Focusing And Refocusing: Views From An Evolving Life

Mississippi Delta Blues & Heritage Festival

Yesterday was the Delta Blues & Heritage Festival in Greenville, which as I recall is the oldest continuing blues festival in the country at 32 years and counting. It was an amazing thing to be immersed in ... the music is beyond compare, of course, and the history and heritage so stirring and vibrant.

The best part to me was the little, unadvertised back stage that drew at most a dozen or two fans at a time _ yet you could get right up close and personal with the musicians. Some of them had already played on the big stage; for others, the little stage was what they got. Either way, it was an unbeatable experience.

I suspect this will be the last update for awhile ... the workshop begins tonight and time outside of that likely will be scarce ...

First Night in the Mississippi Delta: Shack Up Inn

Here at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Miss., heart of the Delta and home of the Delta Blues, awaiting the start of a two-week workshop on how to make documentaries. It's sponsored by Barefoot Workshops and I have a feeling it will be beyond fantastic.

I came down a few days early to take advantage of being here and go to a blues festival in Greenville today. What better way to soak up the culture and heritage! The problem is that there are so many OTHER possibilities of things to explore as well, and already not nearly enough time to do them.

The Shack Up Inn itself is a marvelous place, every bit as cool as it looks on the website; actually, cooler. It even has wifi ... though not very fast wifi, so I suspect that once the workshop gets going, I won't be updating this as much as I had hoped.

Spent part of last night down on my knees, literally, with the gorillapod tripod in an effort to get a few night shots. I nearly brought my regular tripod, but then decided that was going to extremes, and now wish I had. I think the night possibilities around here are fabulous. But again, after last night or possibly tonight, probably not many opportunities do spend the time. Especially without a real tripod.

Rowers In The Harlem River

Pushing Through Pain: Passion and Peace on the Harlem River from Paula Froke on Vimeo.

Another project that I never got around to posting back when I did it in, I think, April. This was for a Visual Storytelling class at NYU. I came upon this group when I was trolling around on the Web in pursuit of my community gardens interest. That led me to the New York Restoration Project, which ultimately led me to the New York Rowing Association. (Links later.) The kids in this program are just incredible, in so many ways. For example: The three days I shot were very, very cold. I was wearing a down coat with wool tops underneath, a hat, gloves, and toe-warmers while out in the boat. I was beyond freezing. The kids were wearing ... basically nothing. Yeah, they were working up a sweat, such as it was, and I know from experience how warm that can keep you. On the other hand, they were SOAKING WET in the VERY COLD WATER. For me, the challenges: For one, I can't swim, and there I was out in a boat, dressed in heavy clothing. For another, I really hadn't ever shot actual people before, just things. For a third, I certainly had never shot action. And for a fourth, well, I don't know what I'm doing. But I think it turned out pretty well. I especially had fun with the zoom-twisty-artsy shots ... what I did for fun when I was bored on day three of shooting people in boats. I do really like the effect, and on purpose put those shots in the part where the girls were talking about the beauty and peace of being out on the river.

Harlem Pride Film Forum

The Community Pride program of the Harlem Children's Zone is sponsoring a four-night Harlem Pride Film Forum, featuring films by and-or about Harlemites. I missed the first night last week, but made it back from State College today in time for the second night.

Two of the filmmakers were there and were just fascinating: Randall Dottin, director of "Lifted", and Ivana Todorovic,  director of "A Harlem Mother." 

Dottin talked of wanting and planning to be an actor as he was growing up _ until reading a story about Spike Lee and August Wilson and realizing that it was possible to be a black director. His goal in his films is to combine art and activism, using the films to have a tangible social impact and, as a sidelight, working with kids to help them learn how to do the same thing.

Todorovic told an amazing story: Originally from Belgrade, she came to New York and one day ended up in Harlem without having a clue where she was until she asked around. Walking down the street and chatting with folks, she meet some people from the Democratic Club (? I may have this a bit wrong; wasn't listening for publication at the time) and somehow through them met a woman whose son had been shot to death on a Harlem street several years ago and who now works with other mothers in an effort to stop street violence.

Ivana knew she wanted to do a documentary on what was already a deeply compelling story. Then she found out that the son had made his own documentary, showing life on the streets in Harlem, when he was 18. So her film includes material not only from the mother, but from the now-deceased son in his own documentary work. Amazing and gripping stuff.

As for me, I was wishing not only that I could do that kind of thing myself, but simply that I could record those two directors talking about their own work -- because that in itself was so moving, and told in their own words in a way that I could never begin to touch in my printed words.

