Street Photography


8
Jan 10

The bond we share

The Bond we Share.....

We all go through life making connections and building relationships. These relationships could be with other humans, animals, and even inanimate things. How many of us haven’t given a name to our car or talk about our electronic devices as if they were a person. This bond is especially strong between humans and animals. We humans depend on them for just about everything – food, clothing, even work.

The above photograph was captured in Downtown Indianapolis near Monument Circle. You will find many of these horse drawn carriages parked around the circle waiting for passengers. Sometimes you see a couple out on a romantic evening and at other times you see kids just enjoying the ride. The passengers change all the time, but the horse and the carriageman stay the same. They enjoy a special bond and you can see it in how they communicate and respond to each other. I took this photograph after walking around the circle a few times. I did not have any expectations as to what I wanted to photograph that day. But when I saw this scene playing out in front of me I knew I had something special.


30
Dec 09

Man and his dog in Central Park (NYC)

I love dogs, we have three of them (2 Jack Russell Terriers and a Dachshund). Our dogs always seem to know when we are happy, sad, or sick. They do not mind getting harassed by a hyperactive toddler or ignored when work and life gets in the way. They keep our feet warm while we type away on the computer or watching TV. The simple act of walking ones dog seems to melt ones worries away. To me it is a sacred ritual – one that strengthens the bond between a man/woman and his/her dog.


23
Dec 09

Hey IMA – I Wanna Blog

I heard on Twitter that the Indianapolis Museum of Art, one of my favorite places to hangout with my camera, announced a competition to select a blogger for the 2010 season. My first reaction was cool – I should try out for it. I had written a few blog posts based on my experiences at the IMA and I continue to draw inspiration every time I visit the museum. One experience in particular set off a chain of events that resulted in a photograph that I consider to be one of my favorites. The IMA had an exhibit last year titled: On the Road Again with Jack Kerouac and Robert Frank . The exhibit had on display 83 photographs taken by Robert Frank which were accompanied by a 120 feet long original typescript of Jack Kerouac’s novel “On The Road”. Jack Kerouac is said to have written this novel under the influence of drugs and caffeine over a period of 20 days.

My curiosity aroused I went over to the nearest Public Library and borrowed “The Americans”, a collection of photos by Robert Frank some of which were on display at the IMA as part of the exhibit. I spent several days pouring over the photographs, studying them, and hoping to learn to see the world as Robert Frank did through his camera. Several months later I saw an opportunity to do what Robert Frank did but on a very small scale. The Indiana State Fair just started and I thought that this would be a perfect place to photograph people from different parts of the state and socioeconomic backgrounds. You can read more about that project on my blog post: The Americans (PK Edition) [Images from The Indiana State Fair 2009]. The composite from that project is below:

Indiana State Fair 2009 Tractor Shuttle or Midwest on Wheels

Click on the Photo to View The hi-res Version

You see if I did not go to the IMA that day I would have never heard about Robert Frank or Jack Kerouac. I would have never had the inspiration to do a project like this. It is for this very reason I keep going back to the IMA.

So IMA staff – if you are reading this blog post please please please consider me to be your next blogger.


22
Dec 09

Woman in alleyway

I am not sure when exactly I took this photograph. I do remember this scene though. I stumbled upon it while walking around downtown Indianapolis one evening. I did a little bit of post-processing to bring out the details and also to draw attention to the woman in the background as she was entering the dark alleyway. The road leads the viewer right to the woman who seems to be going somewhere as she was pulling a bag.


25
Nov 09

[Series 9 of 10]: Indianapolis at Night (Unknown, Headless Men)

Indianapolis at Night 9 of 10 (Headless Men, Unknown, Indianapolis, IN, United States)

Another window display that caught my eye. Unfortunately don’t remember the name of the store or location. It is somewhere between 16th and 38th streets.


24
Nov 09

[Series 8 of 10]: Indianapolis at Night (2305 N Meridian St, Dreams of Indy)

Indianapolis at Night 8 of 10 (2305 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN, United States)

I used to drive by this store (Dreams of Indy) almost everyday. It looked particularly interesting at night with the lit display window and the white wedding gowns. Unfortunately, it is no longer in business and shut down recently. One more casualty to the recession.
Revisiting some images I made earlier this year. Here is the exact location of the photo on Google Maps


16
Nov 09

[Series 4 of 10]: Indianapolis at Night (602 N Capitol Ave, Deering Cleaners)

Indianapolis at Night (602 N Capitol Ave, Indianapolis, IN, United States)

This is an image of Deering Cleaners Window (after hours) in Downtown Indianapolis. Here is the location where I captured this image on Google Maps.


14
Nov 09

[Series 3 of 10]: Indianapolis at Night (822 N Illinois St, Downtown Olly’s)

Indianapolis at Night (822 N Illinois St, Indianapolis, IN, United States)

This bicycle was parked along the wall of Downtown Olly’s and was lit by some lights to the left and overhead making an interesting scene. You can find this spot here on Google Maps


8
Oct 09

Legitimate anger or misguided nationalism?

Looks like the economy is finally takings its toll. I saw one sign of it yesterday at a local gas station on 62nd Street (Broad Ripple Ave.). Someone pasted stickers on the pumps with what seemed to be some kind of a nationalistic statement. It looked like the gas station operator/owner made an unsuccessful attempt to remove them.
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The same person may have also written in permanent marker “Stop All Jap Crap” which to me seemed like a call for boycotting Japanese car brands.
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I personally think that this person is taking his anger out on the wrong people. Japanese Companies make most of their cars in the US or Canada pumping millions of dollars into the local economy. Just ask the folks in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio where Honda and Toyota manufacture bulk of their cars.
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We are all suffering from this poor economy in our own unique way, some are just more fortunate than the others.


20
Aug 09

IndyFringe opens with a bang and a raucous party!

20090820-20090820-59The 2009 edition of the IndyFringe Festival opened with a raucous party under a giant big tent. The honorable mayor of Indianapolis, Greg Ballard, opened the festival with the help of Indy’s coolest weatherman,radio personality bar none, 50% of the ‘Off the Cuff” web comedy show , the one and only, Paul Poteet. Several of us will be seeing plays at various venues around town and will be blogging about them on Smaller Indiana. In the meantime here are some photos yours truly took over the course of the evening.