Heather Hutchison: Seeker, April 17th - May 31st at Winston Wächter Fine Art

I first met Heather Hutchison seven years ago when I was commissioned by Sam Alfstad of Alfstad& Gallery, to create an interview with Heather at her Woodstock home. Before moving to NYC ten years ago, I used to produce a lot of interviews of the featured artists at Alfstad&. So after I moved to NYC, Sam kept in touch and had me shoot with all the NYC based artists including Heather. I remember it was the first time I took the train upstate along the Hudson River. When I arrived in Woodstock, it was a cold, rainy, enchanting day. We filmed the interview in her studio/barn. Heather walked me through her back story, process and what inspired her. It’s a pretty cool video. Watch below.

Fast forward to last week, I see that Heather was having a show in the city over in Chelsea. It was one of those opening night events where all the galleries in Chelsea are having big parties and you walk in and out of galleries all night. I recommend everyone do this at least once while living in NYC.

I go to the show and reintroduce myself since it’s been awhile. We briefly reconnect and I ask if I can do another interview the next day. She says yes, and here we are. We filmed the interview inside of Winston Wächter Fine Art. She described the new show to me and broke down some of the newer work. I’m pretty happy with how this short notice video came together.

Like usual, I carry my Fujifilm X100VI everywhere with me. So, I got lots of good video shots from the opening night party as well. Remember, always be shooting.

Vita Coco Latin Heritage Month

Another series of videos are in the books for the Vita Coco Supporting Local Communities campaign. This season of videos we visited California and New York City to highlight Latin specifics businesses. The focus of the interviews are on entrepreneurship and what it means to own a business and how culture has influenced it. I love the range of stories we get to tell. Below is a screen capture of the landing site for the campaign and below that are all the videos. I can’t communicate this enough but interviewing and capturing stories are my strongest and most valuable skillset as a Video Producer. I’m still thinking about the sandwiches from Uptown Provisions.

filming at Uptown Provisions

filming at Bar Flores

Behind The Video: Blossoming Beyond Bars

I love working in video because it opens me up to new worlds and communities. Such as the case of a recent shoot where I got to document a day long conference centered around women re-entering society after being incarcerated. Kevin Paulin from Winning Ways LLC along with his two partners, Kevnesha Boyd LPC & Dr. Janet Garcia-Hallett produced an entire day of programming, learning and networking. Over 75 women were in attendance along with several organizations to help with basic needs such as housing and counseling. Video projects like this are fulfilling because the creative output has a direct impact in helping others.

I look forward to working with Kevin again in the future and to creating more socially, impactful work.

Behind The Video: The Mend

About a month or so ago, I was in my old neighborhood of Crown-Heights Brooklyn meeting up with Kerry so we could go to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. As usual, I was early. So I decided to kill some time and walk around. As I’m walking in front of the Brooklyn Public Library, I see a guy with an old sewing machine. No matter where you go in the city, there’s always someone with a public art project. So, I walk over to see what’s going on. After listening in on his pitch, it sounding pretty interesting and the prefect thing to make a video about. Plus, his outfit was pretty dapper and would look great on camera. I introduced myself, told him what I do and he was game. After I got Brandon mic’d up, we started and stopped a couple of time because of so many people coming up to talk to him so I took that as a perfect time to capture some natural audio of him speaking with other people which turned out to the be the perfect idea because I opened the video with the natural audio. The interview itself probably took about ten minutes to capture. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting right to the point when interviewing. After the interview, I got a few more b-roll shots and then had all the ingredients to make this video. Brandon was a great sport. I think he was a little hesitant of me at first but I think I ultimately won him over. If it was up to me, I would spend the rest of my career making videos like this. Slice of life, no fuss, high quality productions.

It’s interesting, between Facebook and Instagram, the video has over twenty thousands views but those people have never seen the wide version, they’ve only seen the vertical version. At this point, I’ll take the views how I can get them.

Throwback: 2006 Street Photography

I got into street photography back in 2006 when I was working on cruise ships. I was traveling to some of the most amazing destinations in the world and I wanted to document what I was seeing. My girlfriend at the time, bought me the Canon XTi as a gift. It was the first legit camera I ever owned. Back then, I gravitated to people and all the random things that happened on the street. People at markets, interesting shadows, graffiti and anything I thought would photograph well.

