The trip from Hell

I decided to leave Va a little earlier than planned for a few reasons. I caught the last bus out before the blizzard. The trip was smooth for the first 100 miles or so and then things got bad. We crept along at a snails pace for what turned out to be a 12 hour trip...Yep, 12 hours door to door. Traveling can be such a giant pain in the ass. Yesterday I took a very long walk through Central Park after seeing a photo exhibit at the Met. What a beautiful day. I turned my camera on a setting called "Nostalgic". I think I should just shoot it normally from now on... I was in an experimental mood.
The Sheep Meadow. Camera set on "Retro" to look like an old Polaroid. Perhaps if I want that look I should just use an old Polaroid camera...I still have 27 packs left.
Just inside the park off of 79th street and 5th ave. Though the hills are small the people used all sorts of various ways to slide down them...saucers, sleds, cardboard boxes, toboggans. It was wonderful hearing all the laughter and screaming as people slammed into one another.
Madison park before the blizzard.

Outside my building..buried cars, 2 days after storm.Scary snowman with weird Donald Trump pine needle hair.
I added a pine cone.
Sad little penguin looking snowman with pennies for eyes in Central Park
Traffic signal on Upper West Side falls off pole, firemen show up, stand around for 20 minutes and then wrap it with caution tape... nice.

100 ways

I'm reading this book I picked up at a thrift store called 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World. Fascinating. From the moment I picked it up I couldn't put it down. It covers some pretty serious issues including everything from global warming to how fat and gluttonous we are in America. It reminds us that we're still 49th in world literacy and 41st in infant mortality. It also reminds us that it's not "unpatriotic" to criticize your own country, and doing so might actually incite change. The book is a great "slap in the head." People with big homes and SUVs know it's bad for the planet and don't care. They want what they want and don't care if it harms anyone else. Typical American mentality.

Finally, regarding global warming the book states, "The scientific deniers are skeptics about its potential scale of destruction, not the fact that it's occurring."

Topics include:

Altering the Earth's climate

Wars of Choice

Television

Dumping toxins

Blood for oil

Vietnam

The Kyoto Treaty (we didn't sign it, another Bush blunder--157 other countries did, including Russia, Canada and Japan)

Reaganism

SUVs

Big Pharma

Consumerism

McDonaldization

What would Jesus say?

USA, We're #1 (yes, only in weaponry, consumer spending, debt and delusion)

Our Fat Country

Commercialization of Sports

Disney

Celebrity Culture

So, give this book as a Christmas present. Bet they don't get past the third chapter before they put it down. Easier to not read it and spare themselves the guilt. And the cycle of gluttony continues....

Jaded, and not

People come from all over the world to see this sight. The ferry's decks were crowded with enthusiastic tourists snapping photos. And then, there's always the jaded commuter.

Windshield sunset.

Last light in Soho.

Quiet Time

This pretty much sums up what the winter months are like for most freelancers.....

There's always some person taking up too much room on the subway. This fat dope couldn't put his legs together... I wanted to give him a swift kick in the 'nads. The other day some homeless woman was camped out on the downtown A train during rush hour taking up 5 seats with her belongings. And she smelled bad....

The odd chance of meeting Ingrid

A few months ago I was looking for a new model to shoot. I checked some agencies and sites and after looking at literally hundreds of model profiles, I decided to contact a model named Ingrid. Before leaving for my trip to Vancouver I photographed my friend Julie. We had a great time and took some terrific photos. A few days after I gave Julie a disc of her photos she sent me an email saying she loved the shots and a friend of hers wanted to shoot with me. She sent me a picture of the friend and it turned out to be.... Ingrid. How bizarre. What are the chances of that? After a series of emails we did a shoot yesterday and it was great. She has such a 1960s, Bardot-esque look to me.

She was the coolest!

3 views

Yesterday while strolling in the Bronx I saw this elderly woman who is apparently fond of earthy clay-like tones. I'll bet she owns an Irish Setter. Her hair was perfectly coiffed.

Does standing on a park bench while talking on your cell phone provide better reception?

Walking through the West Village, I liked these tree shadows cast on this brownstone.

Ho

I haven't been in the mood to blog. I haven't been in the mood for anything. It's a quiet time. Work is slow, life is slow and I'm not shooting anything other than street photography.

