Angels on my Streets!

A gloriously sunny last day of May over the city where ambulance sirens joined the street trumpet players to remind us that big cities have their old stories.  No one seemed to have stayed at home, nor had their dogs.

“I should see some interesting people” I thought, “time to take my camera for an outing.”

And I did. After a short walk, got to Fells Point, where one is expected to see the easy life. Trattorias and osterias were full, so were the Irish and Mexican restaurants.  The café trottoirs had master and dog sitting under umbrellas watching youth go by. 

But I was not the only one hanging a camera from the neck. But some seemed already tired of the walk.

   

I wanted to capture body language today. The sunny day had brought out youthfulness in all walking the streets no matter their age. My challenge was the usual one: how to capture color on B&W film… So, I needed action, attitude, and just moments out of the ordinary.

And I looked for these.

The attitude and action came first. This young woman had the posture a self confident woman has. She walked with grace, with deliberate cadence, and held her cigarette just so. What I needed was to click to capture all these three characteristics which would define attitude for me.  Here is how I saw her:

Ok, next to attitude, I wanted the out of ordinary.  A rope- acrobat was setting her stage for a show. Meticulously she folded large scarf-like materials which she would use to dandle from a rope, 20 feet above the crowd. She knew I was going to take a picture or two and kindly smiled.  Her attention to detail, and careful checking of the set-up was a stark contrast to the nonchalance of everyone else surrounding her: they were just being lazy on a magnificent Saturday.

But I needed more. All these people around and no one had yet done anything extraordinary.  I wanted my 40 year old lens to capture something it had not captured yet.

The sun was strong and the skies blue.  For a second I thought my brain had overheated when there, in front of me I saw two angels! Yes, two young women, with immaculate angel wings walked by and mixed into the crowd. I hesitated for a second, and then took a few pictures.

You decide.

On the way back, I remembered a few lines from the famous poem by Pablo Neruda:

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

May 31, 2014

© Vahé Kazandjian, 2014

Post Script: I did follow the angels for a short while, and alas, they were of our planet and earth. Two young women advertising a new line of cookies… Maybe I should have not followed them.

Memorial Day in Canton, Maryland

A national and solemn holiday. Got on my bicycle, threw my camera on my back, and decided to enjoy the 90F degrees of the first unofficial day of the summer.

Around the bend, the majestic Pride of Baltimore was shipping out of the port. I could see a large number of people on board and assumed it was a Memorial Day tour of the historic sites around the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  I waited till I could get cranes as a background to show that Baltimore is still a working port city.

A few miles away, stopped at the Korean War memorial in Canton. It is a memorial right on the ocean and I often stop there for respite during a bike ride. This time it was full of veterans, marching band, Irish pipe players, and a lot of memories. The ceremony was extremely well organized and the veterans of the Korean Wars still dry-eyed and most of them straight back when saluting the names of their brothers in arms who died in the Korean War.

Here is the picture I brought back with me. He led the show of colors, and was impeccably synchronized with the steps. When he decided to put his ceremonial sword back into the scabbard, it was a very symbolic act of peace.

At least it was for me.

May 26, 2014

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2014

Rathyatra Chariot Parade: A Hindu Celebration of Jagannatha

I had never been to the Hindu celebration of Jagannatha, so decided to go to the 12^th annual gathering in Baltimore. The weather was beautiful with a breeze from the ocean.

As expected, there was color, dance, worship and free vegetarian food. Thousands of people, of all walks of life. They surrounded a majestic chariot covered in fresh carnation flowers where the icon of Jagannatha “Lord of the Universe”, carved in wood, was respectfully guarded and worshiped. I learned that the original icon of the deity resides at the temple city of Puri in Odishia. The temple of Jagannatha in Puri is regarded as one of the sacred Hindu pilgrimage places in India.

While in line for food, the Indian couple in front of me specified that Jagannatha is a form of the Hindu God Vishnu, and is non-sectarian. That is why all who attend the celebration are given the free food, and accepted as a fellow inhabitant of the earth paying respect to the Lord of the Universe.