Me in the Venice, Italy canals. 2007

YouTube and Instagram in the past few years has been inundated with a new generation of street photographers. Many of them have been highly influenced by the same five to ten famous street photographers. Winogrand, Frank, Cartier-Bresson, Web, Gilden and list of many more. And that’s fine. We’ve all been influenced by someone. However, when I started shooting “street” in 2006, before IG and before "first person YouTube street vlogs’, I was only influenced by the handful of times that maybe I saw a street photo somewhere. I wasn’t yet buying photo books, I didn’t have IG as a way to see the latest trends, gear or techniques. I only had real life in front of me to inspire me. Flickr was hot at the time but I probably didn’t get an account until about 2008.

Looking back on it, the work wasn’t very good but it wanted to be great. I guess Ira Glass was right about your early work hasn’t caught up to your taste.

That definitely didn’t keep me from shooting. Every new port I visited was an opportunity for me to get better. A lot of the photos turned out to be just really bad tourist photos but at the time, I thought I was print publication bound.

I’m glad I still have all the photos from back then. One, for memory sake and secondly, to see how far I’ve come since then. In some ways, my aesthetic hasn’t changed. I won’t wax poetic about the history of street photography and all the lesson I’ve learned since but I did want to share my earliest street photos.

Billion Oyster Project Oyster Installation

On probably the most humid and foggiest days of the summer, The Billion Oyster Project was installing reef balls into the East River. It was day one of three as they plan to introduce ten million new oysters into New York Bay. I had the opportunity to speak with Shinara Sunderlal, Direct Student Services Manager of The Billion Oyster Project about the process and what’s involved.

Swelter is an understatement of how it felt this day but it was pretty captivating watching them drop reef balls into the water. There was a lot of driving in circles and turning the boat around to get the exact placement. I was only planning to go one day but I’m curious what the next two days will have in store.

This biggest story for me was asking about a statement that The Gothamist made about The Billion Oyster Project in a recent article and Instagram post. Many in the comments of the IG post said that this was “textbook bad reporting with an inaccurate and sensationalist headline”. In the video from 5:15 - 6:00, Shinara clarifies where The Gothamist reporting went wrong.

image from The Gothamist Instagram account.

I decided to go capture this story as a follow up to a video I made a few years ago when The Billion Oyster Project held a volunteer session where people took out oysters, measured them and put them back in the water. I’ll stay updated on New York City water ways and oysters over the coming months and report back if anything new unfolds. This is turning into a fascinating story.

Fun, Film, and Failure

I got bit by the 35mm film bug just like every other digital creator looking for a new and interesting creative outlet. You know, something to separate us from “all the other creators”. You know, something that would make our work “standout" and “be different" that would evoke emotions the way gliding archival photos in a Ken Burns doc makes you feel. As the old Kanye said, “it’s hard to standout when everyone is dressed the same” and thats basically where a new community of photographers have found ourselves. Shooting the same type of images, on the same film stocks, using the same cameras for the same insane prices it takes to develop film. Nonetheless, it’s still fun. And that’s why we do it. For me, how much longer is the big question?

What I really want to talk about is my latest film camera purchase, the Konica C35 V. A 70’s era, range finder. I bought the camera out of a flea market bin in Berlin

The camera looks really small because I have big hands and shot this on the wide setting on my iPhone.

I had been on the search for a new film camera ever since my Olympus died. I have a cheap point and shoot which is pretty great but I wanted something with a few more manual controls. When I saw the Konica, I instantly knew I was going to buy it. However, it had years of dirt & dust caked on it. After a good cleaning with soap and water, I brought it back to life. Now, the next step is to see if it works. Before I bought it, I tested the shutter and the advance and it all seemed to be good. Not really being familiar with range finder cameras, I had to get used to the settings. With this camera, the shutter speed is automatically adjusted with the f-stop. Naturally, I figured shooting at a smaller aperture (f-16) would give me the fastest shutter speed which should then give me sharper images. No. For some reason, most of the images out of this camera have been extremely blurry. Not out of focus blurry but like camera shake blurry. I’m not sure if thats because of the 200 speed film or if it’s because there’s something wrong with the camera. And most of the images from the first 2 rolls were over exposed which I didn’t think you could do with 200 speed film.

I’ve now put five rolls through it. I’ve gotten a few sharp images but not as many as I should have. I’ve even done some test where I’ve shot the same thing and changed the settings and I’ve still gotten similar results. With the few sharp images I’ve gotten, I think the camera has a sweet spot for a specific range that I haven’t quite consistently figured out yet.

Since I only paid about 25 euros for this camera, I didn’t have the highest hopes for it but now I’m obsessed with figuring it out. Developing film is also not cheap. Shooting test roll after test roll can really start to add up without the reward of getting good shots. But much like anything else, you have to fail at the beginning to really learn. As they say in the startup world, “test, learn, iterate” and the faster rate you can do this, the better off you you’ll be. I think I’m going to use 400 speed film next since it’s more sensitive to light.

One important note I’d like to add is that I’m not one of those people that believes just because I took a shot on film that it’s always better. Digital is the greatest thing ever. However, film does provide a certain thing that digital can never.

The images I captured at the Puerto Rican Day parade were the worst. I don’t think any of them were not blurry. I was in the flow that day too. Maybe I just need to get better at zone focusing or not moving so much while taking photos. I think I’m pretty spoiled by Fuji X100 series cameras where I can’t take a blurry photo if I tried.

For now, I think I’m going to continue shooting with the camera simply because it’s so much fun. I just love the sound of releasing the shutter and advancing. That rhythm is so satisfying. Moral of the story, keep trying until you figure out the problem and solution. And sometimes it can be as easy as, it’s broken get a different camera. The journey continues. I’ll make an update soon.

Community Content: Weeding Wednesdays

If you ever find yourself inside of New York City parks and notice that some of them are better kept than others, it’s because state parks get very different funding than city parks. In some cases, these parks are sometimes right next to each other like in the case of Marsha P. Johnson & Bushwick Inlet Park. My girlfriend is a community volunteer with The Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park on the Williamsburg waterfront. This organization looks after the park with the help of volunteers. Since her involvement, I’ve been learning about the allocation of park funding, weeding and why it’s important to make sure you vote in your local elections if you want to see a difference in your neighborhoods.

I recently interviewed Katherine who’s behind the The Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park to dig a little deeper into what it takes to maintain. Katherine has been a champion of city parks for many years and was a great interview. The two videos are great examples of what local storytelling should feel like and the importance of creating awareness. Producing videos like this allows me to wear my interviewer, director, videographer and editor hat all in one. Most times, I feel I’m a better interviewer than the other three titles.

For each of these videos, I created a vertical version for Instagram. As a result, they both got really good engagement in a way that may not have happened if they were only on the organizations’ website or YouTube. Being a horizontal video purist, I’m learning in some cases, vertical is sometimes better. Also, I’ve been filming in a way that everything can be cropped for social. I do think a time is coming where short form, horizontal makes a comeback but until then, I work with the trends but never forget my traditional filmmaking rules.

Moving to Williamsburg last year has allowed me to be much closer to an active community with so much going on. I look forward to covering more park volunteering and other local stories.

Vita Coco Supporting Local Communties

For the second year, Vita Coco has asked me to create a series of videos highlighting black entrepreneurs. Getting to interview so many different types of people and learn about their backgrounds has been extremely fulfilling. I think it’s really important to showcase the hard work of people we often overlook. As a filmmaker, that’s why I love the work that I get to do. Every shoot is like a new adventure in story telling.

My strongest production skillset is interviewing and talking with people on camera. As a small team, we go into these productions with an outline of questions but once I get going, I end up capturing so much more interesting information than we intended. This year, the campaign took us to Manhattan, Harlem, Brooklyn, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Fort Worth. Going into these cities and learning the impact they’ve had on their communities has been the most heart warming.

The creative and social media team at Vita Coco are so fun to work with. They do an excellent job at cultivating and planning all the shoots so that all I have to do is show up and do what I do best.

Below is a screen capture of the micro-site featuring everyone we interviewed. You can visit the actual site here. Below this screen cap, I’ve included all the videos. Photos on the micro site are also by yours truly.

Behind the scenes image of me directing/shooting/interviewing at Hotel Dryce

Behind the scenes image of me directing/shooting/interviewing at Fruvee

The videos were posted as Instagram stories. Four were posted during the month of February and one each month afterwards.

