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Reflections on the Dead Milkmen
A couple months back, the photo editor of JUMP asked if I was available to gets some shots of The Dead Milkmen for the summer 2015 issue. I can’t remember what my answer was specifically but even If I was busy I would have cancelled whatever else I doing to make this happen. I was told that I’d be meeting with the band on a Tuesday afternoon after they performed an acoustic set at main branch of the Philadelphia Free Library. I put it on my calendar and set about my day. Fast forward to the Sunday before the shoot. It’s mid to late spring and I’m prowling around on my bike running random errands and wasting time. At around about 4pm while standing five deep in line at the Family Dollar I get a call from that very same photo editor. He frantically explains that when he told me Tuesday he actually meant Sunday. He begged my forgiveness and asked there was any chance I could get over to the library as quickly as possible. I really needed the crappy cleaner I was holding but dropped it where I stood and ran home. I originally had some big ideas for this shoot but there was zero chance of making any of that happen now as I was told they could only hang around for a few minutes after the show. When I got home I quickly grabbed my camera bag and a reflector and rode out to the library in about three minutes. Normally impossible but not on that day. With no plan I was ready to wing it and just cared about getting a decent shot and saying what’s up to Rodney and the boys. We met up in the alley behind the library and I did my best not to gush. They were gracious but indicated that they wanted to make this happen quickly. I scanned the area and caught sight of the Swann Memorial Fountain. It was pretty still warm out and there were kids swimming in it. I thought it would be amazing to get the band to hop on it but that idea was shot down immediately. With patience waring thin I suggested the courtyard of The Rodin Museum. It’s pretty and looks like Paris so why not. We hobbled on over only to discover that they like to close early on a Sunday afternoon. A common thought of ‘shit’ resounded. Since we had just walked all the way over here I decided to attempt some shots with them gathered on the steps in front of the gate. The light was garbage but the mood was jolly so we gave it a go. After a few funny faces and some killer jokes the foursome started wavering and wandered off the steps. I wasn’t going to bug them too much more but asked for one more shot on the way back to the library. As we passed by the Barnes Museum I asked if they could line up behind the long rectangular fountain. While setting up to take the shot they started playing in the water and were picking up the little rocks. In no time a security guard materialized and reprimanded all of us and threatened to kick us out. This put everyone in the perfect mood and we finished up the shoot feeling a bit more punk rock that when we’d started. Two minutes later and a whopping 15 minutes after we started everyone ran off in different directions and my shoot with The Dead Milkmen although rushed and rough around the edges was a success. The only thing left to do at this point was to head back to family dollar for that cleaner.
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David Nalbandian out for Blood at Queen’s Club
I was digging through my old tennis archives tonight and happened upon this incident which occurred during the finals of the 2012 Queen’s Club Tournament. The match was between Marin Čilić of Croatia and Argentine David Nalbandian. I’d been covering Nalbandian all week as I was shooting for a South American Magazine and the best way to describe his style of play was hostile. He was playing well but he was also playing with a rage that most players at least try to mask. During his matches he would predictably fly off the handle and capturing him smashing his racket onto the finely manicured lawn became routine. However, during that fateful final match his routine escalated. After having won the first set, Nalbandian was trailing 3-4 in the second. Čilić seeing a comeback in sight sent a rocket over the net that Nalbandian couldn’t handle. With his frustration no longer under control, he ran over to a plywood advertising hoarding and gave it a mighty punt causing it to break leaving a solid gash in the left shin of line judge who was sitting just behind it. I was armed with my 70-200mm lens just to the right of where the incident occurred. With my camera still fixed on Nalbandian it took me a minute to realize what had happened. I could see in his eyes that he had finally grasped the gravity of his actions and when I found McDougall’s leg through my viewfinder I realized why. Blood at a tennis match? Blood at a tennis match in London? How delightfully out of the ordinary? The head judge jumped into action with fans, coaches and players alike frozen in a daze of uncertainty. Did this mean Čilić would win by a disqualification? Was that possible? After a short deliberation that decision was made and the irate yet apologetic Argentine hurried off the court. The still bewildered and seemingly disappointed Croat sauntered over to the net and received the enormous championship trophy thus ending the bloodiest tennis match many of us will ever witness. Nalbandian was later quoted as saying “Sometimes you get angry, “Sometimes you cannot control those moments. Maybe you throw a racket or maybe you scream or maybe you do something like that. So many things happen.” Indeed they can. And occasionally those things include losing out on £44,000 in the blink of an eye and the clot of a blood drop.
And here’s a video of the kick heard round the courts. if you pause and squint at 2:02 you might catch my cameo.
https://youtu.be/kIsT_GPJXaI
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Cory Wade Hindorff
I present the inimitable Cory Wade Hindorff of America’s Next Top Model.
