Thursday, October 30, 2008

down but not out.


a while back i was roaming around Harlem making and taking photographs. more specifically, i was taking photos around the neighborhood that columbia university is about to tear down and build a, not Harlem, but a "Manhattanville" campus.

observing a gas station beneath the elevated 1 train line, i saw this scene. i set up my tripod and my large format camera and as i began to frame the image a man standing around the gas station came up to me with a perturbed look on his face.

"Why you taking a photo of that?" he exclaimed, sounding a little upset. "Ain't no use taking a photo of a busted up old American flag!"

I was taken aback. In fact, traditions of nations don't allow for flags to be on the ground, certainly not next to the dumpster, dirty, ragged, played out and in general, well, this flag just straight up looked like trash to me. And of course, that is exactly why I was taking this photograph. At that moment, I think, I answered that I liked the scene and went about my business of photo making.

So here we are, seven years after 9/11 and shit, the United States is looking pretty hurt up in a thousand and one different ways. We got wars going on everywhere and in places we probably don't even know about. Heaps of our fellow citizens don't have health insurance. The economy has gone sour. Everybody in the government and their moms refuses to accept any sort of responsibility. We've caught beef with a handful of countries, which means that we certainly won't return their phone calls and text messages. Illegal immigrants are getting bagged, stamped and posted out of the country for jaywalking. No child left behind has not only left back mad students, but it has lapped entire grades.

Truth is, the United States of America is in a tough spot right now. But citizens of the world, neighbors on this globe, don't fret, next week there is an election going on over here on the wide banks of the Mississippi River and i got my hopes up for this one. I can't promise a thing, but no matter what happens, don't give up hope.

Here in the United States, we're certainly down, but we ain't out just yet...

love and health to all...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

yodelling around yosemite on a weekday





yeah that's right, a weekday!

yosemite national park, september 2008.

love and health to all...

Friday, October 24, 2008

a beacon of autumn



the dia:beacon art center lies beside the banks of the hudson river in beautiful sunny beacon, new york. last sunday, i jumped in my ride, closed my eyes and let the car drive itself north to beacon, new york. it was a beautiful autumn afternoon and the leaves had begun to evolve into oranges, yellows, reds and roses. a burst of colour in the waning days of summer.

the art space was remarkable, light pouring through ceiling windows and modern art everywhere. it was truly a beacon of autumn...

here are a few couple snaps of that day...

love and health to all...

Monday, October 20, 2008

tolerance compassion love & understanding between religions




as the united states presidential campaign begins its journey into the final two weeks before the election, i think more than anything it is important for many americans to step back and reflect upon who they are going to vote for and why they will vote for that person.

after i saw in the news that Colin Powell was endorsing Barack Obama, my poppa remarked to me that i should without question watch the 12 minute interview of Colin Powell on the sunday morning television show Meet The Press. In fact this monday morning, that was one of the first things I did. And poppa was right, what Colin Powell says is remarkable, powerful and important; not just why he is supporting Mr. Obama, but even more, his concern about the lack of dialogue about Islam in the United States. These comments are very very poignant and are thoughts that I've been thinking as well for a number of weeks.

above is... a pier in montauk towards the end of the summer, a camel on the steps of cathedral of st. john the divine, and my poppa's hat, a sunday morning outside the cathedral...

love and health to all...

Sunday, October 19, 2008

in the park with too super women




About a week ago I spent a wonderful afternoon with two incredible superwoman- April and Myesha. They had the day off of school and tracked down my brother David and myself in search of wrestling, rough housing and park time. Davey had some work to do for the kids he teaches at school, so I volunteered and took both April and Myesha to the park to chill and climb. We grabbed pizza and beef patties for lunch after.

these two girls are beautiful and inspiring young ladies, bringing laughter and joy and giggling wherever they roam...

love and health to all...

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

a house is a home


for ten days on the border of september to october i slept outside. yes, for ten days i lay, eyes open and closed under the stars in the fresh air with hot mornings in the sun and cool nights under the moon. some peeps in various eclectic situations rock it like this 365. some for the love and some for lack of options and some for both...

love and health to all...

Sunday, October 12, 2008

nighttime is the righttime in the woods or in the city with sade adu



stoking fires on high sierra mountaintops the dream team traversed one of earth's many walkabouts in search of soft autumn breezes through trees cold crisp mornings on top of peaks of perfection lynxes to live and feet to move exploring in the world while breathing in its air

love and health to all...

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

scenes by the sea



el mar. la mer. the sea.

pondering this mornings visual variety, i decided to keep it traditional while following a proper timeline of my journey to california.

in los angeles, i cruised to sweet sand by the sea after some grub over at one of neptune's nets. my friends willy, sejal and i maxed and relaxed after a little hike into some southern california mountains.

merely a day later, i caught a ride north with a few friends including this madly educated transported parisian, confused as to what continent he was on and where he was going.

as a remedy he decided to sip on a coconut.

love and health to all..

Monday, October 06, 2008

what up smokey!


california is a long and narrow and beautiful and luscious area of the world. back from my first ever moment as a reverend, not to mention a beautiful week in the woods. this was the scene on the way to yosemite this past week...

stories to come...

love and health to all...