Snow snaps. NYC gets hit again!

Over two feet of the white, fluffy stuff dumped her lovliness on the city, masking the grey, dank and heavy nyc winter coat. New Yorker's have grown weary of the snow, complaining "Ok, enough with the snow already". On my Facebook friends list alone, many of them chose to update their status with quips like, "I can't take any more SNOW". I'm mean REALLY...we live in New York City. it's winter time. It's supposed to SNOW!

The thing that I observe the most about a snow fall in the city, is the peace and tranquility it provides. Apart from frenetic New Yorker's trying to run home before they meet their fate under an avalanche snow, there really is a quietness and serenity across the city. Snow drifts and creates contrasts of dark and light, in an array of beauty, as inches and inches pile on, creating a winter wonderland to even the most stone-hearted New Yorkers.

Peace and tranquility sent me outside with my camera to become one within and one with nature. I experience magic in the snow and recognize it as God's grace to us--to chill us the fuck out, and force us to recognize her beauty.

Below are some snaps I took on the day of the 2nd NYC blizzard of 2010.

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZ8R4NYgVxBpQnHaNE7ccsiEh2Pp7lqjBtMH-D7TCVW9cpfPid2vvTlEoFKEFI6G13MFD20ZcmVP9ZH1c-7Tojxy-I8Xd34yQwSoLoLEn4y80JyjUBqN8QxcsHtDE0ipIbW79/s1600-h/1.jpg">

Black is Beautiful, Gay is Good!

View my online exhibition celebrating black gay history, culture and life at http://blackisbeautifulgayisgood.blogspot.com.



HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!

Green

Snow beauty, 2010 blizzard

The much anticipated snow has finally coated he city with the white fluffy stuff, making up for the false alarm blizzard promised by meteoroloigists last weekend. While DC got buried under more than two feet of snow, we didn't get nary a flurry. Today it was finally our turn.

Everyone at the job seemed to be on "end-of-the world" mode. I love that---to see those panicked faces of co-workers trying to figure out if the elevated train tracks will freeze, preventing them from escaping to suburbia or to some hood in Brooklyn on the J line. Or others scrambling to the market to get end-of-the world comfort food like milk, bread, chips, cake, pies, beer and an assortment of canned goods that will be in the back of the cupboard until we move, or the nuclear fallout touches ground in the way of white, fluffy snowflakes.

Below are some quick pics I took with my pocket point and shoot camera that I'm really beginning to enjoy. It beats carrying around a pro camera all the time! One of my favorite places to be when it snows is Central Park...the beauty is at times breathtaking. Check out the pics below for some shots taken in NYC's first blizzard of he year!

The world did not end. The city simply took a bow to beauty.

Retrospective: Early Self-portraits, 2001-03

I came across these photographs while pouring over my archives today. Going back to look over old images is always an interesting process for me. It's a journey of sorts, of seeing where I was and what I was feeling at the time the photo was taken. When I first started to teach myself photography, there were two genres that captured my soul; Documentary Photography and Self-portraiture.

Looking back, i recall having a need to turn the camera onto myself, not in a vain way, but mostly as a document or record of my feelings and state of being. In 2001-03, I had been immersed in the Saturn Return, undergoing a major spiritual transformation. I was searching for myself. I didn't know this at the time, but part of the whole reason why photography was introduced to me in 2001 was to serve as an instrument of healing. I get that now. As we all know, the road to healing is never a smooth one, but a journey well worth taking. I can say that now, because as i looked over these images, though taken eight years ago, it seems like a lifetime given my current perspective of peace, love and fearlessness.

Click any image to enlarge.