Queer Liberation March - Proud and resisting and fighting! Part 1

This will be a multi-part post.

This year I had to choose which Gay Pride event to celebrate, the big, "official" event or one of the marches that arose out frustration with the commercialization of the big parade. I chose and I think I chose well.

The Queer Liberation March followed the route of the first Gay Pride Parade 49 years ago, up Sixth Ave. in Manhattan to Central Park.

I arrived at Bryant Park before it reached there and after photographing the marchers and the onlookers, I stepped off the sidewalk to join them for most of the route, until by W. 50th St., the march passed me by.

These photos are selected but not edited. Raw photos indeed.

Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2019/07/queer-liberation-march-proud-and.html

 

 

In the Eye of the Beholder

I like these pictures.
I hope you do too.
 Look at them and then go to the bottom to see what I have to say about them.
As always, depending on your browser, clicking on one will enlarge it in one way or another.

These four photos are all variants on street photography.
The top image was taken as I rode up an escalator from an underground passage out of a train station. It was morning and only a few days after the scaffolding came down from the newly renovated building across the street from the exit.

The next is a photo of the plaza outside the southwest exit from Penn Station during a snowfall. It shares the presence of a food cart with the previous photograph as well as obscure lighting.

The last two of these photos were taken in art museums.

I go to look at the art yet as I stroll through the corridors and galleries carrying my camera, I think of myself as being inside an indoor park and my fellow strollers sometimes become the subject of the little bit of art I make. There is a small irony in making art out of the place where art is displayed and the people coming to look but "meta" is a contemporary form of expression and even when I'm not thinking about it, this is something bound to pop up.

Photography in the 21st Century has been partially denatured by the ubiquity of the phone cam combined with software which allows anyon e with a phone to take snapshots anywhere but it doesn't make all of them into photographers.

Look at these photos and tell me they are the sort of things you imagine.--

If you are interested, art-quality prints are available for sale. Inquiries welcome.

 https://kayester.blogspot.com/2019/06/in-eye-of-beholder.html

Street Portraits #1

One of the things I am is a street photographer.
Sometimes I shoot things, sometimes those things are buildings or objects or landscapes.
Most of the time I take pictures of people.

Here are three photos I shot several years ago in Manhattan.

 Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2019/02/street-portraits-1.html

Not quite a Miscellany - Eateries #1

One of the benefits of having a large back-log of unselected and unedited photos is that when spending time reviewing them, going back 10+ years, I find some I can't believe I never did anything with. That makes me start thinking about whether I have more like them and I open my eyes to looking for something barely paid heed to before.

The four photos that are here fall into this category.

All of them are of places that are best described as eateries.

The first is one of those places that when you find it you immediately are glad you did. It's the Crossing Diner, located adjacent to where a the Finger Lakes RR tracks on the west side of Seneca Lake crosses NY Rt. 14. Over the door on the outside a sign forbidding complaints. The only complaint I had was that I couldn't eat there more often.

The next photo is of the Star Diner in White Plains NY. It is a leftover from another era - a true railroad car diner. The people who run it are friendly, the food is exactly what it should be, and that makes it very good. They treat every customer as if he or she is a celebrity and that, in this day and age, makes it worth a visit, not matter. Bring cash if you go, they don't take credit cards.


Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, across from the Flatiron Building, is another throwback. They have two slogans, "You either get it or you don't," and "Raising New York's cholesterol since 1929." I agree. It isn't world class haute cuisine but it is something you just don't find in Manhattan, or the other boroughs for that matter, an authentic New York City luncheonette. They don't stay open late enough for the dinner crowd, but lunch is served until they close. Recently they acquired a new owner who was quoted as saying he bought it because he loved the place and wants to keep it the same.

And then we come to an exterior shot of an East Village, Manhattan pizzeria. The photo speaks for itself.

Still hoping to raise money toward upgrading my equipment:
www.gofundme.com/photographer-needs-to-upgrade

 Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2019/02/not-quite-miscellany-eateries-1.html

Miscellany #5 - finished rebuilding the RAID

It's been a month since my last post and the principal reason for this was my RAID, which started acting up. It was both a simple problem to fix and time consuming to do.  But now it's done.