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) 
American singer, actor, model, and spokesperson in the LGBT community Cory Wade Hindorff. He is best known for placing third on the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM)
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Wing Bowl 23 | Philthadelphia at its Phinest
I had the esteemed privilege of attending Wing Bowl 23 which was held in the early hours of January 30th at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia. There’s a great deal that could and probably should be said about this celebrated tradition but this sums it up just fine:
“PHILADELPHIA — I have found the heart of the Philly sports scene … and it isn’t pretty.
You know Paulie, Adrian’s brother in “Rocky”? Multiply him by the thousands, dress them in Eagles jerseys, fill each with a six-pack and stick them in a line so long it wraps around the Wachovia Center, throughout the parking lot and practically into New Jersey. Sprinkle some of these guys among the parked cars where they can urinate in semi-privacy. Carpet the lot with crushed beer cans and broken beer bottles. Throw in a cold wind and a winter rain.
Now, close the arena doors a half-hour before the competition begins because there is no more room inside the 20,000-seat center, forcing thousands of disappointed and angry fans to go home without the pleasure of watching 29 contestants eat as many chicken wings as possible in 14-minute rounds.
Oh, and did I mention? It’s 5:30 a.m. on a weekday. That’s right — 5:30 in the morning.” You can read the rest of the article here.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”7″ gal_title=”wing bowl 23″] -
Reclaim Martin Luther King Day
Thousands of people gathered to march from the Philadelphia School District HQ on North Broad Street to Independence Hall in an effort to reclaim Martin Luther King Day on January 19th. The protesters formed a strong united front to address a laundry list of social concerns from ending stop and frisk and police brutality to increasing the minimum wage and education reform in Philadelphia and beyond.
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Mummers The Word | Happy 2015
2015 started off nice and wholesome with the annual New Years Day Mummers Parade and quickly devolved into a rollicking bacchanal. and yes i know one hundred is a ridiculous number of images to post. However, this event is quite the visual spectacle and is deserving of a gallery that reflects the shift from family friendly affair to freak show.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”5″ gal_title=”mummers the word”] -
winter cape scapes | 13 variations on a cape cod scene
Took a wander a few days before christmas through the estuary adjacent to corn hill beach in truro out on cape cod. it’s a lovely place. the thoroughfare in which you can travel is dependent on the tides as is the scenery. because of the low winter sun and the rapidly shifting clouds the light was erratic and i either had a bright and cheery moment to capture or a dark and dreary one. which do you prefer?
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Farmhand Handyman | Philadelphia Urban Farming Volunteer Bryan Thompson-Nowak
I Worked on a few stories for Grid Magazine’s January 2015 issue. Pick up a hard copy to see the photos/story that corresponds to my earlier post Playing in Dirt.
Farmhand Handyman
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2014 AT 12:00PMVolunteer and grant writer brings many skills to East Kensington’s Emerald Street Urban Farm
Philadelphia Urban Farming Volunteer Bryan Thompson-Nowak brings many skills to East Kensington’s Emerald Street Urban Farm
Bryan Thompsonowak says volunteering at the Emerald Street Urban Farm has made him more invested in the neighborhood. | Photos by Jared GruenwaldWhen Bryan Thompsonowak, 37, was young, his father, a bricklayer and “all-around handyman-type of a guy,” taught him to not be afraid of trying new things. He applied that lesson when he tackled the construction of a three-bin compost system and a rainwater catchment system at Emerald Street Urban Farm in East Kensington.
The farm’s managers Nic and Elisa Esposito needed to expand their volunteer base because they were expecting their first child. That’s when Thompsonowak stepped up, volunteering on Mondays from May to October.
“It’s nice to have a project close to home, and it’s not just the work; it’s the people that you’re there volunteering with,” says Thompsonowak, whose last name is a result of combining his and his wife Sharon Nowak’s last name.
Founded in 2009 by Elisa Esposito and the former farm director of Marathon Farms, Patrick Dunn, ESUF reclaimed and transformed five vacant lots in East Kensington. The farm, which sits a few doors down from his home, offers produce through a weekly donation-based farmstand and several pick-your-own community garden plots. The core group of about a dozen volunteers also runs an outreach and education program.
Philadelphia Urban Farming Volunteer Bryan Thompson-Nowak brings many skills to East Kensington’s Emerald Street Urban Farm The East Kensington Neighbors Association has worked closely with ESUF and various other organizations, such as the Kensington Community Food Co-Op and Hackett Elementary School, to improve the East Kensington neighborhood. President Clare Dych helps lead the various sectors of EKNA in addressing the concerns and actions of the community by hosting monthly meetings to discuss zoning and planning within the neighborhood, and by promoting the Clean Up and Green Space Committees that work to protect and maintain the local parks.
This past spring, the farm received a $1,000 grant from the association to support the farm and their youth programming. “ESUF has given so much to the East Kensington neighborhood, all on a shoestring budget, and we felt it was time to give back,” Dych says in an email.
