Archive for the ‘newtown creek’ Category
strange tributes
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Dutch Kills is a tributary of the fearsome Newtown Creek, a Federal Superfund site some 3.8 miles long that provides a border for the New York City Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens for the first three miles of its course. The waterway is polluted by industry and open sewers, and there’s a bed of sediment at the bottom composed of coal tar, petroleum derivates, human waste, and everything else that’s ever fallen into the water. This sediment is called “Black Mayonnaise.” The Dutch Kills tributary branches off of the main waterway about 3/4 of a mile from its intersection with the East River, flows entirely within the confines of Long Island City, and is about .7 – .8 of a mile long.
I’m obsessed with that little tree growing out from under a factory along the bulkheads. It’s a Tree of Paradise aka “Princess Tree,” I’m told.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All of those little streaks in the water, along the rotting bulkheads which I focused in on, are fishies. What you can hear at night, from all over this industrial canal, are the slaps and splashes of predator fish picking off these little bug eaters who gather around light sources. You can also hear passing ATV’s and muscle cars with modified exhaust systems, but that’s a different post.
I spent a bit of time hereabouts recently, waving the camera around and investigating what might be hiding in the shadows at Dutch Kills. As long time readers here at Newtown Pentacle will attest, a humble narrator is endlessly fascinated by this section of the greater Newtown Creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Water fowl, these Canada Geese are dicks. All Canada Geese are dicks, and I’m racist towards them. Specist, actually, I guess. At the very least, I’m extremely prejudiced against them.
Wow, remember when there was a difference between prejudiced and racist, as in there was a level of severity for being an asshole to other people? I was having a conversation with a younger friend of mine about this lately, one which centered on how you bleed pressure out of a closed system. There’s different levels of murder, for instance – manslaughter, homicide, etc.
At any rate, the Canada Geese are ultimately downy piles of meat, and what I was doing at Dutch Kills on this warm night was searching for a carnivore which legends say hunt these waters. Looking for a hunter? Focus in on the prey.
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Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
local perspectives
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few last shots from a spectacular sunset at the Maspeth Avenue Plank Road, along the turning basin of the lugubrious Newtown Creek. This is about two and a half miles back from the East River.
Some of you seem upset by my recent philosophical turn, the embracing of sociopathy as my governing morality. Well, in accordance with sociopathy, who cares what you think? I don’t. I don’t care about anything anymore.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Seriously, whatever it is, I don’t want to know nor am I going to oblige you with an argument.
One has arrived exactly back where he once was, offering his middle finger to the programmed and robotic ideologues. Did you know that during the early days of the Nazi military advance into Russia, the Wehrmacht encountered Russian made roads of ice? These Russian ice roads used German prisoners of war as structural railroad ties. The captured German soldiers were bound, forced to lie in a trench while still breathing, and then drowned in briny water which the Soviet armies pumped in which instantly froze and killed them. The Russian winter solidified the whole affair into something that trucks and armor could move quickly on during their retreat. The Wehrmacht officers described heading east on these roads, and the disconcerting experience of having thousands of panicked blue eyes lifelessly staring up at them as they passed.
This is lateral thinking at its finest. It’s also a parable for all of the shopping mall warriors in this country who think a Civil War might be fun.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Maspeth Avenue Plank Road has been extant at what was once called Furman’s Island since the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant, and Sherman, taught the ideological forebears of the modern day “know nothings” about consequence.
I used to care about that, but now it’s just another fact. Happy Friday the 13th.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
godlike solemnity
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is what I went to industrial Maspeth for, that’s what I’d like to say. Instead, I was actually there to pick up a package at UPS that I’d missed delivery for and wasn’t able to access it prior to 9 p.m.
Killing two birds with one stone, however, is the Mitch Waxman way. Why not spend the waiting time shooting the celestial light show as the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself slipped behind New Jersey.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Experience indicated that this particular evening, with low hanging clouds, would offer quite a show.
My embrace of sociopathy, however, indicated that I couldn’t enjoy the sights. This is the double edged sword of being emotionless. Everything, mood wise, is in the middle. A baby is born, and another one dies, and you force yourself to feel nothing at all. It’s a bit like stoicism, but gray. How did Orwell describe the future? Something about a boot and a face?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the shadows got inky, and the Kosciuszcko Bridge lit up, things got interesting. There’s such a narrow window for this sort of thing in the summer months.
Normally, I try to capture the Kosciuszcko lighting when it’s facing through the hot colors of the spectrum, but given the crimson and orange light – I went for the blues and greens.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
without beginning
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While I was waiting for what seemed like a promising sunset at the Maspeth Avenue Plank Road at Newtown Creek, the Helen Laramy tugboat appeared out of nowhere.
Well… not “nowhere,” more like East Williamsburg. Regardless, one snatched the camera up off of the tripod and followed its journey west.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“Nothing matters” and “why bother” were echoing in my mind throughout the early summer, and one became a bit depressed. What followed was a thunderbolt realization that has helped shape my thoughts since.
One has fully embraced sociopathy. I literally don’t care about anything anymore and have decided to be both brutally honest and uncaring about your feelings at the same time. I don’t plan on following this sociopath lifestyle all the way to serial killer, but conversely I don’t give a flying flip what anyone else perceives anymore. It’s actually been quite liberating.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Thereby, I do look forward to not attending hundreds of funerals for the unvaccinated. Additionally, I look forward to saying “I told you so” to as many of their heirs as I can. Whatever death cult you’re a member of, good for you.
I’ll be at the Newtown Creek, safe as houses, while y’all fight over national borders and all the other idiotic obfuscations your masters can conjure up.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
dimensioned original
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A frustrating series of events found a humble narrator staggering about the “Happy Place,” which is what I call industrial Maspeth. It just before sunset, and a bunch of birds were visible, doing bird things.
Every time I try to say what kind of a bird a bird is, I get it wrong, so nowadays I just make up names for them. Hence, the shot of that Crenulated Bean Stealer is offered. This was captured at an open sewer called Maspeth Creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Not far away, at the Maspeth Avenue Plank Road, there were two Triple Lobed Blunderbusses. Really, you can’t understand why the Audubon people hate me so much? I mean… seriously… they fundamentally don’t like me. It’s probably because I seldom admit how important their selves are.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The second blunderbuss, which I had described to a friend as a “football standing on one leg,” is pictured above.
While I was shooting these images at Newtown Creek, there was some guy who was casting a fishing line out into the water. He was “catch and releasing” and at one point pulled a foot long striped bass from the water.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 