Local Artists of New Orleans

Back in October 2011 we spent a week in the wonderful city of New Orleans.   Since we only posted pictures of the abandoned Six Flags, we felt it was necessary to give coverage to a few of the talented artists in the city -- especially since we copped art from all of them (except the transformer).   New Orleans is full of amazing talent, and we came home with more pieces than we had expected; the city oozes inspiration, creativity, and of course, music.   Plus, who can beat 3-for-1 beer specials??  

As always, come see more pics at www.bkg1853.com 

We’re back, and in LIC

Sooooo it’s been awhile.  I know, not cool. Our apologies.  But let’s forget all that and just get right down to the goods of our most recent shoot in Long Island City! 

Two weeks ago we took the train to Queens to visit a site we had long wanted to shoot, 5 Pointz in LIC.  5 Pointz is a giant, ever-evolving outdoor exhibit for graffiti artists, as well as a haven for NYC photographers.  The owner currently rents the interior of the building as studios and work spaces for various local artists, and allows graffiti artists from around the world to continue to decorate the exterior during the day, out in the open, every weekend. 

Upon hearing talk that 5 Pointz may be torn down to make room for some new high-rise buildings, we decided to finally make the trip.  We weren’t disappointed.  After getting lost wandering 5 Pointz, we enjoyed the rest of the day checking out the other sites of LIC, from the Pepsi sign and view of Manhattan, to local pubs and some excellent beer (check out Sawtooth Ale, yuum).

 Check out more pictures from 5 Pointz and our day in LIC at the website, www.bkg1853.com 

ZombieLand

Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage to the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, and the rebuilding effort is an ongoing process.  A unique example of this fact is in the now deserted & destroyed compound of Six Flags New Orleans.  The park is located in a low-lying area of East New Orleans, and so was extremely affected by the flooding caused by the hurricane and the ensuing loss of the levees.  The neighborhood residents view the park as an eyesore and accident waiting to happen, as teenagers enter the park and climb on shit (an understandable problem for the adults but an understandable temptation for the kids as well).  During Katrina, the park’s drainage system failed and the water was not subsequently drained from the park for over a month.  A majority of the rides were ruined, and all the debris and equipment that could not be utilized in another franchise park was ultimately left behind.  While I fully understand the annoyance of the residents to this rotting reminder of the damage inflicted on the city, this very negligence also enabled us to step over that broken fence and photograph the abandoned park over 6 years later…

Please enjoy our tour (and check out more pics at http://www.bgk1853.com/) of the graffiti-artist playground that is Six Flags New Orleans 2011.          

Spreading the photog love to the kiddies of the boogie down Bronx…

Two fabulous friends of ours started a non-profit with the goal of ending digital inequality in the underserved communities of NYC.  Started from a Bed-Stuy apartment and the community of Lafayette Gardens in 2007, IgotITtoo now works with numerous agencies and communities throughout the city.  This fully volunteer-based organization doesn’t just teach computer literacy courses, but work to build on the inherent strengths and values embodied by each individual community. 

So anyway, when our bud asked that we come out and teach an “Intro to Street Photography” class with the kids of Morris Heights in the Bronx, we happily accepted.  The community had recently suffered the loss of several youth to street violence, and a rally was being held later in the week in order to draw attention to the increasing violence in the area.  The rally was organized by an amazing woman, Ms. Cathy, that we had the pleasure of meeting during our time in the Bronx.  A great woman, doing great things for her community.

The kids were AMAZING.  Such pure joy and tremendous talent running around the neighborhood, snapping at everything!  The beauty was that these were people, places, and things they had passed numerous times before, but that were now being looked at in a different way, being really seen.  After spending about an hour shooting in the community, we headed back to the community center, where Ms. Cathy had graciously loaded photo editing software on all the center’s computers so that the kids could each edit their favorite picture of the day.

Check out the great stuff going on at http://www.igotittoo.org/.  Or even better, learn how you can become a volunteer with this amazing organization!  There are lots of ways to share the love, from teaching a class to donating old computer equipment or showing up for a “tech day” to donate your IT skills!  So hit them up, and tell Clare we say what up…       

Memories from the Bronx Zoo

Who doesn’t love a great zoo?!  Please note the emphasis on the word great.  A zoo that has small enclosures and tiny habitats are nothing but unhealthy for the animals and downright depressing for the visitors. But the open spaces, natural habitats, and general care for the animals’ wellbeing is why I love, and have always loved, the Bronx Zoo.

