Bronx Documentary Center Opens its Doors -- and Hundreds Flow In

The Bronx Documentary Center opened in the Melrose section of the Bronx on Saturday. The Center, located at the intersection of Courtlandt Avenue and East 151st Street, launched with an exhibition of multimedia and photographs by the late photojournalist Tim Hetherington (including his video work shown on the wall of a building across the street from the Center). Hetherington died tragically last April while covering the conflict in Libya. Last week, BDC founder Mike Kamber posted a moving article on the New York Times Lens Blog about Hetherington, a good friend who helped inspire him create the center.

The opening attracted hundreds of people that crammed the storefront gallery and its backyard. The crowd included journalists -- including the author and war reporter Sebastian Junger -- as well as photographers, students, family and friends of Hetherington, and Bronx artists and enthusiasts.



For me, the experience of attending the opening was inspirational at many levels. Making photographs in the presence of famous photojournalists was daunting, scary and thrilling. Click here to view more photographs made during the resoundingly successful opening.


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Bronx News Catch-Up Roundup, Sept. 13

Good afternoon, Bronxites! Yes, it's been quiet here on the blogging front. We're short-staffed at the moment and in-between intern sessions, and we've also been gearing up for a new semester of the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative (speaking of which--we've extended our application deadline to Sept. 21! Tell your kids/students/friends!)

So: blogging might be on the light side for a bit. But here are some Bronx headlines that you may have missed this week/weekend:

Yet another Bronx Zoo animal escape went down on Sunday. An African antelope, also known as a Kudu, joins the ranks of the Bronx Zoo peacock and the Bronx Zoo cobra. It broke free of its enclosure just in time for professional photographer Andrew Litchenstein to snap its photo.

The Times' Lens Blog highlights a photo slideshow of teenagers attending the prom at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore.

A Bronx Surrogate Judge is in hot water for approving attorney fees for a friend--who also happens to be his campaign fundraiser--for work on estate cases the lawyer never performed.