Known Dangers

"My drama does not curl in on itself. I am not the center of my universe. Best be be on my way, there are flames afoot and I will not huff to stir them about... my fringes are delicate."

No Leaps of Faith

Taken: 03/10/2011 in Amer, Rajasthan, India. The day was coming to a close and this rhesus macaque wanted a better perch to gaze out over the hills. Who can blame him for trying? He had been batting his lashes for awhile but with little success. He moved on.

Haute Color

Everything is better in color, except black and white photographs.

--

When she stands still the earth hurries to keep up.

Taken: 11/26/2011 by Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The cold was following us around and the bridges' eyes watched as we set up and tore down our photos--their twinkle belying amusement.

As the Fraying Goes

Reap what you sow.

Weep as you sew.

Wreath in the snow.

Wrath of a woman.

It all goes together until it all falls apart. And then?

Torned

Taken: 02/23/2011 in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY. I am interrupted by the torn screen--screaming for notice, achieving slight.

The Little Things

Found dozing beneath the street, the Sun shuddered awake long enough to ask to be covered back up.
"Asleep I am, wake me when I'm up."

The Sun Hide

Taken: 11/22/2011 on Ave H in Brooklyn, NY. The rain clamored all around, but the yellow carpet pulled me and my camera from the dry. The denseness of the fallen leaves was like vanilla mousse, just asking to be disturbed.

Unsettled

Wound. Waned. The day wound closed. The day waned away.

Float. Fleet. The moment floated away, fleet-footed.

Falter. Flight. The light faltered, gulls took flight.

Sunset. Claim. The sunset claimed the day for itself.

Unset

Taken: 11/06/2011 in San Francisco, CA (looking at Oakland). We stood guard as the sun slipped away, delaying the return--of our bikes, of the sun. The moon shared in our impishness.

On The Day

In spite of itself, the new flower commands respect; the green fists tremble menacingly in the background--an immigrant family whose traditions you don't quite understand but whose daughter you've wed.

Square Trade

Taken: 10/08/2011 at the High Line Park, Manhattan, NY. In the park there are many things to photograph and many people rushing you on. The High Line rewards those with a high tolerance for missed opportunities. If anything, the moment you see a photo you really want you'll know it because there'll be a grumbling mass of people waiting at you to move on; one wouldn't anger the crowd without good cause. 

Migraine

The question of scale is not answered by measurement of the physical dimensions. Scale can be emotional, can be a question of constitution. Derelict or honed. Frayed or knotted. Made or untucked. Where does a person reside on the scale?

Taken: 02/23/2011 and 10/19/2011. This photo can be read as many things. Ultimately it should be read as a departure from what I normally like to do. An experiment. I am learning that photographs are to contain meaning, an emotion. Contain-like a pill bottle within itself has pills, dreams of pain-free-existence.

Into the Darkness

Of the many red nosed lies told, none--surely--were so bold as to deserve such a beak: so red, so prominent. The sideways monument to the Washington Monument is an ocean kayak that has made beach in a bird's head. All manner of absurdity abounds in the explanation. As we are free to be jealous of the gorgeous bird, so are we free to mockup its reason-for-being.

Maybe the beak is an anchor, meant to keep the Kingfisher grounded (all salt of the earth and such). Maybe the beak is simply a beacon that will soon activate--freeing animal kind from its bounds.

Taken: 03/11/2011 in Bharatpur National Park, India. This White Breasted Kingfisher was one of the day's last sights, as dusk was siphoning light from my lens. Crouching behind a bench and with the eager support  from the whole group to "get him" I did my best to capture the majestic little bird. The majesty, like with so many birds, is not wholly obvious to the creature itself. He posed long enough for us to shy onto him, confirm that we got a good picture, and discuss his coat. Then he was into the darkness, hoping his red beak would guide him.

On the Out

Swallow resume: Will fly for bugs; won't pose for photographs. Full stop... never.

Taken: 07/27/2011 in Park City, UT. Swallows were everywhere at the lake, but the only thing harder than ignoring their flits in and out was capturing their flits in and out. They are magnificent and fast. Not interchangeably.

In the Dark

In passing the scattering sheep mistake us for clouds, we them. No judgement passed, no whimsy plied. We waft into the darkness. The sheep do not give chase.

Taken: 09/10/2011 in Carol Gardens, Brooklyn. The dark street didn't say much, but neither did Jesus of Ironworks. We, in silence, stood at each other. He forgiving me the street, and I forgiving him the sky.

The Very Well

Are those that sing out of turn; their station, troubles.

The Very Well
That quenches... drains.

