Museum Mile Festival 2009

The annual Museum Mile Festival took place on June 9th with the blocks along 5th Avenue that count as "Museum Mile" (82nd-105th) blocked off to cars so that people can walk the mile and participate in activities along the way. The museums were all free admission and two in particular had lines around the block. They were The Guggenheim, where there is a special Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and The Neue Galerie, where there is an enticing (ha ha) German Expressionist exhibit including works by one of my favorite painters: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

You only had 3 short hours to visit these famous museums, including the Met, Cooper Hewitt and the Museum of the City of New York. I was so exhausted afterwards. Why am I such a museum lover??? I love it so much!

the crowds in front of The Guggenheim

Sightings in Alphabet City

On Sunday June 7th I had a birthday brunch to get to at The Sunburnt Cow in Alphabet City. The Sunburnt Cow is a popular brunch spot because of the endless drink special ($10 all you can drink "Moo-mosas", "Moo-Marys", and so on). I can't really take advantage since I can only handle about 1 drink at a time, but my friends all love to go and the food is actually really good!

Located all the way over on Avenue C between 8th & 9th Streets, the restaurant is a far walk from the 8th Street subway stops over in Astor Place (3rd Avenue-ish), and once you reach the neighborhood of Alphabet City, you wish it wasn't so far because there are so many cool spots and unique stores and restaurants that you'll want to visit over and over again. One place called "Life Cafe" caught my attenion with the saying, "Enjoy Life Every Day" on it's awning. Here's a pic.

I would love to bring an out-of-towner here sometime!

Inside La Plaza Cultural (a junky park) on Avenue C bet. 8th & 9th Streets



Mural on 10th Street near the corner of Avenue C



Outside The Sunburnt Cow

The new Mural and a bit more of Dumbo

I think you've all been hearing about this new mural in the riverside town of Dumbo, Brooklyn. Apparently it was started and completed over Memorial Day weekend and the artist has some significant meaning behind the subject matter. Read about it here via dumbonyc.com.

I passed by it on my way to the Water Street Restaurant for one of those digital dumbo events. It was rainy and wet outside, but I had taken the long way to my destination because I was hoping to come across this new mural on Water Street. Because there are no numbered streets in this quiet neighborhood, I always get lost... no matter what!

I was hoping to spot this neat little arty treat and I did! Here it is... as well as some other photos of the area:




The beautiful blue Manhattan bridge



Building on Front Street

Manhattanhenge 2009!

Manhattanhenge 2009 occurred over the weekend. They call it "Manhattanhenge" because the sun becomes centered on New York City's grid at this time. The City is about 30º out of line with the sun's setting and so the dates of "Manhattanhenge" do not fall on the dates of the spring and autumn equinoxes.

On Saturday, May 30, you could see half of the sun on Manhattan's grid (by looking down a city street towards the West), and on Sunday May 31st, specifically at 8:17 pm, you could see the sun in full.

I originally planned to view the sun setting by looking down 57th Street from the east side of town, but I ended up over in Queens on a dock in Long Island City (off of Gantry Park on 50th Ave & 2nd Street). Besides the view of the sun being centered between the buildings on 33rd Street (below), there were also great views of the East River, Queensborough Bridge and the famous Pepsi Cola sign.

More info here on NewYorkology.com via the Hayden Planetarium of The Museum of Natural History.

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.