life is a moment - shoot it

Catskill Serenade

2012-02-17T14:44:00.001-08:00

3 from Ellenville

2012-02-11T02:20:00.000-08:00

Ellenville, a tiny little hayseed city that we went to for a street fair. By far one of the strangest places and events we've ever been to and photographed. Which is not to say it was bad, any day making pictures is a good day. It was just like being in a Seinfeld adventure in Bizarro World, everything was a bubble or 2 off of level.

The Double Barrel

The Natural

People and the dogs that love them

Find me on 500PX

2012-02-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://500px.com/firenzel"&amp;gt;firenzel&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; on &amp;lt;a href="http://500px.com"&amp;gt;500px&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Hey I am moving my domain over to 500PX, Johnfrenzel photography will now be found there.

also after 12 years I will be letting silkenthread.net expire this year. It's been a good run, but my interest is not on web sites any longer, just gonna FOCUS on my photography.

The Story of Stuff

2012-02-05T03:38:00.001-08:00

30 Days with the Olympus E-PL1

2012-01-31T18:04:00.000-08:00

A lifetime of memories.

The 30 days with the OLY have come to an end and it is a definite keeper. I figured out how to disable the movie button on the back so I no longer keep inadvertently capturing movies. I love the quality of Oly glass and the colors that Oly's are know for as well. It feels great in the hands, is easy to take with you and shoots well in manual focus mode too. Just ordered the 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens which will really make it low profile. Only other item I think is a must is the EVF, one complaint I have is that in bright daylight you can't see jack on that LCD screen. But that is a small con when you consider the pluses. These are out there used, and they are cheap. If you come across on, grab it.

Under the Bridge

2012-01-28T13:50:00.000-08:00

In search of the Billy goat gruff and to my surprise, Graffiti.

Dedicated to my friend Akbar - This would have been a great place for me to have a KLIK sticker~

Laying Low

Save the Beef - screw that I'm here for the Turkey

I'm such a sucker for train tracks

Too Drunk

The Underpass

As I am wandering around on this abandoned train track, and it's muddy and kind of stinks, this fellow and these 4 kids come by. We begin to talk, he asks if the train still comes through on the tracks. I said I dont think so, these tracks are in tough shape, but the graffiti on the underpass is awesome. As we begin to head are separate ways and I say Hey, think I could get a picture of you all? When I took the shot, the littlest guys says "Thanks Man" I said "yer Welcome lil dude"

Mr Palmer & the number Nine

2012-01-28T04:22:00.000-08:00

Mr Palmer and the Number Nine

Idioms and popular phrases

"A cat-o'-nine-tails suggests perfect punishment and atonement." --Robert Ripley.
The word "K-9" pronounces the same as canine and is used in many U.S. police departments to denote the police dog unit.
Someone dressed "to the nines" is dressed up as much as they can be.
In urban culture, "nine" is a slang word for a 9mm pistol or homicide, the latter from the Illinois Criminal Code for homicide.

Literature

There are nine circles of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy.
The Nine Bright Shiners, characters in Garth Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy. The Nine Bright Shiners was a 1930s book of poems by Anne Ridler^[5] and a 1988 fiction book by Anthea Fraser;^[6] the name derives from "a very curious old semi-pagan, semi-Christian" song.^[7]
The Nine Tailors is a 1934 mystery novel by British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey
Nine Unknown Men are, in occult legend, the custodians of the sciences of the world since ancient times
In J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, there are nine rings of power given to men, and consequently, nine ringwraiths

Mathematics

Nine is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1 and 3. It is 3 times 3 and hence the third square number. Nine is a Motzkin number. It is the first composite lucky number, along with the first composite odd number.

Nine is the highest single-digit number in the decimal system. It is the second non-unitary square prime of the form (p²) and the first that is odd. All subsequent squares of this form are odd. It has a uniquealiquot sum 4 which is itself a square prime. Nine is; and can be, the only square prime with an aliquot sum of the same form. The aliquot sequence of nine has 5 members (9,4,3,1,0) this number being the second composite member of the 3-aliquot tree. It is the aliquot sum of only one number the discrete semiprime 15.

