New York In NYC/LIC Monday & Tuesday June 26-27: lunch, brunch, lollygag, gadabout?

Everybody! Hey! It's Sunday night and I apologize for not checking in, but Monday 9am(ish) at Court House Diner in LIC sounds like Da Bomb.

Cal, it's 10pm and I never call anyone older than 50 after 9pm because that's my usual bedtime and I can't help being polite.

I will see you and any/everyone else who can make it there.

I'll be slinging an SD Quattro with a Klasse S as my boot camera. And wearing a cap that reads "Unreliable Narrator" (writer joke).

541.914.6542, see you soon!

Robert
 
rhl-oregon said:
Everybody! Hey! It's Sunday night and I apologize for not checking in, but Monday 9am(ish) at Court House Diner in LIC sounds like Da Bomb.

Cal, it's 10pm and I never call anyone older than 50 after 9pm because that's my usual bedtime and I can't help being polite.

I will see you and any/everyone else who can make it there.

I'll be slinging an SD Quattro with a Klasse S as my boot camera. And wearing a cap that reads "Unreliable Narrator" (writer joke).

541.914.6542, see you soon!

Robert
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See you soon, Robert!
 
Yes, it was a delightful walkabout in nearly perfect weather. Best unexpected encounter: as we were moving west on 47 Ave in Long Island City toward the concrete mixology compound on Dutch Kill that Cal had described as a great place to shoot, a driver waiting in his graffitti-sided delivery truck said--bear in mind he had Coke-bottle glasses, a Duck Dynasty beard, and a cap with an ancient Marine patch--"You shootin a Leica?"

He had spotted the little red badge on my T. Very observant from 15-20 feet away. Turns out he drives for Bower, the maker of camera accessories, which has facilities in LIC. He probably delivers to B&H, Adorama, 47th Street, whoever needs Bower stuff in the metro area. He was on a break but kept sitting behind the wheel in the shade of the Bower loading dock. His name was Ray. We introduced ourselves. Cal showed off his hammertone M4 and asked, "Are you a photographer?" to which Ray replied "No, I'm a driver." Badabing!

He didn't always drive trucks. He drove an M48 tank in Vietnam. But I'm going to teamtag Cal now to narrate the conversation about possibly the only tank battle in Vietnam, and the early use of kinetic weaponry, and using tank engines to cook eggs and sausage etc. Because while that conversation went on I was down the street at Nycon shooting concrete mixology.
 
MrFujicaman said:
Hey Cal...looked at the piece on "Maggie's" hair. They spelled your last name "Lam"-not "Lom"
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MFM,

At this point I give up.

Perhaps I will develop yet another identity, and another alias or start using AKA Calvin Lam and Calvin Lim.

It seems my photos get lifted off of "Maggie's" Instagram by everyone and perhaps only 15%-20% give me a photo credit.

What is embarrassing is how hard is a 3 letter last name? Also we are talking at ID magazine from Briton (Ha-Ha) not some small unknown magazine. Also know that the BBC also screwed up the photo credits and gave me credit for some other photo's shot during a live broadcast.

There is no excuse for this kind of sloppiness. It seems that a photographer is lucky if they get a photocredit, and doubly lucky if they spell the name correctly. BTW this is not the first time a hack job was done and in one feature I complained to Maggie that I got credit for another photog's work and it was corrected (online platform).

Cal
 
I figured out who that guy on a bike who yelled, "Hey Cal," as he rode by on the Williamsburg Bridge: it was my friend Tim who is a no good jobless musician. Tim I would call an idiot sevant because the only thing he is good at is playing guitar. LOL.

He tells women, "I'm no good, go find someone else, you can do better," but it seems this only makes these women want him even more. LOL. "He tells them, "I'm a bum with no future, I have no money, no job, and no career. Go find someone who can make you happy."

Then when they do, the boyfriends and husbands can't stand my friend Tim because he is the one that got away, and these women can't seem to let him go. LOL. Tim is a heart breaker. Kinda funny how women lust and want what they can't have. LOL.

