More of A Solemn Day

The streets of Williamsburg on Tisha B'Av were, as expected, quiet and for the most part empty. As the afternoon wore on people began to come out, some to do food shopping, others to take their children outside for some exercise. But Bedford and Lee Avenues, usually bustling with traffic and pedestrians were quite empty. Except for these folks:

A Solemn Day

Today's date in the Jewish calendar is the 9th day of the month of Av. In Hebrew, Tisha b'Av. It's a special holiday in the calendar, the most solemn day of the year as it marks the date of the destruction of both the first and second temples built in Jerusalem. The first was destroyed by the Babylonians, the second by the Romans. Each destruction has its own special significance for Jews. Although carried out by armies, it is believed that the demolitions were the result of the will of G-d. In the case of the first temple because of the worship of idols by the ancient Hebrews, and in the second because of the internecine fighting and killing between the various sects of Jews.

Yom Kippur is also a solemn day in the calendar, but there is a sense of redemption and renewal - through repentance, acceptance of our less than perfect humanity, and promise to try harder in the coming year. For Tisha b'Av, at the end of the day there's no feeling of uplift. Just a relief that the day of mourning and fasting is over.

I went to Williamsburg in the afternoon to get a feel of what the neighborhood would be like on such a solemn day. I expected to see the streets empty and the stores all closed up. They all were for the most part. Some grocery stores and bakeries were open late in the afternoon so people could have fresh food for the breaking of the fast. As I walked along Bedford ave. the driver of a van parked by the curb rolled down his window and asked about why I was taking photos. I struck up a conversation with the three men. If I hadn't taken one good shot for the afternoon, that conversation would have made the whole day for me. Here's the three amigos:

MACPHUN Tonality is here!

I've been a beta tester for about a month for this software which has just gone live. And, all humility aside, the photo (see below) was used as a publicity shot for the announcement on Google+. Just shows what incredibly good taste those folks at Macphun software have.

Intensity

As I mentioned in my previous post, this past weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with a special friend with whom I played music back in my college days, David Grisman. I had the chance to give my Fuji X-T1 a workout in a concert environment with the 55-200 mm lens. First time on the X-T1, although I have used the lens on the X-Pro1. All the shots were made with the optical image stabilization, otherwise the ISO would have been at 6400 and the shutter speed too slow for crisp images.

Intensity:

This is an old Bill Monroe pose:

The new David Grisman Sextet:

David Grisman At Caramoor

I had a wonderful opportunity this past Friday night to visit with an old friend and bandmate, David Grisman, who was performing at the Caramoor Arts Center in New York. David and I played in the New York Ramblers, a city bluegrass band, for about two years. During that time, in 1964, we performed at the Union Grove Old Time Fiddler's Contest and came home with an assortment of ribbons and the World Championship trophy for that year. Shortly thereafter we performed at NY City's folk mecca, Gerde's Folk City and that summer at the Newport Folk Festival.

The band stayed together for a little while after I left to play fiddle for Bill Monroe. David played with an assortment of ensembles and began to develop his own style, which he later dubbed Dawg Music. He began his own recording label, Acoustic Disc, and has tons of material available for free download on his website Dawgnet.

I had some great opportunities to photograph him during the sound check and performance. Between sets backstage he posed for me on a small stage sitting between a grand piano (on his right - duhhh) and a Theramin (on his left). That strange contraption above his head is the Theramin's speaker.

We Are Divorced!

I was hanging out on the corner of Spring street and West Broadway when I heard this loud yacking female voice approaching me. When I turned this is what I saw. She was telling her husband that on no uncertain terms they were divorced. And she was waiting for the check ..... life is good.

Garry Winogrand At The Met

Brutal heat in NYC makes shooting street a bit intense. I went into the city yesterday to have sushi with a friend and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to cool off a bit. The Garry Winogrand retrospective that began in California and traveled to Washington DC is now on exhibit at the Met museum. Here's a few shots I took at the show. Fuji X-T1 in low light performed quite to my satisfaction. I had to use image stabilization with the slow shutter speeds, and that bought me two extra stops.

Looking at each other:

I couldn't resist this one:

Checking out the exposure (yeah, right!):