FESTIVAL STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, PART VIII: A STRANGER BY THE EAST RIVER
Herewith, uncropped, out-of-cam JPEGs, shot in less than 10 minutes. by Michael Vazquez c. 2019 All rights reserved. Gear: Canon
Whilst taking a mind-burdened, contemplative riverside break from shooting the Electric Zoo music festival during Labor day weekend, as I tried to reckon the airborne, aquatic, hell-on-Earth in the form of Hurricane Dorian being faced by others, compared to the (albeit, deceptively) calm waters of my moon river and huckleberry friend the East River, which, though I live in Manhattan now, always tells me, a proud Bronx son, I’m home (much like how the shores of Coney were a state of mind for The Warriors), I met this winged New Yorker, and asked if she would be willing to do a quick shoot with me…no sooner than you could say “Up On The Cat Walk”, she went into action, and the capricious winds were kind to us, setting her wings alight for a few moments of mortal grace.
I don’t mean to be precious about it all, but I’m titling this little impromptu series “The Butterfly Effect”, posted in black and white and color, with a few funky tinted images, just because. Here’s to old cameras once-forgotten, coming to life, and winged strangers by riverbanks…and to those now facing the follow-up to Dorian, Godspeed. Blood, platelets and cash donations can be made HERE.
Equipment note: with all of my photography gear presently stuck in another state, I shot this on a fifteen year-old Canon EOS 20D, which remains a great camera, paired with an older version of one of the greatest lenses ever made, the Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 STM.
