My First True Attempt At Concert Photos & A Bit More

These concert photographs were taken for my school newspaper, but were not published due to a rather silly series of events.

Jill Sobule, the opening act (she was really quite adorable):

Fountains of Wayne, the main act:

Other photographs that I've taken recently:

I thought that this was just me being pretentiously artsy, but other people seemed to like it. This was published.

Shh, don't tell this woman that I photographed her! This picture was candid, but when I asked her if I could take a portrait, she refused. Then she asked, "Why would a journalist want a picture of another journalist?"

To be honest, this sandwich looked more delicious than it actually was.

This was published, albeit in a horribly misshapen, compressed form.

A (Nearly) Random Selection Of Unedited Summer Images

I would like to post some photographs from the latter part of this summer, but I'm too busy/lazy/unsatisfied with Photoshop Elements to edit them at the moment. As a result, I will simply put up the inferior JPEG versions that were imported into iPhoto, and worry about it later.

These are basically just the photos that caught my eye when I decided to create this post 5 minutes ago. More to come, perhaps?

In Boston, Alicia and I got stuck at the harbor during an intense thunderstorm. When a tanker appeared in the mist, it was decidedly epic.

My friend Lillian is beautiful, although she is very picky about photographs taken of her. Like many of us, I suppose. I liked this one.

In Montreal, I met a Russian girl named Karina, hailing from Kazan. It was nice to have an opportunity to speak Russian with someone not in my family, and we had lots of fun.

MONTREAL FASHION FESTIVAL:

Abs of STEEEEEEEEEEL! And apparently, I am not completely incapable of utilizing the silly little flash unit on my camera.

A fashion show/dance performance. This shot is a little bizarre, eh?

A babushka look-alike makes an appearance on the Ottawa streets!

My lovely Spanish friend Ariadna at the not-terribly-thrilling Mont-Tremblant resort.

THE CITY OF MONTREAL:

That woman is a prostitute/drug addict, in case you were wondering. She told me so.

There are a lot of young people like this in Montreal, all of them with German shepherds and gigantic backpacks. Are they runaways, homeless people, travelers?

I got to live with this puppy for 2 weeks! If only he'd been house trained...

In case you were wondering, Santa lives in the Quartier Latin of Montreal.

ENTERTAINING MYSELF IN A PET STORE:

Kittens are such camera whores.

A frog on a mission.

The scruffiest creature I've ever seen. This bird is my soulmate.

A group of...whatever they are, posing for the camera. Yes, posing - they intentionally gathered all together on the perch like that. "Group shot, everybody, say cheeeeeeese!"

An odd sight.

BACK AT HOME:

My mother's smile lights up the heavens.

Vika peering - a common sight at our house. In this case, she is worrying about the state of the rose bush.

My grandmother looking stately in Provincetown.

An adorable child at the playground.

What Public Radio Means To Me

Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, duuuuuuum

That little melody, whether in the brassy tones of a trumpet section or the velvety syncopations of a jazz ensemble, has been a staple in my life since childhood. When I was younger, I would hear it emanating from my mother's car radio, followed by crisp and to-the-point voices announcing current events, or the melodic elegance of classical music. As I grew older, I became familiar with many of the voices, recognizing them as one recognizes an old friend. Terry Gross, Ira Glass, Michelle Norris - each of these names brings up the memory of some fascinating program or another.

I have discovered that even if a program covers a topic that doesn't usually interest me, I am intrigued by the various perspectives and intelligent analysis offered on NPR. The media is almost bereft of impartial journalism these days, but NPR continues to support a large variety of opinions, with an innate trust of the listener's intelligence. On NPR, the programs are neither dumbed-down nor pretentiously esoteric, allowing for a broad, diverse audience.

