Posts tagged photo essay
Dear, New York
Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr
Every time I visit NYC I come back feeling really inspired, it really is a city unlike any other. The energy, the scenery… every corner looks like it could be a movie set. I spent a day roaming around the Meatpacking District, SoHo and TriBeCa last week and I’m excited to go back and check out some of the other neighborhoods that I haven’t been to yet.
In this set some scenes from the Meatpacking District, in addition to the High Line park there is an awesome high-end shopping scene here, Christian Louboutin recently opened his first men’s shoe store here, it comes equipped with a tattoo parlor!
There are some really great food to have in this area, the High Line features some affordable dining options serving up hot dogs, tacos, burgers, popsicles and coffee. The Chelsea Market has a fantastic series of restaurants and coffee shops, it reminds me of Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. The Standard hotel has a beer garden and across from that is an awesome food and fashion pop-up market called UrbanSpace.
Roaming around here was super fun, and a nice way to spend a couple of hours. Shopping, walking and eating, it doesn’t get any better!
Dear, New York
Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr
I think it was over a year since I had last visited NYC, I never really spent a lot of time in Manhattan when I went there since most of my friends live in the other boroughs, mainly Brooklyn. But this time around I stayed with my family on the Upper East Side on 2nd Ave and got to experience a different side of the city. After spending three days there I have a better understanding of why artists flock there, inspiration is everywhere! From the architecture, to the window displays, to the crowds of people, and yellow cabs zipping by like bees, it was an amazing experience.
At the Guggenheim museum I was really inspired by the portrait photography of Rineke Dijkstra. The way how she elevated her subjects from their humble surroundings and managed to capture subtle and honest expressions in their faces and eyes was really something.
People always say NYC is one of the greatest cities on earth, when you go there and take in everything it has to offer in terms of culture, fashion, architecture, food, entertainment, and so on, it is really incredible that you can find so much excellence on one tiny island.
Fifth Avenue was ripe with inspiration, all the high end retail stores put on amazing visual displays that chipped into or were layered over the existing architecture on the buildings they lived in. The Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama window display was amazing! Her signature dots made the building a stand out from miles away. The scale of things in the city always impresses me, Saks Fifth Avenue boasted of over 10,022 additional sq. feet for their shoes showroom! Each shoe that was in their window display was a work of art of its own. Diesel showcased their edginess by having their signature graphic logo chipped into the building itself, and gave it some pizzaz with a glitter effect. Every one is vying for attention so to see things rendered on such a grand scale was really awe inspiring.
Los Viejos de Argentina
Photography by Saki
Saki is currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I love these candid street photography portraits of old men around the city. There’s something about how she captured these specific moments of their lives, perhaps they stand out more since in America we’re more used to seeing people preoccupied with devices in their hands rather than newspapers.
Follow her on instagram @sakiwaki to see more of her shots from Argentina.
High in the Sky
A dramatic look up at Philly’s skyline.
Photography by: Swabreen Bakr
Philadelphia has a rich architectural history, you can find anything from classical Grecian to Art Deco buildings across the city. The buildings clustered in the downtown area show the emerging power of the business district, anchored by a majestic glass beacon; the Comcast Center tower, and Liberty Towers I & II. Older brick buildings hold down the forth for the city’s rich architectural heritage. One of the joys of living in Philadelphia is seeing American history reflected on some of these buildings.
Flavor In Ya Hair
Photography by: Ryan Greenburg
Paint it Now
Photography by Swabreen Bakr
Featuring artwork by Morgan Anderson, Royce Bannon, Courtney Brown, Dick Bredman, Buildmore, el Celso, Cense, Scott Chasse, Chris Clark, Gaia, Veronica Hanssens, Harlequinade Art, Nose Go, StikMan, Hilary White, Ben Woodward, Working Class Creative, GetUpArt & more
Established in 2008 by OverKill Studio, “Paint it Now” makes its Philadelphia debut in May of 2012 at the long-standing arts hub, Space 1026. Fusing individual exhibition and collaboration, “Paint it Now” invites participating artists to paint solely in opaque black paint directly on the white wall surfaces of the gallery over the course of a week. The outcome is a visually graphic, completely unified installation which surrounds the viewer with an immense narrative of imagery.
Northern Liberties Decay
Photography by Swabreen Bakr of iPhotoPhilly.com
