one more installment of black-and-white

I took most of these photographs months and months ago (some as long ago as April or May) and only recently developed the rolls. Imagine my excitement as I put three rolls through the chemicals, not knowing what would appear once finished because I had no recollection of when I shot the rolls, or where! I found photographs from New York City, Cape Cod, and Acadia. Here are a few that I scanned and uploaded.


arches on Broadway
Bridges have always fascinated me, appealing to my appreciation of geometry, math, and architecture, not to mention my deep wonder at how these structures support so much weight. I love the repetition of arches into the distance, and I also love the way the small aperture allows for good detail even on the far reaches of the bridge. The cars turning onto this street are heading toward... One can only guess!


preparing for lunch
The dark interior of this Indian restaurant provided an interesting shot, and I remember using the table as a makeshift tripod so that I could use a slower shutter speed. I also remember thinking that the restaurant would soon fill up with hungry patrons, but it never did. Brooke and I were the only ones in there that afternoon.


i'm going to get you with my crab claws!
Yes, definitely weird. I think the photo's title says plenty.


early morning on cadillac
I took this photograph early one morning in June as John and I waited for the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Although no one else made the hike up, as we did, a number of people waited in their cars on this chilly morning. Those who ventured out ended up backlit by the increasing light, and I captured this group with a crescent moon high above.


pop at hunter's
This is another photo from Acadia, though I took this portrait of Pop much later in the summer, during our August visit and a trip to Hunter's Beach.

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spiderman
Taken at Toys R Us, Times Square, New York City.

'p' is for 'heath'

There are only a handful of people who will get this title, but with some digging around, you may enter into that secret cult. Don't worry: you won't be asked to drink poisoned Kool-Aid in some tropical South American rainforest.

I made a few digital prints today that I'm very excited about. They include all three photos that I posted on this blog yesterday. Tonight, I give you the letter "P".




I photographed this fire hose in Chelsea Market. I had to ask a group of teenagers if I could squeeze behind the table they were eating lunch at. There's nothing like momentarily intruding on the lives of adolescents to make anyone anxious. They're can be unpredictable! Fortunately for me, this group hailed from a pleasant tribe of pubescent homo sapiens and they granted me access so I could work on my project. I didn't stick around long enough to listen to any snide comments they may have made behind my back.







Not a terrific photograph, but I found it amusing that a sign and signpost shaped like the letter "P" would have a "P" crossed out. This sign is also a double negative of sorts: no parking and no littering. New York City has gotten creative with its signage. Especially clever? The use of a push-broom to cross out the "P" on the sign.

See full album here.

changing it up

Just to break up the stream of alphabet photos, here are a few of the other photos I've been taking recently.


golaso!
Heath and I went to an MLS game at the new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, yesterday to see the New York Red Bulls take on the Philadelphia Union. Fun times, and I nabbed a few photos of this penalty kick goal that put the Red Bulls ahead 2-1.


times square model
I was in Times Square with my photography class on Tuesday night, talking about taking photographs in low light, experimenting with shutter speed and flash. Toward the end of our stint, this model showed up with a few photographers. I made my way toward them, and looking official with my DSLR and external flash, I fired off a few frames of my own! This model was so bold. I loved the way she just stood there, the expression on her face one of power and confidence.


dry reflections
I'm loving the reflections of the light off of the ground. Generally, one sees this type of effect after it rains, when there's still a layer of water on the ground. However, it was completely dry tonight. (Apparently, lots of movie producers will hose down roads before filming, just to get that bright, shiny street with great reflections.)

I C D ABC N NYC

For me, photography is about seeing things in a particular way, discovering them with fresh eyes (or lenses), finding in them qualities that I have never seen before or interpreting and redefining them in a completely new way.

Due in part to my frustrations with repeatedly photographing flowers, trees, and other remnants of nature in this stifling city, and to my intolerance and general inability for seeing the beauty in city photography, I found myself craving a new project. Inspiration came from two sources:

1) William Steig's C D B, a book full of sentences formed by using letters of the alphabets as words (e.g., C D B = see the bee), and

2) ABC NYC: A Book About Seeing NYC, a children's book depicting letters of the alphabet through photography.

With my current project, I embark on a 26-day adventure, finding the alphabet in places one might not think to look. This is not about photographing signs and billboards. Rather, this is about seeing letters as part of things. A sub-part of this project is to see whether or not I can find all 26 letters on bicycles.

Whereas I originally thought that I might limit myself to photographing just one letter each day, I have decided that building up a bank may not be such a bad thing. It turns out that I often discover letters when I am not looking for them. It would be a shame not to take advantage of such serendipitous occasions. For example, I found a 'Q' today that I am incredibly excited to share. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until day 17. Photographing ahead, though, should not, will not, deter me from continuing to seek out letters.

