DEAD HORSE BEACH

It was a gorgeous early Summer day last Tuesday and a favorite beach combing destination was calling.

Once a landfill and dump in the early 20th century, the remnants today are a study in beautiful decay, always rich with the odd juxtaposition of natural beauty and the imprint of a post industrial world.

The durability of plastic is always evident

The Empire State or (the state of the empire)

Once a snazzy whitewall cruiser on the streets of Brooklyn

Linoleum fragments are frequent finds.

Saddle up on a beach sculpture

a bit of graft on a beached boat

Fishing nets and fabric in a grand scale entanglement...

bottles and rusting metal

once an active tricycle,,,

down at the Dead Horse yacht club...

Yacht decor

The Crackerjack Kid sells his wares while embedded in a mysterious

piece of beach flotsam.

all photos ©Ken Brown

THE "QUIRKBALL FILES"

In my daily accumulation of photographs, there are many that never fit neatly into the  
many categories I've set up. These usually find their way into the "quirkball" drawer, .

Sorry I'm late ...got held up

Christina's condo...

Pepperoni to go...

spitting image...

rubble-rama

sad fish

flea market Popeye

 NYC., where giant spikey lizards scramble up skyscrapers...

all photos ©Ken Brown

WORDS ON WALLS

 Everyone has something to say. From aphorisms, advice, love, poetry, platitudes, politics or pithy pronouncements, they all seem to find space on urban walls, I've been documenting them for a long time and this small batch is from the past year.

all photos ©Ken Brown

FESTIVAL OF COLORS

We had heard about the "Festival of Colors" for years, and on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon we headed out to Richmond Hill in Queens to find out more.
     The festival and parade is called the "Phagwah Holi" and it is a celebration of Spring, culture and colors with roots in Hindu mythology. Families and friends gather and the festive atmosphere is contagious with food, laughter, dancing and splashes of color everywhere.

A casual greeting may include a smear of color...

full facial

a celebration for all, including the police

from the top down

a white shirt kinda day...

hulk(ish)

policing

powdering

partying

all photos ©Ken Brown

     

LOUISIANA

            A couple of weeks ago we took a Spring break trip to the lovely state of Louisiana.

Some post Mardi Gras skullduggery in New Orleans

On the riverside in New Orleans

A warehouse mural piece in New Orleans

Gator wall in Nola

Inside mural in the Hey! Cafe, New Orleans

Touching up graft wall Nola

Cajun Cafe in Lafitte, La.

A mud race contestant in New Iberia

I took a walk around the Jefferson Island Spoonbill Reserve and

thought I saw a car tire... until it moved, and a ten foot gator

slipped into the water.

Mardi Gras remnants in New Orleans.

...and finally, the best hand painted sign of the year on the Airline

Highway.

all photos ©Ken Brown