Behind the Scenes Jazz photos with Raffi Garabedian

Nothings makes my heart warmer than seeing old school, contrasty, black & white photos of jazz musicians. It could be old album covers, performance shots in smokey jazz clubs or in the recording studio. Regardless, there’s always something very timeless and nostalgic about those photos. I was looking to capture that same feeling in this session with Raffi Garabedian.

Raffi is a talented, Bay Area Saxophone player who is also the brother of my friend Noah. Clearly, jazz runs in the family. A couple of years ago, Raffi reached out about me documenting the process of him and his band recording his latest album. I was totally onboard. I love projects like this when I get to bring my “fly on the wall”, candid style of shooting to the table. Plus, I got to listen to great jazz for a few hours. I put myself in the shoes of someone who was shooting Miles Davis in the studio…how do I make them look like the coolest, bad ass there ever was? I think I got some really great timeless photos that captured the process and the moment.

In addition to the photos, I shot some video as well. They don’t call me “Video Guy” for nothing. The video gives a taste of the music and some motion to the recording. I should have written this piece almost 2 years ago but some how I forgot to. Later today, on May 1st, I’m shooting a very similar project with another set of musicians. Having that shoot later today, triggered me into quickly writing this before then. You can listen and purchase the album “The Crazy Dog” at this link. https://raffigarabedian.bandcamp.com/album/the-crazy-dog-2.

What we learned from the Professional Bull Riding Circuit 2024

Yeehaw!! We’re back again at the Professional Bull Riding competition in NYC. This time, we’re more experienced and prepared, yet we still have so many questions and concerns. Last year, Kerry and I co-wrote a blog about our experience so this year I decided we should make a video about it. So, sit back and enjoy the vlog. Afterwards, take some time to enjoy the photographs.

When I attend an event like this, I’m always torn between taking photos and shooting video. If the story idea is clear before hand, I almost always shoot video. However, sometimes, I’d rather let my inner Gordon Parks let loose. Luckily, on this night, I brought 3 digital cameras and one film camera with me. Since I don’t own a good good zoom for my still cameras, I waited until I got close to my subjects before I took any pics. Which is probably the best rule anyways for good photography.

I really hope to shoot more documentary style photos like this in the future. If only for fun. I loved the run and gun nature of shooting like this. Having access is the biggest privilege to getting good shots sometimes.

Until next year, “Save a bull, ride a cowboy”.

Media Day with Fraser's Mathematics Solutions

Working with Frasers Mathematics Solutions takes me back to when I worked in education at St. Petersburg College where I helped faculty and department heads with educational content. I’ve been working with Jaliyla for a few years and her shoots are always always a lot fun. FMS flagship product is the “Dope Math Notebook” which bridges the gap between the classroom and homework time with parents. The “Dope Math Notebook” covers all grades and age groups. 

Over the years, I’ve produced a number a video projects for FMS including student field trips and teacher workshops. This time around, Jaliyla held a media day so we could capture photo and video assets that she can use through out the year. Some of those assets include product shots, headshots and a marketing video. On a shoot like this, I have to go between shooting video and photos which means I have to think quick on my feet. The photo assets need to be captured in both vertical and horizontal formats. Also, “white space” needs to be factored in for text and copy additions that will be added later.

I would definitely recommend that all early stage companies host a media day. It’s a great way to build team morale while having a fun, creative time. The team shots were the most fun to capture. It was a good combination of fun and seriousness. The final team shots look like a high end fashion campaign. 

For me, the video portion of a shoot like this is the most important. Capturing the most impactful talking points on camera are vital to the overall communication of the Fraser’s brand. Although, we had detailed bullet points of we wanted to capture on camera, it’s also really important to ask good questions during the interviews so that we can dig a little deeper into the answers. Sometimes, the best soundbites aren’t written. Working with educators is always great because they’re ultimately working for the betterment of the students. The Frasers Mathematics team consistently demonstrates that students are their number one priority. 

The Etiquette and Culture of Street Photography

I’m about two weeks removed from an awkward interaction of being called out for taking a street photograph. In the moment, it was tense, stressful and unnecessary. However, for the record, it is not illegal to photograph public life. There are no privacy rules when you’re in public. Hence the business of paparazzi and journalism. It protects the right to document and archive. However, the real question is, how moral are you when taking street photographs? What’s the artistic intent?

