Street Photographs 1

 Street photographs 1.

The streets of New York feel more like home than the streets of any other city in the world. The neighborhoods I wander the most are Midtown, Murray Hill, Flatiron and the East Village, but not exclusively. I carry my camera with me and I shoot a lot of street photography, especially of people walking around me. You might say I’m a sniper because with my camera, I mostly shoot people. Even if you don’t say it, I will: I’m a sniper, I shoot people. But nobody gets hurt. Sometimes I shoot something else, but I prefer to leave the scenery for the tourists.

These photos are accumulating and I’ll never completely catch up and do with them what I want. So I’ll take a few minutes to pick one or two and try to post more often. If you like them, say something.

 Look for more.

These three photos were all taken a few days ago in Manhattan.

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The first photo was an accidental one, not planned, not spotted a moment before. It was something that just happened. In fact, it was almost me in an accident. When I looked at it later, and realized it could’ve been my face smooshed up against that windshield, I laughed. The car is a red stretch Rolls Royce. The driver was trying to make an illegal right turn into me at the corner of Mad. and E. 37^th. I stopped to photograph the car and the driver. He decided he ought to continue west on E. 37^th.

click to enlarge

A few blocks south, still on Madison Ave., I saw this woman trying to hail a cab. I walked past her, turned and stopped to shoot a picture. One of the moments I like to photograph is that of a person or people hailing a cab. When I looked at the picture later, I realized she was wearing boots that were made for hailing a cab.

click to enlarge

Last one for tonight is these two women. What caught my eye were the red coats. It wasn’t cold – nor was it a warm afternoon – but they seemed both dressed too warm and too similarly for it to be a coincidence. I don’t know why they were wearing red coats, and I guess I never will. But please, check out the yellow in this photo.

Wild New York or Hawk 1 - Squirrel 0

Hawk one, Squirrel, nothing.

There are thousands of squirrels in NYC for every hawk, so taking a picture of a squirrel is no big deal, but a hawk, on a lawn, in a midtown park, isn't something I see everyday.

I’m taking a walk in Madison Square Park on Friday afternoon and I see this aggressive, large squirrel jump up on the back of a bench where it commences to hassling a couple of women who are trying to eat their lunch. The squirrel points his / her paw at one of them and skreeks out something about her potato chips. She drops them on the ground before the squirrel can take another hostile step toward her. The squirrel leaps down to the ground and without worrying about the victims, commences to scarf down the booty. This is not one rodent to let the chips fall where them may.

Monday afternoon, I go for a stroll through Madison Square Park. I see a crowd gathered alongside one of the fences erected to keep human visitors separate from the grass and fallen leaves. I walk over and what do I see but a hawk standing over a squirrel, once fat and aggressive, now hawk food. 

The hawk, unimpressed by its audience, gives the crowd a "back off buddy" look and keeps on eating.

So go ahead, people, feed the squirrels, fatten them up, so that the hawks that patrol the park can have a more succulent, tender meal.

Tsuarah Litzky - Cleaning the Duck book launch party/reading

Tsaurah Litzky has a new book out, her second collection of poems. It’s called Cleaning the Duck, and it’s published by Bowery Books. and I hope it’s available somewhere, but what with the current state of poetry and publishing, and publishing poetry; and the current disarray in publishing in general, good luck. I’ve dug around and here’s a link to the only place online I could find it available. I think, but I'm not sure, that Bowery Books is part of Bowery Arts & Science.

 As sensible as that title is to anyone who cooks, or has a pet duck that got into something messy, or who’s helped out in the aftermath of an oil spill, I misread the title in an email I got telling me about the book launch reading and party at the Bowery Poetry Club on Sunday, November 20, 2011. What I saw and misread was ‘Clearing the Duck,” and I thought that’s a clever play on words: not clearing the deck, but dodging and, well, ducking. What is writing about if not about clearing the deck, ducking the slings and arrows that stand between blank paper and finished work.

The reading at the Bowery Poetry  Club was mostly Tsaurah, introduced by her editor, Marjorie Tesser, with entertainment by solo bass player,  Albey Baloghian, and an appreciation by Steve Dalchinsky. Steve’s a good guy with a talent for telling truths that some people don’t want to hear. Two artist friends of his, Sylvie, and Joanne, defended him. Joanne put it succinctly: everybody’s fucked up.

It’s not just people who are fucked up, it’s the world. But that’s another story. I hope you like the pictures.

Regarding Tsaurah’s poetry: it’s all tinged with sexuality, even when it’s not the topic at the center of the poem.  Her reading is also a performance, and I was thinking how would anyone who didn't see and hear her will know what it's all supposed to sound like. 

Just go read her stuff, and other poetry too. Listen to the sounds inside your head.

As usual, click on a photo to see a larger version.

A reading for and from George Spencer's "Unpious Pilgrim"

There was a reading for and from George Spencer’s new book, Unpious Pilgrim (Fly by Night Press, 2011) at  on Sunday, Nov. 13 at A Gathering of the Tribes in the East Village (NYC.) There were five readers: George Spencer, Elisabeth Watson, John Farris, Karin Randolph and Ron Kolm. George read from his new book, Elisabeth, John and Karin read from the new book and some of their own poetry, and Ron read one selection from George’s new book.

There were some terrific pieces read. Poetry is meant to be heard as well as read to oneself.

I snapped a few pictures, as I usually do when I can, at events such as these. The lighting was very difficult but I did my best under the circumstances. I hope you enjoy them. In case you don't know, click on a picture to make it larger.