Street Photography 101 - My Equipment

Some of you may know, first and foremost I AM a street photographer.  I don't do weddings, babies, portraits or even worse, fucking pets.  No! No! And Hell No!  I'm a street photographer, and my beat is capturing events as they happen on the street.  Protests especially are fascinating to shoot because they present many different characters and action that happens spontaneously.

Living in NYC offers some unique opportunities since there is always something going on.  In addition, the city itself is a character, often the biggest character, in many of my photos. NY is a photographers city, offering some of the most (and fairly easily accessible) spots to capture the city and its residents in so many ways.

I love New York City, it is my home, my canvas, and my model.

A Little Background

So who the hell am I?  A little of my photography background and training is in order.  I started off as a film photographer and literally worked my way through college shooting for the Public Affairs office (thanks to your tutelage Bruce O'Hara!).  I did more than my share of shooting graduations, donations, celebrations and every other dog and pony shows surrounding and in support of that school.  At one point I was spending over 40 hours a week shooting events, then off to the darkroom processing and printing photos to be sent to donors, published, included in press releases, etc.

Needless to say, I burned out and crashed - - hard!  It was many, many years before I picked up a camera again.  By then photography had transitioned from film to digital, and with the tech advances in photography in the new millennium, piqued my curiosity.

Digital offered new ways of doing old things, and for those of us who grew up and learned with film, this has reinvigorated and reawakened a love for capturing the world through a lens -- again!

My Gear

First off, I rarely, if ever, buy new equipment.  Being in NYC you have access to some of the highest quality used gear the industry has to offer.  Adorama, B&H Photo, and Unique Photo & Video over in Jersey offer some seriously high quality used gear.   And if you are patient you can find top quality cameras and lenses for well under $200.

If I do ever buy new its always lenses.  Good lenses are highly coveted by photographers and many digital cameras use older film lenses quite well.

Something to note is that Adorama and B&H Photo are NOT open on Saturdays and close early Fridays as per Jewish custom, so if you plan on shopping with them do it in the week or on Sunday!

For cameras I used a combination of three (all bought used):

 

Canon EOS Rebel XSi
(Even though this is a small DSLR, it's much bigger than the other two below)

Panasonic Lumix LX5
(a point & shoot and the smallest camera of the bunch, my everyday camera)

Olympus PEN E-PL2
(this guy is also small, not much bigger than the Lumix above)

The Micro 4/3 Standard

For street photography, I can't say enough about the relatively new Micro 4/3 standard.  Why?  The size and weight! Lugging heavy, expensive equipment around on the subway and bus is no joke, and in NYC having lightweight gear allows you to be out on the street for long periods, with less wear and tear on you!  It also lets you hide your gear in times of "stress".

I have been to more than a few protests and rallies where anxious police will literally smash your gear if violence breaks out.  You can literally throw this puppy in a bag almost instantly and get the hell out of dodge.

So What About the Bag?
Yep, your bag is almost as important as your gear since it will protect your gear when not in use AND if you have room can be your mobile office.  Strategically purchasing your bag should not be done in haste.  I use a combination of bags depending on the weather, shooting conditions and gear choice.

I use this bag from Wal-Mart as my go-to daily bag.  For $13 bucks it's a steal.  It holds my camera, gear and a 15 inch Chromebook, mouse and assorted accessories.  You need to add a bit of foam padding to the bottom to protect your gear but it can pack a day's worth easily, including a laptop/tablet and accessories.  I use an APE case foam insert to protect my camera gear from bumping around and the elements since this backpack is rain resistant, but not rain or snow proof.

I also use this bag

This is the big boy, the Lowepro Flipside 300.  When I want to lug ALL the gear out for a serious day of shooting with various lenses, filters, tripod, etc.

My Work

Here are some street shots to give you an idea of what I capture through my lens:

Chess players @ Union Square Park, NYC

Praise dancers outside the Mariner's Temple Baptist Church in Chinatown

The 59th Street Bridge from Roosevelt Island

60th Street and Second Ave taken from the Roosevelt Island Tram Landing

 

Real History Doesn't Have End Credits

Real History vs. Hollywood History

One of the more vexing aspects of American culture is the insensitivity to, and lack of knowledge of history (even within our community sadly).  We tend to believe movies and TV more than reading or reviewing actual history. 