There are nine Heegner numbers.^[8]

Since 9 = 3^2¹, 9 is an exponential factorial.

8 and 9 form a Ruth-Aaron pair under the second definition that counts repeated prime factors as often as they occur.

In bases 12, 18 and 24, nine is a 1-automorphic number and in base 6 a 2-automorphic number (displayed as '13').

A polygon with nine sides is called a nonagon or enneagon.^[9] A group of nine of anything is called an ennead.

In base 10 a number is evenly divisible by nine if and only if its digital root is 9.^[10] That is, if you multiply nine by any natural number, and repeatedly add the digits of the answer until it is just one digit, you will end up with nine:

Grand Noir

2012-01-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Grand Central Terminal (GCT)—often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a commuter rail terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and inrail yards exceeds 100. When the Long Island Rail Road's new station opens in 2016, Grand Central will offer a total of 75 tracks and 48 platforms. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres.

The noise, the pace, the excitement of NYC. Combine with the light, shadows and storied history of the place it is an observers dream shooting here.

Trying to stay warm is all

2012-01-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

I really like big hats

Cold air makes me have to pee!

FML

More adventures on Lark Street

2012-01-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

Albany - Lark Street

2012-01-23T10:33:00.001-08:00

"The Power of the Dog" ~Rudyard Kipling

2012-01-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie --
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find -- it's your own affair --
But . . . you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit hat answered your every mood
Is gone -- wherever it goes -- for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept'em, the more do we grieve;

For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long --
So why in -- Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

"The Power of the Dog" ~Rudyard Kipling

Reefer Madness

2012-01-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Gateway Drug to Obesity.

So maybe I'm weird.....well yeah I am but that is for another day.

When I look at shelves in a fridge I see City Skylines. I am not sure why, but it's like a tiny chilled metropolis where ya can eat yogurt and drink cool water.

Maybe I should cut back on my coffee?

What are little girls made of?

2012-01-22T04:40:00.001-08:00

SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE.

nice night for a stroll

2012-01-21T18:22:00.001-08:00

Florence as the daylight dims

2012-01-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

Midnight Confessions

2012-01-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

Florence on my mind~~~~

Hey Darla

2012-01-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

The Bad Hat

2012-01-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

Maggie

2012-01-15T08:23:00.001-08:00

That's some bad hat Harry~

Sherman

2012-01-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty busy week so I did not get a chance to play much, plus at the onset of the week it was colder than a whore's heart outside. But today was a balmy 52 degrees so Pooker and I hit the road. Came across a neat little town called Sheman CT. Stopped for lunch, had great coffee and walked around.

Sherman of course is home to "The Sherman Playhouse", kind of makes sense right?

I had some frames to run off so I brought along the Nikon to use up the roll of film. But I did have the Oly with me. I like this camera quite a lot but there are a few things that really do bug me about it. The placement of the button to shoot video is in a spot where I seem to unknowingly hit it on a regular basis. Consequently I have taken alot of really lousy HD videos. By the way, I could do without the whole HD Video crap anyway. I'm a photographer, I make photographs.

Also in bright light forget seeing anything on the LCD, so if you have a desire to shoot from the hip, this is a great camera to train your hand/eye coordination with. I think I'd like to try one of the EVF's that are available but would sure want to buy it used, as they are expensive.

First Night

2012-01-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve 2012 -

First Night - The Sweet Adeline's draws a standing room only crowd

First impressions with the E-P1 focus is slower than I expect from Olympus but could be the nature of this mirroless beast. The lowlight capabilities seem good if you dont need a fast shutter speed. But I find accessing the controls a bit cumbersome. Coming from a DSLR/SLR world I am used to dials and fly wheels, working through a menu does not seem prudent to quick manual shooting. Toss in the degree of difficulty of being able to read the new electronic gadgets (lets face it I'm no spring chicken and these new cameras are a bitch on old eyes). It's much easier to say, I am going to use a certain setting and then live or die by it.

