Bowery and Houston, 10:48 a.m., Jan. 16

A photo shoot. Should I know who these guys are? A woman with a British accent was taking their photo. She kept saying. "Amazing."

Noted

On 10th Street at Avenue B.

Going bananas

The Dickies.

When the Gap moved into the East Village

A reader comment from last Friday's post on the St. Marks Cinema:

I remember when the Gap opened — and one of the local street peeps dropped his drawers, backed up and shat directly on the big plate glass window. The East Village was very creative, vocally and fecally, about expressing its opinion on the encroaching gentrification...

Indeed, an article from May 4, 1988, in Women's Wear Daily discussed the neighborhood's reaction to the Gap, which opened at St. Mark's and Second Avenue in March 1988. They paid some $33,000 in monthly rent, which pretty much blew the curve for any other merchant.

Here are some passages from the article, which isn't online:

----

The Gap's move onto St. Marks Place here has not engendered neighborly love. Far from it.

The situation is a dramatic example of how sportswear chains, in the fight for market positioning, have come to be seen as harbingers of change in older, deteriorated neighborhoods, bringing with them the threat of escalating rents and a squeeze on smaller retailers.

Reaction to the 4,000-square-foot store, which opened March 16, ranges from quiet discontent to strident opposition. Similarly, when the 700-unit chain opened on the corner of Haight & Ashbury Streets in San Francisco last year, locals picketed the store and threw eggs at the windows for several days.

A frequent response to the glare of The Gap's fluorescent lights has been, "There goes the neighborhood." The store, at the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue, is at the intersection of the East Village's two primary shopping streets.

The East Village is unquestionably on the move; opinions vary on whether the direction of the move is to be applauded. The Gap could be the magnet that attracts other retail chains to the area and changes the face of the neighborhood forever.

Many observers predict the arrival of The Gap will speed gentrification and push out long-time tenants. It is an old story reminiscent of other areas of the city -- the West Village, Columbus Avenue and lower Broadway. Local retailers fear rents will soar and they will be forced to leave. Some stores have already relocated to side streets.

----

While landlords cheer the appreciation of their proporety, tenants boo the deterioration of another bohemian mecca.

"The East Village is original. There is nothing like it," said Christine Braun, manager of Trash & Vaudeville, a store known for its funky to contemporary clothes. "But slowly it's changing and the Gap is a sign that there will be more."

According to Braun, there is a new clientele on St. Marks adhering to the norm and rejecting the underground values that once prevailed. "These kids have credit cards. Years ago they never did."

Retailers credit the unique boutiques for improving East Village shopping traffic and doubt The Gap will lure people downtown. They also argue that The Gap's clothing would not compete with their merchandise. Some mentioned that they only thing The Gap might do is assuage those tourists who are intimidated by the neighborhood.

-------

Pete Mayo, owner of East Village Leather, on St. Marks Place, elaborated: "Anyone who has a lease pending hasn't got a shot in hell." He signed a lease in October 1987 -- "probably the last one on the block before The Gap moved in" -- at a fifth of The Gap's price.

Mayo's partner also owns St. Marks Leather, which until three years ago shared The Gap's space along with Shazaam, a designer boutique, and the St. Marks Theater. He and Mayo opened East Village Leather because the lease at St. Marks Leather will be up for renewal soon and they wanted to insure a spot on the block.

"Who knows what will be happening here with rents then?" said Mayo. "It's getting to the point where the small retailers are having to grab what they can. Many are moving off St. Marks and Second Avenue to the side streets, like Fifth between First and Second Avenues. Only about four businesses have been on this block for over 10 years."

"Mayo, like most of those interviewed, expressed a desire to see the new Gap fail. Residents want to it to close on principle. They say The Gap is ruining the neighborhood.

"There are tour buses coming down the block now," said a 10-year veteran of St. Marks Place. "On Sunday afternoon it's scary with all the blue blazers and gold buttons."

One East Village painter was so angry the night after the store opened that he threw a cinder block at the full length glass windows. They didn't break. "The windows buckled, but after three blows I gave up," he said.

--------

Garrick Aug Associates, one of the largest commercial store leasing companies here, arranged the deal for The Gap in the East Village. According to Faith Consolo, vice president of Garrick Aug, The Gap pays $100 per square foot annually. Rent on the 4,000-square-foot-store is therefore $33,333 per month. It is "absolutely" the most money paid in the block's history, according to Consolo.

