i am now for sale!
Actually, my work is the only thing for sale. Sorry to get your hopes up. 
 I have finally uploaded some photos to sell at imagekind. You can buy anything from framed prints to greeting cards with my photographs on it. The choice is yours. *cough*framed prints *cough*
I am not big on politics. Let me just put that out there. I try my best to keep up so as not to look like a complete imbecile, but I’m not usually itching to get into a discussion about it. Goodness knows, watching a debate is horribally painful for me. So, imagine my surprise when I eagerly dvr’d the Palin/Biden debate, as well as countless other Obama ones. I had a friend text me McCain’s VP choice when it was announced, and I thought, “when has my friend ever texted me about something political”? I thought it was awesome. I loved seeing my friend’s comments and status messages on Facebook during debates and interviews. No matter who you wanted to win, the beauty of this whole election process was that it made a lot of people care and get involved.
I wanted Obama to win though, so I’m very happy with the outcome. 
That day really is a moment I hope to share with my future children. I was prepared to be up late watching the poll predictions trickle in. My brother decided to make steaks, so I bought a bottle of wine. I was getting comfortable with glass in hand and CNNHD on screen when the words “President Elect Obama” popped on screen. My bro and I stood there in disbelief for a second, and then started screaming. We both ran to the terrace to listen to the revelers at the bar across the street, and celebrated with fellow terrace shouters.
It was then that we decided to head to Times Square, camera in hand. I’ve never been to the New Year’s Celebration, but that moment is what I’m sure it ususally feels like. Thousands of people were packed together, giddy and excited. Eyes were glued to the jumbotron’s and chants of “Obama” broke out every few minutes. It was awesome in the true sense of the word. My bro and I called up our parents, as well as all four of our grandparents, whom I was thankful were still alive to witness this insane moment in history. It was something I will never forget, and I’m so happy I was able to be a part of it.
It is safe to say that no matter how I’m feeling, bubbles always make me happy. Blowing bubbles is a simple pleasure that, over the years, has become my favorite summertime tradition. As soon as the weather hits 70 degrees , I head to the store to purchase a 99 cent bottle of instant euphoria.
Imagine my giddiness when I found out about a “Bubble Battle” taking place during the Summer Solstice. I didn’t think I’d ever find a place where I could openly share my love for the soapy goodness, but I was wrong. At precisely 6:21pm, in the heart of Times Square, hundreds of people gathered together armed with bottles, bubble guns, bubble machines, and one machine powered by a sock monkey. I overheard a person proclaim it to be “Bubblepalooza”, and I deemed it very appropriate.
The event lasted around an hour, and it drew a ton of confused and curious onlookers. I had a few people approach me and ask why we were doing it, and all I could tell them was that we were doing it for the love of bubbles. And that is what made the event so awesome. There was no ulterior motive, no cause we were celebrating or protesting. A bunch of random people gathered together simply to have -and create- an enjoyable, whimsical moment in the midst of a chaotic city. It felt partly like a hippie love fest and partly like an art happening, but whatever you want to call it, it was one of the most touching, surreal moments I’ve had, and I was happy to be a part of it.
In fact, the whole day was a testament to the beauty of New York in the summertime. I had wandered the streets for most of the day ,since it was so gorgeous out, and stumbled upon a few other events in my neighborhood. When I had ventured out to Times Square earlier in the day in the vain attempt to find a bubble gun (Toys R Us let me down), I got to witness a giant yoga class taking place. Much like the bubble battle, it was interesting to see people participating in something that is so peaceful, in a place that is anything but.
Later on, I ran into a small block party on 48th street. It had a very homey, neighborhood feel to it. There was a cool old-school rock band playing, and people were just hanging out on their stoops enjoying the music and weather. Toward the end of the block was a dunk tank and other games, so I watched the poor woman get constantly hurtled into the water by various players with good aim.
Aside from the bubble battle, the highlight of my day was befriending an older gentleman who was chillin on his stoop. He seemed so happy and serene, that I felt compelled to wave at him as I passed by. There are times when potential photos just pop into my head, and the minute I saw him, he looked like a classic black and white image. However, I sometimes don’t like photographing random people on the street because I feel like I’m invading their privacy. As I continued on, the image in my head kept nagging at me, so I finally decided to turn back and approach the man. I told him that he looked really cool sitting there and asked if I could take his picture. He was very sweet and said, “Of course”, and then posed for me. He was totally accommodating while i snapped a few shots, and I thanked him profusely when I was done. That brief encounter with a kind soul helped make my summer solstice a memorable one.
My friend, Rachel, and I share a love for all things abandoned, decrepit, and crumbly. So when she suggested a trek to the Green-Wood cemetery, I was all for it. It was a gorgeous day for shooting, and I was surprised at how lush and expansive the grounds were. REALLY expansive. We wandered around for about three hours and barely made a dent in the place. It didn’t help that I lost the map as we were trying to find the way out! Luckily, we were semi-close to one of the exits, so I didn’t doom us to life in the cemetery. There are apparently quite a few notable residents of Green-Wood, but we narrowed our sights to just two: Leonard Bernstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Bernstein ’s grave site was relatively easy to find, and it turned out to be a nice memorial bench and plaque surrounded by flowers. The flowers were surrounded by bees, so Rachel and I just admired from afar. I was very thankful for my telephoto lens at that moment. People left rocks and coins by the plaque, but one go-getter thought to leave his business card. I hope that works out well for him.
The next stop was Basquiat’s grave, and we had high hopes for that one. We conjured up all sorts of ideas about what a Basquiat grave could look like, it being Basquiat and all. However, it turned out to be a simple, modest gravestone. It was so simple and modest that it took us about a 1/2 hour of searching to find it. When we finally did find it, I was a little dissapointed that he didn’t get more ornamentation. A few people left coins, rocks, and flowers (no business cards this time ’round), but otherwise not much fanfare for such a prolific artist. Someone did take it upon themselves to draw a Basquiat-like crown on his tombstone, so that homage made it a little better.
There was a lot we didn’t get to check out, so we’re hoping to go back again before the summer’s out. Maybe next time we’ll stalk Samuel Morse and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
I was asked to take some shots during the recording of the new Jazz Tribe album (their first in some years) last week. In between having fun shooting the guys in action, I managed to sneak in some shots of the studio itself that I really think came out funky.
Nine Inch Nails is one of my favorite bands, so I was elated to find out that Trent (ok, so it’s technically only one person) randomly put out a new album of instrumentals. The album in itself is great, but the icing on the cake is the fact that the downloadable version of the album comes with photos for each track. It is so fascinating to have the image change on the ipod with each new song.
Some incarnations of the album apparently come with a 40 page pdf booklet of the images. I like being able to see the full images, but then the photos aren’t as closely entwined with the music, imho.
I have always been intrigued by the combination of music and visuals. The right combo can truly be powerful. I’ve experimented with blending photography and music over the years, and still search for ways to seamlessly mesh them together. One of my future goals is to do a large art piece that integrates music within my work. Teaming up with the right musician to create track by track images for his/her album would be a great start (hint, hint ). Part of the reason why I got into web design/interactive art was because of the endless ways you could weave art forms together. I love that people are constantly pushing the boundaries. I just found out that the new Autechre album does the same thing, so I may have to get it just to see how they execute it.
In this month’s Vanity Fair, there is a really cool spread about female comedians shot by Annie Leibowitz. She’s always awesome, but I love these photos because I’m obsessed with what I call the faux candid: shots that look like you caught someone in the moment, but really didn’t.
I’m not quite sure why I’m always drawn to that type of image, but it is definitely something that I’ve been wanting to play around with for a while.
Subscribe
