opening day

St.Patrick's day has come and gone - unofficial Opening Day of the Street Photography season. March 17th is usually a cold and dreary day - leave it to the Irish to tough it out in the first Fifth Avenue parade of the year. They lay it right out there, come hell or high water.

All the better for Street Photography batting practice -Erin Go Bragh is the umpire's signal to "play ball". Grab your Leica, and warm up your shooting hand. Whether you're shooting the color green, or black & white. Digital or point and shoot. Gloved or barehanded. Take the field.

This year it was bright sunny green all over. Even the Hassids in the diamond district turned out on their lunch break.




But wait, in this crazy calendar year the Easter Parade, another Street Photog ritual, arrived extra early - within days of St.Pats. And so it was a two for one week. Like a double header. Get yourself up to shutter speed for the boys of summer.

don't judge a book by it's cover

Go see this new animated film Persepolis - you probably won't be drawn in by the title - unless you're a fan of the "graphic novel" by Majane Satrapi, who by the way directed this film. It was the closing night film at this year's New York Film Festival, which is a big deal - that's Marjane and her co-director Vincent Parannoud in the photo below on opening night. The picture above from the film is Marjane as a kid trying to go out and buy rock music illegally on the streets of Iran -and I don't mean RIAA "don't steal music" illegally - this is post-revolutionary Iran. Funniest scene is Marjane doing kung fu to her illegal copy of "Eye of the Tiger". This is a humorous coming of age movie about a kid in the middle of a historic political mess. The voices are done by Catherine Deneuve and her daughter Chiara Mastroianni (her father was Marcello). And word is that Iggy Pop was going to do the english dubbing for the DVD release. Catch it on the big screen where you can really see it - Persepolis.

fairytale of new york

This is Matt Dillon visiting Shane MacGowan backstage after a Pogues show at a club called The World in NYC in 1986. The World used to be down near Houston and Avenue C, and many a video was shot there in the 80's, including Talking Heads "Burning Down the House." But when the Xmas season rolls around, it's the Pogues 1987 video - Fairytale of New York - that tops the charts. Right up there with hearing John Lennon or Phil Spector. And so enjoy your xmas and say a prayer for the great Kirsty MacColl.

it's a wonderful life - xmas 2007 in florida

that was then & this is now...i gotta say i was running out of ideas for xmas pictures in new york city - who how where when? then it came - an invitation to florida for christmas - no snow, no cold weather, no cleaning off the windshield, no shoveling snow. a serious no brainer.

so here i stand, head in hand - cool calm collected - with a ton of great xmas pictures laid out right in front of me - look out & say cheese...

gone fishing

this is my friend mitch's mom's gefilte fish. you see this stuff, it means the jewish holidays are here.

what holiday? new year's 5758. how did they do that? i don't know - i was wondering how heinz ketchup didn't take more advantage of last year being 5757.

everyone in New York loves the jewish holidays. Schools out, alternate side parking is cancelled - i.e. you can park for free - the streets are quiet, there's no road traffic, no standing on lines, empty seats on the subways, and if your boss is jewish, he ain't at work.

but check out the gefilte fish - this is the real thing. Not from the jar - made by hand, by mitch's mom Helene. And you gotta love the way it's laid out on the plate. Look at all those plates. You make this stuff by hand, you bet you're inviting lots of people over.

And if one of those people is a photographer - a jewish photographer (is there any other kind?) - you can bet he's gonna photograph them fish.

9_11

NYC 1999

In 2001, I was living down near the world trade center, just a few blocks east on Maiden Lane - had been living there since 1995. I was knee deep in a project to photograph the downtown area at night - based on the template of the old New Amsterdam, when New York City was under Dutch rule. Same area photographed by Berenice Abbott in the 1930's.

I was busy trying to get pictures of old buildings around the financial district and the seaport that I figured would soon be gone. In the process, I tended to avoid the World Trade Center - it was the place I went on hot summer days to get good air conditioning, but I didn't think it was something I would have to make top priority on my soon to be gone list.

Who knew??

this year's model

While it still feels like summer, one more look at the july 4th girl of 1909


Here are a few more pix of her that I found at the same flea market. This girl really had it - coulda been a star.


This is her again. Same room. I'm guessing she's on her father's lap - is she relaxed or what? This little model should have hooked up with Lartigue.


And here's my favorite of the bunch - same room - the piano, the wallpaper - this must be mom - reading the newspaper. The question is - did she take this - and all the others? I think so.