Sunrise from the Fire Tower

Sunrise from the Phillipston Firetower, this morning, 10/09/12.

Although my exhibit, "First Contact", opened at Harvard's Fisher Museum two weeks ago (thanks to everyone for filling the museum's seats), I've found myself several times since driving and hiking 3-4 hours to the Harvard Forest to film additional footage.

It's been 18 months since I started filming there on a regular basis. It's become a habit. Or I've fallen in love with the landscape of central Massachusetts. Or both.


Yesterday I drove out in the morning to catch fog-enshrouded lakes in Nichewaug country. Although I'd stayed up late last night, today I left the house just after 5am and drove west with hopes of more fog. Finding none, I thought about turning back. I didn't. Ultimately, I drove through Petersham, Athol and finally to the fire tower access road, Grabbed my new HDSLR and a too-heavy tripod, and hiked in.  I climbed the fire tower just as the sun was rising and mists over the hills was running south along the ridges. The rising sun gently illuminated the fading foliage below me. As the wind whipped the firetower, I clung to the metal bars, set up the tripod and filmed for about 12 minutes, until it started to rain. I don't mind getting wet, but I feared for my gear. I'll use some of that footage in the upcoming e-book version of First Contact.  Here are some photos from the opening of First Contact.  7 of my large photo prints and my 12-minute film about Puritans, Native Americans and the clash over land in 1630 are at the Fisher Museum of Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA through the end of this month. Check it out and let me know what you think. It's a gorgeous drive this time of year.

Roberto Mighty. Landscape
Filming Addict.
This morning 10/09/12

Trees of My City: Standing Room Only at Arnold Arboretum

Roberto's Artist Talk. Photo Credit: Robert Beinhocker

A standing room only crowd braved one of the coldest days of the year to attend the opening reception of "Trees of My City" at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

The installation exhibition included two continuous video projections, a 45-minute film, an artist talk, 18 framed photographs and a preview of the Trees of My City photobook.

Photo Credit: Naomi Kooker

The photo exhibit will be up through March 6th. From the bottom of my heart, thanks to everyone for attending. And thanks for writing in the comment book and sending your emails. - Roberto


"Great connection w/neurons. Great idea to name the trees." - Anne Marie C., Harvard Medical School

"Very nice and an amazing film" - Vincent C., Teen Ambassador, Mass Audubon Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary

"Beautiful images - I'm amazed at what you found in the neighborhood I grew up in." Julia M., Newton Resident

Photo Credit: Robert Beinhocker

"Great show - inspiring!" - David H., Photographer

"Wonderful! Thought-provoking, inspiring...the film underscored the value of living and  perceiving the world... at a pace that allows one to experience the details and ponder the beauty of life in all its phases, including what happens after. Great work. Fantastic! Soulful, thoughtful - provocative." - Linda R., Boston University

Photo Credit: Naomi Kooker

"Wonderful! Thank you for engaging us in your process - of discovery and life and death - the whole process. Congratulations! I love trees, too." - Mary M., Arlington

"I really felt a connection with your work. Thanks for sharing your life with us!" - Maud H., Somerville

Photo Credit: Naomi Kooker

"Really excellent presentation. When walking the dog in the woods we will have a different perspective now. Thank you." Chuck R. & Diane A., Medford

Trees of My City Book. Photo Credit: Naomi Kooker

"I had the privilege of attending your wonderful presentation at the Arnold Arboretum yesterday. It was very informative, moving, enlightening, and uplifting. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon." - Susan K.G., Artist

Projection: "Roots" Photo: Naomi Kooker

"It keeps getting better & better. And I love the book." - Karen R., Worcester

"Loved the photography. Inspiring" Giselle C., Student

"Makes me want to slow down when I walk & see what's around me..." - David V.

"Trees are so much more!" - Louise F., Brookline

"Beautiful work. Bravo, Roberto!" - Anonymous

"Roberto, Thank you for working to open our eyes to the importance of what is around us in our everyday lives & worlds."-  Robin M.

