..the times square ball will be dropped down the same time tomorrow as i post this image now.. referencing a clock face, it’ll be at the building located at six o’ clock.. the One Times Square Building.. and the stage where the performers would be is where i stood while taking this shot.. dunno if we’ll be standing there freezing our asses off / watching fireworks somewhere / boozing at a bar / wolfing foodies / sleeping soundly.. i just wish everyone out there a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 😀
Month: December 2008
..well, i took a friend out for a stroll around manhattan’s tourist traps so i wasn’t able to get some good shots today.. also, i can’t keep my hands out of my pocket for long periods of time because of the cold.. and so.. (har har) the moleman’s back from the grave..
..this here’s the helmsley building at park avenue.. i passed by this place a while ago and saw that one side of it was under renovation so i thought about posting it here now.. 😀
..some factoids from wikipedia:
Located at 230 Park Avenue the Helmsley Building is a 35-story building straddling Park Avenue. Before the erection of the Pan Am Building, now the MetLife Building, this building was the city’s dowager queen, lording over the city’s second most prestigious avenue and marking the elegant heart of the city as it was the tallest structure in the great “Terminal City” complex around Grand Central Terminal designed by Warren & Wetmore. The building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1987.
**btw, those aren’t dust spots – or dust bunnies, as i’d like to call them.. they’re just flares from the street lights etc..
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train talk
..pretty bad day, i’ve been hit by a train.. lol.. not really, i won’t be here posting if i was hit by one of these battering rams.. it’s just that i don’t get any email notifications whenever a comment gets posted here so it just sucks.. and i don’t want to spend the time debugging what’s wrong.. i wanna go out and walk around.. speaking of which, there’s just a bunch of people here in nyc right now so lugging around a tripod is not so practical so im just boosting up the ISOs in most of my shots (like yesterday).. besides, sharpness is overrated.. hehe..
..i think this one looks particularly cool because of the red circular thingy “radiating” off of the train’s “forehead”.. it reminds me of aquaman talking to the fishies.. 🙂
..smooching at times square where a bunch of cameras go randomly flicking around, you’re bound to be papparazzie’d.. and think of the time i took taking out the camera from my bag, tweaking the settings and composing the shot, they were still at it after shooting 15-20 shots.. i bet they were still at it when we were in the trains.. lol.. 😀
..took a walk yesterday to relieve myself of all the calories i’ve been wolfing down..
..okay, so the guy on the right isn’t showing any butt crack, but still, the position is pretty close.. 😀
..these here are chocolate truffles.. yum yum.. 🙂
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touchdown
..merry christmas y’all! 🙂
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engulfed in blue flame
..i’m running out of titles for this one, it’s just as well because this’ll be the last of it’s kind posted here.. unless i’m fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time.. oddly enough, i was standing in the middle of a railroad track while composing this one.. lol.. 🙂
..i’m off to nyc again to spend the holidays there with families and friends.. i still hope to be active in visiting your sites as well too, and thanks for visiting here as well.. for the meantime, enjoy the rest of the day.. see you in a few clicks.. 😉
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gazing upwards
..shot at the corner of dauphin street and royal street..
..planned on shooting some local street life in what i guessed was the busiest street in downtown (dauphin) but ended up with nothing.. they were all in the mall shopping.. my timing was off, so i let my eyes gaze upwards like they always do..
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book vault
..still from government street..
..the library..
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bee hive
..back to government street.. here’s a church named ‘the bee hive’..
The congregation of Government Street United Methodist Church, Methodism’s Mother Church in Mobile, began in 1826 on Franklin Street. Called “The Bee Hive” because of it’s activity, it sent “swarms” throughout the city to form new congregations. A brick structure replaced the original wooden church in 1848-49. The move to this corner was accomplished with the dedication of a Gothic structure in 1890. The remodeling to Spanish Colonial architecture was begun in 1906 and completed in 1917. Architect was Mobilian George B. Rogers, and Harry E. Goodhue of Boston created the stained glass windows.
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along the bay
..can’t go wrong with a picture perfect backdrop.. here’s a couple of cranes (is that what they’re called?) while taking a break at the pier.
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rsa battle house tower (reprise)
..got off work early after our company’s christmas luncheon so i’m in a good mood, so here’s another take on the RSA Battle House Tower and the swirly clouds.. 🙂
..the Chrysler is much prettier though.. 😉
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rsa battle house tower
..okay, i’ll get back to those old houses later.. my interest fades when i post in succession anyways.. so for now i’ll be jumping straight to downtown Mobile..
..while walking the empty streets of downtown Mobile, the wind from the gulf created these interesting cloud formations.. the backdrop just looks so interesting i can’t help but post more of these.. well, maybe.. we’ll see.. it all depends on my mood..