Defined

Taken: 03/08/2011 in Kishangarh, Rajasthan, India. Walking down the street it was hard not to focus on the people that would otherwise have been outofreach (for us and them). No thing struck me as much as the "partners" (seamsters) and their abundance. They occupied many stalls, kept many tables and cordoned off swaths of street with invisible string. The three masters of the seam in this photo smiled and seemed amused to be the subject of my curiosity. They waved a friendly hellogoodbye as I left.

The Destructive Force

In the land of too many and not enough the parted way is a seldom awarded prize.

Harbinger of Light

Taken: 03/07/2011 in Kishangarh, Rajasthan, India. The wedding taking place, beyond the lights, cast a wide net for comers and goers.

The Tideover

When the words don't come, stall. Stall by throwing photographs and the like.

Throughed

Taken: 07/16/2011 at the High Line Park, Manhattan, NY. The sun was setting and the energy was asap (not a.s.a.p.). In the left hand corner the plants obfuscate a sign for Manhattan Mini Storage: "If you don't like gay marriage, don't get gay married."

In the Way

We tiptoed around the city, the misplaced fountain draining our thunder.

Fountain of Peace

Taken: 08/10/2010 in Montreal, Quebec, CA. After a morning's worth of walking, the heels of any person can rub bare.

Not Obsessed

The pelican patrols his domain. Aware and unaware of the awesome travails to come. Metaphor not met before. His pet troll tame 'neath the waters, not disturbing a soul. And he is hardy. Hardly flapping. Not flappable.

Taken: 07/12/2011 in Monterey Bay, CA. To and from the Aquarium the fellas kept me company. Sometimes one by one, sometimes in a string. It was impossible not to be awed by them. Even in their silent rauc, they were majestic.

Too Early to Tell

A dead goose tells no tales. This one stood frozen, challenging the wind to knock him over. It was for naught.

Taken: 05/15/2010 in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY. The geese filled the lake and some were putting on a display worthy of a contortionist's jester. Soon after, the city came for them, citing regulation (something to do with parades).

To Each

"Encloistered in my reflection."

Amathespian

Taken: 02/09/2011 in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY (at home). This photo is part of an un-hitherto-started series of portraits of our stuffed toys.

The one fancied himself a scholar, and the other a scholar's pet [rock].

Paying Customer

Ideal passenger: pays, doesn't talk, is in sacks.

Taken: 03/09/2011 in Delhi, India. Without the haul of the haul neither city nor man would survive. The rickshaws and bicycles, laden with All India things, made their way through the streets with aplomb.

Shuddering Awake

Of note, few were day projects. Of greatness, fewer.

You don't leave, you don't stay. You take in, you're taken in. You don't put, don't pick up.

The open-ness is but a character [flaw]. It lies in splendor.

Haleakala at 5400'

Sun Spotting

Takeoff

Ring of Clouds

Topplers

Taken: 01/18, 01/14, 01/14, 01/17 and 01/18/2009 respectively in Maui, HI. In the footlands and at the top of the world looking down. There was too much too see and too little time to do so. Maui is the most unpredictable puzzle of a place, nothing seems to fit in and yet it does. Jets alight with the winds of the mountain, the mountain itself a mess of heat and pressure, drenched flowers blush, and frigid air prick the skin to red.

Be Gone

Ambling the Amber Fort legs trip over mouth agape. Eyes wide by the heat of the sun, downturned from the heat of the sun.

Taken: 03/10/2011 in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer Fort is apparently the same as Amber fort. Odd. A bee out of place is normally cause for panic.

This 360° panorama sadly doesn't capture the scene well enough or with enough brightness of the sun. All was awash in the light, and we quickly moved to find shade for our weary skin.

When All Else Fails

The colors don't betray the lie.

Taken: 07/13/2011 in Monterey Bay, CA. I was at the Specialized Bicycles dealer event. I hauled my camera around for 3 days without really knowing why. I think I only took a couple good shots the whole time. Sometimes the weather is against you, sometimes it's just fatigue. On this trip I could barely see anything to shoot. Sometimes sunset is like a get out of jail free card.

Ex Bumblers in Crime

Accidentally perched on the same flower, Vincent and Raphael grazed for a moment--avoiding eye contact. In the end, the flower-pasture was not big enough for the two of them. The High Line wasn't big enough.

Taken: 07/16/2011 at the High Line Park, Manhattan, NY. There were a lot of little flower patches and hundreds of bees and bumblebees swarming around. These two landed on the same flower only once in the time I was watching them and after 1 or 2 seconds they took off again. This was the only shot I managed to get off in that moment.

