a flight to chile

it's late night over here at the base camp home stead on 110th. bags are packed, tummies rumbling, hip hop on the speakers. that wide load bird is on its way to the nest, jfk, to meet me. a continent awaits, hush and hopefully asleep at this here hour. on my way, sleeping a dream through one gate and out another, chile.

love, health and safe journeys...

a grey canopy for adam

This is my friend Adam Kuruvilla. Back in the day we went to grade school together. He is a musician, singer, choreographer, dancer and an all around good brother on the planet. We went to the park yesterday to make some photographs for, well, to just have around...

There was a blanket of grey covering the sky and I, more than Adam, was on a tight schedule. We chilled, talked, shot some photos with natural light from the cloudy skies and made the most of it. We had fun. Here a couple favorites...

love and health to all...

smiling in black and white...

sam and pops circa 2004 in los angeles. the two smiling in black and white.

love and health to all...

looking for negatives...

i've been looking for the negative for this print for some time now. it's gotta be around this earth somewhere... if anyone comes across it, please do let me know.

a scan from a print.

love and health to all...

a homestead for a worldly spider

Guys, guys, guys...

It's all good, it's up!!

www.benlenzner.com

Thank you for the wonderful praise and even more helpful criticisms. We're fixing and molding, welding and joining more goodness for an even crispier site! Stay tuned...

love and health to all...

don't sleep...

I've been blessed to be the visiting artist this year at the Bank Street School for Children. There is an artist residency program in memory of my momma at my old grade school and this past month, I've been the photographer in residence.

The students (10 yrs and 11 yrs old), have been working on a documentary photography project about their neighborhoods, families and communities. The kids have been producing some amazing photographs and writing. Not to mention, we've all been having heaps of fun!!

Their art opening is this monday and it's going to be special. The students will be there, I'll be there and many in the Bank Street community will be around too.

My friend James Blachly has composed a piece of music in honor of the evening (a trumpet, and a couple horns are involved). He tells me it's based on one of the photos from this here blog! Take a look at the archives and give a guess... Show up and the photo will be at the exhibition too. See if you guessed right... No clues or hints though ...

All are welcome! Don't sleep...

love and health to all...

watching the lunar eclipse...

Watching the Lunar Eclipse Overlooking Harlem. March 3, 2007.

love and health to all...

march 4th.

it's 8:10 pm on march 3rd. my blog is set on india time, and right now it's march 4th in india. so i'm writing this entry right now. somewhere on the earth it's march fourth.

march fourth today in india and a few hours until that date here in new york city.

my brother sam would be twenty three, march 4th 2007. but he died 22 years old from testicular cancer just months ago, september 23, 2006. it seems like yesterday, it seems like years ago.

happy birthday sammy, wherever you are... up high in heaven, walking barefoot on a dirt path in africa, another boy reincarnated or maybe you're in a tummy, in labor, about to be born to a mother, about to pop out tomorrow, your birthday, a continuous soul somewhere on this earth somewhere in this universe about to live another life.

but wherever you are sammy, whatever you are doing right now, i hope you know that i love you so much and i hope you know i miss you about as much as i think anyone could ever miss somebody. i wish you were still alive here with me, laughing, playing, like we used to do when we were young in riverside park. fighting in the sandbox, jumping off the jungle gym, chasing and running after each other. i even wish you were still sick here on the couch everyday, wishing you were healthy. that would even be better than what i got right now. cause i don't have you anymore and never will.

phew.

sammy, i just went and watched the lunar eclipse over a beautiful glowing red harlem. it was beautiful. i hope you got a chance to see it too, wherever you are, maybe you are even on the moon for the eclipse, in the shadow, racing over the surface, laughing as the shadow slowly left the surface and that bright glowing white sun blanketed the rocky surface yet again. maybe you were sprinting and giggling, trying to stay hidden in shadow, hundreds of miles on the moon's surface, not tired, not winded, just having fun up there.

i love you sammy.

love and health to all...