Bygone Views

Vanishing Landmarks

I was in Hoboken today to do my taxes. Everytime I visit I see something new and realize something old is gone. This is the old Maxwell House Coffee factory and an old poem I wrote.

Tuesday, April 25, Hoboken

Across the Hudson
On the Jersey side
the sun shines hard this Spring morning
The Maxwell House Coffee sign "good to the last drop"
stretches across my windshield
The wind, blows up a decaffeinated dust storm
Tires and pavement hum along to Roy Orbison on the radio
"I was alright for awhile"
"I could smile for awhile"

The Upper Room

Bishop Anthony D'Onofrio leads Sunday service at the Upper Room Christian World Center in Dix Hills. These were for Laurie Nadel's Long Island at Worship column on preparing for the rapture at the Island's Pentecostal churches. NY Times, Sunday, March 26, 2006.

Healing Hands

Bollywood Stars

Sticking with the Bollywood theme. (top to bottom) Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerjee and Shahrukh Khan entertain a sold out Nassau Coliseum.

Shahrukh

Here are a couple of Shahrukh Khan backstage before the big show at Nassau Coliseum. These and the ones posted yesterday were for the "Pop" part of the New York Times story written by Marcelle S. Fishler, LONG ISLAND JOURNAL; Indian Culture Clash: Classical or Pop? Published: September 26, 2004. It was a gas being there and I'd say I enjoyed it almost as much as the Bollywood fans.

Bollywood Fans

They came to see a show at Nassau Coliseum and as you can see had a grand time. Of the many Indian stars performing on that night the object of the crowds affections was Shahrukh Khan (top photo).

Moshing

So it does have some obvious flaws (soft focus, figure at right too prominent) I've always liked this photo for the way it captures the feeling of the dance floor. Call me crazy if you like! Shot with the Canon 10d it was my first assignment after switching to digital.

Blimp

If you're taking photos it's the only way to fly.

Diamonds From The Sky

I just took a short flight in a seven passenger jet. Flying a round trip from Republic Airfield to Montauk and back it was surprising how many baseball fields there are scattered across Suffolk County, Long Island. This photo, A Brooklyn Diamond along Shore Parkway, was taken while on a much different flight from the Fujifilm Blimp.

Thor's Hammer

Bill works with iron. He'll make anything out of it for you. While I was taking some photos at his workshop in Westbury he produced these "fireworks" by overheating an iron rod before striking it with his hammer (not a Photoshop trick!). The film caught it better than the eye. As every spark left a long trace. This looks a little like the photos being created at BNL with the RHIC ion collider.

Jeffrey Lee Pierce

Jeffrey Lee Pierce was the leader and founder of the legendary LA based Gun Club. We did a few photo sessions these are from the studio session on Broome Street.

CATA (Farm workers rights)

These photos were taken while following CATA organizers to several farms in the Southern Jersey, Glassboro, area. The organizers made sure the workers were not mistreated and were aware of their rights.

Homeless In Hempstead

On a rainy cold February night Allan Richter and I came upon one Mr. Norman Jones. Allan was writing a story on how the upswing in real estate value was effecting people who were struggling to make ends meet. "Left Behind In The Real Estate Boom" Feb. 25, 2001, New York Times. After much searching (I give Allan loads of credit for his perseverance here) we were about to call it quits when out of a gray rainy haze Norman appeared walking along Front Street. He said he was working at a beer distributor but couldn't afford his own apartment. He then brought us to the three story walkup where he slept in the hallway on a cold tile floor.
It's five years later and I still think of that night in Hempstead. Always hoping that Norman has found a home where he is safe and sound.

Cityscape

This "cityscape" is a window view (from 117 East 24th Street) of the Metropolitan Life Tower, at one time the largest building in the world.

If You Believe They Put A Man On the Moon

Some people like to believe it was all just a Hollywood set.

Cat In The Hat Shop

I was living in Hoboken and had just bought a Kiev 88. This is the Russian version of a Swiss HasseIblad. I think mine was hand made by Boris Badinoff. During a walk one morning with the Kiev I came across this cat in a hat shop on 14th Street.

Vanishing Landmark

This was taken one Thanksgiving while I was living in New York City above a shoe store on 46th St. I remember thinking that watching the crowd gathered in front of the Times Square landmark, Howard Johnson's, was more interesting than the parade itself.

Bethlehem Steel Yard, Hoboken

In 1983 the Bethlehem Steel Company sold its Hoboken Shipyard. These photos were 1998/99 when a developer was knocking down all the old brick buildings without a permit. Finally the town woke up and put a stop to it and the shell of the machine shop survived. It's now a Kings Supermarket.

Golden Years

It's my father's birthday today! This LI Voice cover was shot at the woman's home (I can't remember her name). I like that it almost looks outdoors. She had the artificial plant in the corner of her living room. I put a warm gell on the lites in order to achieve a golden look for the Golden Years themed story.

Long Island Cowboy

This was in Hicksville on West John Street. He was waiting for his band members to pick him up.

It's a DRAGon!

I was sad to hear that NY Dragon quaterback Aaron Garcia broke his leg in an Arena Football League game last Sunday. I took photos of him about a month ago at a Dragon Practice. He'll be out for the season but is hoping to return for the playoffs.

The End

Of the island that is. This view of Montauk Lighthouse was taken from a Pavehawk helicopter flown out of Westhampton's Gabreski Airport, home of the 106th Rescue Wing.

SUNY Days

This is where it all started. The time I spent getting a degree in Electronic Technology at S.U.N.Y. Farmingdale is a fond memory. It was here that I learned if I applied myself I could actually accomplish quite a bit. I was working for IBM after graduating but a night course at my alma mater in photography taught by Jimmy Hendrix... (not the one your thinking of) turned my world around. I decided that photography was my real love and have pursued it (on somewhat of a crooked path) ever since. I've enjoyed coming back to SUNY while on assignment to take photos for stories concerning the school.

It was lots of fun going up in the twin engine Piper Seminole. As I recall the student pilot did a great job flying under very windy conditions. A little tough to shoot out the window of the plane when your bouncing around like you were in a washing machine. This was for a story on SUNY's aviation program by Marcelle Fischler for her Long Island Journal weekly column in the Sunday Times. Marcell got to fly us back to Republic Airfield. That's her in the bottom photo. (I was sitting anxiously in the back seat).

A campus 9/11 monument that I photographed for another story was created by Liza Todd-Tivey, the daughter of Elisabeth Taylor.

So three cheers for SUNY Farmingdale a school that continues to grow and continues to be a great place to get an education.

Care for a beer?

The style sections of the Long Island Voice were largely driven by the efforts of Tanya Indiana. She would put together big photo shoots with all sorts of stuff going on. This is an out take, I'm not sure what story it was illustrating. Maybe one on student designers. I know that Suzanne created the outfit she's wearing here. I've always wondered if she downed all those beers before making it.

Percy Heath

4/22/04, Montauk. On this day I had the pleasure to meet Jazz Hall Of Famer Percy Heath at his Montauk home. I saw Percy as a beautiful person who glowed from the inside out. He loved to fish, his boat was parked in the front yard and his fishing stuff was scattered all over the place. The real treat for me was taking photos of him as he played some songs from his just released cd "A Love Song". It's was a day I won't forget.