Here's a selection of photos I've chosen for this post. Enjoy, and if you are interested in prints, they are available. Also, I've got a campaign to upgrade my photo equipment: https://www.gofundme.com/photographer-needs-to-upgrade

I think most of my street photographs have this in common: they catch a moment of drama, whether intentional or not doesn't matter. Sometimes it's the way the people are juxtaposed but not interacting. Other times there is interaction that somehow seems staged or posed but I know that it's not. On the streets of Manhattan there are more moments than can be measured. To quote the last line of an old movie: "There are 8 million stories in the Naked City..." Here's a handful. Please feel free to add your own dialog.

A couple of comments on these:

Early morning in Manhattan means coffee carts. This was taken near Madison Avenue at 8:42AM NY Coffee Cart time. Only the woman in blue looks like she's up and at 'em and ready to kick some ass.

Since this is Manhattan, the crossing of paths by diverse individuals is inevitable. The Mitzvah Tank is a signifier that the man in black with the long beard is a Lubavitch Chasid. The person in saffron passing in front of him possibly a Buddhist monk, though considering the date of the photo - I shot it in the fall of 2014, he might be a fake monk because there were a lot of them that year stalking the streets of the city proffering a good luck charm and then demanding $5.00 for it. The Chasid wasn't seeking donations. He was in the business of trying to get his co-religionists to do something required by Jewish religious law.  What I also liked was how the woman and man were both plugged out and seemed to be deliberately avoiding contact with both religious men.

She isn't still but she isn't moving. Is she waiting or leaving? I don't know. I feel she is trying her best to seem unaffected, above the fray, but hoping the right person will come here way, and soon.

A pause in their conversation. What did she say, what will he answer?

And finally, one of the odder moments of a day. There is no way the beard is real and that left eyebrow looks like it wants to be somewhere else, anywhere else. Yet the woman gazes at him intently, though I cannot guess her intentions.

 Permalink https://kayester.blogspot.com/2019/01/miscellany-5-finished-rebuilding-raid.html

Miscellany #4 - short and sweet and a little bit of self-promotion

Last week I left my camera on the train when I got off at my northern Westchester station. I felt this wass sort of fate, since I was starting to shop for a new one but put it on hold because during the past six months I ran into a bunch of large bills when I had to replace items that all wore out around the same time. In all, I sent close to $15000 cash and drained my saving for a camera and lenses account. And since I still had my old camera I wasn't desperate. And then that was gone.

So I went home, made a few calls until at last I connected to a Metro North Police officer who had me describe what I'd lost, what train where I was sitting, etc. He took my phone number and promised to get back to me when he had news. 

I sat down at my computer and started a GoFundMe campaign.

As it happens, a few hours later, thanks to the efforts of the MetroNorth police, I had my camera back, minus the lens cap. But I still need a new camera, I don't have the handy cash to buy it, and so I am leaving the campaign active if you feel inclined to contribute.

Here's the link - https://www.gofundme.com/photographer-needs-to-upgrade

All contributions of $40 or higher will receive a print of the photo of the contributors choice, when I make the goal. 

Additionally, fine prints - mostly on 8 1/2 x 11 inch photo paper, some larger, are available for sale. If you are interested you can email me at camera at jommelli dot org.

And with that bit of self-promotion out of the way, here are four more for your enjoyment.

I will only comment on the second. It was shot at Eisenberg's, probably one of the last old-school luncheonette's in Midtown Manhattan. They have two catch phrases, Either you get it or you don't and, Raising New York City's Cholesterol since 1929. I imagine that, except for the celebrity photos on the walls, it pretty much looks the same as it did 90 years ago.

I hope you enjoy these.

 Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/12/miscellany-4-short-and-sweet.html

Miscellany 3 - Maybe the blog's title is more appropriate than I thought.

I had dinner tonight with one of my kids. One of the ways they describe themself is as non-binary weirdo. I pitched in to say I'm weirder and they agreed.

One of the ways I am weird is I talk to strangers on the street, with neither fear nor embarrassment. I kid around by saying my mother always told me to never talk to strangers and I answered her by saying, "Mom, then I can't talk to myself because nobody's stranger than me."

These four photos were taken on Fifth Avenue in NYC on the sidewalk outside the New York Public Library. In the first, I told this guy he really rocked his look and he nodded, wordlessly agreeing.

