instagram + blurb = book

the great people at blurb make book creation extremely easy, thought I could create a decent coffee table book out of the instagram photos from this summer so here it is!

ACB* abroad by Andrew C. Bly | Make Your Own Book

damals und heute / Oma und Ich

As I'm leaving Italy today after a great summer the memory of my Omi is still very fresh, and it's hard to think about returning to Pittsburgh on Thursday and not seeing her. While I had a lot of success in Italy with research my best time in the last 3 months was the time spent with family in Deutschland. Not being able to be with family during our loss was painful, but it helped to see my Great Aunt and the rest of the family. While in the small town of Wiehe where my Omi was born and raised I took some photos including this one in which I mixed an old photo with the present. It's hard to put into words the feeling of being there after hearing stories and seeing photos growing up from Omi over the years but essentially it was pure happiness, and peace knowing that she would have been so proud of my journey. Rest in peace Omi.

rollercoaster

I'm halfway through my 3-month stay in Italy and there have been extreme highs (Onda Palio win) and extreme lows (losing my Omi and being thousands of miles away from family). The first month was getting used to being here nearly alone and trying to get in to routines and fine tune the thesis research. I'm now off to Germany to see family and visit where my grandmother was born, lived and got married. I feel extremely lucky that I get to see these relatives and then finish my last two days in Munich to see the most important image of my research. Hopefully the image that will bring future fortune! With the wealth of photos I took last summer I have eased off carrying a camera around every day and more interested in experiences but if you have instagram I have been posting regularly from various locations under the name 82acb. I have a few photo projects planned for Germany so I will post the results shortly!

Bill. Murray.

"Bill Groundhog-Day, Ghostbustin'-ass Murray" 

Buzzfeed has a great breakdown of Bill Murray's red carpet appearance at Cannes for Moonrise Kingdom.  Can't wait for this movie to come out.  Seriously, can Bill Murray rule any more?

Estate di Andrew

T-minus 34 days until I'm under the shadow of Brunelleschi's dome yet again. This time it's on my own with a lot to accomplish but there isn't any other place in the world I'd rather spend 3 months.

ci vediamo presto l'Italia...

The Black Keys | Cleveland

I had the chance to see The Black Keys last week at the Q in Cleveland and lucky enough to have friends that bought great seats early enough. I love the camera on my new 4s iPhone and the stage setup was great so I snapped a few photos and put them together. The show was really great, these 2 guys from Akron have never disappointed and always raise the bar with each performance. If you'd like the full image you can grab it here.

Bellisimo!

Absolutely awe-inspiring work by Alberto Seveso utilizing underwater photos of ink. Fantastic.

heartbeat. my heartbeat.

"Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in - its a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present."

Just watched Midnight in Paris and would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Woody Allen, art history, great movies or beautiful women. (such as Marion Cotillard above)

Weekend in the Wilds

Good times, great friends and family; a much needed weekend away from all work visiting Southern Tier Brewery and exploring the wilds of McKean and Elk Counties.

Firenze dov'è?

Constantly on my mind...

Sly

"My only weapon is my pen. Oh, and the frame of mind I’m in."

-Sly Stone

The Lumineers - The Dead Sea

Yes to everything about these people and their music.

sempre...

great work by Studio Muti

New Beginnings

2012. Only two weeks into the New Year and I am feeling extremely anxious and excited for it's potential. The end of 2011 was a mixture of great times with family & friends on top of stress & feelings of living two different lives. The always-fabulous Johanna Armstrong made a trip across the pond and as always it was great to see her because her work and friendship is extremely inspiring. She is doing some great work so head to her portfolio link to check it out and also has one of my favorite tumblrs currently. I also rang in my 29th year (yikes) of existence surrounded by the most important people, family. I am so fortunate to have them. Birthmas celebrations, Grandma's manhattans, stuffed pork chops, new brother, VanMaurik's and friends. Pure Happiness.

I have a lot to accomplish and have tried to start this year as focused as possible. Architect'n, Teaching, Photographing and most importantly trying to graduate by May so that I can catch a one-way flight to Italy. It may have taken me ten years, but I feel like I am finally in the right place on the doorstep of a dream career. For now it is back to this thesis and the mountain of other projects that are sure to drive me crazy by the end of March. I will hopefully be updating more often with the photos I have currently been taking, the title link will take you to the shots around University Circle here in Clevelandtown that I took wasting some time before shooting an installation piece by a friend. Enjoy and cheers to the new year.