Oyster Bar

I intended to spend the day outside, shooting mid town but due to the rainy weather, I ended up spending a few hours walking around Penn Station and Grand Central with a good friend. When we grew tired (and hungry) we stopped into the famous Oyster Bar at Grand Central. I've always wanted to go in there. Stepping into this place is like stepping into the past. I ate 10 Blue Point oysters and called it a night. I'll be going back tomorrow to give Carlos, the waiter, a few snapshots I took of him.

Breaking it down

Yesterday I meandered about downtown and stopped outside of the NY Public Library to photograph some break dancers working the tourist crowds on a chilly Sunday afternoon. I never get sick of this stuff. I secretly (maybe not so secretly now that I've told the www) wish I could spontaneously bust out crazy hip hop moves like I was the shit. Don't we all? ... am I alone on this one?

picture of the day

el bano

so I spent some time in the bathroom this weekend. The above image was by far my favorite shot. The colors and contrast are great. I wanted to lock my self in the bathroom with the camera and see what good I could bring out of it. Click here to see the nastiness in its entirety.

168th Street Station

168th is one of my favorite stations here in NY. I often transfer between the 1 and A trains at this stop. The impressive tiled archway and two crossover bridges spanning the two tracks always makes me wonder what the station was like in its prime. I completely appreciate the visual appeal and design of this station deep down below the streets.

Snowy Time Lapse of Inwood

One of the things I love about my D700 is the built in intervalometer. This morning I set up at my bedroom window and focused my 24mm on the scene below. I set the intervalometer to release the shutter once every ten seconds for 1000 images. About 3 hours later I had my images, and dumped them into Quick Time Pro to produce the video you see below. Enjoy.

Path

While Kawasaki Rail Car is currently building PA-5 Cars for PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson), I am more partial to the old PA-1's. (shown at left) St.Luis Car Company built 162 of these for NJ Transit in 1966. Sure, they're not nearly as efficient, as quiet, as well constructed or even have as many doors as the cars produced by Kawasaki, but they do have a very "Starwars" feel to them. (which goes a long way in my book) The linear exterior trim and boxy shape is aesthetically attractive to me.

I took this picture last Saturday evening on my way home from Jersey City with a friend.

In other news: Get ready for some major accumulation tomorrow. The weather gods are calling for a couple of feet of snow here in NYC. Can't wait to get out and about in it, with the camera.

207th Street Station

Last stop on the A Train: my neighborhood - Inwood.

A third of a second at Grand Central Terminal

I love Grand Central Terminal. Aside from being the largest train station in the world, and a major NYC icon it's a giant mixing bowl for the denizens of NY. Every time I pass through there I get that "I love NY" feeling. I know it's cheesy but it's true.

At right, is a shot from this evening. I focused on the stationary businessman and waited for the moment when plenty of people would enter the frame. A long exposure (1/3 second) gave the bustle effect I envisioned.