P r o p i o s O j o s

About Our Street

2010-11-26T21:52:00.000-05:00

I grew up on Thoreau Street.

I grew up around the corner from Van Wick Street.

I was not allowed to ride my bike on Van Wick Street.

I grew up down the street from Manhattan Place.
Manhattan Place runs perpendicular, but extends into West 109th Street and West 109th Place to the north, and West 112th Street to the south.

West 112th becomes Haas Avenue, which then curls north to intersect with West 111th Street which stretches east over Lohengrin Street, and then south, becoming Cimarron Street before it intersects with West 112th Street.

First time visitors always get lost in our neighborhood. It is one of the most confusing sections of Los Angeles. But, the map is beautiful.

Why We Get Angry

2010-09-14T12:25:00.000-04:00

SLEEP

2010-07-23T04:01:00.001-04:00

I’ve been writing on the train to keep myself awake during the day.

click for a better read

Winter Light

2010-05-13T15:52:00.002-04:00

The Encore

2010-05-05T09:11:00.004-04:00

and, watch this with loud speakers.

OK Go - WTF? from OK Go on Vimeo.

Rose Colored

2010-04-11T12:23:00.010-04:00

I broke my glasses right when I realized that I'd had the same frames for over 5 years. My prescription hasn't changed, and I was getting pretty proud that I hadn't lost them or cracked the lenses like I have with so many others.

So hard to let go...

I don't wear these outside - anymore. My hair does not cover the tape. Surprise.

These are annoying.

I'm getting used to them, though. I have to. Because, I want to see what I'm shooting.

I am not helpful

2009-09-09T17:57:00.010-04:00

I love to be so, however. I enjoy solving problems, and it is even more enjoyable if the solved problem belongs to a stranger. If you ask me a question, the thought is, "I'm glad you picked me, random stranger." If I don't have the answer you need, the thought is, "I wish I could help this lost, random stranger," while you are probably growing impatient, wishing you had asked the girl with I am a Native New Yorker tattooed across her cheek. Yes, that tattoo is in a disturbing place, but she would definitely be sure if the 2 train stopped at West 14th Street. Me?

I'm new.

But, I like to help.

So bare with me while I roll my eyes up to search my brain that I already know does not (but I sure do wish it did) contain the info you really need right now as the 2 train rolls into the station. After I've tried my best, I roll my eyes back to you with a grimace and sigh, "Shoot. I'm not sure, sorry." I am really sorry, because, of course, you look a little panicked, worried, flustered. You look a little pissed too, actually. Now, because the tattooed New Yorker has already barged on to the train with every other helpful person, you turn to the gigantic subway map in the middle of the platform...which you most likely do not know how to read. As I make my way onto the 2 train, I re-work how things could've played out, in my head. The thought is, "Just send them to the map." This isn't Philly with its 2 subway lines, or its neighborhoods distinguished by direction (N. Philly, S. Philly, W. Philly, NE Philly, SW Philly, you get it??). "Give yourself time to get acclimated." I like to help. But, right there, to that random stranger, I was a random jerk. I have good intentions, but they were quite self-indulgent. She probably missed the right train. I honestly don't know. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know...I'll try to say that more often. I promise you, you random future lost strangers in New York. I now admit that I am among the least helpful.

I'm new, I'm lost too, and I live in New York.

The Chosen Ones

2009-01-20T23:52:00.000-05:00

This one's about memory.
Today, being a memorable day, Obama's Inauguration Day, I figured it to be an excellent reason to post an update. Much has happened today, and this Inauguration would be a dream come true for any photographer. I watched and taped the Inauguration ceremony at home. I watched the scene on the Mall, tried my best to ignore the empty commentary from Katie Couric, wondered if Michelle Obama's coat was thick enough, and...whenever he was in the frame...gawked at The Photographer. There seemed to be one guy, shooting everything...with one camera. My thought was, "He only has one lens? Is he a Congressman with a really nice Nikon? Did I meet him at a lecture?" Honestly, I would only want to photograph what that one guy, The Photographer, could see. Had I gone to D.C., I would have indeed brought my own Nikon to document my experience, but it would have only been to document the experience.

