Here’s a church we passed by on our way to Communitea ( a Gossip Girl shooting location ). What strikes me is that it reminds me of a spaceship.. a spaceship going straight up to heaven..
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Where’s the train?!
First day in Alabama.. I’m missing the trains.. buses.. people..
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Sayonara
Well, I’m off to Alabama.. and I’ll be there for quite some time.. I sure am gonna miss NY..
Taking a break on a bench after a long walk.. turned around and voila.. a rainbow! 😀
..a perfect place to clear your mind..
Taken from yesterday’s early stroll at the park, The Mall.
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Angel of the Waters
I was out early in the morning in pursuit of a Manhattanhenge shot, but I was short by a few blocks.. hmm.. let’s say 50+ blocks.. So instead, I walked across Central Park.. ended up in the Bethesda Terrace & seeing that it was deserted, I was able to shoot some nice shots. Here’s the female winged angel in the Bethesda fountain.
These are the tunnels to the trains in Union Station.
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Empire?!
Can you guess what this building is? The first time I saw this building I gave it a second glance & thought it was the Empire State Building. Actually, this is the American International Building. It’s home to the American International Group, an insurance company. The observatory at the top is still used (if you’re an executive, that is).
Got this shot while lounging at a recently opened park at the Brooklyn Bridge Park.
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Po Po Lounge
This is the Police Headquarters Building located at 240 Centre Street. Designed by the firm of Hoppin & Koen in an exuberant Edwardian Baroque style, it opened in 1909. The NYPD moved out in 1973 and it was converted to luxury condominiums in 1987. There are 55 apartments on six floors. 2-bedroom rents ranging from $7,000 – $11,500 & 2-bedroom sale ranging from $1.05M (1,750 sq. ft.) – $1.5M. Read more about it here.
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Demon Pole
The idea of going on a day trip has been simmering in our minds for quite sometime now. So equipped with a Google Map printout and round trip Metro North tickets, we went to New Haven, CT to visit the top Ivy League school, Yale. The campus was vast so we weren’t able to explore the whole of it.
This is a flagpole in front of the Yale Commons. What’s up with the demon crest?
While in search of a restaurant that caters to celebrities just south of the latest Apple Store @ Chelsea, I snapped a couple out from this street where the sun was peering from. Our celebrity hunting wasn’t all for naught ‘coz just a few blocks away, we noticed a few pappers (papparazzis) snapping at a group of elderly people & some children. Turns out, it was Anderson Cooper from CNN. It must be a “slow day” for them. 🙂
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Fourth of July Fireworks
Okay, so here goes..
With so many vantage points to view the fireworks, we positioned ourselves where I shot this.. right smack in the East River Park. The weather was a bit dreary and it drizzled a bit, but all that helped to thin out the crowd. It was 30 minutes of pure pyrotechnic joy.. except of course, I was peering through the viewfinder while holding an umbrella. 😉
Oh, and if you squint and see what’s underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, you’ll see something that looks like a blue waterfall. Well that’s actually one of the four, $15M “Waterfall” art installment by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. New Yorkers had a mixed reaction to it, some in favor and some who aren’t. It actually looks beautiful at night but during the day, you could see the scaffolds and the pipes that feeds the waterfall. And for $15M?! Come on..
What?! Expecting 4th of July fireworks? Nah, that’s too mundane ( I’ll post them later..lol ), I give you this instead. Enjoy! 😀
A few hours from now, the infamous July 4 firework show along the East River would commence. I’m still deciding on whether to shoot the fireworks from here or some other place where there won’t be too many people. Hmmm.. decisions, decisions..
While leaving the promenade at Brooklyn Heights, a mob of teenage girls were flocking towards the Manhattan skyline scenery. Most of them were saying “OMG, OMG, This is soooo cool!”
Ever since I got here, I’ve seen a lot of homeless people and didn’t even know that they were homeless. I think homeless people here are better off than homeless people from where I’m from.
