It took me about 45 minutes to get to this location and another 30 minutes to find the right angle which includes the streetlamp. I was inches from a busy highway….Id write more, but I have to catch a train. The last one (from Barcelona to Madrid I made by two minutes).
Barcelona has an amazing mixture of new and old architecture. Today we have old. Construction on this cathedral began in the 13th century and was completed two-hundred years later. My time was limited, so I didn’t step foot inside, but managed to wrestle through the crowds, set the tripod up in its low position, and patiently wait until tourists–looming overhead–dispersed. This awesome narrow passageway has a unique skyline filled with gargoyles. My favorite is the unicorn with the great big fangs. I guess they had to make it scary.
Today, September 24th 2012, I happen to be in beautiful Barcelona. The weather is warm and I’m not adequately prepared for the temperature. It’s a holiday called La Mercè festival, and being a Sunday, hardly anything is open, Everyone is out on the street enjoying the extended weekend which is not easy to navigate. I’m not certain if it’s the overnight flight, the party two nights previous, or sheer adrenaline, but this city is so gorgeous I can hardly see straight. Luckily my tripod comes to the rescue.
The building on the lower part of this image is my first stab at photographing a Gaudi building. Apparently the term of something being “gaudy” stems from this designer, visionary, architect, and artist–for his over the top ornate details. I’m looking forward to seeing more from Gaudi, as well as others, tomororw. Gaudi seemed to turn to nature and fanciful aesthetics to realize his vision–I love the trees in this. I can’t wait to explore more.
My parents live in damp Portland, OR and for years my mom has taken great pride in cultivating, as odd as it may sound, a moss garden. As a kid, it was quite a treat to walk barefoot, on the soft moss, lay down on its deep green quilt, and look upwards through the big leaf maples to the sky above. That memory was sparked this past weekend in the lower east side of New York City at a converted warehouse building on Broome and Essex Streets with a visual demonstration for the much anticipated Lowline park.
Presented by AUDI in collaboration with Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation GSAPP, the demonstration runs through September 29th and is free to the public (although a suggested donation is always appreciated). Besides presenting the vision for the abandoned Delancey Underground space as an indoor park, the show demonstrates a key piece of technology–reflecting and channeling sunlight to illuminate the space below. In practice, the light is enough for plants, trees, and yes moss to grow. It’s a project I’ve been following for months, and I hustled over as quickly as I could on Saturday morning to check out the opening day.
I had the chance to speak with co-founder and Creator of the Lowline project, architect James Ramsey, who told me as long as the sun is shining its “always noon on the Lowline.” The unique array of panels, light reflectors, and accumulators always brings light in. I can attest, the light coming through the reflective channels is very bright! I carefully positioned my camera to shoot straight up, and (shocker) got some pretty interesting flare. I knew the light would be bright, but sunlight-bright I didn’t anticipate: you win some, you lose some, and continue learning (even when you think you know it all).
I deliberated for three days whether to post this image. First, it’s not entirely in keeping with the exterior subject that I’ve been covering between negative space and the buildings, and second, it’s not entirely accessible. I was granted special permission to position the camera directly below the focal point for the light. Photographically it’s probably not the best angle when the sun is out–who says you can’t photograph into the sun–but I had to do it because it’s straight up on the Lowline.
Regardless, I believe the subject in this image, the Lowline, is greater than any bad or amazing photograph can demonstrate. Below are additional images I made to satisfy my urge to support this project and give a more clear example of the concept. Hopefully James Ramsey and co-founder Dan Barasch’s vision will soon become reality and at least one abandoned section of NYC’s concrete jungle will become a bit softer, brighter, and reminiscent of the time we could lay down on our back, chill out, and look skyward.
The unassuming exterior of the three level 89,000 square foot Uniqlo flagship store on 5th Ave in NYC belies the $300 million 15 year lease (apparently setting a real estate record in Manhattan). I am not sure of the renovation parameters, but the overall facade is not my favorite for Straight Up. Apparently this doesn’t matter, as this place is insane during normal business hours, with hoardes of shoppers stampeding in and out for fast fashion bargains. Gotta hand it to them, the prices are pretty unbelievable. As an aside, I did have the opportunity to photograph interior installations in 2011 for their Heattech launch and Holiday display, designed by Lot71. The displays actually made the box store very dynamic and I even made a time-lapse. I’ll be curious to see how they top it this year.
The Bulgari store in Manhattan on 5th Avenue and 57th St is not for the light wallet. I had a project to photograph here last year for designed Mike Brown of Lot71 who created an unique installation for their then Fall/Winter 2012 collection. For those inclined to see how it looks, you can see my blog post here.
