I think they were strangers, those two sitting. The other man was lost in his music. It was the day after christmas and I was returning home on a Friday night because I didn't have a day off.

Its Christmas Day 2008 and over 2 months since I did my last entry.

I've been thinking how difficult digital images are to process. The initial file is a starting point but the final image is left as complete interpretation of the photographer attitude at the moment. Sitting at the table yesterday I took a photograph of my mom which came out in a very good warm light. Upon working on it on the computer screen I begun adjusting it to suit various tones and making the skin tone more real. The original image had a heavy yellow cast. All this has made me realize how difficult starting from a point where everything can be reinterpreted truly is. I am including the finished photograph, one caught at a moment probarly not flattering her. This of course is one image interpretation.

I'm starting off with re-posting an image from last night. Atop the Train Monitor is a sticker I found to be... well quite an effort to place.

And so that was yesterday. The second image is of commercialism. I hate trends.

From Cat Stevens:
"Miles from nowhere
Not a soul in sight
Oh yeah, but its alright

I have my freedom
I can make my own rules
Oh yeah, the ones that I choose

Lord my body has been a good friend
But I wont need it when I reach the end"

So today I walked through World Trade Center. And I wondered about what I saw. Empty Space. People walking along the site. And then a sticker at Newark Penn Station atop of the Train monitors... saying 9/11 was an inside job. I don't know but too fast has the issue disappeared bringing pain to workers at the site down to making the bad guys somewhere out there.

Colder weather and I like it. I read more when its colder. I cannot concentrate when humidity outside condenses to drops flowing down my back. I also feel lazy in the heat. I think most people do. I kept my room at somewhere around 65F to keep it bearable through most of the summer.

Well, wine is my beverage with cooler air till summer. Reading Mr. Parker's Wine Advocate and Bordeaux book. I like writers who stick to principles. Mr. Parker makes money on his work not his perks. I highly recommend his Wine Advocate guide, to whom I am a subscriber.

Tonight a photograph from last saturday. There was a park in the middle of NJ with Sheep barn. There is something so truthful about the look of this sheep. Animals speak volumes without words.

Fall is here. I feel very nostalgic lately. 

I am thinking of how is starting a life (post college) like in Eastern Europe (more specifically in Poland). I am thinking how much life might be more in my liking in Europe vs. what I have come to accept as normal in America. 

Autumn with the cooler air makes me go back into researching (and drinking) wine and reading more. 

Tonight a simple photograph of where I close my final thoughts for the day. 

This is from Urban drive through. I don't like graffiti. I tried liking it thinking its some sort of art but I find it very intrusive. Art in public place without permission is visual pollution. I want to rest my eyes in peace and if I look over I want to have a choice to look at symmetry of concrete. Simple texture of concrete is sometimes pleasing. I would not cram a photograph because its a bare white wall. Not in public at least.

So its September. Time is flying. I wish I could keep track of it. But I do want to say that life has been what I could have not have predicted better. I have been busy nonstop for the last few weeks.
Today I sat down and went through a few June images. Three months ago seem like yesterday and yet summer is over. But no nostalgia here. This has been among most productive summers I have ever had. Diving head first into commercial photography is something I only imagined and never thought I will. Its a start.

Tonight images are from a Chalkfest that occurred in Jersey City, New Jersey back in June. Its where intercity kids have a chance to bring awareness to their chances at better life. I like the cause so I photographed it.

Portraits. Taking them of someone you know is like asking yourself who you are. If you know who you are you can then interpret your relationship with someone. If you're lucky, which a lot of photography is about, is getting the image of that someone according to your relationship. That is the beauty and simplicity of a good portrait. To understand yourself is to take a relationship and visualize it. No one says it will be good first time around. It depends on the honesty one has with themselves. I love seeing how I feel. I learn from looking at myself.

Two portraits tonight are I think real. They are of feelings and interpretations of where they are today. Intellectuals. Lost in thought. No one who thinks about life is truly smiling. None of those pictures would be real. These two portraits represent among the most intelligent people I know who know life because they are not afraid to live it in a true to themselves way.

