My World: A Trip from Warm Southern California to Frozen New York City

This time of year, I'm in New York. I do guerrilla shoots with subjects chewing 3- 5 locations for snapping and building a picture representing their ideas and voices made by them or for them to date.

Well, now it's colder than ever experienced by me before in NY and with a chill factor making it to about 1 degree F, and having developed a 'flu like illness in the 6 hours of travel, I am mostly confined to my hotel room. There I shiver as turning up the heat gives out more cold air! Brave engineers are at this moment trying to figure out what's going on with the machinery! So I'm in the bar, editing picture on iPhoto, (Capture One Pro 7 crashes with the black screen of death, (hadn't seen this since times of the Power PC and a G4, LOL). I'm on Mac 10.7.6, so why the slow black curtain rolling down my screen whenever I try to process images!! As luck would have it, CS 5 is not working so I'm being humbled!

Still I'll try to show you the high points of my travels. First, some grabshots of LAX, Los Angleles, International Airport. We see the parking structures, cloned at intervals around a circular road to cover each terminal, then the famous and recently rebuilt classic LAX Sky Airport restaurant, then control towers from outside and from inside the terminal for New york!

One is struck immediately on leaving the plane by the extreme cold as the canvas walled walkways that tend the airplanes are not heated and by the time one is in the terminal, one has no doubt that this is a different part of the planet, essentially in the single digits counting the wind chill.

Next the first joyous appearance is the patriotic offerings of T-shirts emblazoned with I love New york and all sorts memorabilia of the Statue of Liberty and the NY Skyline.



Although all the wares for sale are bright and have no political statements, they carry a lot of meaning. There's an undeclared but universally understood undercurrent of tragedy, rebirth and pride at the events of 9/11 when New York became vulnerable. Now they had burnt into the common memory that they are, like all like other living things, subject to predation and destruction by forces of hatred, revenge, retribution and righteousness.


Asher

The airport was very busy and we passed folk waiting to get out on the next plane. Others are preparing to exit JFK for the city.

Waiting to come and go, talking of Michelangelo

Operation Zero Cold Zero! Grab daughter then add extra layer!

Finding!

Asher Kelman said:

Asher Kelman: The way?
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Why is just this one in black and white? It seems at odds with the rest and I can't see any reason why it was this way.

I guess I like that one in particular, and would like to see it colour in the context of the rest.

Sam

Sam Hames said:

Why is just this one in black and white? It seems at odds with the rest and I can't see any reason why it was this way.

I guess I like that one in particular, and would like to see it colour in the context of the rest.

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Sam,

I liked that one a lot too and had trouble getting color balance to my satisfaction without local adjustment and iPhoto just isn't up to it!




I prefer B&W anyway for such gesture-rich images anyway. I plan to reprocess all the images when I return to Los Angeles. They all might end up in B&W depending on the how they relate to one another and themic content.

Asher

As we exit the terminal, were hit by ice cold air. It's almost deserted! In the distance, there's the billowing clouds of white condensing steam against the sky.





We crossed the road to our waiting car and I caught sight of this one smart NY young woman bundled well against the cold. No time to get her contact info!






The first shot was candid. The next I'd caught her eye! She was really warm!





Still, I really enjoyed that smile!


Asher

I love steaming power plants, and always through a cab window, it seems.




All just partial glimpses of the power for the massive JFK Airport complex. I'm not sure what it supplies, heat or backup electricity in case Edison cuts of his supply? These would make a great b.g. for a science fiction movie! I must return to tackle this with sufficient respect for the great architecture it is. For now I'll settle for stitching shots of the steam above, that's when I'm back in L.A. with Photoshop, LOL!


And then the last terminals fly past and we're on to the city!




The windows are getting steamed up, but we're on our way!


Asher

Everything flashes past. No one we'll meet tonight or perhaps ever! These are nameless buildings on a perpetual cycle of repurposing from storehouses to workplaces to homes and back to commercial use. No one seems to stop there and we whizz by too.




This is a common feeling one gets as driving from airport to hotel. We get into the heart of the city when things change dramatically! It's as if the city realizes we're arriving. Signs and billboards and lit taxicabs reach out to us and get personal, giving us advice and directions!



Everything is on a big scale. To the right an intimidating neighbor shared the icy road.




Now in Manhattan, we're close to each other. So this is where everything happens, we're seduced, it's all business and it's all personal and everyone has to survive to thrive!

At a light, I realize that the poor fellow in the tin hut is selling hot dogs, but has no customers!




For all the rush in NY, one is up close to see the people as people!


Asher

Asher, cool photos, what camera?

Answer your phone!

Will Thompson said:

Asher, cool photos, what camera?

Answer your phone!

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Hi Will,

Fab you stopped by! Was shooting but see you did call! Thanks!

Using canon 5d II with 24-105 f4.0 L IS

Should have a Mark III for the better focus!

Asher

Thanks for clarifying, it just really stuck out! Waiting to see what else follows on from this.