Four

Today was my first trip back to The Bronx in about a month. The new term starts this week, and I'm teaching a television production class and a combined Photoshop / After Effects class.

The Bronx, Looking Toward Manhattan

That light-grey speck in the distance? The Chrysler Building. Or have they changed the name, now that it's been sold?

A Tree Grows In Not Exactly Brooklyn

I snapped this while walking in The Bronx because it's unusual to see a tree branch growing out of a building, but also because it reminded me of:

Nature Photography, More or Less.

De Chirico In The Bronx

This term I'm teaching one class in The Bronx instead of two. Which means instead of a trip north, a class, a break, a class, and a trip down to 86th Street, my day is train / class / train.

I like that significantly less, and it messes up my schedule, wipes out what remains of my energy and makes it hard to get everything done. Still, it's not a bad commute -- just long enough I can read a bit on the train.

Above: an iPhone snap from today.

On University Avenue

Above: an iPhone snap from today in The Bronx.

The Umbrellas of The Bronx

Mrs. New York Portraits needed a new umbrella. The small, ultracheap ones you buy in a Duane Reade don't last, so she pointed me to a good one -- with white puffy clouds on blue skies underneath. I bought it for her, and it arrived, and it was great.

I mentioned, though, that it seemed like it might catch the wind. Like most things, we debated that for a while.

This morning, walking in the Bronx, I was very surprised to see the identical model, clearly blown far away from its owner. It sat just inside the fence of a park where the famous black squirrels roam. I'm hoping they figure out how to use it.

iPhone as Action Cam

So around 125th Street, they jumped on the train: a video camera operator with a backpack holding huge batteries, a still photographer, a woman, and a mysterious man in the background. They quickly grabbed some footage of her on the train, as seen above, then rode along until we came out of the tunnel near Yankee Stadium. They shot a little out the window, then jumped off just as quickly.

Or, Learn To Hurdle

So here's how I read this: first, there was flooding, then the track sank, then they built a fence around it, then they realized they couldn't trim the weeds near the fence with the riding lawnmower.

So the important thing is to draw lane 8 at the track meet, because otherwise it's tough going.

Luckily, They Matched The Color Scheme

One of the things that has kept me busy this year, of course, has been teaching editing at Bronx Community College. It's been great, and I'll be there again in the fall.

Above is an image I made while waiting for a train in The Bronx: four pristine crullers, sitting alongside the subway track, arranged like musical notes. I looked around, but there was no sign of the backstory. They were just there.

Variety

They say snow is on the way. That's fine. I'm okay with that. It will be Leap Day, so the weather can do whatever it likes.

In The Bronx

It was a beautiful and clear and cold day.

Burnside Avenue

It was a beautiful day in The Bronx today. It was cool and clear, and not snowing or raining.

Back to the Bronx

I've returned to teach another class at Bronx Community College, and I'm really enjoying it. The first half of the course is Adobe Photoshop, so that's great fun. Later, we move on to Adobe After Effects, which should also be a good time.

Above: a detail at Burnside Station photographed this morning.

Burnside Avenue Station

My experience of The Bronx is a strange one: I arrive on the 4 train, walk a few blocks on West Burnside, and teach my class at Bronx Community College.

I'm vaguely aware of facts about the area: it's the poorest urban county, the U.S. census says the population is 51% Latino (primarly Puerto Rican and Dominican), and there is a strong connection to Africa. I hinted at that last fact in my post on Lucky Dube, and it has become a visual fascination for me: there are traces, but they blend in and become muted.

Wikipedia says:

"West Africa is the most frequent region of origin for immigrants to the Bronx. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service data shows that in 1996, about two-thirds of those Ghanaians arriving in the United States, and nearly three-fourths of those naturalized, live in The Bronx. Many have clustered in Bronx communities, including Morris Heights, Highbridge, and Tremont."

Morris Heights is the area just below Bronx Community College.

Above: Burnside Avenue Station on Monday morning, looking toward Manhattan.

Near Burnside Avenue

Shock at SA reggae star shooting

"Correspondents say the killing of the 43-year-old singer has shocked South Africans who are already accustomed to one of the highest murder rates in the world. Music producer TK of TS records and a friend of Dube's told the BBC the killing was tragically ironic."

There have been stories lately noting that New York's murder rate has dropped to a new low. If there's one place where a murder in South Africa will enter the New York mind, however, it's The Bronx.

Above: photographed just off Burnside on Monday.