Apple iPhone has now bunch of applications and some of them for even posting blog entries remotly. But I probably pass on that.

The 600 mile service was due on the Vespa so I took it to the dealer and got it all done yesterday. While waiting I got a chance to test ride a few bikes. One of them was the MP3 scooter made by Piaggio. Then there was the walk over (netx door) the Ducati dealer to ride the Hypemotard with the upgrated exhaust. Wow! That was FUN!! That bike is whole bunch of 'I want it' while so many unpractical thoughts come to mind. Its just fun and Smooth!!

But aside from a fun Saturday, tonight a quick collection of somewhat of a typical commute. I avoided the Rush Hour by stopping for a drink at the Hyatt before heading back home. This was midweek.

The trip is via the PATH train that runs between World Trade Center and Newark, NJ. Exchange place is Jersey City, NJ. It is the last stop before the end of the line in NYC. The way back to Newark is across a Shipping yard, under the NJ Turnpike, through a service station for NJ Transit (at least some of the trains), few abandoned warehouses and finally arriving at Newark Penn Station.

It is a strange place in the middle of a strange city. Newark still has a rough reputation for crime. Few new buildings and restaurants have opened around the area. The Newark Penn Station is somewhat a gloomy place. It feels Train Station but I don't believe that its enough. The Station represents the mood of the city very well. The homeless roam the and smells dirty and its something that although does not need hallways and waiting rooms, live out of the bathroom and bring in a grunge feel to it all. Sadly, the trip from NYC to Newark via Path sets the mood quite accurately.

I'm set on a journey for true middle America. Some few weeks back I was visiting Dartmouth Campus in New Hampshire. I came across a book titled 'Blue Highways'. I was intrigued but did not buy it right there. I did save the title though. As it turns out I received the book as a gift from my friend Don. I was incredibly and pleasantly surprised Don read the book.
I have started the book and love it. Last weekend I was at Barns and Noble over a map at table in Clark, NJ looking at the map and settling for Memphis to be my starting point. These, I hope, to be weekend trips of a long term project.

Tonight, a photograph right out side of Columbia University's campus yesterday evening.

I have/ I am debating over starting a new blog. This one is about the true issues that concern me. It no longer so much about only photography. Its now about photography serving a purpose of telling a story. Let me think about it.

An image from a super humid NJ night.. as I was leaving the book store.

Jumping ahead with the order of photographs I am including one today that represents the place I'd like to walk though on daily basis. I love Palm trees but more so its the peacefulness of this street that I remember. This is a street in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. Clean and beautiful.

It's June already. Last night (or earlier today rather) I have arrived at Newark International Airport looking for my bags. I flew back from San Diego. The trip started in San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, and ended in San Diego. It was my second time in California. I do belive it is an amazing place to visit.

Tonight I will be short with the post. I will fill in with photographs and words over the next few days the details of my trip.

To start the photograph tonight is the iconic symbol of San Francisco. I head the bells of the trolly while lying in my bed in the morning. I think San Francisco is among the most beautiful cities in our world.

I always had this thing about photographing NYC street needing a yellow cab. If you wait long enough you'll have one.
I don't consider NYC to be most scenic nor comfortable city. Its a concrete metropolis with some nice streets but a compromise when you compare it to Paris, Amsterdam, or even Berlin. There is very little that draws you to old tested tradition lasting far back. I am not saying NYC lacks history but the history it does posses is mainly of a staging port to which millions of emigrants laded first. Hard labor, scams, and exploitation made this city into a financial capital of the world. The sheer power of capitalism has made an undisputed champion of commerce and labor market.
Aside from the big and cold image of the powerful NYC there are more subtle elements. People actually live here. They come and make their dreams here. And underneath all the grim and grind of the NYC fast lives there are moments like the photograph today. This was shot on Saturday in my continuation of building a portfolio for the Wedding website.

A whole month later and 6 weeks with Canon 5D. I am getting used to digital workflow. I am now running all image editing off the MAC. Everything is a big change. Learning digital is learning gadgets. Photography theory remains the same. There is a lot to get used to and understand as far as using tools. I am having fun with both. Light tests with Pocket Wizards and Profoto Beauty Dish adds to eliminating any free time during the weekend. Now I am searching for models to further get some practice. So far a shoot is on for this Saturday afternoon in front of Flat Iron Building around 5:30pm. Will post results here.

Tonight are three photographs from my daily commute via Train to my day job.

I have been posting here infrequently but all has its reasons. I look forward to share more here on the blog.

It took a wine glass and some Bob Dylan to get into this trance. Going to California again in some 7 weeks. My last (first) visit to the state of California has left me loving it. I'm curious what will happen this time. Its cool not to know yourself.

Wine. San Francisco. Driving along Highway 1. Los Angeles. Photo Shoots. Seeing Don. San Diego. Priceless.

I wish I could bring along the Vespa and have Don ride it. I'm not sure he ever rode a scooter. There is something about the Vespa that makes you appreciate that it won't go 80mph+. I push the limits of any motorcycle to get myself scared but on vespa I am stuck enjoying the ride. I actually really like it.

Need to shop for some portable strobes for location shooting. The image tonight is from a photograph taken after work last Friday. I was waiting by the bar before scouting to see a location in Central Park for a engagement portrait I shot on Saturday.

Easter is as important as Christmas in the catholic calendar. I appreciate it more somehow because it does not get distorted by the mad shopping rush and the sales. It’s amazing that it can still shut down the New York Stock Exchange and all trading in the USA. But it is not the day off from work, as much as the importance of the day. My biggest problem with the Catholic Church is the corruption and the preaching of how to go about it. So I don’t go to church that often. I live my best way based on some moral principles. I like Buddhism for the Zen chapter where you sit back and think about nothing. There is a strong element of concentrating how to be in charge of your emotions.

I am including 4 images from Saturday. One is from a passenger window of passing though a ghetto. In a run down part of town stands a shiny black Cadillac. Perhaps this could be a good metaphor for the current state of American car industry. I hope they break out of it. There was some amazing engineering that now needs a new age efficiency.

The other 3 images are from the church mass itself. I heard the rumor that only Polish and Italians bless their food on the day before Easter Sunday. Oddly enough because of the internal politics of this church the all Polish tradition was done in English. There is a deeper story here but since I do not have hard facts I will pass on it.

It is now March 21st, 2008 and this is the first post for 2008. A lot of changes have been happening and a lot of great things coming to life.

To begin, I am now beginning to shoot Digital. Somehow I was torn on the idea of cheating myself by making this change and a lot of ethical questioning went into the decision. Somewhere near the end I asked my friend Don if that is indeed the case and his response was "Cheating against who?". And so I purchased a Canon 5D and have begun working with the camera and digital process. I still shoot film for my personal work and will as long as will be manufactured.

In addition, one thing I absolutely love is Magnum and photojournalism. Far from being in the front line of news I am venturing into Wedding photography with a business partner. Since we both have day jobs with somewhat of a career track our focus is networking and opting to photograph high end weddings. The income generated from these weddings will be there to fund traveling and business expenses. The idea is to do something I absolutely enjoy. And if I do not have to photograph weddings every weekend but selected few in a year I will be able to work on my photojournalistic reportage though a somewhat orchestrated event.

Late last year I also made a decision to get back on two wheels after 4 year absence. With 2007s left over at the local dealer I got a great price on a brand new Vespa GTS. I love the little Vespa. At about 70-75mpg this is the ultimate warm/hot weather transportation around the NYC Metro area. It will go as far as 76mph but its hard to tell via the speedometer because they tend to be always inaccurate at such high speeds for scooters.

So posts now will be on everything from scootering/photographing to photographing and lighting. My life is photography. It always reinvents myself and gets me to be more involved into observing. It is what I love about it. I was considering altering the title of this blog which I might still do but for now I need to think of what the name could be. Discipline is the biggest lesson I have learned in the last few months. I intend to use it to help me vent here on the blog over ideas that have been in my head.

In this post, the pictures are of no significant photographic value other then display the cool Italian design of simple transport.