From The Ferry

Today I didn't have classes.  But I had a couple of errands to run in Manhattan.  As it was a mild, almost warm, day and clouds passed across a sunny sky, I was more than happy to ride.  


Then, I found myself in the Union Square area.  From there, it's just a few minutes to the Staten Island Ferry.  I got to the terminal just as a boat was to depart.  


Besides Vera, there were about five other bikes on the boat going to Staten Island, and another dozen on the return trip. On both trips, I saw more cyclists than I'd normally expect to see at those times on a weekday.


I'm not a photographer, so take what I'm about to say for what it's worth:  Every photographer should ride the Ferry.  There are seemingly endless photo opportunities.  Plus, the interplay of water, skylines and the interiors of the boat makes for some very interesting light.


Plus, it can be a rather romantic ride:

Given that there are so many commuters on the Ferry, there are almost always sleepers:

and dreamers:

Of course, every nautical crossing must include a Gatsby Moment:

Finally, since I am one of those snotty New Yorkers who sniffs when I deign to use the word "tourist", I will offer you a photo that's about as touristy as you can get:

Line And Form

In keeping with the tone and spirit of yesterday's post, I'm going to continue on the theme of cycling and visual imagery.

So, I want you to pay attention to the composition of the photo you see here.  I find it interesting that the lines in her dress--particularly the ones below her waist--flow in almost exactly the same way as the lines of her bicycle.  And the lines above her waist all but mirror the ones between the bricks in the wall.

Seriously...I am thinking about line, form and composition.  This isn't just another one of those blogs that shows pretty girls on bikes.  Really!

Photo from Simply Bike

 

Cycling Images

Most people would probably say that photographs are more "realistic" than drawings or paintings.  On the other hand, they would probably associate dreams, fantasies and other reflections of the imagination with painting, drawing and other graphic arts.

I held such notions before I saw images from photographers like Eugene Atget and realized that they were sometimes just as fabricated (I don't mean that word in a derogatory sense) as the canvases of Titian and Fragonard.  And, in their own ways, those photos can be as impressionistic and visionary as much of what Monet, vanGogh and Picasso did.

The lines between the fantastical and the quotidian are blurred in cycling art as much as they are in other kinds of art.  I think you'll see that in this photograph:

and this poster:

.

Is it "just" my imagination, or are those two images related (aside from the fact that each one has a human and a bicycle)?