New Years Eve with Royalty.

Waiting for the African Drum circle

I still think the quality of Zuiko lens is amazing.

January 2nd 2012

I am impressed by the lens stabilization of this camera and it's quality of image. But really can notice a hunt for focus with this in low light. Manual Focus is an option but also tricky with only the LCD screen. I understand an appeal of this camera is size, but when you add the lenses it is not long before this is no longer a pocket camera. Because of that I think it would serve the camera better to come with a built in EVF

30 days with the E-P1

2011-12-31T08:52:00.000-08:00

Home for the Holidays

I picked up a used Olympus EP-1 awhile back. Bought it thinking I'd shoot street with it but since getting it I also got a Ricoh GRD. Needless to say that is my street gear. So for awhile the Oly has been waiting patiently on the shelf. Hoping it would perhaps earn my favor. So I decided I'd give it a 30 day run see what this badboy can do. Colors are nice and I have to say for a micro 4/3 sensor the noise does not seem to bad even in the hi iso dangerzones. But I'll see that more closely tonight.

Some chick named Margaret

My Year in Pictures

2011-12-30T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hey.......anybody out there? Happy New Year......Thought I'd share my last 12 months of pixel slaughter with ya'll in a 12 pic display. A brief summary of the year.......as we all know it was pretty sucky in many ways, but even in the midst of Suckiedom good things do happen. So I will focus on a few brief good things.

I am not a pretty man.

January I dont venture out much, I hate the cold weather.
So I hunker down and try different things inside of photoshop and lightroom.

I'm still not venturing out much in February, which happens to be a real anomaly, the shortest month by numbered days, but damn if it aint the longest month when you hate winter time.

In March some of my street work was featured in Camerpixo. This was a real highlight for me.

April, it's warmer but now I'm into some film work and developing the work myself. I am in control from capture to output it's a neat process.

May and the fair weather events begin. It's not street photography, but it does bring out some interesting characters.

June - after 20 some years of waiting and hoping, we make the trip to Europe, upon arrival back to the states we all know it will not be the last time we visit Europe either.

July making vast amounts of photographs but still processing the 4000 photos that I made in Italy.

August, scored a Nikon F80 so back to some film work. Joanie grudgingly agrees to model for a few shots.

September - EP1 a new toy for the street, cutting my teeth with it in September.

October - NYC spent some time with some great folks down at Zuccotti Park shooting OWS.
Finally got to meet some of my long time Flickr buddies.

November - Took the K1000 out for veterans day.

December- NY for the Holidays, lunch with Michael Martin
and a fun afternoon hanging out watching him master the Fuji X10.

Hey.......whatta ya doin for New Years?

2011-12-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

Times Square is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop. On December 31, 1907, a ball signifying New Year's Day was first dropped at Times Square, and the Square has held the main New Year's celebration in New York City ever since. On that night, hundreds of thousands of people congregate to watch the Waterford Crystal ball being lowered on a pole atop the building, marking the start of the new year. It replaced a lavish fireworks display from the top of the building that was held from 1904 to 1906, but stopped by city officials because of the danger of fire. Beginning in 1908, and for more than eighty years thereafter, Times Square sign makerArtkraft Strauss was responsible for the ball-lowering. During World War II, a minute of silence, followed by a recording of church bells pealing, replaced the ball drop because of wartime blackout restrictions. Today, Countdown Entertainment and One Times Square handle the New Year's Eve event in conjunction with the Times Square Alliance.

A new energy-efficient LED ball, celebrating the centennial of the ball drop, debuted for the arrival of 2008. The 2008/2009-ball, which was dropped on New Year's Eve (Wednesday, December 31, 2008) for the arrival of 2009, is larger and has become a permanent installation as a year-round attraction, being used for celebrations such as Valentine's Day and Halloween. On average, about 1 million revelers crowd Times Square for the New Year's Eve celebrations. However, for the millennium celebration on December 31, 1999, published reports stated approximately two million people overflowed Times Square, flowing from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue and all the way back on Broadway and Seventh Avenues to 59th Street, making it the largest gathering in Times Square since August 1945 during celebrations marking the end of World War II.

