OpSail 2012 brought tall ships to New York for Memorial Day and Fleet Week.
Just like last time, I dragged myself out of bed early and all the way downtown to see the ships at Battery Park. The weather was cloudy and grey with the threat of rain all day, but even so, I managed to get a little sun burn.
Due to the weather, most of the tall ships did not have their full sails out, but they’re still impressive nonetheless.
Any fine, hand-made cigar has two ends, the “cap” at the top which you cut and put in your mouth, and the “foot” at the bottom where you light it. I always take a look at the foot when buying or smoking a cigar, but the other day was the first time that I really sat down and inspected one with a magnifying glass. It was only then that I truly saw the mélange of colors and textures and patterns that are in a fine cigar. It was also then that I knew I wanted to photograph a variety of cigar feet to capture the beauty in them.
Tourists are just about the most annoying thing about growing up and living in NYC; so much so, that I try to steer clear of touristy spots most of the time. However, when I heard that the Brooklyn Bridge was to undergo repairs in late 2009, I actually got off my butt and made a trip to see it before the repairs made it all pretty. I also combed through my photo archives to see what other photos I had of it…
To be honest with you, I can’t remember the last time I went to the Bronx Zoo, and I wouldn’t have gone back any time soon if my father hadn’t suggested it as a test for his new camera. It was nice, but since it was a bit hot, the animals were mostly just sitting down in the shade and not very active.
Some person spends $21 million to erect saffron colored “gates” along many of the walkways in my beloved Central Park and calls it “art”. To be honest with you…I don’t get it. But I did learn something about myself from it.
This is the one photograph of the World Trade Center that I’ve been able to find in my collection. It was taken in July 1991, and from the angle, it was most probably taken from either Jersey City or, more likely, a Circle Line boat ride around Manhattan.
It was unusually warm for this years St. Patrick’s Day parade. For the couple of hours that I was there, it was overcast and always threatening to rain, but it never did.
This photograph was taken from 25th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on September 11, 2001 at about 3:00 p.m. (that’s the famous Flatiron Building in the center).
On Friday, December 29, 2000, 1010 WINS (the all-news station in NYC) reported that New York City was expecting 6-10 inches of snow in the 12-hour period starting at about 8:00am on Saturday. Knowing how beautiful NYC gets when covered with snow, and knowing that it only looks beautiful for about 10 minutes after the snow stops, I prepared myself to go out at about 10:00am. That way, the snow would have fallen for about 2 hours, which I figured would give the city a nice covering.
I managed to get out of bed around 9:30am, dragged myself to the bathroom, and noticed that there was a lot of snow visible out the window. I flipped on the TV to NY1 (NYC all news TV station) and found out that the snow started at about 4:00am, four hours early!
Central Park is smack in the middle of the island of Manhattan. It was built between 1858 and 1878. It totals about 843 acres. 150 of the acres are in 7 bodies of water, 250 of the acres are made up of lawns, and 136 acres are made up of woodlands.
On 4 July 2000, OpSail 2000 put on it’s show for New York.
It was supposed to start with several airplane fly overs, and then all of the tall ships were supposed to sail from New York Harbor up the Hudson to the George Washington Bridge, then turn around and go back down the Hudson again to New York Harbor to hang out and wait for the fireworks.
One day, as I sat in my office in New York on West 56th street, I was looking out of the window thinking about a problem I was working on. As my eyes wandered about the street below, a movement caught my eye.
Directly across the street from me, about 3 flights up from the street, was a wide open window, and in it was a dog looking out at the street below.