Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg, Photography, Video, Cinemagraphs, New York City
You don’t have to think about Rodin to feel Rodin. Perhaps, even, it is what you feel first that stays with you after. How can someone sculpt the thoughts of man, the memories of love, the history of humanity with seemingly such ease?… take a walk through the Rodin Museum in Paris on a sparkling afternoon and find yourself haunted by the beauty of his immortalized humanity…
Making of a short film
Recently we created a video for A. Lange & Söhne, a German watchmaker founded in 1845, for the 2017 launch of the Lange 1 in white gold and Lange 1 Moon Phase in white and rose gold. I thought I would explain to you the creative concept behind the final video so you can see the thought behind just beautiful moving visuals of their stunning timepieces. When we work on brand projects such as this, we spend weeks in a creative think tank before ever picking up a camera. Every detail is pre-planned and every aspect of the video serves a purpose with meaning, even if it’s not meant to be obvious.
Creating the concept
We wanted to draw a comparison between the craftsmanship and artistry of both photography and watchmaking by creating something both very technical and sentimental in our story telling. By studying the dial design and movement of the timepieces, we were inspired to explore the themes around human connection and our ability to traverse time and space, reach around the world in a split second, be as simple as the air we share, or as complex as a physical touch. The written words of one man from a century ago can reach another today and affect the choices he makes. We wanted to explore these connections as invisible threads of cause and effect, known as the butterfly effect, in a series of four themes of human connection: Air, energy & light, communication, and touch. As visual storytellers, we decided to not tell the story of human connection through a linear fashion but rather as ticking moments in the cinematic frames of our lives, beating in time and weaving together the fabric of life.
Split second moments
By using a special cinema camera called the Phantom we were able to stretch mere flashes of moments of time to many seconds, giving the feel of a photograph that has opened up.
Air
We capture a man who is driving out of the city, the speed of the car creating wind that whips around a woman stepping out of a vehicle on her way to a meeting that ultimately blows through an office window whipping the papers out of a man’s hands. The air that touches us all, moving in masses of pressure dancing through the millennia.
Energy & Light
Energy & Light captured through three times of day starting with a man who looks up in the sky and blocks the midday sun from his eyes while the same afternoon light falls through horizontal blinds across a woman in her office while another man creates light in the early evening by turning on a lamp. While we each experience these phases of light in a day, this also represents man’s progress through time from first only experiencing the natural light to then shaping it to ultimately, creating light from energy.
Communication
Communication also captures how we can be connected through time in past and present. The written word of man read today through modern means shown as a businessman on his iPad. The forms of communication we use now that extend beyond words as we become an image based society shown through the moment a female photographer raises her camera to capture a photograph which will be shared through another means of communication.
Touch
And finally, touch. Touch is one of the strongest way we shape our experiences with the short time we have in life. A shot setting the time on the watch is a representation of this theme. A woman, strapping on her watch is saying she is a conscience participant in the time she has to touch people’s lives. And perhaps, the most human of all touches, between two people, as a man reaches to guide a woman’s back through a doorway and be perhaps the touch that changes the course of their lives.
Connecting the Themes
Time is of course a visual thing you can see through the movements on a timepiece such as these by A. Lange & Söhne, but, it can also transcend mere mathematical moments of our day. I think in this video we try to show how connected we all are, not just in our modern world through technology but through the history of time together.
About A. Lange & Söhne Timepieces
With uncompromising quality, each and every timepiece separates A. Lange & Söhne from other watchmakers around the globe. They do not distinguish between a sophisticated complication and a classic three-hand watch in terms of precision and dedication to detail and every Lange timepiece is endowed with an in-house designed manufactory caliber and equipped with a precious case made of gold or platinum. The three watches you see in the video above include the Lange 1 Moon Phase in white gold which prominently features the astronomical “moon phase” complication. The Lange 1 in white gold which has world-renowned recognition to the asymmetric dial design and prominent outsize date. The outsize date was actually inspired by the five-minute clock in the Dresden Semper Opera House. Lastly, the Lange 1 Moon Phase in rose gold features an elegantly guilloched, argenté colored dial with two golden moons.
You can find out more on A. Lange & Söhne’s website here.
As the skies wept, I walked and walked…
whisperings from the streets of Paris talk.
Through the viewfinder framed a city of soul
a place of wonder, a world to behold.
With precision I took what I came to see…
the gifts she has given to a girl like me.
I am the Victory, I am the love…
I am all that Paris can be to someone.
-Thoughts from a birthday in Paris
Another autumn has come and gone, another year of memories with fleeting snapshots from Paris to add to my archive. I love Paris in the fall, the dynamic sky, the ease of getting lost in the day just wondering and watching, and the romantic nights when she beings to sparkle like no other. With each passing year I always reset my eyes on this city of photographic love.
