right now i'm on the phone with sprint to get myself on the vacation plan. still need to get lunch then it's the a train to the q10 bus.
wish me luck.
p.s. those of you wanting postcards email me your addresses i didnt get to copy them in my book.
problem is the list of to dos are racking up. i'm trying to take care of as much as i can but i'm afraid of missing a thing or two.
if anything gets me the residency i think the concept of my proposal is killer. originally i though of doing something like this for jackson heights, but in new york i already have a major project to undertake for echito and have to juggle a day job with it.
so this is what i was thinking...
Paris is a great food city. The traditional French cuisine is beginning to change. Steak au poivre is now being served with Tunisian couscous and Vietnamese pho. Immigrant flavors from the neighborhoods of Montparnasse, Montmatre, the Bellvue and the Latin quarter are sparking these changes.I will document through photography the diverse communities surrounding Gare du Nord. To the south, it is filled with South Asian and Mauritian shops and includes the eclectic such as an Indo-mexican restaurant. Around Place de la Chapelle, Pakistani bazaars are mashed with Moroccan tagine and Greeks and Turks run competing sandwich shops. Chinese banquet halls on Rue de Torcy change into North African fish markets along Rue Myrha just across the Gare du Nord's tracks.
Though far-reaching and diverse, it is still Paris, filled with cafes, choix pastry and Monoprixes.
I will work in both the traditional and digital photography process and requiring access to darkroom and computer facilities.
I envision an exhibition of images in the style of mocked up of a combination cookbook, atlas, tour guide tear sheets. It will show the changing identity of Paris as well as how Paris has changed immigrants' identities.
general artist statement. the application need this, so i shoveled this out.
I photograph in an editorial style. The magic of the style is the ability find beauty and a full range of emotion everywhere; not changing scenery but to approach it and see it from different point of view. I am addicted on the hyper-awareness a camera provides. My projects are long-termed because I feel a responsibility to the subjects. I am constantly researching, photographing, printing, editing, reprinting and re-editing images to give me a clearer insight. Time helps me determine what remains consistent and what is adapting. My work expresses and shares those view through the final prints.
its pretty true, but i still don't think it captures what i really am. i guess that's what i get for procrastinating. wanted to include something i heard will smith said on charlie rose a few month ago while promoting i am legend. he described himself as scrappy, something like "you're not going to beat me at a foot race, i'm finishing or i'll be dead." i have that sorta drive, i want to think.
finally heard from them that it wasn't going to be ready until early march. bad new, already in italy.
monday, i took out the insurance plan and got myself a cle. it uses the same m mount as the m6ttl. it came with a 40mm lens also. i'm shooting through a few rolls just to get used to the feel of it. nice camera, but no manual meter, i've been shooting w/o a meter on the 645 anyway. so if the m6ttl comes back i return it, if not i take it with me. well option 2 is i bring only 35mm gear and buy a longer lens.
since globeroamertv isn't happening. i have no use for the m8. it was nice to have a digital camera lying around, but it is alot of camera. so i sold it tonight through craigslist. nice guy, architect.
tonight, i also dropped off my 645e and om4t systems off too e. just in case something bad happens to my cameras abroad she'll be ready to ship if off to me. she borrowed the 645super before and liked it. she was extremely excited. at the very least someone will be making good pictures with my camera gear.
n was suppose to returns my om10 tonight, but no show.
tomorrow i hand off m-mount 35/2 preasph to l-inthesign to pass off to t-chicago.
confused yet? i own 12(?) cameras now
interchangable lenses:
om1, om4t, om10, (lenses 2x28/2, 2x50/1.4 [old and new],
85/2, 19-35/4, 65-200/4, 75-150/4)
m6ttl, cle, (lenses 28/2, 35.1.4 preash, 40/2)
645e, 645super, (lenses 2x45/2.8, 2x80/2.8, 110/2.8, 105-210/5.6)
universal (lenses 90/4 3.5, 65/5.6)
fixed lenses: gr1, stylus, spectra
digital: g6
so cle, 645super, gr1 and stylus are coming with me to italy; e has 645e, om4t; n has om10; jikaho has spectra; universal still has a light leak; m6ttl is hold up in nippon; leaving om1 at home.
1. Mexico City, Mexico. October 2007.to actually see the images try clicking here.
8x10" silver gelatin print.
"The Movement of 400" farmers from Mexico's Estado de Veracruz hold regular naked demonstrations demanding the punishment of Dante Delgado, senator and ex-governor of that state, for corruption and land grabbing over the past 15 years.2. San Fernando, Pampangas, Philippines. March 2005.
11x14" silver gelatin print.
Good Friday celebration, self flagellants parade the streets for sick loved ones or to repent sins. This penitent collapses from exhaustion near the crucification area.3. Seville, Spain. April 2006.
11x14" silver gelatin print.
