February in NYC
Being in Manhattan has felt claustrophobic, and for a month now the only escape is a short-term sublet in Harlem where all my things are at arms reach, but are boxed up, since I’m moving again in ~15 days. Our next apartment, however, is in Brooklyn, which I find much more comfortable. I appreciate that the buildings are shorter, and that you don’t necessarily need to leave your neighborhood to do what you want to do. Where I’m at now, I’m always leaving - partially because, when NYC is at your fingertips, its easy to feel like you’re missing out on something if you’re not chasing after it.
It’s not all bad, though, there’s a lot to love. I grab a slice of pizza a few times a week. I walk roughly 6 miles a day. I listen to a lot of good music (this has been on repeat). I’m reading more often. I’m looking at more photobooks (bless you, Dashwood, Strand, & Printed Matter, but boy-oh-boy I need to learn self-control). Spring is knocking at the door. As the seasons change, you can feel the energy of the city. People seem generally open to meeting new people.
I haven’t been taking many pictures because the rain / snow were pretty persistent throughout February. I think this will also change after the move. For the first time in a few years, I’ll be building out another at-home darkroom which has a lot of pros and cons. I’ll appreciate the intimacy, and the opportunity to get to know one enlarger really well, rather than having to fight for the good ones in a community darkroom. The downside, though, is that Harvey Milk darkroom was really one of the biggest things that made San Francisco so special for me. It replaced the bar / cafe as a community space, and I really looked forward to hanging out with the staff & regulars there a few times a week.
I found it interesting to be in an environment where we talked about prints objectively. “This is a good print because… this is a bad print because.” It was uncommon to talk about the content / composition of a photograph. Just spent time giving each other advice on how to make our prints better. It was an incredible place to meet people, and it will be a bummer not having that in a new city. I looked into it, and the cost isn’t work it. The cost of the cheapest community darkroom I found was $15 and hour. After two months of paying that price, I would have spent more than I would have building my own in my home.
