NYC Hidden Harbor Tour, September 2011

I’ve written before about my voyage on the wonderful Hidden Harbor Tours that operate on the New York harbor, so I won’t repeat myself here.

I just want to let you know that the last sunset Hidden Harbor tour is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 27, and if you are looking for one of those unique experiences that most visitors to New York City miss out on, then you should seriously consider joining this tour. Here are the details:

Sunset Hidden Harbor Brooklyn Waterfront Tour

Tuesday, 27 September

Departs from Pier 16 at 5:30 pm

Image: Brooklyn Bridge with work boat © Bernie Ente | Inset: Dan Wiley

Special Guest Speaker: Dan Wiley

Dan Wiley is a Community Coordinator for Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez in southwest Brooklyn, NY, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University in the urban design studio.

Working in the Congressional office since 2000, he has coordinated planning projects and initiatives spanning waterfront communities from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and downtown Brooklyn southwest to Red Hook, Gowanus and Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

He also served (1993-1999) as an Education Coordinator at Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment. He holds an MA degree in Urban Geography from Hunter College, CUNY (2007), a BFA degree from Cooper Union (1987) and was a fellow at the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program (1988). He serves on the board of Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). His work can be found in If You Lived Here: The City in Art, Theory, and Social Activism, Seattle: Bay Press, 1991.

For Information on all Hidden Harbor Tours, and to purchase tickets, Click Here...

Hidden Harbor Tours are organised and run by the Working Harbor Committee… 

The Reading List 4

Welcome to another roundup of the some of the more interesting discoveries I’ve made as I wander the digital highways and byways of the Internet. This week I am focussing (non pun intended) on photography.

The first two items are two of the most useful eBooks that have come to my attention in a long time. What is more, both eBooks are available as free downloads.

Going Candid

A book about street photography in the digital age. Forget what you know about street photography and read how Thomas Leuthard (85mm) explores the street with his camera. You will find a wealth of useful tips and tricks on how to approach people, getting closer to them and get the best out of you street experience.

As Thomas himself writes: [his] "...workflow starts without a camera and ends in the galleries of this World. It's not about the Decisive Moment or how you set up your camera. It's more about the approach of getting a successful street photographer who will build a successful community around the World.

It's all about sharing and socializing. You will be taken to a journey through the big cities of this World looking into the eyes of strangers. Candid is the key word and you will not be disappointed. Stay tuned for an exclusive book which will change your life as a street photographer."

Click here to download the PDF…

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As if giving away one eBook is not enough, Thomas Leuthard has topped this with a second eBook that at 99 pages is even bigger than Going Candid, and filled with just as much interesting and useful information.

Collecting Souls

Thomas writes: "While the first book was about the basics, this book is more advanced and contains a lot of personal thoughts and ideas.

I tried to explain what Street Photography means to me and how I see it. It contains more than 30 short chapters about the different areas and topics of street photography. It should help beginners to understand the process of making story telling photos and to improve your personal style as a street photographer.

Together with the first book it will be a good reference for anyone who wants to become a street photographer."

Now there's an understatement if ever I saw one! 

Click here to download the PDF…

Thomas Leuthard online

85mm.ch website…
Twitter: @85mm_ch

Thanks to the Seven by Five website for bringing these books to my attention. Seven by Five have provided a list of great photography eBooks (including the two above) that are well worth checking out. Some are free, and others can be bought for a small fee.

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10 Things Henri Cartier-Bresson Can Teach You About Street Photography

Eric Kim has put together a great photo essay outlining titled: 10 Things Henri Cartier-Bresson Can Teach You About Street Photography. You will find it online here...

Among Eric's suggestions: Focus on geometry, Be patient, Travel, Stick to one lens, Take photos of children (see image), Be unobtrusive, See the world like a painter, Don’t crop,  Don’t worry about processing, and Always strive for more.

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There is much to discover in the downloads available here and on the websites, so if you are interested at all in improving your photographic skill, I highly recommend all three sites.

Friday Fotos – Beng Mealea, Cambodia

A pair of Naga protecting the entrance to Beng Mealea

I spent almost the full month of February (2011) travelling around Cambodia, and it was one of the highlights of my extended eight month round the world trip. I had plenty of time to check out all the major temples and sites, including Beng Mealea, the subject of this post.

Beng Mealea (meaning "lotus pond" in Khmer), is a temple in the Angkor Wat style located 40 km east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Cambodia. Although the temple was built as a Hinduist temple to honour Vishnu, the supreme god in Hindu belief, there are also carvings depicting Buddhist motifs.

Primary built of sandstone, Beng Mealea is largely unrestored. Massive trees and thick brush thriving amidst its towers and courtyards and many of its stones lay in great heaps. For years it was difficult to reach, but a road recently built to the temple complex of Koh Ker passes Beng Mealea and more visitors are coming to the site, which is 77 km from Siem Reap.

An elaborately carved lintel from one of the collapsed buildings

While the history of the temple is pretty much unknown, it has been dated by its architectural style to the reign of king Suryavarman II who ruled during the early 12th century. Smaller in size than the king's main monument, Angkor Wat, Beng Mealea nonetheless ranks among the Khmer empire's larger temples.

Beng Mealea is oriented toward the east, but has entranceways from the other three cardinal directions. The basic layout is three enclosing galleries around a central sanctuary, which has long been collapsed. Structures known as libraries lie to the right and left of the avenue that leads in from the east.
There is extensive carving of scenes from Hindu mythology, including the Churning of the Sea of Milk and Vishnu being borne by the bird god Garuda. Causeways have long balustrades formed by bodies of the seven-headed Naga serpent.


Danger – Mines!

 Recognise the warning signs. Your life depends on it.

Tens of thousands of tons of unexploded bombs of all sizes, and an unknown number of mines (many thousands more), lie buried or scattered over the Cambodian countryside. During my stay in Cambodia I read several reports about villagers – children as well as adults – who had been injured or killed as a result of inadvertently stepping on or ploughing over mines lying in their fields.

Even in the vicinity of the major temples, mines lay buried just below the surface waiting to complete their deadly missions. The above sign at Beng Mealea has been placed there by the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), and serves as a warning that mines still exist near the temple. While the immediate area around Beng Mealea and other temples has been cleared of mines, visitors should resist the temptation to head off into the surrounding country to explore on their own.