Thompsonowak also wrote an application on behalf of ESUF for a grant provided by the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust given to nonprofits that further the field of ornamental horticulture through education and research. Esposito was blown away: “This went beyond the commitment of coming out every Monday. If we get the grant, it will be a huge game-changer for us.”
Philadelphia Urban Farming Volunteer Bryan Thompson-Nowak brings many skills to East Kensington’s Emerald Street Urban Farm This winter, Thompsonowak, who’s also a graduate student of the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Horticulture, will continue the program through the University of Delaware with hopes of advancing his career within public gardens. But he won’t be too far from the farm.
“Volunteering at the farm has made me more invested in the neighborhood,” Thompsonowak says. “Being a part of something that is 100 percent good for the neighborhood is great.”
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Playing in the Dirt | Laurel Valley Soils
Last week I went out to Laurel Valley Soils for an editorial assignment. Laurel Valley is an Avondale, Pennsylvania based manufacturer of soil and compost based products for wholesale to garden centers, landscape contractors, sports turf installers, and nurseries. I love dirt. I love digging in it with my bare hands, planting seeds into it and pulling plants out of it. Chances are that if you meet me anytime between early spring and late fall I’ll have dirt under my nails from digging around my garden. So when the opportunity to run around this giant dirt box came my way I jumped at the chance. Learning about where commercial soil comes from has always been of some interest to me especially since I developed a debilitating gardening addiction. Jake Chalfin, the sales manager whose portrait is at the end of this post was kind enough to give me the full rundown of how this process works, where soil comes from and how different mixtures and created.
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Dave and Buddy. Fishermen.
It was a beautiful day today and I had a few spare hours this afternoon so I decided to head down to South Philly in search of something to photograph along the Delaware River. I find myself shooting down there quite often. It’s a pretty photogenic area and it seems each wander I go out on I find a new and interesting subject. Today I parked just along the entrance to Pier 68. When I got to the edge of the platform a man aboard a tug boat called out to me. He seemed pretty chipper and just wanted to chat. His job that day had him piloting the boat from the dock to the middle of the river where an oil barge called the Chesapeake was anchored. That’s it. Just back and forth multiple times a day. I didn’t catch his name but if I had more time I would have talked my way on board. Next time. As our conversation trailed off, an older fisherman sitting in a camping chair opposite the boat waved invitingly over to me. There were no immediate introductions. We just started having a conversation as if we were picking up where we left off the day before. He was surrounded by gear one would use to fish in various stages of wear as well and other random items like a bag of unopened Rice Krispies and Walmart shopping carts. I eventually asked him his name as the conversation was getting rather intimate. Dave is Korean and has lived in Philadelphia for 34 years. Or was it 43? Either way he left Korea behind when he was a young man and hasn’t returned. Despite having lived stateside longer than I’ve been alive he still spoke with a rather thick accent and I had trouble making out some of what he said. I did gather quite quickly that he is rather devout as the topic settled on god. He was a little taken aback when I told him I lean more towards the agnostic but understood my point of view. I asked him which particular sect of christianity he followed. He told me none. He wasn’t catholic, protestant, snake handler or presbyterian. He said he simply followed the word of god. I liked that. I honestly don’t understand all the divisions within the religion anyway. It’s all just jesus isn’t it? At this point another man walked up and plopped himself into a chair adjacent to the river. He didn’t seem at all concerned with this random photographer hanging about and just started chatting with us as if he was privy to the entire conversation. His name was Buddy I think. Well that’s what Dave told me at least. Buddy, a lifelong Philadelphian is probably sixty to seventy years old. He’s very soft spoken, polite and knowledgable about fishing. He had just returned with more beef livers to use as catfish bait. Despite being happy to chat he didn’t want me taking his picture. The only explanation he gave was that he was playing hooky from work and didn’t want to get caught. I assured him these photos would only end up on my blog which maybe three people read. Dave at this point started talking about his younger days. He had been an avid photographer and purchased an underwater camera to take out on fishing trips back in Korea. He then reached into his backpack and pulled out about ten folded pages with incredible black and white images of young men fishing in the 1960’s. He named a few of the men as his relatives and pointed out a few shots of himself. They were stunning. I assumed that Dave and Buddy had been fishing together at this spot for decades however they’d only connected recently. Dave had been calling Pier 68 his personal fishing spot for years and Buddy was stationed at the next pier down just fifty feet away. A recent influx of new anglers forced Buddy to move. Dave called Buddy’s spot North Korea, his spot South Korea and the water separating the two the DMZ. I wanted to ask him more about life in Korea before he emigrated but he didn’t seem to want to go down that road. He just kept saying how Philadelphia and the United States are the best places in the world. We chatted a bit more about bread, beer, politics and how to properly bait a hook. I had to get going said my goodbye’s and walked off just as casually as I’d come, assuming that no proper farewell was needed as next time I visit we’ll just fall back into the same old comfortable conversation.