In 1972, Dick Clark began hosting a live half-hour NBC special (two years later, it moved to ABC where it has aired ever since) detailing the event entitled Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which not only aired the descent of the ball, but also performances from popular bands and commentary from various hosts in other cities, notably Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Orlando. During the millennium celebrations in 1999, Peter Jennings based ABC's operations in Times Square, hosting ABC 2000 Today.

** Info from Wikipedia.

Shadows of San Lorenzo

2011-12-28T16:20:00.000-08:00

The Basilica di San Lorenzo (Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s main market district, and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence; when it was consecrated in 393 it stood outside the city walls. For three hundred years it was the city's cathedral before the official seat of the bishop was transferred to Santa Reparata. San Lorenzo was also the parish church of the Medici family. In 1419, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici offered to finance a new church to replace the eleventh-century Romanesque rebuilding. Filippo Brunelleschi, the leading Renaissance architect of the first half of the fifteenth century, was commissioned to design it, but the building, with alterations, was not completed until after his death. The church is part of a larger monastic complex that contains other important architectural works: the Old Sacristy by Brunelleschi; theLaurentian Library by Michelangelo; the New Sacristy based on Michelangelo's designs; and the Medici Chapels by Matteo Nigetti.

Street Level part two

2011-12-27T15:51:00.001-08:00

Shopping is the shezzz

We almost there?

I really am charming she's diggin me

Street Level

2011-12-26T05:43:00.000-08:00

At Street Level: Scenes of Mid Town Manhattan during the holiday season 0f 2011.

Mid Town at the Holidays 2011

Read any good books lately

2011-12-22T02:33:00.000-08:00

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries. It is a privately managed, nonprofit corporation with a public mission, operating with both private and public financing. The historian David McCullough has described the New York Public Library as one of the five most important libraries in the United States, the others being the Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library, and the university libraries ofHarvard and Yale.

Get the Picture

2011-12-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

According to a recent study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), 77% of American households now own at least one digital camera.

The CEA study, called Digital Imaging: A Focus on Sharing, says consumers snapped an average of 72 digital photos at the most recent event they attended, sharing 51% of them.

The study says 65% of consumers are pleased with their photo-sharing options. Options that consumers use to share photos include:

55% share by e-mail
48% show them on personal computers
40% post photos online, at sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Google + & Snapfish

So what conculsions can we draw from this.......

That is a whole lot of pixels be bantied about, some of em goood, some of em er.......not so much.

In a New York Minute

2011-12-20T11:01:00.001-08:00

A New York minute is an instant. Or as Johnny Carson once said, it's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn.

It appears to have originated in Texas around 1967. It is a reference to the frenzied and hectic pace of New Yorkers' lives. A New Yorker does in an instant what a Texan would take a minute to do.

I'll have that ready for you in a New York Minute

In a New York Minute.......everything can change
in a New York minute things can get a little strange.

How Cold is it?

2011-12-20T08:15:00.001-08:00

HOW COLD IS IT?

So cold I saw a squirrel freezing his nuts~

Bocce Ball in Bryant Park

2011-12-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

Bocce (sometimes anglicized as bocci or boccie) is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy, (where it is called Bocce, the plural of the Italian word boccia which means "bowl"),it is played around Europe and also in overseas areas that have received Italian migrants, including Australia, North America, and South America (where it is known as bochas; bolas criollas in Venezuela, bocha (the sport) in Brazil), initially among the migrants themselves but slowly becoming more popular with their descendants and the wider community. The sport is also very popular in Slovenia(known as balinanje) and Croatia (under the name of boćanje or simply boće, originating in Italian boccie). In SouthernFrance the sport is also popular and known as Boule Lyonnaise.