Photography is a gift, and then there are those special sub-gifts within. Photojournalism is one gift I find fascinating, in that the best photographs are taken to basically document a moment. The idea can be that simple, but the best photographs also revere that moment. In the unbiased realm of journalism, they can translate the importance, and emotion of history. For me, those are the best ones. Without this sense, documenting for the sake of memory sometimes seems wasteful and frustrating. The camera is no longer a tool for communication, but a storage unit. And with this sense, how compelling could those photographs be?

I'm not positive that if I were to have the perspective of The Photographer, that my photographs of Obama would be more significant than my photographs of the millions of supporters who risked hypothermia to see him sworn in. People were having a lot of fun out there, despite the deep freeze, and that would have been nice to remember. I do know that as a photographer, I can ruin a memory by being frustrated at not being able to capture a moment perfectly. It becomes a chase, and before you know it, the moment is over and you're in a corner shuffling through your playback to try and see if you got anything that was...well, maybe that's just me and my Type A issues. Let me leave it there.

I'll just say it simply.

Today was an excellent day, and I have it on film.

Feels like Winter

2008-10-25T17:25:00.000-04:00

Re: Stacks - Bon Iver

No Words (No Palabras)

2008-10-17T00:48:00.008-04:00

"Wow, you have an accent!"
"Nope, I have laryngitis."

I'm a curious person, and so on a number of occasions, I've wondered what it must be like to lose your voice. So, how is it? It's incredibly frustrating, inconvenient, and annoying. I cannot control the intonation in my voice. Not one bit. Never before, have I realized how powerful a tool intonation is! There is nuance, meaning, and my good friend passive aggression in intonation. It's not just my words, but how they are pitched, which ones are stressed, and which ones are elongated. Lately, when talking with someone from Philly, I've been using a Philly accent so I can stop getting those frowns that ask, "Where you from?". I guess, now, I sound foreign again. Now, all of my energy is spent trying to focus on basic verbal communication (when I am absolutely forced to speak), and not on my own thoughts of, "Crap, I sound like I'm dying." And for those of you who don't know, my hearing is that of an 85 year old who grew up next to a rock concert. So, I know things are bad when others can hear my hoarse whisper, but I can't. More and more, I'm having to rely on other's expressions to gauge whether or not they've heard me.

I am being forced, not asked, to think differently about daily things. How do I make my hair appointment, my portrait session has to be rescheduled, man I want to sing this song! So, there is a profound loss of control here, and I am quietly fascinated at what happens when you suddenly have no choice but to work around an ability that you're used to having at your disposal all of the time. I have been spoiled by my healthy vocal chords, and I miss them dearly. I'm not going to kid myself into thinking I'll never ever take them for granted ever again. I definitely will...and I can't wait.

Night Portrait Session 4 & 5

2008-10-13T18:46:00.019-04:00

It's now Autumn. Not only does the sun set earlier, but all that happens with the tilt of the Earth and angle of the equator that causes that indirect sunlight that changes the frequency of light that causes the leaves to change colors...now makes the dusk sky a charcoal gray, as opposed to a warm summer blue. I hope to get two more sessions in before it gets unbearably cold outside...and before these portrait sessions become me just torturing my friends with long test exposures in the snow. Although, I just might do it, if anyone is willing.

These examples are from two sessions with my good friends Tony, Linshaung, and Mary.

Rodin

2008-09-30T22:08:00.004-04:00

Philadelphia is amazing. Driving in the Art Museum area one day, I happened to look to my right as I crossed over the Ben Franklin Parkway. "Oh my gosh, is that The Thinker?!?" Yes, according to a Philadelphia Museum of Art guide. It isn't the original, but a cast. Still, it drew me in to the Rodin Museum that serves as its background. My friend Grace and I took advantage of a mutual day off and ventured through. I have been yelled at for having a camera in other museums...but I took one along anyway. On top of that...I do not really enjoy shooting artwork...unless it's Rodin's. I love hands, I love feet, and Rodin invested much time in both. The first picture below is The Left Hand. It's beautiful, expressive, and, of course, insulting to me as a lefty. It's clearly meant to portray distortion, pain, perhaps evil. Below it is The Hand of God, which is craddling creation. Can you see the definition in the thumbs of the two? I admire his feet for the same reason. The third photograph is of the feet of a humongous, sculpted scene called Les Bourgeois de Calais. The faces are frighteningly sad. The feet are just as life-like, with vivid shapes as they travel bare on a muddy path.

