Unfortunately this musician did not have any sign saying his name and was not selling cd’s or anything… not even a postcard there to take with his myspace page. He was playing violin and singing (simultaneously! not an easy feat!) on the L train platform at bedford ave last night. I don’t know how to describe the music but it was quite good. I hope I see him playing again somewhere.
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Last Wednesday I went to see a talk at the New York Society for Ethical Culture featuring two of my heroes, Naomi Klein and Amy Goodman (host of Democracy Now, perhaps the most important independant media in the U.S.), along with a new up and coming author, Raj Patel. It was to be a talk about progressive activism and it’s difficulties in the current atmosphere, and though it wandered about all over the place (Haiti was a big focus, having just had their earthquake) it was quite good and I was really just thrilled to see Naomi Klein speak in person. She’s got to be one of the most dynamite nonfiction authors/journalists/activists/”pundits” of the modern era. If you are interested I highly recommend reading The Shock Doctrine. Here are some shots I took during the talk, the last of which shows the standing ovation they received…
Over Thanksgiving Keith and I got word of a midnight sales event at the Philadelphia outlets (not far from where we were staying with his parents in PA)… I thought it would be a neat thing to try and do some night photography and capture the very serious shopping going on — it was, after all, a Black Friday sale. So we drove out there at about 11:30pm and walked around. It was odd– the crowds were big, the sales were (some of them) pretty good, and it all seemed disappointingly very normal. We stayed until 3:30 am and it felt like 6pm somehow. It was difficult to get the sort of shots I had hoped for – honestly i was hoping to capture people elbowing eachother in vicious competition for on-sale items)– but I did get some images I like. Everyone was very nice and patient. The only thing out of the ordinary was the time of day and the fact that there were long lines to get into some of the more popular outlets.
Note below the smoky stuff (what is that stuff? vapor?) which is coming from a nearby nuclear power plant.
This is a short series I produced while on Thankgiving break… On the way from picking us up at the Philadelphia station, my mother-in-law needed to stop and pick up a few things for the big feast… It was a beautifully foggy night and I knew as soon as we pulled into the parking lot that I would much prefer to walk around outside and make some photographs rather than go in and browse the tofurkey selections! This is one of those monstrous new supermarkets that sits in the middle of a pre-planned shopping center designed to create the illusion of an actual town– complete with sidewalks, fake phonebooths and benches,etc. The supermarket is gigantic– wide-aisled, etc.. and the only part of the ‘village’ that is complete. I would have liked to go back during the day and photograph the rest of the complex in mid-construction but of course we were only there for thanksgiving and there was no time for such shenanigans. Perhaps over the Christmas break i will have an opportunity to shoot the rest of this place– though i would be suprised if i didn’t get kicked out just for taking pictures. It is, after all, private property — though it is masquerading as ‘public space’.
At 4 months and change, this baby Sam is adorable– smiling a lot, calm and happy, ready for his closeup! Check out my favorites from my shoot with him and his family this Saturday.
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Great photos, especially the 2nd one – I like the expression on his face. Singing while playing a violin is not easy! Wish I could hear him.
Did you ever see the ‘Saw Lady‘? I see her at the Union Square station often (usually in the afternoon). She does give out cards. It might be interesting to photograph her, because when she plays it’s very visual – the saw moves to create different shapes. I don’t know how to explain it – you have to see it.