Another rainy day in New York. Seriously, is this weather ever going to end? Today is July 2nd. So I went to Central Park to try and get Shakespeare tickets but the line was bonkers long. Anyway, it turned into a day at the Met.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
“Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, “nostalgia” literally means “the pain from an old wound.” It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards… it takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel, it’s called the carousel. It let’s us travel the way a child travels – around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved.”
–Don Draper, transcribed from “Mad Men” The Wheel (2007)
Kodak is a registered trademark of the Eastman Kodak Company
This Saturday we had a going-away BBQ for our friend Evan Rock. The 206 Meserole gang hosted in their backyard with plenty of great food, music, and banter. The highlight of the evening was definitely the introduction of “guacamole challah sliders.” (patent pending) We did get sidetracked by rain but only for a brief moment. Finally, the sky broke and revealed a double rainbow. Woah. Lots of peeps came through; great to see everyone as usual. The party was a success for reals. By the end, everyone was tuckered out. And two men, who held each other ever so gently while dancing, reuntied for a snuggle. And Evan biked home after hugging us before his departure. We’re gonna miss you, Ev. Have fun.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
This is some stuff I used to make dinner and breakfast during the last two days.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
This was all one day. It’s weird looking through a recently deceased persons stuff but what’s nice is being able to learn about a person through their possessions. Walking around the property, that’s all I kept thinking about, but I found an Olympus XA. The cashier told me it was 3 bucks. Seriously. I also got an Atlas from 1969; it’s nice having a record of what the world looked like back then and how it was divided.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Fort Tilden is like McCarren on sand, but it’s gorgeous. While New Yorkers played Reggaeton with the intention of blowing their speakers, D. Moore rounded us up in Ari’s car and took us (Louis, Assumpta, Eileen, and I) out to the beach. Pitch-N-Putt has always been why I liked heading to the Rockaways but a musical fake BBQ where crazy girls get naked is a good reason too I guess. Dudes, that seafood place; I want to go to there.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Two fridays ago, our friend Ami invited Keren and I to go on a sunset sail. I’d never done anything like this before and it fulfilled all my expectations. The sailboat left from South Street Seaport and headed out towards Ellis Island. Everyone showed up in their very best nautical attire. Note to all sailors or future passengers, people get crazy on their boats in the Hudson: totally debaucherous (two women flashed our boat, eeeeee). But getting to shoot from a sailboat was rad. Also I only posted the image of the old Chinese couple on the steps of the port for my friend Jamie Daughters; he’s been trying to achieve that sitting pose forever, and this guy does it so naturally it hurts.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Here are fifteen sparkling mineral waters/seltzers from the trip.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Thinking about art and artists I admire, I decided to photograph every interesting “bike” (bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, dirt bike, moped, new, vintage, etc) on my trip: thirty-six
Here they are:
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
The last 24 hours of the trip was all travel. It was sad to leave. I was operating on a crazy productivity level. These are the only things I could really photograph during the last segment of the trip. We took the night train from Firenze S.M.N. to Roma Termini and went out one last night in Rome before leaving. We took the subway from Termini to Colosseo and had a great dinner at Luzzi and a stroll. The next morning, we headed out early. Getting back to New York was a train to a plane and was actually really easy. Once we landed in JFK, we took the subway back home which seemed more than appropriate.
TRAIN
All images and video copyright James Ryang 2009
The next day, it rained on and off but we had more time to relax and not rush through anything. All I really wanted to see was the MNAF, Museo Nazionzle Alinari della Fotografia, a relatively newer museum in Florence, and eat at this place called Mario’s that I had read so much about. The Carlo Mollino exhibition was really well done but the highlight of the photo museum was the vintage camera collection and the plates on view. Afterwards, we headed north to San Lorenzo to Mario’s, waited for an hour, but it may have been one of the best meals of my life, Florentine steak and linguine ragu. Bonkers. I pushed myself physically, but it was worth it. We headed on, checked out the Salvatore Ferragamo exhibit, and the open markets. My lens kept fogging up but made for some cool effects. Just strolled around. Earlier that day, I was reading about a blind accordion player shot by Walker Evans, and his complete unawareness to the fact he was being photographed regardless of whether Evans had the camera hidden beneath his suit or not, due to his physical condition. I’m still thinking about this in my pictures.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Getting out of Venice was like a reality TV challenge. All public transportation was cancelled. There was an annual rowing race going on that morning which everyone in Venice failed to mention. Keren and I ended up having to run with our luggage about 5 miles from San Marco to the train station. We obviously missed our train but no deal. Upon arriving in Florence, the rain was dying down and it was starting to get nice out. We walked around the Duomo, looked at sunglasses, inappropriate aprons, sculptures in the piazza, and note: the creepy white cupid man-child scaring the life out of that little girl. After, we headed to the Uffizi and spent a few hours strolling through. Afterwards, we had a panini at ‘Ino, the “Marlow & Sons” on Florence, I guess, basically local and awesome. But dinner was out of control. Holy bananas. This place Trattoria Marione’s was the jam. And of course, ice cream after; no will power.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
