Apple store in Soho — © Brian Rose
Without comment.
Archive for the ‘Soho’ Category
New York/Winter
Williamsburg, Brooklyn — © Brian Rose
Crosby and Prince Street — © Brian Rose
Without comment.
New York/Random Views
Houston and Lafayette Street — © Brian Rose
Williamsburg Bridge — © Brian Rose
Two faces.
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I receive an email newsletter about Amtrak from a cousin who believes fervently in open market solutions to what ails American rail transport. Although I don’t generally agree with his take on things–knowledgeable as he is on the subject–his newsletter often provides interesting inside information.
Earlier this month there was a “town hall” meeting in Chicago hosted by the top brass of Amtrak in which several topics were discussed, one of them being Amtrak Photography and Videography Guidelines. I recall reading somewhere that rail buffs have sometimes been hassled by Amtrak police for taking photographs in and around stations and other facilities.
It seems, according to the newsletter, that Amtrak is trying to strike some kind of reasonable balance concerning photography–they would like to be notified in advance if one is planning on taking pictures beyond casual travel photography. The newsletter states: “Given the proven use of photography by terrorists in preparation for attacks on infrastructure, it is not unreasonable to have a few, simple, reasonable rules.”
This statement, which I assume echoes something said by the chief of Amtrak police, is an example of the very slippery slope we continue to cascade down as a society. All photographers are suspect because one might be a terrorist on a scouting mission. Inevitably, the most serious photographers with expensive equipment get singled out–God forbid the use of a tripod. Never mind that would be terrorists have no need of tripods, view cameras, or gigantic zoom lenses. They can easily get by with cell phones or invisible spy cameras. They can even walk around using the unaided eye to check things out.
There may be legitimate reasons to limit photography in public and semi-public places like train stations. Commercial photo shoots and film productions are potentially disruptive. But ordinary picture taking–documenting the world we move around in–should be encouraged, not considered subversive.
New York/Soho
Prince and Greene Streets — © Brian Rose
My morning walk across Lower Manhattan, sometimes Houston Street, sometimes Prince. This is the Richard Haas mural going all the way back to 1975 when Soho was still factories and artists’ lofts. I’m not sure of its current status–but it’s clearly in need of restoration. It’s a bit kitschy, but that’s always been something Haas flirts with.
Prince Street and Broadway — © Brian Rose
Prince and Mulberry Street — © Brian Rose
The recent northeaster left a lot of damage in the area, trees down, flooding. But this appears to be an umbrella disaster. An accumulation of broken umbrellas blown into a vacant lot. Or rather placed there. I once thought of photographing broken umbrellas and juxtaposing them with pictures of an elephant graveyard in the manner of Peter Beard–but wisely didn’t do it.
Houston and the Bowery — © Brian Rose
Walking figures. We’ve been here before. You can see a similar view taken with the view camera from my Lower East Side series.
New York/Morning Walk
Lafayette Street — © Brian Rose
Lafayette Street — © Brian Rose
Lafayette Street — © Brian Rose
Lafayette Street — © Brian Rose
Without comment.
New York/Houston Street
Houston and Lafayette Streets — © Brian Rose
Sometimes it seems like half he pictures on this blog are from Houston Street, especially the area between Broadway and Lafayette Street. It’s just that I’m there all the time coming and going, heading for the subway, walking across town, whatever. There’s been construction going on for years, rebuilding the underground infrastructure, resurfacing the pavement, and redesigning the streetscape.
Houston Street was–a long time ago–an ordinary width New York street. But at some point in the first half of the 20th century it was greatly expanded as subway tunnels were excavated, buildings were torn down, and we were left with this great gash across the urban landscape. It remains a noisy, near freeway–scene of much pedestrian and bicycle carnage–in the middle of this otherwise ped-friendly city.
That said, I love the visual chaos of it all, and today I was headed for the West 4th Street basketball court–sometimes called the cage–to continue working on this crazy project of photographing basketball with a 4×5 view camera. I set up my tripod just out of bounds behind one of the baskets, positioning myself as discreetly as possible, to avoid players crashing into me and my camera. You can’t shoot from behind the chain link fence because there’s not enough space for a wide angle lens to poke through.
At one point someone kicked a stray basketball from the other end of the court sending it rocketing directly, though not intentionally, at my camera. With the practiced awareness and dexterity of years of playing street basketball, I reached around the camera, and knocked the ball away. After the game, one of the players came over and expressed his surprise, if not amazement, that I had reacted so quickly.
New York/Morning Musings
Sullivan Street
My morning ritual during the week consists of taking my son to school on the subway, walking 25 minutes across town through Soho, reading the paper at a cafe on Prince Street near the Bowery, and hitting my desk about 9:30am.
My practice of reading the New York Times, however, may have to end because the Times in its infinite wisdom has, in the midst of a deep recession, just raised the newsstand price of the daily paper from $1.50 to $2.00 (and the Sunday Times from $4 to $6).
Prince Street
Prince Street
One used to see the Times read on the subways, but I haven’t seen one in a long time. People clutch their iPods, cell phones, and other devices–and the ubiquitous free papers are handed out at the subway entrances and lie strewn about everywhere. A surprising number of people continue to read books on the train, gripping their paperbacks in one hand while holding onto a pole with the other. But the unique New Yorker’s skill of folding the Times lengthwise making it manageable to read while standing on a swaying subway train has been lost.
Mercer Street
Prince Street
I’ve seen a number of Kindles, the new electronic reader from Amazon, and I expect to see more if and when the price of the hardware comes down. The newspaper can be read on these, and maybe this and other such devices will save the Times. But I wouldn’t bet on it. The regional newspapers will die off first–they’re already beginning to. As anyone reading this or any blog knows, there are now a multitude of different sources of news and information, but I don’t see the Times, and the other big institutions acting nimbly in the face of rapid climate change. It’s not just about the business model–it’s content as well.
Prince Street
When I was 12 years old living in Williamsburg, Virginia, I used to come home each Sunday after church lugging a fat out-of-town newspaper–usually the Times–bought at the local drugstore. It was my portal to the world outside. For most of my life I have read the morning paper while sipping a cup of coffee. It is a simple pleasure, tactile and aromatic, one that I indulged in even during the leanest years. Until, perhaps, now.