One summer I tried calling him and only got his voicemail that was cronically full. I began to worry and wonder if Timmy was alive or had gotten killed by some husband or boyfriend in a fit of jealousy, but one day he called out of the blue and reported that he was slumming in Europe and was living and sleeping in tents with descendents of Django Rhinheart learning Gypsy Guitar.

When I first met Tim it was over two decades ago and he was only 15 years old. I was working in a guitar shop and I was hearing somebody in the showroom riffing in all these different styles of guitar, all with the right nuances and all with a great feel. I had to stop working and see who was playing all this tasteful guitar, when I saw this 15 year old kid my heart sank, and I felt like going home and smashing all my guitars.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Tim," he said.

And then I said, "You suck." LOL.

When I asked Tim how long has he been playing, he responded, "I'm not really a guitar player, I'm only dicking around, I'm really a drummer."

Anyways Tim kinda blew me away.

I talked with Ray a bit. I learned he volenteered for service in the Marines and served in 1964. He grew up in LIC and one of the reasons he volenteered for service is because back then for him there were not many opportunities nor much of a future.

You really have to understand LIC, Greenpoint and Williamsburg were poor communities of working class and poor. The book "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" is about the working poor in Williamsburg.

BTW Ray was 70 years old and the character on his face I will add to those detailed portraits I call "Landscape-Face." Even though I was not in the military, I have mucho vicarious military experience because I worked at a military contractor that formally was the 4th largest aerospace company in the U.S.; and because I worked with so many veterans that in a way shaped, formed, and informed me through their experiences.

It was a great honor to really talk with a man who served his country.

Cal
 
Oh hey! That was me riding up the WBB. I'm met you once or twice at the NYC meetup.

You guys had a killer day for walking around the city!
 
The stories bring quite some memories!
Met up with Cal and did that area as well. The Nikon (Nycon) concrete facility was interesting.
There's an "anytown" non stereotypical NYC feeling on the area. I guess it's changed quite a but as the highrises will have risen and Domino's must be advanced in its rebuilding.
The story about Ray is a conversation I'd be eager participating into as our (European) views are quite different and even if American culture has a very deep influence everywhere, there are many nuances that just don't translate elsewhere.

BTW we did run into Tim and we ended discussing some Federal Gov't stuff in a corner of Williamsburg. Man, that was great. I guess that things got "much more interesting" to research with the Trump administration.



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Prest_400 said:
The stories bring quite some memories!
Met up with Cal and did that area as well. The Nikon (Nycon) concrete facility was interesting.
There's an "anytown" non stereotypical NYC feeling on the area. I guess it's changed quite a but as the highrises will have risen and Domino's must be advanced in its rebuilding.
The story about Ray is a conversation I'd be eager participating into as our (European) views are quite different and even if American culture has a very deep influence everywhere, there are many nuances that just don't translate elsewhere.

BTW we did run into Tim and we ended discussing some Federal Gov't stuff in a corner of Williamsburg. Man, that was great. I guess that things got "much more interesting" to research with the Trump administration.



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Jorde,

If you think about it Garry Winnogran staked out the Westside of Madhattan from 34th Street to 59th Street. Most of his shooting was from overall not that big an area and was rather concentrated in one location.

Currently there is a show on Diane Arbus that centers on two locations: Central Park; and Washington Square Park.

One thing to gleen from the above two examples is really knowing and being familiar with a locale, and being inbedded/recognized as one of the players/characters can be a way of framing a body of work. I happen to have lived in Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and LIC over a 15 year period. Although these are just three neighborhoods with distinct cultures they are adjoining and flanked by the two bridges that are East River crossings.

Then as an add-Den-Dum there is the 4 1/2 miles of Newtown Creek for flavor...

Cal
 
jsrockit said:
So, how was this day?
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John,

The weather in NYC lately has been more like Canadian summer with cool nights in the 60's and mornings that could use a light jacket, but later in the day it went into the eighties and the sun was intense.

This walk was kinda relaxed and casual. I shot almost 4 rolls by myself and with Raj by Queens Plaza before 9:00 AM. Like I predicted the light was great in the early morning. I got some nice shots taking advantage of the wonderful light.