Projection: "Other Voices" Photo: N. Kooker

"Congratulations Roberto!" - Brian H., Somerville

"Fabulous work; I really love it!" - David C.

"Beautiful" - Patricia T.

"I enjoyed your pieces: "Driveway" and "Rhodo" - Davell J., Teen Ambassador, Mass Audubon Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary

Video Screening/Photo Show January 22nd

Arnold Arboretum Installation "Trees of My City" Saturday, January 22nd at 1pm + Event Date: Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 + Event Time: 1pm - 3pm + Admission: Free + Venue: The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University + Address: Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130-3500  Directions: http://arboretum.harvard.edu/visit/directions/

BOSTON, MA - 01/10/11 - Trees of My City is an original multimedia installation about the beauty and science of dormant, dead and decaying trees in one American city over one calendar year...and how we can expand our ideas about the cycle of life by contemplating how nature deals with death.  Installation Poster Trees of My City will preview live at The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University on Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 from 1pm - 3pm.  The exhibit also includes Roberto Mighty's fine art photography thru March 6th. Trees of My City was filmed on location in Newton, Massachusetts. Through high definition video, unusual photographic perspectives, timelapse, underwater and aerial photography, digital compositing and surround sound audio, audiences will experience trees in unexpected ways and have their consciousness raised about our urban treescapes. Click here for preview audience quotes. An accompanying image-embedded gps webmap leads users of mobile devices to several of the trees in the installation. Trees of My City was conceived and developed as a museum installation by Roberto Mighty, a filmmaker, photographer and new media artist.  Approximately a year ago, he began photographing and filming local trees.  The project grew to involve noted scientists, naturalists and tree advocates, including Eric J. Olson, PhD, Ecologist, Brandeis University; Kevin T. Smith, PhD, Plant Physiologist, Project Leader, USDA Forest Service; Simon A. Perkins, Field Ornithologist, Larry Sass, Ph.D., Department of Architecture, MIT; Jane Sender, Newton Conservators; and Marc Welch, Division of Urban Forestry, City of Newton.

The Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is the oldest public arboretum in North America and one of the world's leading centers for the study of plants. Administered by the Office of the Provost of Harvard University and a link in Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, the Arnold Arboretum is a unique blend of respected research institution and beloved public landscape. We provide and support world-class research, horticulture, and education programs that foster the understanding, appreciation, and preservation of trees. More Information: Trees of My City Webpage

¡feliz año nuevo! (Happy New Year!)

Welcome to 2011. Towards the end of last year, I became obsessed with shooting dormant, dead and decaying trees in the dark for Trees of My City. 

The best time to shoot is just after sunset, or better yet, just before dawn (5:30am - 6:20am in the late Fall or early Winter), when the sky is full of colors not quite visible to the naked eye. The upside is that the dry air makes for stunningly crisp images. The downside is that it's been wicked cold...13 degrees, 18 degrees, 21 degrees. I can't operate my camera with gloves on, so every shot costs me dearly. But it's worth it. I go out for an hour or more just about every morning or evening.  Thank goodness for long johns and the recent unseasonably warm temperatures, but the more comfortable air is not quite as conducive to drop dead photos.

Here are three examples: "Carriage House," "Blue Velvet" and "La Nieve." These images and others from the Trees of My City night gallery will be featured at my upcoming show at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University later this month. See below for details.

Trees of My City is an original multimedia installation about the beauty and science of dormant, dead and decaying trees in one American city over one calendar year...and how we can expand our ideas about the cycle of life by contemplating how nature deals with death.

If you're a member of the press, email to request a link to the exclusive press movie trailer.

Trees of My City will preview live at The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University on Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 from 1pm - 3pm.  The exhibit also includes, through March 6th,  Roberto Mighty’s fine art photography 

Trees of My City was filmed on location in Newton, Massachusetts. Through high definition video, unusual photographic perspectives, timelapse, underwater and aerial photography, digital compositing and surround sound audio, audiences will experience trees in unexpected ways and have their consciousness raised about our urban treescapes.