How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake? In Honor of David Hickman

2011-12-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake? ~John Kerry

Today's post is not about making a photograph, it's not about photography at all. It is about a young man named David E. Hickman. The last combat soldier to give his life in the war in Iraq. By the way, this was many years after the infamous "Mission Accomplished" photo op from past presidential mistake George W. Bush.

Army Spec. David E. Hickman was killed by a roadside bomb on 11-14-11. In a land far away from his home, far away from his family.

I don't know Army Spec. David E. Hickman, I can not speak of his character or his values. But I do believe his death was in vain. As were so many others on all sides in the debacle of George W. Bush's bogus war.

My heart goes out to his family and the families of all that have experienced loss and known the horror of the US invasion of Iraq.

Outside of Connolly's Pub

2011-12-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Connolly's Pub 47th street NYC

I highly recommend
A) The Ruben
B) The Burger
C) Grilled Porotobello

You can't go wrong with any of them. Food is good and price is reasonable.

It's Christmas Time in the City

2011-12-15T15:43:00.001-08:00

Christmas in New York City has so much to see - From Rockefeller Center with it's timeless Herald Angels, famous Rockefeller Christmas tree and Rockefeller Center skating rink to the beautifully decorated holiday themed department store windows. These Christmas favorites really accentuate the holiday feeling that comes over you as you walk through the streets of Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York during this festive time of year.

Oh and dont forget the Roasted Chestnuts from the street vendors. Yum

The Little Man on the Curb

2011-12-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

Joanie and take the train into NYC, for 2 reasons. 1) to hang out with our fellow photographers and friends, and 2) for photographs like this. It may be far from technically perfect, but it's everything I hoped it would be when I shot it. I was drawn to this little man the kindness that naturally shows in his face. A little man in a very big city. To some this might be boring as piss, but for me it's the right moment.

December in Manhattan

2011-12-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Today in Bryant Park

Slam Dunk on 5th Avenue

2011-12-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

I'd say that cup in the bin is worth 2 points for sure~

Taken while crossing 5Th Avenue outside of Saint Patrick's Cathedral

Fine Swiss Chocolates

2011-12-11T07:45:00.001-08:00

The windows are trimmed for the Holidays. Teuscher- Fine Chocolate from Switzerland.

Teuscher

Teuscher is a Swiss chocolatier, headquartered in Zurich, with a store on Bahnhofstrasse and its flagship a few blocks away in the old city centre in a shop built in 1647. Founded in 1932 by Adolf Teuscher, Sr. (known as Dolf since WWII), Teuscher is now run by Dolf Teuscher, Jr. Rafael Rubio, Dolf, Jr.'s nephew is the family company's CFO. In addition to its stores in Zurich, The company maintains branch shops in these cities around the world: New York City, Chicago, Beverly Hills, San Francisco,Palo Alto, Boston, Newport Beach,[Toronto]], Tokyo, Yokohama, Singapore, Hong Kong, Berlin, Geneva, Philadelphia, Portland, and Austin. The Swiss confectioner manufactures, by hand, over 200 varieties of confections and pastries. Its signature confection is the Champagne Truffles, the first of its kind.

The company is an old-world confectioner and patissier that creates hundreds of confections based on chocolates and some without. Their celebrated Champagne Truffles are made with Dom Perignon champagne. Each is made with buttercream and Dom Perignon mixture surrounded by dark cream ganache made from 66% dark base chocolate. Then it is enrobed in milk chocolate and dusted with confectioner's sugar or in dark chocolate and dusted with bracingly dry unsweetened cocoa powder.

As Swiss confectioners generally do not distinguish themselves from patissiers the way the French tend to, the Teuscher brand also creates a wide range of pastries and cookies as well. Controversially, the Zurich-based company bakes the famous cookies of Basel, Zurich's main rival city, the Basler Leckerli, which are somewhat similar to gingerbread cookies.

