..remember the “daffy” building in old fart reflections? i finally got to know what it’s called, as seen in the photo, it’s called the One Herald Center..
Category: Urban
..today was supposed to be a follow-up to yesterday’s experimental shot.. well, since it’s all new to me, there’s some chance it’ll fail, and fail it did.. let me play around with this first and i’ll share some nitty gritty details about it later.. 😀
..anyhoo, the moleman’s back and he’d like to give a shoutout to michael paulison for writing about this series.. i’m glad he liked it as much as i did, i hope you do too..
..have you ever wondered how Pikachu feels like when being sucked into that red pokeball..? my guess is that it somehow looked like this.. pikachuuuu.. 😀
..excerpt’s credit goes to nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com, as taken from blueofthesky.com
..you can find more about Isamu Noguchi and his art here..
The bright red painted steel of Isamu Noguchi‘s Red Cube stands out in strong contrast to the blacks, browns, and whites of the buildings and sidewalks around the sculpture. Located to one side of a small plaza in front of the BROTHERS HARRIMAN (previously HSBC) building on Broadway, Red Cube is surrounded on three sides by skyscrapers, the height of which draw a viewer’s eye upwards. The sculpture itself adds to this upward pull, as it balances on one corner, the opposite corner reaching towards the sky. Despite its title, the sculpture is not actually a cube, but instead seems as though it has been stretched along its vertical axis. (this one looks like it was stretched in all axes)
Aside from it’s striking color, Red Cube also stands out from the surrounding architecture in that all of its lines are diagonals, whereas the buildings are made up of horizontal and vertical lines. Additionally, the sculpture is balanced somewhat precariously on one corner, while the buildings, by contrast, and solidly placed.
Through the center of the cube there is a cylindrical hole, revealing an inner surface of gray with evenly-spaced lines moving from one opening of the hole to the other. Looking through this hole, the viewer’s gaze is directed towards the building behind, tying the sculpture and the architecture together.
..sharpness is overrated..(?)
..another slow day.. so i’ve been surfing the net and went to dpreview.com.. dpreview has this nifty tool in their lens reviews that gauges lens IQ.. and in order to understand the terminologies & methods they used to obtain their results, i went to their forums and spent some hours reading.. and now i think i’m having a headache.. yep, it was informative, but i think some brain cells died in the process.. just kidding.. 😀 it’s a great source of information.. (lots of geekspeak)
..so here’s a blurry shot for today.. the triborough bridge (aka Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge) read about it here
..well, what do you know.. yellow leaves.. how original.. lol.. as mundane as this may seems, the reason i posted this one is because it reminded me of a solar flare..
..very much like Grover saying.. “this is near, this is far.. this is near, this is far”.. now, listen to the Moleman say to you “this is night, this is day.. this is night, this is day”
..as the title says, this is the night shot of the day shot i posted awhile back.. makes sense? good..
..*spoiler alert* i wouldn’t click those last links if i were you.. they’re just the same links as the ones before them.. 😀
..i’ve been looking at Peter Lik’s site and got curious about film.. since i haven’t the time & resources to try it out, i went for the next best thing.. since i’ve had my grubby hands on a “film” plug-in that i haven’t tried out yet, i decided to play around with it on my “digital darkroom”.. two-strip(ped) or two-color(ed) and GAF 500.. i wasn’t able to gather any info as to what GAF 500 is, but i like how it turned out.. 😀
..taken in Rockefeller Center, closer to the GE building, there’s the skating rink down south..
..don’t know much about boats or ships, all i know was that this one was undergoing repair back when i was in philly, volunteers were restoring this ship.. doesn’t look seaworthy yet.. maybe riverworthy..
..i’ve been doing some major surfing this weekend, and i happened to click on Peter Lik’s website.. to me, he strikes me as the Steve Irwin of landscape photography.. lol.. check it out and let his awesome photos speak for itself..
11/09/2008 10:00 PM
..i’m a bit bleary-eyed from the buffet i ate.. *burp* i think i see a pentagram.. hmm.. better get to sleep..
..this one was obviously taken at the brooklyn bridge.. early morning too, so i was among the few pesky tourists around the area..
..here’s the premier concrete canvas in long island city, 5pointz
..from wikipedia..