Shot this one from a few meters a way so I’d have a head start if he flips out and chases me. 😉
Yesterday was the NYC Gay Pride Parade.. notable celebrities include Gov. Patterson & Candice Cayne, didn’t see them though, by the time I got in front of NYPL, the clouds darkened and in a matter of minutes it poured. But the parade went on with the same intensity that it had the moment I arrived.
Here’s a guy dressed like a character in 300. I’m not sure what message he was trying to send though. 🙂
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Classic
..paying homage to an icon that stands tall, a classic..
Walking around aimlessly around the city, sometimes you’d discover something out of the ordinary.. like this Guitar Hero van.. to promote the latest release of the Guitar Hero franchise, I guess they scatter vans like this around the country to entice gamers to buy their goods..
Here’s a couple of oldie locks groovin’ it out to the tune of Aerosmith..
A final photo from the parade.. A guy in a blue fish costume..
Still from the parade.. this guy opted to look like a barnacle-encrusted abomination.. which seemed to suit him quite well..
On a sidenote, this guy was also running around scaring kids with his mask. (Quite funny if you ask me..)
A sea urchin perhaps? Who knows.. the first thought that comes to my mind is S&M.. 😀
i’m thinking of making this week’s theme about the “freaks” at the Mermaid Parade.. hmm..
More freaks! Out from the depths of the ocean, here comes Godzilla!
Alluding to the fact that this guy is Asian, and wearing what looks like (..to me) a dinosaur costume, I deduced that he’s portraying Godzilla.. or maybe a blue Barney?? Whatever he is, he’s rockin’ it.. rawr!
A bit of Godzilla trivia:
“Godzilla” Gojira (ゴジラ) is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ lit. “gorilla”) and kujira (鯨 (ãã˜ã‚‰) lit. “whale”)
It’s that time of the year.. the temperature’s climbing.. hemlines are climbing.. the freaks are out again.. To signal the start of summer, it’s the Mermaid Parade! whee!!
Get your dose of the parade here –> NSFW
NY may be a pricey place to stay but some things are free.. Unknown by some, museums sometimes allow free admission or a voluntary donation. Say for example, The Met.. the three of us were able to get in for just a buck.
This is the rooftop of The Met, it was a Friday so people were guzzling booze & shooting the crap.
The Urban Dictionary defines this phrase as:
covering your back. six comes from being behind a person (six o’ clock position). so “watch my six” is “cover me from behind”
SWAT Team Leader: Watch my six boys, this is goina get uglySWAT Team Members: Roger that sir.
I helped out Tun with a shoot he did for a designer friend – see, being antisocial brings you nowhere.. lol. His friend thought that the “Sphere within a Sphere” sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro in the United Nations would look rad as a backdrop for the shoot. It’s a good thing the security guard was cool with that idea too, anyhoo, the shots came out pretty good and it was fun.
Check out the photos (and the dresses) here.
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Passing Time
Time seems to pass you by when you’re busy with something, on the flipside, it just drags on when you’re doing nothing.
The Times Square Alliance partners with Dancers Responding to AIDS and the many astonishing dance groups and artists who work with that organization to bring creativity to the Crossroads of the World, a free performance featuring more than 20 local, international, and student dance companies performing some of the best dance that NYC has to offer will take place right in the heart of Times Square, on the island at the insersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue between 43rd and 44th streets.
06/19/2008 Update:
I wasn’t able to get the name of this dancer, but her repertoire is a rough mix of ballet and … … I can’t describe it.. it’s just intense! 🙂
Thanks to Mr. Giarmo, I was able to know the name of this talented dancer and give her credit for an excellent performance. Her name is Drew Jacoby and she can be found here.
It rained for a bit yesterday so I never thought that we would be able to get out. But the sky cleared a bit and off we went to church, but who knows that just around the corner, the Tony Awards was going on. 🙂 We stalked the red carpet across the street in anticipation of the celebrities and pseudo-celebrities that would pass by. We weren’t disappointed ‘coz our 3-hour wait paid off with a couple of celebrity sightings.
