New York May 18th Long Island City "Long Excursion"

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Calzone

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5-Pontz is a goner and will be demolished to build a pair of towering luxury condos.

Lately my shooting has been concentrated on Madhattan and the South Bronx, but I want to balance this out with shooting more of Brooklyn and Queens. I love this industrial area that lays in-between Brooklyn and Queens that follows Newtown Creek inland for 4 1/2 miles to Bushwick. I am very familiar with this area because I lived in LIC, Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

I will be doing "Death Marches" on the Saturdays right before our Sunday Meet-Ups. At 8:00 AM I will be at the Court Square Dinner having breakfast; 9:00 start shooting at 5-Pointz (best light is in the morning at 5-Pointz); around 10:00 break off and cross "The Bridge To Nowhere" and start shooting the industrial area surronding Newtown Creek heading towards Bushwick.

Cal

NOTE: Although the June Meet-Up is scheduled for Sunday the 23rd know that Saurday June 22d is the day for the Mermaid Parade. NO JUNE DEATH MARCH. Hopefully see you at the parade.
 
Calzone said:
5-Pontz is a goner and will be demolished to build a pair of towering luxury condos.

Lately my shooting has been concentrated on Madhattan and the South Bronx, but I want to balance this out with shooting more of Brooklyn and Queens. I love this industrial area that lays in-between Brooklyn and Queens that follows Newtown Creek inland for 4 1/2 miles to Bushwick. I am very familiar with this area because I lived in LIC, Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

I will be doing "Death Marches" on the Saturdays right before our Sunday Meet-Ups. At 8:00 AM I will be at the Court Square Dinner having breakfast; 9:00 start shooting at 5-Pointz (best light is in the morning at 5-Pointz); around 10:00 break off and cross "The Bridge To Nowhere" and start shooting the industrial area surronding Newtown Creek heading towards Bushwick.

Cal
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Dang, as a City Planner and documentary photographer, I would give most anything to join you!!!😎
 
dave lackey said:
Dang, as a City Planner and documentary photographer, I would give most anything to join you!!!😎
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Dave,

Anytime you want to plan a trip, I'll take off from work and take you around. Some people would call 5-Pontz a working sweatshop that also is a Mecca for graph-feet-tee art. It is a decorated building next to the elevated tracks for the historic 7 train. Not far away is Newtown Creek which is said to be the most polluted waterway in the U.S. It is estimated that over time an oil spill three times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill contaminates the groundwater under Greenpoint from oil refineries, and in some places on a hot summer day you can smell the oil. As early as 1853 NYC discharged raw sewage into Newtown Creek, and today 1/3 of NYC's sewage is processed there and about 1/3rd of NYC's garbage. On a subway map it is a place where there are no subways because no people live there, lots of huge grave yards, train yards and abandoned industry. Urban decay and government abuse at its best. LOL.

Cal
 
Beware, Cal's death marches really are death marches. That being said I think I'll be able to make it for this one Cal
 
stompyq said:
Beware, Cal's death marches really are death marches. That being said I think I'll be able to make it for this one Cal
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Pro-mone,

You have not been on any "EPIC" Death Marches like John. Between sun poisoning, dehydration, and exhaustion. Back during the Great Recession there were no stores open to get water and the area was truely vacant. It was scarry walking around during the day and there was this projected loneliness and sense of abandonment that was rather profound.

When "Maggie" saw some of the pictures I took she said you're not going shooting alone anymore without John. LOL.

Cal
 
d.sge said:
5-Pointz (Queens) to Five Points (Brooklyn) would make a great walk. I highly recommend the Newtown Creek "nature walk." Venturing over the Grand St. bridge to Rust St. in Maspeth to get back to LIC is one of the more desolate wasteland-like walks I've experienced in the two boroughs.
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Agreed. The area is vast. Urban decay at its best with an industrial twist.

Cal
 
CNNY said:
Here is the man in action on a previous edition of the death march.


Man with a scale focus camera.
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Me and my Plaubel 69W. With a 47/5.6 Super Augulon (21mm equiv. FOV) and 6x9 format with shifts the Plaubel cannot capture the sheer emptiness and desolation. LOL.

I'm hoping that the weather is nice, the light is good, and the crowd not so big so that we can go over the Grand Street Bridge and get to the 4th stop on the "L" train. A true Death March has to be long and exhaustive. LOL.

Poor John did some epic Death Marches under awful summer heat that was brutally oppressive. We were fools back then. LOL.

Cal
 
Long before I heard about the term "Death March" I actually marched down Broadway from GWB all the way to Battery Park and then a left turn, passing the (former) Fulton Fishmarket area and up to Canal St. to catch a train. And I can tell you my legs and feet were feeling dead after that. So looking forward to join you some day (not the 18th) for a LIC Death March.
 
jsrockit said:
But you made me lose 10 lbs. Need to do more of that this year. I have plans on the 18th though...
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I figure that those all day walks easily exceeded 8 miles. Newtown Creek alone goes inland for almost 4 1/2 miles. Everyone know that John and I did this sometimes on days that had high heat indexes, and at that time it was during the Great Recession. There was no water to drink except "The Gone-Or-Rea infested waters of Newtown Creek." It was hellish and John got baked like a lobster.

Madhattan is only twelve miles long and three miles wide BTW.

Cal
 
d.sge said:
In this context it must be a rebirth. Here's a bit of info: http://gothamist.com/2013/04/28/photos_28_pieces_of_street_art_that.php#photo-1


Is this march open to all?
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Thanks for the clarity and the link. In my context John and I sometimes would meet at the fourth stop on the "L" Train (Montrose Avenue) and walk to the Grand Avenue Bridge (I call this the Van Gogh Bridge) and then would meander endlessly through the area heading somewhat towards LIC. When You mentioned 5-Pointz to 5-Points Th thought 5-Points meant the extreame south eastern end of Newtown Creek.

The event is open to all, and I expect mucho good shooting if we can get some good light. 5-Pointz in the morning has awesome light. Also they have some cool parties. Pro-Mone shot some Break Dancing throw-down held in the courtyard last summer. Separately I shot this guy who was doing some crazy moves that were more like gymnastics on concrete.

Just come and get breakfast at the Court Square Dinner at 8:00 AM on May 18th for the long walk ahead.

Cal
 
d.sge said:
Weather permitting, count me in. Despite many trips to LIC, I still haven't been to 5Pointz. Thanks, Cal.
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I use to live just down the block on 23rd Street. The Citigroup sky-scrapper was in litterally my neighbor, and the row house I rented had the elevated tracks for the 7 train running right out front. It was like living in an Edward Hooper painting with all the muted colors and grit.

Had our first Thanksgiving dinner in LIC at the Court Square Dinner when we were first moving in. "Maggie" said, "Look there's a video store. How convenient." And then I pointed out that it was not the kind of video store she imagined, unless she was looking for porn or sex toys. LOL.

Since I moved to Madhattan I miss LIC. A lot of my best work was shot there, especially during the Great Recession. It was great living close to great shooting, and even after work I got some shots.

Cal
 
jsrockit said:
You live in East Harlem... you have great shooting there too (and I don't mean the guns).
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Heard more gunshots in the Southside of Williamsburg when I lived there (before it was fully conquered by hipsters). Found shell casings in front of my loft (45).

When I lived in Greenpoint under the BQE I saw spent shotgun shells (lots) dead sea gulls (shot) and a stop sign that was a test to gauge the spread of a pellet blast from a 12 gauge.

Nice to know that I live very close to one of the best trauma centers in NYC if I get stabbed or shot because at Metropolitian Hospital that had lots of experience and practice.

Cal

Cal
 
Spent a year at Crescent and 24th in LIC, and worked at 44th Rd. and 11th Street, in the early '90's. Was a bit desolate even then.

Sounds like good shooting.

Best,
-Tim
 
I need to apologize for the flippant use of the term "Death March" and my lack of consideration for those that have suffered great losses. Historically the term "Death March" was first coined for a WWII atrocity where allied prisioners were placed on a forced march where many did not survive.

I was aware of this and many other atrocities that occurred at the time and know that my grandmother was killed in WWII as part of the genocide that happened then. I should of known better, but understand that these painful, disturbing memories and sadness gets buried and unburied again and again because the past is hard to remember, yet also hard to forget.

If I cause anyone to feel sad, hurt or disrespected I offer my apologies, and I take ownership that I should have known better because of my own personal loss. I am sorry for your loss(es).

Let's call this event the "Long Excursion" from this point on.

Cal
 
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