Studying New York – old school

There are certain images that one conjures up in their head when preparing for a trip to a city that is photographically classic. I think every photographer has, at some stage, had ideas about shooting timeless images on the streets of New York. The lure of the laneway, the streetside deli, the unassuming passer-by are too much to pass up.

When I think of New York, I think of the old black and white film noir movies. Shadow, concrete, architectural line, rain puddles in the road, the light through a window casting a glow in a cobbled laneway. Deep, rich black and white frames, where all the compositional elements line up, with a nice grain, and a healthy range of tones.

Berenice Abbott was a photographer who first started shooting New York in 1929. She began her photographic career by working for Man Ray as his darkroom assistant. She quickly fell in love with photography, and worked in Paris, where she met Eugène Atget and subsequently acquired part of his collection after his death and published the book, Atget, photographe de Paris, before packing up her studio and moving to New York. She fell in love with New York and it’s photographic possibilities.

Blossom Restaurant, 103 Bowery, Manhattan, October 03, 1935

Seventh Avenue looking south from 35th Street, Manhattan. via New York Public Library's flickr stream

Hot Dog Stand, West St. and North Moore, Manhattan. via New York Public Library's flickr stream

'El', Second and Third Avenue lines, Bowery taken from Divis... via NYPL

Penn Station, Interior, Manhattan. via NYPL

Stone and William Street, Manhattan. via NYPL

Milligan Place, Manhattan. via NYPL

and I couldn’t resist this one:

Wheelock House, 661 West 158th Street, Manhattan. via NYPL

Some more deliciousness!

This weekend was a long one, and I had some time to do some baking. This was by far the star:

Lime and Ginger Cheesecake

I’ve posted the recipe up on my other blog, LanD Creative. See the recipe here.

I also made a Sticky Maple Pecan cake for afternoon tea.

31

I saw someone do this last year.

On your birthday you make a list of things you want to do before your next birthday.

Here is my list of 31 things I want to do while I’m 31. Some of these things are a bit ambitious, some are simple pleasures…..

1. ride horses in the Rocky’s
2. see snow in Canada
3. start a new job
4. lose 4kg
5. make a tre leches cake (and eat it!)
6. Skip through Central Park in NY
7. find a studio space
8. work towards starting my business
9. Photograph a moose!
10. Eat a hot dog in NY
11. Paint something
12. Complete the business course, including the business plan
13. Start a pilates class
14. Start to learn a language….Spanish…Japanese?
15. Get really healthy – no more sick tummy. End the year stronger!
16. Do a photo-shoot of Sidney.
17. Grow herbs
18. Catch up with jocelyn and watch good movies/eat/drink together – at least 1 x a month
19. Teach a workshop/course
20. Exhibit in Melbourne
21. compile a blurb book or magazine
22. find an old school photo booth and take my picture in it!
23. read more of the books sitting on my shelves waiting to be read
24. shoot more black and white
25. try making homemade doughnuts
26. find something to hang on my lounge room wall
27. discover a new singer/songwriter to enjoy
28. make a terrarium
29. write a handwritten, old-school letter to somebody
30. go to a flea market (do we still have those?)
31. eat pumpkin pie (I’m curious)

Megan

I took some maternity photos of my sister, who had her bub on the 11th Feb.

It is her first and the first grandchild in the family, so it is very exciting for all.

She had a little girl!

this is not my house….

Street photography, wandering, photographing the hidden, the things shielded from view, the private…..

Sketchup – a handy tool

Google SketchUp is a saviour! I use it to draw out the floorplans of galleries, so I can then see the space in 3D and to scale, in order to better plan my image layout, order and numbers when planning an exhibition. It’s a great tool for curating and envisioning an exhibition concept if you can’t get immediate access to the space.

Here are two examples of the way I use it to plan my exhibition layout:

floorplan layout, Gaffa

Room view, Gaffa

First, I insert the floorplan, usually supplied by the gallery or available on their website. I then scale it so that one edge/wall fits a line drawn to that length in Sketchup. This way, I know my scale will be somewhat accurate.

I then draw up the walls along the lines of the floorplan. I build it out until I have the gallery rooms, and include any obstructions, such as windows. Once this is done, I draw up rectangles equivalent to my print size and place them around the walls. I then import small jpegs of my images and place them within the rectangles. This gives me a virtual preview of how my exhibition might look within a given space, how my image order is working together, and how I am for space in terms of number of images, spacing etc.

A very handy tool, and it has saved me time in working out image order at the gallery.

Summer reading

This summer I’ve been reading this book…. David Malouf’s Complete Short Stories.

I have never been much of a short story connoisseur, but, I have to admit, that I am enthralled. I haven’t been able to put it down.

A writer that doesn’t over embellish, writes from the heart, from fond memories of childhood, sinister observances of the city, who gets you lost in the landscape of Australia and of human emotion. I am loving this book, every little story at a time…

Feature

I’ve been featured on the Light Journeys site. Light Journeys regularly features the talents of Australian women artists working in the field of photo-media. The site is curated by Lee Grant and U.K. Fredrick. To be featured on a site like this, that is peer curated, and to be featured next to artists like Robyn Stacey and Tamara Dean, is quite an honour.

 

Camera test

I mentioned in my last post about this camera I picked up at an antique shop a few weeks ago:

As promised, here are some shots from the first rolls i put through. I am happy with the clarity of the lens, and the light meter works well, although not super accurately, but it does a good enough job. Now I’ve just got to get my distance guessing (in feet!) down pat, and I’ll be right….

First roll – black and white:

Second roll – colour:

not bad for a 40-odd year old camera. I like it!

Old school

I’m not usually a tech head, or gear freak, but lately I’ve been ‘collecting’ some old school cameras. I only like buying what works, and what I can use, practically, when out and about.

I love film, and I love the colours and softness some of the old glass gives you.

You’ve probably seen some of my half-frame shots. They came from this little guy:

(I’ve got 3 of these. All in various states of working order)

I recently found this little beauty in a collectibles shop in Robertson:

It’s a Voightlander Vito Automatic II rangefinder

(I’ll post some shots from the first couple of rolls I put through this soon!)

Then, there’s this old timer. Ensign Selfix 420. He’s got some character. I haven’t run a roll through yet… I just like looking at it.

I also use a Holga from time to time. Not strictly old school, but takes film.

And finally, there’s my Hassie. My beloved, dependable, rugged, totally sexy, work horse, who never lets me down. Gotta love that chrome!

So, there you have it. That’s what I regularly shoot on. Of course, the hard thing is deciding which camera to take!