I have always been interested in the media, and am continually exploring both its negative and positive effects. Its influence fascinates me, both due to its omnipresence and to the incredible potential that it possesses. I believe that one of the most important things for our society to focus on is the decrease of negative media, such as product placement and the touting of gigantic corporate entities, and the increase of positive media, such as that which supports local businesses, spreads unbiased information, and helps to improve people's lives.

The catalyst for my interest in media, however, is my fascination with people: how they think, why they behave in the way that they do, and why they make the choices that they make. I believe that one of the main reasons that I adore literature, cinema, and other arts is because they attempt to answer these questions, or at least to consider them. Journalism provides a way to take that analysis and bring it into the real world, learning directly from people.

While I was in New York this summer, my goal was mainly to improve my photographic skills by learning techniques and doing a lot of photography. Without even realizing it, I ended up with a project that focused on interviews and the words of people in the city, creating something that was far more journalistic than it was artistic. This is how I came to understand that, in my life, I hope to pursue a career that allows me to actually interact with and learn about people, and hopefully gives me the opportunity to help them. In fact, I hope that my personal life provides me with the same opportunities.

Public radio is a form of journalism unlike any other. It conveys information to the listener without the benefits of visuals, bringing a story to life with the help of good writing and sounds captured from a previous moment in time. I am very grateful for its existence in my life.

Hi, My Name Is Masha, And I Am An Agnostic

I sometimes feel that the ability to think is no less important in my life than the ability to breathe. It is my greatest asset and my greatest obstacle, the thing that sustains me while simultaneously destroying me. It allows me to rethink the past and imagine the future, but it can just as easily contort them both in the worst way possible.

I get a thrill from complex thought unlike any other; when I begin to mull over something I feel strongly about, it is as if, after a long, dark winter, the curtains are being thrown open to reveal sunshine and brilliant flora. Despite the literary orientation of thought shared by most of my family, I am just as interested in discussions of politics, religion, and scientific innovations as in those about books, films, and works of art. Not to say that I am an expert in any of these fields (as I most certainly am not), but I find that informing myself about the thoughts and interests of others, and discovering the ways in which people structure their lives, is incredibly fascinating. I suppose that it all comes down to an interest in human psychology. I choose to avoid the realms of black and white, preferring to dwell in unknown territories, avoiding judgment as much as possible. My research has led me to believe that the word "agnostic" defines me in basically every aspect of my existence. And, to be clear, here are the sorts of definitions to which I am referring:

AGNOSTICISM |agˈnästəˌsizəm|
noun
- The theory that the ultimate problems of philosophy and religion are insoluble (http://www.willdurant.com/glossary.htm)
- The disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=agnosticism)

And here is exactly the kind of (rather typical, might I add) definition that I find to be biased, overly general, and absolutely patronizing:

- A suspension of belief in gods and theism, especially of named gods, arguing generally a lack of proof, whether by reason or evidence. Stopping short of atheism, it is a convenient position for both philosophers and laymen, especially where persecution is a threat. The term was introduced by the Darwinian evolutionist, Thomas Henry Huxley in the 19th C. (http://www.grazian-archive.com/quantavolution/Encyclopedia/encqnt4.htm)

Yes, of COURSE - I choose to remain open-minded to a variety of viewpoints because I am lazy and it happens to be "convenient." Or perhaps I am simply afraid of taking sides, because, God forbid, I might offend somebody!

If I were afraid of being judged, it would probably be simpler just to pick a side and stick with it, wouldn't it? At least that way I would have a large group of people to defend my viewpoint! Instead, I prefer to avoid labels such as 'good' and 'evil', 'fact' and 'fiction', 'right' and 'wrong'. I treat my life like a legal case - all sides on all issues are constantly presenting evidence, and I give greater credence to the side that I feel has formed a better argument. However, this does not mean that I completely discount the argument presented by the other side, because (I assume) there will never be a time when all the evidence will have been presented. Either I will die without ever finding out the truth, or the truth will reveal itself eventually.