So, amid all the color, singing, dancing, and the always enchanting smell of Curry from the large pots of rice and tofu, I decided to take a few pictures in Black & White.

I had to walk through the harbor and there, in a split second, an uber healthy and muscular man ran next to an older gentleman in a wheelchair. I clicked with a focus on infinity as the various stages of life seemed to be in one spot.

           

When I got to the celebration site, an immense chariot welcomed me. This picture shows the Harbor in the background through the tall masts of its sailboats. It also shows the non-sectarian and universality of the Lord of the Universe, as this non-Indian worshiper was among the ones who guarded the icon of the deity on the chariot.

There was chanting and drum beating. I decided to describe it by focusing on the young lady who was beating the drum. She was perfect for a portrait in B&W.

This boy, in his father’s lap, had the curiosity one hopes to see in those young eyes. He was mesmerized by the chariot and all the chanting. For me, I was looking at the next generation, the next worshiper, the next humility we need to have for the immensity of the universe.

As in every crowd, there is one person who stands out. This time, it was this lady, blonde, holding what seemed a century-old umbrella, and wearing a sari. She stood out in that large crowd, and I needed an angle to describe the moment. Well, you decide—I tried to put her in context yet show why she could not pass unnoticed.

On my way back, I walked  by the harbor. In a few short strides I was in a different world, where the present was what counted, and where no one chanted to the wooden icons of a deity. Most people were blond, wearing boring color shorts or T-shirts, and doing whatever they felt like doing.

The contrast between these two “worlds” was pronounced and I wanted to show that contrast. Well, it was not difficult—this couple was all in the moment and did not care what was happening around them.

Or the universe.

May 25, 2014

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2014

About the lens: I took the pictures of the celebration through a 1976 manual focus Nikon Nikkor 105mm lens at full aperture of f=2.5. It used to be the lens of choice for portraiture, and I decided to do “portraits” in a crowd of thousands, worshiping the Hindu deity Jagannatha, in a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, in Baltimore.

San Francisco Honesty

… Where I am, most people sit on their balcony and watch the sailboats go by. I like to do that too, although having a book next to me does keep me from wondering when the next sailboat will fill its sails toward the harbor of Baltimore.

So, this morning I picked up a book I had read before. It was about uncertainty and truth. To be honest, I was not sure why I decided to read it again.

… The wind was just right, and the page I opened had a most telling example about ambient misconceptions and uncertainty. It read:

“While most of us believe that the sea “smells of sea” because of iodine in the sea weeds, the actual odor molecule is dimethylsulfide, DMS. “

Hmm, somehow that is not as romantic as iodine which I thought I smelled from the ocean under my balcony.

Then, I found the following statement about a certain law of contradiction-- quite obvious yet sometimes ignored:

”The Law of Contradiction tells us that a proposition cannot be both true and false.”

… I put the book down, waited for another sailboat, and then wanted to think of a simple example in daily life to represent this law.

And I recalled a picture I took in San Francisco. Voila! This man, in his honesty, had made it clear, with no uncertainty, what his truth was!

I did not need to read that book again.

May 17, 2014

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2014

Riyadh, New York, and Architectural Musing

On a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, I was told that street photography was not a national pastime.  Further, in a country where the latest and grandest of all products are actively sought, my 1960s Minolta Autocord Twin Lens Reflex camera would be an even more singular oddity than my interest in street photography. So I was told.

I had hardly time to find out, though. Teaching at the King Saud University and King Khaled University hospital in Riyadh, I did not have the time for any photography. Except one Saturday when in the middle of a scorching hot day, decided to see Riyadh.

Needless to say, there were very few people in the streets, as it is after sunset that the weather is more clement for being out. But I had a couple of ideas for my trip.

First, I wanted to see the Kingdom Center. I had seen images, and its architecture seemed most unusual. But most pictures I had seen were taken with a telephoto and I wondered how one would capture the tower with a 50mm lens.

