Mesclun Salad with Edible Flowers at Union Square Market, NYC

Union Square Market – 3:59PM July 31, 2009

It must have been the ozone in the air from today’s storms.

I had better than usual vegetable activity at the Union Square market today. Zucchini flowers were lining up like dancers and baby purple eggplants were laid out like an old master’s painting. And this, a mesclun salad dripping with flowers, compliments of the wonderful woman behind the market table who decided, on her own, to gently shake down fresh new edible flowers over the greens as I took my photos.

Fresh Beets from Union Square Market

Beets are one of those foods folks either love or hate. I love ‘em. Roasted with goat cheese and grilled chicken in a salad on a hot summer evening.

I took these guys back to the studio to give them their proper respect (thanks Aretha!) and then shoved them in the oven for an hour or so, wrapped in aluminum foil.

Broken Chard, Union Square Market

Broken Chard wrapped with string at Union Square Market, NYC – 11:13AM June 13, 2009

Since the title of the image in the last post had the word “broken” in it…

Broken Column - Goldfish Outtake

JPG Magazine online just voted my Happy-Go-Lucky Goldfish photo of the week. Once again, I didn’t even know it. Someone from the website said, “congratulations.” I love this photo series as evidenced by my jumping goldfish logo. The photo on this blog posting is an outtake from the original shoot.

3:49PM 7/13/09

A pile of yellow, green and red peppers at Union Square Market – 3:49PM July 13, 2009

These peppers had a wonderful inside glow from the reflected summer afternoon sunlight. I didn’t quite know what I had captured until I viewed them on a large monitor, as the three inch screen on my Canon didn’t show what was really there.

Magic…It’s what happens when you take chances. In this case, shoving the camera lens into the pile of peppers.

2:24PM 6/12/2009

Bunches of asparagus, Union Square Market, NYC – 2:24PM, June 12, 2009

Shopping with the Kids

About a year ago I was searching for an identity, a vision that would make me, me, at least in the eyes of others in terms of my work. Along the way, I found something more profound than a voice or an identity.

I found shopping.

I found the cheesy children’s toy department in Rite Aid Stores (Search for “toys” at the Rite Aid website and you get comprehensive listing of sex toys – search “children’s toys”  and you get, of all things, vitamins first, then toys. I recommend that you just go there in person).

I found the mask store in Antigua, Guatemala on one of my bike tours.

I found the housewares and glassware departments in Macy’s with a 6-month return policy.

I discovered Sephora (just for props, honest).

Then there’s Petco and CB2 and Pearl River (which I thought had closed) and the fish-mongers in Chinatown and the rubber store on Canal Street and Muji and Pylones and Lush (love the soaps, hate the fragrance) and Bed Bath and Beyond and the Lighting and Beyond store on 14th Street and, and, and…

I think only my daughter understands this.

3:09PM 06/24/09

Red Onions as Fireworks, Union Square Market, NYC – 3:09PM Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I couldn’t help but think of the 4th of July, post processing these puppies. It wasn’t until a “root mask” was made and the contrast boosted that these absolutely incredible roots revealed themselves, metaphorically, as a trajectory of sparks. Later in the week I whipped up a stir fry with these guys – some fresh broccoli, snap peas and carrots and a nice chunk of broiled salmon marinated in mirin, garlic, ginger and soy sauce on a bed of somen noodles.  I have to learn to plate this stuff. I can cook. I can’t plate. Maybe I just need a stylist.

Happy 4th.

Happy Go Lucky Goldfish

When I was a kid, my dad had a workshop, his sanctuary really. There were countless days spent at his side, building or fixing something, always setting up some kind of power tool or hand tool, depending upon the project of the moment. Much of that time I would have preferred playing outside with my friends, but it was demanded of me to be my father’s assistant, like it or not. But, like it or not, I learned. I learned to wood carve, make moulding and furniture from scratch, frame out and build structures, weld pipes, repair radios, TVs, and clocks, wire electrical outlets, and on and on.

No matter the project, he would read up, dive in, then bitch and moan about something gone wrong – frequently crying out loud, “goddammit!” – but in the end the project got completed flawlessly, as if he were a master craftsman, when in real life he was simply a repo man for a truck company. His quest for excellence was overwhelming at times, as nothing short of perfect was ever acceptable.

What about all these bits and pieces I weathered in his shadow? I grew up having a real comfort level around power and hand tools and that now translates into improvising sets and finding solutions to the day-to-day challenges of photography. These days I don’t build so much; it’s more like I modify props and rig sets to suit my needs. Although I’m not adverse installing an outlet or replacing an old faucet, it’s a lot more fun drilling out the bottom of a fish tank to see if water spins in a vortex.