this photo newbie still has so much to learn

Celtic musicians at the Brass Monkey Bar. Photo taken 3/16/08.


This is what teetotalers do when others are guzzling up. They take pictures of musicians and wonder how other photographers make dark photos look like Rembrandt paintings.

Upper West Side. Photo taken Feb 2008. I've no idea what kind of bird this is.


Strelecktomyacin, if you're reading this entry I have a li'l gift for you: It's called a walk down memory lane. There's a sentence there that gave me pause. The author writes, "I was amazed to see that every building on the west side of 6th between 29th and 31st was gone..."

I read that and was like, "Hmmm, interesting how that was exactly my wish during my lunch hours in every calendar day of 2004...." Bitter, anyone?

Midtown. Photo taken Mar 2008.

ghost town

Vinegar Hill. Orig photo taken March 2008; sepia cast applied.


I'll admit something here about that day a few weeks ago when I walked around in Dumbo and its adjacent neighborhood called Vinegar Hill: I couldn't bring myself to take photos of the latter. Everytime I raised my camera to take a picture of some of the old houses, many of which look exactly as they did in the mid-19th century, something in me told me put my camera down.

Here's the kicker: The last time I got that feeling was when I tried to take a photo of the upper windows of a townhouse on Gay Street (in the Village). I was so weirded out by that voice that told me to stop, that when I went home I looked up that address and discovered that it was one the most haunted places in New York City. I kid you not. You can find out more about that freaky-deaky place here. And I truly did not know about its history until after I walked away from that place.

Then again, when I was a teenager my sisters and I pulled up onto the house some family friends had just moved into, and I leaned forward and pointed to the top right window. "There's a ghost in that room," I said. Ate and Cookie were like, "Shut the f-- up, don't say that." True enough, that night they were all telling stories and the host started telling anecdotes of how her daughter kept complaining that someone was in her bedroom and wouldn't let her sleep. The daughter's bedroom was that same room I had pointed out earlier.

Any-whooo.... back to Vinegar Hill. It is rich with old history and the place looks abandoned by time. The only thing there besides the old houses and cobblestone streets is the Con Edison plant. You can learn more about it here.

Now why am I writing all this at 2:30 in the morning? What is compelling me to write this entry? Cue in the Twilight Zone music, please.


(Note to Ats, aka Judge Connie: OK, I can so see you freaking out as you read this. Not to worry. I am safe. We all are. I am protected by many guardian angels and creatures of Light. See previous entry for proof.)

little gifts, seen or not seen

Bethesda Fountain angel, Central Park. Photo taken Feb 2008. I stood on tiptoes on a park bench on the street level above and then zoomed down to get this shot.


This entry is a little gift for Angel Amy, who celebrates her birthday today. She doesn't visit this site unless specifically asked, so chances are she'll never see that I posted this for her.

I like that I'm dedicating this entry to her and it will go unnoticed. Such is the nature of unconditional love, and it is precisely Amy who has taught me, just by being who she is, how freeing it is to keep giving of oneself and not expecting anything in return.

how to have a date with yourself

Manhattan Bridge as seen from Washington Street (Dumbo, Brooklyn). Photo taken March 2007. More photos to come.


1. Begin the day psyching yourself up to tackle your to-do list, which includes catching up on laundry, dishwashing, dusting, and paying bills.

2. Recharge your camera instead. Think of an image within commuting distance you've never been to before. Surf the web for decent maps of that neighborhood. Jot down recommended places to eat. Put on your sneakers.

3. Walk out the door with camera, iPod, ATM card, bus pass, and a magazine to read in case you find yourself on a park bench. Do not bring your cell phone. If you can't leave without it, bring it but turn it off. Leave home your day-to-day bag brimming with crap you don't need.

4. When you arrive at your destination, do not refer to the map you've printed out unless you really have to. Relish in getting lost. Don't forget to hum to yourself.

5. Be utterly present within your body. Take a look around as though you're seeing everything for the first time. You in fact are. Even if you've been there before, the only reality is now, which means the person who saw those sights before is no longer you. If you're having a hard time seeing things without preconceived notions, pretend you have amnesia.

6. When you encounter people who want to talk to you during your walk, and you will, don't be afraid to engage in conversation. Old men, moms with children, tourists... everyone's got a question or a comment. Be compassionate. Loneliness is everywhere, and a few of them will turn out to say something that would be of real help to you. So talk. This rule does not apply to anyone who gives you the creeps. Be friendly, but don't be an idiot.

7. When you sit down for your meal, leave a big tip. Don't ever be cheap. Treat yourself like royalty, which means anyone who has dealings with you is just as blessed. If you end up getting your food at a place without waiter service such as a deli or a pizza joint, eat your food outdoors, on a park bench or stoop. Look up at the clouds while munching.

8. Be trigger happy with your camera. It is okay to take 20 shots of the same object. Who said you can't? Who's the boss of you? No one.

9. Give thanks every now and then. You don't have to say it out loud. Every hour or so, just think it. Say to your heart, say to the world, say to that flower or that fire hydrant, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

10. Let the world open itself. Or rather, let yourself open to it. Every time you're ready to see something beautiful, you most certainly will. It might not happen immediately. It might not even happen that day. But it will, especially with practice. That's a promise.

love of work

All photos taken during a single day (November 2006) in which I walked all over Central Park, all over the Met, and then come nightfall I then walked down 5th Avenue up to Times Square. Photos laid out in InDesign this evening.


I was doing some photo organizing and thought I would trash all the photos above, since they weren't really the kind of thing I'm dying to post. Then I thought, "aha, what if I laid them out like a postage sheet, sort of like what I saw in the Barbara Bloom exhibit today."

So I did. And I really loved doing it. It has been a long time since I enjoyed doing something where I lost all track of time, and I was just mesmerized watching the thing unfold in front of my keyboard. Working on it felt so good, and only afterwards did I realize that what I was feeling was joy.

Leeds Castle, UK.


I bet you $80,000 that Client No. 9 wouldn't mind hanging out in a place like this right now...

Rockefeller Park (near the new/current Stuy HS). Tom Otterness' sculptures.

silencio!

I'm in a non-explaining mood. I want to post photos, but I don't feel like saying where they're from. So until my mood changes, just enjoy these pics as is. Pretend they're coming from the great void in my head.

As a sort of sequitor, I recommend the movie "Into the Great Silence." It's about a bunch of monks in France (or is it Germany?) who have taken a vow of silence. The most wordless, dragging movie you'll ever see, devoid of plot, dialogue, or speed, and at first I was pressing that forward button like a fiend. But by the middle of it I was hooked, and by the end of it I wanted to make my own pirated copy.