Street Photography: Looking Down

A while ago I was reading up on San Francisco in anticipation of a visit I was making to the city. I read about how it is one of the most populous US cities and other statistical facts. What caught my attention though was that the city was dealing with a chronic problem of human feces on public streets. Between 2011 to 2018, reports of human waste went from 5,500 annual incidents to more than 28,000 incidents. Who knows how much worse it really is given that not everyone is going to bother filing a report. Plus, of course, there is whatever dog feces that have not been scooped up. So that’s an awful lot of poop baking in the California sunshine. Although I did not encounter any feces while I was there, the potential for a misstep is enough for one to keep their eyes down.

All of this came back to mind when I was uptown in New York City and saw the above sign at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It’s posted in a park-like area near the church. There’s even a bench with a realistic sculpture of someone asleep on it. In this context, I was sure the sign was intended to discourage the homeless from public defecation. After I took the photograph, which was taken quickly as I walked by, I saw the bottom where it was clear the reference was to dogs.

It got me thinking about the state of public feces in New York City – both dogs and human. A little checking revealed that the Big Apple has about 2,500 complaints of human waste, which is far less than San Francisco especially considering that New York City has a larger population. An article in The New York Times, for example, reports that residents of a Chelsea apartment building have had to clean up after the homeless who not only leave behind their feces, but trash, rotting food, used needles, and urine stored in juice bottles. So it’s a problem but not an epic one.

As far as good old fashioned dog feces go, it does rank up there as a quality of life issue, especially in the Bronx. The number of filed complaints have been going down ever since New York City passed its Pooper Scooper law in 1978. But the complaints that do remain have been vocal. So perhaps the church has it right. Add an 11th commandment. Thou shalt not poop.

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Street Photography: Still Looking Up

If you read yesterday’s post, then you’ll know about how I’ve been working at creating different kinds of photographs of familiar buildings by looking for architectural details above my head that may otherwise go unnoticed. You’ll also know about a particular building in Greenwich Village featuring an emblem of a seahorse above its doorway. That same building had more to offer.

As I walked down the block I saw a smaller detail above me of two elephants pushing against a cross. As with the seahorse, this symbol posed yet another mystery. If I had seen fish or other aquatic adornments, there would at least be a theme. But why elephants and why a cross?

The best I could tell is that this is either a Recercelee cross or a Moline cross depending on how much the ends fork outward. These cross styles apparently date back to their use during the Middle Ages in coats of arms. The connection with the elephants eludes me. Perhaps it is nothing more than a fanciful design.

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Street Photography: Looking Up

I was near Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village. I lived in the Village during law school when the neighborhood’s artsy bona fides were still vibrant and less corporate than it is now. There is a building with its entrance right on the corner of West 4th Street and Grove Street. I’ve walked past many times before but this time it was different. I was still in my self-imposed challenge of looking upward for things to photograph as a way to avoid re-creating visual cliches.

So this time, I notice a large stone emblem of a seahorse above the doorway. There was lots of sunshine that helped accentuate the depth of the relief sculpture as well as the rough textures of the stone and patchwork repairs.

There are so many artful details hiding in plain sight a few feet above our heads. Even the fluid curlicue of vines and leaves above the seahorse is unique. You might expect that the same design would appear on either side of the central floral figure as a way to maintain symmetry. Instead, they are completely different. Yet they share a common style that keeps the overall design cohesive. The central floral figure is decorative, yet intended to be natural looking. Each of its petals are different in size and shape from the other. A lot of thought and care went into an adornment that probably many people do not notice.

Why there is a seahorse over the door is unknown to me. Perhaps the building originally housed a fish market or sold nautical supplies? In any case, the seahorse remains as a unique vestige of this building’s history.

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Author Talk and Book Signing by Photographer Xiomaro at Patchogue Arts Council Photographers Group

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Author and fine art photographer Xiomaro will be presenting an illustrated talk about his photo/history book Weir Farm National Historic Site (Arcadia Publishing) on Wednesday, November 13, 7:30 pm, for the Patchogue Arts Council Photographers Group at the Brickhouse Brewery in Patchogue, Long Island.  The book features his fine art photography and is the first to tell the story of the historic site’s rescue from residential development to its establishment as a national park.  The foreword was written by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman who introduced legislation in 1990 to federally protect Weir Farm.  The book also celebrates Weir Farm as Connecticut’s first national park, which will be commemorated on the reverse of the 2020 US quarter.  The author will give an overview of his work – which ranges from other National Park sites to street photography – as well as his smartphone workshops, upcoming books, and other projects.  Signed copies of the book will be available for purchase.

In addition, a select number of his fine art photographs will be on display and prizes will be given away.  The large photographic prints, measuring 17″ x 25,” offer immersive and detailed views of Weir’s studio, his brushes, his home, and the landscape.  The photographs have been widely circulated throughout Connecticut, Washington, DC, and Utah at venues such as the Hart Senate Office Building, the Capitol building in Hartford, the offices of Congressman Jim Himes, and the Stamford Mayor’s office.