You'll hear this in casual conversation among ourselves at functions, over dinner, and as general information being passed from person to person within the Black community, especially on social media (YouTube infuencers, I'm looking at you here!).  Often those inaccuracies are used to support, supplement or bolster positions and/or arguments or are sometimes the arguments themselves. 

Listen long enough and you'll see that typically what most people know about history comes directly from grade or high school textbooks or even worse from a generous helping of TV or movies.  Lately you'll also find many folks getting their knowledge from "Youtube University".  The problem with this is the fictional gets freely mixed with the actual in a weird gumbo that at best distorts truth, at worst is completely false.

In other words it creates VERY inaccurate portrayals of history, especially OUR history.

When it comes to slavery, many of those inaccurate versions of our history have far more to do with this guy:

Who was the "happy slave", sorry, happy "free negro" character from this movie:

than from anything real you can read in the slave narratives stored at the Library of Congress.

That movie, Disney's "Song of the South" has been "withheld" from distribution in the US for many years, and for good reason.  The setting of the movie is just after the civil war, the characters portray slaves though technically they are freemen.  From an African-American point of view, this movie represents the (literally) white-washed view of slavery and reconstruction as a simple place with good natured white folks that lived in harmony with newly freed Blacks.  History though tells us this wasn't the case with reconstruction being one of the most violent periods of history for people of color.

The issue (or specifically MY issue) with this particular movie is the general attitude and characterization of these former slaves.  They appear as happy, but obviously poor individuals satisfied with their world and going about their daily lives singing, dancing and telling fun stories for the benefit of their former 'slave masters' and their children.  Damn if this isn't the good life!  None of the horrors and brutality of slavery (and the post civil war reconstruction period) are depicted, referenced or even mentioned ANYWHERE in the movie.

For reasons I can't explain there's a LOT of *ahem* folks that really like this movie and want to see it released!  They are passionate to the point of creating online petitions and campaigns for its release.
I remember as a child seeing this movie at New York's grand Radio City Music Hall and wanting to scream "THIS IS BULLSHIT" at the screen.

Even as a child I could see this was about as real a world as my Marvel comics, but in a surreal "this shit can't be happening" kind of way.  To me, this movie has as much cultural significance as "The Holocaust, the Musical", and as much cultural sensitivity.

Don't believe me? Look at this clip and judge for yourself:

See anything wrong?  The biggest problem with films like this (and others like "The Green Berets", "Patton", "Gone With the Wind", "The Ten Commandments", "Cleopatra" and many others) is they become history, totally sweeping away real history in the collective memory of people. Then, when people try to properly put actual, real events in context, it is through the lens of these movies rather than supported by any real truth.

Real history isn't neat, doesn't have a catchy soundtrack and almost always doesn't fit a narrative.  It's messy because human beings are messy.  It's grey rather than black & white.  The good guys aren't always so good and the bad guys not always evil.  Study history long enough and this becomes clear.

Movies, TV and other media are by nature of their design meant to entertain.  If they can also educate and inform at the same time it's an added bonus.  On the other hand history can definitely teach, inform and yes, even sometimes entertain.  But first you have to acknowledge that it won't fit into neat little boxes, or make everyone or every culture a hero or villain.

Best Spots for Getting Work Done in Jamaica Queens

Note: I changed the title of this article to allow for easier Googling....
Last Updated: April 2018

Being a Jamaica, Queens-based writer (and native son) for a long time I had to make the 30 minutes or so subway ride into the city for proper places to both get good coffee and write.  For many years Southeast Jamaica has been a good coffee desert, opting for cheap coffee and buttered roll served in bodegas and delis over anything resembling a quality latte, espresso or cappuccino.  No place for a proper writer to sit, connect with wifi and bust out his laptop.  That is until recently....

With gentrification has come the associated changes to the neighborhood landscape like the addition of small restaurants and eateries, chain pharmacies and stores and of course, that staple of the melanin-challenged invasion, Starbucks.

So while I'm NOT a fan of the bad shit that comes along with gentrification, like rising property taxes and rents, I AM a big fan of the ability to have places to write that are local (as in a short walk or bus ride away).  Sometimes you just have to take the sweet with the sour....

I will keep this page updated with new spots as I find them (and they open or close) to help my fellow Jamaica, Queens writers, cause why should we have to go to the city to work if we don't have to?

