Breast cancer walk, NJ

Breast cancer walk

A few weeks ago, I photographed the Making Strides against Breast Cancer Walk in Newark, NJ. The event, sponsored by The American Cancer Society, was really inspiring. I watched, and photographed thousands of women who gathered at Newark’s Military Park, who came together to march , in support of finding a cure to breast cancer; reconnect with old friends; support one another ,and to commemorate and celebrate the lives of the thousands of women who have succumb to this dreaded disease. More important, it was not a women’s only event. There were fathers, brothers, uncles, sons, grandfathers, and friends, they were young, they were old; it was a true family affair. There were also people of all races, colors, cultures, and religions marching together to find a cure for a disease that has killed so many.

With all of the unrest over the past few weeks; we are reminded, we are all human beings, we are all mortal, and breast cancer is an equal opportunity killer that does not discriminate, but threatens all. This is truly an instance when, the ancient Indian adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, is apropos. We should not be fighting one another; we should be fighting against cancer.

New Yorkers; Hanging on the Telephone

 

 

Back in 2011, mall employee, Cathy Marrero flipped, face first, into the mall’s fountain while texting on her smartphone, becoming a media and Internet laughingstock in the process; then, between attempting to sue the mall’s security company, falling prey to journalistic scrutiny, and eventually dropping the lawsuit, she warned against the dangers of being oblivious to your surroundings while texting. Since then, sales of smartphones, the preverbal Swiss army knife of portable technology, have skyrocketed; soaring from 27.5 million units in 2011 to an estimated 41 million in 2014, and smartphone service subscriptions have ballooned to over 320 million.

 It seems we, New Yorkers, are fascinated by and addicted to our smartphones. Our smartphone is the first thing we engage with in the morning; in fact, it’s probably the phone that wakes us. Want to know what time it is; let me check my phone; want to know the weather; let me check my phone; want to remember someone’s birthday; let me check my phone; want to find that hot new art gallery that has SoHo all Abuzz; at the risk of becoming redundant, let me check my phone. Through our smartphones, we tweet; we text; we shop;we connect; we follow; we inform; we do everything except actually speak to one another.

Probably the most interesting facet of smartphone usage is the phone itself is not the most important, or used feature of the product. In fact, an article recently appeared in the Huffington post citing a study conducted by European telecom giant O2, that indicated making and receiving phone calls does not even account for ten percent of total smartphone usage. According to the study, smartphones are used most often for browsing the Internet, checking social media updates and listening to music. Personally, I fall into this category; for me, there is nothing worst than being on the train and having a couple of persons  polluting the air with the inane babble they think passes as conversation; especially when there are multiple persons who cannot sit together; but must sit several seats apart and then shout to one another. In these stressful moments, I simply insert my earphones, initiate iHeartRadio, turn up the volume a bit and tune out the noise, or at least, trade up from an annoying form of noise to a more palatable form of noise. If I have not said it before, I love New York, and New Yorkers they are just so energetic, so accessible so, photogenic which leads me to this week’s blog; New Yorkers, hanging on the telephone; aptly  named after the Blondie song from the group’s hit album Parallel  Lines, a personal favorite.

 We New Yorkers love and embrace our toys; however, before we get all caught up in our technological snobbery, we are not number one when it comes to smartphone usage; that distinction goes to Dallas Texas…go figure.



I’ll have a fish sandwich, some fries, and…oh wait, someone just tweeted me.

                  

 

It's all in the eyes

 

 

Hold on, I just have to update my status.

Oh God, I Can’t even talk on my smartphone, without some guy trying to count my teeth.

I’ll check my email; then I’ll look where I’m going.



No, you can’t borrow my phone; it’s my lifeline.



That girl is going to kill me if I’m late.

 

 

Anytime, anyplace is good for checking Instagram.

The battle of the dueling smartphones

Even the freezing cold cannot keep us from using them; it was so cold on this day, the mirror in my beloved Nikon locked; but many braved the cold to run outside and talk, text or tweet on their smartphones.

Whoever said you actually have to look where your walking?



Hey, I’m going to be on Tim’s blog.



I’ll order it through my smartphone, now and pick it up at the store on the way back, a perfect plan.



Some use their smartphone to actually speak to other people… that’s just so passé.



I may have mentioned this before; but, I LOVE New York.

 

Winter Wonderland

This month, people of various beliefs and cultures all over the world will be celebrating the holiday season. Over the next few weeks we will celebrate Ramadan; Saint Nicholas Day; Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe; St. Lucia Day; Hanukkah; Christmas Day; Three Kings Day; Kwanzaa; and Omisoka, just to name a few. While most holidays associated with this time of year have a religious origin; and despite the dubious fact that these holidays have been severely compromised, and undermined, by hyper aggressive commercialization and greed; it remains; at its core, a time of family, friends, faith, companionship, relationships, reflection, togetherness, and love. Being the card carrying “Capra corn” disciple I am, I simply love this time of year. It’s when family gets together to talk, reminisce, joke, eat, debate, (occasionally argue), and enjoy each other’s company; It’s when old friends meet up; revisit their youth, and laugh about old times; It’s when young lovers live only for the moment; and each other; It’s when children feel closest to their parents; it’s when the religious feel closest to their God. It’s when people feel most altruistic and charitable. This time of year, we want to feel loved, needed and appreciated; but most of all, we want to enjoy ourselves; we want to indulge in that other, dirty little three letter word – Fun!

Of all of the wonderful things you can do in this city; few are as much fun as ice skating. To be totally honest, I couldn’t skate across the street if my life depended on it; but, with my camera, I get to enjoy it by living vicariously through those who love it. I recently made these images at Bryant Park.



 



Holiday fun in the park




Learning to ice skate can be frightening, fun, and exhilarating, simultaneously: just like photography.





Teens skating, hand in hand



Hey, this is cool!





Hi Mom, I’m on Tim’s blog





Girls just want to have fun…but need to tweet




A multitude of parents took their kids out ice skating on this beautiful Saturday afternoon.




Watch out…I think this kid is training for the 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea




Hold my hand, daddy




Little Stars on ice




This is fun, daddy




Let’s go for a ride, kid




Saturday in the park, but I think it was late in December.





You were right, this is fun





A young girl leads her family through the maze of random skaters.