“There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it. But this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy.”
― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
I like the soft and dreamy and romantic. Sometimes I make believe it, but always, I look for it in everyday life. A French afternoon dappled in light, a glowing wine glass. Smudgy and dreamy, never completely clear or harsh. The world is harsh enough, don’t you just want to live in a dream? I know I do…
When I set foot in Provence early last autumn I started myself on a new journey. Self discovery and reawakening my vision. I just wanted to experience something entirely new. I wanted to fulfill a dream to live in France. I wanted to find new challenges, new inspiration, a new way to see life. I’ve seen it through the eyes of the girl who grew up in Texas, then I saw it through the adult eyes of the woman who worked in New York. Much like the landscape outside my window, I let each chapter change me as the seasons change the vines and I hope, with spring’s new awakening, something even greater blooms.
Here are a collection of photographs from autumn in Provence~
This past week, Cartier reopened its historic mansion at 653 Fifth Avenue after a two and a half years of construction, bringing back to life this iconic piece of real estate the brand took hold of nearly 100 years ago. In 1917 in a deal over a double strand of natural pearls, Pierre Cartier exchanged his necklace for a Fifth Avenue mansion from the Plant family. At the time, the necklace was more valuable than the private home, and a great deal more desirable to Maisie Plant who coveted it.
To celebrate this four year long renovation project and the unveiling of this six story, 40,000 square foot retail mansion with 4 floors of shopping, a 5th floor workshop and 6th floor exhibition/event space, Cartier hosted a star studded “house warming” party where Hollywood rubbed elbows with musical performers who charmed powerful directors. But in the evening before the champagne and sparkling diamonds floated across Cartier’s red carpet, there was a late night dress rehearsal with the New York City Ballet.
It was this moment I chose to photograph. The intimacy of their art in the quiet empty rooms of this historic mansion the ballerinas glided around in graceful steps to a custom soundtrack by Nicolas Godin filling the rooms on dueling pianos and passionate embraces reflected in infinity mirrors and played back in the sparkles of chandeliers….
The Cartier Mansion opens to the public next week!… and let me say this: the second floor Princess Grace Salon currently displaying Grace Kelly’s magnificent engagement ring is what little girl’s dreams are made of (and even some grown ones as well.)
After heading out to L.A. to experience the Sound of Luxury we decided to make it a long weekend…why would you not, it was 18 degrees in New York at that time. We rented the most amazing Airbnb industrial loft in Marina del Rey to hide out in when we weren’t experiencing all the best food L.A. had to offer. Mostly, I wanted to just cruise around and play in the sun, dance in the light, and feel the ocean spray on my face. Here are snapshots from a weekend in Los Angeles shot on black & white 35mm film with the camera I first learned how to take photos with…
While in Guatemala I discovered Swedish designer Rodebjer whom I’ve since fell in love with. Above, wearing Rodebjer’s white shirt dress that allows you to unbutton the front, back and sides in any conformation to change it from a shirt to a dress to the perfect beach coverup. 
Continue reading “Snapshots from Los Angeles”
It’s that time of year in which every New Yorker says… “Maybe I should move to L.A.”. I’ve been very resistant to the idea of the perpetual perfect 72 and sunny day, being the proud New Yorker I am I declare things like “I like seasons” and “I hate driving”. But…. when it’s 18 degrees and dark most of the day I find myself singing a different tune.
So, I decided to focus on something I do best: eating well. I love food. I love GOOD food. I love beautiful food. I love weird food. And if I’m going to ever really consider making the popular migration west, I want to know what’s the skinny on one of my favorite activities… and here is what I found when you Eat L.A.
Favorite Food Spots in Los Angeles
Salazar || Cafe Stella || Milo & Olive || Malibu Farm || Alimento || KazuNori || Rose Cafe || Republique || Petit Trois – ||Odys and Penelope || Bestia ||Cassia || Trois Familia || Guisados || Salt Air ||Guerrilla Tacos ||Tasting Kitchen || Verve || Love & Salt || The Bunglow || Salt & Straw ||Redbird || Gjusta || Sqirl || Sycamore Kitchen || Osteria Mozza || Jon & Vinny’s || Rustic Canyon || Maré || Sugarfish || Destroyer || Pizzeria Mozza || Sotto || Eightfold Coffee || Ostrich Farm || Baco Mercat || Las Perlas || Mercado || Father’s Office
Each year, these prints are my little labor of love. This year’s holiday card began almost one year ago, at the beginning of 2015. While shooting a project for Tiffany & Co., we had the opportunity to rent a private helicopter to get aerial shots of Manhattan. I learned two things from that early winter morning ride: 1. I am deathly afraid of helicopters and 2. I wanted this year’s holiday card to be a print of my great love, New York City. Looking down on her from this birds eye view gave me a new visual sense of the layers of history in this city from which we build our own futures. I understood her in a new way and that’s what I wanted to capture.