A Note About Starbucks

Given the Starbucks controversy, I will say this.  I have NEVER had a problem at any Starbucks I have ever been to and will not let the actions of a racist individual apply to a whole company.

Starbucks - (89th Ave and Sutphin Blvd)
Hours:M-F 6:00am to 9:00pm, Sat 6:30am to 9:00pm, Sun 7:00am to 9:00pm
(Note: this store changes operating hours depending on the season, google for the most current hours)

Located directly across the street from the Queens Civil Courthouse, this Starbucks was my go-to local spot for writing.  Warm, cozy, big windows, decent street parking nights and weekends (if you drive), close to a number of buses and located a couple of blocks from the E and F trains (located directly between the Sutphin Blvd station on the F and Sutphin/Archer station on the E subway lines).  It's also walking distance to the LIRR Jamaica Station.

As a bonus, if you are hungry, the next block has simply one of the best Asian dumpling houses in Southeast Queens.  I'm talking about the Beijing Dumpling House, home of the tastiest shrimp and pork dumplings I have EVER had, period.  For under $10 bucks you can get a heaping plate of noodles or fried rice, dumplings and a drink, highly recommended!

January 2019 Update:  Starbucks recently changed the hours for this store.  They now close at 9:00pm every day.  Since Starbucks Corporate plays with the hours of this store so much check their website for the current store hours.

Dunkin' Donuts - 144-01 Liberty Ave (Between Pinegrove and Inwood Streets)
Hours: Mon - Sun/24 Hours

Located right next door to a Family Dollar and now a brand new Comfort Inn hotel, this is a 24-hour Dunkin' Donuts that is also a Baskin-Robbins and Internet Cafe.  It is bigger than the typical Dunkin' Donuts (probably the biggest in the area) offering comfortable seating, tables, TV, and wi-fi and has become a social staple of the neighborhood.

Mornings and early evenings tend to bring the most customers and local construction workers loading up on caffeine on their way to work.  Other than that you can usually get in and out fairly quickly.   The staff can vary though (especially late nights) with some struggling with English on complex orders, but if you are a straight coffee and donuts/bagel person you won't have any problems

Starbucks - 132-40 Metropolitan Avenue (at the intersection of Metropolitan & Jamaica Ave)
Hours: M-F 5:30am to  9:00pm, Sat 6:00am to 9:30pm, Sun 6:00am to 9:30pm

Located at the intersection of Metropolitan & Jamaica Avenues, just one block west of the Van Wyck Expressway this Starbucks caters to and draws many (if not most) of its customers from nearby Jamaica Hospital and the various medical centers that support the hospital.  Because of this, the interior seems to reflect more of a social bent (small tables and chairs) rather than catering to workers or writers (no large tables to spread out books, notes or reference material).   For instance, I am writing this synopsis on an 11 inch Chromebook, and it covers over half the table!

Being right outside a popular exit of the Jamaica-Van Wyck subway station also means a LOT of in and out foot traffic which can be distracting if you are focusing on banging out some words.  On the plus side, it closes at 9:30pm on Saturday and Sunday which is later than the other local Starbucks, which gives you a half hour more to get'er done.

"How Did I Beat You?"

Let's revisit the movie "The Matrix" for a few.

I am particularly fond of that movie because it gives many examples from many different schools of thought (and yes, even religions) without the weight of the dogmas associated with those faiths or ways of thinking.

One of the more interesting questions asked in the film (and trust me, this film asks a LOT of interesting questions) is during the fight sequence between Morpheus and Neo.  Morpheus asks "How did I beat you?".  This question is so important that I used it as a title for this piece.

If you don't remember the scene here it is again, take a moment to view it...

He asks the question at 2:39 into the video if you want to skip right to it.

What follows is a small monologue that not only lays the foundation for the Matrix films (or at least THIS one), but is actually a metaphor for the world we as melanated people live in.

Morpheus: How did I beat you?
Neo: You… you’re too fast.
Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that’s air you’re breathing now? 

 Let's pause at this moment and break down what's going on.  Morpheus, as the master, is attempting to break down the mental walls of his student, Neo.  Neo has constructed (and fully believes in) a reality for his world, complete with rules and laws.  Morpheus is attempting to break that reality down and quite literally "free" Neo's mind.