Call it Cowed

Do not be scared. I do not bite. My teeth have left, and rightly, abandoned my gums to the mighty grime.
Similarly I do not smile. This sardonic grin is all I can don. My blue eyes will trace your fear, mascara scaring and scraping the very fillings out of your teeth.

Taken: 08/20/2010 in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY. Part of the mid-night macro shoot, this gnome creeped his way to the front of the line. He only looks partly insane. The grime is an artifact of a hard-life, sitting upon the shelf.

You May

Call me a blue fence hiding the deconstruction. But you may also call me the standard against which all blues are tried.

Passerby, of Street: "How do you like my blue shirt?"
Street (glancing at fence): "You've almost got it, just a few more washes..."

Taken: 06/28/2010 in Midtown Manhattan, NY. Very sunny day, I was just careening past wondering if I could still make something of the day. The fella leaning out his window in the background watched me as I photographed. He was unmoved.

Supporting Goals

The peppercorn is at once fought over and supported--a proxy child.

 Taken: 08/21/2010 in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY. The photo is another of my late night macro shots. The lesson learned this night was the lighting is important. Lighting affects how an image is viewed--where is the darkness, where is the shine, every photo had a totally different character and I was like a kid in a candy store where all the candy looked equally good, but the one that would gain the approval of Mother was kept unknowable.

In The Still Lie

Movement lies to Stillness, "I am adrift in dream."
Silence lies to Noise, "No one can see me."
The City lies to itself, "I am at once two."

Taken: Sometime shortly before 04/20/2010 across the street from Washington Cemetery. The streak of white is of cars on the run. The abandoned, still cars, are parked alongside the cemetery, awaiting their masters' returns.

This photo is one of my favorites and I feel that I will return to it again. It was taken on my Zenit 11 on ISO100 film, developed by hand and scanned in.

Color Corral

With pride, the flowers floor the many sides to silence.

Taken: 04/15/2010 at the now-destroyed Brooklyn College Community Garden in Brooklyn, NY. Unfortunately the many petals here cast their ballots in the wrong election. They were removed with the rest of the greenery. The flowers were a genuine carpet of beauty.

Knowing The Place

Instantly recognizing the need to spruce up even the loveliest of flowers, the spider draws silk across the divide, readies his abode for curtains.

Taken: 08/23/2010 in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY. This day was seemingly fun. Today's photo was chosen by picking a day at random from my collection and it happened to be a date from a which a photo had been previously posted.

I really like this image; it works in and out of color. The rain paints it either way.

Movin' Along

Walk on past the partied fault. The parted asphalt. The cans of go-cola will remain untapped.
--
On the heels of a good show, the well heeled shoo the streets.

Taken: 06/13/2010 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. The show wasn't bad. The ribs and mash that followed stuck the landing.

Run Amuck

The sweeping birds of the ground have taken to the trees. These peafowl found their legs in the arms of the tree.

Taken: 03/12/11 at Sunrise in Keoladeo Ghana National Park. We had just gotten to the park with our guide and were still waiting for the bicycle shed to open up. But these peafowl were already up in the trees ready to clamor us along.

Footfalls

Newton's Laws as applied to any large city:
1) A city will remain in motion or at rest until it is compelled to stop its flight or rise from its slumber by the force of the people.
2) The force of the people is equal to the population of Massachusetts. F=ma.
3) For every new mile of bike lane there's an equal and opposite clamor to remove it.

Taken: 02/27/2011 on 34th St in Manhattan, NY. I was wondering what it would take to show a NYC sidewalk. Alas, the people were out in fews.

Flowerhenge

Huddled, as children over jacks, the inner petals wait their turn to rose and open. The pie-crust center reveals not-a-word. The outer petals lean away, listening for bees, scooping up rainwater.

Taken: 08/22/2010 in Compost For Brooklyn, in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY. I love this image. It's, as I imagine, the best representation of the Big Bang that we have--the colors and heat bursting into the ether. The explosion is only frozen for a moment on its way to fullness.

Sold On

This orb is the unopened fist of a sunflower (for if one salutes the sun when open, one shakes itself angrily when closed).

Really, the bulb reminds me of Audrey II. That pursed look of "Feed Me!"

Taken: 09/09/2010 in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, NY at Compost for Brooklyn. This image represents my first ever sold photograph. Thank you to the buyer.

We Are

Seen in the dark, the quietest side of marriage. 

Taken: 02/22/2011 in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY. The shot took 20 minutes. I wanted to let in all the light from every angle through the windows, to give the shadows some life, to see what the room saw when it was dark.

Very Well Versed

The window sheds light on the last light shed.