Skyscrapers and everything

2011-12-10T08:30:00.001-08:00

New York , the city so nice they named it twice. There is a pulse to the city that you can feel long before you get into the heart of Midtown. The noise, hustle, bustle & characters all come to life in a larger than life manner. A diverse melting pot of culture and temperament that helps make NY be unique in comparison to any other citys in the world.

Salvation

2011-12-03T03:45:00.001-08:00

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries.

It was founded in 1865 in the United Kingdom by William Booth and his wife Catherine as the East London Christian Mission with a quasi-military structure.

The Salvation Army's reputation in the United States improved as a result of its disaster relief efforts following the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The establishment of Victorian bell-ringers raising charity today "helps complete the American portrait of Christmas", with over 25,000 volunteers taking up kettles over the holiday period in the U.S. alone.The church remains a highly visible and sometimes controversial presence in many parts of the world.

In 1994, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, an industry publication, released the results of the largest study of charitable and non-profit organization popularity and credibility. The study showed that The Salvation Army was ranked as the 4th "most popular charity/non-profit in America" of over 100 charities researched with 47% of Americans over the age of 12 choosing Love and Like A Lot for The Salvation Army.

(*info courtesy again of wikipedia)

All My Worldly Goods

2011-12-02T03:18:00.001-08:00

Project Renewal

The Jericho Project
As the divide between the 1% and the 99% begins to grow even more vast the statistics of the Homeless in NYC is staggering. Some of this in part is due to the budget cuts years ago that began to close down many of the State run Mental Health Institutions. But increasingly it is the folks on the fringe, the employed but barley going paycheck to paycheck with a dollar left for a cup of coffee. If you have a roof over your head and a warm bed to sleep in, be thankful for that. Especially in this age of rampant consumerism.
<-- I am not preaching on this I'm as guilty as the next person. -->
Be Kind, Rewind and Stay Human

Worldly Goods
© johnfrenzel

Each year 100,000 New Yorkers experience homelessness.
Each night, over 38,000 homeless individuals sleep in the New York City shelter system. This includes more than 16,000 children and8,000 single adults. Thousands more sleep on city streets and in other public places.
Nearly 1-in-20 New York City residents have experienced homelessness.
There are over 1,000 soup kitchens & food pantries in NYC and 2,700in NY State serving 2 million New Yorkers annually. They will serve60 million meals this year to hungry men, women & children. Everyday they turn away over 2,500 people.
In the first six months of 2001, requests for help in soup kitchens and food pantries citywide rose by 71%. After September 11th, there was another 71% increase.
Families make up 78% of New York City's homeless shelter population.
More than one-in-four children in NYC live in poverty. A typical homeless child is under 5 years old.
Over half of homeless mothers in New York City have a history of domestic violence.
Nearly one-in-five homeless parents were in foster care as a child.
It is estimated that between 40% and 50% of homeless single adults residing in the municipal shelter system have a chronic mental illness.
Approximately 90% of homeless New Yorkers are black or Latino, although only 53% percent of New York City's total population is black or Latino.
Almost 17% of residents of the single adult shelter system are employed.

**information provided byY.S.O.P.

Mad about Madison Avenue

2011-12-01T13:40:00.001-08:00

42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district (and, at times, the red-light district) near that intersection. The street has held a special place in the mind of New Yorkers since at least the turn of the 20th century, and hosts some of New York's most important buildings, including (east to west) the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.(thank you Wikipedia)

Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to the Madison Avenue Bridge at 138th Street. In doing so, it passes through Midtown, the Upper East Side (including Carnegie Hill), Spanish Harlem, and Harlem. It is named after and arises from Madison Square, which is itself named after James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. Since the 1920s, the street's name has been synonymous with the American advertising industry. (thank you Wikipedia) (yo MadMen)

Grand Central Terminal

2011-11-30T16:30:00.001-08:00

Grand Central Terminal (GCT)—often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. When the Long Island Rail Road's new station opens in 2016 (see East Side Access), Grand Central will offer a total of 75 tracks and 48 platforms. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres. That is a butt load of trains YO~

The terminal serves commuters traveling on the Metro-North Railroad to Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties in New York State, and Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut. The terminal used to be served by Amtrak, but in 1991 their trains moved to nearby Pennsylvania Station as a result of the completion of the Empire Connection.