I’m always amazed while driving to the Bronx Zoo that an area of this vast size doesn’t somehow take up the entire borough.  The Bronx Zoo is the world’s largest urban zoo, a vast oasis of animals and plant life representing the countless species we have on this planet. 

Austin and I had come here with our niece and nephew on several occasions, and always had a great time.  Well, it wasn’t until we visited the zoo with another couple that we realized all the fun that can be had as adults in the zoo as well!  We entered the zoo and immediately located a place serving beer in fancy plastic Bronx Zoo cups.  We were the envy of every father there, and several of them actually told us so.  As in, literally told us how amazing our beers looked.   As we passed by the children screaming about the various animals they wanted to see, and bypassed the “stroller parking” we had grown accustomed to stopping at, we realized what a truly fun place the zoo can be, for all ages….       

A Rainy Afternoon in the NY Public Library

There is nothing worse than anxiously awaiting the weekend, only to find that the weather is overcast, rainy, and gloomy.  While an overcast day can definitely make for some amazing photography, a rainy day doesn’t; well, not if your plan for the day is a fantastic shoot outside in the wonderful world of NYC.  I had learned this lesson the hard way too many times, and so I began to keep a running list of amazing places I wanted to shoot, all of which were inside and screaming “come see me on a rainy nasty day!”

One of the top places on my list was the New York Public Library (NYPL), the oldest library in our country and considered one of the top five research libraries to date.  The NYPL is gorgeous.  It serves as part library and part museum; part nerd hangout and part tourist attraction; part functional space and part historical landmark.  It is all these things at the same time, which is what makes it a truly amazing place.

There was another major thing drawing me to the library…my obsession with card catalogs.  I love them, don’t know why but I have an intense fascination with them, and even dream of owning one someday to keep in my home (I know, it’s odd).  Perhaps it’s the nostalgic aspect of remembering the days flipping through the catalog before racing off to locate a book.  Or perhaps it’s related to my love of all things “old” and vintage, to which category a card catalog certainly applies these days.  Either way, I couldn’t wait to find one, and I thought it would be easy—I mean, it’s a library.  And while all things are online these days, I expect a library to keep one, at least one, just for old time’s sake.  It took a solid 45 min of exploring but find one I did! Well, technically Austin did, but whose counting.  I guess on the positive side, the lack of numerous card catalogs in a library as huge and old as the NYPL is a good sign that my dream of having my own may not be that hard to accomplish after all.

Flashback: Patong, Thailand

The bustling beach town of Patong is the tourist capital of Phuket – a party haven on the water.  It is a strange mix of college kids gone wild, and creepy men looking for Thai dates.  When we first arrived and had a bite overlooking the strip, we noticed several things that were noticeably different from other parts of Thailand.  For one, we were eating at a Mexican restaurant.  Secondly, it was noon and everyone appeared drunk.  But the most interesting thing we noticed was the sheer number of people who were injured!  But these were obvious drunk injuries: sprained leg, arm cast, cuts and bruises on only one half of the body…you know the obvious tell-tale signs of a night gone awry.

Beside the constant party, Patong is specifically known for the high population of “girly boys”.  It was unbelievable how pretty, yes pretty, these woman were.  It was genuinely difficult to tell who was who, until we realized that pretty much every scantily clad bartender was, in fact, born a man.

As many single men flock to Patong for its openness with the sex industry, Austin was understandably nervous to be left alone; a white man having a drink alone at a bar is there for a date.  Period.  But I had to pee so we sat down at a bar and ordered a drink.  My beer came in a regular bottle but for some reason Austin’s Long Island came in a glass shaped as a naked female body.  Well, I left for the bathroom and when I returned Austin relayed the following: he had been approached by a woman he termed the “Madam”, who was much older and was clearly a biological woman.  The Madam invited him to play a game where you hit a nail into a block of wood; first nail in wins.  Austin agreed, thinking that being occupied was better than playing sitting duck.  This game was over within 3 strikes of her hammer, though, at which time she quickly said “I win, you buy me drink!”  So within 5 minutes of being left alone, Austin had lost a few extra bahts and little bit of pride.  BUT, something good came from it all.  Upon ordering a second Long Island, it not only didn’t taste like soda water, but it came in a regular, tall glass.  Austin jokingly asked the Madam, “What happened, no more boobie glass?”, to which she replied, “No, you get big boy glass now”….