5 Pointz: The Insitute of Higher Burnin’ is an industrial building in Long Island City, Queens, where graffiti has been allowed.John Roleke of About.com writes: “5 Pointz is a living collage of graffiti art covering a converted warehouse full of artist studios”. 5 Pointz is known worldwide, and taggers or graffiti artists from all over the world have come there paint graffiti. 5 Pointz has been the subject of articles in newspapers such as The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune.
As The Christian Science Monitor puts it: “The Gatekeeper of New York’s ‘graffiti mecca’ is Meres who decides who paints – and how long it stays.” Jonathan Cohen, or “Meres,” has been in charge of the 5 Pointz graffiti museum since 2002.
It is suggested to e-mail Cohen to get his permission before painting at 5 Pointz. If he is not familiar with an artist, Cohen will ask for a sample of their work; if it is a mural, he will ask for a layout as well.
The name “5 Pointz” represents the five boroughs of New York City. One of the first graffiti there was a portrait of Jam Master J, an important member of the early hip hop musical style.
..click here for a larger view..
Categories
a new day
..nuff said.. 😉
..manhattan from queens..
..a memorial at the african burial ground national monument honors the memories of the estimated 15,000 africans buried at the approximately seven-acre site in the 17th and 18th centuries.. created by haitian-american Rodney Leon, the noticeable structure is a highly polished wall of granite which is called an “ancestral libation chamber”, which serves to physically, spiritually, rituistically and psychologically define the location where the historic re-internment of remains and artifacts of 419 africans has taken place.. it’ll also serve to acknowledge the site as a “sacred place” where thousands of africans are currently buried..
For all those who were lost
For all those who were stolen
For all those who were left behind
For all those who were not forgotten
**that’s my “snout” at the bottom part of the frame, i didn’t bother removing it as proof that i was “in” the shot.. 😀
..saw this on the frontpage of amNY, “Bullish or Foolish?”.. the article that accompanied that headline pertained to people still investing in stocks even though the market was down..
Charging Bull (sometimes called the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull) is a 3,200?kg (7,000 pound) bronze sculpture by Arturo Di Modica that sits in Bowling Green park near Wall Street in New York City.
The sculpture depicts a bull, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, leaning back on its haunches and with its head lowered as if ready to charge.
The sculpture, one of the city’s most photographed artworks, has become a tourist destination in the Financial District. It has also come to be an unofficial symbol of the Financial District itself, and it often appears in the local news media to punctuate stories about optimism in the financial market.
Categories
monolithic
..monolithic, the word that comes to mind when seeing this building..
The Williams Tower (formerly the Transco Tower) is a skyscraper located in the Uptown District of Houston. It was designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, in association with Houston-based Morris-Aubry Architects, and erected in 1983. The tower is among Houston’s most visible buildings. The building is the 4th-tallest in Texas and the 23rd-tallest in the United States. When it was built, in 1983, it stood as the tallest skyscraper located outside a city’s central business district.
..shot alongside this one..
..despite elaine’s psycho tune blaring through my speakers, no trick or treaters this time around.. lol..
..shot on a chilly, cloudy afternoon somewhere along the piers at west manhattan..
..that’s me (donnie darko) stalking the aisles for candy.. i seem to be lost.. hmm.. and no, there’s nothing wrong with my keyboard, this is today’s title..
..the moleman is back with new fun stuff..
..i really had fun playing around with this lens, it’s a challenge too because you get to see things in a wider, different perspective.. of course i planned what i wanted to shoot but i had to look around & turn around to see if it’ll look good, most of the time i had the camera stuck to my face as i did that weird dance to see firsthand what the effect would be.. of course i got weird looks from people around me but that’s what i like about nyc, most people don’t give a s**t..
..this here’s grand central terminal, shot from the west entrance..
..shot at the same place where i got this.. straight out of the camera.. too lazy to postprocess.. it’s cooold.. i’d off to bed now.. brrrrrr.. time to crank up the heater..
..if you’ve been to the Top of the Rock, then you’d know that this is the “bottom” of the rock.. this is where you shell out $$ to pay for a great view.. the view’s better than Empire State’s though..
..this is where i got this..
