By Jonathan Ment Photography
I have a number of photography sessions coming up including a coming of age celebration in Tannersville, NY and a smaller 75th Birthday gathering in Windham, NY and I will likely share details about each in the weeks ahead. This week, on a rare day free of other responsibilities, I am making time to share some photos I collected this summer. More will follow in the future as winter lends itself toward that.
My wife Renee and I spent much of three days walking around Manhattan recently and while the purpose of our visits wasn’t for photography on these trips, More than a few things caught this photographer’s eye.
From the historic architecture to the diverse street peddler fare, here are a couple of images from our time there. The inspiration for this quick post was St. Mark’s Church.
(Historic Photo by Arnold Moses, Photographer, from the Library of Congress.)
Here’s the plaque hanging at St. Mark’s In-The-Bowery today. The Community Trust is an organization “that connects past, present, and future generous New Yorkers with vital nonprofits working to make a healthy, equitable, and thriving community for all,” according to its website.
There’s no connection to Monopoly’s Community Chest, which apparently was a forerunner to the United Way. I thought there might have been which is why I checked.
St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery has 350 years of history as New York’s oldest site of continuous religious practice. The church itself is the second-oldest church building in Manhattan, after St. Paul’s Chapel in Lower Manhattan – another building that has always intrigued me.
Sometimes one gets so focused on the smaller details they can lose sight of the big picture. Of course, that wouldn’t be the approach for photographing a wedding or family reunion but when it comes to a building that’s well documented, it is ok to zero in what what catches your eye, After all, much of the time it is those very details that draw you in for a closer look. I was amused when I glanced through a few frames on my phone that I hadn’t taken any from far enough to see the entire building.
Growing up in Brooklyn, I have memories of my folks bringing home the occasional ‘Chinese Apple,” better known today as ‘pomegranate.’ I don’t think they ever showed up with dragon fruit, and in spite of how many gourmet grocery aisles I’ve wandered down and how many miles I’ve logged on the streets of Manhattan, I’m pretty sure these were the first I’ve seen. They were for sale a little further up 2nd Avenue. For a little neighborhood context, read on…
Wild looking, aren’t they!? And while dragon fruit is a tropical item, an association between dragons and China is why I associate the former somewhat exotic bit of produce with the latter.
In my teens and 20s, I spend a lot of time in this neighborhood. I’m sure there were a few events inside the St. Marks Church, though it was shops like St. Marks Sounds and Gem Spa on St. Mark’s Place a few blocks south, off 2nd Avenue that held greater interest.
Both are gone today and the street barely resembles the one I knew … since apparently evolving into “Japan Town,” “Little Japan,” or “Little Tokyo,” which may explain why I discovered there is a new Beard Papa’s cream puff shop one flight up! (Sorry, ate too quickly to share a photo of our purchase)
So there you have it – how a photographer spends a little down time in the Big Apple – always looking, always curious. Have something coming up you would like to remember in photos? Let’s talk.
You can email or text: 845 430 4030 to get started. Or dial that phone to chat!
I look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks as always for reading and reaching out for your photography needs,
Jonathan Ment Photography
Jonathan Ment Photography 