For anyone who missed it, here are Jay Z & Alicia Keys performing "Empire State Of Mind" before last night's Game 2 in the World Series at Yankee Stadium. The ball players expressions are priceless - a mixture of bemusement and enjoyment! And it did the trick for the New York Yankees who went on to win the game 3 -1 to tie the series at 1 -1.
I don't know how I missed this one. But seeing as this is turning out to be the week of The Year in Pictures "Believe It Or Not" edition, here is a photograph that from all accounts I've read is not a fake.
Melissa and Jackson Brandt had set the auto-timer on their camera while posing by Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park in Canada. Just as the shutter was about to click, the squirrel popped up in the foreground, becoming yet another unwitting star of the internet.
According to Melissa: "We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot." The picture was submitted to the website of National Geographic magazine and from there began to make its way round the world.
The couple appeared on The Today Show where Matt Lauer grilled them over the picture's authenticity, but after further investigation he apologized and declared he was satisfied that the picture was real and un-doctored.
Assuming this is not made using any special effects, this is one of the most amazing videos I have seen in terms of both content and cinematography. (Once the video has started, I suggest you click the button that comes up to the right of the HQ button at the bottom of the picture to view this full screen.)
Just over five years ago, the photographer Robert Maxwell began doing a series of portraits for The New York Times Magazine called “The Originals”. The idea was to highlight creative individualists who all had a certain style and the series jumped out of the gate at a high level and has been cruising along up there ever since. Maxwell’s pictures don’t try to knock you over the head with gimmicks or surprises. He’s more of a traditionalist, but lately his classicism has reached a new depth. He’s still absorbed with surface but it’s now balanced with an equal interest in what’s beneath. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photographer looking so deeply into people’s eyes both literally and figuratively.
This past weekend’s portfolio on the stars of the film “Precious” is a great example. But in particular I would draw your attention to the two pictures of the movie’s star, Gabourey Sidibe – one on the cover and one inside. What stands out for me is the amazing dignity and presence with which he has photographed someone who is so overweight. I’m not an apologist for obesity, but at a time where issues of weight, health, and body image, are being hotly debated – these pictures present an interesting and artful talking point.