Second, I wanted to visit the less-affluent sections of the city to have a feel of the diversity.

And I was able to do both.

…. According to Wikipedia, “the Kingdom tower is a 302.3 m (992 ft) skyscraper.  It is the world's third tallest building with a hole after the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Tuntex Sky Tower in Taiwan. The building is situated on 100,000 square metres site with car parking for 3,000 vehicles.^”

Of course, the “hole” is the intriguing part. What does it represent? The pictures I had seen did not help me decide.  So, I went to the bottom of this majestic structure and looked up.

And it hit me! From my angle, it looked like a male Bedouin without a face!! Possible?  Here is what I saw, and my 50mm lens did as well:

I was not sure if it was the intent of the architect Richard Tenguerian, and Armenian born in Aleppo, Syria, to depict the silhouette of a Bedouin via this 992 ft tower. But it sure looked as such to me.

… Then I went to the less-affluent parts around the city. Again there were very few people in the streets but these three ladies, next to a stroller and under the street sign gave me the opportunity to characterize what I saw.

Amazingly, a week later, when I developed the medium format film in my darkroom and looked at the wet negatives under the red studio light, I immediately saw the shapes of the tower in the posture of the first lady next to the stroller. Do you?

… But there was something else brewing in my mind.  I am not an architectural forms photographer, but years ago I had taken a picture of the Twin Towers in New York, and I realized that the Kingdom Center was the only other picture of a tower I had ever taken.  The Twin Towers picture I took, with a 1969 Nikon F and Nikkor-Q 200mm lens, was at sunset and had large birds flying by it. I took it from the top of Empire State Building, Midtown Manhattan in 1999. Thinking back about it, the birds seem to have a chilling prediction of the towers’ fate!!

So, I went back to find that picture. The 35mm negative showed scratches but I did not correct or eliminate. Here it is:

This picture of the Twin Towers was published (hence has a registered copyright) on page 92 of my book “Alla Prima” (2002) published by the American Literary Press. The ISBN is 1-56167-724-8 at The United States Library of Congress.

… I could not resist thinking what would have happened if the Twin Towers had a “hole” in their design like the Kingdom Center…

May 13, 2014

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2014

The following Wikipedia link gives more details and a picture of the Kingdom Center

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Centre

Cairo, as I Remember

A few years back, I could not resist an invitation to go to Cairo. It had been a while since my last trip and the city, the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings were calling me back.

Well, like many other trips, I ended up taking pictures of the people and streets and left the great shots of ancient sites to postcards and other photographers. After all, the Pyramids do not change much from trip to trip…

I wanted to post a few pictures, all taken in 35mm, as I suspect they may or may not represent the Cairo of today. So, these photos are more “historical” than artistic.

Cairo by night

From my hotel balcony, in the Zamalek area.  On this trip I took a 1981 Olympus OM-1 loaded with ASA 100 film. Needless to say long exposures are practically impossible to make with such slow film, but I do like this one. The Nile, the city are all there and the slight vibration of the camera’s mirror gave”coma-like” blurs of the city and cars' lights that somehow fit nicely with the Arabic calligraphy!

The Nile as home

I was looking for that angle each photographer searches. After all a river is a river, no matter how majestic.  At sunset, I saw this river boat’s silhouette and it represented the Nile for me.

 I was not sure who was on that boat, so waited a while for a closer shot (I do not use zooms…!). I then found out it was a house-boat, and the woman was doing the dishes using the Nile as her sink….

The Streets of Cairo

I assume it is still the same today, but somehow the vintage cars, the horse and buggy remain in my mind as the paradox of Cairo: tall, modern buildings surrounded by 4000 years of history, customs and architecture.

Talking about customs, this shot is among my favorites. Sure, it is not artistic, I could have come closer, perhaps used the light better, but still, it is a street photo capturing that split second. Here, the woman is drying cloths on a line she tied from her building to the street. I had a second only to get her in the right posture and not shielded by the cloths. Then, I passed under the cloths and got a few drops of water on my face. Yes, I could have walked on the left of the street pole, but I thought the boardwalk should be shared...

