East Coastmas, Pt. 3

Some frames from NYC.

Shot in Chinatown after getting cheap, delicious dumplings with Claire.

I've been going texture crazy. Not much to say about these.




On the other hand, I have a lot to say about the gemstones exhibit at the Museum of Natural History.

I collected gems and minerals as a kid, and can still tell you the Mohs scale hardness of quite of few of them. Jade was always one of my favorite semiprecious stones (it ranges in hardness depending on the variety, but is in the neighborhood of 6.5) because of the sheer variety of color and pattern. These sculptures are unbelievably ornate and beautiful.

This is the largest star sapphire in the world, about the size of an egg. JP Morgan himself gifted it to the museum, one of his few redeeming acts in my opinion.

I discovered this exhibit only a half hour before the museum closed, and will definitely return. I'm pretty sure I was the only one there with tears of unadulterated awe streaming down my face. No shame. I felt incredibly fortunate to be alive and in the presence of the most amazing collection of natural beauty. I really, really want to go back. It got me thinking about Sebastiao Salgado's photos of miners, and the human suffering that no doubt resulted from the acquisition of these marvelous specimens. There is a flip-side to the beauty... avarice. Perhaps I can explore this concept in greater depth. Anyone want to buy me a ticket to Sri Lanka?

East Coastmas Pt. 2

Here's a few more frames from Detroit. This stretch SUV pulled up and a red-faced drunk yelled something unintelligible at me, then he threw up a "hang loose."

The GM building. Appropriately, the sign was broken, scaffolding was up for the repairs, but no one appeared to be working on it.

The Heidelberg project was just a big bag of weird. I approve.


Sarah and I went to Windsor, Canada for about an hour. This is the bridge that brought us, mercifully, back to the good ol' US of A.

Anyone else see the total Lunar Eclipse during the winter solstice? Apparently the next coincidence of those events will happen in 2094, I'm told. This isn't a great frame since I only had a 35mm lens, but it's a pretty accurate depiction of my view from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

East Coastmas, Pt. 1

Post-graduation wanderlust drew me back to New York to reconnect with my friends from the Texodus (the Daily Texaners who moved to Brooklyn) and Eddie Adams.

Williamsburg

The bike lanes here are fairly treacherous if you're a rodent. Or a cyclist.

Who did I meet on one of my first nights here? Only Philippe Petit, the incredible man who walked the high-wire between the World Trade Towers.

Galya, my dear friend from the workshop.

You know me, always a sucker for Christmas lights.

I took the Amtrak train to Toledo, OH to see another EAW amiga, Sarah Miller (no relation... other than photo kinship.)

We went to Detroit, the rustiest of cities.

I really wanted to see the artistic rejuvenation taking place in this ruined city, so Sarah took me to the Heidelberg Project.

Artists went to a neighborhood full of dilapidated vacant houses and turned it into, well, this. The drug dealers and gangs now leave it alone due to the increased tourist traffic.

More to come...

Lois Goodman

Texas Farmers

Mother Falcon music video

Filmed a concert with my friends... guess which shots are mine? (Hint: the D5000 is hella grainy)

oh snap

I graduated!