The next three is a family grouping, a tourist family pausing in front of a building that combines great beauty, considerable significance and an amazing amount of human knowledge.

I took the first two of these three while they were in the act of selfying - is that a word? If not it should be - and asked as they shot themselves if I could get a family portrait. I ended up with three, together capturing the essence of 21st Century tourists and casual portraiture.

I happen to love these as a group and when I print them, I'm putting them on one large sheet. They belong together.

Comments are welcome.

If you are interested in quality signed prints, please let me know and we can discuss it.

Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/12/miscellany-3-maybe-blogs-title-is-more.html

A miscellany - how many will it be?

Since I will never catch up with all the photos I've been taking and only recently started to look at them seriously again, as much for printing as for on-line publishing, there will be more miscellanies and fewer thematic posts.

This, I think, is good.

Let me start with two shots of one of my cats. 

Her name is Bits. It isn't the name she had at Pet's Alive, the shelter where I got her from, which I cannot remember. When I took her home, she was over a year old, though exactly how much older nobody knew for sure. She was found in someone's yard, bedraggled, abandoned and pregnant. Her kittens were born and weaned in the shelter. All of them had been adopted in the month before I spotted her. It was immediate friendship, maybe even love, though her trust had to be won. She came into my arms and looked me in the eye and signaled that she wanted to go home with me.

She was a little leery at first, concerned, I imagine, that we were not going to keep her for the rest of her life. She didn't need to be, she was a perfect companion: polite, playful and always hanging out wherever we were. 

It's been 2 1/2 years now and she is still addicted to the laser dot. She jumps into my lap when I'm reading at the dining room table, lies down on me when I'm in bed, and is always hanging around the humans. Lucky cat, lucky humans.

In the first picture she is looking out at something, probably a bird or squirrel, in the snow in the backyard.  The second picture was taken on New Year's Eve 2017-2018.  She likes to watch for me through the kitchen window, so I might have just come into the house.

This photo was shot a few months ago in the Park Ave. tunnel between E. 45th and E. 46th St. It doesn't matter what was there before, and it doesn't matter what it is now. This was the intermediate stage, and to my eye it looked like a robotic face and it seemed to be looking at me.

This is a typical December scene in midtown Manhattan. That part of the island is flooded with people from somewhere else - during an average week NYC gets more than a million visitors - and they clog the sidewalks, block the intersections and in general behave as if this is a place where they don't have to behave. That sign, "Rough Road"describes the pedestrian's lot in NYC.

And finally, three people standing on a corner in Midtown. I like this picture. You can tell me what you think it's about.

 Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-miscellany-how-many-will-it-be.html

I will never catch up but I can at least post from time to time

This is what I will call a miscellany.
Some of these photos were taken some time ago, some are very recent.
Some of them will have more description than others.

I'll start with two very recent photos.
The first I shot on a Metro-North Commuter RR train heading toward Brewster, which is where these four very nice people were heading.

They are from a couple of places in west and central Connecticut, were on their way home from one of their occasional outings to NYC together. From left to right, Lynn, Vinnie, Claudia and Renee. I hope I got those names right. They told me they all met at the gym they go to.

I was taking a walk on Madison Avenue. I'd offered some directional assistance to a seemingly turned-around family from Germany and watched them off. Before I could continue my walk, one of these pleasant women asked if I could help them. I pointed them in the direction they needed to go, gave them a quick tutorial on street addresses in Manhattan, and asked where they were from. The woman on the right told me they are from Kansas and her name is Dorothy. I wondered how they enjoying the wonderful city of Oz because it sure isn't Kansas. The woman with her is not named Toto.

Mackenzie was looking a little lonely at her tasting station at Park Avenue Liquors. I'd gone in to say hi to Marlon Paltoo, one of the most knowledgable people I know when it comes to  scotch and the owners, Jonathan and Eric Goldstein. I stopped to taste the Nautilus gin and chatted briefly with the brand rep. She moved here from Philadelphia. The gin, by the way, was very tasty.

These next three are street photos. Now the photo of the women from Kansas is a street photo too, and I guess the first one is too, but they are different. I got to know a little about the people in them. For these, all I know is what I imagine.

 And though I don't know these young folk, I do know that skateboarding is not a crime.

