Muggy in Brooklyn, New York, USA
This is the view out the fire escape door of my studio on a typically hot, muggy New York afternoon just after the rain clouds have finally burst and started to cool the air a bit.
Place you live: Brooklyn, NY
Place your photo was taken: In my studio in Brooklyn.
Can you sum up NY? New York is humid and heavy in the summer and humid and heavy in the winter. There are two to three days of spring/autumn between those two seasons. It’s a dirty place full of interesting people and people who are committed to developing their interestingness levels. I grew up in the west and often feel that my physiognomy is not right for this climate (I sweat a lot), but for some reason I feel very at home in New York City. Right now I live with my partner Carolyn in an apartment opposite a divey Mexican restaurant and a ping pong bar. It’s too noisy and thronging and I want to move to a different street. My studio is two blocks away, opposite the BQE. I spend most of my awake time there.
Occupation: Photographer and literary translator.
Preoccupation: Perfection, but then, how about relaxation?
What is a perfect day in NY? It’s cool, I wake up early (rare), I go running, and have breakfast/coffee with Carolyn. Go put some work in at the studio, then take a walk somewhere or drive out of the city with Carolyn and maybe some friends, read, take some photos, drink some alcohol, a sunset maybe, go back to Brooklyn, spend too much money on an ok dinner, get sleepy watching foreign melodramas on the internet.
If someone was visiting, what must they do? Just walk around. There’s too much to do in this city to make any recommendations. Walk around long enough to see where you feel like going.
What and where is a perfect meal in the place you call home? You will spend your inheritance trying to find that here. There is a lot of really good food around. I like Pies n Thighs as much as the next guy.
What is the best thing about your spot? Motivation/inspiration from being in such a saturated and active base of Culture. And a lot of my friends live here.
What is the worst? The weather. It’s tough not enjoying being outside.
A little known fact about where you live? A cast iron placard (not pictured) warns us that the city will fine you $10 if you “place an encumbrance” on that fire escape.