I am just as opposed to gnostic atheism as I am to gnostic theism. I do not believe in the concept of "knowing for sure, because The Bible/science/my parents/my society told me so." All of these things have much to offer, but none of them should be taken as a given. They are all unstable, their messages changing over time and in different contexts, making them incapable of providing a complete, inarguable answer to anything.

It's funny, this is not really what I meant to write about. I wanted to talk about the effect of the books I've been reading (Madame Bovary), the television shows (Six Feet Under) and films (Psycho, Farewell) that I've been watching, and the classes that I've been taking (a million varieties of French, Russian Themes in World Cinema, and a silly-but-probably-amusing-and-also-requirement-fulfilling My Body, My Health class) on my thought processes. I love the song "Little Boxes," but I do not necessarily believe that the people who go to university are being put in boxes, little boxes all the same. The necessity of fitting the mold began long before university; I haven't found a box to contain me yet, so I don't think that higher education will change that.

Perhaps I am still a sheep, just of the sort that tries to stand out by bleating in a slightly different pitch than the others. Nonetheless, being a member of a flock doesn't change the status of my individuality - even sheep (as long as they haven't been cloned) aren't all identical!

And on that note (of clumsily-stated platitudes), I shall bid you good night.

MEHHHHHH!!

Goat: 1
Obnoxious Journalist: 0

News (Mostly) Unrelated To Photography

- My current list of interests (in no particular order):

Photography
Filmmaking
Psychology
Journalism
French/Comparative Literature

I am doing my best to stop being a dilettante in at least one of these fields.

- I am pretty much in agreement with the Progressives, (click here for more information!), although I am still researching.

- Please read Michael Ondaatje's Running in the Family! It is an excellent book. I have also realized that I rather like W. Somerset Maugham.

- Please watch EVERYTHING EVER MADE by Alfred Hitchcock! I am having a splendid time (almost) doing just that, as there is a festival at our local cinema.

- My So-Called Life is angst-filled and somewhat cheesy, but enjoyable nonetheless.

- It may be futile, but I continue to practice the ukulele in hopes of someday playing it decently.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT: And After All That, My ARTIST STATEMENT

As I grow older, I am increasingly fascinated by the changes brought upon by age. All humans are bound by the limits of mortality, but it is the experiences of our lifetimes that differentiate us.

Photographs are capable of capturing the ethereal even as they record the banal. With a click of the shutter, one may freeze forever the essence of a single moment in time, perhaps revealing things that would not be noticeable in the tumult of ordinary life. Photographs can expose the layers that life experience has created upon the face, or the impressions that the labor of living has left upon the body. I find these imperfections beautiful, and feel impelled to capture their many varieties.

In order to better understand my subjects, I interviewed all of them - first, I found out their names, jobs, and ages; then, I asked them three questions pertaining, respectively, to their past, present, and future. Their responses were intended to enrich the viewer's visual interpretation of each subject, and to raise questions about how their appearances, affected by age, intersect with their life experiences. I did my best to vary the subjects' genders, ages, and socioeconomic statuses as much as possible. Directly after the interviews, I took as many photographs of the subjects as time would permit.

This project has opened my eyes to the hopes and worries of dozens of New Yorkers. Few experiences in my life have been quite as powerful as that of strangers opening their hearts to me while they consider what it is that they value in their lives. It turns out that most people know the answers to these complex questions almost intuitively, barely having to think about their responses. I have discovered that age plays a significant role in determining what is important to people. This is largely a result of the changing structures of peoples' lives as they age: for example, older people are more likely to have their own families, which seem to be very significant for many of them.

I hope that this project will allow people to see both how comfortingly similar and how wonderfully unique we all are. In a city as enormous as New York, one may often feel lost among the crowds; I would like to remind people that they are not alone.

