Archive for the ‘Long Island City’ Category
laurels instead
Focus is the topic for today.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator has many triggers which send him off into a spiral, but I’ve been too busy of late to really enjoy a good “freak out.” Little respect is offered to those who “lose it” on a regular basis or at inopportune times. One should not burden others with intangible or existential worries, I was instructed at an early age, nor “act up” in public lest personal inadequacy or weakness be revealed in doing so. Just last night, one of my little triggers convulsed when a mid level government employee used the phrase “Now, more than ever” while telling me about her vague suspicions that photography aids and abets terrorism.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unsurprisingly, one has built up an infinite and quite inaccessible reservoir of disappointment at the actions and intentions of others, as well as accepting my own failed dreams and punctured expectations as mere vainglory. It is difficult at best to remain focused tightly on goals in such an environment, instead it is best to just try and get through the day without entering into battle, despite the many novel and illusory windmills at which to tilt ones lance that are offered. Always do I remind myself- “it’s not good, its not bad, it just is.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sophists and corporatists, those who rule the roost these days with their corruption and vain indifference to the long term, hold these days. “Knowing my place” is not something which your humble narrator thinks he can do anymore. “If you see something, say something” is the mantra often repeated by these current masters of the local vicinity, an attempt to get us the rabble into the habit of snitching on each other and driving the train of bureaucracy forward. I do see something, often, and won’t be curtailed in saying something anymore. Unfortunately for the “powers that be” who often proffer this statement, more often than not what I see when searching for enemies of the state and common good is not some threat emanating from a faraway desert, but is instead the institutional culture of government itself.
Back in session, lords and ladies…
Want to see something cool? Summer 2013 Walking Tours-
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
Modern Corridor- Saturday, July 13, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets on sale soon.
rather discouraging
Today’s post points out that you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You may have noticed that I’ve not been posting too much about my beloved Newtown Creek of late, which is of course, the titular focus of this blog. Haven’t been ignoring the old girl at all, she’s still very much in the cross hairs, instead I’ve been attempting to cut down a bit on my exposure to it and explore the railed tendrils and vehicular paths which snake out and around the waterway on their way eastwards into Brooklyn and Queens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a difficult thing to do, of course- but as I don’t live next door to Newtown Creek, I enjoy the luxury of allowing its hazards to eke out of my system periodically. Personally, I thrive in its post apocalyptic miasma, but prudence demands that one take a break every now and then. This is a luxury, as mentioned, one not enjoyed by entire communities in North Brooklyn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Meetings of Newtown Creek Alliance, Newtown Creek Monitoring Committee and other groups regularly draw me into the insalubrious valley, an industrial and remote spot known for mephitic vapors and unwholesome sights, and whenever I get the chance to just hang around the slightly less toxic neighborhood I live in- I grasp, and gasp, at it.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? June 2013 Walking Tours-
The Poison Cauldron– Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
steamy shadows
Today’s post follows Old Mitch home to Queens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A marriage ceremony, uniting an old friend with his beloved at the Frying Pan restaurant and bar in Manhattan, drew me to the cruel streets of “the City.” Distaste for the island of Manhattan is a growing and risible inclination for me, but fealty nevertheless pulled me in. After the occasion, Our Lady of the Pentacle and I splurged on a taxi for our return journey to the glories of Astoria and I decided to make use of the rare indulgence to crack out a few more shots for “operation: night shooting.”
Unfortunately, being amongst others set me off (especially if they knew me as a child), and I fell into a bit of mood.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The darkness of Manhattan is palpable, as the Shining City only actually shines high above the vomit and urine caked pavement. The high flying kabuki offered by the oligarchs is hollow, a monument to themselves, and one which foreign tourists travel far and wide to witness. For those of us who reside in the boroughs, the truth of such things is always apparent- and behind the facade is naught but corruption, rot, and a banal sensibility.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the Taxi careened through the teeming streets, filled with those who acquire and purchase, anxiety ruled over my thoughts, and my own carefully maintained facade of civility and sanity fell away. Beneficent, Our Lady of the Pentacle attempted to smooth the furrows in my brow, assuring me that we would be home soon enough. Everywhere I pointed the camera, throngs of people wandered, seeking something new to consume or buy. Big night out in the city, I guess.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Mighty Queensboro allowed egress back to the big island, away from the rats maze and exploitations of midtown Manhattan. As the gaze of that thing which cannot possibly exist in the Sapphire Megalith of Long Island City once again fixed itself upon me, at last was I able to breathe easily.
