NY Through the Lens - New York City Photography

I had the pleasure of being interviewed for Mortal Muses recently. Mortal Muses was one of the first great groups I got into on Flickr and they have branched out and started a really great photography site.

Click through the image above to read my interview including, most importantly, what I think my superpower would be!

I will put the link to the interview here as well:

Conversation with Vivienne Gucwa

Enjoy :)

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“A tale of my one eyed view of the world…”

I have never known what it is like to view the world out of both eyes.

Since I have been dependent on one eye since birth, I didn’t even know anything was ‘wrong’ until I was 10 or 11 years old when I performed poorly on a routine eye exam at school. I was told that my right eye was severely ‘lazy’ at the time and that it was impossible to fix properly. And so, I was fitted for (some really ugly) glasses that only had a super strong prescription in one of the lenses and told that if I just wore my glasses diligently that I would one day encourage my super ‘lazy’ eye to ‘work’ properly.

Vision out of my right eye is nearly non-existent. If I close my left eye and try to use my right eye to view things, I can just barely make out blurry shapes and all light is scattered.

After seeing a variety of optometrists over the years who all seemed to have different explanations for what they thought was wrong with my vision and after a really harrowing semester in Microbiology Lab where I had numerous issues using the binocular microscopes (amusingly, this was also my favorite class despite the issues), I finally went to an ophthalmologist to get to the bottom of things. My ophthalmologist shook her head when I explained about all of woes with wearing glasses for years (massive headaches despite having the right prescription). She ended up explaining after a lengthy exam (and I will simplify the explanation here) that my brain just does not utilize my right eye properly and that no amount of wishful thinking and powerful lenses would ‘convince’ my right eye to magically start working.

And so, the other night when a bug flew into my good eye (the left one) while I was in Brooklyn and proceeded to move around and scratch my cornea before I got it out of my eye, I was very, very lucky to be with my boyfriend because not only was it ridiculously painful to deal with but having to hold my good eye closed while tears streamed down my face from both eyes due to the trauma nearly rendered me incapable of getting around since I couldn’t see anything at all. I also have him to thank for not only getting me to the emergency room at Beth Israel in one piece but also cracking jokes while we waited which made me panic less since all I could think about were the worst case scenarios (and for finding a pharmacy open at 5 in the morning and leading me there when I was beyond blind so I could get the antibiotic eye-drops I needed).

My eye is nearly healed after a pretty scary weekend that consisted of a lot of sleeping, listening to music and podcasts in the dark (I had extreme sensitivity to light). I was shocked to read in the various comment threads on my Facebook and on my Google Plus over the past few days about how many people also view the world out of only one eye.

I do find it really interesting that I tend to pose with my good eye showing in self-portraits and in photos taken of me by other people. I never noticed I did this until recently when I shot a whole batch of self-portraits and realized that I seemed to favor angling myself with my good eye showing (the image in this post was a throw-away from that batch and amusingly features my good eye).

I also don’t really know how my one-eyed view of the world affects my photography. I think about it from time to time though and it is interesting to ponder but I guess I will never know how my photography would have progressed differently if I could see out of both of my eyes.

I do know that I am seriously considering wearing a protective suit the next time I go outside…;)

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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My regular photography for sale here, email me, or ask for help.

Vivienne Gucwa photography exhibited on a large screen in midtown, New York City

Here is a pretty huge bit of news that I have been jumping up and down for joy about the whole day!

For the rest of the summer, around 70 of my photos of New York City can be viewed on an absolutely gigantic screen in midtown Manhattan. They are in a random rotation at Big Screen Plaza located between 29th and 30th street off of 6th Avenue (also known as the Eventi Open Air Plaza). To say that I am excited would be a huge understatement.

The screen is a 30 x 16 ft. HD-format LED screen and is in a 10,000-square foot outdoor multimedia venue that hosts major events and screenings of an eclectic mix, ranging from cinema to sports, from the arts to fashion.

I don’t know if I will be able to wipe this huge smile off my face!

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy the photo on display in this image: “The Manhattan Bridge and the New York City Skyline at Sunset” here, email me, or ask for help.

