Throwback to 2013

Went back through my catalog for images I might have missed. It's good practice and gives me a perspective on how my shooting and processing has evolved.

Eldridge Street Festival

New York is filled with street festivals. Usually they are all filled with the same food stalls and vendors selling cheap jewelry and other crap. I sometimes walk through the festivals in hopes of finding an interesting situation or face. but usually come away with nothing.

This past weekend was the Egg Cream/Egg Roll/Empanada festival on Eldridge Street in Lower Manhattan, just in front of the Eldridge Street Synagogue Museum. Not your usual street fare (couldn't resist the pun). It was small, but very focussed. Musicians performing Chinese, klezmer, and mariachi. And of course there were empanadas, egg rolls, and egg creams available. And talks about the historic synagogue and what goes on in there.

Kids having a good time:

Klezmer dancing:

A sofer (torah scribe) writing people's names in Hebrew:

Israel Odyssey Day 10 - Tel Aviv (part 2)

Alas I must sadly say the journey has come to a temporary end. This is the last post of photos from my recent trip to Israel. But really, this trip was just an introduction to a fascinating and dynamic country, people, and culture. I'm looking forward to being there many more times in the near future, and I hope to be able to do more in depth work. This past trip was just an introduction for me.

A few more pics of the open air market in Tel Aviv:

Israel Odyssey Day 10 - Tel Aviv (part 1)

I find it difficult to write of my last day in Israel. This series of blog posts has given me the opportunity to relive the trip and helped to put all my experiences in perspective. Overall I have to say I was surprised by the harshness of the landscape which makes the great achievements of the Israelis that much greater. They tamed a landscape of harsh contrasts - from the swampy mosquito infested western coast to the rugged rocky mountains of the east, from the mountainous north to the arid Negev desert - to make it into an agricultural and technological wonder.

The final day of my trip to Israel was spent in Tel Aviv. One day is not nearly enough time to do justice to the city. Jerusalem is the spiritual center of the State of Israel, and Tel Aviv is it's commercial center. Tel Aviv was the de facto capital of the State of Israel when the nation was founded, and it's filled with history. There are places in Tel Aviv, just as in Jerusalem, where I could spend many hours shooting (photographically) the incredible mix of cultures and identities that live shoulder to shoulder. The open air Carmel market is like a transplant of the Machine Yehudah market in Jerusalem.

Throwback to 2012

I was just sitting around today, so I decided to go back and clean up my Lightroom catalog - eliminate bad shots and have a look to see if I missed anything.  To do it in a logical way I'll go back to the corresponding days 3, 2, and 1 year ago. It's really interesting to see how my shooting has evolved. And even more so to see how I was processing at that time - quite a bit different than how I do it now. Here's two shots I picked up on from June 7, 2012:

On Madison Avenue:

I think he was a bit annoyed with me:

A Walk in Queens

I intended to spend the afternoon at the Celebrate Israel Day parade on Fifth Avenue, and later in Central Park at the Israel Music Festival. But I paid too much attention to the weather forecast and actually believed that there would be thunderstorms this afternoon. I know I missed some great photo opportunities. I'll have to try again next year.

On Friday, in an attempt to break out of my humungous block, I went to a completely new neighborhood for a walk. I took the #7 train to Jackson Heights and walked along Roosevelt Avenue. It's an interesting neighborhood with a varied mix of ethnicities. The elevated rail line makes for some interesting compositions, but some very difficult lighting situations also - bright sunlight and deep shadows. I don't think I quite crawled out of my doldrums, but it was a start. I'd like to be there when there are more people on the street.

Israel Odyssey Day 9 - North to the Galilee (part 2)

Tsfat (Safed) is probably one of the most interesting towns I've ever visited in all my travels. There's mixture of people and cultures ranging from Hasidic Ashkenazi to mystical Sephardic to non-observant sabras. All mashed together into a very compact area on the top and side of a mountain. It's what a place looks, feels, smells, and sounds like when deeply religious is blended with artistic and occult.

Sephardic shop keeper selling wines and cheeses:

Jewelry artisan:

 Weaver and embroiderer at a fabric and tallis shop:

Street musician (playing North African melodies on an unknown instrument) selling his art work:

Everybody needs a plumber: