Riverside Drive and the lazy Hudson beside it

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Robert S Johnson

Ephemeral New York has done it again. I had to reblog this given the subject matter. By virtue of living in Morningside Heights this is my home base on the river. I thought you might be interested in seeing its past.

Ephemeral New York

It looks like a pleasant spring or summer day on Riverside Drive and in the park beside it, based on this postcard stamped 1916.

We’re at 93rd Street. Grant’s Tomb can be seen over the treetops; open-topped automobiles and a double-decker bus share the road. Pedestrians linger on the sidewalks or on the teardrop-shaped green.

And in the distance, there’s no George Washington Bridge.

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1-19-14 Weekly Photo Challenge: Family (A Very Different View)

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Robert S Johnson

Yesterday I went with a non-literal view of family. (here)

Today I will be a bit more traditional. I showed a version of this portrait back on December 25th but have done a slightly different take on it here. Many people mean family to me but this is one of the two ranking members.

The word means many things to many people. Here are a few other takes:

http://memorycatcher.me/2014/01/19/weekly-photo-challenge-family/

http://fstopfantasy.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/weekly-photo-challenge-family-modern-family/

http://maulzxxx.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/indonesian-weekly-photo-challenge-family-keluarga/

http://albumizzawa.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/weekly-photo-challenge-family/

http://thebohemianrockstarpresents.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/weekly-photo-challenge-family/

http://zainabdullah.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/weekly-photo-challenge-family/

http://brokenlightcollective.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/connection-to-the-past/

http://photographybyac.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/weekly-photo-challenge-family/

http://emiliu74.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/photo-of-the-day-21/

http://mikehardistyhdr.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/weekly-photo-challenge-family/

http://blog.kjphotographer.com/2014/01/19/family/

12-13-13 Working Again

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

The internet is back – at least today – while it has been down I started working my way through the archives again. Time to remove some failed images and discover ones I missed the first time. I shot this before I actually started the Quotidian Hudson project, while I was in testing mode. I don’t know why I buried it in the files. I pulled it out today and said, h’mm. I think I like it.

12-5-13 I Bet You Didn’t Know This

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

After months of truly lousy connectivity, innumerable phone calls and technician visits I finally bit the bullet on Monday and decided that the internet was going to work in this apartment no matter what it took. After days of phone calls and technician’s visits and transfers from the call center in India to the call center in ? where the level 3 technicians reside, moving the modem and router about the apartment, pinging, pinging and more pinging I think we finally have internet back up and running and to make it all worthwhile, running much better than it ever has. (Knock on a forests worth of wood). That is by way of saying it may take me a while to catch up with all of your published writing and shooting over the past days.

That has nothing to do with the title, does it? I am about to let you in on a little secret that only some folks in NJ and NY who live near the river know.

The river does not have its own water supply! We, the taxpayers, supply the water. These gentlemen usually only work at night. Must be an emergency…

11-26-13 The Beginning

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

Back when the Quotidian Hudson was just a gleam in my eye, I journeyed to the river to see if the idea had any merit. One morning in early November, 2010, I took this shot at around 7:05 AM.

I was just starting to learn Lightroom and spent a significant amount of time playing with the image but never got it to a place that satisfied me. My instructor pointed out that sometimes there are shots that we just couldn’t or didn’t get. True enough. And told me nothing could really make it work.

Over the years I have come back and picked at it when I was frustrated or upset. I’ve played in LR and PS, gone bxw, used filters, layered it and masked it etc. Finally I just threw away everything I had done and let it lie.

Today I pulled it back out and started to work on it in LR and, horrors, cropped it. I am not finished with it yet but think I may finally be heading in the right direction. We shall see.

11-23-13 Travel Theme: Fragrant

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

Ailsa’s theme this week is olfactory in nature: fragrant. Now, of course, many images come to mind that can represent that theme but, well, you know I am in New York so this felt right.