"The Gap has broken the barrier of what that area is all about," said Consolo. "It will be the anchor. The Gap will have the same impact as Tower Records did the same impact as Tower Records did on lower Broadway. And the East Village will eventually like lower Broadway or Columbus Avenue. There will be less color and more sophistication."

Consolo predicted the East Village would have fewer galleries, restaurants, and family-run shops. "Chain stores are interested in the East Village now, sophisticated merchants, both national and local."

----------

Charles FitzGerald, landlord, store owner and resident of the East Village, elaborated on The Gap's appearance and influence on the area: "The Gap could have used the corner space to experiment with new merchandising techniques that would appeal more to the local customer rather than just putting up the formula store."

FitzGerald sees The Gap's effects from two perspectives -- as a landlord and as a long-time resident. He arrived on St. Marks Place in 1959. Seven years later, he purchased 9 St. Marks -- where he lives and also operates Bowl & Board, a home goods store -- and, a year after, 12 St. Marks. In 1984, FitzGerlad bought 33 St. Marks Place, adjacent to the site of the new Gap.

"As a real estate owner, it is obviously positive," declared FitzGerald. "Property goes up in value and there is an inferred stability with The Gap's presence."

"Now I can get the money to renovate the building. I wasn't able to before The Gap or something like it came in and stepped up the area to a new retailing plateau." FitzGerald has been losing money on the building from the start.

As a longtime resident, FitzGerald would like to see the area go back to the way it was in the Sixties but realizes it just won't happen. "Because of the low rents -- when I moved here I paid $20 per month with a bunch of people -- there was opportunity for the individual's creativity. Everything was new and that's what made the East Village a vital place.

"Slowly our neighborhood has undergone the transformation from being a caldron of creativity to a standard business operation. You used to have to do something very individual to get people here."

He doubts whether The Gap will last in its new locale, noting that people go to the East Village to get away from the mid-America image The Gap projects. He said the same merchandise with a different name carrying a less negative connotation might go over fine.

----

Many interviewed ... said The Gap is always empty. "No one has been flocking there so far," said Bellomo. Among the few customers on a Friday afternoon were a couple of Dutch tourists. "I was surprised to see it here," said one. "I heard people outside complaining, but I heard they had cheap jeans."

Jean Martinez, another Gap customer, also found The Gap on St. Marks an odd sight. "It sticks out like a sore thumb. I didn't want to come in but my husband needed jeans really badly," she said. "I said to him I hope no one I know sees me in here."

Corporate executives of The Gap, based in San Bruno, Calif., declined to be interviewed for this article, but Greg Odem, assistant manager of the East Village store, took issue with those who said things were dull inside: "We are busy at night and on the weekends. The adult store (a Gap Kids shares the space) is above corporate projections. We didn't expect the store to be doing as well so soon."

Odem said the store generated more than $1,000 a day and added that it was already evident the store would make it on Second Avenue. Although the store has entrances on St. Marks Place and Second Avenue, the chain opted to go with the 133 Second Avenue address.

"They think we are destroying the East Village image, but like everywhere else, they will accept it," said Odem. "It's just going to take some getting used to one both our parts. Besides, developers were already planning to revamp the area. We just happened to be the first to move in."

He admitted, though, that there was resistance: "We get stickers on our window asking, 'Why are you here?' or saying 'Go away' and so forth every morning."

-------

Postscript.

The St. Mark's location closed in 2001, one of the eight Gap stores that were shuttered in 2001 and 2002.

The corner today....

Look, no Superdive!

The last time I looked at Google's Maps of the neighborhood, I had nearly two-year-old views of late summer 2007. Now, it seems as if Google has caught up to the spring of 2009 (based on the movies being advertised at the Loews Village — "17 Again!")

Anyway, it's really amazing how much has changed just since late last spring...for instance, do you recall a kinder, gentler time along the 200 block of Avenue A...?

Spring 2009...



And...




For further reading:
Traveling the East Village streets of late summer 2007 (and who wants to go see "Mr. Bean's Holiday"?)