So let's apply this simple lesson to our world.  In the fight for personal and collective cultural empowerment many of us (us meaning melanated people of color) are like Neo.  We have been born into a world that has rules and laws that we follow because no one told us anything different.  The reality is that those rules and laws can be bent or broken, every day, and success often means breaking, bending or better yet ALTERING them.

 The French writer, Honoré de Balzac once said (translated from the native French):

"The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been found out, because it was properly executed."

What does this mean?  How does it apply to Morpheus?  What the heck am I talking about?  Well, in the modern, post-millenial times while you rarely have access to the underlying code of a system, what you do have access to is your ability to recognize and subsequently obey (or not) the RULES of that system.

To put this into plain English, I'm saying that the system (and note, this applies to ANY system) is set up to anticipate and expect that most everyone will follow the rules, that's how systems work.  Also, keep in mind that really good systems are also set up to account for some rule breakers (the most common rule breakers).  Systems however are NOT designed to account for the unexpected, and this is how opportunity happens.  This is exactly what Morpheus was trying to get Neo to wrap his mind around, push past what you know (or think you know), be unexpected.

So lets sum this all up, here's the big takeaway:

1.  Don't just break the rules, do the unexpected
2. Be ready to exploit opportunities once the flaw in the system is exposed
3. Don't always believe the rules, always question why they are in place
4. Take the time to understand the rules, this is where opportunity reveals itself

Keep Fighting...



.

Morpheus: How did I beat you?
Neo: You… you’re too fast.
Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that’s air you’re breathing now? - See more at: http://www.matrixfans.net/movies/the-matrix/quotes/#sthash.sV52OyGX.dpuf

Morpheus: How did I beat you?
Neo: You… you’re too fast.
Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that’s air you’re breathing now? - See more at: http://www.matrixfans.net/movies/the-matrix/quotes/#sthash.sV52OyGX.dpuf

Morpheus: How did I beat you?
Neo: You… you’re too fast.
Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that’s air you’re breathing now? - See more at: http://www.matrixfans.net/movies/the-matrix/quotes/#sthash.sV52OyGX.dpuf

Writers Lament (Or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Art of Digital Wordsmithing)

Writing is hard, really hard.  Coming up with words to put to the page is possibly one of the greatest (and most rewarding) challenges of my life.  Some days the words just aren't there, other days I can't stop the flow let alone get them out fast enough.  Once it's done though, WOW, words can truly be things of beauty, art on the printed page or computer screen.

Nothing comes close to the sheer elegance and grace of an artfully constructed paragraph painting a picture in your mind of an event, person, feeling or thing.  At it's best you're an artist, directing and manipulating imagination and thought through the printed word.

So for my writers out there, I have made a list of some of the excellent free tools on the internet.  This will be an ongoing list, updated as I find new treasures.  For now, though GET TO WRITING!

Tools of the Trade

A Lorem-Ipsum Generator -  http://generator.lorem-ipsum.info/#loremIpsum 
So why in the heck would you need this?   I'll explain, often I need to do mock-ups for clients so they can visualize the "look and feel" of a document BEFORE it's written.  To do that though you need mock text to fill out the page, well this tool provides just that!  You've seen this type of mock text in documents before, technology now though has made generating it rather simple.

Foter.com -  http://foter.com/
As a blogger one of your biggest hurdles is going to be finding images and pictures to accent your writing (like the one at the top of this page).  Sure you can Google images and grab someone else's work, but if you're going to do this properly then what you want are Creative Commons images.  If you have the budget there are stock photo companies that take the hard work out of finding the right image, but if you're like me and doing this on a shoestring then that is out of the question. 

Freenetlaw.com - http://www.freenetlaw.com/
As a tech/non-fiction writer I find I need boilerplate legal disclaimers on many of my documents, especially documents that have the potential to be distributed outside of their intended audience, and documents that clearly need to be labeled as proprietary and confidential.  This website helps with many different types of boilerplate legalese that you can use and edit to your specific need.

1001 Free Fonts - http://www.1001freefonts.com/
Just what the name implies, an amazing resource for thousands of free fonts, many unique and unusual.  If you design flyers, posters or other graphics you will LOVE this site as it has a ton of funky fonts to suit any purpose.

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Joe On Business: Lesson 1 - Prepare To Get Dirty

One of the criticisms thrown at me via social media often revolves around who I am and what I do.  I created the persona "Joe Neckbone" for that reason, to share a bit of who I am and what I do, and also so I can be brutally honest about often "controversial" subjects.  

