Blonde Nocturne - but no more than two

The lyrics quoted in the footnote of the post below: "Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes . . . " are from the classic pop tune "Hey There" recorded best by Rosemary Clooney (you know, George's aunt!) and a #1 on the Billboard chart in 1954.



In keeping with the smokey Blonde Nocturne theme, see Duffy - you may know her as the Anti-Amy ["Whine"-house] here - I'm not so sure about the video production of "Warwick Avenue" - one extended, closeup, static shot - but she is surely chanelling someone from 60s Motown there - the tune is reminiscent of tracks by Smokey Robinson or the Temptations.

(Or are you not seein' things too clear?)

Star Parties

The San Francisco Amateur Astronomers are sponsoring three upcoming star parties, out at Lands End, San Francisco, part of the "100 Hours of Astronomy" event this week. See The Urban Astronomer Blog (which, BTW will now have a link on our Blog - see to right) for all the details.

As Paul Salazar (TUA) points out, people outside SF can check the "100 Hours" website for events in their area.

(Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes . . .)

Kind of Blue Nocturne

"Everybody knows what Kind of Blue is." (Ron Carter)

A poignant little note here, we think. Year 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the recording of Miles Davis' landmark work "Kind of Blue."



We referred to this recording in the original prospectus for the "Blue Nocturne" and the newly acquired CD has been in constant rotation of late.

To commemorate this event Columbia Records last year released the 50th Anniversary Edition (multi-disk) and just this year a "Legacy Edition" (two less disks the Anniversary version). We been stewards for two album (elpee) versions of the recording, at least one CD release, and now the Legacy edition. Just a C-note (and that's not a musical reference in this instance!) away from acquiring the full 4-disc Anniversary edition! Now, if you REALLY want to support The Nocturnes you could check out our Wish List (Navbar to the right) - it's listed there.

("I can see for miles . . .")

Blue Nocturne

Bonneville Speedway, Study VI by Adam Kuehl

Our latest online exhibit of Night Photography is now available for viewing here. Why not have a look or two and let us know what you think, by leaving a comment below.

(From the desk of The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man)

What I LIKE about the Internet, Part Two . . . or Three

On a rainy Sun[NOT]day in Northern California - nothing quite like the warm tones of Jack Casady's bass (dubbed "Mission Control" by the members of Jefferson Airplane) and some Hot Tuna. "Hesitation Blues," circa 1970. This gem, courtesy of the Internet and YouTube.

I guess when they did the on-screen credits, they knew Jack needed no introduction . . .




(Tell me how long, do I have to wait . . .)

Call for Entries

Please, DO ENTER! The Nocturnes.com invites all interested artists to enter our latest online Night Photography Exhibition, Blue Nocturne. This competition is open to all Night Photographers (NPrs), all photo media - and film cameras are OK, too! We ask only that your final outcome would normally be a fine photographic print - b/w, color, alternative, fuzzy focus, whatever - presenting mysterious, riveting nocturnal imagery.

A Blue Nocturne is the visual equivalent of the "high lonesome," the rhythms of the Delta, the Crossroads, and the Ghost of Robert Johnson (again, with the music references!), as well as the "tungsten-blue" palette of some of the best in NPy. It's work that exists in a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440-490 nm, and is "Kind of Blue," too! It's the cold, steely hue of a noir crime scene, and shooting "night for day." It's the near-frozen atmosphere that gives us Northern Lights in those extreme northern latitudes of the planet. It's homage to the color of the oceans of that same watery planet; and the color field and the abstraction of neon on rain-dampened streets. It's what you think a Blue Nocturne . . . is.

Altar of Repose, Copyright Stu Jenks

The Juror for Blue Nocturne is none other than Fezziwig Blogger, Stu Jenks - a returning Juror, whose work can be found at his site. Two (2) Awards will be awarded at the Juror's discretion - a Best of Show and an Honorable Mention; and the amount of prize money awarded is dependent on the number of entries received and selected for exhibition.

But you'll need to hurry, tho' - the deadline to submit entries is February 28, 2009 - all the details are here.

("Blue Nocturne, on a lonely highway . . . ")

After Dark

Long time Nocturne Tom Paiva shows recent large format Night Photography of the SF Bay Bridge Eastern Span reconstruction. Also included - new urban industrial night images shot in the past year.

February 18 - April 30, 2009 at the LunchStop Cafe, in the Joseph P. Bort Metro Center, first floor. Reception is this Thursday, February 19, 2009, from 4:30 to 7pm. Details in the PDF for the show here.

(From the desk of The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man)

Randoom Notes

Only amateurs need apply . . .
Simon Norfolk's appraisal of the current WW economic crisis, from a photographer's point of view - first seen on Conscientious

UPDATE . . . And the NYTimes would seem to agree:
"The Boom Is Over. Long Live the Art!"