Home awaited, a refuge found amongst the raven haired slopes of ancient Astoria, and the concrete devastations of Western Queens.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? June 2013 Walking Tours-
The Poison Cauldron– Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
augmented party
Today’s post shows you how to wash a dirty locomotive.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hanging about and walking around Queens with a friend one afternoon, our path carried us up Skillman Avenue and past the gargantuan Sunnyside Yards. Luckily, something I’ve been trying to catch as it happens began to happen when Amtrak 934 sauntered into view.
from wikipedia
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) completed construction of the yard in 1910. At that time Sunnyside was the largest coach yard in the world, occupying 192 acres (0.78 km2) and containing 25.7 mi (41.4 km) of track. The yard served as the main train storage and service point for PRR trains serving New York City. It is connected to Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan by the East River Tunnels. The Sunnyside North Yard initially had 45 tracks with a capacity of 526 cars. The South Yard had 45 tracks with a 552 car capacity.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It seems that there is an entire industrial sector for whom the manufacture and maintenance of “train washes” is a focal point. It also seems to be the case that having a shiny clean locomotive pays a dividend in terms of aerodynamic drag and that the cleaner your train is, the more efficiently it runs.
from wikipedia
The AEM-7 is a twin-cab B-B electric locomotive that is used in the United States on the Northeast Corridor between Washington DC and Boston and the Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania. They were built by Electro-Motive Division from 1978 to 1988. In the Boston Mechanical Department of Amtrak they are known as “Meatballs” and in the Washington Mechanical Department they are known as ASEAs since some of their major parts and components were designed in Sweden by ASEA (Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget; translation: General Swedish Electrical Inc), which merged with Brown Boveri in 1988 forming ABB. They are also referred to as “toasters” by railfans, owing to their boxy appearance.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One is informed by railfans that once upon a time, this was a tedious task accomplished by a sizable crew of laborers, who used pole mounted brushes to clean away the grime. The “modern” system (the unit pictured is somewhat archaic by 2013 standards) is far more efficient and highly automated.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Fundamentally, its the same thing that happens when you wash your car, except for scale. The train rolls past water jets and a system of rotary brushes which chip away the patina of dead insects and grime which the train picks up during normal operation.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This train wash is nothing new, of course, and has been on my radar for awhile. Were my methodology the same that is employed by most, I would have just lingered around this spot until I got my shots, but that’s not how your humble narrator rolls.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Instead, if its not happening while I’m passing by, it might not have happened at all for all I care. You can’t force Queens into revealing herself to you, instead, you must trust in serendipity and that she will position you in the right place and at the right time.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? June 2013 Walking Tours-
The Poison Cauldron– Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
tunnel under
Today’s post depicts twilit scenery in Western Queens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of my winter projects continues, which is called by the ineluctably unimaginative name “operation: night shooting.” The goal of this exercise is to practice low light photography techniques which forbids the usage of camera stabilization equipment such as tripods or clamps. The obvious instructions to increase ISO sensitivity and aperture are just the start of the operation, which has necessitated a change in both shooting posture and approach to handling the camera as compared to normal daylight conditions.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shots are pretty noisy for my taste, but color contrast and a decent tonal range are present, so I think that the right track has been found. Not bad for something hand held, however. Ultimately, the shot above isn’t something I could have pulled off a year ago, so some small victory is apparent.
Yay for me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It isn’t necessarily the “capture” that plagues me, of course, that’s just the small details and formulae of the dross settings on a dslr. Instead, it’s the time spent with the “raw file” (aka “digital negative”) in front of my monitor back at HQ that matters most.
“Operation: night shooting” continues apace, I’ll let you know what I get in the future.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? June 2013 Walking Tours-
The Poison Cauldron– Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
The Newtown Pentacle 