..from wikipedia
The RSA Battle House Tower is located in Mobile, Alabama and is Alabama’s tallest building. The building is owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA). It is the tallest on the Gulf Coast of the United States outside of Houston, Texas. It replaces the Wachovia Building in Birmingham as the tallest building in Alabama and the AmSouth Bank Building as the tallest in Mobile. The building is named for the neighboring Battle House Hotel, which is now part of the tower complex. The Battle House Hotel was restored and renovated as part of the the tower project.
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the helmers
..sustaining the mood from yesterday’s post, i’ve amplified it (a bit?).. intentionally skewing the shot & adding some funky processing.. apologies to the helmers if i made their home (a bit) spooky.. 😀
..but still, living alone in this house is not a good idea.. lol..
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lasher
..still along Government Street, a few blocks down from yesterday’s post.. here’s one of those southern homes that still stands proud..
..walking down the sidewalk with nary a soul in sight and surrounded by these southern houses got me thinking about scenes of Anne Rice’s ‘Witching Hour’.. as curious as i am about these houses, i just stuck to the sidewalk for fear of Lasher, the pervy antagonist in Anne Rice’s book.. 😀
*.. and here’s the link to the bikers from last saturday.. check it out if you’re into bikes and all that.. and you could probably help me identifying what models they are too..
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blacksher hall
..a particular stretch of road leading into downtown Mobile is Government Street.. it’s lined on both sides with **okay, get ready for this** “antebellum architectural examples of Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Creole cottage, various Victorian types, shotgun types, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Beaux-Arts and many others..” **whew, that’s a mouthful.. got that from wikipedia**
..one such specimen is the Blacksher Hall.. (from their website)
Blacksher Hall is a beautiful example of Edwardian Neo-Classical architecture,
providing exquisite grandeur to Government Street and the Historic Garden District of Mobile.Blacksher Hall is complemented with period furnishings and set in park-like surroundings.
It is one of the most sought-after private party venues in Mobile, and continues
to host special events for individuals and corporations including:
- Weddings and Receptions
- Extravagant Cocktail Parties
- Elegant Fundraising Events
- Seated Dinners
The family owned and operated mansion features elegant touches such as
a 60 foot wide classical front porch, grand mahogany entrance with beveled glass
leading to a 2 story entrance hall, a spectacular mahogany main staircase,
stained glass skylights and jeweled windows, a ballroom with grand piano,
and lovely antique furnishings and paintings throughout.
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mobile bikers
..never had the time (or motivation) to walk around and observe my surroundings here in Mobile.. so yesterday, i went out for a walk and just after 5 minutes walking, i heard loud, throbbing roars coming from 150-200 big bikes passing by the road.. i thought to myself, ” man, how lucky can i be.. 😀 “.. i easily filled up 2gigs+ worth of raw photos.. i’ll be posting them in the gallery today and put the link up tomorrow.. now, i don’t know what the event was nor what those bikes are called but they sure look nice.. 😀
*..i’ve tweaked the display size for portrait-oriented images so load times will take sometime because they’re HUGE.. 🙂
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big moon
..well, here i am gazing up at the dark skies again.. 😀 wifey *mwah* told me about this (read below) around 10PM last night so i hunkered out in the cold to get some shots.. ’twas pretty fun.. 🙂
..from yahoo
The full moon Friday night will be the biggest one of the year as Earth’s natural satellite reaches its closest point to our planet.
Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle.
The moon’s average distance from us is about 238,855 miles (384,400 km). Friday night it will be just 221,560 miles (356,567 km) away. It will be 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during the year, according to NASA.
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life’s a ball
..and this here’s a beach ball.. a giant beach ball.. if you happen to pass by here and seem to be lost, just look for the big beach ball on a pole with the words ‘Pensacola Beach’..
*i love polarizers.. 😀
..still from last weekend’s trip to pensacola..
..obviously the pier was also meant for fishing so it was cool to find this bait on the planks.. not that i’m into fishing or anything like that but the funny thing was that i haven’t seen or touched a bait like this yet (i just used worms & various bugs).. it’s consistency felt so real, lifelike and like sashimi.. it’s good i had the presence of mind not to munch on it.. 😀
..hmm, i just thought that it was odd for me to post beach photos when it’s already winter.. oh well, anything goes..
..these ones belong to those kids from yesterday’s post..
