wlotus | Entries tagged with nyc

Did I mention today was a great day to ride a bike? Ms. T and I joined some buddies for a jaunt through Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.

Twyla the Bike

A View from the Brooklyn Bridge

FDNY Ladder Company 20

Feet

Hard-working Ms. T Feet

Current Mood: creative
Current Music: Simple Gifts - New World Kirtan Podcast

"Rosemary's Baby" is showing at Bryant Park, tonight. I've never seen the movie, so I'm sitting under the open sky waiting to take in the film. It should be a fun way to start the week.

Current Mood: quiet

I was sorely disappointed that I missed what sounds like an excellent concert Tuesday night in Central Park by the Shanghai Symphony and the NY Philharmonic. Determined not to miss another, I went to Prospect Park with friends last night for another NY Philharmonic concert. In spite of being too far back to clearly hear the orchestra (over the very loud voices of the small children and their caretakers sitting near us), we had an excellent time.

two little boys

( +10 )

Events like this are part of why I love NY.

Current Mood: relaxed

Last night I finally finished editing and uploading my pictures from last weekend's NYC Pride celebration. Enjoy them!

Work It!

+41

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Thats House 68, by DJ Matt - DJ Matt

NYC Pride Parade
27 June 2010

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Neon Valley Street - Janelle Monáe

NYC Pride Parade
27 June 2010

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: House Nation with Paco - Friday January 16th 2009 - Paco

Today was my first time ever attending an LGBT Pride Parade. I had a ball in spite of the crowds and my aching feet. The energy and sense of belonging were amazing to me, and my shutter-finger itched all day. There were beautiful LGBT people (and straight-but-not-narrow people!) of all colors and sizes and shapes and walks of life. The 320+ photos I took weren't nearly enough to scratch my photo-making itch.

There will be more photos, but I am completely wiped out and need to collapse into bed. (T is smart; she's been passed out for about an hour, already.)

I hope you had a very happy Pride Sunday, too.

Pride Flag

Current Mood: ecstatic

T and I spent yesterday afternoon at a bike blessing sponsored by the B.R.A.T.S. Motorcycle Club of NYC. It was my first biker event, and I had a blast. It was wonderful to be around so many African-American bikers, to see reunions as bikers from various groups recognized one another, and to see bikes of all kinds. Many of the bikers were very friendly and were happy to chat with us newcomers.

Goldwing Contingent

Honda Goldwings: what sport bikes aspire to be when they grow up.

When this contingent of Honda Goldwings pulled silently into the yard--these bikes run as quiet as sewing machines, no lie--all of the sport bikes lowered their forks an inch in reverence. :-) These bikes are like easy chairs rolling down the highway.

Goldwing Easy Chair

Best Seat in the House

You can see more photos of the event in my Fotki album.

Current Mood: artistic

Naumburg Bandshell

nighttime tulips

The Mall

Current Mood: artistic

When I was in high school in NJ in the mid-80s, there was a sharp division of girls and boys in certain roles: only girls were flag twirlers and participated in pom pom squad, while only boys played drums. (I once told the high school band teacher I wanted to play bass drum in the marching band, and he laughed at me. Not having the backbone then that I have now, I didn't mention it, again.) Since I like killing sacred cows like gender roles, I took great pleasure in the following participants in this year's NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade:

Girls Playing Bass Drum

( +3 )

You can see my complete collection of St. Patrick's Day Parade photos in my gallery.

Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: Love Rain (Head Nod Mix) - Jill Scott & Mos Def

8 April 2010

Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: Umm Hmm - Erykah Badu

The weather today was gorgeous, and I left my DSLR at home. I didn't miss a beat, though. Instead of mourning what I could not photograph, I whipped out my Blackberry and did what I could with what I had to work with. (The only alterations I made to these photos was adding my watermark.)

Bryant Park Fountain

The Fountain at Bryant Park

( +3 )

Current Mood: creative
Current Music: Intro - Leela James

The grounds crew has finished re-sodding the lawn at Bryant Park. It looks inviting! I'll be glad when they reopen that part of the park. Besides, there are tulips blooming in the flower beds along the walls, and I'd like to get a close look at them.

Today's weather is sunny and warm. I'm stretched out on the steps in the sun, so I've taken off my jacket. I came to Manhattan for a 1 o'clock appointment, and I'm loathe to go back home. It's too nice to stay indoors!