During the talk, Xiomaro will show the stunning transformation that the historical buildings at Weir Farm, in Connecticut, have undergone during the restoration process and give behind-the-scenes insights that go beyond the book’s pages.  In the book, Xiomaro – who is the Visiting Artist at Weir Farm and an alumnus of its Artist-in-Residence program – tells the story of Julian Alden Weir (1852–1919), a leading innovator of American Impressionist painting, and chronicles his farm’s rescue from residential development to its establishment as a park.  The farm’s landscape inspired countless masterpieces created by Weir, his famous painter-friends, two subsequent generations of artist-owners, and contemporary artists who continue to create at the park.  The book’s historical narrative unfolds with well over 100 photographs, most of which were created by Xiomaro under commissions from the National Park Service.

Bedroom Before Restoration

Weir Farm, Connecticut’s first national park and the only one in the nation dedicated to painting, will be commemorated on the reverse of the 2020 quarter as part of the US Mint’s “America the Beautiful” series.  The Mint’s website says the series “captures the breathtaking beauty of America’s natural landscapes that have inspired countless poets, adventurers, and artists.  Today, these hallowed sites are… enshrined” through the quarters designed by the Mint.

Bedroom After Restoration

Xiomaro (pronounced “SEE-oh-MAH-ro”) is an internationally recognized artist and speaker whose photography has been covered by The New York Times, CBS Eyewitness News, News 12, Newsday, The Boston Globe, and Fine Art Connoisseur. His work has been exhibited at Harvard University, the Long Island Museum, the Patchogue Ferry Terminal, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, as well as galleries and public spaces.

The book was released internationally by Arcadia Publishing as part of its Images of Modern America series, which the company website describes as uncovering “amazing aspects of American history that are all too often overlooked by standard texts” and “filled with expertly penned content and stunning full-color images.”  Arcadia, based in Charleston, South Carolina, is the leading publisher of local and regional books in the United States with a library of more than 14,000 titles.

The Patchogue Arts Council Photographers Group meets at the Shand Loft of the Brickhouse Brewery, 67 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island.  The event takes place on Wednesday, November 13, 7:30 pm.  For more information, contact the Group (631) 627-8686 or visit www.xiomaro.com.

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Street Photography: Radio City

This expression is a mystery. In my last two posts, I presented photographs of the comedy and tragedy masks adorning the grating above Radio City Music Hall’s stage entrance on 51st Street.

Those masks are based on theatrical symbols from Greece. In Greek mythology, Thalia is the goddess of comedy and poetry. Melpomene is the goddess of tragedy. The exaggerated features depicted on the masks were worn by actors so that the audience could tell from a distance what emotions were involved the scene.

I have not come across any information, however, regarding a third mask or expression. I returned to the stage door today to see if maybe this mystery mask was paired with another that I neglected to photograph. But, no. The grating’s design was a pattern having only these three expressions.

My guess is that this third mask was a special design of the music hall’s own making. Judging by the expression, perhaps it represents a “middle” expression between the two extremes of happiness and sadness.

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Street Photography: Radio City

In yesterday’s post, I described how I issued a photo challenge to myself to create images of familiar and iconic structures in a fresh way. To do so, I decided to look up for small architectural details that might otherwise go unnoticed. The metal grating above the stage entrances of Radio City Music Hall along 51st Street feature, quite appropriately, the symbols of theater: the masks representing comedy (yesterday’s image) and tragedy (above). These masks of drama trace their origins to Ancient Greece.

The tricky thing with this challenge is not just looking critically to find these obscure details. It can be a test of one’s patience to get the shot to begin with. The camera I use for street photography has a limited zoom range. So it’s difficult to get a close-up of the mask unlike, say, the underside of the sconce at Macy’s. I zoomed as close as I could to the mask and then cropped away the excess afterwards.

The other issue is the effect of parallax. Pointing the lens upward at an angle results in the bottom of the mask appearing wider than the top of the mask. During post-processing, I was able to make adjustments to account for this optical distortion. But the result is not perfect though if I chose to invest the time, I could probably have achieved a straighter result.

In any event, straight-edged perfection is not what I was after. It’s about getting an intimate look at a small detail that resides in relative anonymity above the heads of most New Yorkers and tourists. One of the world’s most famous theaters is at once a visual icon and a complete stranger.

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Street Photography: Radio City

I recently started a Facebook Group as a way to extend the experience of my workshops for the benefit of my attendees and others in my circle who love photography. Periodically, I post a video to the group where I issue a photo challenge. It’s an exercise designed to stimulate critical seeing in a way that results in images that are creative and unique to the individual photographer.

I often issue such challenges to myself as a way to stretch. This is because I frequently walk down the same streets. After a while, inspiration starts to fizzle and I am loathe to create images that are similar to what I have done before. In addition, many of the streets are home to some of New York City’s most iconic landmarks. These places are the subject of millions of snapshots taken by both native New Yorkers and tourists from around the globe. So it’s not easy finding a new approach to photographing these areas in a way that has not been seen over and over again.

So my self-challenge was to limit myself to architectural details that are above my head. This proved helpful when I approached Radio City. The most common photograph one encounters is a wide view showing the facade of the building with it’s world-renowned marquee. I chose to avoid that cliche entirely by walking along Radio City on its 51st Street side toward Fifth Avenue.

I’ve been to Radio City for decades and it’s only as a result of my photo challenge that I noticed the rapturous face above the stage entrance. Indeed, this face was among the dozens that was weaved into the design of the grating over all the stage entrances. The face does not immediately scream out “Radio City.” And that is it’s charm as it is a subtle symbol of the drama and other entertainments that are presented in this famous venue.

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