I could not stay in Strawberry Fields Forever: 2011

Showing posts with label 2011. Show all posts

9/11/11

September 11th, 2011

I went down to Ground Zero on September 11th, 2011 to observe the visitors and events going on during the 10-year anniversary. Every year that I can, I go down to the World Trade Center site on the anniversary to capture these moments and reflect on the events. Despite the threats and worries surrounding this particular anniversary, the area was crowded and the usual ceremonies and rituals were all still going on. Most notable was the bagpipe ceremony in front of O'Haras Irish Pub at the foot of Ground Zero.

Just a few days before I had gotten a new camera lens as a birthday gift from my photo friend Joe. It was the 55-250 telephoto lens, so it lead me to take more intimate pictures of the people and places down there.

St. Paul's Chapel across from Ground Zero

Hardhat

News crews doing interviews

1 WTC

Ladder 10

More pics on my photostream.

7/13/11

Manhattanhenge 2011 - July 13

Manhattanhenge - July 13, 2011 in Times Square.

Best Manhattanhenge ever.

Photographers:

Goodbye Manhattanhenge. See you next year!

6/15/11

Museum Mile Festival - 2011

Every year I look forward to the Museum Mile Festival, taking place on 5th Avenue between 82nd and 105th Streets. Last year I followed the inspiration quotes of artist James De La Vega down the mile and captured pictures of Central Park and the City from the Met Roof top.

In 2009 I went inside the Guggenheim Museum despite the crowds, and admired the quotes and chalk drawings along the way.

This year my friends and I teamed up to walk the mile from top to bottom, hoping to catch a glimpse of De La Vega in action, and we did! See below for all of the fun that was had admiring his quotes and writing our own!

De La Vega in action - writing his famous "Become Your Dream"

Joe drawing Andrew Wyeth's 'Christina's World'

With De La Vega's "Become Your Dream" quote

Close-up of the fish... becoming their dream...

Friends jumping in front of the Guggenheim

My sidewalk quote:

Admiring...

4/10/11

The 2011 Macy's Flower Show

Scenes from the Spring 2011 flower show at Macy's. This year's theme was "Towers of Flowers" and it ended on Sunday, April 10th. I went the day before, on a busy Saturday, and braved the crowds of tourists and other brave locals on the 1st floor near all of the jewelry and make-up counters.

I was most looking forward to seeing the Japanese Garden located toward the front of the store near the 34th Street Herald Square entrance.

2/27/11

Times Square on the coldest night of the year

I stopped by Times Square on what felt like the coldest night of the year. I had heard of the 'Lighthearted' structure that was set up by the tkts booth at 45th Street and Broadway. It had been set up for Valentine's Day and it was a few days later so I wasn't sure if it would still be there, since Valentine's Day was over, and it was!

While I was there, I decided to stop into the Visitor Center across the street to see what new set-ups they had inside (and mostly to warm up!)

The tkts sign - Mamma Mia is 40% off!

The 'Lighthearted' structure

There is a cool post by NYC <3 NYC here.

Inside the Times Square Visitor Center

The Wishing Wall

BROADWAY!

The New Year’s Eve Centennial Ball which dropped in 2007

1/10/11

Stopping by the park on a snowy evening

Not a cold nor icy wind could keep me from stopping by Central Park on a clear winter evening. Just before dusk, I ventured down a path at 86th Street and Central Park West toward the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir where I stopped to look out over the iced-over lake and admire the frosty white pieces of snow covering everything within view. The view out over the 106 acres of ice was quite chilling so I headed toward the Arthur Ross Pinetum, the northwestern playground of the Great Lawn of Central Park.

This is also my favorite spot in Central Park, where my two favorite benches sit inside an arboretum amid a collection of pine trees. I even spotted a lone cone on a lone pine!

From there I should have gone somewhere warm to nurse my cold back to health, not make it worse, but I decided to stay in the park a little longer and then found my way to Cleopatra's Needle, aka 'The Obelisk'. It looked amazing surrounded by snow-covered magnolias and crabapple trees. The Central Park conservancy was in the middle of giving a tour there so I listened in on a bit of the history of this sculpture, then eventually did leave the park for a trip downtown to get a warm drink and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Benches in the Arthur Ross Pinetum by 85th & CPW

The same two benches in summertime

Tree by The Great Lawn, surrounded by snow and the NYC skyline

The ballfields covered in a blanket of snow on The Great Lawn

A friend looking out over the reservoir

Footsteps on the ice?

The same spot in the summertime

The Obelisk in wintertime

1/2/11

New Year's Eve in Times Square

8 hours of standing still, unable to reach into my pockets because it was so crowded. 8 hours of watching a clock count down by seconds, minutes and long hours. 8 hours in a white michelin man coat when it was almost 50 degrees out. 8 hours surrounded by strangers who luckily, were pretty tame and well-behaved.... I did it!! I did Times Square for New Year's. It's been a goal of mine for several months now. Last year I went out of town and I couldn't stop thinking about how I should have stayed and gone for it, so this year I knew there was only one New Year's Eve option for me.

When I first got to Times Square around 3:45 pm, every inch of every block already seemed to be filled to capacity. I was standing at 47th and Broadway for a while but was kicked out by Police who decided to turn this perfect viewing spot into a safety zone. We were forced to leave Times Square and walk toward 8th Avenue. From there I realized I might not have a chance of getting back into Times Square, so I turned around and headed down to 46th along the barricades. Police weren't letting anyone else in, and I feared I wouldn't get to see the ball drop after all. But then one by one, a few of us were let into a clear area on Broadway, between the two performance stages where Ke$ha, The Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block and Taoi Cruz performed, and next to the American Eagle store and Bank of America. From there, my perfect view was born.

Some Nivea giveaways blocking my view