International Women’s Day – Alli
Alli. Hover over the image for info. (copyright Edward Brydon)
Holiday Displays in Rear Curtain
Bergdorf Goodman 55, from my series “Holiday Displays of New York” on the cover of Rear Curtain issue 3.
Yes, that is my photograph above gracing the cover of a magazine! I am extremely excited to announce that my series “Holiday Displays of New York” has been published in the latest issue of the visual storytelling magazine and website Rear Curtain. This short series was completed last year during the Holiday season, and while the displays may have changed the intention and sentiment behind my photographs have not. Of course it is also entirely appropriate they should be published at this time of year. Working with the Rear Curtain team on this was as simple a process as there could be. I could not have asked for better; indeed I am very pleased to be associated with this magazine.
A glimpse inside Rear Curtain issue 3
Rear Curtain is a genuine photographic story-tellers magazine, filled with work that is of a very high caliber. In fact the quality is increasing with every issue as more and more people realize that they can submit their photographic series and stories to them. If you are looking for such a venue I urge you to go for it. Their mission is one I whole-heartedly support:
life people stories
At its heart, Rear Curtain is about storytelling. Images hold the potential to share some of the most powerful stories that connect us no matter where in the world we live. Finding stories that link people to one another and that reflect how we are all the same can make the world a better place. Through sharing our lives and those of the people around us–our family, friends, neighbors, and our community–we can move others to new points of view by showing what we all have in common regardless of race, culture, religion or geography. These stories can improve understanding and influence behavior, all with the hope of–in some way–changing the future.
Our mission is to be a place for emerging visual storytellers to share the stories that are important to them and also to be a resource of learning tools for those who wish to advance their storytelling skills.
I’d like to thank the whole team over there, Ray Ketcham, Matthew Connors, Sabrina Henry, and Stuart Sipahigil, for supporting my photography. I’d also like to thank my family, friends, and you, the people who visit this blog for also supporting my photography through comments, and timely confident boosts or critiques.
Editor’s note for Rear Curtain issue 3. Pick up a copy of this issue of Rear Curtain here, and maybe even the back issues too. You won’t be disappointed.
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights
Red Hook
Half Moon over Red Hook Grain Terminal
Yes, I’m aware I’ve been a little blog-negligent of late. I’m trying to be more judicious about what I post, when, and why. The content shouldn’t suffer from forcing to a photo or article out. I have to say though that I’ve also been trying to get as much time with my son, who’s almost one (!!) as I can. It’s harder than it was before what with my commute. That makes my weekend priority to spend precious time with my family. I appreciate your patience and hope it’s been worth the wait. This was made with the Yashica 635 and 120 Tri-X400 film on a photowalk with a neighbor and some now mutual friends. While I have been craving getting out of the city to the countryside lately, an unsatiated craving, it was just the tonic I needed on that particular day to get out for a walk with little pressure. Thanks for the invite Dan, Alex and Christina.
Storm over Brooklyn
Storm over Brooklyn
Hummingbird moth, (Hemaris thysbe) feeding, dorsal view. 1/3. Click image for larger view.
I recently started working at a location that is much less urban than I have previously been used to. More on my new job soon, I promise, but just to let you know it’s an exciting blend of what I did previously, and what I like doing in my spare time. Anyway, I’ve got to say it’s quite refreshing to see grass, plants, trees, and water while walking around the work campus and it’s possibly just the fresh air I needed. That said, I’m not used to stumbling upon new creepy-crawlies and such-like that are natural to this habitat. Not to say I’m shocked, it’s more of a surprised, “Oh. Oh! Cool!” That’s the recent reaction I had to what I had originally, at first glance, assumed to be a bumblebee languorously flying between flowers the other day. As I looked closer though it seemed too big to be a bee. The wings were bigger but still beating as fast, and the body was bigger. As I watched it dip a long protuberance into a flower I thought “Wait, is it a hummingbird…a baby hummingbird?” But still something wasn’t quite right: it had a proboscis, not a beak. Looking even closer, I realized it had antennae. “It’s not a butterfly, is it a moth?” I wondered out loud. Someone else close by who had seen me looking on with interest and heard my last comment asked, “Is there such a thing as a hummingbird moth?” It did not take long for a tandem mobile phone internet search to come up with an answer. Yes, indeed there is such a thing. Little Mr Hemaris thysbe, otherwise known as the Common clearwing, Sphinx moth, or Hummingbird moth.
Hummingbird moth, (Hemaris thysbe) feeding, lateral (right) view. 2/3. Click image for larger view.
These images are 1:1 crops of a [near] central portion of each image and thus represent 1/9th of the overall image–I don’t have that great a close-focusing range 50mm lens for this stuff. However, considering I had my camera on me, even with my manual focus, non-macro, 50mm lens, I thought I did quite well to get the images you see here. I guess that’s one way to confirm that “chance favors the prepared mind.” Never mind the technical details, it was just one of those little things that was so cool to come across and reminds you of the variety of nature. In fact they have a counterpart in Europe, an example of convergent-evolution–that is, the evolution of a similarly adapted species in separated environments. Cool!
Hummingbird moth, (Hemaris thysbe) in flight. 3/3. Click image for larger view.
Lower New York Bay
Lone canoeist, Lower New York Bay
