The Unconventional Guide to Photo Challenge

"Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second." ~ Marc Riboud

Good morning; afternoon; and evening friends and fans! I realize I am late with this but Gong Hay Fat Choy to my Asian fans, readers, and community. In the past year or two years, I've been looking for a fun, exciting photography challenge to participate in and haven't had the funds to make such purchase for 35mm film. I know I had promised a second blog within the month of January but had an unexpected death of my stepfather but I am nonchalant about it because life goes on and I had to also take care of myself health wise. (Sadly there's false accusations about my mother for being "selfish", all because she had gone to an optometrist in Manhasset, I digress). If you think about it or take it into serious consideration, if my mother's cataracts go much worse leaving her blind; if she doesn't take care of it now then how will she take care of her family? Best advice is to get your head out of your arse as a favor to yourself and to society. Well, any who, I've been wanting to do a photography challenge and have been using up the film currently in my possession before I purchase any additional film from either Adorama; B&H or K&M Camera. I've searched for several YouTube videos on photo challenges involving 35mm film but no luck as of yet and will continue searching for YouTube videos involving 35mm film photography challenges. I realize people use digital photography nowadays and I should get with the program of adopting the digital photography concept. I'll eventually adopt digital photography but will continue to look around for Nikon cameras when I'm ready and have my debt paid off.

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." ~ Ansel Adams

What inspired me to do a photo challenge, I've been looking into different websites to help me improve my photography skills through [35mm] film and I've found about three different photography challenges for 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 on The Photo Argus website. For a moment, I had to put all that on the back burner until over a month ago when I came across this YouTuber, Pierre T. Lambert while searching for a photography challenge while using 35mm film [36 exposure] but found Pierre T. Lambert to be very entertaining to watch and inspiring but informative in his own way. Watching his videos on YouTube makes me want to start doing YouTube videos but I'm camera shy and not fully comfortable being in front of the camera. All in all, my editing skills is at a zero at this point but willing to learn at my own pace so I can be up there with fellow photographers. My inspiration for a photography challenge is up there and it's not going to change, despite what all you haters may have to say because I know I have the eye and talent to become a successful photographer! I know I have potential as a photographer and have had three people telling me that I'd "never make it very far as a photographer" but I honestly don't know why I even listened to those individuals who are haters that try to discourage my potential as a photographer. What a waste of energy spent on listening to such low energy individuals. I'm going to continue to be inspired by what I see in my everyday life regardless of what people have to say about my pure greatness of what I have to offer in life and want to make my dream a reality. I'm going to be inspired by fellow photographers so I can continue to inspire myself and improve my photography skills. At the end of the day, I hope to post many pictures on my Flickr account once when I've found someone to assist me in editing my pictures before I post any pictures from the spring semester of 2013 at LaGuardia Community College until present day with 35mm film. To say the least, I hope to remain inspired in my everyday life and photography is everywhere; billboards, advertisements (fashion, food, etc when you look through magazines, menus, etc); social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, DeviantArt, no matter where you go here in New York City, you'll always find inspiration! That's what I love about living here in New York City, there's different opportunities to explore.

"Everything always looked better in black and white. Everything always looked as if it were the first time; there's always more people in a black and white photograph. It just makes it seem that there were more people at a gig, more people at a football match, than with colour photography. Everything looks more exciting." ~ Jack Lowden

I hope to continue to share more content with you in the upcoming months and hope to receive feedback from the general public in regards of what you hope to read or inquire more information about. I currently shoot with a 35mm film camera, a Minolta X-370 but still does the job and I use a combination of black and white and colour film. I enjoy using film because I feel like I can learn more from using film than digital photography and my goal is to continue to improve my photography skills. Also drop off thirty rolls of film that I currently have and I also have ten unused films, several of them are expired. I have seventeen rolls of film a friend of mine had given me several years ago and they're expired, I'm aware of the film being expired. I have several other rolls of film that are either expired or on the verge of being expired and I intend on dropping off the thirty rolls of film off at B&H when time permits. For the time being, I'll be thinking of new writing material for upcoming photography blogs.

Warm blessings,

Jennifer

New York City: Five Borough Tour

"Photography, painting or poetry - those are just extensions of me, how I perceive things; they are my way of communicating." ~ Viggo Mortensen

