Category Archives: Reviews

New Photography Books: Ansel Adams’ Yosemite – The Special Edition Prints

From a AnselAdams.com online release:

Ansel Adams' Yosemite special edition printsMaking the Special Edition Photographs is an assignment I continue to this day, with Ansel’s vision and standards always in mind as I work. The prints are still made directly from Ansel’s negatives and in the “traditional” way: in a wet darkroom with amber safelights, chemicals and running water. The prints are still silver-gelatin prints, meaning that the image-forming element is literally metallic silver. Precious.

And after nearly 40 years, I can honestly say that I never tire of seeing these images come up in the developing tray. It’s an honor and privilege to play a small part in continuing Ansel’s legacy.

This collection, entitled the Yosemite Special Edition Photographs, proved immensely popular and over the years, Ansel added more images to the set until the total was capped at 30 at the time of his passing in 1984.

Today, Best’s Studio is known as the Ansel Adams Gallery, and continues as a family-run business. Ansel’s Special Edition Photographs of Yosemite are a mainstay of the Gallery’s offerings and heritage. Each print is still made by hand directly from Ansel’s original negatives, using his approach and methodology to ensure strict adherence to his standards and aesthetic.

To read more: http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-yosemite-special-edition-photographs/

Health Care Technology: Facebook Unveils Tool For “Preventative Health”

From a The Verge online article:

Facebook Preventative HealthThe tool is simply called Preventive Health, and is now available to Facebook users in the United States. It takes a user’s age and sex from their Facebook profile and provides them with a list of recommended screenings based on those two data points.

“Let’s say you’re 52 years old,” Freddy Abnousi, Facebook’s head of health care research, tells The Verge. “One of the things that will come to you — based on the American Cancer Society’s recommendations — is that you should have a colorectal cancer screening.” Abnousi says that the app will then give you more information about what kinds of tests are available, from a colonoscopy to a stool test or a CT scan. Abnousi hopes that users will then take what they’ve learned and talk to their primary care physician about what would be best for them. Users can also adjust the age and sex in the tool to get different screening recommendations without having it affect anything on their profile.

To read more: https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/28/20936541/facebook-preventative-health-cancer-heart-disease-flu-tool

Museum Exhibitions: “The Renaissance Of Etching” At The Metropolitan Museum Thru Jan. 20, 2020

From a MetMuseum.org online release:

The Renaissance of Etching Metropolitan Museum NYThis exhibition traces the first sixty years of the etched print (circa 1490 to circa 1560), from its emergence in the workshop of the German printmaker and armor decorator Daniel Hopfer to the years when a range of artists from Germany, Flanders, Italy, and France began experimenting with etching. Approximately 125 etchings, produced by both renowned and lesser-known artists, are displayed alongside a number of drawings, printing plates, illustrated books, and armor.

The history of printmaking has been punctuated by moments of great invention that have completely changed the course of the medium. The beginning of etching in Europe in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries—when the technique moved out of the workshop of armor decorators and into those of printmakers and painters—represents one of those pivotal moments. Etching, essentially drawing on the surface of a metal plate, had an ease that opened the door for all kinds of artists to make prints. The pioneers of the medium included some of the greatest painters of the Renaissance, such as Albrecht Dürer, Parmigianino, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

To read more: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/renaissance-of-etching

Elderly Housing Trends: “Almshouse” Movement In UK Urges “Sheltered, Independent Housing”

From a The Guardian online article:

Ken Worpole AlmshouseA new almshouse  movement, advocated by some experts, builds on a way of living dating back to the 10th century. Almshouses provide sheltered but independent housing, often around a central courtyard, at affordable rents. Many offer social activities, on-site maintenance and – crucially – links with external groups.

The housing industry should “focus on building communities made up of homes for rent that will meet the needs of all demographics and not just the 25- to 35-year-olds whose faces often adorn modern development hoardings.”

(Ken) Worpole has been involved with the development of a new almshouse in Bermondsey, south London, for United St Saviour’s, a 500-year-old charity. Construction is due to begin next spring and completed by the autumn of 2021.

Read more from Ken Worpole: https://www.eur.nl/sites/corporate/files/2018-06/KW.Rotterdam.2017.pdf

The project, says Worpole, “seeks to actively retain longstanding entanglement of residents with the life of the neighbourhood, old friendships, local parks, libraries, shops and social activities. It is open to the world and still part of everyday life.”

The site of the new homes is on a busy high street, and designed to be accessible to the general public. A glass-fronted “community lounge” will be available to local groups.

To read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/27/ageing-britain-housing-crisis-build-almshouses

Celebrity Interviews: Julie Andrews Reflects On Her Hollywood Career (PBS)

PBS Newshour Julie AndrewsLegendary entertainer Julie Andrews will receive the American Film Institute’s lifetime achievement award in 2020. In addition to her theatrical career, Andrews has published more than 30 children’s books with one of her daughters, writer and arts educator Emma Walton Hamilton. John Yang sits down with Andrews and Hamilton to discuss how the star focused on family even during her Hollywood heyday.

