WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY)

Welcome to Summer Artist in Residence

Marjorie Kaniehtonkie Skidders

Artist Talk: Saturday, July 20th at 2PM

Curator Talk: Saturday, August 3rd at 2 PM

Throughout her residency, Skidders’s artwork will be on display in the Frederic Remington Art Museum’s Hirschey Family Gallery.

“As an Indigenous photographer, I am always searching for beautiful moments occurring in everyday life. I view every photo shoot as an opportunity to capture those moments and share my Kanienkeha life with the world.”

Kaniehtonkie will discuss her work in an artist’s talk on Saturday July 20 at 2:00 pm. The talk is free with admission and open to the public, with a reception to follow.

This year, Marjorie will work directly with the Akwesasne Boys & Girls club to bring students to the Museum for photography composition classes. These classes will encourage Mohawk youth to tell their stories and express their identity, experience, perspectives, and culture through photography. One will be a beginner class for youth children, and the other will be for pre-teen to teen classes for students with some experience with photography. The students will also have a chance to explore Remington’s work with Educator and Museum Experience Manager, Julie Pratt.

As part of her collaboration with the Remington Museum, Kaniehtonkie will curate an exhibition of select Remington works, which will open on Saturday, August 3rd with a public curator talk at 2:00 pm in the Museum’s Addie P. Newell Gallery. A reception will follow.

Marjorie Kaniehtonkie Skidders is an award-winning photographer. Among other awards, she earned first and second place at the prestigious Adirondack Mohawk and Abenaki Art Markets in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, she had a one-woman show at the Native North American Traveling College, in 2022, she won second place in the juried Ganondagan Museum’s Hodinöhsö:ni′ Art Show in photography, and in 2024 had a one-woman show at the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery at St. Lawrence University. As proud Ista of four children and twelve grandchildren, she is currently the editor of Indian Time newspaper.

Kaniehtonkie also served as juror for the Museum’s Annual Members’ Juried Art Exhibit, which opened in May and which will remain on view through September 7. As juror to the annual Members’ Juried Art Exhibit, the resident artist provides fresh insight into and analysis of the work of the Museum’s community of artists, a number of whom are long-time participants in these exhibits. As with previous resident artists, Marjorie Kaniehtonkie Skidders is a skilled artist working in a field (photography) relevant to the Museum and its audiences. She has spent a career in education and is poised to offer instruction to under-served youth and interpretation at the highest level. An Akwesasne Mohawk woman, Skidders’s curation of a new exhibit of work by Frederic Remington will offer a fresh perspective on the artist and his work.

Marjorie Kaniehtonkie Skidders, a member of the Bear Clan of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation Territory, has a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s in education that turned into a 25-year career in education as a teacher, director, Indigenous content curriculum writer, and school principal. After retiring in 2007, she returned to her roots as an artist focusing on writing and photography. Her work has been acquired by the New York State Museum; Adirondack Experience, the Museum at Blue Mountain Lake; and St. Lawrence University.

Copyright 2024 WWNY. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Book-style foldables aren’t exactly in abundance on this side of the world, where Samsung rules the roost through a combination of brand recognition and slick software. It’s a different story in China, where the best smartphones simply must have the best hardware. It’s enough to make a phone fan jealous – which is why I’m stoked Vivo has brought the X Fold3 Pro to an international audience.

This featherweight folder has a trio of high resolution cameras, a flagship chipset, and two sizeable AMOLED screens. Add in a monstrously big battery, and there’s little else out there with such a comprehensive spec sheet. It’s not exactly getting a wide release, with India and Indonesia the main markets so far – and at ₹159,999 (roughly $1900/£1500), it’s not exactly cheap.

But that still neatly undercuts the Galaxy Z Fold6, a phone that gives me a strong impression Samsung has taken its foot off the gas on the hardware front. Has Vivo stepped in to fill the gap for those that want the best bang per buck?

Design & build: thinner winner

At a ridiculously light 236g, the Vivo X Fold3 Pro is barely any heavier than a traditional flagship phone – and almost as thin when closed. That’s mighty impressive given its palm-stretching proportions. Each half is a barely-there 5.2mm thick, which is only really beaten by the Honor Magic V2. Vivo’s carbon fibre hinge has that phone licked for range of angles it be used in before either snapping open or shut, which it does in a very satisfying manner. The phone folds fully open, too – something the Google Pixel Fold can’t manage.