A few other ideas about fragrant appear below:

Travel Theme: Fragrant | travelicius

It’s in the air | Le Drake Noir

Travel Theme: Unexpectedly Fragrant… with Lines | Jaspa’s Journal

http://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/travel-theme-fragrant/

Travel Theme — Flagrant | Danny James

Travel theme: Fragrant | Ain’t Mine No More

Travel Theme : Fragrant | Moments In Life

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unexpected & Travel Theme: Fragrant | wordsvisual

Travel theme: Fragrant | Geophilia Photography

10-23-13 Technology. It’s Better Than The Alternative?

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

“Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results.”
― Margaret Atwood

I have a minimum of two backups of my work. A number of people (not photographers) are amazed that I “waste” my money on such things as backup hard drives. They have this magical belief about technology. Nothing bad can happen.

In the last two days one of the two external hard drives that held every picture of The Hudson River that I have taken in the last three years failed and the other one is failing rapidly. Yes I still have the originals on a drive but I have basically spent the last two days desperately backing everything up again before that one fails as well.

The Atwood quote above concerns a different situation that someone I love is dealing with.

All that is to say it is time for a picture from the iPhone I took this around 7:30 Sunday morning in Kings Park New York.

The building is an abandoned Mental Hospital. Seems very appropriate to the situation to me.

10-12-13 Travel Theme: Deep

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

“If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.”

Katherine Hepburn

The Travel Theme put forth by Ailsa over at Where’s my backpack for this week is Deep. Merriam-Webster has 7 definitions with 14 sub definitions between them so you can go deep into your archives and pull an almost infinite amount of photographs that could reflect the theme.

First I want to go back to Dominica to Boiling Lake. 200 feet deep.

Then I want to revisit the Little Red Lighthouse, deep under the George Washington Bridge and deep with snow.

Finally, as I mentioned, The City Council gave approval to building owner, David Wolkoff, to tear down 5Pointz and replace it with two residential towers. No timetable is in place yet, since lawsuits are still flying. The depth of feeling of a sizable community of New Yorkers about 5Pointz is remarkable. If as I assume, the courts rule in the owners favor, New York will have lost two arts meccas in 2013, The New York City Opera and 5Pointz. There is some deep meaning there, perhaps.

Anyway, here are some images from 5Pointz that I feel reflect deep talent, deep commitment, and deep fun.

Commitment

Deep Feeling and amazing spray work

Lastly the deep need we all feel to be revealed and noticed. This very nice young man asked me to take his picture. I offered to send him a copy or give him my blog address where it would be posted but he said no. Apparently just the knowledge that he will be on my social media was enough to fulfill that deep need.

Finally a few other folks reaching for the deep.

Travel Theme: Deep Transplanted Tatar

Travel Theme: Deep | Foto Challenge

Deep Blue Seaport (Travel Theme: Deep) | Four Deer Oak

Travel theme: Deep | Cee’s Photography

http://brokenlightcollective.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/infinite-sea-of-depression-or-hope/

Deep in the Australian bush | Artifacts and Fictions

Travel Theme: Deep | dadirridreaming

Travel theme: Deep | Confuzzledom

9-25-13 Walking Through The Lines And Patterns Of St John The Divine

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

As the title suggests, I originally visited St John The Divine with the thought of shooting something for Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Through or the Weekly Photo Challenge: Lines To Patterns but I ended up going in different directions for those challenges.

For those of you who may not know of St Johns you truly should visit it when you are in New York. To tickle your interest I will give you one small bite of information about the Cathedral. The cornerstone was laid 121 years ago in 1892. It is still under construction.

St John The Divine Glass-0139

St John The Divine Glass-0150

St John The Divine Glass-0154

St John The Divine Glass-0170

9-22-13 Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines To Patterns: Hoyt Street, Brooklyn Edition

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Robert S Johnson

This weeks Photo Challenge is From Lines To Patterns. My first attempt is here.

Last night my long time friend Chris Havens held a party to celebrate a zero birthday. His apartment has a roof deck. I took this picture at about 8:30 pm. I thought it came at the challenge obliquely but fit it well.

From Lines To Patterns 2-2