Sometimes if and/or when you are successful in business you don't have the latitude to "tell it like it is", especially if you have some melanin in your skin.  As Joe Neckbone though I don't have those constraints, I can be as real as I want.

So here are a few life lessons about business I've learned along the way.  This will be an occasional series broken into "lessons" so keep an eye out for them.

Joe On Business - Lesson 1, Prepare To Get Dirty

• ALL business is dirty. All of it, doesn't matter if you're selling porn or girl scout cookies. To believe anything different is the ultimate in stupidity.  Think those Girl Scouts are nice and cute?  Try getting into the cookie business, they are as threatening as a visit from a mafia enforcer!  What do I mean by dirty?  Business sometimes forces you to make alliances and compromises with either people or other businesses you normally wouldn't associate with.

•  You get in business to make money (that is if you're not a 501(c3)). Profit is the goal of business. If you can't stomach that STAY AN EMPLOYEE.  What you do with those profits though is up to you, but understand you ARE in business for profit.

•  You play the business game to win, not lose or draw, that's why you're in business  Understand that even if you aren't in it to win, your competitors ARE.

•  The negative or positive impact of your business is often about spin and propaganda. Social media is a spin machine (the ultimate one). Businesses pay people and companies very well to manipulate and steer what you think about them on social media. This is why PR firms are booming right now.

•  Speaking of social media, think all those likes on Facebook are real people?  Think all those Twitter followers are real people? Think again, you can buy those.

•  Business is dirty, but business capital is what drives and builds communities.  Think someone built that house you're in out of charity? Unless you're living in a Habitat house someone built it for PROFIT.

•  Like it or not this is the game in America. You play to win to eventually support your cause or concern.  But understand the road to that point is a dirty, dangerous and tricky one.  Only the swift and strong survive it.

• Broke folks DO NOT build or change a community, capitalists do. 

So You Want A Revolution on Shea Butter & Incense Economics?

Hang out on social media long enough and no doubt you'll encounter some of the more radical elements of our culture.  Historically, there has ALWAYS been a radical element in Black culture from the moment the slaves were freed, and it has grown and shrunk as the times have changed.    Social media it seems has given it a new life as a new generation is coming to terms with their view and expression of Blackness.  

Is this embracing of new militant Blackness wrong?  No, I don't think so.  In fact I enjoy the right and ability of young (or old) people of color being able to choose the way they express their Blackness and structure a life based on it.  BUT, and this is a very big but, I think that ANY belief system, ideology or perspective you adopt has to be grounded in truth AND reality (sorry my church-folk brothers and sisters it seems like you missed the mark on this one).

One of the more pressing questions NOT being asked of this new militant generation is "Who's going to fund your revolution?"  Who's going to buy your bullets and guns?  Who will feed, cloth and house your soldiers?  Or their families?  And for how long?  This is summed up in a great quote I once read that I don't know who originally wrote or said:

"Amateurs study tactics.  Smart amateurs study strategy.  Professionals study logistics."

The reality of living in America is that ANY change needs logistics in the form of capital, resources, manpower and commitment, and often very large amounts of all of it.  Unless you are bringing your own dollars to the cause that capital has to come from somewhere, or someone else and you'll be beholden to whomever that (or those) person(s) or organization(s) is to include THEIR agenda in YOUR revolution.  

Maybe your goals will align, maybe not, but if these entities/organizations/people are funding your movement you better believe they WILL ensure their goals/aims/objectives are met, usually first.

Many people will point out the underground economy (i.e. "street hustling") as a way to fund a revolution.  This is what I call "shea butter & incense economics" since these brothers and sisters are hustling on an individual, not group level.  

Even if they band together as a group their economic power won't be enough in aggregate to support the logistics of a revolution.  No slight to the hustlers, but they won't have the time or resources to really build the wealth needed for revolution, let alone social change. No, if you need capital then you will need CAPITALISTS.  And this is where things get interesting.  

Courting capitalists means your revolution HAS to include their agenda.  So while you're "calling out" folks as coons and sellouts maybe take a moment to step back and think for a minute.  Wouldn't it be better to have a few of those folks on your side funding that revolution rather than funding against it?  

Trust and believe, call someone a coon and sellout long enough and they WILL work for the other side at worst, or be a persistent and well funded roadblock at best.  Only fools make enemies before they are strong enough to defeat them.