Last night in between sets at Maxwells I got a call from what was to be today’s Photo Shoot. The person in question is a friend but a unreliable one at that. We met about a year ago and agreed to set up a Photo session at one point. The day of the shoot I agreed to meet her at the path train. As I arrived I noticed she was accompanied by two other woman. Fine, I understand to a degree. When you’re meeting a perfect stranger it’s smart to be safe. That day turned out to be an exercise in frustration. The one woman who happened to be her cousin wasted so much of my time stopping to get smokes, junk food and coffee at every juncture. At one point I actually wanted to throw her out of my car. I got along fine with the person I was photographing and even she seemed embarrassed by the woman. We managed to get some good pictures that day and developed a good chemistry. Later she apologized for her cousins attitude and presence. I just asked that if we ever worked together again that she left the entourage at home. So when I got the call last night she tells me she’s riding in with a friend. I’m thinking “okay, maybe we’ll stop at Tunes and he’ll be on his way. I thought wrong. Later I found out that she was bringing him because “She wanted him to see her model”. Are you kidding me? Okay, if it were some outdoor thing maybe. But my studio is also my home and it’s a small one at that. I don’t need someone looking over my shoulder, getting in my way or god forbid getting in my stuff. This is not Sears Portrait. You just can’t do whatever you fucking want and get an extra set of wallets and coupons for it. My studio, my rules.When I got home I brought this up to her. She said “He won’t get in the way.””He’s a nice guy.” Then wrote me off and told me she was going to bed. Over the last year I’ve grown accustomed to working with some really great and reliable people. I don’t plan on changing that. It’s not worth it. Photography and Portrait Photography to be precise are not spectator sports. So I cancelled the shoot and I’ll be looking forward to tomorrows.
I tend to cringe whenever someone brings up Times Square. The place is crowded, congested and littered with tourists. Walking there is like walking through a mine field. Thousands of tourists walking at a snails pace enamored by the glittering lights. Getting around them is virtually impossible considering how much space is taken up by vendors selling their counterfeit bags, glasses and other crap. Walking on the street is an option if you don’t mind getting run down by a cab, bicyclist or rickshaw. It’s a true exercise in frustration. It’s also a right of passage and an everyday routine for most New Yorkers. Last night on the news they spoke about a new plan to detour traffic or at least motor vehicles from the Times Square area. Opening up the streets to human traffic and giving people a little breathing room. Being that there was another street fair and some newly acquired elbow room we headed over to see what was up. The weather was perfect. The usual combination of tourists, theatre goers, locals and oddballs were out and about. I lived a few blocks over in Hell’s Kitchen for eight years. Although the area and particularly Times Square bare little resemblance to the old. It still feels good to get back to the West Side. The Navy was in town. The Naked Cowboy was well “almost naked” We made our way up to Central Park and over to Lincoln Center before we headed back. As always hunger found it’s way to our belly’s and we decided on “the Carnegie Deli”. In the past I had always seen these classic deli’s on the food network and featured in various shows but thought “who could eat that much?” Seriously, how can anyone wrap their mouth around a sandwich that huge and live? Well, since conquering Katz’s deli on the Lower East Side years back I realized I could conquer any sandwich. I’ll say this, Carnegie is good but Kat’z has them beat by a mile as far as taste and overall experience is concerned. It was good but I am staying loyal to my old favorite. Let the tourists eat there. Exhausted and with our bellies full we headed home. I met some nice people. Ate some good food and got some good pictures. All within an ear shot of home.
The weather today was just perfect. The kind of day where you want to get outside, feel the sun on your face and dip your toes in the water. I had a really busy day but was eventually able to head over to Washington Square Park. I always hear people talk about how they could never raise their kids in the city. Personally, I can’t imagine a better place to grow up. Manhattan offers some of the best parks you can imagine. Washington Square and Union Square are two of my favorites because they offer so much in such a small area of space. The Parks are always full of music, art and activity. As a photographer they keep me inspired and allow my creativity to thrive. At times there’s so much going on it makes my head spin and before I know it I’ve been there for hours. “Look at that….Wait, look at that…No, look at that.” Today was one of those days. The fountain is a particular favorite of mine. There aren’t many swimming pools in the city outside of the YMCA and the pricy Health Clubs so this is the spot. The fountain is in the center of the park which is evident by all the activity surrounding it. In the last year I’ve gotten a little obsessed with taking pictures around water. I love the energy and being able to freeze that moment. I’m really looking forward to more days like today.
During the past couple of weeks New Jersey has quickly turned in Seattle on the East. It’s been rainy, windy and downright depressing. You can’t help but notice the effect it’s had on just about everyone. Due to allergies I lost my voice for about a week and learned the hard way how much we take the art of breathing for granted. Sick or not I needed something to do because I was getting downright depressed. So word that there was going to be a good show at Maxwell’s was the best medicine an old man could get. This show took on a special quality due to the fact that Ringfinger and Cinemasophia were playing. This was the first time Tracy (Ringfinger) had performed at Maxwells since her days fronting Dahlia Seed more than thirteen years ago. I was lucky enough to see the first Ringfinger show in Richmond about a month ago and was eager to see her in what in a sense was a homecoming.
The temperatures were headed into the 80’s today so we headed over to Brooklyn for Chicken and Waffles on Washington St. and to check out the Cherry Blossoms at the Botanical Gardens. There’s a cool sprinkler outside of the museum that shoots out of the ground intermittently. The water dances in and out almost like a ballet. The kids were going crazy and although there are easily viewable signs that say “Do not Enter”. The kids never seemed to care. Come to think of it. Why should they? Due to a combination of too much food and too much sun (if there is such a thing) we never made it inside the Gardens. Somehow just sitting on the Museum steps and watching those kids have such a good time seemed like enough.
“5 Pointz” located in Long Island City in Queens is a block long, massive building covered in graffiti done by artists who come from all over the globe. A must see for anyone really. Whether you love the art form, hate it, even if your indifferent to the entire culture. One of the great things about the spot is it is ever changing. Bring your camera because even the most inspiring pieces aren’t permanent. When I stopped by on my way home today the sun was in the perfect spot and it was pretty much deserted. I took my time to examine every individual piece before heading back to the city. It definitely takes a while. If you want to take the trip yourselves take the Queens bound E or V trains to 23 Ely Ave.
This morning I took a trip to Canons Jamesburg offices to have my lens looked at. I have the Canon 28-135 EF lens and as of late I’ve noticed how loose it’s been. Upon dropping it off and explaining my issue he examined the lens and said it was nothing tightening a few screws couldn’t fix. Upon further examination he looked at me puzzled and asked “What’s all this green stuff?” I began explaining my recent experience at an outing where people were celebrating an Indian tradition called Boli. I told him I had never experienced anything like and most likely wouldn’t get the chance anytime soon. He looked up at me and smiled. “I’m from India. I know exactly what your talking about. For those of you who haven’t heard of it Holi is an ancient celebration of good over evil. During the celebration people hug and wish each other “Happy Holi”. You also playfully smudge a colorful powder on one another which in this case got a little out of hand. At the time I grabbed my camera and at a safe distance (or so I thought) started taking pictures. Mix Holi fest with a lot of energetic people, a lot of alcohol and an over abundance of powder and you have a war. Everyone including me were covered head to toe in it before long. It was fun but it was insane. I managed to clean my camera and lens pretty thouroughly but I didn’t get it all. I’m sure Canon will do a great job. They always do and in good time. I would recommend the to anyone .
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