Archive for the ‘Astoria’ Category
ascending node
It’s National Creampuff day, here in these United States.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Christmastoria exemplified is how I describe the shot above.
An early entrant into my Astoria Tumbleweeds category, this tiny holiday tree was properly disposed of, and kind of summed up my mood for the holiday season which has now thankfully passed into memory. Just wasn’t feeling it this year, I wasn’t. Weather, social obligation… a lot of things were happening all through December that just got in the way of solitarily marching around Queens and critiquing things I saw which absolutely nobody asked for – nor cared about – my opinion on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I did manage to get out here and there, stealing an hour or two for myself. These were short walks, mainly, without any specific destination or goal. All in the name of just kicking my feet about and getting a little exercise. It’s an odd thing for me to leave the house and come back with only a couple of images on the camera. That’s mighty Triborough, of course, as seen from the corner of Astoria Blvd. and 31st street one sunny afternoon.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, after Christmas came and went, the weather wasn’t too bad – for short intervals – and I decided to get busy.
Getting busy is what I’m all about at the moment, incidentally. Buckle up, the Newtown Pentacle is back in session.
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eastern headland
Cool cars trucks, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Wandering home one day, I encountered this fantastically retro GMC RV parked alongside the Sunnyside Yards on 43rd street. Fiberglass body panels, panel truck frame… I didn’t check the registration sticker, but I think this is a GMC Motorhome, which was produced from 1973-8. There were only about 12,000 of these manufactured, and according to online sources, 7,000 of those are still registered and on the road.
They really knew how to make ’em back then, huh? This sucker is almost as old as me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A fence was down at the Sunnyside Yards the same day I spotted the GMC Motorhome, revealing the cable truck seen above. Love the wooden spools, I do. Made me think that some titanic tailor had taken up residence at what was once the world’s largest railroad coach yard, and had used up all the threading which the truck brought in.
If you’re a giant, you can’t buy off the rack, as even a “big and tall” clothing shop has limits. Just ask the Mayor… as the Dope from Park Slope is Brobigdagnian. Maybe the giant tailor is working for him.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over on Northern Blvd., the delivery of automobiles is a daily occurrence. I’ve mentioned before that this sort of sight brings out my inner seven year old in the same way that FDNY engine units screaming by does. There’s a reason that I call Northern Blvd. “the Carridor” y’know.
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secretive youth
Existentialist archive stuff, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Everything is kind of gray at the moment, ain’t it? I’ve always preferred the British spelling of the word gray, incidentally, they use “grey” over there. They also use “colour” which is a prettier spelled word than ours, IMHO. That’s some nameless and bland east side of midtown Manhattan office building in the shot above, just if you’re curious.
The shot was chosen purely for its bleak and hopeless character.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You wouldn’t believe the amount of preparation it took to get the moon shot above, at least in the chaotic environment and sooty air of Astoria, Queens. Tripod, long lens, lens extender, manual focusing, compensating for the counter revolutions of the planet and planetoid… yeesh, at least it wasn’t cold out that night. As a note, there’s some math genius out there who has calculated lens focal length vs. maximum aperture and created tables which tell you how long your exposure can be before movement begins to affect image fidelity. Google it.
The moon moves across the night sky in a surprisingly fast fashion, incidentally, at least when you’re looking through something like 700mm of optical magnification.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Speaking of Astoria, or “Point A” as I call it… it’s always great to come back here from Points B or M (or Point SI for that matter) even if it’s dark and raining. Can’t see the moon on those nights, of course, but Astoria rules no matter what the weather is like. Well, the cold sucks, but…
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easily showing
Continuing archive week, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of my favorite “night shots” of the last few years is presented above, depicting the mausoleum of Stephen Whitney in Brooklyn’s Greenwood Cemetery. I was there well after dark with the folks from Atlas Obscura, on a summer night when I and two other narrators read Lovecraft’s “Horror at Red Hook” to a group of tapophiles.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was actually listening to the Horror at Red Hook audiobook (Audiorealms version, Wayne June narrating) when I caught this shot under the 7 train tracks on Queens Blvd. over in Sunnyside.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was thinking about Lovecraft, in general, when the shot above was captured in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan not too far from Hester Street. As a note, Jakob Riis described this area as being “Jewtown” or “The Ghetto” in his many anecdotal accounts of life in 19th century NYC.
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clung round
Night time in Queens, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This week, you can expect exactly zero newly minted shots from this humble narrator. One part of the reason for that is that Xmas week postings are (annually speaking) the ones with the lowest readership at this – your Newtown Pentacle, the other is that due to the gloom, wet, and cold last week – I wasn’t exactly outside a whole lot. As is my habit, a few shots were selected from the archives for presentation, your consideration and possible amusement.
That’s Sunnyside Gardens in the shot above, shot sometime in the late night or early morning, if memory serves.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Point A in my life is Astoria, Queens. All journeys start at “Point A,” for me, and end there as well.
Pictured above is 31st street beneath the elevated tracks of the Subway, on a drizzle choked evening.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Speaking of the elevated, I stand by my assertion that the 7 line is the most photogenic of all NYC’s Subway lines. That’s her, crashing through LIC.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
The Newtown Pentacle 