Feria de Abril is the biggest party of the year in Seville. Serenaded by festival patrons, a wedding couple uses the fairgrounds as their reception dance floor.4. New York, NY, USA March 2003.
11x14" silver gelatin print.
Good Friday Passion Play hosted by three East Village churches -- St. Brigid, St Emeric and Mary Heart of Christian. The predominately Hispanic parishioners reenact the stations of the cross throughout the neighborhood.5. New York, NY, USA. March 2003.
8x10" silver gelatin print.
Girl sits alone in Katz's Delicatessen waiting for her friend to bring back a pastrami sandwich from the counter.6. New York, NY, USA. March 2006.
8x10" silver gelatin print.
Portrait of a monk in Pu Zhao Si Buddhist Temple in Chinatown's Eldridge Street.
travel light otherwise the things you own end up owning you.seems like a wise statement i should have learned years ago. well i did at one time or another i think. but i've forgotten it now.
spent the entire night rearranging the contents of the pack that i will be bringing to my trip around. it's between just barely fitting and just barely not fitting. i may have to do the unthinkable and start checking in luggage? yikes.
i'm going to give it another go in a on thursday see if i can get it all in there. (i'll post diagrams up tomorrow morning if i remember)
On Saturday Feb 16th, at 7pm at the School of the International Center of Photography, Fernando Afable will share the accomplishments of Foto Baryo, his recently established school in the Philippines.The Foto Baryo Story:
Fernando Afable, a Filipino photographer based in NYC, has spent the past 15 years gathering photographic equipment and raising money to establish Foto Baryo, a photography school in the Philippines. Foto Baryo offers extensive courses in all aspects of black and white photography and attracts students of diverse backgrounds. Afable’s mission is to change people’s way of seeing, and to use photography as a means of uniting people across class boundaries.
The results to date are as follows: since 2005 Foto Baryo has held 16 classes and served over 110 students. Courses range from beginning photography through advanced printing and large format photography, and the students range in age from 5-50. International instructors have taught in urban, rural, and indigenous communities.
In June 2008, Foto Baryo will have a large-scale exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the premiere cultural institution in the Philippines. This three-floor exhibit will showcase Foto Baryo’s different projects. The Fulbright Foundation in the Philippines will celebrate their 60th anniversary in the exhibit. The show will then travel to the Ayala Museum, the Philippine equivalent of MOMA.
More about Fernando and the school:
In 1990 Fernando moved to New York and started working at the International Center of Photography, where he began to study photography and found that it revolutionized his life. He formed deep friendships with international photographers and wanted them to experience the Philippines. He also wanted to give people in the Philippines access to the inspiring energy of ICP, and began joking that he would build a photography school in the Philippines. When his friends took him seriously, Fernando fed off of their enthusiasm and developed his idea.
Using donated clothing as padding, he shipped equipment to the Philippines, where he stored the materials and distributed the clothing. In 2005, Fernando began the construction of his school, which is built out of wood from his demolished childhood home.
since 6 of the nine weeks that i will be away in italy i've decided to pick up a phrasebook from lp. i have a lot to learn.
firstly, i believe that you can get through life in any country with two phrase "what" and "oh really." people will go on an on if you say just those to things. so that's "che" and "realmente".
before this foray i honestly knew 6 phrases in italian. "bon giorno," "bona sera", "basta," "manga", "scusi", and of course, "prego". "prego" being my favorite as you can use it for most anything.
eight years ago, when i was in italy i got by speaking mostly english and butchering my bad spanish into noncomprehensible italian. well, my spanish is better at least.
over the last few weeks i've been listening to sicilian radio station constantly while at work. i don't think it is helping though.
btw: "i'll have what they are having"
all our young lives /
we search for someone to love /
someone who makes us complete /
we choose partners and change partners /
we dance to a song of heartbreak and hope /
all the while wondering /
if there is someone somewhere perfect /
who might be searching for us.
the challenge is the 300 rolls of film i need to bring. i may send that ahead of me.
the only variables in what i bring have to do with weather. turkey was brutally cold so i packed alot more cold weather gear. the last two trips i opted for jeans and cotton slack over the more effecient zip off pants because i left them abroad.
packing. it's been said that traveling for one week and traveling for four months you generally bring the same things. i can agree with that, for me the only thing that changes is how much film i bring. generally i can fit everything into a 30L backpack and a hip pack. the majority of my weight is my camera gear.
