Endless Complexity of Being and Witness

Hello and welcome back to my blog. At some point while I was composing this post, the first of my New York entries, my thoughts began to obsess over the way my photographs are presented here. I came to the conclusion that thumbnails are for the faint of heart (or the disinterested) which I never meant to endorse. I’ve now put 900px images right on the front page and offloaded the workout for any thumbnail clickers on to the tubes of the internet.

Last we heard, our heroes were wrapping up a successful project in Washington, DC. Well, on Friday morning, Randy and I trekked over to Washington’s Union Station and hopped the Amtrak to New York.

Passing through Philadelphia.

I expected that deboarding the train at Penn Station in New York would be a unique experience, but what I didn’t expect was the claustrophobia (which I’m fortunately not very sensitive to) and bustle through tight sooty corridors and ceilings lower than I ever would have thought. I’d never felt like such an ant. Then we came up outside Madison Square Gardens and I knew I really was an insect here. We got our bearing then and dove back down into the Metro to reach the hotel.

Resurfacing at Lexington and 53.

The urge to start making photos won despite having arms full of bags so I just made a one handed shot as I walked.

But the hotel was just around the corner.

They seemed to have a decent presence of lighting and mirrors, so I got that out of my system.

We had a little rest and then made our way for Brooklyn where we had tickets to see some music at the Knitting Factory that night.

Just outside the venue.

Then I satisfied an important lifetime goal by seeing Elysian Fields play. I’d never thought I’d see them play live at all never mind be introduced to New York by one of my favourite bands.

On the train back to Manhattan.

That shot wasn’t a matter of timing. They were just slumped that way for the whole ride.

Morning at the hotel.

As we walked the streets of New York we played a game of adding up theoretical traffic tickets for honking. Can’t say I ever saw anyone being written up. New York is a city of criminals though, I can tell you that much.

We decided to visit the cathedral of St. John the Divine early on. Outside there was some creative sculpting to be found.

Oh, I was also going to mention that this roll of colour is a long expired roll of Afga Optima 100 that I’ve had for a while. I found the colours fussy to edit. Some parts of the roll is worse than others… a bit green, which I tried to compensate for but got bored of since it was preventing me from posting this entry.

I had heard through a friend that on Saturdays the cathedral offered tours through the hidden passages of the structure and up upon the roof and this was the main appeal to us. But as it turned out we missed the tour that day, so we bought tickets for the following week. More on that later, I guess.

Whether you are a political or religious speaker, it’s good to have figures like these to stand behind so as to freak the fuck out of your audience.

“Ground Zero.”

In New York, there’s Dunkin’ Donuts everywhere. I thought it was hilarious just for how random it was. I mean, Dunkin’ Donuts? Who knew? I guess I’d never seen that in any other city and I didn’t expect it. I started to think of it as Tim’s and it made more sense.

We spent that evening doing some shopping and eventually I switched that roll out for some trix.

Came across this scene while scoping out the area around the hotel that night.

Although DC was hotter, the situation in the NY Metro was different altogether. Hot. stale sooty air. All you can do is stand in the oven and wait for the for the next rolling refrigerator.

One morning in Brooklyn.

Having brunch with some friendly folks that we met at the Knitting Factory and their friends.

They took us to a place called Lodge which had some antler shaped chandeliers. They served water to the table inside old wine bottles. It helped me to feel like a classy, trendy person.

There was a lineup waiting for tables there, so we decided to be polite and do our lounging at some cafe which meant walking across the street.

This guy had walked past in the other direction only a few minutes before and he was quite popular with our table so when we saw him coming back we were ready for it.

Then this guy walked past with a kid on a dolly drinking a Coke! I thought that was hilarious, and far more entertaining than the long haired balding dude, but my enthusiasm was not shared.

Stopping here doesn’t seem like a bad idea. At this rate I’ll probably have two more New York entries.

First night in Washington. It was midnight by the time we were settled and found a meal, but having a hotel a few blocks from the White House made it too easy to wander.

Around the corner, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building was almost completely covered in scaffolding.

Coming from Canada I was initially startled by scenes like this chest thumping American patriotism (even amongst renovations) which seemed to imitate Nazi aesthetic. I don’t know if it is just because I am foreign, but the American flag and accompanying styling impress upon me none of the comfort that I imagine is intended. As a visitor, these displays served mostly as dramatic and frequent reminders that I am personally conflicted over what America represents in the world today.

Nevertheless, I was there to work and do my part in Ameruhkee. At the conference center things were still quiet apart from the impressive security presence. I was there a few days early for setup.

Since we had no internet access yet in the room in which we were meant to work, the only option was to walk out into the common areas for wifi. Checkin’ da e-mail.

Andrew standing in front of the racks where I did most of my work.

I thought I’d get this shot and then another when it was full of people, but I later learned that full of people made me not so inspired.

We arrived on the east coast in to a record breaking heat wave. Forecast: “Highs of 38 °C. Feels like: 42 °C.” Awesome.

In the crew meal room I went in to decisive moment capturing mode.

Since it was so amazing to me I had to go back to see that building again.