The giant circular camera bump on the rear panel has a lot in common with the Vivo X100 Pro, including the Zeiss branding and how it protrudes from the glass. Vivo has dialled the cursive branding right back here, which can only be a good thing, and the frosted finish does a great job at hiding fingerprints. The whole thing is IPX8 rated, which is up there with the best foldables for water resistance but a step behind the Galaxy Z Fold6 for dust ingress.

An alert slider at the side feels pinched directly from OnePlus; it’s nice to have, but I’ve barely used it as I keep forgetting it’s there. That’s also the case for the IR blaster at the top of the phone. The one thing I did miss was eSim support, which will be a downer for frequent travellers. It can at least swallow two nano SIMs.

This is the first foldable I’ve used two two under-display fingerprint sensors. The one on the cover screen was the more reliable of the pair, with the one beneath the inner screen needing a second attempt more often. As a left-handed phone user, though, I massively prefer this setup to the side-mounted scanners used by most other foldables.

Screen & sound: picture perfect

Size isn’t everything – but it’s a large part of what makes the Vivo X Fold3 Pro’s pair of screens so impactful. At 6.53in and with a 21:9 aspect ratio, the outer display is a real monolith, while the 8.03in inner panel dwarfs just about every other book-style foldable. The 4:3 aspect ratio also means black bars don’t eat up nearly as much screen space when streaming TV shows as they do on the square OnePlus Open. The inner screen has a punch-hole webcam rather than a camouflaged under-display sensor, but Vivo sensible stuck it right in the corner. It effectively vanishes from view when watching letterboxed video content.

Both displays have high resolution AMOLED panels with impactful colours and infinite contrast. Photos and videos look properly impactful in the standard display mode, while staying on the right side of realistic. There’s a Professional mode in the Settings menu that’s more subdued, and I appreciate the inclusion of a colour wheel that gives fine-grain control over colour temperature.

LTPO tech lets the adaptive refresh rate dip as low as 1Hz for maximum power saving when showing static images, or up to 120Hz for smooth scrolling and motion. Vivo claims an eye-searing 4500 nit peak brightness – though only for a tiny portion of the screen when showing HDR video. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are both on board, and both pack a punch. More importantly, both screens easy shine bright enough to read clearly in all conditions. I could leave my sunglasses on when outside on especially sunny days and still see everything clearly.

Top marks to Vivo for making the inner screen’s crease barely detectable, and also for the way the non-removable screen protector keeps light reflections at bay. It’s not on the same level as the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Gorilla Armor glass, but it’s a major step up from the Galaxy Z Fold6.

Putting the stereo speakers in the upper half of the phone was a smart move; you don’t obscure them when unfolding to use the larger inner screen. They’re on par with every other foldable I’ve tried, with a decent amount of volume and clarity.

Cameras: new benchmark

The X100 Pro’s epic 1in main camera sensor may not feature here, but Vivo otherwise pulled out all the stops on the photography front. The X Fold3 Pro has a 50MP lead snapper with wide f/1.7 aperture lens, optical image stabilisation and laser-assisted phase-detect autofocus; a 50MP ultrawide (also with autofocus); and a 64MP periscope telephoto good for a stabilised 3x optical zoom. Zeiss optics and some of the most nuanced image processing of any phone brand then tip it over the edge.

This is a simply brilliant cameraphone, in just about all lighting conditions. It’s easily the best foldable. Pictures are stuffed full of detail, with convincing colours, effective HDR and plenty of contrast. All three lenses are well matched on exposure and colour balance, with very little in the way of visible noise or overly aggressive sharpening.

Portraits and close-ups taken with the telephoto show convincing depth blur. They don’t come undone in darker environments either. I definitely picked up some unwanted extra processing on faces and skin, which the X100 Pro was also guilty of; even with facial retouch turned off, there’s a smoothness here that isn’t entirely true to life. It can’t match the best flagship phones for outright clarity, either – but it gets very close. For a foldable, that’s damn impressive.