The goal of a street photographer is to catch that moment whether its funny, sad, chaotic, colorful or weird. Over the past 60+ years, there have been a handful of photographers that have made this style/genre famous. In the early days, it was all about contrasty, black & white photos of shadows and street landscapes. Then it was about “documenting American life” or life from wherever the photographer was from. Then it became about storytelling and voyeurism. Then about symmetry and color. Now, all these styles and aesthetics have become the new gold standard in terms of what makes a good street photograph.

The two extremes of street photography that best demonstrates the very best and the very worst of this genre are Vivian Maier and Bruce Gilden. Vivian gave us beautiful, black & white, romanticized shots of a nostalgic time gone by while Bruce gives us hard, aggressive, New York City in your face, rude, and harsh photographs. Today, most street photographers find themselves between these two styles.

Tatiana Hopper recently gave one of her best academic breakdowns of Gilden’s work. Tatiana has done a great job with her YouTube channel breaking down the work of photography icons of the 100 years.

Typically, street photography happens in big cities where people live their day to day lives on the street. These people can become the main characters in the compositions of photographers depending on the scene, how good the light is or how well they’re dressed. Bill Cunningham is probably best known as the “Mr. Rogers” of street photography. His niche was primarily fashion and what people were wearing on the streets of NYC. He was beloved by all and respected by everyone who knew his work. People posed and stopped for him because of the reverence he gave his subjects.

Scott Schuman, better known as the “Sartorialist”, took the proverbial baton from Bill and created his own take on street fashion and became an international icon himself. I would say my style and aesthetic has been influenced by these two the most. Some would say fashion and good looking people are “low hanging fruit” for street photography but I say “when it’s good, it’s too good to pass up”.

There’s an entire list of photographers that I’ve left out simply because there isn’t enough time to mention them but I want to say that it’s okay to be influenced by all the different types of styles and cherry pick the nuances of each to use as your own. This is how we create the bottomless gumbo of creativity.

Paulie B. has done a great job with his YouTube channel by interviewing the community of street photographers that are currently on the street everyday. This was an excellent interview that touches on a lot of the topics amongst the community.

The Wrong Side of the Lens recently just came out of nowhere with an incredible 20 video documentary series of street photographers. Similar to what Paulie B. is doing but more dramatic and raw. These are definitely a must watch.

Below are some of my own street photos. These aren’t my street fashion shots that I’ve been capturing recently but more of a candid series. I’ll write a separate blog about the street fashion shots.

Some street photographers are trying their best to be as inconspicuous as possible. Not because their doing something wrong but because they don’t want to to disrupt the scene. Their goal is to capture life as it plays out while they assume the role of a fly on the wall. Some street photographers feel like it cheapens the art if they play a role in affecting the scene. Then there are street photographers that will ask and interact with their subjects to get the exact photo they envisioned. As a result, there lots of varying schools of thoughts and approaches when it comes to street photography. My rule is simply…have fun, be creative and be respceftul.

Artist Profile: Anne Patterson

I met Anne Patterson seven years ago when I was creating artist profiles for Alfstad& Gallery in Sarasota, FL. I interviewed her for her gallery opening of Airidescence. Since then, we’ve done a number of videos together for her various installations.

Anne recently contacted me about documenting the process of her latest work entitled “Divine Pathways” which is a textile installation consisting of over 15 miles of ribbons suspended from the ceiling in The Cathedral of St, John Devine. Over the course of four days, I documented her and her team of artist cutting, tying and installing ribbons to a truss that was hoisted to 95 feet in the air. Watch the video to get the complete experience.

This is The Cathedrals press release for the opening…

Divine Pathways is a stunning, site-specific textile installation created by artist Anne Patterson for the vaulted Nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Divine Pathways will be created in concert with communities and organizations from across the Morningside Heights neighborhood, New York City, and the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Community members are invited to write their hopes, dreams, and prayers onto the ribbons that make up the piece. Individual prayers will be anonymous and beyond the viewer’s sight, but their collective presence creates an experience that is both intimate and immense.

Opening night was exciting and everything you want a New York City art opening to be. Cheese, wine and a who’s who of NYC. Anne gave an exceptional speech about the work and there was an exciting dance number from the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre. The film played on two big screens inside the cathedral.

