Up but not away...

Back on a warm-turned cold day in February, I had nothing to do so I wandered into and through Central Park hoping to see something special and unusual. Actually, I was hoping to see some colorful balloons somewhere at some point, and I did! It's weird; rarely when you know exactly what you're looking for do you find it - unless you're shopping at Wal-mart.

So on a warm-ish winter afternoon I walked up through Poets (Literary) Walk to Bethesda Terrace then back down to the beginning of Central Park so that I could get the heck out of there because like I said, it turned really cold! And while shivering and shaking (I almost just wrote 'shiveraking') I spotted these balloons tied to a pole near hot dog stand that was next to a Merry-go-Round and other kid-related activities and information booths.


You can see the Time Warner buildings of Columbus Circle in the background



You can see that the air is smoky from the hot dogs

Lost sock in the Upper East Side

A week or two ago I was checking out the new Staples store on 65th Street and 2nd Avenue when I spotted this random "Lost" sock sign on the side of a phone booth. It's one of those things that I'm glad I got my camera out for. I hesitate to take pictures so often because I am very self-conscious of when people look at me and then look at what I'm photographing. Some people are weirded out by it, and I know I shouldn't care... but I am really shy, even behind the camera!

The flyer points to http://www.lostmysock.com/ and is actually an ad for littlemissmatched.com. Heck, I took it seriously at first. I really was wondering to myself, who lost their sock? What dryer was it in?

Anyway, check the photo out on Twitter/TwitPic and vote for it on the main page of NYC.is!

Out and about in Chelsea

A few weekends ago I went out to Chelsea with some fellow photographers to visit some of the galleries out by the West Side Highway. The shows at these places change every few weeks so you can visit often and see a wide range of work. We saw everything from airplanes to bamboo installations to sculptures and paintings. 

This is Adel Abdessemed's 2008 piece Telle mere tel fils from his show RIO on display at David Zwirner Gallery on West 19th Street. It is a 65-foot sculptural soft felt braid of tailfins and cockpits from three real airplanes. It was an insane sight from the street. Imagine walking along West 19th Street and then looking up to see this! The installation is mammoth. 

From inside the 7Eleven Gallery on 10th Avenue at West 20th Street where there was a group exhibition. It is a garage-type space that opens out to the street and these beautiful apartment buildings across the way. 

Other galleries visited include: Gladstone Gallery, Steven Kasher Gallery, Postmasters gallery, Hasted Hunt and Paula Cooper Gallery. Additionally, we stopped by the Gagosian Gallery on West 21st Street to see the Pablo Picasso: Mosqueteros show. ALL PABLO. The show had just opened and all the local art-goers were there! 

Out and about in DUMBO

The '09 New York Photo Festival was this past weekend in DUMBO Brooklyn. Registration was at the popular powerHouse arena on Main Street. They have so many amazing books of photographs and artwork and host a great environment for press events and presentations.

Right out front of the bookstore is a view of the beautiful Manhattan Bridge and the entrance to both the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. Gossip Girl films around here, and recently I've noticed this spot in the movies 27 Dresses and 13 Going on 30.

This neighborhood is one of my favorites in all of New York City. I mean, who could resist a trip to DUMBO!?

view of the Manhattan Bridge from outside powerHouse arena on Main Street



View from inside Smack Mellon art studios

Flowers at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

It's flower power season over at the Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn. Macro shots of these petals and stems are all over the internet (well, maybe just flickr) and they are impressive and intimidating to me because I can barely get a good shot with my little pink Sony camera! But also, they are inspiring. And they are the types of things that look so different when photographed than they do in real life.

More flowers here!





Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

Wildlife at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

I love the color Cherry Blossoms are famous in Japan), I know people who really like turtles, and someday I want a pet duck, so the wildlife on view at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens inside the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden are fun as can be for me!

orange Koi fish being koi

I couldn't keep up with this one!

Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

"Creeping Mint", "American Onion" and more!

I mentioned the many plant and flower species that are at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, and here are some of the entertaining and unique ones that I came across.

Which one is your favorite out of the bunch?

Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

Walk the "Cherry Walk"

Last year when I visited the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, it was a cold and windy May Day. This year, in late-April, it was as warm as can be. Rather than sweater and scarf weather, it was just plain sweat weather! It was so hot that I was even tempted to lay out and get a tan in the beautiful green fields among the famous Cherry Blossom trees.

It was great to revisit this plant-filled place because I got to see some familiar sights, discover some new spots, and gain a new experience in an old place.

The crowds came out to walk the Cherry Walk in its prime - the buds and petals were plentiful on these flowering Japanese trees. This is a wonderful place to visit with friends and family, from the hundreds of plant and flower species to the wildlife and of course, the cherry trees!

Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

At The Whitney

You would be much obliged to take yourself to The Whitney Museum of American Art on a Friday night—if you knew how much it costs!

Friday nights from 6-9 pm the museum allows you to "pay as you wish", and I'll admit, I didn't go as low as just $1 like most people did! I asked the cashier if pictures were allowed in the galleries, and sadly, they are not. So to make up for it, I took lots of pictures inside the lobby and outside from the street.

It was the Jenny Holzer Protect Protect exhibit that drew me to the museum but it was the Whitney's 5th floor permanent collection with works by artists like Edward Hopper, Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Georgia O'Keefe, Jackson Pollack and Andrew Wyeth that made my night. I love these artists, their mediums and the movements they participated—or chose not to participate—in.

I could go on and on...

The exterior of the museum. Very modern and striking
among the fancy Madison Avenue shops!

inside the lobby

Walking up Madison Avenue

I remember three summers ago when I walked up Madison Avenue to the Guggenheim Museum and I took tons of pictures of the sky and buildings, and where they both meet. It was a long and inspiring walk, and so was the one I took last Friday afternoon up to the Whitney Museum of American Art on 75th Street. 

Madison Avenue is a narrow passage through the mid-east side of Manhattan, with buses and cars heading north and leaving the little people like me in the dust. 

It was nice to see all of the fancy stores like Carolina Herrara, Gucci, Prada, Juicy Couture and Oscar de la Renta. So nice. I can see it now, me shopping at these places in about 50 years, ha ha. 

Bottom line, Madison Avenue is a magical, miraculous avenue—because it would take either magic or a miracle for just anyone (and most everyone) to be able to purchase something along this pricey stretch, much less fit in...

The Fred Leighton store on 65th & Madison, 

right up the block from Chat Noir

In front of the Dolce & Gabbana store on 69th Street 

where they were doing a photoshoot on the corner!

"April showers bring May flowers"...

Hello Spring! Now, it is May, please stop being cold every other day : )

Please.