The Old and the New

Well, at least then, a few years ago.

It would be great if I could go back soon and retake pictures from each spot. It would not surprise me if the shots came out quite similar. After all, 4000 years of history and customs still surround those tall buildings, downtown Cairo.

April 17, 2014

©Vahé Kazandjian, 2014

Leuven, Ferrara, Kennebunkport, Baltimore and Kruger National Park: What do they have in common?

The long winter is over. The desolate scenes of empty streets, white of snow, frozen in sub-zero temperatures were not for a street photographer who often, like a treasure hunter, went from street to street looking for people! And when I found them, they all looked the same, bundled up in heavy coats and walking fast looking at their own feet, the shoulders caved in.

It is spring again, and I put a few drops of oil on the springs of my old cameras, took a few medium format film rolls out of the freezer, and I am getting the “street fever” again! Oh, for those of you who have never seen a roll of film, imagine that film is like fresh food—it has an expiration date! So, I keep my films in the freezer and they can last more than 10 years in cryo-existance. Then, I take them out, let them get used to the world again for about 6 hours, and they are ready to capture whatever my eyes are willing to notice.

So, as an initiation to spring and film photography, I wanted to organise a few unpublished shots. The theme of this series is “daily life, nothing extravagant”.  Sure, I always look for a special event, an unusual behavior, a story that stands out. But it is as interesting, and probably more challenging, to capture the daily routine and still find an angle making the picture worth keeping and sharing.

But you decide.

…. It was early morning in Leuven, Flanders when I took my 1969 Nikon F for a walk before my meetings at the university. The café trottoirs were just opening for coffee and yes, chocolate! I wanted to capture the slow pace of a city waking up. The stacked-up chairs were just right to describe the early morning.

I have written about Ferrara, Italy already.  It is one of my favorite cities as it seems to have just the right tempo for my character. And the untouched medieval city around which the more modern Ferrara is built is a time capsule and a respite from all rush and eagerness to compete. 

Again, I was enjoying a morning espresso when I saw this man arrive on his bicycle across the street. I could see his dog in the basket and by the time I focused, he was taking the dog out. I wanted to capture the mannequin looking at them...

Then he went for a walk with his dog. A daily routine, I assumed.

This one is from outside Kennebunkport, Maine. I was in the car behind this trolley and I could see young people all dressed up going to a party. Then, the woman near the rear window took out a make-up mirror and touched up her lips. I had to take a picture, even if from behind the front windshield.  It was such a nonchalant and charming scene.

The surprise was when I looked at the picture—there was a motorcyclist, perfectly framed in the shot, who was also looking at her!

I am always amazed how people pretzel themselves while taking a photo to be at the right level regarding their subject. This picture is from Baltimore, as I saw this mom trying to take a picture of her daughter. As I looked down onto the waist-level finder of my Mamiya 645, she had decided to hide between the legs of this man to frame the perfect shot! I assumed it was her husband….

No matter what, I was pleased with the grainy print and the little girl’s seemingly effortless stroll.

Finally, I cannot think about daily routine without remembering this moment in Kruger National Park, South Africa. We had seen elephants, but all from a distance. They seemed to ignore humans and safari trucks. Then, less than 50 meters away, I heard the breaking of branches and I could see movement in the trees. I pointed my Mamiya 645 toward the trees and waited. The elephant came out, but it had it head down, ears floppy, and looked just like others we had seen.

Then, as if it was surprised to see someone still using a film camera, looked straight at me and gave me the lovely pose of an elephant we see in paintings. It lasted just two seconds, and I clicked once. This picture always reminds me of the “decisive moment” every street photographer hopes to master.

There you have it—daily life in the jungle of cities of concrete and steel, or in the paths of natural trails and virgin forests. All it takes is to not look for the exceptional but celebrate the glorious daily life!

April 16, 2014

© Vahé Kazandjian, 2014