The BlograpHER event hosted by Adorama

Everyone, I am really, really excited to announce this bit of news.

I will be co-leading a session called “Developing Your Unique Vision” with the wonderful Lotus Carroll and Lisa Bettany at an event called Blographer on August 2nd hosted by Adorama here in NYC.

Here are the details:

The Blographer Event brought to you by Adorama

Did I mention that I am excited? :)

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View my photography for sale here, email me, or ask for help.

My photography in Times Square for Artists Wanted. 43rd and Broadway. Midtown, New York City.

Yesterday was quite a day! It started off when I was notified that this article/interview with me about my photography was published online which then went (mildly) viral during the course of the day: Shooting New York City, heart, art and soul .

To top it all off, I ended up taking a little trip in the evening uptown to Times Square to view my photography on a nice size screen in the middle of 43rd Street and Broadway as part of the Artists Wanted contest!

I wish I had known which screen my photo was going to show up on because I would have positioned myself on that side of the (very crowded) staging area but this photo will have to do. I was so stoked that I burst into a huge and slightly ridiculous joker-smile that must have been so over-the-top that a woman standing next to me nudged me and said “Oh! That must have been your work up there, eh?” with a grin. I guess I couldn’t quite hide my crazy excitement :).

You can view the photo of mine that was chosen from the portfolio I submitted here. I was really pleased that they chose this particular photo out of the nine photos in my contest portfolio since it holds a lot of sentiment.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “In Another Place and Time - Chinatown - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

“Shooting New York City, with heart, art, and soul”. Photo: The New York City Skyline.

I am really excited and proud to share this with everyone!

An article all about my photography was just published online which covers how I got started with photography, how I feel about NYC, and my thoughts about the difficulty of monetizing art online.

==> Here is the link to the article/interview:

Shooting New York City, with heart, art, and soul

Enjoy!

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View this photo larger and on black and interact on my Google Plus page

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Buy “The Infinite Sprawl - The Empire State Building and the New York City Skyline” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

The New York City skyline featuring the Manhattan Bridge as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge. New York City.

I am in an exceptionally great mood today. Tonight, I am attending the first ever gallery showing of my photography. It’s a group show with three other photographers and a private event where 8 of my photos will be on display. I will post all about it over the next few days (with photos of course). I also just got back from the orthopedic specialist who gave me the go ahead to abandon my crutches (from my bike accident a week ago). While I am still dealing with a ligament tear, I am thrilled that I can just wear my knee brace to the event tonight!

In honor of today, I am re-posting this post from a few months back. It’s about my photography origins and it makes me well up with tears when I read it because it feels like I have come so very far in a relatively short amount of time. It’s been a bumpy road full of challenges and road-blocks but it’s also been one hell of an adventure.

It seems fitting to post today somehow. I am so thankful for everyone here and all the wonderful people who I met and friended on this wild journey. I can only hope that the years to come will be just as challenging, inspiring and full of brilliant moments like the ones I have had the pleasure to experience. Enjoy :)

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I started taking photos a year ago in a rather stream of consciousness manner. I don’t drive since I live in New York City and without much in the way of material things or financial prosperity walking became a way to deal with stress. It also became the main way to experience New York City in a way I hadn’t experienced the city before. I would choose a direction and walk as far as my feet would take me (I still do this). I started noticing lines, forms and structures I had previously ignored. Scenery unfolded before me as if it was just rendered before my eyes.

To embrace my new-found sense of wonder, I decided to take the only camera I had at the time with me on these walking adventures. It was a simple point and shoot which was less than $100. It was all I could afford at the time and I just wanted to be able to record the moments and experiences that made my heart swell. After doing this for several months, I decided to start posting my photos online to keep a record of some of my walking adventure photos. It didn’t occur to me that there would be an audience for my photography. I had no formal training in photography and no real knowledge of the rules or major concepts that defined the field.

