The estate sale down in Westchester last weekend was such a huge success that we decided to do our own in Beacon. This one will consist of antiques and vintage items leftover from other sales, stuff from Mario’s clean outs and pieces I want to move along so I can make room for new merchandise. My spring line, if you will. We’re also taking on some consignments from local dealers. There’s a garage full of cheap, cheap goodies, plus an apartment full of reasonably priced better stuff.

I just started photographing some of the merch and uploaded to Flickr. I’ll have more photos up by next week.

This sale coincides with Beacon’s Second Saturday. Come for the day, stop by us, go to DIA, go gallery hopping at night! I’ll get the list of openings up here soon too. How does that sound?

WHEN: Saturday, March 14

TIME: 8:30am-4:30pm

WHERE: 69 Verplanck Avenue, Beacon, NY

Helloooo Fussball!!!!!!!!

Humor me here. So, the other day I was photographing a house full o’ goodies for my first estate sale (more on that later). Everything was going swimmingly until I got to this table near a window in the basement. I kept getting glare on the top, so I had someone hold a sheet over the window. As you can see, he didn’t do a very good job. Anyway, check out the series of photos. First of all, they are the only shots of the day that are out of focus. The camera was on a tripod. But what really puzzles me is that “thing” that appeared in every shot, even when I changed the position of the table. If nobody can tell me what is is, I’m going with my original theory that it’s a ghost.

The baby pram was in the same room and I thought it could have been that crown reflecting the light. I moved the pram and the mysterious orb was still there. Then I thought it could be my camera or lens. The pram shot was taken immediately after the table shots and it’s perfect.

So, as I reported yesterday, I’m taking much of my salvage and vintage flea crap and upcycling it for the winter season. I’m doing this partially because I only have one more outdoor day at the Brooklyn Flea and partially because, well, it’s the holidays and nobody is buying furniture as gifts.

Ok, so I woke up at 5am and got right to work. A few distractions here and there, some breaks, but by quittin’ time, I had only finished five pieces. WTF? Am I a dimwit or something?

What I want to know is this: How do people find enough hours in the day to produce several pieces, photograph them, measure and write text, then upload them to Flickr, Etsy and other stores? And I think some of these people have full time jobs!

And don’t get me started on the days I have to cook get take out, clean, do laundry and pay bills! Who are these superpeople and how can I become one of them?

So, hey, come bring me hot chocolate at the Brooklyn Flea this Sunday where I’ll be freezing my ass off. The following 2 weeks I get to do the Gifted show because I bitched and moaned and he just wanted to shut me up. Squeaky wheel gets the oil!

**Archive. Originally posted October 30, 2007.

So, you think you wanna sell your own home? It’s no picnic, I’ll tell you that. But if you have the time and patience, you can save thousands on broker’s fees. It is true that many a FSBO ends up a broker’s listing because people step into it blindly. Just make sure you do the research and have the personality to handle it. (more…)

Construction Workers on Crossbeam, 1932

As a follow up to Friday’s photo post, I’d like to share some of my favorite moments of NYC’s history captured on film.

If you’re thinking of something to hang on your wall and not worried about investment value, the Library of Congress is a great resource, as I mentioned in the last post. The NY Times Store also sells fiber based prints starting at under $200.

There was a time I thought I was the reincarnation of Weegee. To this day, he’s on my top 3 photographers list. His images captured the raw, “naked” streets of NYC during the 40’s. Arthur Fellig got the name Weegee (Ouija) due to his arrival on the scene moments after the tragedy occurred. His car was equipped with a police scanner and darkroom. Some say Weegee’s pictures were set up. “The Critic”, above, was actually a set up. Weegee got the broad on the right drunk at a Bowery bar and set her loose on the two society dames. It was planned but it wasn’t posed.

This gal is brave! Although Margaret Bourke-White is the one credited with this image (that’s her atop the Chrysler), it was her assistant, Oscar Graubner who snapped the shot. But MBW was no slouch. The premier issue of Life magazine featured one of her images. She was also the first western photographer to go to the Soviet Union.

Erwitt is alive and well and (I think) still living in NYC. He’s the guy with all of those dog images. Probably his most famous one is the little Chihuahua at the feet of a Great Dane. “NY Pug” is more of a NY stoop scene that it is about the dogs, which is why I chose it for both this post and my wall. Yeah, it was one of my splurges.