Considering there is not enough Xanax in the world to get me in a helicopter again, I had to find a new strategy for shooting at this high but intimate angle. Though I love the views from the obvious choices—Empire State Building and Top of the Rock—they didn’t give me the towering sense I was seeking. From the tops of those iconic buildings, the city is dwarfed and dense, slightly out of reach. As luck would have it, our friends from The New Potato were hosting a party with Riviera Events on the 68th floor of the newly completed Four World Trade Center. It’s one of those moments in life where everything falls into place, as if designed by destiny. Here we are in the Financial District, where we work, standing in a building that is part of the present, looking down on the past. It was just what I wanted.
It was an incredibly difficult shot to take. Using a Linhof 4×5 film field camera, the cityscape was not bright enough to register on the ground glass where you do your framing and focus check. Only a few faint street lights were visible for me to use as a rough guide but for the most part I was shooting blind. This also applies to metering: I had no way of knowing if I would be right on the money or not, so I just applied what I knew about the sensitivity of film to light and my experience with it the past 19 years. The image that ultimately made the final print was a 5 minute exposure on Ilford Delta 400ISO film.
After the image was captured, we packed up and headed to my favorite darkroom in Boston for printing (which made for a great 24 hour Snapchat story!)
I have fallen in love with Amsterdam. I don’t know how it is that this stunning city has been off my radar for this long. It’s a photographer’s dream with the never-ending canals wrapping around brick lane roads and arched bridges. Everything here is wonderful: The Dutch architecture! The flowers! The stroopwafel cookie! The Van Gogh Museum! Vondelpark! Bike rides! Boat rides! Shopping! and of course, amazing food. It’s a perfect place to escape to for a weekend away, charming and walkable and full of anything your heart may desire.
10 Favorite finds in Amsterdam
Van Stapele Koekmakerij – Just imagine the best warm chocolate cookie in the world. This is that.
Screaming Beans – Amsterdam hands down makes the best cappuccinos and this little espresso spot is heavenly.
Marc O’ Polo – Cool, comfy, casual clothing
The Dylan – Gorgeous hotel, amazing afternoon “high wine” experience.
Ron Gastrobar – TOPS. Some of the best modern food I’ve ever had. Get the “Surprise Egg” for dessert.
Boat tour – you have to experience the city on the water. We did it at night with a bottle of champagne.
Brasserie Harkema – French restaurant in an old cigar factory
Lyppens Antique Jewelry Store – I bought an antique gold ring with dancing baby diamonds I call my champagne ring with my friend Laurel who met us in Amsterdam for all the “off the record” memories.
Biking through Vondelpark
I have always known about the beauty of Lake Como. The way people talk about it is as if it’s this magical emerald place from a fairytale story book. Well, that’s pretty much how it looked. Taking the frequent and quick 1 hour train from Milan we made our way crursing the waters in no time. My imagination went wild looking at all the beautiful villas that climb up the mountain in an array of colors. Each turn of the boat reveals another small, cobblestone town shinning proudly, white sailboats bobbing at the mouth in a friendly wave hello. There is a calm to Lake Como. A retreat feel. Where hours are spent in a garden or at lunch with friends, the memory softened by the damp misty light. A long walk or a quiet boat ride from one little town to the next on the lake’s shore is the day’s biggest activity leaving you alone in your thoughts to imagine what it would be like to retire here and wake up everyday to sheer beauty.
After attending the MICAM trade show we had a day to explore around Milan which was my first time visiting this city. Fueled with Instagram recommendations we started out in the morning at the Duomo (how can you not) which was exceptionally beautiful. We wandered the beautiful halls of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and Via Della Spiga. We ate gelato, dinned at Taglio, looked at old books, watched people play bocce ball, and had the most charming dinner at Al Fresco. It was an amuse-bouche of Milan, drowned in Pasta and Aperol spritz and a lost in a sea of Italian suits in the most beautiful men’s street fashion I’ve ever seen.
Here are some snapshots from our moments lost in the hallways of Milan…
It’s hard not to fall in love with Paris. Her architectural streets, her dancing light, her chalky tonality bathing you in softness and drowned in French accents. It was a weekend away, short but everlasting in my memories, swept up in a hotel suite from a dream and made simple with long afternoon walks with nowhere in particular to go… just the way I love to see Paris.
