Pic of the day:
I am in NY at the moment doing some work and prepping for Handcrafted Modern's release in the fall. Sometimes, it is just nice to sit in the subway and listen to a bit of music and unwind in between appointments. This shot I took at just such a moment. I would never have been able to plan that halo around that guys  head...that was a gift from the photo gods.

lincoln center/

Pic of the day:

went to the opening of the American Ballet Theatre and I have to admit, I always look up and gawk when I am in the Metropolitan Opera House because it is so beautiful. Here is one view in the lobby.

james rose/modernist landscape architect

An exterior shot of the James Rose house in New Jersey. I wanted to include this home in  Handcrafted Modern but I guess it was not meant to be. A fantastic home and garden by a not so widely known landscape architect. Well worth a visit.

handcrafted modern/irving harper

In light of the article in the NY Times T Design section this weekend, I thought I would post one of my own images from Irving Harper's home. This one is not in my forthcoming book, Handcrafted Modern, but you see some of my favorites of his paper sculptures in the window. He also made the "blind" at the top of the window out of paper and thin wood dowels. I came away a bit in awe of the patience making these sculptures would require.