But this time continued on to the National WWII Memorial as the evening began to set in. It sits at the other end of the reflecting pool, opposite the Lincoln Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial in the background. Shooting 1/4 s by that point.

Fortunately, they keep ol’ Abe pretty well lit.

I had to switch angles after I began to appreciate how dominant his hands and feet were.

Sitting out on the steps infront of Abe looking across the reflecting pool.

After some long days at work we finally found an opportunity to head to the Smithsonian.

A glimpse of the DC metro. Which was interesting to be inside after playing Fallout 3.

Right here we’re riding what was perhaps the most incredible escalator I’ve ever ridden. At first I actually thought there was a performance going on up ahead outside, some kind of drunk saxophonist, then I realized that no; it was actually the escalator, moaning, wheezing and grinding its way around and around. That’s at the Archives station, by the way, in case they still haven’t fixed it.

Also, you can find the shot from the other side a couple images down over on this internet web site.

With so many options and not enough time our group split in two, half heading to the National Museum of Natural History and half to the Air and Space Museum.

Crossing the park in front of the Capitol. If you’re keen you’ll find the ball.

That was right outside the McDonald’s built in to the side of the Smithsonian. They might actually use that to drive hamburger buns around.

Once inside I hung out with my buddy in the space station. I really didn’t end up making much photography there because our time was limited and I wanted to read and look at things while I had the chance.

For some reason I kept thinking of Reporter in Generation Kill, and then my buddy JJ walked up and said the same fuckin thing.

The Soviet half of the Apollo-Suyuz Test Project. A recreation of it anyway.

The Hubble Test Telescope.

JJ in front of the SS-20 and Pershing-II nuclear missiles.

We had dinner at a secret destination one evening. It was a long, mysterious drive and when we got there the tables were sticky, but the food was alright. The deep-fried dill pickles were interesting.

Riding on a bus to some place called the Newseum where there was a party that night.  I saw that on the way.

Then I saw this which I rushed to get since the bus was unloading. But I didn’t notice those fellas entering the frame.

Newseum turned out to be very interesting and I ended up mostly ignoring the party and wandering the exhibits which were almost empty due to the private function. It is basically a museum dedicated to journalism and they have some fascinating displays including the largest section of the Berlin Wall to be found outside of Germany. Nearby there is also a three-story East German guard tower that once stood near Checkpoint Charlie. All very humbling to stand amongst, even so displaced of context.

I was going to make a photo of another section and then these guys stood there.

This is the Journalists Memorial. Here are honored the names of over 2000 reporters, photographers, and broadcasters whose lives have been lost while at work.

Once out of the party we jumped on a bicycle taxi that gave us a tour through more of the city. I hadn’t been to the Jefferson Memorial yet, but I also hadn’t been to the bathroom in a while so I took the opportunity to pee in some of his nice bushes.

Him again.

The WWII Memorial at night.

I made this photo mostly because it resonated perfectly with almost everything I had seen so far in DC. The dedication made to remembrance is stronger in this place anywhere else I’ve been. Sometimes I thought that it was difficult to judge whether this imposition of self-importance was legitimate or just dramatic. But mostly it was awe inspiring because where I come from our ancestors are not celebrated with such extravagance.

The last night of the conference, and one more party.

Some sort of art.

Our last night in DC. My team got together and went out for some drinks. The next day we were splitting up for different destinations.

And that was DC. Next stop, New York.

This story begins with the victory.

I should also mention, since I asked a number of individuals to stay tuned to my blog for photography from my USA travels, that I’ll begin posting some of that in the next post. So maybe you will want to look at that.

That’s Frankie.

That’s Jenny.

That’s kind of esoteric.

At the Biltmore, waiting for the show.

That’s Bob Log the THIRD.

He’ll celebrate the end of every song with a fist raised.

Sometimes he wants to know how he did that.

Where was that scotch?

Already another scotch on offer.

His shit’s perfect.

Some days (especially when there’s a camera nearby) it’s a good idea to chase a dog in circles.

This story ends like that.

Leaving home one day during May, I walked out the door to this scene.

The rider is sitting on the curb, quite lucky to be okay.

Tenant played music for me, which I liked.

Here we were, waiting to cross the street.

I can’t remember where we were headed though. Probably the liquor store.

We celebrated Dave’s birthday by Trout Lake on a nice evening.

That car had some shit on it.

Eating the frosty at the park.

Playing the banjo by the sunset.

Hopefully that series made a lot of sense to you.

Here we are heading out to visit with the family, my sister incorporated some of the makeup tips my father had offered.

Apparently I thought it was important to do that.

Here’s that.

Here’s a birdie.

Here’s… that.

Here’s the garage, with a variety of scenery.

He missed.

I thought grandpa was waiting to tell me something but I made the photo and then he walked away. My sister and I consulted to determine that he meant to offer me a beer.

These kind of things happen when you have a computer camera in your hands.

Sorry, you’re not allowed to do that.

The reason for our visit.

Later I met up with an old friend.

We’re going back home here, even though it looks like we’re going the same direction we were going before.

Well, I guess I just sent that all to the internet. Oops.