Although the terminal has been properly called "Grand Central Terminal" since 1913, many people continue to refer to it as "Grand Central Station." "Grand Central Station" is the name of the nearby post office, as well as the name of a previous rail station on the site, and it is also used to refer to a New York City subway station at the same location.

A photographer could literally spend hours just inside the terminal making photographs. The light, motion, ambiance. It's a natural high, you can feel the pulse of the energy.

Metro North - headed South

2011-11-30T16:07:00.001-08:00

Head South on Metro North and what happens? If ya stay on the train long enough ya hit Grand Central.
The City so nice, they named it twice.

Walking in NYC

2011-11-29T15:27:00.001-08:00

Walking in New York; Far and away the best means of transportation to see the action.

I highly recommend doing this with some friends on a photo walk it's a blast.

Joanie and I got the chance to do this last month with a bunch of great photographers.
We walked from Mid Town down to Zucotti Park.
We hung out and took pictures with the folks at OWS.

An Americans Photographs - Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T05:04:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving, the most American of Holidays. A time for coming together, being together. No commercial excess, just food family and thanks. It is a great day and has long been my favorite holiday.

The Table

For Michael, roasted fresh vegetables

Hey Mr. Make a Funny Face

Thankful

friends and family

The END~

If you Post it

2011-11-23T19:59:00.001-08:00

Will they read?

Smoking with the Chief

2011-11-23T19:58:00.001-08:00

Smoking with the chief

Shot for my series An Americans Photographs.

2011-11-20T07:00:00.001-08:00

A few shots processed from my 2nd roll from the Rollei 35S camera for the An Americans Photographs album on Google +

Thorndale

Trapped Maple seedlings

Rooster mornings

400 Stony Brook and some light trails

Thorndale

On the street where I live

A tribute to Robert Frost

2011-11-19T10:09:00.001-08:00

Good Fences make Good Neighbors

He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."
The Mending Wall

The Rollei 35S

2011-11-18T11:51:00.001-08:00

The Rollei 35 is a 35mm miniature viewfinder camera. The original Rollei 35, when introduced at Photokina in 1966, was the smallest existing 135 film camera. Still today, the Rollei 35 series remain the second smallest 35 mm camera after the Minox 35. In 30 years, about 2 million Rollei 35 series cameras were manufactured.

Photo supplied by capitan-patata

This is my new (used) purchase and it is a handy albeit tiny camera. It has a tack sharp Sonnar f2.8 fixed lens.

I have just shot my 2nd roll of film from it and have the roll hanging in my drying room now. I'll post an image or 2 after they are ready. Below are a few shots from the first roll.

The Drama Queen

The Occupation goes on

2011-11-18T11:49:00.001-08:00

One Tribe

shoottttttt

2011-09-21T15:52:00.001-07:00

Bang on the drum all day

2011-08-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

Our American Commons Donate to your local Library

2011-08-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

Remember

2011-08-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

For me, street photography should tell a story. It should be an observation of life, with its struggles and its joys. I feel it is important for the photographer to bear witness and not become part of the scene they are capturing. It is after all about the scene, not the asshole with the camera in hand.

Once the photographer has crossed that line he's altered the reality of the situation, he's lost the serendipitous flow that brought him there in the first place. Lost with it is the magic.

A city for young lovers

2011-08-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I don't have to say Jack tonight, gonna let the pic do my talking for me. Better that way wont have any typos or poor grammar.

The P100

2011-08-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight on the porch. I grabbed this with a Nikon P100, pretty well pleased with it too. I love cameras love them a lot. Seems like every day they come out with new and improved models. For a guy like myself this poses a few problems. Foremost, how to I balance this addiction and still get through life with out the misses killing me.