Current Mood: content

sandokai mentioned visiting Macy's Flower Show while in NYC. I happened by there today in search of a new umbrella. ($24 for a Totes umbrella listed at $22? K-Mart, here I come!) Just as I entered the main floor, a tour was leaving from the DKNY display. It was free, so I invited myself along. The place not only looked wonderful, it smelled wonderful!

Macy's 2010 Flower Show

Our tour guide, in the green sweater, explaining the displays.

( +6 )

Current Mood: creative
Current Music: WBLS Quiet Storm, with Keith Sweat

ladyofthelog has the distinction of knowing me since my earliest LJ-blogging days. (Ye gods: that has been over seven years on LJ for me!) We had never met in person, so you can imagine I was quite excited to find out she would be in NYC and wanted to meet me! We took advantage of the gorgeous weather to meet at The Cloisters Museum far uptown.

The Amazing ladyofthelog!
I genuinely enjoyed her company. We talked about our interests--she knows a lot about medieval art--and filled in some of the gaps between what we blog about and what we experience. During our conversation, I made photos of the museum. I'm very happy with how these came out; they are a far cry from the ones I did a couple of years ago with Rebbie (my 300D).

( Photos of the Cloisters Museum )

The next time

ladyofthelog comes to NYC, there shall be more photos of her! I didn't want to scare her by stalking her with my lens on our first meeting. :-)

Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: Sade's "Solder of Love" album

Boy Scouts marched in the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade!

We will not be discussing the politics of the Boy Scouts in this post or in the comments section. We are simply enjoying photos of boys happy to be marching in uniform in one of the biggest parades in the nation.

Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: Spacewalk (From Vol. 3) - John Howard

It is going to take a little while for me to finish uploading, then sort and edit my photos from today's St. Patrick's Day parade. I stood on 5^th Avenue for the entire 6-hour parade (save the last five minutes, when I finally had to find a restroom). My feet are aching still, but I had a marvelous time.

Photos are coming, I promise!

Looking for the Parade
NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade
17 March 2010
Post-processing tip: deliberately under-exposing by 1 stop saturates the colors in-camera, so you need not deepen the colors in software. I learned this trick from the wonderful Peter Phun, and it worked like a charm, today!

Current Mood: sleepy

Today was wet and rainy. That's a good reason to leave my camera at home, right? Wrong! The rain wasn't torrential, and besides, I have a golf-sized umbrella. I walked 20 blocks rather than ride the subway, just so I could capture a bit of New York City in the rain.

For the past few days I've been shooting exclusively with my 50mm lens. I do that when I feel like I am leaning too much on zoom and not enough on instinct. Like choosing to shoot in the rain, it is something to do when I need to stir things up a bit and keep myself on my toes.

If I had my zoom lens on my camera, I may have zoomed in to try to focus on the woman carrying the umbrella. But I prefer this composition: what she lacks in size next to the church, her umbrella makes up for in contrast.

This shot wasn't all luck. I saw her coming down the block, saw this image in my head, and shot five or six frames once she got to the church. Being there when she was there was luck, but the image was deliberate.

That is the difference between taking a photo and making a photo.

Current Mood: artistic

Skylight Diner (34th St. and 9th Ave.), originally uploaded by wlotus.

The amazing Leepak and I stopped in here for hot chocolate and a gab-fest this evening. I like the place; it has character that begs to be photographed. I'll have to go back in the near future.

There's nothing like spending a couple of hours chatting with a friend who shares my passion for photography. We talked shop for a couple of hours, and I enjoyed every minute. We must do it again, and soon!

Current Mood: cheerful

Bryant Park is full of people enjoying the spring weather.

Current Mood: happy

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wlotus

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Inside My Velvet Rope

We Are ALL Magical

Entries tagged with nyc

Scenes from the Road

What My Eyes See

NY Philharmonic in Prospect Park

NYC LGBT Pride 2010

That's So Gay

Love is the LAW

NYC Pride 2010

B.R.A.T.S. Motorcycle Club Bike Blessing Event

Nighttime in Central Park

Hooray for Marching Outside the Box

Urban Tulips

Using What I've Got

What My Eyes See

Macy's Is Having A Flower Show

The Cloisters Museum

For Mage-Girl, Her Scout Sons, and the People Who Love Them

1400+ Photos Later...

Sanctuary

Skylight Diner (34th St. and 9th Ave.)

What My Eyes See

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October 2010

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