Eight Images for Sale from "Eyes of Salamanca".

"Before the Rain"

"Sunday After Church"

"Barbwire Howdy"

"Sitting on Grain Bags"

"Toe Truck

"Holding Hands"

"The Carriage"

"Maria"

All of the above photographs are being sold in editions of 17 each at 8X10". All are priced at the low cost of $150.

The "Eyes of Salamanca" is an ongoing project which I plan to continue in 2009.

New York City Riviera

On a hot summer mid-afternoon, I walk down the boardwalk towards Beach 116. I'm wearing a new green bikini I bought at a local store out in Rockaway Park. Everything is on sale and I can't resist buying something there every time I get off the train from Manhattan. The bathing suit looks like something Jane Fonda might have worn in Barbarella. I have a Rollei Twin Lens Reflex (2.8 Zeiss) with a flash bracket strapped around my neck and about 10 lbs of camera equipment and 120 film in my backpack, braced to my waist. I feel more like a Marine than I will ever feel.

Nothing in sight to shoot, I bet my wages on 115th St. The stakes are high, I will surely find madness in-between the SRO's, boarding houses and empty lots lining the block.

A reddish-brown mastiff tied by a long rope is snoozing in the shade next to a beaten-up trailer, standing idle in a gravel lot. Several electrical cords connect the trailer to the SRO a few yards away. The windows are dusted over in layers of filth. "Honey" is printed on the side. Three beach lounge chairs sit empty in front. No, wheels; just perched on the ground like a bird who flew down to Florida for the winter and never returned home from the summer retreat.

"Hello, Hello," I holler. "Is anyone home?"

The dog wakes, charging me like a clumsy bull from a holding pen. I quickly shuffle backwards on my heels, cradling the dear Rollei in my hands before the imminent fall on my ass. With a quick tug of the rope, the collar chokes him before he can reach me. We stare at one another in a mutually pathetic standoff.

"Yeah, who is it?" A man appears from the busted door of his trailer home. "Eh, don't worry about him," he says as he pets the dog. "He's a big baby. See? Come and pet him." I'm wary, but I do.

"Have a seat. Would you like some water?"

"Can I take a photo of you and your dog?" I asked. When I begin to photograph, he begins a litany of the misdoings of Bush, every so often, saying, "Geesh, they are real assholes around here. They'll believe anything they hear."

"See, I went to Vietnam...." And it continued like that while I stood back and photographed him. Between, pressing down on the shutter and changing film, I could hear every sentence qualified with a whining "geesh". He rolled his eyes back behind tinted eye glasses circa 1978.

This is the day I met Bob or as I like to call him Trailer Bob. We became natural friends right away.

It was the summer of 2008. I was on the NYC Riviera. I put down my camera more often than I would like to admit and lay on the sand with the "tourists". I fearlessly jumped over shallow waves in the Atlantic Ocean and sneaked shots from a shared bottle of Jameson that I had bought in a local liquor store. I had a flawless tan. I became 16 years old. I had traveled to a far-away beach resort.

I met "him" in the most unlikeliest of places. He wasn't a native. He was just passing through until he found another cheap residence that was closer to his job. He was olive skinned, his eyelashes long, his Brooklyn accent undeniable and delectable. He was young and beautiful, ravished and vicious. I had lost all reason. I fell into a euphoric daze. I told him I was his Potato Chip Girl.

By mid-September, I was sitting on a bench with Trailer Bob, the salty wind blowing through our hair. The beach was empty, the boardwalk still. The summer was over. I stood at the railing, looking towards the ocean and dialed his number.

Answering machine.

Answering machine again.

"I'm here", I said. "Ya' know, the Rockaways is just not the same without you."

I closed my cell and turned to Bob. "I really did care about him."

"Geesh!", he said.

ALERT: Frieda and Leopard Lady Are Going Fast!

The limited editions of both Frieda and Leopard Lady are both selling off quickly. If you are interested in either of these editions, I would buy these hot cakes as soon as you can.

Juliana's Holiday Print Sale!

This holiday season I am offering an exciting sale of three of my images from"Last Stop:
Rockaway Park". All are well priced at 18X18" in editions of 15 with 2 APs.

From top to bottom of photographs above:

"Last Stop Diner", $300. USD

"Leopard Lady", $300. USD

"Miss Reingold", $250. USD

"Frieda", $250. USD

Recently, this long term project has been shown at Frieze in London and has become part of the collection at the Victoria and Albert also in London. The project has been shown in the US, Spain, Germany, and most recently in Paris.

This is an easy in for a seasoned or novice collector! So, jump in and give the love of the Rockaways either to yourself or to that other loved one!

You can purchase your favorite image from my website at www.julianabeasley.com.

Unity and Micheal

I took this photograph a couple of years ago with a digital camera. It was the first time that I had gone out to the Rockaways without my Rollei Twin Lens.

It was an overcast late summer day in August.

Before I left home, I put on a melon colored dress that I had bought at Old Navy. I wanted to look pretty; for once, my friends in the Rockaway's neighborhood would see me in something feminine. I wanted them to see me beyond the tough ruffian who trolls the streets with an over sized photo knapsack and a bandanna wrapped around my head.

"Oh, Juliana, you look cute!" was the first reaction I got when I ran into Richard when I got off the train on 116th st. His voice was less monotone than usual... an exclamation, no less. He grinned and looked downward.

I went over to Unity's boarding house on 113th street. I hadn't seen her for a while. Her lower appendages were swollen, making it hard for her to leave her room. I found her leaning her head out the window on the first floor. She was standing in the corridor. She was petting her cat, Micheal who twirled in circles with every stroke she gave him.

It began to drizzle. We went inside.

"Oh, darling", she said in a thick Scottish accent, "you haven't lost too much weight, have ya?" She passed her hand over to the V neck of my dress and pulled the material closer together, covering whatever cleavage there is to show.

"Oh, no, dear, you must be careful...you must be careful someone might say something. They might think the wrong things"

Micheal came in from the sill. I took this picture. And not until this evening did I find it amongst the deluge of digital files eating up my external hard drive.

Christoph Gielen's ARCADIA at Daniel Cooney Gallery

Don't miss out on Christoph Gielen's wonderful aerial shots and cityscape's at the Daniel Cooney Gallery.

What makes Christoph's work so compelling is the eeriness in which he depicts contemporary urban sprawl. However, don't get me wrong. On the contrary, his work is strangely beautiful. Homes and highways, become dollhouses and tubular patterns. Colors define the graphic quality of the imagery.

One of my favorites is oddly enough, not a aerial shot, but a haunting image taken in Shanghai. Deep blue envelopes the night and a building under construction. From side to side, top to bottom, gradations of indigo are broken into crisscross lines while a single guardrail intersects the bottom frame with a rusty yellow.

Super Kudos Christoph!

And not to mention, a little bird chirping outside my window in Jersey City told me that Christoph not only has a passion for being strapped in hanging out of helicopters, but he's sweet as cherry pie.

The show will be up till January 31st! So, get on your long johns and take a hike over to Chelsea. If yours truly can do it with five layers on...

Darn', it's cold out there!

Yep, the Holiday Sale is still going on....so, get it while they are hot! Put these little toasty-gem prints next to your Menorahs and trees and make a loved one know the love of the Rockaways! Queens!

She Said White

I would like to thank the absolutely divine, Justine Reyes for commenting on my black template for my blog and suggesting white. Yes, this works...I think I really like it.