This photo was taken in the studio at the International Fusion Arts museum in Easton, PA. Jozef Dian, a Czech artist is here working on fabric, and his fabrications are fabulous

And finally, a one photo and one paragraph tribute to Juris Jurjevics. He passed away recently and if you do a web search on his name you will find several obituaries, including one in the NY Times. He was a good man, someone I knew for about forty years. In his lifetime he was a refugee in the USA, a Vietnam War veteran, a book editor and publisher and a novelist. He was also a much loved father and husband and the sort of friend you want to have.

I shot this photo during the summer of 2018. We were meeting for beer and conversation at a bar in the East Village of Manhattan. I did not know then I'd never see him again. I will miss him.
He was the cofounder of the Soho Press and they have a loving appreciation of him on their web site.


If you are interested in art quality prints of any of these contact me via email or the comments and we can discuss it.


Permalink:
https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/12/i-will-never-catch-up-but-i-can-at.html

Radomer Holocaust Survivors Project - April 27, 2014 NYC

If you have followed this blog, you have seen some sets of photos taken at either the annual Holocaust Memorial Service in the spring of every year, or the annual Yizkor held at the Radomer Mutual Culture Center cemetery on Long Island, the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur every year.

I am working on a project to re-edit and print photos of the survivors with friends, family or alone. I have been asked to re-present these as I finish a batch. It's a process and won't happen over a short period of time.

I've been asked if I can make prints of individual photos for family members. I am willing but have not yet determined pricing.

Here are photos from the memorial service held May 4, 2008 - New York City

Click on the photo to view it larger.

April 27, 2014 - NYC

 Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/04/if-you-have-followed-this-blog-you-have.html

Radomer Holocaust Survivors Project - April 22, 2012 NYC

If you have followed this blog, you have seen some sets of photos taken at either the annual Holocaust Memorial Service in the spring of every year, or the annual Yizkor held at the Radomer Mutual Culture Center cemetery on Long Island, the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur every year.

I am working on a project to re-edit and print photos of the survivors with friends, family or alone. I have been asked to re-present these as I finish a batch. It's a process and won't happen over a short period of time.

I've been asked if I can make prints of individual photos for family members. I am willing but have not yet determined pricing.

Here are photos from the memorial service held May 4, 2008 - New York City

Click on the photos to view them larger.

 Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/04/radomer-holocaust-survivors-project_28.html

April 22, 2012 - 1

April 22, 2012 - 2

April 22, 2012 -3

April 22, 2012 - 4

Radomer Holocaust Survivors Project - October 2, 2011 - Pinelawn NY

If you have followed this blog, you have seen some sets of photos taken at either the annual Holocaust Memorial Service in the spring of every year, or the annual Yizkor held at the Radomer Mutual Culture Center cemetery on Long Island, the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur every year.

I am working on a project to re-edit and print photos of the survivors with friends, family or alone. I have been asked to re-present these as I finish a batch. It's a process and won't happen over a short period of time.

I've been asked if I can make prints of individual photos for family members. I am willing but have not yet determined pricing.

Here are photos from the memorial service held October 2, 2011 - New Montefiore Cemetery, Pinelawn, NY

Click on the photos to view them larger.

Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/04/radomer-holocaust-survivors-project.html

Oct. 2, 2011 -1

Oct. 2, 2011 - 2

Oct. 2, 2011 - 3

Radomer Holocaust Survivors Project - May 4 2008 NYC

If you have followed this blog, you have seen some sets of photos taken at either the annual Holocaust Memorial Service in the spring of every year, or the annual Yizkor held at the Radomer Mutual Culture Center cemetery on Long Island, the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur every year.

I am working on a project to re-edit and print photos of the survivors with friends, family or alone. I have been asked to re-present these as I finish a batch. It's a process and won't happen over a short period of time.

I've been asked if I can make prints of individual photos for family members. I am willing but have not yet determined pricing.

Here are photos from the memorial service held May 4, 2008 - New York City

Click on the photos to view them larger.

May 4, 2008 NYC - 1

May 4, 2008 NYC - 2

May 4, 2008 NYC -3

 Permalink

https://kayester.blogspot.com/2018/04/radomer-holocaust-survivors-project-may.html