All posts by Piercing Ken

I'm a Freelance Music Photojournalist from NYC and Founder of the Heavy Metal website PiercingMetal.com; I created this blog site to showcase the other things in life that keep my interest or catch my attention. Believe me that is a lot of stuff to talk about when it comes down to it. I hope you enjoy what we are delivering because there is so much to share as a resident of this bustling metropolis.

Manipulating A View For You……

I was doing some family stuff not too long ago and right across the street from the restaurant where we had all gathered was this river inlet kind of setting. For some reason the view I had of this waterway just prompted me to take out the trusty Canon snappy camera and grab it for posterity. Sometimes I do that and end up wondering how to use the photo going forward. It’s a nice shot isn’t it? Kind of a calm serene setting. It was quiet today and you would not know from standing there on its bank that it was right next to a very active roadway.

On the way home I looked at the photo again and played with it without color in my mind. Once I was back at the computer I did this with the software and felt that the image now appeared to be something we might find on the cover of an Opeth album. It had that certain “Bleak”ness to it (pardon the pun and use of one of their songs names, but I could not resist). Do you agree that this could be this kind of bands album visual? I like to think that you are nodding your head right now. If not, I shall not hold it against you.

Oddly enough when I took this same image and turned it negative it took on an even more ominous aspect. Now it looked like something from an old Traditional Black Metal release of some kind. Sinister, foreboding, dangerous. Questionable about where it leads and what awaits you when you get to the end. I think that you get the picture. Anyways. It’s so fascinating what simple manipulation of an image can bring to mind.

That’s all I have for you my friends, I just wanted to get this out of my brain and onto a post for you to absorb. As always there is more to come.

Merry Christmas 2011 New York City (12/25/2011)

Hey there readers, its that “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” again and as we mentioned to you in last year’s posting of this nature, we celebrate Christmas Day here at the PiercingKen domicile and with that in mind I wanted to share with you some of the photography that I observed that best captured the seasonal spirit in my eyes.  The response to last year’s adventures was well received so why not run with it again.  So without any further adieu please enjoy the now annual presentation of Christmas themed images that I’ve seen while doing my normal adventuring around the city.

I’ll start with this charming little foldout snowman. I used to have a lot of paper decorations like this growing up.  Sadly most have worn to the sands of time.  Oh well. Moving along


Continue reading Merry Christmas 2011 New York City (12/25/2011)

PiercingKen Now Has An Official Facebook Fan Page

It’s with great modesty and flair that I inform the readers of the PiercingKen Blog that we are now rocking one of those sweet Official Facebook Fan Pages. I think you already know that we have been using Twitter for the blog since its launch day and if you don’t, well, please allow me to add to the mix that we have a Twitter account connected to this blog’s activity as well. Nowadays it appears that one needs a strong presence on the vital Social Networks to keep the visibility going and since I’ve found some success with them over on the PiercingMetal.com site I figured let me tend to the PiercingKen.com house in a similar fashion.

Click Image for our Official Facebook Page

The Facebook page for the website gets the most attention right now because its been used a little longer. I was not originally going to create one but figured why not with so many other websites tossing their hats into the fire. We surely don’t want to be bypassed by stuff that doesn’t work as hard for your viewing time either and even the newest websites on the Interwebs have their own pages. WordPress posts here are shared on my personal profile once they have been showcased on the Facebook Page for a couple of days. I of course welcome you to do the same on articles that you like (or even all of them – I surely don’t mind the views being proliferated).

I do ask that comments on the blog postings be focused on the actual posting and not on the Facebook Page because that does not let your voice work within the greater context of the piece. Just my own thoughts on that and believe me we approve every topical comment that speaks to the readers interests about the subject matter. I tried to make the Facebook Page easier to “Like” as well by adding a “Like Box” to the main page of the actual site. I saw this as a plug in and love how it works.

Now back to the sorting of images and ideas. My hope is to keep delivering some really cool stuff in 2012 and even getting some older things that just merited sharing with you in this little space. Thanks for listening.

No Parking….Unless…..

You are an illegally parked shopping cart from the nearby Foodtown supermarket. I happened by this interesting site while heading back to my Metal HQ after mailing out some packages before the holiday madness crowd arrived.



Clearly the sign reads easily enough and I apologize for the slightly limited sunlight. The powers of good ole Sol were not pointing down on my subject and I could not wait for him to get to work.



I even tried a slightly different angle to no avail. Mind you I was also using my little Sony Cybershot and not one of the full on DSLR’s or the ever trusty Lumix.



I laughed at the audacity of there actually being two stolen shopping carts at the pole as opposed to only one. I had seen this before at this very same location on 4th Avenue and 90th Street and am guessing there is a his and hers setup going on now.



Sadly, no one from Foodtown could come and retrieve them since the carts were chained to the pole as if they were the thieves own property. Sigh. Be sure to give a yell to those folks handing out flyers who sport these as their conveyances. They are the reason that you can never get a shopping cart quickly in the store and likely the reason that prices keep on rising as well.



Foodtown is getting a serious makeover at the time of this posting, so maybe one of their charming cashiers will be sent over to this corner with bolt cutters to free the kidnapped carts and return them to their brothers and sisters in the market. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Sometimes The Message Is A Very Simple One :)

Am I wrong? I didn’t think so and when I chanced upon this mural and its very simple yet powerful statement I just wanted to share it with you all. It was located on 11th Street and First Avenue in NYC to my knowledge. I didn’t “map” myself as I was running a little late so snapped the shot and continued on my way. That happens sometimes in this grand metropolis.

That’s all I got right now so carry on my friends and have a wonderful everything.