Relic Pavillion
The whole story of the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago has many threads and the one that’s unfortunate to accept is that according to scientist, 20 years from now there will most likely be nothing left but a rust stain on the seabed where it seems to be gradually disintegrating very quickly.
We’re lucky enough that the sunken vessel has been photographed and recorded extensively of which numerous documentaries have spawned out of all the collected data so that we can at least have a vision for what the shipped looked like then and now. What does this information have to do with this photograph of the New York State Pavilion?
For one thing, I drive by it at least twice a week and although I wasn’t around for when it was all the rage very much like the Titanic, as I walked up close to get a better look of the towers and circular tent, I couldn’t help notice the tall weeds and cracked walls on a building which was built to celebrate the state and exhibit art and yet now theres hardly a reminder left that symbolizes the cheerfulness that once surround this landmark.
This is what the Pavillion looked like back in the 1960’s. This is what the proposed Pavillion could potentially look like but due to lack of funding, what you see now is the current state of this once booming landmark.
Who knows if the Pavillion will still be around 20 years from now but the least I can do is capture and preserve it’s current condition now so people can’t argue that it never existed as some have said about the Titanic.
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A Short Time in Chinatown, Flushing
It didn’t fully sink in until my wife oversaw me editing some photographs from my visit to Chinatown but she pointed out that a lot of the images I brought back weren’t the typical collection of shots she would expect someone to capture after having spent a short time in such a touristy neighborhood.
I have this thing about going places and taking photos. A slight aversion if you will about taking shots I know everyone else has taken. Even if it’s a beautiful well-framed shot, I still cringed at the thought that the perspective may be unoriginal but I suppose it’s something you simply can’t get away from it.
This is not to say that what I shot in Chinatown has never been done before but what I took from her comment is that there must lie an inherent interest towards people in me because regardless of where I may be photographing, I’m far likely to seek out opportunities to photograph people than I am anything else.
I’ve traveled locally and abroad with my wife in numerous occasions obviously and as unwilling as she may be at times, I consistently encourage for her to carry a camera because I know that her way of looking, her perspective of being in a place is going to be totally different from mine. She gravitates more towards capturing the typical shots such as landmarks, signs, flowers or even what she had for lunch which is all fine.
So when my wife said that my shots “weren’t the typical” photos she expected to see, I guess she was comparing it to what her approach would have been. Neither approach is wrong. It’s all a matter of what you feel is worth sharing from your experience in a place.
I believe that what you read and what you see has unquestionably an influence on the type of content you feel more satisfied photographing. In comparing the material I shot a year ago, it’s remarkably different to what I shoot now. The camera and lenses remained the same but my mentality has changed and that’s what ultimately determines the type of work you produce.
All of this reminds me of a tip Eric Kim suggested regarding street photography where he said, “don’t shoot without knowing why you shoot.” He elaborates more by saying:
Whenever you go out on the streets, you should have a reason why you shoot. Whether it be for pleasure, whether it be for documenting humanity, whether it be a personal project, or something that drives you.
Street photography is often misunderstood as simply going outside and taking random photos of whatever. Although having the mindset of a flaneur (going outside and strolling aimlessly) is great—you still want some sort of concrete goal or plan when out shooting.
With a place like Chinatown in Flushing as a backdrop, there’s so many angles in which you can choose to portray your experience. Whether it’s with the culture’s authentic cuisine, the massively abandoned department store buildings, the bagged garbage and filthy liquid trapped near sidewalks, the supermarkets, the street vendors or in my case just the actual people in general, I always suggest trying to narrow down what it is that you want to say anywhere that you go. Not only because your photos will have more cohesiveness to them but because the process will lessen the chance of you going crazy trying to capture everything in sight.
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Looking Forward to PhotoPlus Expo 2011
About a year ago, I stood on a fairly long line outside the Jacob Javitz Center, fiddling with Gowalla app refreshing it, waiting for the custom PhotoPlus Expo badge to materialize so I could check-in both virtually and eventually physically into a center occupied both with enthusiastic photographers to see what was new in the photo industry and vendors eager to show us.
When the topic of photography expos comes up, it sounds like a sweet deal. There’s the potential act of flying into another city, the checking-into a fancy hotel and the unavoidable act of mingling. Luckily, I’m merely a couple trains stops away from the Javitz Center so having an extroverted mindset is pretty much the only aspect I have to concern myself with.
There’s only a few of these events each year or at least that I know of that take place in New York. What’s the point of attending? I would think that if you’re “into photography” as I am, the answer would be self-explanatory but the benefits are not always that transparent to people.
