Louis Vuitton on 5th Avenue

Louis Vuitton stores and window displays always impress. The mulit-colored thing was in season last November when I was touring NYC with a friend, and now they've gone back to the darker, more serious look (below) in which the brown purse moves from one window display to another. Sort of like at airport security (?)

What I like about this Louis Vuitton display is that it's all about motion and activity. The viewer can stop and watch the purse as it glides through the various windows on a conveyor belt and turns the corner along with the building's exterior (not pictured). You can follow it along its way and then continue making your way back down 5th Avenue towards maybe Saks or St. Patrick's Cathedral.





There is a also a very active display a few blocks away on Lexington and 59th Street where Bloomingdales is located.

The Brooklyn Diner

Located on West 57th Street, the Brooklyn Diner has had great reviews and is heard of by all (sort of like Katz Delicatessen down on Houston Street).

Once when I had a friend in town visiting they asked if we could have lunch at "some famous diner by Carnegie Hall" that their friend told them about. I knew exactly what place they were talking about, so we made our way to 57th and 7th to eat at the The Brooklyn Diner but didn't end up staying because for just a hot dog it was something ridiculous like $18.

This famous place is great for a free picture though!

Boating in Central Park

On one of the last warm fall days of the year I made an attempt to go boating on The Lake in Central Park. For just $12 plus a $20 deposit that you get back, you can spend 1 hour out in the water with up to 4 people in your canoe.

Canoes are rented beside the Central Park Boathouse where movies like 'When Harry Met Sally' and more recently '27 Dresses' were filmed, and where shows like 'Sex and the City' taped a while back (think of Carrie and Big when they fell in the water)!

Despite there being several dozen other canoes paddling nearby, there was still plenty of space in The Lake to row through—though there were a few times when we bumped boats with 'canoe-ddling' couples who weren't paying attention or when we 'beached' ourselves along the rocks!

Here are some pictures I managed to capture and not lose by almost dropping my camera in the water...

The Gondola guy in front of the Boathouse






People on the bridge who waved hello!


Under Bow Bridge

Inside the New York Aquarium

In the two and a half years that I've lived in New York, I hadn't yet made it out to see the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. Luckily I made it out there this past weekend and enjoyed free admission as a Bank of America customer (only during the first weekend of every month).

Anyway, though it was a rainy day and every exhibit was crowded with jumpy, screaming kids, it was amazing to see all of the aquatic creatures like, starfish, jellyfish, sea horses, seals, walruses, eels and even frogs!

I think my favorite exhibit was the 'Alien Stingers' where all of the jellyfish were. The orange medusa looked beautiful behind the glass and swimming in the dark blue water. They were irresistible!

Torpedo Penguin!

Nemo and Dory from Finding Nemo!

The anenomes! Apparently they fight

Dumbo Arts Festival '09

I'd been looking forward to the annual Art Under The Bridge festival in Dumbo, Brooklyn since last September when I first attended and saw this unique neighborhood for the first time. It provides great views and chances to see new contemporary art from up and coming artists.

This year, by the time I went (which was Sunday, the last day of the festival), there wasn't much going on since a lot of outdoor performances and installations were either over or had been rained out. But I still got to see a few cool pieces indoors and out:

From inside Smack Mellon studios on Plymouth Street

Ellen Driscoll's 'Revanent: New Work' inside Smack Mellon

Under the newly improved Archway on Water street,

below the Manhattan Bridge

rainy sign

out in front of powerHouse Arena on Main Street, facing the Manhattan Bridge

outdoor installation in Brooklyn Bridge Park, near the Brooklyn Bridge

Inside DAC (Dumbo Arts Center)

Astor Place and EV

One of my favorite places in the city to spend time in other than Union Square and the Flat Iron District/Madison Square Park is Astor Place. Since it is a trendy college neighborhood and on the edge of the East Village, there aren't many skyscrapers or corporate businesses, but there are a few architectural treats!

Building on Lafayette and Astor Place (near 8th street)

tile-covered lamppost in Astor Place

The Cooper Union building on 3rd Avenue

Radio City Music Hall revisited

I've posted about Radio City Music Hall a few times before (in one post I even say that I have no desire to attend a show there!), and now I'm revisiting it. Actually, I visited it.

I got to attend the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 13th and I snapped away whenever a celeb actor or musician was on stage performing or presenting! I wrote about the show more in detail here on my other blog. 

Now I am glad to have made it inside this amazing music venue that I claimed I'd never bother to step foot in. Next year, if the VMA's are held in New York City again, count me in!

