Thursday, August 9, 2012

Favorite Pic of the Day for August 10th


Above:
Summer by Greg Sage
-See More Below-

Happy Birthday today August 10th



Actor Justin Theroux (below in Six Feet Under) turns 40 today. Check out more of today's birthday's HERE:

Pomp and Circumstance



I love the Olympics, but as a television event, it has become the mother of all reality shows. The networks (this time NBC) profiles every athlete as a tragic hero, whose stories are exploited to the point their actual athleticism becomes close to being irrelevant.



One athlete, who I first profiled last year, has a story worth telling. Oscar Pistorius almost lost his chance at the finals when a runner collided with South Africa's Ofentse Mogawane as he made his way around the final bend in the second leg of the race. Pistorius was set to run next, but could only stare in disbelief at what had just happened. Pistorius and his South African teammates are moving on to the 4x400-meter relay final however after officials awarded an extra spot in the final following a successful protest by South Africa.




Blade Runner: Oscar Pistorius
First published on FH, December 2011


'You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.'
Oscar Pistorius



I had not heard of Oscar Pistorius until I was recently flipping though this years Man Of The Year issue of GQ. I was immediately in love with the man and his story. The South African sprint runner, known as the Blade Runner and the fastest man on no legs is the world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres. Reading how Oscar has been criticized for having an unfair advantage over other athletes due to his disability and prosthetic legs was beautifully ironic!






Last two images by Tetsuharu Kubota


Oscar Pistorius official site:

The Simplicity of Summer: Greg Sage Photography



'I keep the science out of the art as much as possible, simplicity sets me apart.'



Photographer Greg Sage believes photography should be fun. For the Atlanta artist, making it fun is a must. What started out as a hobby 25 years ago has become a celebration of art, not to mention a beautiful release. For many photographers, their art is often restricted to evenings and weekends, weekdays are for a job that pays the bills. For Greg Sage, the only free time he has to shoot is during the day. Greg's nights are filled managing nightclubs throughout the US, and preparing for the opening a new restaurant in Indianapolis.



When your a kid the twelve months of a year tend to revolve around three things; school, Christmas and the summer. School is something you must get through in order for the other two to arrive. Summer vacation seemed to go on forever and time was forced to take a back seat during the long summer days.



I am fortunate to have a job where the summer remains a time for slowing down and taking it easy. Now that we are close to mid August however, the signs that summer is coming to a close are already beginning. Slightly cooler nights, the sound of the crickets and earlier sunsets are marking the transition. The images created by Greg Sage are to me, distinctly before these changes begin. Greg's images imply mid summer, when time is not important and life has slowed down, if only for a moment.



I love the sunlit men captured through Greg's lens. Each of Greg's models appear to have been captured in the middle of a beautiful lazy summer afternoon. Greg's goal and desire for simplicity sets his images apart and there is a quiet ease and beautiful lack of urgency which I really loved. So many images of the male form freeze heightened moments of intensity, the men in Greg's images appear in no hurry to leave or move beyond the environment in which they are in.



In addition to the male form, Greg says he shoots all kinds of photos, for all kinds of occasions; from photo content for magazines and catalogs to calendars, CD covers and greeting cards. Greg also specializes in helping models of all experience levels develop and diversify their portfolios.




Beyond The Temple: HOMELAND



Claire Danes was built for television. Her skill and complexity as an actress need the time that a tv series allows. In movies, I find it difficult to connect ot her characters, but on television Danes shines. It seems for the past 10 years (I know it was only 1, but it seemed like much more), the only place I saw Danes was on award shows, accepting awards, and giving shout outs out to the woman she won them for, Temple Grandin. I never saw the movie, it felt like saw enough, and knew enough about her from all her appearances on the red caret.



I am loving Danes return to television as the bi-polar operations officer Carrie Mathison on Homeland. Thanks to a friends recommendation, I am five shows in to the shows first season. Danes and co-star Damian Lewis are electric and the writing is smart, funny and often terrifying. Lewis is an incredible combination of heartbreaking, disturbed and intensely scary and scenes of his capture and torture are both difficult to watch, and impossible to miss. If you have not caught Homeland, or if like me, the subject matter has kept you away, I strongly recommend you give it a shot.



Damian Lewis





Mandy Patinkin


I am a huge fan of Mandy Patinkin the singer and Patinkin the stage actor. On television however his track record is to leave shows mid way through their run. Hoping he bucks this trend on Homeland. Patinkin is perfect as Saul, the mentor with an strong but slightly unhealthy relationship to Danes' Carrie.

Below: Patinkin in Yentl (1983)