Thomas Locke Hobbs
| Currently: Buenos Aires |
Cherry Blossoms in DC
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| With thanks to my friend Matt, I went to DC this weekend, near the peak of the Cherry Blossoms. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Woolworth Building, Park Row, St. Paul's Chapel [the stump is from a tree that was destroyed on 9/11], PATH station WTC. |
Construction/Deconstruction
 |
| Above: 7 World Trade Center is rapidly progressing. |
 |
| Meanwhile, the old Banker's Trust Building across ground zero looks like it's under construction but it's actually awaiting demolition, which is a good thing because it's an ugly black box. If only they could tear down One Liberty Plaza and bring back the Singer Building |
Temporary Walkways - World Trade Center
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| There was an article in the Times a few weeks back about the aesthetics of the temporary walkways and pedestrian bridges around the World Trade Center. The article isn't on the web anymore, but I felt inspired to go downtown and take some pictures on my own. Bluejake has some photos of the PATH station at night. Seeing his photos makes me think that I should 1) take more pictures at night, 2) use a tripod, 3) post larger & higher quality photos to this weblog [and pay for it]. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| More random shit at the met. OK, Juan de Pareja is not shit. I need to get outside more. Maybe this weekend. |
Cezanne Fruit
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| One very nice thing about the met is that they let you take pictures of just about everything. |
Fayum Portraits at the Met
 |
 |
| Following the recent renovation, the Fayum Portraits are now back on view at the Met. These are some of the best preserved and only examples left of Roman painting [these are from Egypt around 150 AD]. The technique, encaustic [wax, basically], gives the works the appearance of oil paintings done 1300 years later. The Louvre and the British Museum also have sizable collections. Images on Google. Amazon: Mysterious Fayum Portraits. |
 |
 |
| You don't have to go to Queens for great graffiti, this truck is parked most days on 52nd St. and Park Ave. PicPatrol has some great photos of graffiti murals. Random links to contemporary art photographers: Candid Hofer, Anders Krisar, Richard Misrach, and Edward Burtynsky, who's got the best website and who therefore must be the best artist. |
A Day in Queens - Part 3
 |
 |
| The day ended by the park below the new residential towers in Long Island City, just off the first stop of the 7-train in Queens. The view of midtown is spectacular. A quick scan of NYCBloggers shows a William Bernthal who lives at this stop and has many great photos of Queens. Quarlo is two stops away and frequently fotoblogs Queens. |
A Day in Queens - Part 2
 |
| Riding in the first or last car along an elevated track makes the subway feel a bit like a rollercoaster. |
 |
 |
| Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. |
 |
 |
| 74th St. in Jackson Heights. Turning a corner I can go from Bogota to Bombay. Highly recomended: Jackson Diner, Tacolandia, La Uruguaya Bakery. |
A Day in Queens - Part 1
 |
 |
| Since my life during the week is much too boring to blog about, I'll draw out the weekend. First up in the day was the Phun Phactory in Queens. Across the street from PS1, it's one of the best places in all of New York to see Graffiti art. |
 |
| I like using graffiti as a back-drop for portraits to localize things, ground it in New York. |
 |
| A vision of the past. Browsing thru Martha Cooper and Henry Chalafant's Subway Art makes me very nostaligic for New York in the 70s [I was born in '76]. |
 |
 |
| Infill construction on the Bowery. This lower one is quite striking right around Spring St. I'm surprised that it's economical to put a steel structure on such a small, narrow building, rather than consolidate the site. |
 |
| People my age look at me strange when I say take the "IRT Lex". Much more on old Subway signage at Forgotten New York. |
 |
 |
| Time Warner Center. I have to say I really like this building. The atrium is beautiful. They've got clean, public bathrooms I can use after a long walk in Central Park...and NYC's first Jamba Juice [!!!]. Now if we could only get Trader Joe's and In-n-Out burger. |
|
|
 | For more about me, please go visit my old geocities page. |