Sunday, March 29, 2009

Girl on Northern Boulevard

I found this girl on Northern Boulevard and eighty-fifth street in Jackson Heights, Queens. I asked if I could photograph her and she said, "Yes," without hesitation, handing her drink to another girl she was with. Where she was standing, there were too many cars and too many people for a picture. We went round the corner on to eighty-fifth and found shade and comparative quiet.

9 comments:

  1. This lady has on such vibrant colors! I love looking at these photos. It is as if I have taken a break from my work, gone for a walk, broken through my sometimes shyness and looked longer than a few seconds at an intriguing human that who knows if I will even see again. Thanks! Lori

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely photo Dmitri. I like the way the position of her arms (ambiguously suggesting both confidence and protection) crowned by her extraordinary crimson tresses form a very Renaissance-like triangular compositional stability. Her plaid-on-acid scarf pointing down animates the angular play. The purple print on her sleeves as well echos the graffiti on the wall behind her. If her hands instead turned outward and held an infant, before you is the Madonna of Northern Boulevard.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you. First I saw her hair. How could you not! Then as we were talking, she put her hands together in front of her and I was equally struck. I never could have arranged them like that. It was a spontaneous movement made as she was thinking about something she said or I said; can't remember which. I'm tempted to change the title to M of NB. It's very good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the way she proudly holds herself, very regal...and oh, that crown of hair!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow - this is literally 3 blocks over and one up from where I live, and while I've not seen this girl before, I have to say you've done a smashing job of capturing the spirit of one of the types of people who make up this diverse neighborhood. If you are at all interested in private gardens, I would love to show you around on the the one day a year they are open. We can use my apartment as a "cocktail station" for the afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was struck by the hands too. She certainly is aware of them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello Theo, I look forward to that very much.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Caroline, you're right. I love the "girl with the red hair."
    Her hands are worth showing off and on her, they are positioned so nicely. When I tried to place my hands like hers, it seemed so unnatural and odd.
    The muted colors and white graffiti behind her vibrant hair and clothing work perfectly.
    I love the purple print on her jacket. It makes it look like her arms are tatooed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. the background graffiti says MEAS. Thats me.

    ReplyDelete