New History Books: “Dreams Of El Dorado” By H.W. Brands Offers “Broad Scope” To American West

From a Wall Street Journal online review:

Dreams of El Dorado H.W. BrandsThe so-called winning of the West is one of the fundamental dramas in American history, and Mr. Brands makes the most of his subject by quoting extensively from the participants’ own accounts. In his chapters on Lewis and Clark, he cites the explorers’ descriptions of the daunting cataracts on the Missouri and Columbia rivers and their reaction on reaching their goal. 

In “Dreams of El Dorado,” H.W. Brands has made his job even harder by taking on such a broad swath of western history, from Thomas Jefferson’s seminal purchase of Louisiana, in 1803, to Theodore Roosevelt’s sweeping measures to conserve western resources and landscapes, more than a century later. That’s a lot of history to crowd into just over 500 pages—as Mr. Brands no doubt appreciates, since his own books on Texan independence and the California Gold Rush were each somewhat longer than that.

To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/dreams-of-el-dorado-review-mountains-rivers-and-deserts-11572015889

Top Exhibitions: The Hudson River Museum Features Watercolorist James McElhinney

From a Hudson River Museum release:

The Hudson Museum James McElhinney ExhibitJames McElhinney: Discover the Hudson Anew presents the painter’s sketch books and prints related to the River in a comprehensive showing for the first time. A video program, animating turning pages, will allow visitors to see additional sketchbook paintings. McElhinney says he wants his art to demonstrate “that constructive dialogue between humanity and nature is alive and well, while underscoring how art provides durable and dynamic modes of engagement.”

Big ideas often come in small packages. James McElhinney has journeyed around the world with a pocket-size sketchbook and watercolor tin, communing with nature, and stopping to observe and record the glorious views around him. Fourteen years ago, during a period of convalescence, he used a sketchbook and watercolor to paint views from his hospital windows. That pragmatic decision was pivotal for the artist. He fell in love with the mobility and intimacy of this small-format media, which can be packed into the lining of a hiking vest, following in the footsteps of historical expeditionary artists. Since then, he has engaged in pictorial conversation with the Hudson River, always with materials on hand.

To read more: https://www.hrm.org/exhibitions/discover-the-hudson-anew/

Travel: Restored Hotel “Les Bains”, Paris Hosted Marcel Proust & Émile Zola Over Century Ago

From a The Spaces online review:

French literary greats Marcel Proust and Émile Zola visited Les Bains after its opening as a bathhouse in the late 19th century. Decades later in 1978, designer Philippe Stark transformed the place into a nightclub, welcoming a different calibre of guests through its doors. David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Karl Lagerfeld were among the people to make a splash at this Paris institution.

The new Les Bains hotel, revamped by architect Vincent Bastie, features a restored grand entrance that stays true to its Haussmannian roots. Designers Tristan Auer and Denis Montel were drafted in to design the interiors, while outdoor areas have also received an update, including the courtyard, opened up to draw in more light.

Hotel Les Bains Paris

Les Bains, the iconic Paris nightclub, has reopened as a 39-room hotel five years after partygoers last enjoyed a drink and a dance. It’s the latest chapter in the life of the 1885 Haussmannian building, which has played host to a who’s who of the creative world.

Les Bains will retain its famous party spirit when the bar, club and restaurant open later this month. And the likes of Jagger and Bowie might still feel the need to let their hair down when they step onto the dance floor, which mimics Stark’s chequered design from 1978.

 

Les Bains, 7 Rue du Bourg-l’Abbé 75003 Paris

Top New Travel Books: “Epic Journeys – 245 Life-Changing Aventures” (National Geographic)

From a National Geographic online release:

Epic Journey 245 Life Changing Adventures National GeographicTravelers are dreamers who act on their inspirations. The new National Geographic book Epic Journeys: 245 Life-Changing Adventures is for the people who go beyond their comfort zones to experience the wild beauty of the natural world. The book features adrenaline-fueled forays to all seven continents. (See the most breathtaking national parks around the world.)

While the spirit of exploration spans the globe, being an intrepid traveler doesn’t have to mean summiting Mount Everest or surveying icebergs in Antarctica. Some of the planet’s wildest places—launchpads for all sorts of discoveries about the world and yourself—are in North America’s national parks. We’ve selected 15 mind-blowing adventures to inspire your inner explorer.

To read more: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/15-epic-national-park-excursions/

New Camping Products: “Mock One” Portable Folding Hammock

  • Mock ONE V2.0 – Portable Folding Hammock with Stand
  • Use anywhere – No trees. No problem!
  • Includes sun shade, under basket and hammock carry wrap
  • Person weight limit: 250 lbs
  • Person height limit: 6’4″
  • Weight: 14.5 lbs
  • Opened Size:  67″L x 25”W x 31”H
  • Folded (carrying) Dimension: 11″L x 6″W x 33″H
  • Fabric: 210T parachute nylon (Stronger than 75D Nylon)
  • Frame: Durable Coated steel free standing hammock frame

Mock One Folding Hammock

Website: https://republicofdurablegoods.com/products/mock-one