| next | turkey | oaxaca | calgary | haiti/dr | oz/nz | malaysia | |
| wool socks | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| underwear | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| wicking ts | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| cotton ts | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| buttondown shirt | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| zipoff pants | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| cotton pants/jeans* | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| sleep shorts | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| swim trunks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| sandals | 1 | 1* | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| hiking boots | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| sneakers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| waterproof jacket | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| ski jacket | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| fleece jacket | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| waterproof over pants | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| facemask liner | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| gloves | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| ankle gaitors | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| cowboy hat | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| sun hat | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| sleeping bag | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| sleep sheet | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| mosquito net | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
the stuff i bring with me all the time include
ziplock bag 1/4 roll Toilet Paper
ziplock bag 1/4 roll Toilet Paper
check-in liquids bag
in a knick knack bag
in neckpouch
the original plan was to go out to flushing to
photograph the new years parade there. but it
was raining this morning. so i decided not to go.
i pulled out the mamiya and the ol' digital camera plus the 2 point and shoots and the audio recorder just to get a bit of what was happening around eldridge and maybe catch a lion or two in chinatown.
first sweep of chinatown was a failure, completely empty. so i headed to the cafe for a sandwich.
i finished my ham, brie and cucumber sandwich. low and behold southern mantis was going up the street. so i thought wow the two for one. southern mantis on eldridge.
for those of you who do not know. for the past two years i've been documenting eldridge street through photography. for the past 6 years, i have been documenting norman chin's southern mantis martial arts school's new years celebrations and lion dances.
spent about 4 rolls on them on eldridge. they also made a great cover to shoot around for the shops i haven't been in.
part of the reason i got the ol' digital camera out was sifu wanted some color pictures for publicity. by the end of the day i finished off the entire 2GB sd card and my batteries. most of what i shot was pretty bad. constantly thinking my lens isn't wide enough. for years i've taken out the ultrawide 19mm to capture them. now i was only getting them on a 35mm e
tomorrow the chinatown new year's parade. probably do all that on film.
until tonight.
the wider and everything i printed edits are also available.that also means kitykitypangpang is pushed off the main site.
Play:
Pu Zhao Si Buddhist Temple |
S.I. Lions
every once in a while i give blood. i haven't
given in more than a year. it was nov 2006,
i just got back from malaysia, while i was getting
my first aid cpr certification. i was such
a good kid then.
today there was a blood drive in the cafeteria and thought, since i'm not skiing for the rest of the season (in fact i haven't skied this season) i don't really need all my red blood cells.
i filled out the form and was rejected at the screening point. they asked me to list the places i've been in the last year. turkey, amsterdam, oaxaca, calgary, bermuda, d.r., haiti... stop right there. haiti's a malaria risk -- all of it. so no donating blood until april.
at least i tried.
get out there give blood.
(too green)
i haven't been in the color darkroom in almost 4 years (?). when i helped G-thefamilyc print up his wedding pictures.
two weekends ago i watched j8a make work prints for one of his his clients. they were black and white negatives printed in he the color darkroom. of course, he's a master printer and had a much easier time on it than i did tonight.
tonight's exercise was simple. make contact sheets of black and white in the color enlarger. what happened was too green way too green, less green too magenta, too green, too magenta, green again, a bit magenta, slightly sepia -- but, i'll take it.
i made a stack of contacts from my 2005 philipppines trip. i've made all the work prints ive wanted to 3 years ago but i cant seem to find contact sheets now. and with my big recataloging project (and it happen to be in my office drawer) it seemed pretty good candidate.
it ended with me finishing about half of them with varying degrees of green and magenta. i'm also noticing the contrast is a bit high my taste in contacts. but i'll give it a try again tomorrow.
typically, entrance is anywhere from $5 to $100. say for a $20 per box cost. first and third quarters would be rewarded $300 each. half time gets $400. the final get a whooping $1000.
the prizes all together are worth $1700. all the entrance however makes $2000. so where does the extra $300 go? the organizer gets it. beating a 15% vig is hard enough -- it's impossible to do it when is based solely on luck. For me, its not even worth the entertainment value of throwing darts at numbers.
so why don't i play the organizer? the disadvantage of being a freelance consultant.
i grew up a giants fan. there of course is the new york connection so the games were always on. and they were doing well then with super bowls in '86 and '90. back then i wanted to be mark bavaro -- tightend. able to cut the seams of the defense, pickup the tight quick passes, haul around four defenders for seven yards, and be a great blocker without the ball. that of course did not happen. but on touch and flag games i still like to run the short inside route.
in uni i followed the pats for a few years. mainly because of a loyality to bill parcels, coach at the time for new england. but that ended when parcels left for the jets.
this game, new england, with an undefeated record clearly have earned the 12 point favorite. even though i felt we had the wrong manning, up until 4 weeks ago, i think the giants have a good chance to cover the odds and even win. if they can keep the score low.
but no matter what happens, the nfc conference game was the best game i've seen in years.
for the past few years, for superbowl sunday a friend would setup a poker game at his place with the tv in the background with the gf and wives. that friend is now making his money for a hedgefund in chicago so i'm left homeless again for the big game.
maybe i'll watch it with my dad. but i'm pretty sure he's betting the pats to cover.
go giants.
turkey