In the morning, we left MIlan from MIlano Centrale and took to train to Venezia Santa Lucia. Venice was amazing; I turned 21 here 9 years ago. Too many tourists crowding the alleys but still a good time. Being on water is always a treat, especially when there are two Italian kids making out like crazy in the seat behind you. We walked more than 20 miles during our stay in Venice, partially to see the city but also because our hotel was way out of the way on Lido. After the first day, all I wanted to do was get a seltzer, eat a gelato, kick off my shoes, and pass out. Oh, and I don’t know how that waiter in Milan made a smiley face in my cappuccino. Next level.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Milan is amazing. The first time I visited when I was 21 was a snore but this time was great despite the construction and development. This day was a brutal travel day of a rental car to two planes to a bus to a train. Jeez. After 3 coffees and a quick shave, I still wanted to get into the thick of what Milan had to offer. First, we visited 10 Corso Como, one of the nicest places I’ve ever been. It’s a cafe, boutique, art book store, and a gallery. They also have rooms for rent. Basically amazing. The World Press Photo 2009 exhibition was hanging upstairs, along with one of the best photo art book collections I’ve ever seen and prints by Steven Meisel on the wall. We kind of just got lost and looked around but that’s what I liked about this visit. In the evening, we strolled near the duomo, looking for a restaurant. The fake designer bags are really amazing there, and the Africans who illegally sell them transport them in bed sheets for quick getaways and quick presentation. Witnessing their interactions with police was priceless. Oh, and dinner was amazing.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Crete is B-A-N-A-N-A-S. The drivers are terrible. The people are nuts. No offense to Cretians or anyone else. But this place was crazy. After the scariest evening drive of my life the night before, the woman running the hotel informed me that driving on the shoulder of the highway is normal and that the “lanes” are used for passing and that 180km is normal. WHAT!!?? She was old too and told me she drove that way. Anyway, she also instructed me to get up early as hell, watch the “famous” sunrise, and check out some things. We drove around Agia Pelagia, a town 25km west of Heraklion, the “crazy” capital. We started seeing structures similar to birdhouses on the side of the road, and later found out they are shrines to victims of the road left by their families. EEEEE. But, Chania was great, enclosed within ancient armory walls. I ended up shooting a lot of images of other images and just playing around with the light. Some cultural anecdotes: The fish was good. The beach towels were really trashy but awesome i.e. Hello Kitty shredding into the shark’s mouth. Oh, and paddle ball is like an extreme sport there; dudes take it super-seriously.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
This guy was selling different pickled vegetables and things from the sea in jars at 5 in the morning. Asking to take his portrait was crazy. Since we had the car for eight more hours, I wanted to check out the southern part of the island, through the vineyards, to a place called Red Beach. We found out why it was called that when we got there and why white crosses are painted everywhere. Driving around was great and we got to Athinios Port in time for the ferry to Crete. The waters were rough on the dock so I went to get a mineral water and an ice cream called “White Magic.” There was another one called “Sensuous Magic” which was chocolate. Hmm.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
The cats really are crazy on Thira. They run in packs throughout the night hopping over archways and sneaking around the alleys. The donkey image below makes a little tear. The extreme sunset photo is whatevs but it is so close to the Karate Kid’s headband that I had to put it in. But seriously, some of the images below are my top selects from the trip as a whole. Keren’s a good sport for helping me make a lot of these images happen.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Oia is an amazing place. The drop down to sea level is vertigo-inducing. But the light there was something else, unlike anything I’d ever seen. The white buildings reflect everything back at the sun. The stray dogs run wild throughout the day and the cats run wild at night. The dogs followed me around all morning while I was shooting, looking for food, but I feel like they were guiding me. Waking up before everyone had it’s benefits.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
So the picture directly below is jarring, confusing, and hilarious. I had to crop in so you could actually get a glimpse. We were pulling out of a Greek bodega and I stopped the car to get a quick image of this weirdness: a 2-Euro thong-ball machine. I know. Bananas. Anyway, we got off the island via Hellenic Seaways Flying Cat 4 to Thira also known as Santorini. We got a car at Spiradakos Rent-A-Car because we thought it was an omen from our friend, Elizabeth Spiridakis. (White Lightning) Driving from the port to Oia along the cliffs at night still gives me chills, but the car made it. The omen came true. Images of Fira and Oia will be posted soon.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Greek kids venture out to the beaches on the southern coast of Mykonos to avoid the winds coming from the north off the Mediterranean. The hills act as a wind barrier. Driving around the island reminded me of driving in Mexico in Baja. Keren and I visited three beaches that day but Psarou Beach was quite a treat with canvas umbrellas and cushioned beach chairs (fancy). A lot of topless action but I’m trying to keep it G-rated. On Elia beach we had dinner and made it back across the island to Agios Stefanos in time for sundown. Driving in Greece is next level balls to the wall. I will address that topic when I post about Crete. But for now, Mykonos was rad.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009