Central Park Conservatory Garden

Saturday I visited the breathtakingly beautiful Conservatory Garden at the top of Central Park. Prior to this weekend, I had only visited the more popular southern parts of the Park: Sheep Meadow, the Lake, Belvedere Castle, and was once helplessly lost in the Bramble. The Conservatory Garden felt like it didn't belong in the same park; it was quiet and relatively free of tourists.

Chelsea Pathiakis, Conservatory Garden, 2017 

There were several fountains in the Garden, and a wedding taking place around the most gorgeous one, surrounded by willows and rows of flowers in every color. A cellist was playing as we walked through, and I found myself absolutely content in that moment. I plan to return soon.

Irving Penn: Centennial

In the nearly debilitating humidity of this weekend, I made my way over to The Met to view the Irving Penn: Centennial, on display through July 30. Penn's work was a staple in lessons throughout art school: as a pioneer in studio portraiture, an example of medium format mastery, and a precedent for composition. I have always admired his work, especially his "Small Trades" series, and his still life work. 

Irving Penn, Small Trades, 1950-1951

Irving Penn, Small Trades, Chamois Seller, London, 1950

Irving Penn, Still Life with Watermelon, 1947

When I turned the corner into one of the last exhibition rooms, I was pleasantly surprised to see a portrait of Joan Didion. I've been reading her "White Album" over the past few weeks, and while I'm no stranger to her appearance, it's always interesting to be reminded of the wide scope of her impact.

Irving Penn, Joan Didion, New York, 1996

Julia Hetta, Part II

Further inspiration courtesy of Julia Hetta. Her work is currently on view at the Grundemark Nilsson Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden grundemarknilsson.se

Anyone want to send me a ticket?

Julia Hetta, The Sealed Room, Rodeo Magazine, Fall 2011 

I recently learned her brother, Hannes Hetta, is a stylist, also represented by Art + Commerce. The siblings have collaborated on several editorials.

Julia Hetta, Between the Folds, Dazed and Confused Magazine, March 2016
Styled by Hannes Hetta 

Roaming for A Year

As this is not a Leap Year, I have chosen today to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of my Roaming project. 

Over the last year, I have learned so much about myself as a photographer. I've learned to slow down, even more so than when I was in Greece, I've made an effort to focus more on the composition of my shots - an extra few seconds of set up make so much difference, and I've learned when not to take a photo. The third lesson has been the most important one so far. 

If I'm setting up a shot and I can't see a use for the photo beyond taking up space, if I can't see it posted to my website or my Instagram feed, if it doesn't truly excite me, I walk away. While the lesson doesn't apply to everything - goofing off with my friends or boyfriend, maybe there's a cute dog - it applies strongly to my art. It's another shift in perspective that I wasn't expecting, just like the one that put me on the path to this project.

So what comes next? I'll keep Roaming, searching for scenes that inspire me, and discovering new parts of New York City. 

Christmas at Gantry Plaza

Mum and Dad came down for Christmas again this year and we decided to take everything nice and slow. We have done all the touristy stuff in the past: see the tree at Rockefeller Center, watched people ice skate, walked around Central Park, etc. On Christmas Day, we decided to take the train over to Court Square and walk around down by the water at Gantry Plaza State Park.

The park has been suggested to me a few times since I've lived in Queens but I've never found a reason to make the trek down there. The weather was gorgeous, and I finally got to see what all the fuss is about: striking views of the Manhattan skyline, an architecturally intriguing boardwalk, new construction on Central Boulevard, and the Long Island City ferry port, currently closed for the season.

I haven't been shooting much lately due to the frigid temperatures, but in the fifty-degree weather yesterday, with my iPhone and brand new Instax Wide camera, I was making photos left and right. It felt great to be #roaming again. I've made plans with my friend Dan for next week to go out shooting in the city, but I might suggest we change our locale to the area around Gantry since there's so much more to see.

Chelsea Pathiakis Gantry Plaza Boardwalk, 2016

Julia Hetta

Another photographer whose work I discovered via brief involvement with Art + Commerce is Julia Hetta. Working almost exclusively with natural light and long exposures, I find her work to be highly surreal; in some cases in the style of some Surrealist artists from the 1920s, namely Man Ray and Salvador Dali. Her use of rich, deep tones and occasionally eerie portraiture finds me intensely captivated.

My favorite of her photo sets was published in AnOther Magazine in September of 2015, entitled Cushion Volume Down Constrict. I find this set to be one of the most surreal, and almost haunting. 

Cushion Volume Down Constrict, September 2015

Cushion Volume Down Constrict, September 2015

The last two photographs scream Man Ray and Dali, respectively.

Between gorgeous compositions paired with such striking natural light, if ever I was to go down the path of fashion photography, Julia Hetta's work would top my list of inspirational sources.

Where No One Stands Alone, Another Man, Autumn/Winter 2016

William Abranowicz & Henry Miller

At the beginning of October I was briefly in contact with the artist agency Art + Commerce, which lead to the discovery of a few photographers whose work I've come to deeply admire. I had first been introduced to the agency as a fashion photography intern, doing aesthetic research for upcoming shoots. The agency represents some of the most prolific and renowned image makers of this era, and also holds licenses for the estates of artists who have passed on. Stephen Shore, Patrick Demarchelier, Craig McDean, and Steven Meisel are among the artists with whose work I was already familiar; William Abranowicz had been on my radar since my internship.

My attention was first caught by William Abranowicz's The Greek File as I was fresh from a trip to the mythic land myself, and easily captivated by anything Greece-related. Already galvanized by the work of Herbert List (see earlier posts), I was hit with another wave of inspiration upon seeing another monograph dedicated to the place that changed me, not only as a photographer but as a person.

The Greek File: Santorini, 1991

The Greek File: Santorini, 1998

Abranowicz captures the essence of Greece in much the same way that I attempted when I was there. It's so easy to be caught up by the the things you're supposed to see when visiting a new place, but he made an effort to see past the attractions to the stripped-down core of Greek culture. There are no cliched portraits of monuments.

The beginning of the monograph has a beautifully written introduction by Edmund Keeley, followed by an excerpt from The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller. So enchanted was I by Miller's words, that I found a copy of the book, and have been reading it slowly over the past few weeks. The way he describes his time in Greece, the interactions he had with people, the places he visited, especially the overwhelming sense of peace and calm he experienced upon visiting Epidaurus, has continually brought my own experiences flooding back each time I pick up the book. 

"At Epidaurus, in the stillness, in the great peace that came over me, I heard the heart of the world beat. I know what the cure is: it is to give up, to relinquish, to surrender, so that our little hearts may beat in unison with the great heart of the world."