Beginning today, and running for the next 25 days, I will begin with 'A' and reveal subsequent letters of the alphabet until I reach 'Z'. Letters may be uppercase or lowercase, and I will aim for at least two or three representations of each letter. So, without further ado, I present to you the letter 'A'.


the ceiling of Milbank Chapel, Teachers College, Columbia University



road block



seat stays of a bicycle frame



A-frame sign outside Panino Sportivo on Amsterdam Ave.

menagerie by the bridge

Following a trip to Brooklyn to see a lacrosse game between Trinity and Poly Prep, I decided to walk around and explore. What did I find? First, I was surprised to see a menagerie of animals on Poly's campus, all sharing a plot of land that abutted a small pond. Roosters, ducks, geese, and even rabbits. Who knew? The only thing missing is a peacock. That they were all able to peacefully cohabit this small plot of land impressed me greatly.




Not too far from the campus, the Verrazano Bridge sits above the city, joining Brooklyn to that unwanted sister that serves as the city's fifth borough: Staten Island. Yes, it's time that Jersey annexed the island. Crossing over I-278, I decided to photograph the bridge and rediscovered the difficulties of using a simple point-and-shoot equipped only with auto-focus. Trying to photograph something behind a fence? Fadgettaboudit! So how did I manage to capture the bridge in focus while rendering blurry the chain link fence? I had to first shove the lens through the fence, focus, and then back a few steps away from the fence.


This final photo of the Verrazano Bridge makes a nice addition to my Frames album.

cathedral of saint john the divine

Using a photo-stitching application, I created this image of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, located on Amsterdam Ave in New York City. It's amazing to me how these programs can detect similar features in photographs and "stitch" them together to create these larger images. I'm also a fan of the fisheye effect here.


click on photo to enlarge

days are still getting shorter...

Although I like having the sunlight streaming through my window to help me wake up in the morning, I occasionally have the opportunity to stop and enjoy the later sunrises. I woke up on December 1st and caught the orange glow of the approaching sun stretch across the horizon. The silhouetting of the buildings and the airplanes departing from LaGuardia Airport transformed the landscape I'm used to seeing out my dorm room window from a sprawling mess of buildings into a murky formless shape, nighttime lights still faintly shining from windows and streetlamps, all sharply contrasted against the ever-brightening sky above.

night photography

Walking back to my dormitory from the gym tonight, the slow-moving mist illuminated by lamps and other lights inspired me to bring out my camera and tripod for some night photography.

See the entire album here.


omniscience


soothing jazz in the night

roaring into november

This weekend brought with it many photo-filled opportunities, including Heath's visit, a walk through Central Park, a visit to the American Museum of Natural History, the Village Halloween Parade, and the NYC Marathon. I'm the proud owner of a new Nikon D90, which is a huge upgrade from my Olympus E-300. Of course, the camera doesn't make the photographer, so hopefully I can create images that live up to the machine.

I've updated the NYC albums, both "urban" and "beyond urban", with nighttime photos of Times Square, macro images of bees and grasshoppers in the Conservatory Garden, and the silk cloth made from spider's silk, on display at the American Museum of Natural History. Check out my NYC marathon album, and my updates to Project Eat. (More to say on Project Eat in a later post.)

Images below to entice you to visit the full albums!

From NYC: Urban Images (13 new photos)



From NYC: Beyond the Urban Walls (52 new images)





From NYC Marathon 2009

out for a ride

city living

My first week of seeking beauty in the city has resulted in some photos I like, but it has not yet changed my assessment of the city.

I thought I might embark on a project photographing taxis, but this was not very unique; I saw plenty of people doing the same thing over the weekend. So Plan B is to photograph people in the act of eating. With all the streetside vendors in the city, this should be a fun assignment.

Below is a sampling of photos from recent weeks. Click on the album title to see the full collection.

NYC: Cityscape





NYC: Beyond the Urban Walls



Project Eat (in development)

seeking beauty

Moving to the city has presented some real challenges for me. I struggle to fall asleep at night, and the endless barrage of noises tear me out of delicate slumber in the mornings. The perpetual stream of people coming at me from all directions, not to mention the cars that accelerate by, only to come to a screeching halt at the next intersection, demand every ounce of attention my graduate-school-taxed brain can muster. The cacophany of sirens, horns, and alarms jolt my senses with every step I take. My sympathetic nervous system, regulator of "fight or flight," eagerly awaits those moments when I escape the streets of New York and enter the safer havens of the classroom or residence hall.

I hate the city for those reasons and more. And my photography reflects it, as I seek out subjects that remind me of more pastoral settings. Even those images that do not involve trees or flowers strive to eliminate any indication that the bustling city exists outside their frames.



But if I expect to survive in this place, I need to force myself to embrace the city. I need not love it, but I can certainly accept it for what it is. Was it not Aristotle who argued that through practice, one can develop new habits?

And so I have set a new goal for myself: Photograph the city. Actively seek out elements of the urban setting that hold beauty. Through the lens of my camera, perhaps I can begin to see the city with new eyes, in ways that allow me to develop a relationship of harmony with this place.

My first step toward meeting this challenge:


dunce caps