Taken: 02/18/2011 at Sunset in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY. The sky was a dream, and had to be photographed in order to pinch itself awake.

Taj Mahal

Too low to behold, a child fills his idleness unperturbed by the glut of white marble.

--

When upon the Taj Mahal, where does one gaze?

--

Degrees of separation: 30. Outside to inside.

Taken: 03/12/2011 at The Taj Mahal, India. The line of people stretched, baking in the sun, three quarters of the way around the building. Baking even in shade. Unsatisfied with the usual front shot of the Taj (not due to the cliche nature, but due to the fact that the shot was very crowded from that angle), I had to figure out a way to take what I wanted from it. What I usually want is a panorama. I got it.

Curiosity

Pinned to the line, pined for the edge.

Fastened to the fascinating line, holding fast the light, the dark.

Taken: 02/23/2011 in Kensington, Brooklyn. Years ago I saw a painting at a modern art museum. It was two tiny triangles, taking up about 1% of the canvas, but painted such that the remaining white space resembled the letter N. I was filled with anger and confusion. And here I am, photographing shadow.

The edge that light and shadow share between them is so enigmatic. What lies between the two respective edges (ignoring the graded transition that'd be revealed if you look close enough)? Rod Sterling also couldn't let it go (and at this very moment I just realized this sentiment is in the opening lines of the Twilight Zone).

The Garbage

In the margins, unviewable territory, sprawled the lumped and gelatinous bags of trash. They make this photo work if only because they were cropped out.

Taken: 04/09/2010 in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, NY. The silent tree stood proudly, unsniffling, unsniffing, towering over the garbage that had been tossed at its feet like so many ill-conceived offerings.

Checking

In the calamity of Times Square I saw this reporter taking her breaths, smoothing her hair, carefully stuffing the bag within her frame but out of frame.

Taken: 06/21/2010 in Times Square, NY.

Dialed Down

In the rain I finally discovered what I was to do with this downed Verizon pay phone. The phone has been in the sad state since early March or so. The cones appeared a few weeks later.

The interesting thing is the commentary. The cones prop up the destroyed phone with their bright color--screaming out "we are Official!"But the downed phone has eluded capture much the same way as it eluded utility.

Taken: 05/18/2011 in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY. Waiting for the bus, I didn't want to end up like the stationary cellphone, so I went for a shot.

Tunnel

The bassist is minimal, discreet, loud--the water rushing underfoot, the tide easing back--felt, not heard.

Taken: 10/31/2010 at Blue Note in Manhattan, NY. Snehasish Mozumder & SOM rained over the night (not reigned). This was a lucky shot taken through the dim din.

Round Up

All flight took steps. First step was to look up, the second to hunker down. The brandished quills scare some to ground, to seed.

Taken: 04/30/2011 in Chesea, Manhattan, NY. At the New Amsterdam bicycle show, the staircase was the artery that connected three full floors of hipsters and other bike lovers.

Looking Up

Things are looking up for ants everywhere. First palm trees then giant sequoias. All things will be brought down to scale.
--
Breaking new ground is never easy. Harder still when you're raising twins--they never seem to agree on anything.

Taken: 04/24/2011 in Glendale, Queens, NY. The soil beneath my feet was rather ripe with options. I've never caught a plant at the earliest stages so I thought I'd make a play for it.

Picked

"Dim a dozen wines." "Dine a little din with me." "Dime on your friends."
--the unrepentant catcalls of wines held at the ready in their torpedo tubes.

Taken: 12/08/2010 at Via Emilia in New York, NY. A lovely Italian restaurant whose claim to fame, in our book, is never serving a bad meal and the Maitre D' refusing outright to put parmesan on my steak "Chef wouldn't like that." 

Galvenized

Standing on the conquered Apple, Pepper wonders if his flavor has overpowered the wrong foe. Surely there is no room for Weak Sauce, but is Apple truly the enemy?

Taken: 08/21/2010. Another installment of my evening of small-becomes-big photography. Both peppercorns refused to give up the stage and stood crowding the, almost comically small, island. There was too much flavor on the plate.

It all Shines

The wisps, tendrils of life, sprout as if kicked by the wind. Suspended.

And, as if to say "thank you," the fruit takes on the shape of its lifegiver. Hiding behind the form is the sweetest form of flattery.

Taken: in Kensington, Brooklyn, NY. This was part of a mid-night project to test the macro lens. Others are coming from this series. This particular photo, I will not give away what it is of, needs to be enlarged to clearly see the edge of things. It is one of my very favourite photos; nothing but simplicity and yet the detail is in what's assumed rather than what's seen. It is also uncropped and unedited.