The Flatiron is by far my favorite building in NYC. And this Edward Steichen photo, shot in 1904 is my favorite image of it. Steichen added color to the platinum print by using layers of pigment suspended in a light-sensitive solution of gum arabic and potassium bichromate. Take that, you digital photographers! If I ever develop the time or patience, I would love to take a course in old printing methods.

Gordon Parks died about 2 years ago at the age of 93. He grew up in a poverty stricken home in segregated Kansas and went on to become an award winning photographer, writer and film maker, paving the way for other African American artists. He was the first black photographer at Life magazine. FYI, Did you know he directed “Shaft“?

This image, taken in 1948, features sixteen-year-old Red Jackson, the leader of one of the toughest gangs in New York. After gaining the trust of the Harlem gang, Parks spent some time photographing them. Forty years later, Parks ran into Jackson at Penn Station. What happened? Ah, you have to read his book to find out.

Ok, the tour ends here. I have so many more, but I can be here for weeks. Let me know if this is of interest to you. If not, I’ll stop boring you with it.

If you think I’m not going to take advantage of the holiday to get a couple of days off, you’re wrong. The readership for this blog has been slowly climbing since we launched in September. That means many of you weren’t around since day one. Take this opportunity to catch up on everything you’ve missed.

If you do not know the answers to the following questions, you haven’t been paying enough attention.

Happy Thanksgiving! See you Monday.

1. What 2 places do we call home?

2. What is the term used for letting grout or concrete sit awhile after mixing?

3. In what country is The Hobbit Home located?

4. What is Bitter Apple?

5. Name 2 companies that offer high efficiency toilets.

6. Who are Eddie, Stan and Ken?

7. Who is Peter Wing?

8. What company makes countertops out of shredded counterfit money?

9. During which war did Alpine and Jasper share a romance?

10. What type of essential oil keeps the mice away?

11. True or False. You should wear a paper dust mask when stripping lead paint.

12. What ISO is recommended when photographing an interior?

13. What is the name of the Zero VOC paint made in Brooklyn?

14. Name 2 must have tools for your home.

15. Why is Zinc often used for oyster bar countertops?

16. What should you ask for before accepting an offer on your FSBO?

17. What is Nyctohylophobia?

18. What is smudging?

19. True or False. To fix a plaster crack, just spread some joint compound over the crack.

20. Where did the wainscot siding for our trash bin enclosure come from?

Before: Quick Snap

Tripod with Wide Angle. Focal point is the fireplace, not dining room table.

Before: Quick Snap

Tripod with Wide Angle. Polished table and opened curtains.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Since this site will be focusing on DIY, I realized that some industry professionals may accuse me of putting their livelihoods in jeopardy. To be fair, the first DIY tip I’m offering is that of my own profession: photography.

Before you even think of whipping out your camera, prepare your subject. Make sure you clear away clutter, make your bed, close toilet lids.

You’ll need proper camera equipment. If you don’t own any, you can rent at Alkit, Adorama, Calumet or Fotocare to name a few. Make sure you have a camera that is capable of manual exposures. You’ll also want a wide lens on this baby. There’s nothing I hate to see more than a photo of someone’s furniture because the lens wasn’t wide enough to capture the whole room. A tripod is the final key ingredient.

I sometimes light the room, but it’s fine to shoot solely with natural light. Roll up all window shades, open curtains, turn on all lights and set your camera to a slow shutter speed to pick up ambient light. 400 ISO should be sufficient with a tripod. An 8+ F stop should give you enough depth of field. You must read the meter for your exact exposure. If you have an on camera flash, feel free to use it for fill and color balance.

Obviously, you want to focus on the room’s best features: light and detail. I always like to get those window in….with sun shining!

If you shoot large RAW format, you can edit the photos without doing damage to the files. Make all adjustments while the photos are still a large resolution and then change it to a smaller 72 DPI for online viewing.

And there you have it. My trade secrets.

Photos:

B: The focus is on the dining room table. There are burnt out light bulbs. The image is not out of focus, but rather pixelated due to it being worked on at too low a resolution.

A: A wider lens allows us to see the 2 windows in the room. And oh, what’s this? Wood floors! Didn’t see that in the first image! The long exposure, plus fill flash makes the main feature of the room (the mantle) pop.

B1: Hmm, dusty dining room table.

A1: Again, wider lens allows us to see more. Whereas the first image concentrates on the one room (or just the table, really), here we can see the full double parlor in all it’s glory. The second room is lit, bringing it into the photo as well.