Stationery card

Ho Ho Hope Christmas Card

Browse Shutterfly's unique Christmas card designs.

View the entire collection of cards.

San Diego’s Urban Tree Project

Every year, the port of San Diego selects the work of 30 artists tasked with creating sculptures representing their vision of an urban tree. The “trees” are displayed along San Diego’s Embarcadero boardwalk and the exhibit makes for a refreshing perspective.
View previous and current exhibits and learn more about the Urban Tree project.

Peter Feldstein's Oxford Project

I initially came accross The Oxford Project while reading June's edition of the Smithsonian newletter. In 1984, Peter Feldstein photographed almost all of the population of Oxford, Iowa (670 of 673). More than 2 decades later, in 2005 , he decided to photograph them all again creating a very interesting photo documentary of the town's population.
Last week, while catching up on my podcasts, I caught an interview segment of Feldstein on Public Radio program Weekend America. What is interesting to see is how people photograph the same way; their posture, hands and feet position and the way they project themselves.

Photography Exhibit - Democratic Republic of Congo, The Forgotten War

Democratic Republic of Congo - The Forgotten War is an exhibition by renowned photographers who traveled with Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without borders. The exhibit runs from March 16 - May 6, 2006 at Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles.

Gordon Parks' Legacy

Gordon Parks, accomplished photographer, filmmaker, musician and writer died at age 93. He was the first black photographer at Life Magazine and the first black person to direct a major Hollywood motion picture (Shaft). Another major accomplishment of his includes his autobiographical novel titled The Learning Tree of which he made a movie later on.
I first saw an interview of his on CNN and have been a fan ever since. What strikes me most about Gordon Parks and his photography is his ability to establish a relationship with his subjects talking to them about their struggles and hopes, and later his willingness to be involved in the life of those he had reported on well after his assignment was over.
His assignments covered among other subjects poverty in the US, the civil rights movement and a reportage on the slums of Brazil.
The Gordon Parks Photography Competition is a yearly contest honoring his work.

More about his life and his accomplishments.

Werner Bishof: Life and Work

Leaving the Ivory Tower is an online essay on the life and work of Werner Bischof, photographer for Magnum. Originally from Switzerland, Bischof was formally trained as a photographer and documented the Europe after WWII. In the early 1950's, he traveled extensively and documented famine stricken Bihar (India), life and socio-economic issues in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Indochina. Bishof died at the early age of 38 in an accident in Peru. The essay is commented by Marco Bischof, Werner Bischof's son.

Can I Crash on your Couch?

Here is a site for those interested in meeting the locals while traveling on a budget: Couch Surfing where almost 50,000 couches in over 180 countries are available for you to crash on. You can search by country, number of people crashing, verification levels etc. You can also see pictures of potential hosts, read other couch surfers' experiences, browse for travel ideas, chat, become part of a group or watch the informercial. You officially have no excuse for staying home.