If you're a museum curator in the US or overseas interested in possibly having the traveling Trees of My City exhibit in 2011/2012, email to request a link to the museum web preview.

Click here for preview audience quotes.

Trees of My City was conceived and developed as a museum installation by Roberto Mighty, a filmmaker, photographer and new media artist.  

Approximately a year ago, while trying to make sense of the deaths of close family members, he began photographing and filming local trees.  

The project grew to involve noted scientists, including Eric J. Olson, PhD, Ecologist, Brandeis University; Kevin T. Smith, PhD, Plant Physiologist, Project Leader, USDA Forest Service; Simon A. Perkins, Field Ornithologist and Larry Sass, Ph.D., Department of Architecture, MIT.

More Information: Trees of My City Webpage

More Information: Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130
 

+ 01/22/2011: 1pm - 3pm film screening, audio and interactive multimedia installation. 

+ 01/22 - 03/06; Fine Art Photography exhibit in Hunnewell Building, 9am-4pm weekdays; 10am - 4pm Saturdays; Noon - 4pm Sundays.
###

Newton Open Studios. Installation Preview coming soon.

Many thanks to all the friends and fellow artists at Newton Open Studios this past weekend. It was the first public unveiling of large-format fine art prints and a preview of the new photo book from Trees of My City.

Many people were moved to share their trees stories, from places as far-flung as Egypt; England; Australia; Tunisia; Seattle; New York; and even...Cambridge.

Please mark your calendar for the multimedia installation preview (HD video projection, surround-sound audio, interactive gps mapping, photographs, music) of Trees of My City at the Arnold Arboretum on Saturday, January 22nd at 1pm. The press and the public will be invited, and it will be quite the celebration of this year long project. 

Fall Films & Exhibits via #constantcontact

Fall Films & Exhibits via #constantcontact

Dockside Tango

 Dockside Tango on YouTube

I love filming dancers. It started when I was a kid, mesmerized by dance on film in West Side Story. 

Choreographer Jerome Robbins, Composer Leonard Bernstein, Lyricist Stephen Sondheim and Director Robert Wise, together, made an American masterpiece...using tough gang kids dancing in an athletic style, they made musical theater dancing accessible for a much wider audience.

Later came my appreciation of Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp and other modern dance icons. 

Last year, I took my daughter to Broadway to see “In The Heights”, a joyful musical about Dominican-Americans in NYC, combining elements of hip-hop, merengue, bachata, salsa and jazz. 

I’ve also been studying the classic films of Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelley, the late Gregory Hines, TV’s “Dancing With The Stars” the “Step Up” series and the urban sport of Parkour.

The Altis Ballet, my short film featuring Boston Ballet dancers, has garnered close to 170,000 views on YouTube.

But Argentinian Tango holds a special place in my heart. Who can forget Al Pacino’s blind man’s Tango sequence in “Scent of a Woman”? Or Gomez and Morticia doing the Tango in “The Addams Family? Or the films of Sally Potter? Tango is sensuous, passionate and hot. The dance requires absolute concentration, connection and cooperation between the two dancers.

For my new series of short  (under 2 minutes) pieces on dancers, I asked local dance teachers Nancy Murphy and Ron Gursky of Rugcutters to choreograph dances at a handful of locations around Boston. 

I direct, film and edit each piece, experimenting with a variety of production techniques, from camera moves to lighting to editing to special effects, building up a cinematic vocabulary that may be useful on a variety of projects going forward.

Dockside Tango was shot in one morning with my Sony HXR-NEX-5u AVCHD camera at 1920x1080 30p HD, and edited over six weeks entirely in Final Cut Pro. Music -- "Latin Vinyl" by Footage Firm. 

If you’re an accomplished dancer or dance company, any style, please contact me about appearing in upcoming films.

¡Bailemos!  - Roberto