NEW YORK CITY CRUSH

New York will crush you…  if you let it. I noticed a particularly super-smashed Coke can on the street a few years ago and picked it up to inspect it more closely. It was so flat it must have been run over a thousand times. It was so cool looking that I brought it to my studio, and photographed it. That was the first one. I wouldn’t consciously search for them, but the cans would just appear there on the street, and I would pick them up and put them in the smashed-can box. After a few years of this the smashed-can box has runneth over. So before I recycle them, I’ve attempted to capture the unique beauty in that first smashed can that caught my eye. Here they are, photographed back in their natural environment – the streets of New York. I think this series is about noticing beauty in small and simple things. I still look up in awe at the Manhattan skyscrapers, but I also can’t help but look down. I like the grit and grime. After 20 years, I still have a crush on New York City.

See more on my Website!

CONEY ISLAND MERMAID PARADE 2016

The sun shined all day, and there were Mermaids, King Neptunes, and so many other beauties celebrating at Coney Island for the annual Mermaid Festival last Saturday June 18th. Thanks to all of the  creative characters who allowed me to take their photograph. See my website for more!

 

 

 

 

SHOOTING A MIND-READER

How do you  shoot a mind reader? I mean visually portray a complex fictional character in an interesting way with one image?

You shoot him eating his favorite meal while trying to drown out all of the voices coming into his head and then invert the image to negative to add some drama and mystery (at least that’s how I did it).

Here is the cover image that I photographed for the short fiction piece “Double Wide Paradise”. It’s a really cool story that will make you think. It’s written by Morley McCurdy and available on Amazon here.

My thanks to Jeffrey “The Dude” Lang for channeling the main character Lance Parkin for the photo. Like a great method actor, he just knew what to do (it was like he was reading my mind).

 

 

 

ASHES TO ASHES… 2016

“Ashes to Ashes”  is an ongoing project I’ve been working on, photographing strangers on the streets of New York on the day after Mardi Gras, the first day of Lent; Ash Wednesday.

 “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust” is a reminder of our fragility, and of the preciousness of the time that we  have here. Thanks to each person who shared their ashes with me.

If you like these, you can see more of my work here: thomlang.com

 

 

IMAGINATION and a MAGIC POTION

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Einstein said that. I think what he was saying is that to solve a problem, sometimes you need to think outside the box. Other times what you really need is a magic potion. And for really tricky situations sometimes you need both.  I created this image of a bottle of magic potion in an old dungeon to illustrate the story “Death of a Wizard” by the up and coming writer Morley McCurdy. It’s a really good story, and I don’t want to give away the ending so get it on Amazon here, or check out his blog, Crunch Crunch Zoom, for short fiction with a touch of darkness, humor, and no shortage of imagination.

THE RUINS of PENN HILLS RESORT

It was the “Paradise of Pocono Pleasure” in it’s heyday of the 60’s and 70’s, but now the Penn Hills Resort is a modern ruin.

Founded as a tavern originally in 1944 in the Analomink community in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, the resort flourished for over 40 years, growing into a honeymoon destination with over 100 rooms, some with heart-shaped bathtubs, round beds, and floor to ceiling carpeting. At one point the 500 acre property included a ski resort, tennis courts, archery range, an ice skating rink, as well as indoor and outdoor pools. After years of decline through the 1990’s serious financial problems ensued, and when co-founder Frances Paolillo died in 2009 (at 102 years old) that pretty much signaled the end for the Penn Hills Resort. Owing the county more than a million dollars in back taxes, the resort closed and fell in to disrepair. Flooding, theft, and vandalism have continued ever since as Monroe County has tried unsuccessfully to sell the property.

I spent a beautiful autumn afternoon with Brig tramping among the ruins – here’s some of what’s left:

The welcoming sign at Penn Hills Resort

Ivy, weeds, and window reflections

Brig walking among the ruins

We didn’t pick any berries

Krylon stained glass windows

That’s a 19″ RCA looking back through the skylight

“Sorry Folks, the Future is Cancelled!”

An old bathtub floats in the outdoor pool…

… and a lot more floating in the indoor pool.

Carpet and graffiti cover the walls in the lounge

The Jacuzzi sees little action these days

The not so happy hour at the lounge bar

The outdoor pool is shaped like a wedding bell

An old piano lays on its back as the sun sets on the Penn Hills Resort.

 

HALLOWEEN in NEW YORK 2015

All dressed up and parading around the streets of New York’s Greenwich Village and beyond – zombies, witches, superheroes, Elvises (Elvi?), Marilyns, Yankees, Mets, pumpkin-heads, clowns, aristocrats, angels, devils, vampires, some unidentifiable freaks and many more – I mixed in well as a werewolf paparazzi and had fun photographing the party.

See more photos in my Halloween gallery.