..and it’s monday again, i’m pretty much recharged, slept most of the time this weekend, i’m raring to go..go back to work, that is.. 🙂
..here’s another from this fishy series, shot from the 59th Street subway exit, underneath the Trump International Hotel & Tower’s Globe.. and that’s the Time Warner Center up the stairs..
Categories
crater
..looks like the inside of a crater..shot on my last visit to Houston..
The Williams Waterwall is a gorgeous piece of architecture located right next to the Williams Tower in the Uptown District. The 60+ ft. tall structure is in the shape of a semi-circle, with water that cascades down over it and down a series of steps towards the bottom. When you stand in front of it, especially at night when it is illuminated by lights from beneath the water, it is really a spectacular sight. It is situated at the end of a lovely little park surrounded by oak trees, and is a favorite photo opportunity for locals and visitors alike in Houston.
..not that kind of peep show.. 😛
..tip of downtown manhattan taken off of the liberty island..
..it’s funny that i’ve been posting images of NYC but have nothing about the Statue of Liberty..
..up until now.. here ya go..
..made a beeline for the mall in central park and instead saw a group of guys playing football amidst the dirt, dust & fallen leaves.. the scene was further accentuated by the low lying sunlight peering through the trees and hitting the disturbed dust, bathing them in the golden, dusty glow of fall.. too bad this photo doesn’t do justice to what i actually saw.. oh well, i guess this will do for today.. 🙂
..and i finally got my vfxy approved.. if you wanna give me some lovin’, now’s the time to do it.. lol..
..shot in the unholy hours of the morning, when tourists and workers flock around & walk the hallowed canyons of manhattan.. here’s the ‘morning version’ of this shot..
..flip off a switch and voila, no lights! magick!
..to start off with the “moleman” series, here’s Fifth Avenue, shot from “below” Atlas, a 45 feet sculpture created by Lee Lawrie, a famous architectural sculptor..
Categories
weed?
..i’m in the mood for simple stuff..
Categories
late night reflections
..walking home with a tripod in hand.. how handy can that be.. lol..
..shot from across the 9 West 57 building, a reflection of the Crown Building ( as seen by wifey 😀 )
Categories
all around the rock
..i’ve been up there, down here and now i went around.. ALL around.. 🙂
..yesterday was up there, now i’m down here.. 🙂
..just some random guy doing random stuff at a concert at a park.. 🙂
Categories
up there
..well, have a great weekend, i’m off to somewhere and it’s time for me to hit the skies again..
Categories
classy
..hmm, what? expecting something else? sorry to disappoint you.. hehe..
..yeah, i know..
..a little bit early for halloween..
..to get a phone signal after getting off of the subway, this is what you should do.. lol..
Categories
old fart reflections
..nothing to see here.. just some old buildings..
..20 minutes digging through the internet gave me this..
- the building in the reflection is the herald tower apartments..
- the building producing the reflection is.. i have no idea, i just call it daffy’s.. lol
Categories
dirty dancing
..i’m not artsy but was just in the mood to do some ‘research’ 😀
..corollary to this post, and this post.. here’s another shot from this year’s dancing at the crossroads event..
..a dancer from the buglisi dance theatre performing an excerpt from the ‘suspended women‘ choreographed by jacqulyn buglisi..
inspired by the writings of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, one of the finest Hispanic poets of the 17th century, acclaimed in her time as “Phoenix of Mexico, America’s Tenth Muse.” This new work involved 12 women and 4 men and the terrible beauty that is seen in their surrendered falling and rising. This dance explores the places in this world that are neither here nor there, neither up nor down, neither real nor imaginary. They are the in between places (thresholds) difficult to find and challenging to sustain. Yet they are the most fruitful places of all. For in these liminal narrows, a kind of life (suspended) takes place that is out of the ordinary, creative, and genuinely magical. Suspended Women will be danced to composer Daniel Roumain’s arrangement of Ravel’s Concerto for Piano in G major, with interpolations on the score composed and played by Roumain. Ms. Buglisi uses this dance as a vehicle to speak out against violence and supression.
..update.. changed the title, this sounds better.. 😀
..apparently my weekend of surfing the net wasn’t all for naught, i learned some new stuff and i entertained my self while i’m at it too..
..if you’re into ground patterns, stylishly comfy shoes, cute dogs and all that, i suggest you give puglyfeet.com a visit.. 😉
Categories
ah, monday
..here’s to the weekend that passed..