Remainder

Name: Anonymous
Age: 61, almost 62
Job: Carpenter
Location: Lower East Side

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

Yeah, I would like that I didn't get hit in Vietnam. I'm a Vietnam veteran. I only look back on two things in my life. One, I didn't go with the garbage men. The sanitation. But I have a trade, I'm a carpenter. [Sanitation] was a good job, but it wasn't meant for me.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

Raising my daughters. My daughters are in college. The next thing is maybe...they're gonna go on with their life, that's all paid for and all this. My next most important thing is maybe getting a boat. A small boat, not a big boat - I can't afford a big boat. Because a boat is like taking your money and throwing it in a hole in the water. And I can't say nuttin' about girls or women or nuttin' like that because I'm married. I think I'm pretty successful with everything other than that. I would love to hit lotto. I'm talking about if I hit big - I would make some of my friends fortunate, to do something. Have a brand new car, stuff like that, if I ever hit that. I'm not a real religious man, but I'd probably give the church something. Al Queda, I'm for Al Queda. (Laughs) No, don't put that shit, I'm a Vietnam veteran. No, I ain't for that shit, I'm American, all the way, 100 percent.

3. How do you imagine your future?

I figure at the rate I'm going I'll be dead...I'm gonna be 62, I'll be dead, probably within the next week OR I'll go to 80. My destiny is 80. I wanna hit 80. I don't know if I'm gonna hit 80, but...I'm in pretty good shape and everything, but I haven't had a physical in 30 years.



Name: Matthew
Age: 17
Job: Student
Location: Upper West Side

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

Probably a more solid base of friends. I know - the friends that would just like to hang around, you know, shoot the shit and throw a Frisbee and throw a football…you know what, maybe not the friends, it's the time to do that. That's it - it's the time and the circumstance to just be a kid.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

Figuring out myself…that's vague…you know, I guess it's really cultivating my own interests so I can be happy, so I can find something [that] I'll work hard at…but it won't be hard work, because I'll love what I'll be doing. Finding that interest and cultivating myself to find that interest.

3. How do you imagine your future?

First option - I become a farmer and play at jazz clubs at night. Scratch the farmer part - whatever I do I'll be playing at jazz clubs at night, I'll be playing jazz piano at night, with people, and I'll be having a blast doing that. And whatever I do during the day, it'll include using my body and my brain. My dream future is that I won't be sitting behind a desk doing mundane, stupid stuff. I'll be using my body the way it was meant to be used, for work and such. That kind of points me in the direction of being a farmer, I have yet to see.



Name: James/Jimmy
Age: 65
Job: Helps out a friend at Coney Island
Location: Coney Island

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

I'd change nothing.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

Waking up every morning - surviving.

3. How do you imagine your future?

I really don't know. After 66, there's not too much to remember. You don't know how much longer you're going to last.



Name: Scott Peterson
Age: 52
Job: Firefighter
Location: Lower East Side

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

Yes - my old girlfriend Cathy Giannetto. Broke my heart. Broke my heart! My life has been somewhat of a, a little bit of a void since you left me. I would never have cheated on Cathy Giannetto! Or I would've covered my tracks a little bit better and I wouldn't have gotten caught.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

My son John.

3. How do you imagine your future?

I imagine me dumping my wife and hooking up with Cathy Giannetto! (You want the truth? I'm giving you the truth.)



Name: Jose
Age: 53
Job: Disabled
Location: Coney Island

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

I would change a lot from my past…I'm not going to go into details, but I would change a lot.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

Family. I've got a son, he's 12. My parents are still alive and I got one remaining sister. I got plenty of nieces and nephews. They're my immediate family, of course. 'Cause I've been away from them for…years.

3. How do you imagine your future?

I try not to think about it too much. I take it a day at a time.



