The forecast predicted a sunny day – although with real-feel temperatures below 23º – so I thought it was the right moment to go outside to use my medium-format film camera (120mm) again, and take some photos of my fantastic home city.
I took the A train (I’m sure you have heard “Take the ‘A’ Train” at some point in your life, but if not, just click on the link after reading my article ;)). My first plan was to go to the Promenade at Battery Park or some place at the southern end of Manhattan, but when the conductor on the train announced the next stop would be “West 4th,” I decided to changed my itinerary for a visit to Washington Square Park.
Washington Square is one of those places that always showcases an intense and passionate spirit of life. It has been referenced or showed in around 150 movies and TV shows. I remember one of them, Barefoot in the Park (1967) – starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. A romantic-comedy based on a play by Neil Simon, full of absurdities and wit that always bring a smile to my face.
Stepping into the park feels like walking into a bubble brimming with entertainment and all kinds of activities on display, individual and communal. It is as if people go there with a clear mission, exploring the social response to their proposals, honing their skills or just enjoying everyone else who is present.
I was surprised that even in the frigid, windy weather, several couples of players were already occupying the concrete chess tables that are located along one of the entrance walkways. I heard music, small bands or solo performers, older and younger folks playing jazz, foxtrot, ballads as a backdrop for all those like me who were there for “something special”: taking photos, painting, loving, engaging in work in favor of some cause or community, playing, or simply sitting around the central fountain, which was shut off (I guess for the season), so people and their kids were using it as a playground.
Vital force was electrifying the air. New Yorkers, tourists from abroad and other states, everyone taking advantage of a sunny day, in the uncertainty of this moment in the U.S. and in the world. Walking around in the park wearing my boots, not barefoot as Redford in the movie, I was smiling remembering Jane Fonda saving Redford from falling off the ledge of a building, and the absurdity of Charles Boyer passing through their apartment to go to his bohemian room in the attic. No more absurd than the drama and tragedy that flood the real world today.
So here are some scenes from that sunny day in Washington Square, captured with one of my old film cameras.
Technical Information:
Camera: Mamiya M645 Super.
Lenses: Mamiya Senkor C 80mm F2.8, Mamiya Senkor 150mm F4
Film: Ilford Delta 400
Last Round in Sight 