It's a great museum, and a good nudge to visit the originals in France:-)

Sigh Weddings

2008-08-14T16:26:00.005-04:00

It has almost been a month since I've last posted. I have been hunkering down at Yo!Darkroom in Center City and in Adobe's Lightroom on my computer developing, editing and fine printing wedding photos. I am not completely done with my latest project, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and I figured I'd close Photoshop for a quick second to upload some of the images I'm really excited about.

"What do you think of the name, uh, Lyric?"

2008-07-17T13:08:00.007-04:00

I frowned, "Aneeric?" That's how the spelling looked in my head.

"No," the high-school bank teller leaned closer with her hand folded under her chin, "Lyric."

I stared.

"No? Okay, you don't like it," she went back to processing my info.

"No...no, it's just that I can't see that as being a first name," I said...while thinking It doesn't even sound pretty. I stared at her, because I was afraid to ask her why she was interested in the name.

This whole conversation started with her question, "How do you pronounce your first name?". Usually, when people ask, it's because they see it as a puzzle and intuit that they can't say what they see. That's true, but I get all kinds of pronunciations when people "try it out", and I'd rather answer a question rather than inject a correction.

"Yeah...Lyric, that's interesting," I continue, because I wanna know!

"My friend asked me what I thought about that name the other day, because she wants to use it. I want to know what people think. I like it. I think it's pretty. I think I might steal it."

I stare at her mid-section. Is she in dire need of a name now?

"Huh...now I'm wondering where it comes from. Is it Latin or French..." I trail off, because I'm confused and in my head I'm screaming For why are you conducting this survey?

There is nothing wrong with picking baby names when you're 15. My friends and I did it...I'm pretty sure. This teen could have possibly been the really outgoing extroverted type teen who thought it was perfectly fine testing out baby names for her future(?) child on adult strangers. But, it felt a little awkward, even more so when I realized that she saw my name written and considered taking that too. I wanted to snatch it out of her mind. It's weird being possessive over an intangible yet public thing, like your name. Let's just say that in a decade or so, it'll be weird running into a little one named Hernease Lyric Fantasia Birmingham...or something close to that.

Bon Bastille et Joyeux Quatorze Juillet

2008-07-14T23:58:00.003-04:00

I am not French, but my first name is. So, from my first name to you, Happy Bastille!

Today, my first name celebrated France's sorta kinda independence day. Philly had its own Jour de la Bastille on Saturday, with the beloved Eastern State Penitentiary serving as La Bastille. I went with my friend Judy, and we witnessed the 14th annual reenactment of Marie Antoinette's beheading. Yes, that had nothing to do with the actual storming of the Bastille...which was kind of lack luster (but significant!) compared to someone's head being chopped off for saying things like "Let them eat cake."

In Philly, though, they eat Tastykakes.

So, in the reenactment (please go next year if you've never been), "Marie Antoinette" is sitting at the top of "La Bastille", far removed from the reality of the "peasants" below, who stood outside reading their grievances about Karl Rove-s-pierre, John Street standing in line for an iPhone, the lack of a star 76er.... So, she's sitting up top, drinking her champagne, and when the peasants cry, "The people have no bread," she screams, "Let them eat Tastykakes!" Then 2000 packages of Tastykakes are thrown from the tower onto Fairmount Ave. Then, she's brought down with cries of "We want the Queen!" The unmemorized scripted reenactment continued at the real live guillotine (in Philly, we pronounce those l's) in the middle of the street in front of "La Bastille". This Marie Antoinette, while dodging the Tastykake missiles being thrown from a disturbingly genuinely angry Philly/French crowd, sweet talks her way out of getting the chop. Instead, the executioner slices some watermelons to appease the crowd who just kind of wanted to see things sliced by a big ol' knife. I know I did.

As for pics...I took my medium format film camera (Holga!) and I'm having the film developed. So, as soon as I get that back, (hopefully I got something...I'm a little iffy with the Holga) I'll post. Until then, à bientôt (laters).

Fleet Foxes: It was pretty hot tonight...