Only one space left . . .
While viewing Joe Reifer's recent successes in ghost-tracking out at the Albany Bulb - we found an announcement for the second Pearsonville Night Photography and Light Painting Workshop, which he and Troy Paiva are conducting - WAIT! - now I see there's a waiting list!

A few more spaces here . . .
BTW, if you can't make it in to the Workshop (above), you might consider checking in with The Nocturnes the same weekend - we're holding one of our highly-sought-after AlumNight events (more like an open house) out on Mare Island. We also have a few spots open - details here.

And here, you can still see . . .
Some of Joe Reifer's earlier work at the Bulb on The Nocturnes site. As a Curator's Choice award winner in the show This is Not Your Father's Nocturne - check it out here.

(From the desk of The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man)

"Fly me to the moon . . ."

Lunar Eclipse w/ "Ghost Ship" sculpture (site - MISHP)
NPy by Tim Baskerville

Did you know that I'll be leading an introductory NPy Workshop on Mare Island this weekend - as part of the SF Bay Area Flyway Festival? Sorry, but the Workshop is already full (to overflowing, actually - 40 registrants!) - but a diurnal visit to the Flyway Festival can be great fun, too!

If you go, be sure to check out the Art Exhibit at the festival - I have 3 NPy images (from medium-format) in the show!

("Let me see what spring is like, on Jupiter and Mars.")

Works of Charity . . .

The Bay School, 2006 by Charity Vargas

"The night is my companion,
and solitude my guide.
Would I spend forever here,
and not be satisfied?"
- Sarah McLachlin

Released just last month, "The Presidio: Portraits of a Changing Landscape" by Charity Vargas is a beautiful, 116 page hardcover "coffee table" book. Comprised of 58 B/W plates that depict the site's historical, natural, and cultural location - including both vintage naming conventions, as well as current reuse names to convey the sense of transformation that is taking place in San Francsico's very own National Park.

Ms. Vargas' work, this portrait of the Presidio, first came to my attention when she was in a NPy class (Fall 2006) I taught at the University of California, Berkeley Campus. There, immersed as we were, in a similar landscape of history, cultural impact, and the 'natural' world ("controlled wildness" as she calls it) our group looked over some initial work prints of images she had done at night in the Presidio. We critiqued politely, pointing out future directions to go, asking questions about where she thought the project should go, etc.

Now - in full disclosure - I'm a big fan of the Presidio (as well as Ms. Vargas) - I have been photographing and doing business there from a time when it was an active, 'open base" and I still find myself there on various errands, etc. - at least once-a-week. In fact, I remember escorting one of Steve Harper's Academy of Art NPy classes there in the early 80s, when a few members of our party (for that was what they tended to be, back in the day . . . ) were held and "interviewed" by half a dozen MPs - even in a pre 9/11 world, it was a very dicey endeavor to run around with camera gear on a military base! But, "No harm done - just look alive!"

Charity's work in the Presidio, as viewed in this remarkable text, represents what my earlier attempts to photogrpah there at night could only approach. As a resident of the park, she's able to deliver a sustained, thoughtful, and reverential portrait of a landscape in transition. I think I've had similar good fortune with the work that I've done on Mare Island recently, in a similar situation. About the closest I've come to presenting such an intimate, yet comprehensive view of the Presidio in this transformative state was an art exhibit which I curated for the Presidio Alliance (a base reuse "watchdog" group, now defunct). "Presidio Nocturnes" (2001) featured the work of 25 artists, who utilized NPy as a means to show some of the transformations occurring on the base at the time. The lyrics quoted at the opening of this Blog were part of the Curator's Statement for the exhibit, as well as this: "These images sing of transformation. The drab, industrial mixed-use areas of the Presidio are transformed here into something magical, beautiful, just as the Presidio itself is changing daily, turning swords into plowshares." (Read full text here)

Anyway - back to Charity's book (I tend to go long-winded in terms of topics like this!) - I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Presidio (or other reuse projects), Night Photography, or current B/W Photography. Particular highlights for this reviewer:
Plate 1 - Late Night at the Internet Archive, 2006
Plate 40 - The Presidio Golf Course, 2006
Plate 55 - Candlelight Tour of Fort Point, 2006 - you can view these and all the images at the book's Web site - information about where you can purchase the book is also included - and you can purchase thru the Books Section of The Nocturnes Web site, as well.

What amazes me still, is that while I recognize the locations, I never really saw them "that way!" Charity's emphasis on the trees, the structures and the shadows of the former military post is cinematic, at times almost, "noir."

The fact that just by viewing the images in Charity's book, can bring back these fond memories of a place we could have easily called home (the ashes of our first Golden Retriever, Olwen are scattered in one of the forests there - just one of many links to this place in time) is a testament to Charity's ability to capture the essence of this amazing "timescape."

("This ain't off-limits, anymore . . .")