Anne and I

I built out a new rig that I used for the first time during this shoot. I recently got a matte box system with a side handle for a more professional look and functionality.

This entire project and process was a lot of fun and I look forward to creating another behind the scenes of Anne in the future.

Lush (the soap company) paid me to go to Afro-Punk

Back in May of this year, I was walking around Union Square when I noticed a white tent that resembled a book store or a library. I stood there for a moment to take a look at what was going on. I walked into the tent to find out it was an art installation sponsored by Lush depicting books that had recently been banned across the country. Visually, it was a pretty powerful installation that was entirely white with pops of black writing and stats centered around the banned book crisis. As I always do when I see something like this, I find a person connected to the event that can give me an on camera interview of what’s going on. I shot and edited the video below.

After, I made the video and sent it to Seth, who’s featured in the video. He shared it with the Lush team who loved the video. They then sent me a thank you package. I replied with a thank you and a “if any other events come up in the future, please let me know”.

The future arrived and they let me know. In early August, I get an email from the Lush team asking if I would like to assist in shooting video for Afro-Punk. I happily accepted and a couple of virtual meetings later, I was in.

Afro-Punk is a two day musical festival which takes place on the Brooklyn waterfront. The festival has really turned into an alternative arts festival more so than it’s previous iteration as a black rock festival. Regardless, it’s two days of music, food and the most creative outfits you’ll ever see.

Lush’s involvement as a sponsor meant that they had the biggest activation there which was called Club Lush that consisted of a mini retail space, full beauty salon and a bubble bar.

During the festival, my job was to assist their in house video team with documenting the activities inside of Club Lush such as product demos, talks and much more. Normally, when I get hired to create videos, I’m also hired to produce, shoot and edit but this time around I was simply a second shooter.

In house video team

During my down time, I had the opportunity to walk around and enjoy some of the performance. However, the highlight for me was capturing photos of the incredible people. I could have spent the entire two days just doing that.

In addition to the photographs, I caught a few live performances as well. A couple of acts I’ve never heard of, and a NYC band that was really great that I had heard about. But the one performer I always wanted to see was Tobe Nwigwe. Based off his music videos and visuals, I knew the live show had to be pretty dope. And it was.

After the final night of the festival, I got invited to the official after party in Bushwick. It’s been a whole hot minute since I’ve been to a club but when I get the invite to things, I try and go. I went to go check it out and it was cool. I didn’t stay long. One drink, a few pictures and I was out. But I’m glad I went because I got to see the video team one last time before they headed back to Canada and a few other people from the team I met.

The entire experience was incredible. The Lush team was extremely nice and fun to work with. The weather was perfectly hot and sunny for two days. I left with a bunch of Lush products that’ll keep me feeling good and smelling good until at least February. Below are a few of the final videos that Lush produced. Although, only a handful of my shots made it into these videos, I was just happy to get paid and to be apart of it.

The next two videos below are vertical. If you’re viewing this on your computer, click full screen to watch.

3 Reason Why You Should Complete a Bad Project

A few weeks ago, I decided to walk from Williamsburg Brooklyn to Central Park. It was an impromptu decision because it was a gorgeous day in the city and I wanted to make the most of it. I also thought it would make for a good vlog. I completed the walk and vlogged it but quickly realized the video wasn’t that interesting. During the walk, I had these grandiose ideas for the editing and how I would incorporate the pictures I took but when I got to my computer, it didn’t inspire me. There was no story. I’ve cut a few of the segments together so you can see where the bigger video was headed. So this leads me to my first reason…

1. Put all the pieces you have together so you can learn what pieces are missing. 

Not until I started editing some of the segments did I start to see what worked and what didn’t. The gaps in the story is what I needed to learn to figure out what mistakes not to make next time. 

2. Completing projects is a good exercise in consistency. 

You gotta get your shots up. You gotta get your reps in. Practicing on how you’re going to play when it’s game time is crucial. Completing this edit would make me stronger for the next long form video I would edit. 

3. If you’re smart, you can turn your failure into a piece of educational content. 

Sharing what you learn through out the creative process is not only important to yourself but important to other people on their creative journeys. We all have something to learn from one another so why not share the information.  

I did make it to Central Park. I think it took me about 4.5 hours or so. It was good walk.

