August 2017 – Resonant light

The Guggenheim

Feeling like I needed an injection of ‘culture’ (instead of just hanging out in Union Square people watching) I took the subway to the Upper East Side to visit the Guggenheim. This would have to appear on any list of the most photographed buildings in the world. And there are some great photographs out there – many on display in the Guggenheim gift shop. Still, who can resist trying to capture the sensuous yet serious beauty of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece (perfectly accompanied by Alexander Calder’s Red Lily Pads)? Certainly not me.

The art is stunning, of course. And in the collection are two of my favourite paintings, Paul Klee’s Red Balloon and Vasily Kandinsky’s Composition No. 8, neither of which I had actually seen in real life. I wasn’t disappointed. And I was happy to discover Hilla Rebay’s intricate and beautiful collages. There were also two incredible Van Gogh ink drawings (Boats at Saintes Maries and The Road to Tarascon) that don’t get exhibited that often due to their fragility. Standing so close to those expressive pen strokes actually took my breath away. Who knew that sunlight had such vibrant texture.

I prefer downtown though. Park Avenue and 5th Avenue are a different world. Here are the doormen hailing the drivers for the middle aged white women dressed just so with blow dried hair, wedge sandals and big clutch bags, headed out to lunch. Everything is tidy and clean and happening behind closed doors. No sitting on stoops in this neighbourhood.

Coney Island

I loved Coney Island last time I came, when summer was over and everything looked windswept and a little desolate. It was great to see it again at the height of summer, families everywhere, queues at Nathan’s for fried clams and hot dogs, the sounds of people screaming in delighted terror from the Ferris wheel and the Soarin’ Eagle, people everywhere wearing as little as possible and soaking up some sun and some beers on the beach and the boardwalk. Yes it’s cheesy and tacky and outdated, but that’s its charm. There’s something permanently nostalgic about Coney Island. The t-shirts and hairstyles may changes, but the ice creams, the beer, the clams, the sandy rumps and sticky hands and the stomach dropping thrill of the Soarin’ Eagle will be there every summer.

Joe Jr.

I moved to Manhattan this morning. I wish I had more time – I don’t think I stayed nearly long enough in Bushwick and now I only have about 10 days to further explore Manhattan and all its neighbourhoods. For the next little while I will be just off Union Square at the Seafarers International, a Lutheran guest house on East 15th St with single bed rooms, shared bathrooms and service in the downstairs chapel every Sunday. Many of the rooms have plaques on the doors stating that they have been refurbished through the generous donation of such and such. Mine has no plaque. Still it’s clean, and comfortable and very affordable for a Manhattan hotel room.

It just so happens that friends of mine in Toronto have also stayed here and a local eatery was recommended for breakfast. For the life of me I couldn’t remember the name, but this morning while I was wandering around waiting for my room to be cleaned I stumbled upon Joe Jr., just around the corner on 3rd Avenue and I think this must be the place they mentioned. It’s a gem. It’s my idea of the classic American diner. A huge menu with a variety of burgers, omelettes, eggs, waffles, pancakes and bottomless cups of weak, drip filtered coffee on offer, all served in a sea of beige formica and fake wood laminate either at a table or at the bar. Super busy at breakfast time, with the two guys at the stove and grill performing a well practiced, frenetic yet highly choreographed dance with mounds of hash and sausage and eggs and toast. It was quite mesmerising to watch. And also, really tasty and cheap. I may risk a heart attack and come back again tomorrow.

There’s also a nice article I found about Joe Jr. with some great photos by Nick Solares.

Los Angeles

My first roll of film

I’m not a great fan of Tri X – too grainy for me. However it was recommended for the darkroom course because it’s easy to develop and tolerates inexactness in temperature. I could see as soon as I laid the developed film strip out on the light box that I had overexposed pretty much every shot. I also had a lot of shots where the focus was off. No idea why. Usually I’m ok with the Olympus. And then looking at the scanned images I got back from the lab in Manhattan it all looks pretty nasty. I don’t think they did as good a job as Michael’s Camera House back in Melbourne, who perhaps have learned to correct for my deficiencies. There also seems to be a slight light leak, still, despite having paid almost $300 to get Olympus serviced just before I left.

Ahh well. It’s still the first roll of film developed by me since my early 20s and there are some shots that are ok-ish. The first bunch I took on a day trip with some friends outside Toronto and the rest are of Bushwick, around Maria Hernandez Park and Myrtle Ave.

Manhattan – walking to Times Square

Back to Brooklyn tomorrow, but tonight I stayed in a hotel in midtown Manhattan and went for a wander up to Times Square. Lots of big city craziness – kind of fun.

These shots were all taken with the fujifilm x100T at ISO 1600. They came out pretty well