Apr 15 2011

A Little Urban Exploring

Posted inStreet Photography1 comment
Bummed about a planned downtown photo expedition being cancelled and wanting to get the most out of my rented 14mm lens from borrowlenses.com, I decided to go on my own photo expedition in the Manayunk section of Phila. I had heard about some abandoned train tracks that I wanted to check out and I was especially motivated by the dreary and drizzly weather that day. So I wandered the tracks but they were infinitely less exciting than I was hoping; though I did happen upon an abandoned building I’ve had my eye on for a while. Again, wanting to get the most of my lens (and my trek to Manayunk) I decided to break the Cardinal Rule of urban exploring and venture in. 

ALONE.

I took it slow at first, making sure my footing was secure, taking note of even the slightest sounds and calling out the occasional “Hello?” and hoping for no response.

Thankfully I didn’t get one, so I traversed farther into the ramshackle remains of a restaurant riddled with graffiti, broken glass and beer cans among other things. The rush of trespassing and shooting in a place full of danger, mystery and all things broken was something I’ve been craving for a long time. The coolest thing I found was a menu from Carmella’s, the only surviving memory of what used to be.  I still played it safe and only stayed inside for about twenty minutes, but I’m happy with what I got and can’t wait to feel the rush of excitement from my next urban exploration!

 

photocrati gallery

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April 20, 2011 - 4:26 pm

Abbey - You are so much braver then I could ever be!! I absolutely love the image of the menu under glass and debris. That one picture tells a whole story in itself.

Apr 08 2011

Un-inspiration, Rejuvenation and a Love Affair

Posted inPlacesNo comments
I haven’t written a blog-post in a long time.
An EMBARRASSINGLY long time.

Lots of things have factored in but I will spare you my sob stories because it all boils down to one thing: I’ve just been uninspired.

I tried three times to write a post about how uninspired I was but couldn’t even be aroused enough to write something that wasn’t floundering babble. So I decided,

EFF IT!

I’m borrowing a lens that will probably wipe out my bank account but I don’t care! SOMETHING has got to get me out of this funk!

So today (or yesterday, as it were) arrived my wonderful package of rejuvenation: a 14mm f/2.8 beauty of a lens from my new-found love affair borrowlenses.com.

The minute I put it on my camera I swear the sun shone brighter, the world was at peace and I had an extra kick in my step. I took this lens everywhere this afternoon. I photographed my everyday life bothering my sleeping kitties, doing dishes, even into the bathtub (VERY CAREFULLY!) and the more I used it the more I loved it.

The BEST part is that I could finally shoot all the places in my apartment that my boring (albeit satisfyingly safe and reliable) 17-55mm just couldn’t.  My building was built in the 1920’s and it just OOZES character.  I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to shoot my basement/laundry room and the following images were just what I had in mind – and then some!

It’s great to be back!

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Feb 11 2011

a few more from nyc

Posted inStreet Photography1 comment

photocrati gallery

Though my favorite image from my day trip to NYC was used in my last post, I wanted to share a few others that I like from that day.

Like. Not love.

Each image has at least ONE thing I like about it. I like the prominent foreground, middle ground and background of the man hailing the cab. I like how the dry cleaning can either draw your eye left to right/back to front, or right to left/front to back.  I like the bicycle and it’s shadow; the Z shape created by the architecture, ladder and orange cones. I like the old woman’s precarious, flat-footed gait and her red handbag against the stark horizontal lines. I could go into what I don’t like about these images, but I’ll save you reading the next 5 pages of me ripping apart my own work. Just trying to focus on the positives here…

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February 11, 2011 - 11:21 am

Ray Yeager - Love the guy calling for a cab!

Feb 09 2011

Winston, on lunch.

Posted inStreet PhotographyNo comments


Ex. Trap. O. Late.
Extra. Polate.
Extrapolate. 

What syllables! What sounds! What a FABULOUS addition to WoW! Extrapolate is a wonderfully harmonious juxtaposition of long, sensual vowels bookended by hissing X’s and T’s. I like the seductive way I have to use my tongue and pout my lips, it gives me smarts AND sex appeal!

Extrapolate is one of those words you can add to your regular vocabulary without sounding pretentious like Dawson’s Creek or Dennis Miller. Oh Dennis, though your attempt to bring Monday Night Football’s education up to a High School English level is appreciated, it’s not worth ruining your career over. Football is a game for WARRIORS not language geeks. That’s why they’re kicking each others asses on the field and we’re up here with our faces buried in thesauruses looking for the perfect word to encompass it all.

My title, “Winston, on lunch.” (an homage to Orson Wells’ 1984, one of my all-time favorite books) encompasses what I infer from this image. What do you EXTRAPOLATE?

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