Know that for the day I only shot eight rolls in total for the balance of the day, and you know on a great day of shooting I can blow through 15-20 rolls when we use to shoot.

I believe that my shots of Ray possibly could be like my shot of Sal, a great street portrait. I really got in his face with my Hammertone M4 with the 35/1.8 Nikkor in LTM close focused. Ray looked like the bearded tough guy from Brooklyn and his beard was kinda ferel and overgrown like ZZ-Top.

Over by the Borden Avenue Bridge I found a painter with a panorama roughly started on his easel. I got some wide shots, but when I stepped closer to get tighter I engaged with him saying I like the image and that he looked too cool and I hope he didn't mind. The reason I did this is because I wanted to get closer and tighter, and because I meant what I said, but he said he did not mind a few shots and I got the message and broke off.

For some reason we ran into more of people who were uptight about our shooting. One guy demanded money. Jerks.

The old Domino sugar refinery is getting well sanitized and now the exterior of one of the large buildings is almost completed. There is a great negative space that from the Williamsburg Bridge suggests a building made of Lego blocks that has a negative space that looks to be made to fit around the old brick Domino main building that still remains, meanwhile the construction of the waterfront prominade is underway. I can't see my old loft from the bridge anymore because it is totally blocked by this new building.

On the Williamsburg Bridge they pretty much made it photographer proof in that it is impossible to make or create any panorama. The one "Calzone" spot where I took many iconic shots is further fortified. I was startled that Kent Avenue right along the waterfront is almost as developed as Bedford as far as stores and shops.

All I can say is the place has changed dramaticlly from even last month. In LIC Robert reported that people rent in LIC and before their lease is up their view of Madhattan gets blocked by another highrise. In walking from Williamsburg you can see a skyline in LIC that is as big as downtown Brooklyn. It feels over the top, especially when I remember what once was. I know that I have recorded a historical transition, but unlike a time-lapse it happened so fast that it is truely remarkable.

To me these areas are not as interesting anymore, and this body of work that spans a decade is likely done.

I really had a great day mostly due the company. The social aspect of the day was very relaxing. BTW the tanker cars in "Blissville" have been removed.

Cal
 
In a month? I can guess the skyline from the Calzone spot in Williamsburg bridge has changed a lot. By fortification I guess the idea of hanging the camera/peeking the lens through the fence may not work anymore. For sure Porky wouldn't fit!

There was quite an interesting skyline from there with total protagonism in the Domino refinery... with some of the new highrises appearing on the side. The block where you lived was quite visible from the bridge.
Of course, all of the construction lots that were there during my visit must be built by now.

Change will be good and bad. I guess these closer to Madhattan areas just get gentrified and development gets to run towards periphery.



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Calzone said:
All I can say is the place has changed dramaticlly from even last month. In LIC Robert reported that people rent in LIC and before their lease is up their view of Madhattan gets blocked by another highrise.
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An ex-coworker lives there...she bought. She was told she'd be the last building before the river. Now there are many buildings in front of hers.
 
jsrockit said:
An ex-coworker lives there...she bought. She was told she'd be the last building before the river. Now there are many buildings in front of hers.
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John,

I shot from one of those high rises and the views are great. Pretty much was looking down upon the 59th Street bridge at night. The building was by the old building with the clock tower just east of Queens Plaza.

As I walk around I kinda get overwelmed by all these new buildings and it seems NYC too much of the old NYC is being replaced.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
John,

I shot from one of those high rises and the views are great. Pretty much was looking down upon the 59th Street bridge at night. The building was by the old building with the clock tower just east of Queens Plaza.

As I walk around I kinda get overwelmed by all these new buildings and it seems NYC too much of the old NYC is being replaced.

Cal
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Cal,

Your not kidding about the development around Queens Plaza. That building with the clock tower was the tallest building in Queens when it was build.

Joe
 
jszokoli said:
Cal,

Your not kidding about the development around Queens Plaza. That building with the clock tower was the tallest building in Queens when it was build.

Joe
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Joe,

My neighbor Jimmy in LIC told me that street walkers patrolled and made hook-ups right in front of our houses on 23rd Street.