..and here’s some funny stuff to brighten up your day.. 😀 –> Hitler rants about D3x
..there was a family shoot going on under the pier, here are some kids taking a break while their parents pose for the camera.. the view from up there was awesome, however, there weren’t any interesting subjects to shoot.. maybe on summer.. 😉
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pensacola beach gulf pier
..my friends & i jumped the border and went on a road trip to florida to get some lottery tickets.. but we first made a beeline to pensacola beach and walked around a bit.. this here’s the ‘longest & friendliest pier in the gulf of mexico’ as taken from this website.. the beach was great buuut if it has sharks..
Stretching out across the emerald green waters beyond 2 sand bars the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier has some of the most exciting fishing and sights any pier Florida has to offer. And did we forget to say, “the most friendly pier around!” The Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier is here for everyone to enjoy. Whether you are a seasoned fisherman or a beginner you will be right at home on our pier. We also have everything you need to fish, bait, tackle, rental rods, coolers and carts as well as food and drinks in our new restaurant.
From our pier we see many kinds of marine life from dolphins, manatees, brown and cow rays, different types of sharks, crabs. In addition, there are many types of fish swimming around the pier as well as marine birds. Watching the activities of these species around the pier has become a favorite for some of our local schools which we host here at the pier.
*oh, and yesterday’s snow/sandman was just a discovery.. some kids probably made it.. 🙂
..down here in the south, you have to work with what you have.. since there isn’t any of that cold, fluffy, white stuff lying around.. white, powdery sand will do.. 🙂
..it’s the weekend.. time to slow things down for a bit..
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17 state street
..this is an eye catching piece of architecture from the southern tip of manhattan.. it’s odd that i haven’t posted anything about it yet.. 😀
17 State Street is a 42-story building in the Financial District of Manhattan. Completed in 1988, the building rises to 542 ft (165 m). It was designed by Emery Roth and Sons, and it is most noted for its distinct curved facade.
The bottom floors of the skyscraper are home to New York Unearthed, an urban archaeology museum with approximately two million artifacts from local excavation sites. The museum was originally included as a concession to the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission, who had been unable to perform an archaeological survey of the site before construction began. They believed that the lot had contained artifacts from the early 18th century, although a lawyer for the construction firm claimed to be “absolutely certain that no archeological material was lost”.
*applied a velvia 50 (film filter) on it and lowered opacity to 60%.. still looks a bit saturated, ain’t it?
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cheeky
..two sides of the coin, the opposite of this one..
..shot from just 4(?) feet away, i honestly didn’t want to look like an ass shooting this one but when finding a tourist attraction like this, sans the mob, i took advantage of the opportunity and shot all angles.. even this one.. 😀 ..and yeah, most of the time i find people taking pictures of and with both ends of this structure.. funny, right? some pranksters even had the guts to paint the ‘nuts’ blue when the financial crisis started..
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conjunction
..well, i guess i was lucky.. 🙂 if i heard about this earlier, i might’ve been able to catch them forming a smiley face too.. oh well, since this won’t happen until 2044, i’m content.. and because tee shirt & jogging pants don’t go well in 35+ degrees i also didn’t bother taking better shots.. hehe..
..according to the news.. venus, mars & the moon would be visible in the sky this evening (12/01/08).. too bad i missed it.. but looks like tomorrow’s (12/02/08) showing some promise..
December 1, 2008
Two brilliant planets line up to the lower right of the crescent Moon this evening. The brighter of the two, and the closest to the Moon, is Venus. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is a little to the right of Venus.December 2, 2008
Venus and Jupiter line up side by side early this evening, low in the southwest. Venus is the brighter of the two, with Jupiter to its right. The crescent Moon is a fair distance to their upper left.
..ah, monday.. it seems i’ve been sleeping a lot during the past four days (hence the headaches).. i’m not built for the ‘bum’ life and i wasn’t the slacker i used to be.. hm.. i’m getting old..
..same place where i shot this..
A chapel of the Parish of Trinity Church, St. Paul’s was built on land granted by Queen Anne of Great Britain, and Andrew Gautier served as the master craftsman. Upon completion in 1766, it stood in a field some distance from the growing port city to the south. It was built as a “chapel-of-ease” for parishioners who lived far from the Mother Church.
Built of Manhattan mica-schist with brownstone quoins, St. Paul’s has the classical portico, boxy proportions and domestic details that are characteristic of Georgian churches such as James Gibbs’ London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, after which it was modelled. Its octagonal tower rises from a square base and is topped by a replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates (c. 335 BC).
Inside, the chapel’s simple elegant hall has the pale colors, flat ceiling and cut glass chandeliers reminiscent of contemporary domestic interiors. In contrast to the awe-inspiring interior of Trinity Church, this hall and its ample gallery were endowed with a cozy and comfortable character in order to encourage attendance. (more)