I can’t speak for why you should attend an expo because every person that attends typically have their own motive but I can share with you things to think about if you are attending PhotoPlus Expo this year or pretty much any conference.
Thinking About What You’ll Walk Away With
To me, attending a expo comes down to one thing: what you expect to gain. It’s like visiting a museum. If you’re unsure why you’re going or at least don’t have a vision for what you hope to see, it’s unlikely you’ll consider your time worthwhile. It’s ultimately up to us, the attendees to take more responsibility for getting value from the experience.
The registration for seminars at conferences alone can be very expensive, so last year I didn’t necessarily enlist for anything other than for the free pass to roam the floors amongst all the vendors and attendees.
Is it necessarily to enlist in seminars? If you can afford and justify the price, then probably yes but sometimes the greatest value of attending a expo can derive from something small and hopefully free. It could be from a conversation you had with a representative from a photo service you actively use (in my case, Moo Cards or Mpix) or from having shot a few frames with a lens you’ve read every spec on but can’t afford to buy yet. I love lingering around the Nikon booth testing out lenses. This year, the one I’m eager to play with is the 17-55mm f/2.8.
Either of these 2 circumstances can haunt you in a positive way as you head back home or to your hotel room because it could have the potential to push you in a new direction photographically. Or maybe the benefit of attending came from socializing with someone that stood behind you on a line as you were waiting to fill up you goodie bag even more.
The point is that you never know what could happen but I do know that I’m always enthusiastic about attending anything photography related because the consequence of serendipity is sometimes a brilliant discovery.
I Wanna to Meet You
Networking is such an invaluable thing for those that care about it but why wouldn’t you? Photography, by its very nature, is a solitary profession. Unless you have full crew with you in studio or even on location, for the most part, we work alone, so it’s a wonderful thing, meeting with folks who have the same ambitions, needs, problems, and lifestyles as we do.
Enough can’t be said about the high potential of meeting people who can literally move your career or just expand your hobby to the next level. From the interactions I’ve had with people online, I’ve realized that photographers are absolutely generous and are happily willing to share hard lessons, techniques and other little secrets with you as long as you’re interested in listening to begin with.
It is a personal investment to attend an expo. Whether you attend for a full or maybe just half a day, it will involve investing time, energy and a bit of money but what you can walk away with can mean even more. There’s probably more that you’ll learn from attending than all the books and blog post you can read in a day, especially if you’re able to leave with new motivation, new opinions and ideas that you hope to implement in future work.
I probably won’t know anyone but as its generally the case, I’ll have with me a few Moo Cards to exchange with those who I strike a random conversation with.
Browsing the Exhibitor’s List is always exciting too. I’ve learned so much about certain products within a year that it’ll be great putting a face to them. I’m looking forward to be around the FujiFilm booth, Gitzo, Blurb, Mpix and anyone who has a camera bag attractive enough for me to consider buying regardless of whether I may need it or not.
Most importantly if you’re going, I’m always up for meeting up. I’ll be there Saturday, Oct 29th.
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At The High Line
On the same day that I visited the Westbeth Artist Housing, I got a chance to stroll by the first section of The High Line in New York. It’s been open for about a year now and the place has essentially now been converted into a park walkway out of a high railway line that passed through the city in the 1930s. The tracks were used until the 1980s and then sat abandoned and filled with shrubbery for almost 20 years.
Eventually a community based non-profit group came together with the purpose to figure out a solution to saving this historic structure and re-use it. The efforts paid off because The High Line now is a perfect example of what an amazing thing historic preservation can accomplish. Photograph was taken underneath one of the few train underpass where you’re likely to come across local artist selling their work.
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The Westbeth Balconies
The Apple Store on 14th St is by far the fastest one I can pay a visit to so I headed over today to fiddle with the iPhone 4s that are on display. I won’t be upgrading until the end of February 2012 because I refuse to pay $425 for it now. In the mean time, I’ll have the vicarious thrill knowing that my wife will be receiving the White 16GB version I ordered for her.
As I was leaving the store, I unexpectedly recalled a photograph Duncan Davidson had taken around the Meat Packing District, specifically inside the courtyard of the Westbeth Artist’s Housing project. Following a quick Google Map search and a 12 minute walk from where I was, I suddenly found myself staring up at the distinctive semicircular balconies in the courtyard.
From what I’ve heard of the place, the buildings are nearly 120 years old, the bricks are crumbling, the plumbing is archaic and yet the location is likely to gain city-landmark status very soon.
I rarely photograph with the 18-105mm kits lens but since I don’t own anything at the moment that would allow me to shoot as wide, I had no choice but to resort to it. A wider lens or perhaps even a fisheye would have delivered even more interesting results.
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