Name: Janette
Age: 37
Job: Does research over the phone, cleans houses in her spare time (for extra money)
Location: Union Square

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

I would change a lot in my past - a lot. Well, I made a lot of mistakes in my past. I didn't finish school. I don't regret my children but I just wish I would've finished school so I could've had a better life and provided more for them. It's not too late - I can go back to school, but being a single mom, and having to work two jobs, and provide for them…it's like I'm always looking for the time, and then something happens and I have to stay working, because if not the bills will pile up, and so on and so on.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

I would have to say, my kids. My children are. You know, it's funny, because the past couple of days I've just been trying to - I just - at 37, I still don't know who I am, and I wanna know who I am, what's my purpose. I know there has to be a purpose. And…it's just…it just has to…it's just a lot of soul-searching, I don't know where to start. And I guess when I find…I'm hoping that the sooner I realize that, the happier I can be with myself.

3. How do you imagine your future?

See…I can't…right now I don't…that's the problem. I…I don't know what my future holds. And that's why I guess I'm at this age now and it's starting, you know, I took so much for granted, always thinking I had time, school wasn't important - I just was living too fast and…and now I just…I don't know. I don't know. I'm sorry I don't have an answer, I truly, honestly, like, I really don't know. That's why I'm just trying to find myself. I was walking through the park earlier just wondering…what am I here for? I really need to find that out. A part of me says go back to school, but then reality sets in and, I mean, I can't! I have an 11 year old daughter and I have a 16 year old son.



Name: Michael
Age: 21
Job: New York City Parks Officer
Location: Coney Island

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

I wish I didn't total my car like 3 months ago. I would like my car back.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

My mother.

3. How do you imagine your future?

Living in Sweden, being a professional stage manager. I've been to Sweden to play soccer for an international soccer team that I played on, and I lived there for a while. I like it a lot, it's a beautiful country, I'm learning the language, and they have a really, really nice theatrical business.



Name: Brendan Spieth
Age: 22
Job: Just graduated college (Theater major)
Location: Upper West Side

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

Well, I wouldn't change anything. You know what, if I could have anything from my past, I used to have this silver astronaut jacket when I was three, and I used to just wear it all the time and feel like a rock star. If I could have that, I think I'd be pretty complete.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

Direction, I guess. After graduating you've got all these tools and fun things, and now, where to? Where do we go? I guess finding direction is now the most important thing.

3. How do you imagine your future?

I imagine it to be or hope it'll be…sparkly, very fun and open and curious and squirrely. I want to be as creative and fun as I was on the first day of kindergarten until the day I kick it.



Name: Monika
Age: 59, almost 60
Job: Running the High Striker at Coney Island
Location: Coney Island

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

No, no, I chose this life, I'm happy where I've been and I'm thrilled where I am.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

Making the money - aside from my children. Children are everything. That's why I'm out here making the money! I have 7 children, from 38 down to 13. And grandchildren that are costly. 5 of 'em.

3. How do you imagine your future?

Working, just like I am now. I thought I'd be in that rocking chair, but it's not happening. I had a child late in life, and he wants his everything that the other kids got. So there it is.



Name: Stephanie Brooks
Age: 36
Job: Teacher
Location: Upper West Side

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

I'd like to travel a lot more and now I'm not traveling so much, and I'd like to start to travel more to exotic destinations.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

Feeling at peace.

3. How do you imagine your future?

Being happy and healthy and having a few children and a husband and smiling a lot!



Name: Elliot Schwartz
Age: 60
Job: Photographer, head of a sculpture studio in DUMBO
Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park (DUMBO)

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

Not my hair…no, everything from my past is in my present.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

My 4 1/2 year old son.

3. How do you imagine your future?

Working until I drop.



Name: Kevin
Age: 26
Job: International pageant winners' personal trainer (but he can't reveal any names)
Location: High Street - Brooklyn Bridge Station

1. Is there something in your past that you would like to have in your present/future OR would you change anything from your past?

Maybe I'd like to have a cat again. That'd be fun.

2. What is currently the most important thing in your life?

My studies.

3. How do you imagine your future?

Hopefully working professionally in the field that I am currently studying.