|
 Fantastic!
These were the words that came out when I saw New
York – these pictures on the Net are from a
completely different perspective altogether. I
believe few have caught New York like that. The
black and white, partly coloured and the few
colour pictures make a fantastic collection. For a
person who has never been to New York and seen
them in just movies, they come across as no
different than any other city in the world; no
different than perhaps Mumbai. From these
pictures, one feels a kinship with New York city
– the tall, drab collection of buildings trying
to reach the sky, beggars, road side entertainers,
the homeless, graffiti-strewn open spaces, parks
and the garbage. NY amost feels like home.
As a
photographer, Daniel Goddard has a keen eye. I
have been told that you have to be at the right
time at the right place and have a good eye and
hand coordination to get the picture you want.
Many photographers are known to wait for hours for
a particular shot, but sometimes they just happen
– there and then, here and now. These pictures are
one such collection of here and now’s. Daniel
loves to take pictures mainly of the homeless and
study them closely. Many of them refuse to be
photographed, but these pictures reflect humanity
at its most raw and that ‘all life needs to be
respected.’
The images
reflect a part of life caught in moment that
unveils individual characteristics of the subjects
as well as the feelings, that pass by unseen, by
everyday people travelling through the same place
at the same time. An amateur would easily compete
with any professional in this field.
Thoughtful, thought provoking, life caught at a
still moment …
Click
here to have a look see at
these pictures
Background
It is
difficult to shift base from one country to
another when you are reaching that stage we all
call ‘successful’. With just an under graduation
degree in Economics under the belt and some acting
ability, Daniel made a mark in his chosen field in
front of the camera.
 A
native of Sydney, Australia, Daniel Richard
Goddard was one year away from a career in Finance
at the University, when the acting bug bit. He
shifted to the Ensemble Actors Studio and
performed in local theatrical productions before
landing his first major television role.
He started his career with the role of Eric
Phillips in Home and Away (1994-95). Then
came the move to Hollywood and surviving to pay
rent by taking on modelling with Calvin Klein and
Dolce & Gabbana. During this period of struggle,
he did not buy even a mattress to sleep on, in the
place where he rented kitchen space to just sleep,
because he did not want to become comfortable. In
1999, he struck gold with the title role of Dar,
but had to train equally hard to perform it in the
TV series Beastmaster. These series ran for
three seasons and the reruns can be watched on
Scifi channel or DVDs. He has also played roles in
the series Zoe Busiek – Wild Card and
The Monk, that completed their shows sometime
back in India.
As he
said in one of his interviews ‘you cannot judge
anybody’, that is true with just the outer
trappings you never can. There is always an
individual that is hidden from view that few come
to know. A versatile individual with many
accomplishments under his belt – he is an actor,
photographer, writer, chess player and a martial
artist. He motivates himself by reading self-help
books, dabbling in stocks and trying to complete
two movie scripts at the same time – he says,
“instead of waiting for the perfect script, I am
writing one for myself.” After completing a movie
launched on the DVD, he is not sitting idle.
At the
moment, he is doing an independent movie that will
showcase at the Sundance Festival.
“Life
only comes around once so don't waste it”.
(All
images are from www.danielgoddard.com
)
By
Harpreet Kaur |
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