I’d seen these two around the park before and always surrounded by a crowd (deservedly so, that’s a freaking cockatoo riding a bicycle). But I’m more of a one-on-one guy, so when I saw Ronny in a rare moment of peace, I decided to change that.
More Ronny (and if you stick around, my new favorite portrait) after the break. Continue reading
Not one. Not two. Not three. Actually it is two. But who’s counting? Me that’s who. I’m no good at simple math, but that comes out to one ‘ship for each year I’ve called this city home. After a glorious 9-1 season capped by a loss-avenging finals victory, the crew decided a celebration was in order. Some champions get a parade, this bunch settled for ice cream.
More images after the break. Continue reading
If you’ve seen Rockaways Rewrite, you’ll know about Kris and his beard. What you don’t know is what took place after I took his portrait. The thing went viral. Ok not viral, but it was at least contagious.
More explanation and CONTACT after the break.
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“Almost passed up.” “Happen by chance.” I’ve started a few CONTACTs with these caveats, and this is no exception. I met Ian on my lunch break while he was waiting outside my building for the Bolt Bus. His hat drew me in, but he was going the wrong way. Then he stopped at the corner and turned back. I made my move. When I raised the camera to my face, I knew he’d done this kind of thing before. Turns out Ian is the man behind Boy Gone Blog, and thus no stranger to posing.
More CONTACT after the break. Continue reading
Four dudes, Paul Simon, and a Fiat 500. That winning combination came together for a day trip to the Rockaways, a spur of the moment expedition in search of sun and swell. Once there, our group discovered a cohort of wetsuit wrapped soul surfers, devoted individuals willing to brave freezing temperatures and a bitch of a current. Fighting the urge to join them (a task made harder with Dean’s optimism and a $25 all-in rental offer), our crew sought shelter on the boardwalk and settled in to watch the waves churn.
More Rockaways after the break. Continue reading
Julian was a perfect scenario. I was out on my lunch break, Contax slung around my shoulder for company and trying to stay warm in the shadows. I turned a corner and there was Julian standing in this singular sliver of sun. He looked so regal with his cowboy hat and hand rolled cigarette (which he regrettably put away for the photo) that I had no choice but to ask for permission.
More CONTACT after the break… Continue reading
The instant I saw Meris with her blue blockers and furs, I knew I had to photograph her. I was on my morning commute, and it looked as if she was too, but I took the chance and asked her for a portrait. She couldn’t have been nicer, and didn’t mind my direction when I asked her to move infront of the brick backdrop. This was my first “field” portrait with the Contax 645, and in my excitement I forgot to recognize that the shutter was set to flash sync mode. I realized the mistake only after I had walked away, hoped that the frames weren’t overblow, and smiled so BIG when I saw the final result.
More CONTACT after the break… Continue reading
Judah was one of those people that I almost passed up, even though the minute I saw him I had to have his portrait. But like anything in life, you never know until you try…
More CONTACT after the break… Continue reading
Somewhere in my infinite Tumblr browsing I stumbled (or tumbld) across a beautiful set of long exposure images. They were black and white shots of carnival rides, with exposures just long enough to blur the lights (but not too long where everything goes psychedelic.) Those images stuck with me, and I decided to see what I could pull off at New York’s finest amusement park…Coney Island. With Winter looming and my window shrinking, I set out late one Sunday night to see what I could find.
More Coney after the break… Continue reading
Meet William, the very first subject I sent a copy of my photo too. He was walking around Washington Square Park with a beautiful Pentax 67 (complete with wooden grip!) and it was the first time that I had ever seen the camera in person. At this point I wasn’t as comfortable taking portraits of strangers, but I had it in my head that I would take photos of people with cool cameras (the theory being that they were photographers, so they would be less inclined to say no). So I circled the park a couple times, gathering up the nerve to ask. He couldn’t have been nicer, and later I realized HE also walked around the city taking portraits. In fact his Flickr account, especially his older stuff, turned out to be a big reason why I started taking the Hasselblad out onto the streets. I hadn’t seen that “look” before, and I fell in love. Anyway, he was also the first person to respond to my image, and the resulting conversation is worth the read.
More CONTACT after the break… Continue reading
[gwu] Graham Whitaker Unterberger 