In Williamsburg our local "Cat Woman" who fed the feral cats on my block told me that the truck drivers use to come, park, and get "service" by postitutes.

There is an old postcard that resembles a Diane Arbus shot of a topless strip joint that was on Bedford by the subway with a middle aged working class woman in her house dress just outside. One had to know that these now fashionable locals were mucho rough and raunchy.

My friend Oscar from the Southside told me he was shot 5 times and that half the kids he went to school with were dead. Either drugs, or Aids, or a combination of both.

On South 2d Street by the firehouse was the designated location where the police contained all the drug dealers where selling drugs was condoned by the NYPD. The idea was if they couldn't stop drug trafficing at least they could keep it out of the rest of the neighborhood.

At Ali Pond Park in Queens it was the upper parking lot that was another NYPD designated illegal drug dealing zone. There was only one way in and one way out, and parked at the entrance was a cop in the car who never arrested anyone. Basically drugs were sold in plain sight, and this was NYPD policy back in the 70's.

Interesting in the HBO series "The Wire" that the Baltimore Police used this same policy.

BTW if you look at where all those new high rises are along Center Bulavard along the LIC waterfront, what is the development project called "Queens West" once was an extensive rail yard. The "Gantry" that remains was one of many that loaded rail cars onto barges to cross the East River.

I met a writer who came back to Greenpoint. He says that drugs and Aids was pandemic in Greenpoint. He explained a story in his book of how a friend who is now dead and him were once on a rooftop high on Heroin looking up at the stars and wondering what they could do with their lives, and his friend said, "I can't think of anything better to do than be here on this rooftop being high with you, and if I found something better I would be doing it."

You have to understand that these neighborhoods were left for dead. I understood why Ray joined the Marines to fight in Vietnam in 1964. These neighborhoods were for the working class poor. Somehow I identify with these communities, even though today I am no longer in their situation because formally I had a life of struggle.

Cal
 
jsrockit said:
Cal... move!
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John,

I would like to but I have to deal with "woman factor" and that's where things get complicated.

It seems for me to be happy and content I only want a few things: one is to have a darkroom and be able to wet print; next is not to live cramped up in a 650 square foot apartment; and three is to be able to really be able to enjoy riding all my bicycles again, and that means riding my mountain bikes on single track (hiking trails).

Call me anti-social, but it would be great if say I was perhaps 2-3 hours from NYC in a place where there are not a lot of people and I could be a crazy hill billy that people just leave alone.

I kinda made a big enough mess of creating a huge body of work to sort through. This was wise because film was cheap, and I am so glad that I made denser negatives optimized for wet printing instead of thinner negatives for scanning. I have enough of NYC to take with me in the form of negatives to keep me busy the rest of my life.

Lately I've been concentrating more on film gear and darkroom. I bought for $50.00 this stainless steel Nikor rack that came with a dozen Nikor SS 120 reels that can hold a total of 18 120 reels for dip and dunk developing using 3 1/2 gallon tanks. I also bought a rare stainless steel daylight tank that can fit 6 120 reels and a bonus 135 reel.

Then I'm doing this 70mm thing so I can shoot a Baby Linhof like a Leica with 60 plus shots of 6x7 on a 15 foot roll of 70mm film. Yesterday I got delivered three 70mm stainless steel reels that are almost 7 inches in diameter that can hold 15 feet of film. Each reel holds 60 plus bonus 6x7 exposures, so filling a three reel tank allows developing over 180 plus 6x7 in one tank.

The problem here is that Maggie is stepping into 6 figure deals and is pursuing a jet-set kinda lifestyle of a celeb. I don't like the last minute stress, the overbooking, and all the cronic busyness that does not make me feel alive. Call me a lazy slacker but I like a relaxed lifestyle, and because deep down inside I'm a loner, I don't want to live life so busy. I really want to live in the moment, and for me as a creative person I find that I'm most creative when I have a carefree life that is not complicated.

I imagine that your move has been a source of recreating yourself, and that you don't miss mucho NYC B.S.

Cal
 
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