Google Streets (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Not everyone appreciates Danny Meyer's hospitality advice

Discarded books somewhere on East Ninth Street. (What is this book?)

No pants

Fourth Street near Avenue A the other morning -- 8 degree wind chill.

Previously.

For anyone who thinks the East Village is turning into a big campus

On Avenue B near 12th Street.

Tower to reopen on Broadway (for a multimedia installation)

From the press release:

Spotlighting more than 20 artists that work with sound, light, and image, Never Can Say Goodbye celebrate the store’s historic role as the locus of the community — the old way to meet people face to face and share music and information.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Right when people are talking about an uptick in LES violence... Bob Arihood brings word of a double stabbing at the Pyramid Club (Neither More Nor Less) And the mainstream media is covering it too (ABC-7)

The victim of the Dec. 5 Delancey bus-bike tragedy was a 74-year-old resident of 620 E. 13th St. in the Tanya Towers project (The Villager)

Another kitschy/thrift store closing (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Rebecca Marx at the Voice on the Tavern on the Green and Ray's sagas: "Proceeds from the auction will go towards paying off Tavern's $8 million debt; it's too bad that some of it can't go towards paying off Ray's, too." (Fork in the Road)

Looking at Balade, the new Lebanese restaurant on First Avenue (Fork in the Road) And find more food news and opinions courtesy of BaHa (With Leftovers)

About tonight's CB3 community benefit plan meeting (Save the Lower East Side! ... and the Lo-Down)

Koi bags its Bowery plans (Eater)

"Unique living opportunity" on LES — complete with roof deck! (BoweryBoogie)

And Indian Curry Mahal was getting gutted the other day at 78 Second Ave. ...




And, from a reader, at the Newark Airport the other day... Tiger still lives in an ad...

Looking at the Bunker on the Bowery, former home to William Burroughs, among others

In response to the post yesterday on the endangered White House at 338 Bowery... several readers sent along the following link from online magazine The Morning News.

It's an interview with Brooklyn-based photographer Peter Ross and his collection "of weird, touching, and often unexpected" photos of the possessions found in the former Bowery home of William Burroughs...


[Photo by Peter Ross]

There's also a Q-and-A with Ross, who talks a little more about 222 Bowery (aka The Bunker), where Burroughs lived from 1974 till his death in 1997. The building's owner, John Giorno, has left Burroughs' apartment intact, where his possessions include blow darts and nunchucks.


[Photo by Walter Chin via]

An excerpt from the Q-and-A with Ross:

Q. I have a sense that this stuff couldn’t have existed at the same time as an iPhone or even a digital camera—it seems very much from another era. Do you feel like this is just because Burroughs was old, or is there something else going on?

A. Well, I bet I’ll go through half a dozen iPhones in the time it would have taken Burroughs to resole those shoes. That makes me feel greedy, wasteful, and self-indulgent. Maybe I’d be better off keeping the modern world out. Maybe we all would. Let’s all just grab our nunchucks, put on our shoes and hat and walk the streets of Manhattan.

Here's a look inside the apartment, which is used by Giorno for Buddhist teachings...



[Photos via Derek Wang at Flickr]

Here's a little more on 222 Bowery via The Times from December 2000:

Two years ago the poet John Giorno succeeded in getting landmark designation for the 1885 brick loft building at 222 Bowery, whose occupants have included the artists Fernand Leger and Mark Rothko and the beat writer William S. Burroughs. Mr. Giorno serves as secretary-treasurer of the co-op board for the building, which was built as the Young Men's Institute by the Y.M.C.A., and this year he had to backtrack on masonry repairs to meet Landmarks Preservation Commission requirements.

The changes increased the repair budget by two-thirds, Mr. Giorno said, but he is happy with the way things worked out.

In 1884 the Real Estate Record and Guide predicted a rosy future for the Bowery, the lower section of Third Avenue from Chatham Square in Chinatown to Fourth Street, saying that it was "destined to be the great retail mart of the central and eastern portion of the city," even though it was lined with beer gardens and saloons and surrounded by tenements and lodging houses. But the officers of the Y.M.C.A. focused on the saloons, because a year later they built their first branch, the Young Men's Institute, at 222 Bowery, between Spring and Prince Streets, to try to counteract the forces of dissipation.

While the Bowery turns into one giant luxury property after another, it's nice to know that this piece of history remains intact...