My view from the far right of the theater

Cameramen situated on a platform to stage left

The host, British actor Russell Brand, making his entrance, following a 

performance by Katy Perry and one of the guitarists from Aerosmith

Screenshot of Taylor Swift's performance to her Moon-man award winning 

"You Belong With Me" outside of Radio City Music Hall on Avenue of The Americas

Roxy Paine on the Roof of The Met

Through November 29, 2009, a special exhibit will be on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum on Museum Mile in NYC. The special exhibit is by the artist Roxy Paine and it is a large, sinuous, sky-reaching steel sculpture. More info here. The work's title is "Maelstrom", which means a 'powerful whirlpool' or 'state of confusion'. I didn't really get either of those definitions/feelings from it. I just thought it was amazing, amazingly silver and amazingly long. 

9/11/08

Last year on the 7th anniversary of 9/11 I went down to the site of the World Trade Center to take some pictures and explore the area. I went the year before and was so impressed by the flowers and people and the all over presentation. The people, colors and architecture around the space inspired me to make a video to a song that reminds me of September 11th.

Skyscraper in pink

This skyscraper in Midtown is pretty in pink and I bet a lot of businessmen work here!

View from Lexington and 55th

More of Bloomingdale's

Sometimes I don't mind walking home in the rain. It can make for the greatest photo opp, especially at night when there aren't as many people around—even in front of one of the busiest department stores in New York: Bloomingdale's. 

I used to work a few blocks away from this store, but I've only been shopping there once. 

At night, the outside of Bloomie's is a beautiful sight. The old white exit/entrance sign that faces Lexington Avenue glows, the window displays surprise, and the surroundings amaze : )  

Nighttime passersby in the rain

New Juicy Couture window display

Multi-colored Louis Vuitton

The corner of Bloomingdale's on Lexington Avenue and 59th Street has a nice transitioning Louis Vuitton display.  First I was impressed by the neon red/orange so I got out my camera to take a picture. I turned around to walk away and it was pointed out to me that the display had changed colors! The neon green was nice too. Bloomingdale's, I'm impressed!

stop!

go!

On the train in Astoria

There are so many inspirational things in New York and even in Queens, like the elevated subway line, the graffiti on sides of buildings and the random things you spot when walking along the sidewalk: decorative elements on a fence or an item that's been set out for recycling. All of these things have a relation to one another. Sometimes it's the color, the texture, the location, the item's purpose, the way the sunlight affects it, etc.

I made this video earlier in the summer because I was inspired by my regular walk to the gym in Astoria. Construction sites, poles, cars and parks are always nearby, and it always takes a quick subway ride to get there. Most of my ideas for this video came to me on the train, so you'll see a lot of interior and exterior shots of the subway as well:

The subway station at night

There's never any reason to smile when you're waiting for the subway fairly late at night, like between 10 pm and 12 am. No reason at all, unless you are standing there in the heat with a friend, able to talk and pass the time over the course of the 10 minutes to half hour that you are waiting. 

I used to defend the subway, even at night. It used to be so reliable, and so much cheaper. But this summer they raised the price of a metro card and slowed down or eliminated most services. And maybe the heat slows the trains down too? Maybe by the time you got to the platform, you just missed it and the next one is delayed because of... the poor economy? (This always happens to me.)

Either way, sometimes you have to get creative and entertain yourself when waiting for your ride home to take you home. There are plenty of people around who are waiting too, but they are strangers, so all you have is your iPod, the games on your phone, and sometimes your camera. Despite the trash and rats and weird leaky things hanging from the ceiling, there are photo opportunities even in this underground dungeon. 

Some are smiling right at you, so go ahead and take their picture!

(light bulbs hanging from the ceiling at the 42nd Street NRW station)

Inside and (outside) the Palace Hotel

The CW's Gossip Girl has had tourists and even locals in NYC visiting the show's famous filming spots. Places seen on the show, like Central Park, The Meatpacking District, Dylan's Candy Bar, Bendel's and The Palace Hotel, have been frequented by everyone fascinated with the characters and luxurious New York backdrop. There are even on-located tours provided for $30 or $40 that start out at The Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st. Most of the 1st season's juicy episodes were shot here, and I stopped by right away to see if I'd be lucky enough to spot the cast filming.

I never did, but I thanks to a tip on twitter, I once saw them filming on East 55th for an exterior apartment building shot at The Milan. All of the cast was friendly except for "Serena"!

Anyway, one night I went to The Palace Hotel with a friend, and I have to say, I wasn't too impressed with the interior or the bar, 'Gilt', which is featured several times in the show. Everything, even in New York, appears bigger and better on screen than it does in person (except for Time Square I have to say).

The 'Gilt' bar


At the 'Gilt' bar

View from inside the Courtyard of the nearby buildings