But it's all good... things are fine.

What screams the holiday spirit like a lopsided Christmas tree in an empty lobby? But, it's a real tree, I have to give my super some credit for that.

Standing under this beautiful tree I started to spin around with a slow shutter speed... I'm sure I looked like an idiot. Reminds me of when was a kid when you would do those spin paintings. Lay a piece of paper on a turntable and spin it while dripping paint onto the paper.

Fall leaves on a windshield.

A few snaps of reflections on the Hudson.

High above Central Park

Kids playing ball.

My friend Caroline's apartment was flooded awhile back and she and her family temporarily moved into an apartment on Central Park West and 88th street while repairs were being done. I went over late this afternoon and took these photos off the wrap around terrace. The most amazing views... Plop down about $4 million and it can be yours. Click on images.

Today's pics

The shriveled remains of Halloween

Sunset over Nagle Ave, Inwood

Funny sign in Chelsea art district

Downtown

At least three times I've seen this odd attempt at making some sort of statement scribbled on various doorways downtown. Or, maybe it's just bad, meaningless graffiti. I wish the author would leave a bit more to ponder. With that information, maybe perhaps, I would.Interesting late afternoon shadow against the massive London Terrace building on 23rd.
Loft building in Soho that I daydream of living in someday. The views must be spectacular. I've done "The Secret", I've meditated, I've prayed, I'm even willing to marry some 92-year-old woman who lives near the top to live in that building. I don't ask for much from life... is this too big of a request?
Down near Canal Street, I liked the fading afternoon light on this flag....

Joan...

Last week I shot Joan Collins. I can't say much other than it didn't go exactly the way I would have liked it to. It started off with her being an hour late. When she arrived in the suite, I asked her sit down on a couch in front of a large window, hoping to use the Park Avenue skyline as the backdrop. In the whopping 6 minutes she "allowed" me to shoot her, she managed to question my choice of lighting set up (twice), asked why I was shooting from such a low angle, had someone get her some water, ask to turn up the air conditioning and have her husband Quincy (who is younger than I am) check the lcd screen on my camera to see if he approved of the shot. Overall she seemed bored and generally displeased with me. Then, suddenly she jumped up and said, "I think we're done". Sorry Joan, you win the title of my least favorite "celeb" shoot in 17+ years.
Here's a link to my 6-minute cover shot.

Packing up, I picked up the cup she had used and put it in my bag. For putting me through this misery I'll wait a few years and sell it on Ebay. Perhaps some crazy Joan Collins/Dynasty fan in Iowa will give me a few bucks for it (along with a nice 8 x 10 glossy portrait, of course).

Christmas lights are already up in the 'hood. Holy Shitmas

Unhappy cute dog trapped in a bodega basement...

Very happy dog trapped in loving owner's embrace.

The price of paranoia

Everyone is bugging out for Obama to do something. Jump into a financial shitstorm and fix it in 2 years. The World Trade Center is still a hole in the ground 9 years later. Hurricane Katrina levels New Orleans and it's still a mud hole. But, Obama is supposed to fix everything, including our huge financial mess, in only 2 years? People are stupid. You want to see what our problem is? Read the following pamphlet I recently got from my 81-year-old friend Sallie Marx. Here's where all our tax dollars go. Here's a brilliant idea, close a few of the 700+ military bases around the world that aren't doing anything, stop starting wars and don't get into every skirmish that starts up worldwide, and we'd pretty much be able to fix the budget AND solve the healthcare woes in short order.... But I may be wrong. (click to enlarge)

Me and a Brazilian

I saw this little shaft of light on a wall and made a self portrait.
I helped my wonderful friend Amber set up her new lights while in Vancouver. She was shooting a test of this lovely Brazilian girl... I had to horn in a take a few shots.

Frogs etc

Walking through Chinatown I saw this large bucket of frogs sitting in front of an open fish market. Glancing down, I felt sorry the little things and wondered who actually buys and eats them. Something tells me they eat more than the legs, they waste nothing.Another odd sight in Chinatown, I passed this manicure place and noticed the prices. Excenllent!
Shadows on the Met early one day. (Sorry, not a great snap, still testing out the limits of the LX5).