Software experience: not so fully-featured

The global X Fold3 Pro variant runs Vivo’s FuntouchOS skin, which sits on top of Android 14. The firm has committed to three years of new Android versions and four years of security patches. That’s not a bad showing, but still half of what you’ll get with a Samsung or Google foldable in your pocket.

My review unit had a bunch of India-specific apps preinstalled, along with a bunch of Vivo’s own. Not all can be uninstalled, and the firm’s bespoke app store is a bit too keen to take over update responsibilities from the Google Play Store, but at least notifications can be silenced fairly quickly. The notes and voice recorder apps are worth keeping around: they piggyback off Google’s Gemini AI algorithms to summarise long strings of text and transcribe audio files. The photo gallery has a magic eraser to delete unwanted distractions, but there’s none of the generative editing smarts you’ll find from Samsung’s latest foldable.

Multitasking on the inner screen uses a combination of the stock Android app toolbar and a bespoke floating menu. Dragging out an app opens it in split view – but only ever with a portrait split. You’ve got to tap the dividing line every time you want a landscape view, which is frustrating. Samsung does a better job here, and the OnePlus Open has both phones beat.

Vivo has added an always-on clock when the phone is propped up like a tent, and opening it up like a laptop turns the bottom half into a touchpad – but there’s so much more the firm could’ve done with the form factor. I couldn’t find any way to use the outer screen with the rear cameras for framing selfies. You don’t get any stylus support here, and no Samsung Dex-style big screen mode either. You’re also limited to two apps in split view, with a third in a floating window. The Galaxy Z Fold6 is still the folding world’s productivity powerhouse.

Performance & battery life: serious stamina

Like any top-tier 2024 phone, the Vivo X Fold3 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. My review unit had a generous 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but the base model gets 12GB and 256GB respectively.

Either way, it’ll have more than enough oomph to run Android 14 perfectly smoothly. Synthetic benchmarks see it score higher than some traditional flagship phones, and it opens up an especially wide gap to the OnePlus Open (which uses a previous-gen processor). I saw no slowdowns, zero stuttering, nor sluggishness of any kind at any point during my testing. I’m expecting the Galaxy Z Fold6 to be faster still, on account of its custom-tuned silicon, but in day-to-day use I doubt you’ll notice any difference.

Squeezing such a potent processor into a slim chassis was always going to mean the phone gets toasty when under sustained load. A vapor chamber cooling system keeps temperatures largely in check, though, so gaming never dissolved into a slideshow. I was able to play demanding 3D titles like Zenless Zone Zero at high settings on either screen.

Arguably more impressive is this phone’s outstanding battery life. I spent an entire day on mobile data, streaming YouTube videos on the inner display, taking photos and running a hotspot for my work laptop, and still wasn’t in the red before bedtime. The giant 5700mAh capacity is more than you’ll get from any flagship phone right now, foldable or otherwise. Two days is doable if you stick to Wi-Fi and avoid gaming.

Charging speeds are practically unmatched, too. The X Fold3 Pro can manage 100W over USB-C and 50W from a powerful enough Qi wireless pad; on the former I managed a complete refuel using the bundled power brick in just under 45 minutes, or half the time you’d need to fully juice a Galaxy Z Fold6.

Vivo X Fold3 Pro verdict

This is hands down my favourite foldable of 2024 so far. The Vivo X Fold3 Pro is as slim and light as a traditional flagship, with equally impactful performance and even better battery life. Charging speeds leave rivals for dust, and its cameras are second to none in the foldable world. Both screens are a treat for the eyes.

Vivo isn’t a class leader on the software front, though, lacking the productivity-boosting features found in the best foldables. The firm’s long-term update commitment is average at best, too. Then there’s the fact most Stuff readers are going to have to import it, which carries its own risks and doesn’t include any warranty.

Buying one will take commitment, then – but those that see it through will end up with a fantastic phone.

