Painted Brick Wall

Puch im Blumenbett

Waiter's Station

On 9th Avenue, a sidewalk cafe.

Downpour

Caught in a rainstorm, hiding beneath the overpass on my way to work yesterday.

Time Warner Tower, Columbus Circle

I'm calling this series a Columbus Circle Triptych and done.

Time Warner Center, Columbus Circle

The final image that I settle on is the result of a dialog between the picture that is captured on camera and the mood I am in when I work with it. My attitude has shifted somewhat from a bias toward "realism" to the idea that the raw image (pun intended) is just a starting point, a means to an end, a canvas upon which to project my inner turmoil. Or joy. Or whatever I happen to be feeling.

As I was working with the Columbus Circle images, and to an extent the brickwork shot, I felt driven to darker and darker places. When I got the images to a point that I liked, I realized there was a certain familiarity to the mood, the term that popped into my mind was gothic, maybe expressionism, I'm not an expert in art history terminology, but I stumbled upon this 1950s film called Night of the Hunter where there are certainly some scenes that I think express something similar to what I was feeling, just translated to an urban setting....

Steel Globe & Trump Hotel at Columbus Circle

Graduation Day

Nine years at the same school together, frequently referred to as "the twins" and often just by their last name when alone, since few people could remember which was which. That will all change as they go their separate ways for high school, such is the crazy system in NYC.

Terribly hot and humid day, no one much in the mood for taking pictures.

Brickwork

Empty Glass

Rainbow Over Bridge Apartments

The I-95 approach/exit from the GWB runs literally underneath these buildings. This was shot from my bedroom window a couple of weeks ago. It's the south side of a complete rainbow, a double rainbow in fact, but the middle and secondary bow were a little faint so I zoomed in on this shot instead.

PS 187

No fanfare, just trying to get back on track today. Father's Day. School year is near the end, my son's are "graduating" from PS 187 this week. In the US today moving from 8th grade to high school is treated as a major milestone - that was not true in the mid-70s when I made that transition. But I'm not grumpy enough yet to complain, just an observation and an implicit question as to why we feel the need to celebrate every step along the way, from kindergarten graduation on up.

And yes, there is something prison-like about the school building, and indeed a lot of schools in the city have that feeling.  I would like to see a major overhaul of school models but I see no hope of that occurring any time soon.