Buskers of NYC Kickstarter Project

"The word "busk" comes from the Spanish root word "buscar", meaning "to seek" – buskers are literally seeking fame and fortune. The term "busking" was first noted in the English language around the middle 1860s in Great Britain. Up until the 20th century buskers were commonly called minstrels in America, Europe and other English-speaking lands." -Wikipedia

I have just started a project on Kickstarter. For those of you who have never heard of it, Kickstarter is an online venue for funding of creative projects. You'll find anything from films to boardgames on the site at various levels of funding. It is an all or nothing proposition. I decide how much it will take to complete the project and the project only gets funded if that goal is reached. There are rewards set up based on the amounts pledged. Here is the video I did, explaining a little about the project.

Simply put, I would like to self publish a photography book about the buskers or street performers and artists in New York City. I know... not another book about NYC. But yes, it’s another book. Only I think I have a pretty cool angle.

My vision for the book is a photo book about the people and cultures in the city and the way they share it on the streets and in the subways. From the pianist who brings his piano down to the 4,5,6 platform on a dolly and the electric violin player who performs like a rock-star in a giant arena at Union Square to the street artist at the City Hall Park who creates amazing cityscapes using nothing but cardboard, a putty-knife and spray-paint. These are all people who are sharing their art and, in some cases, make a living with it. I will tell their stories, mostly in pictures, but I will also include a little background about many of the people I photograph.

I will post updates and some of the shots I get on this site and also the Kickstarter page just to give everyone a preview. There are lots of cool rewards including prints, the book, a limited edition box of 11 prints, a portrait session and even design services. So please check it out at Kickstarter and make a pledge to help make it happen.

Thanks.

NYCinHDR vs NYCBuskers

I have decided to do a self-published book project. It was partly inspired by my involvement with Kickstarter (post about that coming soon). My original idea was to do a NYCinHDR book. I have been interested in strengthening my HDR skills and this sounded like a great way to do this. It is definitely a city rich in depth and urban texture, an ideal subject for HDR. Another idea I had recently was to make the project about the people of the city. Mostly the street and subway performers found throughout the city. Each subject has it's pros and cons.

As far as I know, there has not been a book dedicated to HDR photography of New York. I don't really want to redo all the iconic views in HDR form. So what do I do to keep it fresh but still New York? One thought is to give a little more context to the images with some anecdotal or historic information about the places in the photos. One of the drawbacks is it will have to be mostly architectural due to the nature of HDR. Not to mention, there are so many photo books of the city already, would HDR be enough to make this one appealing and not just another NYC photo book?

An HDR image of storm clouds rolling over the Brooklyn Bridge.

I had an idea once to do an album with only musicians from the subway. I've heard some really talented ones and thought it would make a great compilation. There is something that attracts me to these people. I recently shot a cello player while I was at Highline Park shooting brackets for HDR. It was the highlight of my day. I posted the photos, tweeted the link and a few hours I had a message from @sawlady on twitter asking me if I would like to shoot her. She called herself a busker so I looked it up. In a nutshell, it's an old English term for street performer.

A busker playing for the crowds awaiting the Ferry at Battery Park.

So what is more interesting, the buildings or the people? Many would say the people. Can I find a way to mix them both in? I'm not sure. There would have to be some continuity between the images besides being NYC, I think. I am kicking around the idea of using Kickstarter (no pun) to get people's input based on what they would contribute to.

Either way, I will be continuing to shoot both subjects so I don't have to decide now.