A Look Back At Coney Island

Since it's nearly the end of summer, a few shots from Coney Island that I more or less like. Really I like the ones in the Rainy Day Coney set much better and might revive them later. They, like these, like many others that I like, came during the blog hiatus.

The High Line At Night

 

A woman from the night photography class I took in the spring at ICP got a couple of us together last night for a trip to the the High Line -- remarkably, the first time I'd been since it opened a few months ago (when it's extended, it ultimately will end right outside our office).

It really is a great park and a wonderful addition to the city. And, a great place to do some night shooting. Since I'd barely touched the camera in the past few months, let alone at night, it was a bit of a challenge but I like some of what I got. I should learn, though, not to do the Photoshop editing while sitting in the near dark. I think I lightened all of them too much ... and don't have the time to go back and re-do. Live and learn.

I was in a lousy mood at the start of the night, but once again really came to life in the midst of it. I just love the colors and the drama of night shooting. And the surprises. And the fun things you can do, like ghosting. Which I did just sort of half-heartedly below, not really putting effort into it. But still a cool effect, I think.

Some others are here.

 

A Bite of the Golden Apple: Back On The Bike

There's a bit of a rainbow in this scene from the Westchester Cycling Club's Golden Apple ride, but you have to look really really close.

Yes, I actually did manage to get back on the bike today, for the first time in two months not counting the five miles to bring Surly home the other day. And I rode 77 miles -- 77 fairly hilly miles -- on a glorious day for riding. Probably won't even be walking tomorrow. But had fun today. Well, except for the HUGE nail in my rear tire just two miles into the ride.

Hard to tell how I did compared to when I was in shape. The tailwinds really were significant for the first half of the ride -- either that or all the activities related to the move actually got me in shape. I was dragging the last 25 miles, but then again it was perfectly tolerable. And if it had come down to it, I could have done 100. Wouldn't have especally enjoyed it ... but could have done it. So, that says something.

It was also SO nice being able to spend all of five minutes getting to the Harlem/125th MetroNorth station, and five minutes getting home. Adding a total of 10 minutes to the ride day. In Riverdale, it would have been an extra hour EACH way, total of two hours.

Moon Over Harlem

My apartment has three huge southern exposure windows in the front, two huge northern exposure windows in the back, and one huge eastern exposure window in the little office area where I can watch the sun rise -- and, as it turns out, sometimes get cool views of the moon and the water tower. Too noisy because I didn't have time to deal with a tripod or proper exposuring. But you get the idea.

Eggplants And Onions: Now What?

My strategy of displaying all of my not-used-for-nine-years-and-hardly-ever-used-before-that cookbooks on a bookcase in the kitchen, rather than out of sight in a cabinet, is working: Tonight I've been skimming through three of them. Because I want to make something exotic? No. Because I'm not entirely sure of what to do with the cabbage, eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes and onions that I got as an introduction to the CSA I'm about to join at the community garden down the street. (The peaches, I'm pretty sure I can handle.)

Is it sad that I don't know what to do with these things? ("Thngs": the technical term.)  Or is it encouraging that I'm quite happily edging toward reform? Is it a phase, or will it last? Time will tell.

Of course, once I start cycling again and running again and working more on photos and videos again (who knows, maybe dating again), this effort may wane. But by then maybe I'll have a better idea of what I'm doing and won't have to struggle with every step. At any rate it's worth a try for now, and I'm into it. The city girl turns country; the working girl turns domestic.

Also tonight I got "my" key to the community garden down the street, and that's a very very very wonderful thing.

Arches Unrelated to Harlem Community Gardens

These photos have nothing to do with each other, nor with tonight's topic. Nor are they even new ... just a few of the many leftovers from the period when I was playing only with the camera, not with the blog.

Cool developments in the past few days: Some of the community garden people like the photos from Saturday's tour and have asked me to do some more _ and to help with developing a blog or website for multiple Harlem community gardens. How nice that they asked, since actually I'd already come up with the desire to do something like that!

I think someone else will do a site for one of the gardens and I'll do another. I'd also like to come up with a central site in which material from some, many or all of the Harlem community gardens can reside. Photos, video, audio, text, links ... I'm very excited about this.

In other news, I finally retrieved Surly, the cyclocross/commuter bike, from work, where it's been for the past month and a half during the whole move process. Now all three bikes are in the apartment. It's clear that, even with a space more conducive to three bikes, three bikes are a lot of bikes for one little NYC apartment. And this is the first time I've dealt with bringing bikes up the stairs of a walkup. Cross-training!