You Can Never Have Too Many Fridas

Photo: SFMOMA/K. Davidson, S. Stein

Photo of the Day
From a 2008 Frida Kahlo exhibition at SFMOMA, many Fridas gathered at Rene Yanez's Pasion por Frida. 
Frida would have turned 105 last Friday.

South Valley TKO: The Boxing Chapel!

 repu

In Albuquerque's South Valley, at the busy intersection of Bridge Blvd. and Five Points, is the site of a former historic church. NM has many beautiful old adobe churches, and I often stop to admire--and take a photo.

But sneak around front and it becomes something a bit less...holy. More like...Holyfield.

Inside this repurposed church is one of the busiest boxing gyms in Albuquerque. No pews or altar inside, just a ring and some bags. Amateur boxer Marcos "Bad Boy" Hernandez runs the place, as somewhere troubled South Valley kids can go to learn the sport, along with some discipline and respect. I am, of course, KTFO'ed.

Photo: Jose Leon Castillo

More at: http://newmexicoboxing.com/only-good-intentions-for-bad-boy

Photo of the Day

Seattle, Freemont near the missile. Photo by Heidi Utz.

Photo of the Day - Fort Bragg Angel

Photo by Heidi Utz. Please credit when using.

Urban development over time can create such fascinating juxtapositions. I shot this in a cemetery in Ft. Bragg, CA, in summer 2009.

Leisure Suits - Photos of Txema Salvans

When the temps are soaring close to 100 degrees, it's hard not to think, perhaps obsessively, of vacation and leisure. In Txema Salvans' photographic universe, what we do to recreate can be anything from droll to overtly amusing.  

The Spanish photographer seems to capture moments when humans create whimsy through their very earnestness in trying to relax. The photos' warmth suggest that it's ok to be yet another  benny, shoobie, tacky tourist, or weekend warrior.


















As far as las turistas go, seemingly life on the Mediterranean coast is not all that different from summer at the Jersey shore.














And nothing screams, "Apocalypse, Now!" better than the backdrop of a beachfront refinery...















Pursue more pleasure at: http://www.txemasalvans.com.

Interview at: http://www.thegreatleapsideways.com/?ha_exhibit=the-waiting-game-an-interview-with-txema-salvans.

Photos of Cristina Garcia Rodero

Since I first ran across Espana Oculta: Public Celebrations in Spain, 1974-1989, I have loved the work of Spanish documentary photographer Cristina Garcia Rodero. Her first book, Jewish Roots in Spain, is also fascinating. In April 2011, she published Transtempo, in which she photographs local festivities in Northern Spain's Galicia region. The veteran documentarian shoots rituals, such as Haitian voodoo, Burning Man, and traditional Spanish pagan and Catholic festivals. It's beautiful as ethnography alone; however, elements of the mystical and the occult add a transcendence that elevates it to art. She resides in Madrid.

Photo of the Day

beautiful lady of the trees & sky, taken fall 2008, Ashland, Oregon