Vivo X Fold3 Pro technical specifications

Flash Sketch Mob headlines Hopper Plein Air Pop-Up Weekend

NyackNewsAndView’s own Bill Batson organizes his first Flash Sketch Mob in Nyack in 9 years in collaboration with the Edward Hopper Museum and Studio Center this Saturday, July 13, from 12:30 – 3:30pm. The crowd-sourced landscape portrait project was born on the pages of Batson’s Nyack Sketch Log column. You can register for the Hopper Flash Sketch Mob here. Scholarships are available.

A lecture entitles “Painting In the Open Air” by Elizabeth Thompson Colleary will precede the Flash Sketch Mob and is the perfect precursor. Colleary will present numerous oils and watercolors, many rarely seen, that Jo Nivison and Edward Hopper painted in outdoor settings where they found inspiration. Get tickets here.

Entire sections of the village were captured by groups of 100 artists respectively in Flash Sketch Mobs in 2012 and 2015. Artists lined both sides of the street, arriving as individuals, couples and families all becoming one giant flash sketch mob that is creating a handmade google map street view of our one square mile village. 

Images are then scanned and shown as a collective representation of the village we all love. A village that inspired, Hopper and that has been subsequently shaped and defined by Hopper. Please join us Saturday from 12:30 to 3:30pm here at the hopper house.

The Flash sketch mob is open to artists of all ages and skill levels. After folks return from their designated assignments, we will scan their work for a screening on July 2Oth. The slideshow on that day will cap off a day that includes a Hopper Ride from the Whitney Museum in NYC to Nyack and a concert by Night Hawk.

Cyclists in the “Tour de Hopper,” will start their journey at registration early on Saturday, July 20 from 7–8:30am outside the Whitney Museum (99 Gansevoort Street, Manhattan) before heading north to the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center (82 North Broadway, Nyack).

Edward Hopper House is where Hopper was born and grew up in Nyack before moving to New York City. The Edward Hopper House will offer snacks, Hopper birthday activities, and tours of the artist’s home, including a look at his 1897 bicycle. At the end of the visit, riders will head back to the Whitney Museum which is located near the neighborhood where Hopper lived and worked for much of his life

The day ends with a Edward Hopper birthday concert by Night Hawk, a Hopper inspired indie band currently touring the northeast this summer.

The band’s name “Night Hawk” is an allusion to Edward Hopper’s painting Nighthawks (1942) and they sings the stories of Edward Hopper paintings and more.

Night Hawk is a Bowdoin-based outfit led by Colter Adams and Peyton Semjen, whose music often blurs the line between indie rock and performance art. Featuring a rotating cast of intrepid players from the New England underground, the project revolves around the question: what do Edward Hopper’s paintings sound like?

The band members (all recent graduates of Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Maine), are reprising a concert, presented this spring at the Bowdoin Museum of Art, on the Garden Stage of the Edward Hopper House Museum.

Dozens of artists coming together to make art in public on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the marriage of Joe and Ed two artists that shared that same art partnered art making experience.

The Flash Sketch Mob will continue to be a part of future Hopper Birthday weekend celebrations as a way of paying homage to Jo and Ed, two star-crossed creatives, painting side-by-side in the town where they lay side-by -side in eternal repose at Oak Hill Cemetery. Observational art making is a great way for visitors to experience our village, leaving behind a record of their perspective.

And for those of us who live here, what better way to reacquaint ourselves with a landscape animated by light reflected by a river that inspired America’s most renowned realist painter. The unexamined place is not worth inhabiting.

The more we learn about where we live, the more zealous we can be in her defense.

Join the Hopper Flash Sketch Mob and become better acquainted with our community.

Nyack Famous Street Fair

Hundreds of vendors and thousands of visitors will transform Main Street and Broadway in Nyack into an outdoor bazaar the size of a small city on Sunday, July 14.

Sunday’s fair is sponsored by ACADA, the Arts, Crafts and Antique Dealers Association. Proceeds from the street fair are used to support promotional initiatives like Visit Nyack.

All street fairs run from 10am – 5pm, rain or shine

FYI: Pets are forbidden by village ordinance.

Silent Film Screening with Live Music From Hervé and Skyler Alexandre

Comedy and Fantasy From the Silent Era With Live Musical Accompaniment by Hervé and Skyler Alexandre. Presented by Garner Arts Center and Rivertown Film Saturday, July 20, at 8:30pm. Outdoors at Garner Arts Center, 55 W Railroad Ave, Garnerville, NY

After a stunning performance accompanying silent classics last summer, Hervé and Skyler Alexandre return to Garner Arts Center to accompany classic comedy and fantasy from the early days of experimentation and discovery in filmmaking.

