Tassa Drums At Flushing Meadows

Last Saturday I attended the opening reception of my friend Cork Lee's exhibition, Asian Pacifically New York at the Queens Museum of Art at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  Corky is a photo-journalist who specializes in documenting the experiences of Asian and Pacific Islander American communities of New York. His work is a great source of inspiration for me.
After the reception, I was on my way to the parking lot when I heard loud drum beats coming from the park. To my pleasant surprise a small Indian group was doing a celebration in the park with their drums. Above are some images I captured of the event with my little Olympus XA2. I dedicate these images to Corky.

Edit: After some Googling I found that the above event is the Annual Kitchrie Festival, a Hosay pageant. Hosay is an Indian street theater tradition originating in north Indian states, i.e., Uttar Pradesh and Jaipur, and brought to Trinidad in 1845 by East Indian indentured laborers whose descendents continue to practiced it in a cultural space that is uniquely Indo-Caribbean.

Film: Fujicolor 200

My Summer Lunch Time Hangout

No Eating On The Curb

Going For Takeout!

Philippine Day on Madison Ave.

Filipinos celebrate their independence day on June 12 but in New York City they had to celebrate it with parade and street fair one week earlier due to the city's parade permit schedule.

Appreciating M42 Screwmount Lenses

I bought the Pentax Spotmatic II cameras for the M42 screwmount lenses. They are known to be very good and sharp lenses but underrated by overly brand conscious shooters. The Pentax Takumar lenses specially, are well built and very smooth to focus. Recently it easy to build a complete lens kit with them since they can be easily acquired at a bargain. With proper lens mount adapters, they will work with many digital SLRs like Canon or Sony. They can also work with other Pentax K-mount cameras. I also use my screwmount lenses on my Pentax MX, a very small and compact SLR. It is almost the same size as my Barnack type rangefinder cameras; Leca IIF, Fed1 or Canon IIB.

Dance and Music For Mother Earth

Celebrating Mother Earth with music and dances during the 9th Annual Drums Along the Hudson Festival.

Cameras: Pentax Spotmatic II, SMC Takumar 105mm f2.8 lens, Leica M2, CV Color Skopar 35mm f2.5 lens.
Film: Fujicolor 200, Kodak BW400CN

The Pedi-Cabs of Broadway

Last weekend we went to see a Broadway show on 52nd Street. After the show, waiting for us by the theater's exit doors is a fleet of  Pedi-Cabs (bicycle rickshaws) competing to give the show patrons a tour of the Times Square area.
In the Philippines where I grew up, there are thousands of motorized Pedi-Cabs operating on the streets of Manila. Like in many Asian countries they are a cheap way to get around.