Apparitional Trespassing

Lately, I've been watching a lot of horror movies and haunting shows. After watching these things, my hearing becomes hypersensitive and every creak in my home is suddenly a demonic force. Without fail I always freak myself out and imagine my childhood monster--Shakey Horns. Shakey Horns was a centaur demon who carried a large spear and hammer. His horse body was black and similar to a Clydesdale. His human torso had greyish-green skin that was always moist. His head was, by far, the most terrifying aspect. Shakey Horns had red milky translucent eyes with no pupils, no nose, and a mouth full of jagged, nashing teeth. All these horrific features, crowned by two enormous bull horns curved into crescents that pointed at each other. He stamped his massive hooves around on the balcony of my childhood home and peered through the window--angry he couldn't do anything about his trap.

Today my photo hunt was inspired by my fear and the excitement I get from trespassing. Upstairs in the brownstone I live in is an empty duplex. It still has bits and pieces of its Victorian roots. It also has gaughty remnants of the 1970s--i.e. the light shades and certain chairs. 

My musical choice for soundtrack and inspiration comes from Radiohead. Its a song from their fifth album Amnesiac, entitled Pyramid Song. Its a song that builds from a very whispy start and climaxes with a sudden hurricane of sound. The song emulates the idea of drowning, the vocals gasping for air and finally getting oxygen up on the climax with an inhalation of rich strings and percussion.

The bottom of a winding stair case. I enjoy the light-play here. Its just so creepy with the overcast light.

I'm not sure who lived here before. They left a few things, like this chair. I sit here and read sometimes in the summer.

You don't see many banisters with this kind of craftsmanship anymore. I love it. I love everything about Victorian pieces. It snakes around for 3 floors. 

Victorian home dna?

The 70s arrive! Without the the TLC of someone who cares for the home, its so barren an sparse it makes me think of place that be fit to harbor some of those things from the shows I've seen.

When its not raining or cars aren't going by, its silent up here. This is on the top floor. Some of the hardwood floors have layers of dust on them.

Again the light-play pleases me--especially where the rail disappears, yet you can still see a slight glimmer from the gloss paint.

Gaughty 70s. But it serves a purpose.

My fire place is similar. Although, mine has a shell instead of a knob.

I'm attracted to curves. This is very nice. The slight dilapidation gives such texture.

The light from this window created the first shot.

Broken Walls

I moved to Jersey City little more than a year ago now. When I first came here, I noticed quite a bit of graffiti, but it was different from small town North Carolina, or even Elizabeth, NJ which is mere miles away.

Just looking at this one photograph, the craftsmanship is evident. I wish I could read it. A friend of mine has told me she could read it when she was a teenager, but hasn't tried in such a long time that she has lost the gift.

This particular piece is from a wall that separates Hoboken and Jersey City. I took this just last summer. During this time I've seen a large temporary fence has erected around the area. The wall is also slowly being demolished. While I was there I took this shot through the fence, but I guess I could have stood on my truck.

While a little more on the crude side of the things in the surrounding area, I love this. This quirky man who is jutting out from "JAE" and all the interestingness going on around him is just pleasing to me.

There was a pile of bricks I could stand on this time. Both of the previous shots were taken through this fence.

 

I trespassed. Its fun being mischievous sometimes. A man popped up and yelled at me, telling me I couldn't take pictures. He laughed and said go ahead--but to be honest he scared the crap out of me. Like I said before I always have a soundtrack for the things I do. This time in life makes me think about a song I came across recently. Its called 7/4 Shoreline, by Broken Social Scene. From what I gather it is one of their more popular songs. Its fun sort of whispery sound, with a nice bass-line. Check out the video below.

Pineapple Memories.

I was lucky enough this year to be able to go to Hawaii. It was a beautiful place. When I think about it now, it just seems sort of like a glamourous daydream. I mean, really...hiking up calderas, swimming with Neptune's babies/drowning, and raft riding are not my usual daily activities.

Before I do anything major in life--such as an impromptu trip to Hawaii, I always have to have a soundtrack. It somehow makes things seem more colorful and alive. For this trip, the playlist was titled "Into the West"--see if you can guess the reference. Its 30 tracks long and invites a chilled modern sophistication that melds perfectly with a romantic cruise/resort life or tropical getaway. Here's a screen cap to show you the full list.

I've chosen Aruarian Dance by Nujabes to share as an example. You may recognize this song from being in my car or the show Samurai Champloo.

The shots I've chosen for this post are some that happened by chance, while others just make me wonder how things can exist in such a state. For this trip I brought along my digital SLR. Its a Sony Cybershot DSC-H3.

This is the Haleakala Crater. I love the richness of the colors here. The rust runs so smoothly with the other earth tones. There is even a tiny bit of green near the black hole in the middle of the picture. The curving earth sort of writhes its way up to the zeniths of the mountains. Do you see the skull in the right hand corner on the mountain? Its a creepy little detail.

 

Same crater. This picture reminds me of the Neverending Story. It just seems as if you kept walking, you'd eventually find nothingness-- although, the sea is actually back there.

This was a lucky shot through a tour bus window.

Of all my photographs, I believe this is my favorite of the moment. It was such a lucky day; the sky was the perfect combination of overcast and sun. There was also plenty of "vog" around.

I'm not sure what combination of sulfur, oxygen, and other elements it took to create this small, but vibrant stone. I did a little editing on this one, but no color enhancements have been made. 

I was riding a raft boat along the Na Pali Coastline and happened upon a blue whale during mating season. I only caught a tiny bit. A nose and a fleeting tail.

This image conjures thoughts of Ireland or Scotland in my mind. Sort of like the Shire...only mountainous and sea-fairing. 

All of the coast line was like this--lush, green, with jagged red stone jutting out. It was all complemented nicely with by the very blue waters. I enjoy the semi-triangle of sky in the upper left corner.

On the way back, the waters and wind picked up quite a bit. At some points the boat was airborne. This is the result of one of those times. The shore's juxtaposition makes me a little dizzy.

The sun is about to set on the Na Pali Coastline. I took this from the balcony of my ship. By the time we were passing through the waters, the winds had calmed.

Probably my third favorite. This the last night on the ship. Its a great shot the sums up the the beauty of what I had seen while cruising around the islands. I was reading My Lady Elizabeth, by Alison Weir and enjoying the breeze and ocean sound.

In Ko O'lina, these tide pools were like mirrors while uninterrupted by the huge smashing waves, just feet behind them. This is my second favorite.

On just turning my head to right, there is chaos aplenty.

My boy and his trail back to the ocean.

I love how the sun accentuates the raggedness of the rocks on the shore. The severeness of the blue is something I hadn't noticed until now, however.

Why start a blog?

The year has begun, and I feel its time for me to make a comeback into my passion. I went to college to become a photo-journalist. This is my first real stab into posting my work. I enjoy writing about travel, music, unique shopping finds, and my photography and other artists works.

The craptastic economy has forced me from two jobs recently, and while job hunting and substitute teaching, I'll keep my sanity by doing something I enjoy.

2000-fine is here!