The Goat by Buster Keaton
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend by Edwin S. Porter
KoKo’s Earth Control by Dave Fleischer
AND MORE

Tickets on sale here. Rivertown Film members receive a discount.

Rockland Photography Club Members Exhibit

A reception with light refreshments will be held on Tuesday, July 16 from 6-7:30pm at the Hidden Treasures Gallery in Palisades Mall on the first floor by Macys.  The president of the Rockland Photography Club is our own Photo Editor, Andrea Swenson.

Brooklyn Demme screens Mountain Lion to Benefit Ashley Dawson

On Friday July 26, Rockland County filmmaker Brooklyn Demme will share his debut fictional feature film at the Cultural Arts Theatre of Rockland Community College. Mountain Lion: Healing Film of St. Francis is an intense drama about personal relationships, mental health, and family dynamics, that uses magical realism to express mindfulness in intimate relationships and seriousness in prayer. It was entirely shot in Rockland County.

The Sandhill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians, Rivertown Film, TurtleGang Edutainment, and Truth 2 Power, are offering a free screening to promote and benefit That Kid, the upcoming debut fictional film of Truth 2 Power co-founder and producer of Mountain Lion, Ashley Dawson.

Registration is required in order to secure seating, and any donations given at registration or at the screening will be directed to the production of That Kid. REGISTER HERE. If you do not receive a confirmation email, you have not successfully registered. Names of everyone who registers will be at the door. You do not need to bring a printout or show your receipt on your phone.

WIMBLEDON, England, July 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Award-winning video production company, hsc.tv, is proud to announce its latest lighting and set design during the prestigious tennis championships at Wimbledon. Director of Photography, Bryan TWZ Brousseau, has enhanced the viewer experience with a unique lighting and set design for ESPN’s coverage of the event, specifically in the interview room where the stories of the players throughout the tournament are brought to life.

“Under the direction of the ESPN features unit: Cathi Cappas, Kathryn Davidson, Lauren Collins, and Tessa Diestel we wanted to change the look this year to reflect the next generation of great players. So, we went with a modern LED lighting and set design look that would look great across the color schemes of Wimbledon, US Open and the Australian Open,” said Bryan TWZ Brousseau, Director of Photography. “I looked at a lot of different lights and chose the new Aputure INFINIBARS as the primary lights, as I wanted lights that could also look great on camera and the NFINIBARS look great!”

Bryan TWZ Brousseau made this selection as their shape and CRI were exactly what he was looking for, and that they were mountable at every angle. The hsc.tv team performed many camera tests at various color temperatures against their backdrops and textures until they liked what they were viewing – a meticulous effort to say the least. The team additionally used every size from the PB12’s to the PB3’s and mostly in the 3D configuration to create depth in the set and for their key lights up close and personal with the players. The deep background was created by NYC artist Adam Mills and the wooden wallpaper was created by the company Arte in Belgium, discovered by ESPN Creative Producer Candace Jordan. hsc.tv rounded out the light package with Fotodiox Pro Flapjacks, Aputure Amarans150Cs, and LiteGear Litemats Plus4’s.

Gaffer Ricky Elders Jr., “I am impressed by the versatility of the NFINIBARS combined with the ease and control of the Sidus app, the ability to connect multiple units to create different shapes is a major plus which we took advantage of!”

Cinematographer on the on the interview set Danny Thorpe added, “The use of the new Aputure INFINIBARS lighting system has added a real touch of clarity, versatility and dynamism to our new interview set up. Along with the flattering light throw, the clean physical design means we’re able to use them in frame providing not only excellent light quality but added texture and unique composition to our scene.”

hsc.tv has been at the forefront of video production, delivering high-quality and impactful visual content. This year’s Wimbledon is yet another testament to hsc.tv’s dedication to elevating sports video production. The new lighting and set design in the interview room will not only enhance the visual appeal but also ensure that the players’ important storylines are captured at an aesthetically high level.

