Apart from this photoblog, I also do a moderate amount of photography for my business, shooting all of the various products we manufacture and sell. We were very pleased with the dramatic variety of effects we got recently with a shoot, so I thought I would share five of the photos (out of 35). I revealed the unique nature of my business in a previous post (click here and note the 4th comment). This is also how I have the privilege of knowing high-wire artist and juggler Philippe Petit, who has been featured twice (see other related postings below).

LEDs have become cheaper and brighter over the years, which has resulted in the proliferation of all types of illuminated items in a myriad of product categories, including toys, shoes, clothing, ornaments, etc. Juggling is no different, and the performance aspect is really driving the interest in illuminated products. Companies like mine are endeavoring to offer everything possible in an illuminated version. People just love illuminated props, and the simplest routines elicit oohs and aahs from an audience – jugglers get a lot of mileage from their skill set when using illuminated juggling equipment.

The photos are of me juggling three clubs in the dark with our color changing model. In this LED variant, the hue slowly cycles through the color spectrum. So, in a figurative and literal sense, this really is my signature…

Related Postings: Artiste Extraordinaire, Spinning, Fire and Drums, Spiegelworld, Titans

Three rough rides on the sea let me know that I was a landlubber. At one time, I had thought that sailing as a hobby would be something I might pursue. The romance of the sea, as conveyed via books, photos, films, smells, the beach, vistas of and from the ocean – everything about the sea – is compelling to me, except the experience of actually being on the water. I was going to qualify that by adding “especially when it’s rough,” but at this point, apprehension of seasickness and its extremely unpleasant queasiness gives me cause to approach every nautical trip with trepidation. Of course, the world abounds with suggestions for prevention and cure, but once you have motion sickness, suggestions of the well-intended around you just add insult to injury. I have been OK, however, on ferry and riverboat rides around the city. Distraction can be helpful, and the vistas around the island of Manhattan are spectacular enough to keep one’s mind off any pitch, roll, or yaw.

This photo was taken of lower Manhattan from a river boat. The highly reflective, rounded building just left of center in the photo is 17 State Street, about which I have previously posted. I love the quote from a story by Isaac Asimov. In it, there is an anecdote about a seasick passenger whom a steward assures, “Nobody ever dies from seasickness.” The passenger responds, “For Heaven’s sake, don’t say that. It’s only the hope of dying that’s keeping me alive.'”

A note about the word landlubber: I misunderstood the derivation of this word, thinking the word lubber to be a play on lover. Lubber dates back to the 1300s and means a clumsy person. Landlubber dates back to 1690 and refers to an unseasoned sailor or someone unfamiliar with the sea and is a sailor’s term of contempt for a landsman. I’m OK with the insult 🙂

I really thought I was witnessing something relatively new, probably developed in NYC. An urban-styled twist on a classic sport. But as it turns out, Bike Polo, Cycle Polo, or Bicycle Polo has been around since the late 1800s. It was invented in Ireland in 1891 by Richard J. Mecredy and was played as early as 1900 by the British army and the Indian Maharajas. It is a relatively formalized sport, played on a court (typically grass) with various rules and regulations governing play and equipment. This is the sober, suburban version (click here for the American Bicycle Polo Association). The game I ran across (shown in the photo) was in the Sara D. Roosevelt Park in the Lower East Side (click here for more photos).

What we are seeing here is Urban Bike Polo, a much rougher variation with fewer rules and equipment which has evolved for the urban environment, with traffic cones for goal posts, street hockey balls, plastic mallets, and most often track bikes (fixed gear). It’s bike messenger-style meets polo. And as I read further, I found, of course, that there is a world associated with this activity – websites, newspaper and magazine articles, equipment vendors, teams, clubs, championships, and hundreds of videos on YouTube, including one taken with a malletcam (video camera installed in a mallet) (update 1/19/12: Video is private). One NYC team is appropriately named the Ratkillers. Makes me feel like where have I been and why was I the last to know?

It may come as a surprise to see these watercraft in the waters on NYC, but along with canoeing and kayaking, the city is seeing more water-related activites in the rivers as they become cleaner. Jet Skis, Waverunners, Sea Doos, water scooters, personal watercraft, “thrill craft” – whatever the name, these vehicles are controversial. Many communities and locales have bans, and the watercraft industry lobbies to keep them legal. They have been banned in National Parks. The issues are obvious to anyone who has observed them in action – noise pollution, water pollution, and danger. These vehicles can travel at 70 miles per hour.

Canoers and Kayakers generally dislike any powered craft, not just because of the noise but also the wake they create, making capsizing a risk. Accidental deaths have occurred with personal watercraft, and in 2006, a teen killed another teen in Brooklyn and was charged with manslaughter – a first for an NYC boating accident (click here for article). The industry, however, has made efforts to design cleaner, quieter, and safer craft. Of course, I imagine that from the point of view of the jet skiers, being out on the East River on a beautiful summer afternoon, one might see things differently – the exhilaration, the vistas, the water…

Note: the photograph was taken at South Street Seaport, Pier 17, on the East River. The vista is looking Northeast towards the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan Bridge behind it.

This may not look like much, but this ramshackle affair is one of the world’s most well-known streetball courts, with some of the finest players in the country. Officially the West 4th Street Courts, it is commonly known as the Cage. It is sandwiched between the entrance to the West 4th Street subway station (one of the city’s largest), Avenue of the Americas a.k.a. 6th Ave. (one of the city’s busiest streets), West 3rd and 4th Streets, playgrounds, and handball courts. There is no seating for spectators – onlookers press up against the fence, dodging pedestrian traffic and jockeying for good viewing. The court is smaller than regulation size, so the the action is faster, with lots of tough, physical play (“banging”), sometimes resembling urban wrestling more than basketball. The entire court is surrounded by a 20-foot-high chain-link fence – hence the term cage (cage configurations are not unusual in many large cities). Many professional players have cut their teeth here; scouts are frequently on site prospecting for talent.

The West 4th Street League that plays there was founded in 1977 by Kenny Graham, a limousine driver. There is a summer tournament, drawing 100,000 visitors from around the world. Prior to 1935, the area was vacant land; from 1935 to 1953 it was a small city park with swings, slides, and a bocce court. In 1953, it was taken over by the parks department, and in the 1950s, it was paved and basketball hoops were added.

I am not a sports or basketball fan, but the fast games with constant action are quintessential NYC. And the banter between players is some of the best sarcasm and comedy I have heard. The Cage has been featured in films and TV commercials. A book was written: Inside the Cage: A Season at West 4th Street’s Legendary Tournament. Do you want a slice of real, classic NYC – gritty, harsh, fast, in-your-face? Visit the the Cage, watch a game, and listen…