Here’s a member of the media gazing out into the dark, empty void that is the Red Carpet.
From the rooftop of The Met, a grandma & grandson (I suppose..) looking down Fifth Avenue..
..tricycle pedicab drivers waiting for customers around Columbus circle..
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Ugolino
The story of the Pisan traitor Ugolino della Gherardesca, imprisoned with his sons and condemned to starvation was told by Dante in The Inferno. The sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux shows the anguished father resisting his sons’ offer of their own bodies for his sustenance.
Most of the time the city hosts a variety of free events, like this one.. a jazz trio @ Bryant Park. (Trust me, they’re a trio, the other guy didn’t fit the frame. lol)
..met up with a few photogs @ Coney Island for what i thought was an ordinary stroll around the beach.. turned out, there was a model! sweet! 🙂
Here’s JennyBoo.. she’s a fun model to shoot. You can find her on ModelMayhem (#692714)
06/18/2008 – Here are some more shots from last week.
Supposedly, there’s a heatwave going on today. With record-tying temps reaching the 90s and increased humidity to boot, no wonder the media is hyping it up. It’s all in the news, but it makes me smile. I was thinking “..so this is a heatwave”, not bad, considering I’ve lived in Manila for five years and almost each day there’s a heatwave. I just brushed it off as another typical day..
Here’s another shot from the parade last Sunday..
Summer.. a preview of things to come. 🙂
Yo soy Boricua, pa’que tu lo sepas!
Braving the crowds, trudging uptown, under the sweltering heat of the sun, in between NYPD barricades I stalked an ample (if not perfect) location to shoot.. I perched under the lamp post at the NE corner of 72nd & 5th avenue, behind 2 Puerto Rican ladies one of who possessed an accent very much like Fran Drescher has. lol. All in all it was an experience of a lifetime, the energy of the crowd was intense!! 🙂
The Puerto Rican Day Parade (also known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade) is a locally televised parade that takes place yearly on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The parade, which is always held on the second Sunday in June honors the nearly 4 million Puerto Ricans on the island itself, as well as the Puerto Ricans and those of Puerto Rican heritage on the mainland. In 2006 more than 80,000 participants marched and nearly 2 million spectators lined the parade route. The parade always attracts many celebrities, both Puerto Rican and of Puerto Rican heritage, and many politicians from the tri-state area.
The parade marches along Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 86th Street and has grown to become the third largest parade in New York City after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & the West Indian Day Parade along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. With close to 3 million spectators annually it is one of the largest parades in the country.
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txtm8
I guess this guy’s too busy txting to notice “Liberty”, or he’s already been desensitized seeing it in his everyday commute.
I didn’t notice this girl in the frame up until now.. talk about weird..
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Mr. Jefferson
Still from the Jefferson Memorial, Mr. Jefferson gazing upwards..
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Jefferson Pillars
Some pillars from the side of the Jefferson Memorial. A nice place to spend the afternoon watching the sun set.
One day a year, for the past 29 years, nine of the country’s finest museums, all ones that call Fifth Avenue home, collectively open their doors for free to New Yorkers and visitors for a mile-long block party and visual art celebration. This traffic-free, music- and art-filled celebration fills the street and sidewalks of Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 105th street, the mile now officially designated as Museum Mile. Over 50,000 visitors attend the festival annually. Kids and kids-at-heart channel out their inner Michelangelo on a mile long stretch of asphalt canvas.
Still from the parade yesterday.. a twisted view of Madison Avenue.
There was a parade today to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Philippine Independence. It’s still no match to the parades we have back at home though, but this’ll do. At least there was a bunch of good food. 🙂
The girl’s passive reaction mirrors mine.
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The White House
Hello, Mr. President.. 🙂
I was expecting a bigger White House, but I guess stuff you see in the movies are actually not so big in real life.
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Needle
This is the sculpture in front of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.