Ambulando Discimus

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Photo of the Day - Pip's Domain

I came across this card that my friend and fellow photographer Larissa sent me a while ago and realized, "This is where Pip lives now." Pip is the red-tailed hawk that thousands of people -- Larissa and me included -- watched as she incubated, hatched and fledged into these trees of Washington Square 57 years after André Kertész took this brilliant photo.

All of this Pip-watching was possible thanks to a web cam that was installed in the office of the president of New York University and focused on the nest on the ledge outside his window. It was fun to be part of the community of people who watched Pip's progress (and named her) and who still follow her as she transitions to adult hawk.

There are some great websites that chronicle her progress, including the New York Times Hawk Cam blog, Urban Hawks by photographer Bruce Yolton, Roger Paw (the pseudonym of a NYC resident whose blog features some wonderful video of Pip in the trees of the park), and Washington Square Park Hawks, which has a link to a boutique of Pip products. Yep, that's right -- Pip is now a brand.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Rodrigo y Gabriela

I discovered Rodrigo y Gabriela while researching Flamenco-style acoustic guitars and this song and video totally blew me away. Gabriela's rhythm style and technique are absolutely amazing. I want to be Rodrigo for a day -- or a year. Their story is equally amazing. There is an excellent music sampler on the PBS web page of their 2009 interview. Their album 11:11 features 11 songs dedicated to 11 artists who influenced them, including Hanuman for Carlos Santana. Most recently, they collaborated with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for the new Pirates of The Caribbean movie.

My interest in Flamenco-style guitar was sparked by watching the concert film developed for PBS about Jesse Cook's The Rumba Foundation. I wanted a guitar like his, of course, but couldn't afford the 13 grand for a Condé Hermanos. Nor could I afford the three grand for Gabriela's signature model Yamaha, so I settled on the Cordoba Gypsy Kings Studio model, which I fell in love with over the weekend. Along with Gabriela Quintero.