2008-07-09T03:41:00.008-04:00

I went to an incredible concert tonight at the First Unitarian Church in Center City Philadelphia. If you don't know about this venue, there is excellent music going through there almost every day. I had the pleasure of attending another concert there last night for a band a friend introduced me to called Fleet Foxes. It was wonderful, and I wish I could explain what a privilege it always is to hear such tight vocal harmony along with great musicianship...live (i.e. Dave Matthews Band...most times). And, to let you know, I would have taken pictures, but the room we were in was so gosh darn hot, it was all I could do to enjoy the music, concentrate on staying conscious and hydrated...yeah. I bought the last $1 bottle of water. I felt bad...'cause it was stupid hot. It's funny, though, the band was so good, I don't think anyone cared. We all stayed an extra 20-30 minutes for an encore...and probably would've stayed for another one if they hadn't turned the lights on.

Well then, here's a late night insomnia music post because I cannot get these songs out of my head. A studio recording, however, does not do their sound justice...like that of my beloved Dave Matthews Band. But, here you go...an attempt to progress towards sleep. I hope you enjoy these selections, which are the last song performed before their encores, the last encore, and the 1st encore...my favorite.

Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes

Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes

Tiger Mountain Peasant Song - Fleet Foxes

Night Portrait Session 3

2008-07-08T11:52:00.005-04:00

I have really enjoyed doing these night portraits. The best part has been being able to hang out with great friends who are so patient and excited. It's also been nice to work in some ghostly stuff, and with this latest session, it really did start to feel like a dance. I had the pleasure of working with four great women. From left to right, we have Shavaugn, Gonza, Shreya and Ja'Dell (my little sister).

Ha! Electric President

2008-07-02T00:21:00.010-04:00

Insomnia - Electric President

It's time for another music post. I hope you enjoy this tune by Electric President. It's a song I stumbled upon while working on my night shots. The title, then, is both amusing and eerily appropriate. Plus, I am a sucker for weird beats, wispy voiced lead singers, and dramatic chords. I hope you like all of that too.

Anyway, stay tuned for more "Insomnia" posts.

Until then, I'll let you in on what's in the works right now. I had the opportunity to photograph four beautiful women in the park as a part of my ongoing night portrait series. I will be posting a couple of my favorites from that session soon...very soon...I promise.

Birthdays and Photography

2008-06-16T22:26:00.004-04:00

Today, I was born way back sometime in the '80's. It was a good decade, and there are a ton of photos chronicling every year that followed the day I was born. I have no photos to show for my actual birthday that is today, however. Like most other photographers, I carry my camera around like house keys. A point and shoot is a staple in my purse. Lately, I've been reserving things for my memory and writings, and this weekend I decided to pull back, close my purse, and enjoy my friends. Of course, I would rather store my significant events in photographs. They're safer and more substantive there. And for a visual person, how much more appropriate can a photo be?

Sometimes, though, I drift into photography, and become a pure observer. So, to stick around at my own party...I put my camera away and had a nice full day with some of my favorite people.

You guys are so cool...

Night Portrait Session 2

2008-06-04T00:25:00.010-04:00

Here's another "Insomnia Post" for the night portraits. These photos were taken in a park nearby. About three weeks prior, I sat on the bench below, and tried to relax and read while the sun went down. It was one of the first pretty Spring days of the year, and I felt I had wasted most of it doing things inside. So, around 7:00pm, out of spite to no one, I decided that I was going to enjoy the last half hour of sun left on this perfect day, reading in the park. I ended up using the bright street lamps to read for an extra 15 minutes, which kept me out well past sunset. I noticed the sky was a deep deep blue, and, with the street lamps and huge trees, casted this weirdly lit scene that needed to be a part of some portraits. So, I imagined some people into this landscape and asked my friend Kennette to be all of them.

Night Portrait Sessions

2008-05-16T00:59:00.019-04:00

These are a the beginnings of a series of night portraits.
Thank you to James and Kate for sitting...very still.
I guess an "insomnia post" is appropriate for night portraits.