For further reading:
The Last Days of Loserville (The Village Voice)

A Villager editorial: "Save our Ray's"

From an editorial in this week's issue of The Villager titled "Save our Ray's"...

There has been a lot of talk in the neighborhood in recent years about preserving local mom-and-pop businesses, and keeping out the big chain stores. Ray’s Candy Store is a perfect example of a local business that truly offers a unique, authentic experience, from its old-style soda fountain to Ray himself and the cast of quirky characters and locals who patronize his place.

Until his recent cash-flow problems, Ray has paid his rent faithfully for more than three decades — so one could say, he’s paid his dues. His place used to be one of the only businesses open on Avenue A at night, when taxis wouldn’t even dare come that far east. He slept in his store to protect it from burglars. He’s been slashed and slammed with everything from jagged fluorescent bulbs to metal sidewalk vault doors, and survived.

Also in The Villager this week: A Ray's recap from Chris Flash. Read it here.

Meanwhile, as noted Tuesday....

A PayPal account has been established to help Ray's Candy Store. Those who are interested in helping out may use this e-mail address:

saverayscandystore@gmail.com

And Bob Arihood has the latest update at Neither More Nor Less:

Ray claims that he met with his landlord and that the landlord was not very sympathetic . According to Ray the landlord has too many tenants not paying rent these days and that he expects Ray to pay his rent ....now. So it seems there will be no grace period for Ray and his candy store and thus the future is ever so uncertain .

Previously:
Behind the landlord ultimatum at Ray's

LES crime watch: "if you ask around the neighborhood, you'll find a pretty strong perception that things have worsened over the past year"

At The Village Voice, Graham Rayman takes a comprehensive look at the crime stats in our "crime-free" city, particularly at the 9th Precinct and LES... Here are some excerpts from his article:

Compared to the high-crime years of the late '80s and early '90s, the Lower East Side has far fewer serious reported crimes, according to police statistics. Of the four precincts, only the 9th Precinct showed an overall increase in crime last year, with increases in assault, grand larceny, and rape, and a big jump in burglary. The 5th, 7th, and 13th precincts, meanwhile, all showed overall declines.

On the other hand, comparing 2008 to 2009, there were some increases here and there. Felony assaults in the 7th Precinct jumped by 40 percent last year. Grand larcenies increased, as did rapes. Assaults in the 5th Precinct were up compared to 2007. And the 13th Precinct saw a rise in burglaries.

The number of neighborhood kids 15 or younger sent to the city juvenile justice system rose from 38 in 2008 to 54 in 2009. Typically, about half of those admissions were on robbery or assault charges.

The Voice also obtained misdemeanor arrest numbers for the four precincts, which show overall increases from 2006 to 2008 — largely fueled by jumps in burglary and larceny offenses, along with a significant increase in low-level marijuana busts.

For example, misdemeanor arrests in the 9th Precinct jumped by almost 25 percent between 2006 and 2008, largely as a result of burglary and theft cases. Misdemeanor arrests in the 5th Precinct rose by about 20 percent, largely on theft offenses.

Overall, the numbers present a picture of relative order compared to the bad old days. But if you ask around the neighborhood, you'll find a pretty strong perception that things have worsened over the past year, particularly as a result of these loosely organized groups of teens and young men who identify with a given public housing project or city block.

"We certainly saw an upsurge in the past couple of years of the presence of gangs," says Matthew Guldin, a lifelong educator who retired as dean of students for a Lower East Side high school last June. "You knew it was there. I think some of it has to do with the economic downturn. The crisis always comes first in the poorest neighborhoods. With fewer jobs available for teens, parents being laid off, and schools and community agencies losing funding, there are fewer positive options available to engage teenagers during the after-school hours. And I think YouTube, MySpace, texting, the communications technology, exacerbates it."

Previously on EV Grieve:
9th Precinct sees slight increase in overall crime for year; 74 of 76 NYC police precincts see lower numbers

The Post notes a "90 PERCENT SURGE IN BURGLARIES" in the East Village

In response to recent violence in the East Village: Alphabet City Neighbors

Ray's Candy Store featured in amNY

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Geoff for passing along a copy of Monday's amNY, which included a feature on Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A.

You may click on the image to give it a read...