For the rest of us there is always sunday
The day of the week that reeks of rest but all we do is catch our breath so we can wade naked into the bloody pool and place our hand on the big black book
To watch the knives zigzag between our aching fingers– Stone Sour (Omega)
..and here’s a municipal pier from philly.. um, what gives? how are they related? *shrugs* i dunno..
Categories
amazing grace
..remeber this one? well this is it’s brother / sister (whichever you prefer)..
..it’s called the WR Grace building and this is where the chase between the human torch & silver surfer started on the movie Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer..
..again, on a sidenote.. 😀 ..if you’re planning to purchase this new dslr, then the raw clips from the new Canon 5DMkII are now available at Vincent Laforet’s blog..
..i’ve showed in the previous posts what the exterior of Trinity Church looks like, now let’s delve deeper.. as deep as where Nicholas Cage went (and possibly afford a Ferrari when i surface the catacombs).. lol.. yep, this is the Trinity Church as referenced by the movie National Treasure.. i poked around and couldn’t find an entrance to the treasure trove.. don’t tell me it ain’t true.. *shock*
..on a sidenote, turns out, letterman’s still funny. hehe..
Categories
linear vortex
..my mind is a tabula rasa..
..can i eet ur buildingz..
..this now concludes the end of the first series that i’ve put up ..it’s not like i still have some photos left to post but my web host’s servers aren’t cooperating so i’ve ended it prematurely
..here are two manhattanites and a G.I.R.
..and on a sidenote.. the d90’s video sucks & the 5dMkII’s video kicks ass.. lolololol
Categories
shoo
..all series must come to an end…not this day though.. 😀
..still from yesterday’s post, this is one of the three(?) entrances to the AIG building, shot from across the street. i was actually shooting at the entrance when a security guy told me it’s prohibited to shoot there, he told me to cross the street and shoot from there (less than 10 meters away).. what’s the point? it’s early saturday morning & it’s not like i’m blocking anyone.. it’s not like me to complain so i just happily smashed the shutter repeatedly..
MAJOR BUMMER.. my web hosting is experiencing hiccups.. well, it’s not like i’m running a charity here so what the heck..
Categories
AIG.. augh..
..to start off the week, and to continue the “fishy” financial district series, here’s the American International Building, owned of the AIG Insurance company.. i kept the liquor sign there for a reason.. according to gawker.com:
“Vodka and scotch sales are up, there’s no question about that,†said Chris Adams, executive vice president of Sherry-Lehmann Wines & Spirits, on 59th Street. He says that traffic in his store has increased this month—over the counter sales are up 23%, and delivery volume is up about 18%, compared to last year.
i posted something about this building a few weeks ago.. this perspective i think is to give you a sense of ‘being there’.. and for more, here’s an excerpt from nyc-architecture.com:
Built in 1930-1932 for the Cities Service Company.
This 289.5-metre, Gothic-like, spire-topped skyscraper was the tallest building in the Downtown area until the completion of the World Trade Center. It also was to be the last skyscraper to be built in Financial District in the pre-WW II years. It took until 1961 that another tall skyscraper rose to the area, in the form of the Chase Manhattan Bank.
..which i think will be tomorrow’s post.. 😀
Categories
emptier still
..going for that empty, desolate, urban look in a bustling city like manhattan?
..shoot in the wee hours of winter..
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haunting the chapel
..third part of the finance district series that’ll end whenever i deem it mundane..
..still haunting the same place from the previous two posts..
..technically, this isn’t a chapel but i got this title from Slayer…
Categories
entombed
..and while i’m at it, why not do a series on the financial district?
..here’s a massive tombstone(?) at the trinity church cemetery
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implosion
..yesterday was a typical “s**t hit the fan” day.. i don’t tend to read the wall street journal nor do i care about stocks and all that bull (not that bull.. this bull).. but all that talk in the media got me thinking.. where was that imploding new york stock exchange (NYSE) shot i had before.. i know it would come in handy in times like this.. tsk3..
01/19/2008
Categories
cat & mouse
..took the boat out for a weekend cruise down the gulf of mexico..donned some cheesy, flowery, mexican shirt, a sombrero and a mustachio..played cat & mouse with the po-po’s..as shown here..they think i’m packing..why would they think that?