Buildings and Mountains

2008-05-08T00:32:00.007-04:00

I was watching Grey's Anatomy, something I said I would never do again...but I was watching. Well, the last song on the last show is Buildings and Mountains by Republic Tiger, a song I've been obsessed with ever since it downloaded into my KCRW Top Tunes Podcast a month ago. I have always loved good music and, as I get older, I have become very particular...er, snobbish. This song came through my iPod and had me grinning like an idiot on my walk to the car.

I post it here because it's the latest song that invokes a slide show of images in my head. The songs have been serving as the inspiration of and soundtrack for my imaginary photos. Soon, I will be posting real images with the song.

Anyway, Buildings and Mountains is so nice, being both ethereal and grounded. It just makes me want to stomp around. I hope you like it too.

2008-05-04T23:15:00.010-04:00

Thursday, I went to see This American Life in a movie theatre.
(It was the most fun I've had at the movies, and I hope they do it again. I think the best part was at the end, while everyone was filing out, I ran into people I had met through other friends. As we enthusiastically greeted one another, I thought "You listen to This American Life," and filed it into the part of my brain that notes people I should get to know better.)

Friday, I had a shoot in Jersey.
(It's been awhile since I've driven up the Turnpike. Man, does Jersey have a lot of factories. Plus, in that particular area, when telling people about where things are...it's in suburban, not city terms. So, 'down the street' means hop into your car and drive down this windy road, under the bridge, and through the woods.)

Saturday, I had a shoot in Horsham.
(This shoot was for a dance recital for a beautiful local Philly dance company. I stood up for about a total of 5 hours, shooting from the back with a long lens. I'm sore all over. The sad thing is, I did a similar shoot for them in December, and I was fine. Maybe I had to stretch out my back once. But, now that I'm 5 months older, I was touching my toes after every piece. My birthday is next month.)

Monday, I will go back to an office.
(The photo I'm posting is a rainy night scene in Puerto Rico, which is where I ran away to at the end of last summer. I don't necessarily want to go back there, but the idea of running away was a fine one.)

Uhhh...

2008-04-22T22:59:00.006-04:00

Yeah...I don't know if this was okay or not. I just happened to have a camera in my purse...and so I took it out, turned off the flash, and quietly photographed my choice for the Democratic nominee for Presidente de los Estados Unidos (no el or la on that one). Why? I had finished voting and was just so amazed by this machine! Being from California, I had only voted on paper...so this was a fun first vote in PA. Everything about it has been exciting. I'm not going to repeat any obvious points as to why it's been so great to live in Philadelphia, PA during a heated Democratic Primary. I am excited about the choices, like most people. I should say that I am not a staunch supporter of either candidate, but I understand the historical implications of their presence on my ballot, and I wanted a record of it. I'm an emotional shooter...and this picture was taken with pure glee:-)

2008-04-16T23:50:00.019-04:00

I haven't been able to really play with my Nikon digitals. I take them on shoots, yes, but they're the expensive fancy things I can't throw in my purse and grab when I see something on my way to the post office.

So, when I get my random ideas for shots I want, I think in Pentax, black & white, and film. Recently, however, I've been thinking fancy, random thoughts, and my imagination calls for fancy digital.

Here are two from a series called Mirror Marry

(the model is my friend Mary:-)

Un Chico en Puerto Rico

2008-04-10T19:26:00.006-04:00

Home

2008-04-06T16:38:00.024-04:00

Los Angeles has become an opportunity that rarely comes.
It's home, and I love it from a distance. The last time I got there, I was the most homesick I had been since I was neck deep in a freshwater marsh in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. But, in Philadelphia, I'm not screaming "What am I doing here?!?" There was a purpose in Guanacaste too, but a marsh is a marsh, especially when you have to be in the middle of it. But, anyway, Los Angeles. I had missed it, and so, while I was there, I pocketed my Pentax KM and photographed it.

These are my friends.

2006-08-05T19:37:00.000-04:00

music: Rufus Wainwright - In a Graveyard

Just taking a moment to reflect on a Saturday in Philadelphia. The heat has finally loosened its grip on us, and people are walking around happily...in pants. Windows are down and the gas doesn't have to work so hard to maintain motion and body temperature. The stairs to our apartment no longer lead to pseudo hell-fire as the temperature no longer climbs 5 degrees with each step up. As the city often clings together under losing sports teams, losing olympic bids, and climbing murder rates, we once again agreed that 117 is just way too hot.