NEW YORK NEW YORK – There’s a relatively recent new installation at Lever House: a large bronze version of the inflatable giant rat that labor unions inflate outside of sites using scab labor. This is a work by a collective called The Bruce High Quality Foundation. Because of the material and the site the work is gently ironical – one assumes that the creators were hoping for more emotional impact. Taken with my Leica Monchrom and 28mm Summichron lens.
Big RatBig Rat
On this day last year: Martini. Having fun with my iPhone.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – After a long weekend in Bermuda this is really a crap day – I spent the day at my computer catching up on administrative stuff that I hate. At about 4:00 I rebelled and decided to ride the Staten Island ferry to catch the good light with my Leica Monochrom. Here you go:
Staten Island FerryIconClose up“R”
NEW YORK NEW YORK – Well, here we are in front of the Seagrams Building. A typical hangout for me. I often have meetings in the area and the plaza between the Seagrams Building and the Racquet and Tennis Club is one of the great urban spaces in the country. The plaza is presently featuring sculpture by John Chamberlain – works that look like they are made of crumpled up aluminum foil, but on a really large scale. Here’s one taken with my every-present Leica Monochrom and 35mm Summilux lens:
John Chamberlain sculpture
NEW YORK NEW YORK – More of Niki de Saint Phalle’s work on the Park Avenue divider betwen the Seagrams Building and the Racquet and Tennis Club. See my post of: July 26, 2012. Taken with my Leica M9 and 18mm Elmar lens. Later in the evening we trekked out to Brooklyn for dinner at Peter Lugar, the Chartres Cathedral of steak. Images taken with my Fuji X-Pro1 and 35mm lens.
Niki de Saint PhalleAt Peter LugarDesert is Finished
NEW YORK NEW YORK – I’ve been thinking about what it is to photograph landscape (whether urban or otherwise). Let me describe the experience. There comes a moment when you physically experience some remarkable aspect of the light. For me the world seems to grow quiet and I work without thinking, intuitively. Time seems suspended. I reach this state of mind on those rare occasions when the light is very special and combines with the scenery in front of me to create a heightened sense of reality. It’s good to have a camera in hand when this happens. I’m not wildly successful seeking these moments out with a tripod.
there was one of those moments this morning in the space between the Seagrams Building and the Racquet and Tennis Club.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – It’s leap day. Also known as Sadie Hawkins Day. Another busy day at my day job but I managed to get out to incorporate a new sculpture in the garden of Lever House into a straight up cityscape. Shot with my Sony Nex-7 and a 24mm Summilux lens.
Lever House
If you are expecting a picture from this day last year of course you will be disappointed because there wasn’t a February 29, 2011. But I decided to look back four years in my archive to 2008 (before I started the one photo every day project), and I found some images from a wine tasting hosted by Christian Moueix at Dominus vineyards in California. Christian owns Chateau Petrus and a number of other Pomerol and Saint-Emilion properties. Here are the wines that were served at the tasting. Taken with my Leica M8 and a Leica Wide Angle Tri-Elmar lens.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – I find myself stalking the Chrysler Building . . . again. This time from the north with a moderately wide lens. I’ve done the thing with the lamp post before, but honestly they are everywhere; rather than dodge it I just thought that I’d work it in. If you want to see more Chrysler Buildings you can pull down “Tags” in the space to the right, scroll down to “Chrysler Building” and click. You’ll find that no fewer than 11 posts have featured this icon, 12 counting this one.
Why? Because it’s fabulous. Ever changing. And it’s a real challenge to come up with a fresh point of view on a major icon. Taken with my Sony Nex-7 and a 24mm Leica Summilux lens.
Chrysler Building
On this day one year ago: poor composition. Interesting. Both today’s post and last year’s post feature lamp posts. They’re ubiquitous and some of them are attractive. As I said it’s hard to keep them out of the New York landscape.
