Jay Cochrane, The Prince of the Air, stepped into history 30 years ago on October 28, 1995, with The Great China Skywalk in Qutang Gorge over the Yangtze River, setting the record for combined distance and height. We will be posting daily about what it was like building the walk wire and being part of the Fengjie community.
I had no idea what The Great China Skywalk by Jay Cochrane would be like after traveling 7500 miles from New York City. The day before the October 28, 1995, performance in Qutang Gorge, China, was the first time I ever saw Jay Cochrane walk on a wire. This guy was walking something narrower than a balance beam, a 3/4 inch wire, for a half mile, over a river, in a canyon. I could not fathom the skill or athleticism that Jay’s profession required.
Tiananmen Square, Beijing, was the first stop for Mark D Phillips on his journey to the Great China Skywalk, with the 30th Anniversary on October 28, 1995.
Mark D Phillips’ chronicle of what was lost in Qutang Gorge with the Three Gorges Dam on the 30th anniversary of the GREAT CHINA SKYWALK by Jay Cochrane.
The Black Mountain Blues Festival brought together the best of blues on the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene, which devastated the area. Tourism needs to return and this was a grand first step. The lineup was first class with great indoor and outdoor venues, the downtown showing no sign of the devastation that took place 365 days ago
For 24 years I’ve been that guy who took that picture on 9/11. I go to parties and that’s how people introduce me. It makes you question if that email you received that said “you were put on the planet to take this picture” was true.
It was THE Election of 1994. Mandela was running for President of South Africa. Mark D Phillips and Andrea Peyser, a married columnist and photographer for The New York Post, traveled to South Africa to witness the true end of apartheid. For the first time in their lives, people born with black skin – the majority in this proud and beautiful nation – would be casting their votes.
Humans in space. Most can name the first astronaut or the first man on the moon. For me, eight other names were burned into my memory because of one of my photographs, Challengers’ destruction. Last week, I travelled to Washington, D.C., to visit the Challenger Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery and to view the Space Shuttle Discovery in her new life as a museum exhibit. This is my tribute to Challenger and Discovery.
Sharon Yamato and Stan Honda continue their collaboration which we first featured in Moving Walls: Remembering an American Tragedy in 2018 with the launch of www.forcedassemblycenters.com, a multimedia website that provides a focused look at the little-documented temporary so-called WWII “Assembly/Reception Centers.”
Mark D Phillips photography from 2025 New England Masters Ski Racing, Mid-Atlantic Masters, and US Masters National Championship. Matt Dodge or Justin Lorino?
Movers, Not Shakers
MoversNotShakers, South Brooklyn's premier moving company located in Gowanus, supports The South Brooklyn Network.
Gowanus Swirls by Mark D Phillips
Beautiful Metal print for your Home or Business!
A favorite image by Mark D Phillips in the Gowanus Abstract Fine Art Gallery.
SATAN IN THE SMOKE by Mark D Phillips
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My original file of Satan in the Smoke printed and signed by Mark D Phillips
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Somewhere in the Orange by Mark D Phillips
Beautiful on Metal or Acrylic!
A favorite image by Mark D Phillips in the Gowanus Abstract Fine Art Gallery.
Bette Stoltz, president of the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation, began a campaign in 1984 that culminated with a 12-year rebuilding campaign and brought Smith Street and Boerum Hill back to life.
Considered to be the first suburb in America, Brooklyn Heights boasts the greatest views of lower Manhattan and brownstone mansions that rival anything on Fifth Avenue.
Charles Carroll, a Maryland signer of the Declaration of Independence who never lived in Brooklyn, is honored with Carroll Street, Carroll Park, and finally, Carroll Gardens.
Originally named Ponkiesbergh by the Dutch farmers who settled the cobblestoned area in the 1600’s, the neighborhood gained its present name, Cobble Hill, from a variation of the English translation, Cobles Hill.
Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass – DUMBO for short – is the new art mecca of New York City. Brooklyn Bridge Park begins its Waterfront run and has turned DUMBO into a Brooklyn playground.
How did a Superfund site end up in South Brooklyn? Originally a series of tidal creeks, the native Americans named it Gowanes Creek in honor of Chief Gowanes of the Canarses tribe, who lived, hunted, and fished along its length.
Today’s Red Hook is much smaller than its original boundaries. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Red Hook point was a shipping destination and is today the home of Fairway grocery store.
Grand Army Plaza, the northern entrance to Prospect Park, is of special interest to Civil War enthusiasts with the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch, a colossal granite Arc de Triomphe.