Which brings me back to the P100. It is not feasible to purchase new gear every time the camera manufacturers release them. So I have made a compromise, with the ever changing latest and greatest there is suddenly an influx of used gear for sale. Good used gear at relatively decent prices. And while it is true it will be awhile before I actually have a Fuji X100 Someday I will.

Which again brings me back to the Nikon P100: and here I shall stay..........I recently picked one of these gems up from KEH if ya dont know KEH google em. I reserved judgement on this gear for a few days but think I will live with it for awhile. The trick is knowing what it's strengths and weakness are. It is a typical power zoom bridge camera. So as a street camera forget it, not near fast enough in many respects. It's got a small sensor so forget hi-iso as the freakin noise will kill ya. But knowing that, in good light with stationary subjects I think it does quite well. The color is true and at 100-400 ISO noise really is a non issue. Yeah I'll keep it for awhile.

f/4.5 on the shady side of the street

2011-08-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

What I'm reading tonight. Yes I'm on a Walker Evans kick big time.

2011-07-29T18:28:00.001-07:00

Sassy and lean wearing 100 dollar jeans.

There was a crooked man

2011-07-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

As a rule I don't often shoot the backs of people. But while in Italy the older Italian men and women had such flair and character that I was drawn to the shots.

2011-07-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

Blogs..............sigh..........I fail miserably at these. Know why? Because I don't really have shit to say. I'm not offering a cure for HIV or Cancer. I'm just some turd with a camera walking the streets. It pleases me, and should it please anyone else well heck that is a nice added bonus. But again, blogs............were all just blowhards. Just some of us blow harder I guess.

So why do I like this photo well enough to post it with my meaningless babble? I guess because I stood right next to this woman, turned my lens on her took the shot and gave her a smile and a nod. In return she did not bash my brains in with an umbrella. How cool is that?

I've got new shoes, I've got new shoes

2011-07-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

The streets in Florence were akin to the best Christmas present ever for a kid. Which in my heart I still kind of am. But I digress.......as a person who got the street photography bug a few years ago It's been occasional slim pickings. I happen to live in a small town where they roll up the sidewalks after 5:00 pm most days.

The upside is, I am only about 90 minutes away from both NYC and Albany so I can find action if I search it out. But Florence, oh man, all I had to do was walk out my apartment door and I was deep in the heart of it. Just stand back and watch what comes along, how sweet is that?

alone in his sea of tranquility

2011-07-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of my all time favorite photos that I have ever made. For me this is the essence of street photography. An image that tells a story yet the photographer remains relatively invisible to all. Just bearing witness. I am drawn to this photograph for its strong contrasts.
The solitary gentleman in black, heavy coat long pants and fancy hat. Lost in his thoughts, a native Florentine surrounded by tourists. Walking against the grain of the majority. Is he biding his time for the tourist season to end? I suppose if it were me that is what I'd be doing.

AliceMasks

2011-06-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

one look in the shop window of Prof. Agositino Dessi's shop and you quickly begin to realize this is not your average run of the mill mask shop. You are in the presence of a gifted artist.

Check out their fine work here

Man I feel like a woman~

2011-05-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes ya just gotta get yer sexy on~

the person who originates or gives existence to anything

2011-05-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

The Author

Braintrust

2011-05-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

Is you is, or is you aint my constituency?

Oh Bruddah~

How deep is dat water Melon?

2011-05-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Not older, just better

Why do you always end up at Nicks Cafe?

2011-05-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

I dont know I guess the wind just kind of pushed me this way~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KP9PNSUME4

When you photograph a face . . . you photograph the soul behind it – Jean -Luc Godard

2011-05-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

“The important thing is not the camera but the eye.” – Alfred Eisenstaed

2011-05-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

But that is not my dog~

2011-05-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

Young lady helping to raise money for her school drama club.

The Sun always shines on cool

2011-05-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

The countdown to departure is ON. Bags filling with gear, hearts filling with excitement. Firenze is right around the corner now. Buona Giornata