A few excerpts....

"If the landlord gives me more time and we have warm weather, I could make more money," said Alvarez, who turns 77 this month. "I work every day and I lose $200."

---------

Barbara Chupa, who runs a local insurance company and has managed the property for 10 years, said it's unlikely that Alvarez will be on the street soon, because it can take a long time to legally kick someone out for nonpayment of rent.

"[But] I have to proceed because the owner can't let you stay there for nothing," Chupa said.

Of course, this is already dated given Bob Arihood's most recent report.

Articles that I didn't get around to reading

Baby grand TV set discarded

On 11th Street near Second Avenue.

What's coming to The Telephone Bar space? Some fratty debauchery, perhaps

At the December CB3/SLA meeting, the following item was on the agenda:

Mitchell Banchik, 149 2nd Ave (currently Telephone Bar); full liquor, transfer ownership

Mitchell Banchik owns such bars as Gin Mill, Jake’s Dilemma and Down The Hatch in the Village.

Have you seen Down the Hatch's slogan?

The Telephone Bar and Grill closing after 22 years

An EV Grieve readers points us to the Facebook page of The Telephone Bar and Grill on Second Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street... where this message awaits:

In case you haven't heard: Telephone has been sold will be closing on Jan.31st.
This is a special invite to all Telephone family past and present who have shared in so many memories. All are welcome!!

[Telephone photo via]

White House blues

If I did one of those "stories to watch" features at the beginning of the year, then the White House, the last of the neighborhood's SROs at 338 Bowery, would be on that list. There's a long history at this four-story building erected in 1916 that's now serving as a hostel as well as a permanent home for a handful of low-income residents...

The building’s owner, Metro Sixteen, is affiliated with the hotel developer Sam Chang. Their plans: demolish the White House and replace it with a nine-story hotel. Because we really need another luxury hotel around here. (For more read this article in The Villager... or this piece from the Times from last May.) As the Times reported, after Metro's purchase in 2007, the building was included in an extension of the NoHo Historic District, putting a damper on the developer’s plans.

Per the Times:

Metro Sixteen has applied to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for permission to develop the site, asking to be considered under the commission’s hardship provision. The city has not yet ruled on the request. But if it is granted, the developer could demolish the hotel and rebuild on the site, effectively bulldozing one of the last remnants of the Bowery’s flophouse past.

Here's a shot by Spencer Platt via Getty Images from 2002...it's of Don, one of the White House's permanent residents...wonder if Don is still around, and if anyone has had to open those instructions on the wall behind him...



Last September, a sidewalk shed went up for, according to permits, "emergency repairs."




The sidewalk shed remains today...



...butting up against the brand-new Subway next door. (Perhaps it was the Subway manager who complained in December that he/she could not put up a business sign because of the sidewalk shed...)

Imagine if could be easy/convenient to say the emergency repairs weren't enough -- and the building has to be razed. As BoweryBoogie has reported, other parcels of this stretch are now primed for demolition, including 185-191 Bowery.

Let's hope that this address can be preserved/refurbished. There has to be a better alternative than just simply tearing a building down and putting up a luxury glass box.

Meanwhile, a "partial vacate" order exists at the White House...



Back to that Times piece...

Some tenants ... resent the fact that the White House is regarded as a repository of "human interest" stories. At the same time, the convenient concentration of so much human frailty has transformed the hotel into a living museum of sad stories.

It will be another sad story the day the White House goes.

[Top photo via Curbed]

The Bowery like you haven't seen in a long, long time

Our blogging friend This Ain't the Summer of Love bought a copy of the out-of-print book "The Bowery."



In a post yesterday, he provides a snapshot of the book's content. For instance, here's a shot of Confidence Bar and Grill at 254 Bowery, one of the many joints featured in Lionel Rogosin's 1958 documentary, "On the Bowery."



Today, 254 Bowery is a hole in the ground ....

A scene from the new Bowery

I never posted the following slice-of-life from last year... Seems fitting now after the other posts for a little contrast...



The two women -- one with a hat, one with a J Crew bag -- provoke a mild outburst from the men sitting in the shade outside the former Kelley & Ping space on the Bowery. It's the usual stuff. "Woooo!" And "Hey what's the hurry?" The men laugh and go back about their business. And sneak a peek as the women continue walking closer to the Bowery Hotel.

