Maine Photo Trip and the Process of Editing

I was sitting in the passenger seat of my intern's Mini Cooper, when I spotted sister's Maggie and Ashley standing at a gas station either in or near Bangor, Maine. I was on a week long photo trip adventure. My intern Maddy sitting in the driver's seat joined to help assist me with my personal project.

I said, "Pull over. Yes, pull over now!", when I saw them side by side, one smaller than the other, both so striking lit up in the light of the setting sun. They complimented one another. When I asked to take their photo, they willingly agreed and I took a series of portraits. Between Maggie's beautiful glowing blue eyes and Ashley's red hair all lit on fire in the sun, they were a winning duo... how could I possibly screw this up?

So, the following image I selected from the 10 minutes I spent with them. They are not part of the larger new project but I think they could be a project unto themselves. Thank you ladies for taking the time to let me photograph you! Maybe they are the project. Hmm....

"Ashley and Maggie #1", Bangor, Maine, Summer 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

 

An Evening at Easton Volunteer Fire Carnival in Connecticut.. Hurray!!!

I took the following photographs the other evening at the Easton Volunteer Fire Carnival in Connecticut. My summer holiday out of the city has almost come to an end and soon I will be traveling to Maine to begin my work on a new project. This was one of my favorite memories of this summer.

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"Man with Baby", Easton Firefighter's Fair, Easton, CT. Sumner 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

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"Bingo Tents Family", Easton Firefighter's Fair, Easton, CT. Sumner 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

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"Girl at Game Booth", Easton Firefighter's Fair, Easton, CT. Sumner 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

 

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"Woman Playing Bingo", Easton Firefighter's Fair, Easton, CT. Sumner 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

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"Adolescent Girls at Fair", Easton Firefighter's Fair, Easton, CT. Sumner 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

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"Family Waiting to Enter Fun House", Easton Firefighter's Fair, Easton, CT. Sumner 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

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"Teen Girls in Cut Offs", Easton Firefighter's Fair, Easton, CT. Sumner 2013. ©Juliana Beasley

Connecticut Summer

I took this photograph one late afternoon when I went to swim at a lake in Connecticut. It has been absolutely magical and therapeutic to spend my summer outside of the hot steamy city... there is a lot to be said for the serenity of days spent lingering in divine water.

"Sean at the Lake", Redding, CT, Summer 2013. Copyright, Juliana Beasley

Rockaways Before Sandy

My heart and mind are in the Rockaways. I am finally going out there to look for old friends and to witness the unthinkable.

Here are a couple of images I took over the years. The photograph of the young girl folding her laundry was taken in a laundromat that no longer stands. I photographed the woman in the Irish green tiara in front of her home this past St. Paddy's Day. And the camper belongs to Bob. I can't imagine how Bob managed to survive the flooding in his camper home.

"Irish Day Parade Portrait #1", Rockaways, NYC. 2012. ©Juliana Beasley

"Laundromat", Rockaways, NYC. 2012. ©Juliana Beasley

"Bob's Camper", Rockaways, NYC. 2012. ©Juliana Beasley

Dear Rockaways

I send all my prayers and love to all those who are struggling and suffering in the aftermath ofHurricane Sandy. The Rockaways has been a refuge and a home to many of the city's forgotten and dismissed. It has also been a refuge for me from my own life over the last ten years. I am thankful for all the people I have met and whom let me photograph them and who shared their lives with me. At heart, the Rockaway's is a strong community and will surmount this latest blow. They need our help. Here are a few photographs I took over the years.  Sweet memories of another time and dear friends.

"Valerie", Rockaways, NYC, Winter 2007(?). ©Juliana Beasley

"Tara", Rockaways, NYC, Summer 2002. ©Juliana Beasley

"Patient Walking Down 116th", Rockaways, NYC. ©Juliana Beasley

Rockaway's Archive #3

October 18, 2012. I miss 115th street. I miss Ma and I miss Billy. I miss being around people who make me smile and who I make smile. I even miss the stench of cat urine mixed with layers of cigarette smoke coating the walls and fabric in her room in the boarding house. It's time to wrap this project up and I'm still holding on. I haven't been out there in months and I didn't make it out there for the summer. My therapist told me that I had to put this on the top of my priority list. She even told me that she would give me $300. to help pay for a designer to make my book dummy. I wasn't even talking about the Rockaway's when she offered. She has stood by my side every inch of the way... through the deaths of both my parents, through the bleak emptiness of my own personal incarceration to the highs and the sound of my laughter weaving in and out of the last ten years of this roller coaster ride of mine. If you can't laugh at the completely absurd and the unfairness of life than you might miss out on a lot of laughing.

I turned the corner and I saw the super of the SRO on the ladder. I asked him if I could take a photograph of him.

"The Super", Rockaways, NYC. 2011. ©Juliana Beasley

I was hanging out at Lulu's boarding house. We were hanging outside on the stairs. I got into a conversation with her husband and a local. Lulu went her house and when she came out, she was carrying a platter covered in very young puppies. I believe they were only one week old. I asked her if I could take a portrait of her with the plate of puppies.

"LuLu and the Puppies on a Platter", Rockaways, NYC. 2011. ©Juliana Beasley

Rockaway's Archives #2

"Pastor Gary's Daughter", Rockaways, NY, 2011. ©Juliana Beasley

"Kelly, Pastor Gary's Daughter", Rockaways, NY, 2011. ©Juliana Beasley