3 Lessons I learned from 3 years of living in Staten Island

It was summer of 2020 and the entire city was on the move. Pandemic deals were aplenty and after four years of living with roommates, I was finally ready to get my own NYC apartment. Had I looked harder, I could have landed a decent place in the city or Brooklyn but none would have been as nice or cool as the building I found in Staten Island. I’ll spare you all the details of my modern (in comparison to pre-war and post war NYC buildings) building but I’ll say this apartment has a dishwasher, washing machine/ dryer and door security. These are 3 things that are normally impossible to find for an affordable price which leads me to the first thing.

It’s cheaper and quieter than any other borough. Because you have to make the hike to Staten Island via ferry, most young professionals don’t want to make the trip. As a result, it’s significantly more affordable to live. You also have to factor in the large demographic of blue collar workers, lack of cool or trendy bars, restaurants, events and the overwhelming fact that’s there’s just not much to do on the island. 

Living on the waterfront and having to be on the water frequently is the best form of self care. In a city that’s essentially a concrete jungle, spending time on the water will certainly soften the hardness of the city. I jokingly tell people that the Staten Island ferry is my own personal yacht. There’s nothing more relaxing than having 22 minutes of slowly floating about while looking off into the distance. While onboard, there are the obvious sites to see…The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Governors Island, New Jersey, oh yeah and the city. 

photo by Amon Focus

This last one is sad but for an introvert like myself, it’s totally perfect. No one is coming to see you. In three years, I’ve had 5 NYC friends come visit me. I get it, depending on where you live, getting on the subway, then a ferry then another train is probably not how you want to spend 90 minutes. But the friends that did come, we always had good food, drinks, laughs and sometimes photo sessions. 

I don’t regret one moment of moving to Staten Island. It gave me a uniquely different NYC experience that I truly cherish. This was my pandemic home. The next chapter of my life will be back in Brooklyn.

p.s. Majority of real New Yorkers and Staten Islanders will say “It’s on Staten Island, not in Staten Island”.

Photographing The Isle of Capri

I recently purchased the photography book, Capri Dolce Vita. The book made me very nostalgic of my time traveling to Capri about sixteen years ago when I used to work on cruise ships. After looking at the images, I was quickly reminded that I had taken very similar but not as good photos. I really wanted to compare and contrast my photos to the ones in this book to get a better understanding of why mine weren’t as good. Obviously, the answer is because at the time, I wasn’t experienced at all in taking photos. However, there were some similarities. This was my first digital camera and my first time shooting lifestyle and landscapes for fun.

Not all the photos here or in the video are from Capri. Many of them are from other Italian coastal cities. Portofino, Sorrento, Venice, Genoa, Taormina and many others. Overtime, I could tell my images were getting better from city to city. The only way to get good is to keep shooting.

In 2007, as a first time photographer. I only knew to take wide angle, landscapes. It wasn’t until maybe a few months in did I realize to capture closeups and more detail shots.

At the time, I was shooting in .jpg’s and in monochrome which baked in the black and white look without the ability to have a color image as an option. It was fun to shoot in monochrome because it made me very intentional about what I wanted to capture in color versus black and white.

These photographs will always serve as personal memories more so than any artistic endeavor. However, it’s been fun to dissect these in comparison to legit photographers.

Professional Bull Riding in NYC?

Words by Kerry and Stephen. Visuals by Stephen

We like to tell ourselves that there is something for everyone in New York City. But I think if you grew up around rodeos and horses and cows and bulls, there might actually be nothing for you here. On Friday night, I found myself en route to Madison Square Garden, fighting silent inner kicks and screams, to stand in the press pit for a professional bull-riding competition. I didn’t really want to go. I considered joining the protesters out front. But I admit that it was also fun and fascinating. - Kerry

When I got on the media list for PBR Unleash The Beast, I didn’t know what to expect. Technically, this not a rodeo. This is a night solely of bull riding, which is normally the final event of a proper rodeo. PBR UTB, is a bull riding series with the best 30 bull riders in the world over a 3 day event. When I was very young, my father took me to a rodeo in Jackson, MS and I haven’t been to anything like it since. I knew if nothing else, it would be exciting and different. Something you definitely can’t do on a normal night in NYC. - Stephen

