The bodega lights blinked their blink and the mechanical horse groaned beneath the weight of the deadly serious man astride it.

There was something hypnotic to the lonely scene: the whine of the ride’s struggling motor seemingly the loudest sound, drowning out even the incessant aural assault that is Brooklyn traffic.

It was only later when I looked back at the picture that the surreal nature of it struck home: he’d been alone.

It seemed somehow surreal, as though it were a movie set.

Surely there was no way, in this somewhat sleepy section of Brooklyn, for cars to go fast enough to wind up on their sides, smashed against iron gates set deep upon the sidewalk?!? But as I walked around the accident scene – shockingly close at hand – I realized that was exactly what I was seeing.

Adding to the Hollywood effect of it all, I noted with some relief that there was not a single drop of blood to be seen, nor were there any victims visible. And so, like many a New Yorker, I drifted off into the night.

I could still hear the sound of the dancing above and the clinking of Corona bottles.

As I crept along the dark passageway I remember thinking, “the tacos were REALLY good!” I was looking for the bathroom to the small, pleasantly authentic Mexican restaurant just above. Somehow, however, I had managed to stumble upon what felt like a set from Saw XXIV, right down to the eerily dripping pipes and odd scurrying sounds originating just out of sight. Common sense dictated I go no further…

Mere moments later, with great release I was directed to the bathroom IN the restaurant. After, as I washed my hands, I realized I must have found my way into the neighbor’s basement. Who knows what horrors may have waited… and si senora, another Negro Modelo Especial, por favor!

As I descended the stairs I could immediately tell there was something amiss: it wasn’t difficult.

The normally quiet station was filled with grumbling occupants, milling about, threading the open doors of the oddly dormant train. Having previously experienced a near panicked crowd on the Staten Island Ferry thanks to a police macing I wasn’t eager to join the masses, but in New York, a show is a show, and so I lingered on the stairs, ready for a quick escape should something tragic occur.

25 minutes later, with the crowd’s ranks further swollen, I left the station for greener pastures… or rather, running trains.

As I walked to one of my favorite diners in the neighborhood, shivering in too few clothes, as I am wont to do when the cold first descends, I noticed the shocking contrast between the green leaves and the snow. It took a moment for it to really sink in: the green leaves were ON TOP of the snow.

A jarring yet satisfying twist on the usual order of business.

shot with an iPhone 3G

It took a moment to register, but soon I recognized the shape of a body huddled beneath the shivering blanket. The form seemed so at odds with the warm and vibrant scene just over it’s shoulder: a rainbow of flowers bloomed behind the glass and everything seemed right in that organized world. Though separated by only a few feet, I was devastated by the distance between the two.

shot with an iPhone 3G

The make-up was finally finished and the set-up was complete, but the studio was cold… far too cold for me, and I was wearing clothes and a hat. I couldn’t help but wince when I looked at our first model and saw her standing barefoot on the hard floor. As we marched heater after heater into the studio in an effort to increase the comfort level I crossed my fingers as the final preparations were made. There would be only one chance: we had to get it right.

shot with an iPhone 3G

I stood in front of a bank of televisions as they squawked noiselessly behind plate glass: all flashing their non-news… save for one. There was something macabre about the image as it hung there, frozen, quivering ever so slightly in time to some imagined pulse. It was monstrous and delicious in the way that anything that shakes you free from urban repitition can be (lock the door, down the stairs, board the train, up the stairs, open wallet, etc, etc.).

shot with an iPhone 3G

The scent of fish was strong as I rounded the corner having just come from Dim Sum in Brooklyn’s, then new-to-me, Chinatown. The abundance was the second thing you noticed: the possibilities were boundless and the prices reasonable! But could they sell it all? After a brief tour of the bounty I shuffled home with a small bag of razor clams and a pound of LIVE shrimp knowing for certain that my taste buds would thank me.

shot with an iPhone 3G

It was Christmas Eve, 2006, and our small family’s holiday goblets were filled with Dew: the kitchen was a blur of activity as the roast was pulled from the oven and the haunting smell of fresh Pillsbury crescent rolls washed over me. It was the land of plenty, and we were Americans.