The Bank House - St. Vincent

Dad moved around a lot within the British Commonwealth Caribbean for his career. By the time I was eighteen (1984), I had lived in St. Vincent, Bequia, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts and Antigua and attended two pre-schools, two primary schools and two high schools. Whenever we lived on an island that was not his country of birth (St. Vincent, which was most of the time), Dad's employer, Barclay Bank Plc., provided a home. The higher the job the position, the bigger and more appointed the home.

Kingstown is the capital city of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It combines colonial charm with a vibrant atmosphere. The city is characterised by its colourful, historic buildings, bustling farmers' markets, and picturesque waterfront. The heart of Kingstown is Heritage Square, a lively hub where locals and visitors gather. St. Mary's Cathedral and the Carnegie Library showcase the island's rich history. Kingstown's bustling farmers' markets offer an array of tropical fruits, spices, and crafts.

Wednesday 5 August 1998

By the time of my brother’s wedding in 1998, Dad was the branch manager in St. Vincent, and the bank had moved him into what, at the time, was called the "manager house". The house was just off London Road in the Cane Garden section of Kingstown, overlooking the Kingstown Harbour. This is where we stayed in 1998 on a short excursion to Bequia right after my brother's wedding.

Wednesday 5 August 1998

Dad set us up in the one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest house on the northern side of the house. Vincentians were into landscaping (but not grass-scraping), and the grounds were full of tropical trees, including flamboyant (Delonix regia), date palm, coconut palm, guava, and mango. Bhavna had fun cooling and relaxing at the pool, but she was very excited by the mangoes ripening on the tree.

Wednesday 5 August 1998
Wednesday 5 August 1998
Wednesday 5 August 1998
Saturday 8 August 1998

I'm sorry for the quality of these photographs. When we took this vacation, APS film was being pushed by Kodak as the future of film photography. I was ignorant and bought into the hype. I purchased an APS film camera and several rolls of APS film, the worst camera to bring on a vacation. The quality of APS film could have been better to the 35mm film format it was intended to replace. 35mm film is still made and sold, but APS (along with Kodak) was relegated to the dustbin of history.

Like Paradise

I searched to find out the story behind the artwork that adorns all four outer walls of this building.

I searched for the story behind the artwork adorning the outer walls of the old Asbury Lanes building on the Asbury Park boardwalk. Here's what I learned.

American pop artist Shepard Fairey is known for his guerrilla “Obey” sticker campaign, which melded contemporary street art and guerrilla marketing into a phenomenon that put him on the artistic map. Shepard is also an activist and founder of OBEY Clothing. I also learned that Fairey designed the Barack Obama "Hope" poster for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Sunday 24 April 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 · ISO 100

According to Wikipedia.

His "Obey" Campaign is from the John Carpenter movie They Live which starred pro wrestler, Roddy Piper, taking a number of its slogans, including the "Obey" slogan, as well as the "This Is Your God" slogan. Fairey has spun off the OBEY clothing line from the original sticker campaign.

Obey · Sunday 24 April 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 · ISO 100

Fairey’s art, some of which are from album covers, is on display outside the old Asbury Lanes building on the Asbury Park boardwalk. The art installation was part of the music and art festival organised by All Tomorrow’s Parties. The festival collaborated with the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, which commissioned Fairey to create these murals. In September 2011, he unveiled several murals and a gallery show called “Revolutions”.

All Tomorrow's Parties is a London-based organisation that has promoted festivals in the U.K., the United States and Australia since 1999. All Tomorrow's Parties is also the name of a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. I don’t know if there is a connection.

Sunday 24 April 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 · ISO 100

On the day I exposed these frames of Kodak Pro Image 100, the long side of the building facing the ocean was boarded up. I’m unsure why, but I suspect it protected the art. I remembered that I had photographed some of the artwork on my first and later visits to the Asbury Park Boardwalk. As it turns out, my first visit to Asbury Park was in November 2011, a few weeks after the Revolutions festival.

people walking on boardwalk, Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Lanes | Sunday 13 November 2011 | Nikon D40 | AF-S DX Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8

All images (except for the Nikon) were scanned from Kodak Pro Image 100 35mm film negatives using an Epson Perfection V600 scanner, VueScan software and the Negative Lab Pro plugin for Adobe Lightroom.

Sunday 24 April 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD ROKKOR-X 45mm F2 · ISO 100

North Eats

The 35mm negatives from the roll of Kodak Pro Image I exposed last month in Asbury Park at the boardwalk were sent back. I digitised them using my 35mm scanning workflow.

One challenging "feature" of exposing 35mm film is that I often forget why I took a photograph by the time I get the film developed and the negatives scanned.

North Eats is the summertime food truck court on the northern end of the boardwalk near Seventh Avenue. Food trucks have become ubiquitous in New Jersey. The North Eats food truck court was trendy. But then we suffered a global pandemic, the permit to operate the food court expired, and it's been gone for a while.

I like Asbury Park's solution to providing an outdoor boardwalk dining experience. I hope it comes back soon.