It's been a year since I've started this project but originally a class project (or an assignment was a class assignment, whichever) and I haven't gotten around to finishing my project. I still have a combination of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens to finish. Staten Island isn't exactly a place of where I can think of places to photograph besides the Staten Island Ferry and the St. George Terminal in Staten Island. The name of the project is "New York City: Five Borough Tour" and keep in mind that I haven't come up with a subtitle for my book yet but, however, my book will be featured on Blurb (which is a self publishing site). I'll be sure to post the direct link to my Blurb page all to see and order several copies of my book! After this project, I hope to self-publish several other books similar to what I'm currently working on. My second book I plan on publishing will the same idea as New York City: Five Borough Tour but this time, it'll be in color! And my third book will feature at least five different popular CosPlay events in New York City but ending with Comic Con at the Jacob Javits Center in October. Those are my three book projects for the time being but keep i n mind that there may be a possibility that there will be future books beyond the three that I plan on doing. For my Anime/CosPlay book, it'll feature different events such as the Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, New York, and anywhere in the New York City area but not limited to Sakura Matsuri and Comic Con but I'll for now focus on my New York City Five Borough Tour book. If there are (photography friendly) places that no one knows about or rather that the general public may be fully aware of and please feel free to contact me either through Blogspot, Facebook and/or Twitter. I'm searching for a place that's not as "attractive" but as long you have one of those rare people that tends to find "beauty" in highly but unlikely place and places that are unique in its own way when people tend to "view" the area as a dump. Once when I have the chance to purchase just enough FujiColor 35mm film from a combination of Adorama; B&H; and as well as K&M Camera but I'll make my rounds photographing what inspires me.

Places of interest (that I have in mind, of course) in four out of five boroughs are: The Knitting Factory, Dumbo, and Coney Island in Brooklyn; Harlem, the Financial District, the East Village area, Greenwich Village, Lower East Side, from Herald Square to Times Square, expanding to Bryant Park, Grand Central Terminal, the Belvedere Castle, most of Central Park, The National Underground, The Mercury Lounge and anywhere that have bands performing in the New York City subway system in Manhattan. Yet, I'm not familiar with the Bronx but I'll say the Bronx Zoo, Yankee Stadium, and random areas that appear busy, a neighborhood that is full of life so to speak. Finally, Queens. Jamaica along Sutphin Boulevard near the Long Island Rail Road station and along Jamaica Avenue, Flushing Meadows Park, Flushing, whenever Benjamin N. Cardozo High School have plays or some sort of school related event going on, Jackson Heights, Ridgewood (a shout out to friends in Ridgewood) and again, anywhere that is vibrant and alive. I'm not worried about Staten Island because there's not much to do in Staten Island or unless if you have friends who live in the Staten Island area that knows Staten Island (I mean very) well beyond the Staten Island Ferry, Staten Island Mall or even the beaches in Staten Island. No offense to those who live in Staten Island, to me, Staten Island is the boondocks of New York City set aside from Long Island and the residents of Staten Island must be bored to tears because Staten Island is pretty much dead since there's no form of entertainment other than the beaches, the Staten Island Mall and the movie theaters. For those who are Staten Island residents, please let me know what places that I can go to that you'd consider a photographer friendly area but limited to just the Staten Island Ferry, the beaches or the Staten Island Mall and areas that are filled with hustle and bustle. I may have to consider a specific "theme" for Staten Island and the other four boroughs of New York City but mostly Staten Island and the Bronx. For example, the Bronx area, I'm considering visiting different Barber Shops, the Bronx Zoo and places that are filled with life and different personalities of the Bronx. I'm not familiar with the Staten Island area so I'd have to Google search different areas of different places that are photographer friendly and I am also open to suggestions as well! In terms of Manhattan and Brooklyn, I'm considering music venues as mentioned before that are in the works. I have several friends who are in bands and I'm waiting for either Biting Saints or Vividly Dim to promote their sound, their music. Yet, I have no idea when they're going to go around from lounge to lounge and in the mean time, I plan to purchase more film so I'm prepared. Mentally and emotionally I'm ready but I want to go prepared with several rolls of film. I'm not going to spend too much time in places like The Trash Bar or The Knitting Factory but I plan to explore Brooklyn and in places no one has ever thought of!

My personal goal for my New York City: Five Borough Tour book is to pursue a thought provoking and inspiring book in a way that you'd never thought possible and explore the possibilities. If anyone knows who is an inspiring model or a talented musician and are looking for a photographer, feel free to contact me so we can coordinate a location, date, and time for your photo shoot (please refer to my Price Package). As a fair warning, many of the pictures will be in Black & White and you may choose a location in the Bronx, Queens and/or Brooklyn. So, if anyone have any interesting places in the Bronx that I can go to [that are photography friendly] with my camera and as long as there's plenty of people in the area to photograph in their candid, unexpecting moment. Any ideas on where to go in the Bronx? So far I've Googled search place to go that are photography friendly areas such as Governors Island, and Cronton Aqueduct. I know there's an area listed on the website for Central Railroad of New Jersey but it's not on my agenda of interest to go to. I am always on the search for new and exciting inspiration to go by for my book! At the end of the day, my photography is what keeps me motivated and alive! In the end, I am very much looking forward in sharing my photography [work] with the entire world! Yet, I just wish I have the same enthusiasm for photography and imply that to outside of photography!

Warm blessings,

Jennifer