WATCH VIDEO BELOW

We happened to walk out of the tunnel onto the floor of The Garden at the same time as the bull riders in their full gear. They are all super compact. It was wild to be on the floor, at nose level with the action. We only had a few minutes to get settled and then the lights went out, and we watched as event staff started pouring gasoline across the floor — a floor transformed into a dirt pen. I looked at Stephen with the sinking feeling that this was about to turn into fire and I was right. They opened the show with fireworks and actual fire burning in the dirt—I guess this is allowed?! I do wonder exactly how MSG staff signed off on this part. In the dark, dozens of bull riders come running out to walk the stage for their introductions. I am not used to having no idea what to expect, and this was all happening fast. - Kerry

The energy of the crowd felt much like any other night at Madison Square Garden whether you’re there for a Knicks game or a concert. Lots of people, music over the loud system, the smell of popcorn and beer. Just an overall festive night in midtown. The big difference, outside of the horses in Central Park, livestock isn’t something you see every day in the city. - Stephen

Here are some things I learned as the show started, and some questions that were raised.

1. The goal is to stay on the bull for 8 seconds. I did not know this. It’s hard. It took maybe 15 guys before one hit the 8 second mark. 

2. It is hard to watch and also impossible to look away. There were maybe 40 riders and not one of them landed without being in immediate peril. 

3. As soon as a bull dumps a rider, they pretty instantly head right back to the gate and disappear. A handful took careening tours around the Garden floor, and the crowd goes nuts. One or two went straight after a rider or the rodeo hands, also a move the crowd loved. And one or two needed intervention from a cowboy atop a giant horse who is standing by to lasso the most aggressive bulls. These moments were even more exciting than any successful 8 second bull rides. 

4. There was a system of scoring that was incomprehensible. There were also a handful of “fouls” called on the bulls — which, LOL. 

5. So wait — why do they wear these fringe pants? I’m not saying I don’t like them, but, just, why?

6. The rodeo hands were wearing gear that said “Protected by US Border Patrol”, and a related logo showed up on the screen and in the stands. I have to know: is this unauthorized use of the border patrol name? Is it sincere? Satirical? At one point, the announcer explained that the cowboy on the horse was part of US border patrol, but I can’t imagine that any federal agencies have agreed to be part of this event in any way. There were several references to border patrol in a MAGA / Capitol rioter way, but also the reality that bull riding culture draws deeply on traditions of the American West along with Spanish, Central and South American cultures. Brazil was the second most-represented country of bull riders. It was baffling to see repeated references to border patrol alongside competitors admired from places we are evidently working hard to keep out. So many questions. 

7. The economics of all of this are mind-boggling. There were maybe 40 bull riders. A team of workers spent days carting dirt into the Garden. There are actual bulls, dozens of them, inside the biggest city in the US. Are ticket sales and event sponsorships enough to pay for all of this? So many more questions. 

8. I immediately wanted more data. How dangerous is this? How often does someone die? What exactly are they doing to the bulls before they get released into the arena? Stephen thinks it’s more dangerous to be thrown off a bull. I think it’s more dangerous to get caught underneath a bull. We have no way to resolve this difference of opinion.  

I did A LOT of screaming in horror, much of which is caught on camera. And because two things can be true at the same time, I also had fun and was, on the whole, glad for the adventure. It was an escape and a window into a part of the world that you can’t otherwise access in the City. - Kerry

I also couldn’t shake the comparison to the Damar Hamlin situation from just days earlier, still playing out in the news. The whole country seemed transfixed by an athlete who almost lost his life on the field, and yet here were 40 men and 3,000 spectators all willingly here to watch as bull riders neared death every few minutes. It was a spectacle. I’m glad we went, and also glad that my little New York bubble more or less guarantees that I won’t be going again. - Kerry

I bought a film camera from the 80's still in the original box

Earlier this summer, I documented the estate sale of a shuttered camera shop in Brooklyn. While rummaging around the store, I stumbled across an entire box Hanimex 35hs cameras from the 80’s, still in the original box. I was going to buy the entire lot and flip them on Ebay, then I decided not to do that so I just purchased two from the guy who got the entire lot. Watch the video for the entire story.

The short on the camera is that it’s fun to use, has a not so sharp plastic lens and it’s compact in size. Here’s the link to a the brief history of this camera. Below are a few images.