Pier de Sanctis, CEO of hsc.tv said, “Bryan’s work at Wimbledon exemplifies our commitment to excellence and innovation. His ability to integrate cutting-edge technology with creative design ensures that every viewer feels the thrill and prestige of Wimbledon, particularly through the personal stories of the players.”

About hsc.tv

hsc.tv is an award-winning video production company known for its innovative approach to production and content creation. With a team of industry experts and state-of-the-art technology, hsc.tv specializes in creating visually stunning and engaging video content for a variety of platforms and audiences. Driven by creativity and technology, hsc.tv aims to deliver unparalleled visual stories that resonate and inspire. For more information about hsc.tv and its services, or to arrange an interview with Bryan TWZ Brousseau or other representatives from hsc.tv, please contact [email protected] at 718 626 6226 or via email at [email protected].

Contact: Michele Smith
Tel: 917.340.1127
E-mail: [email protected]
www.mcommunicationsinc.com

SOURCE Bryan Brousseau

Documentary photographer Tim Smith‘s series In the World But Not of It will be presented during the third edition of Fotografia Calabria Festival, to be held in San Lucido (CS) from July 26 to August 25. This documentary work is the result of 15 years of dedication and relationships established with Hutterite communities in North America, offering an in-depth view of a culture that lives in balance between tradition and modernity. Kim Chang Gil described Smith’s work as «a fascination with landscapes and communities far removed from urban frenzy,» emphasizing how the photographer is the antithesis of the obsession with futuristic metropolises. But let’s find out how Smith’s adventure with the Hutterites began.

Who are the Hutterites?

Tim Smith’s encounter with the Hutterites began with a chance meeting that, over time, turned into a detailed chronicle of their daily life and evolution. The Hutterites, an Anabaptist sect with roots in 16th-century Austrian Tyrol, live in community colonies scattered across western Canada and the northwestern United States. With a population of about 50,000, these communities have thrived through a voluntary detachment from mainstream society and a self-sufficient economy. Despite a period of peace and prosperity, Hutterites face challenges related to their cultural identity and increasing contact with the outside world.

A tension between tradition and modernity

Tim Smith captures the complexity of these dynamics through images that explore the tension between tradition and modernity. His work reveals how the colonies are coping with external pressures without losing sight of the core values of their faith. The photographs, many of them focused on Hutterite youth, show a world of rebellion, respect for tradition and strictly maintained gender roles. In one of his remarks, Paul S. Gross, a Hutterite author, wrote, «We cannot please the world and God at the same time…Either we take this world with all it offers, including problems, mental stress, pain and death at the end; or we choose a better way.» This tension between maintaining traditions and adapting to modern influences is one of the central themes of Smith’s work.

Courtesy Tim Smith, Fotografia Calabria Festival

We all have one or two dream destinations that inspire us to plan the ultimate adventure and take photos that immortalize it. However, as we also find out soon enough, not everything goes to plan when it comes to travel photography. Still, there are things you can do to make the experience a lot more enjoyable and productive despite the challenges, setbacks and unexpected detours along the way.

In the video above, UK-based adventure photographer and filmmaker Rick Bebbington shares his travel around Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks. At the start of the video, he posed a question for all intrepid travel photographers out there. “Have you ever been somewhere that you’ve always dreamed of going but have just been a little bit disappointed with the images that you’ve got from there?” Having gone through this exact predicament, he knows how frustrating it can be, given all the planning and expense that goes through such trips.

So, if you’re now going through feelings of disappointment due to underwhelming photos — or want to be prepared for the possibility — Bebbington has an advice for you. Let go of any expectations you may have prior to the trip. Don’t expect everything to be the same as what you found from your research or travel videos you may have watched. There are many things that will be totally out of your control — the weather, for one.

“The sooner we can accept that, the better things you can do to improve your chances of getting good shots,” he reminds. Not having any expectations will free you from the limitations of any pre-conceived images you may have before your trip. He adds, “just roll with it and immerse yourself in the place you’re in and your photography.”

Did you ever have the same experiences that Bebbington described? Do you agree with any of the insights he shared about travel photography? Let’s talk about it in the comments!