The website I started posting on a year ago is now where my main site points to which is my Tumblr. It’s been quite a journey since I posted those first few photos online. Along the way I ended up on the receiving end of a variety of experiences that have changed my world in a truly dramatic manner. I am so appreciative of the many opportunities I have had come my way. With around 60,000 followers currently on Tumblr, I am extremely appreciative of all of the private messages and notes as well as the bevy of talented people I have come to know.

I have also been floored by the recognition and interaction on Google Plus. One of my greatest joys in this world is to share the beauty I find in this city I call home. It fills my heart with happiness that I can not only share these moments with the world but that there is a platform to meaningfully interact with other inspiring photographers, thinkers and people who are invested in making the platform a welcoming and encouraging place to share.

A wonderful person on Google Plus shared a quote by Henri Matisse that really resonated with me: “a large part of the beauty of a picture arises from the struggle which an artist wages with his limited medium.” I think that there is a tremendous amount of truth in the sentiment that when you are limited you are forced to work extremely hard to get the results you desire.

The photo in this post was taken on one of my walks across the Brooklyn Bridge. One of my favorite things to do is walk over any of the bridges in lower Manhattan. Each offers a completely different view of New York City and each time I cross any one of them, I still feel butterflies in my stomach as the views of the city’s skylines come into sight.

I hope I never lose that feeling of pure and unadulterated wonder.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “The Manhattan Bridge and the New York City Skyline at Sunset” Posters and Prints here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

Ryan Adams - Lucky Now single cover. Photo by Vivienne Gucwa (me!)

Blizzard in the East Village, New York City.

I have some incredible news to share. I was contacted by Ryan Adam’s independent music label a couple of months ago regarding commercial usage of one of my photos from this past winter for the cover of Ryan Adam’s latest single called “Lucky Now” (shown here in this post). I happily agreed!

The single is off Ryan Adam’s upcoming album called “Ashes & Fire”. You can view the cover to the single with my photo on it as well as listen to the single on Ryan Adam’s official Facebook page here:

Ryan Adams - Lucky Now

It’s impossible to articulate how over the moon I am about this! I am extremely grateful to Ryan Adams for using my photo for this particular single.

The photo is special to me because it was taken during the peak of a very rough blizzard last winter which I ventured out in specifically with the intent of capturing my neighborhood wrapped in the embrace of a beautiful storm. The blizzard produced wind gusts of 55+ mph and ended up blanketing New York City in 20 inches of snow. It was taken in the East Village on one of my favorite streets in the winter. I love winter storms down here on the Lower East Side. It’s nearly impossible to keep me inside when the world is transformed into a wild snow-globe. There is nothing quite like New York City covered in freshly fallen snow.

I have created an album over at my Google Plus profile which shows the original photo along with the album cover (shown in this post):

Ryan Adams - Lucky Now single cover with photography by Vivienne Gucwa

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Buy “Winter Blizzard - New York City” Cards, Prints and Posters here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

Hey everyone,

Quite a few people have asked me over the past few months if I was going to set up a store or sell my photography. While I already have images that are available for commercial use via Getty Images, the majority of the photography that I post here doesn’t fall under that category and so I have been exploring options for a way to get my photography out to everyone in the form of prints and cards.

I am really excited to announce that after months of searching for the right tool for selling my photos, I finally found it with Fotomoto and now all of my photos here on Tumblr are for sale. I was really unhappy with how Etsy and other sites were set up mostly because I wanted a store I could fully integrate with my Tumblr which was easy to use and had a fantastic interface. Fotomoto has definitely met all of my needs in that regard.

Each photo now has an option to Buy Prints or Buy Cards under it which, once clicked, will take you to through the various store options allowing you to truly customize your experience.

To make things easy I have provided a photo-tutorial page to show how my store works. You can view the store tutorial by clicking here.

I have also set up a new feature, a rotating gallery of some of my popular photos that will get rotated on a regular basis. You can view this photo gallery by clicking here.

I also wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone for being so positive and encouraging. It’s been nothing but a great experience here on Tumblr and it’s helped me to explore other avenues in conjunction with Tumblr in regards to my writing and photography. It’s really wonderful to interact with so many of you on a regular basis in messages and in comments. You all rock :).