If the women are aware of the attention, then they do not let on. One is talking loudly on her cell phone. Her friend listens, and shouts into her friend's phone every so often.

Penistrator clues: Haley Joel Osment owns one baseball hat, probably

So, you remember all that business about someone who looked something like Haley Joel Osment drawing a snow peepee on East 12th Street last January... (it made international headlines...)



Of course, there were some people who weren't convinced that this, indeed, could be the star of such motion pictures as "Artificial Intellignce: AI." Like, for instance, one commenter, who we'll call "JM," wrote: "maybe it's just some fratty white kid in a ballcap."

Last night, an anonymous commenter left a message on that post, saying: "the only way you can actually tell its him is from the hat. there are tons of pics/videos of him wearing that hat all over the place."

It's true, we found. Look! He wears a hat that looks similar to the person who was drawing a snick (snow dick) on that windshield...







P.S.

Belated kudos to New York magazine for naming the Penistrator one of the reasons to love New York in 2009...

Hard to explain

From the lead of New York magazine's feature on Julian Casablancas this week:

Julian Casablancas is at an impasse. The front man of the Strokes ... is gently haggling with a hostess at Momofuku Noodle Bar. She is insistent that the New York native leave his electric guitar and silver suitcase full of stage props unattended at the front door. (Hostess: "We can keep an eye on it for you." Casablancas: "Uh, sorry, no.")

-----

The hostess reluctantly finds a corner for his stuff and a perch from which he can watch it, and Casablancas apologizes once again: "I’m sorry. I just didn't want to leave it there. It's New York."

Noted

From a CNN/Money article titled Botox to vacations: Where bankers spend their bonuses.... As they note: After last year's dry spell, bonuses for top-level executives are expected to be sky high. Maybe even records." So what are they spending their money on?

Of course, the first status residence is in Manhattan, and bankers are already starting to check out the goods in advance of their windfall. They're putting up huge down payments, which has helped the $3 million to $5 million sector of the city's housing market to rebound, said Pamela Liebman, CEO of New York-based brokerage firm Corcoran.

At the low end, they can score a three-bedroom, two bath condo right on Central Park or a tony address on Fifth Avenue. The more adventurous poet-at-heart bankers can tap out buying a five-story Queen Anne on the Upper West Side or head to the once-bohemian East Village for two joined buildings that boast an owner's triplex with a stunning terrace -- and income-generating apartments and businesses below.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

For months and months and months we've been waiting to see what takes the former Max Brenner/Chocolate Bald Man/Slowly Rot My Teeth space on Second Avenue at Ninth Street. You bet we made the obligatory "will probably be a bank branch" joke...



As Jeremiah is now reporting... it's becoming a HSBC branch, the fourth bank branch in two blocks. Uh, at least it's better than a Starbucks?

More Avenue A woe: Lucy's business not so hot either (Neither More Nor Less)

Please do NOT click on this link if you loved the Cedar Tavern. You will likely want to punch something or someone (Curbed)

East Village resident ID'd as victim of last week's bus-bicycle tragedy on Delancey (DNAinfo)

A Madison Avenue movie mystery (Flaming Pablum)

Lobby bars for the Chelsea Hotel? (Chelsea Now via Grub Street)

Brooks is understandably aggravated about several things (Lost City)

Downtown Pix show kicks off today (Stupefaction)

From Fork in the Road:

At last night's Community Board 3 meeting, the owner of Plan B appeared to apply for a license transfer for — wait for it -- the tavern and salon he's planning to open in the Plan B space on East 10th Street. "We're re-tooling the concept," he explained. No, really?

A Dunkin' Donuts closed and moved on Fulton Street downtown...




Perhaps the former location will be replaced by another Dunkin' Donuts.

PayPal account established for Ray's Candy Store

A PayPal account has been established to help Ray's Candy Store. Those who are interested in helping out may use this e-mail address:

saverayscandystore@gmail.com

Previously:
Behind the landlord ultimatum at Ray's

For more updates, be sure to check out Neither More Nor Less. Bob Arihood always has the latest.

John Penley has a message for any future Ray's tenants

Meanwhile, longtime East Village activist/photojournalist John Penley has a new message atop his photo blog: