Fifth Avenue Afternoon

Wow, what a day I had today! I went to the city to see a couple of shows at the Met. I wanted to see the Walker Evans Postcard exhibit one more time before it closed. And some other things. I took a billion photographs, many of which I will post in the coming days. This is one of the last I took but it is quite different for me, so I am starting with this one. There is a wall on Fifth Avenue that runs along the edge of Central Park. There are park benches every 50 feet. Late in the afternoon, the sunlight bounces off the buildings opposite the benches, and this wonderful, warm light illuminates the people on the benches. So I used my Canon point-and-shoot and held it in one hand with my arm down at my side, pointed to the west, as I headed south on Fifth avenue. I snapped a photo as I passed each of the benches with people on them. I got some interesting ones, but this is a favorite. Just the lost-in-thought look of this barefoot young woman. Naturally the photo was tilted - I wasn't using the viewfinder. There was enough room around the photo, so I cropped the image and tilted it straight to see how I liked it. I decided I liked the tilt better - I guess it gives more of a sense that it's a "street" photo.

Hammer

If I lay the hammer down on its side, it will slide down the roof, but if I balance it on its claw, like I did here, it will stay in place. I didn't pay attention when I set it down - I just put it down. But, when I went to pick it up, I noticed this incredible shadow on my new roof so I grabbed the camera on my belt (yes I even have it on the roof) and shot this. The orange tape is to help me find the hammer when I forget where I put it.

Tarpaper

I ran out of tarpaper today, so after dinner, went to Home Deopt to pick up a couple of rolls. On the way home I drove by this familiar scene that I have photographed so many times before. But I don't remember seeing it quite like this. You are going to love this - I was kind of tired, so I thought "Gee, I should come down here and photograph this scene at sunset some night." WHAT? Then I came to my senses, turned the car around, and went back to where I first saw this. The weather was really clear, so that's why the nice orange sky at the horizon.

Oh No! He's on the Roof Again!

On the roof again? Wait, I thought you were done with the roof? Well, not quite - I am in the home stretch. I had hoped to finish before Thanksgiving last year, but the weather did me in. Spring has been a day of sun and a day of rain - I need two clear days in a row, which I finally got today. I need four days to finish, and have used one - I hope to re-roof this section tomorrow - today I stripped the two layers of roofing. Then two more days to finish the main house roof. I have a back room to strip and roof as well, but that's down low, and easier to work on. Notice my nice new chimney on the right of the photo.

Facing my Demons

About a month ago, TIME magazine did a story on Detroit, and had a spectacular photo essay of abandoned buildings in the city. I was stunned by the photographs, particularly the Fisher Body Plant 21, which this is, and thought "I have GOT to go there, when I am in Detroit!" Then the insecurities started to set in... Is it in a bad neighborhood? Are there homeless or druggies in there? So I called my friend Kyle who lived there, and he said he had been in there. "Bring a flashlight - you will need it to see, and it makes a good weapon, just in case." Yikes! Just what I didn't need to hear. So I made myself crazy worrying about it. I WANTED into this building so bad, and it was eating away at me. It was getting to me badly enough that I thought, "OK, I will just go to the convention and forget this crazy idea." But that would mean I was a failure. As the time approached, however, I thought I would at least go take a look at it when I landed. I would at least just photograph the outside - I wouldn't have to go inside. It was raining and overcast when I arrived at the plant - perfect weather for this subject! I found two small businesses across the street from the factory, and there were cars parked out front, so I just parked my car with them, and knew it would be safe. I got my camera and umbrella and started shooting from outside the fence. I slowly walked around the building, and found some plywood ripped off a window. A way in! Then I saw a fence I could squeeze through if I needed to... A way out! Then on the back side, I found a whole plywood panel removed - a third exit. So I finally took a chance and went inside. The short version of the story is that there was no one inside. I photographed there for about two hours, inside and out, and finally summoned enough courage to go to the upper floors, one by one, until I got to the fifth floor. I cannot begin to tell you of the joy I felt when I was finally done and knew what great photographs I had. And even more importantly, that I had faced my demons, and gone WAY outside of my comfort zone, but had gotten the photographs. This plant, Fisher Body 21 was the birthplace of countless Cadillacs, and Fisher became the industry standard. The plant closed in the early 1990's. The building was built in 1919 and designed by the architect Albert Kahn, who was the foremost industrial architect in America. He is sometimes called "the Architect of Detroit."

The Window

I was in this office the other day, and the lights were not very bright in the room. I was taken by the "window treatment." Something about the arrangement of the window shade, and the lamp. Maybe the overall feeling is a bit spooky, but you know I like these kinds of things. So many of my photographs are about the light.

Forlorn

This theater has a storied history. It hasn't been an active theater for perhaps ten years. When it was on its last legs, there were stories of the husband and wife who stood by the door and looked for contraband food that theatergoers might be bringing in, hidden in their clothes. They were doing so poorly profit-wise, that they needed every dollar they could earn from the candy counter, as well as the ticket revenue. Very sad. So here it sits in a deteriorating building. Who knows what's next.