I hauled around my new wide-angle lens while running errands today and once again I was astounded by the sheer variety of sights on display in New York.
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Bug Eyes
in photography
photography
Classical Music In The Park
in photography
Rolling clouds and light showers couldn't drive people away and together we toughed out the weather delays to enjoy a wonderful show by the New York Philharmonic and violinist Joshua Bell, who is so good and so popular that even I know who he is.
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Looking good, New Jersey
in photography
One of the good things about living in New York is that there are no bad spots to test out new camera gear. I chose Brookfield Place near the Hudson River. Good choice, I think.
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Yesterday Was A Good Day
in photography
For getting caught in the rain.
You Win This Round, Manhattanhenge
in photography
I went for a different look at Manhattanhenge yesterday, but the clouds were the same old dicks. Next date is in July. Do I really want to try this again?
A Little Rain Won't Stop Tiki Barber
in photography
I somehow took his photo in the middle of the Brooklyn Half Marathon a couple of weeks ago without even realizing it.
Maybe Next Time, Manhattanhenge
in photography
The clouds apparently did not want me to get my epic shot of Manhattanhenge. Maybe next time.
Nutcracker Ballet
in photography
I was scrolling through my archives and came across these photos I took of a Nutcracker ballet performance a few years ago. I'm still not sure how humans can move like that.
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Meow Parlour
in photography
It took two weeks of waiting to get into the surprisingly exclusive Meow Parlour that is perhaps better known as NYC's first cat cafe.
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Dada J.P. Vaswani
in photography
It's not every day that you get to hear spiritual leader Dada J.P. Vaswani speak to a small group. It's even rarer to receive this special gift, along with his blessing, on your birthday. I must be one lucky guy.
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Pippa Cohen and Bertha Gonzalez Nieves's Birthday Party At The Jane Hotel
in photography
A few of my favorite photos from the dual birthday party of Pippa Cohen and Bertha Gonzalez Nieves. You can't see it but behind the camera I'm mouthing the words to "California Love."
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Festival of Colors: Holi NYC
in photography
I thought I knew what a Holi festival was like, having photographed NYC Bhangra's Holi Hai a week ago, but boy oh boy is the Festival of Colors: Holi NYC a different beast.
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Sights From The new Whitney
in photography
I hadn't been to the Whitney Museum before its reopening last weekend so everything was completely new for me
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Holi Hai
in photography
There's never a bad time to throw colored powder and listen to music so I was happy to visit the annual Holi Hai NYC festival hosted by the NYC Bhangra Dance Company this past weekend.
Read MoreMay Day Rally NYC 2015
in photography
I was wandering through the East Village this afternoon taking photos for my Animals of New York project when I stumbled upon a May Day rally to raise awareness for income inequality and workers' rights that had merged with a large group protesting police brutality that is all too painfully represented by the six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Despite the large number of people marching through Second Avenue, everyone seemed cooperative with the police patrolling the rally's path and directing traffic. Here's hoping for better days ahead.
Animals of New York
in photography
Often it seems that everyone in New York has a pet while I remain trapped in a tiny apartment that isn't allowed to house anything with a tail. I've soothed this furry hole in my heart by running CutePugPics.com (which you should totally check out) but it's far, far, far from enough.
All of which is my slow windup to announcing the start of Animals of New York. It's my new photo series that I'll be the first to admit is basically a rip off of Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York except with pets. Well, it's perhaps a bit more than that, I hope. HoNY pulls off an almost magical feat by presenting portraits with deeply revealing snippets of conversation that transform random strangers into people who we can see share hopes, fears and regrets not unlike our own.
My modest goal is to follow the same formula of pairing portraits with slices of conversation but with the added twist of focusing on the relationship people share with their pets. It might not seem like an important distinction, but I think this approach separates Animals of New York from other gorgeous pet photo blogs like The Dogist. Staring deeply into a puppie's eyes is an endless exercise in awwing but I think the real magic is in the special bond between pets and their masters. Have you ever looked at someone's face when they play with their cat or dog or, hell, their pet lizard? That's true love right there, and my heart warms just thinking about it.
Pets give us a reason to be better versions of ourselves and in return we have the power to give them safe and happy lives. It's a great deal, and, frankly. I think I'm a slightly better person just witnessing people share that love with their pets.
I don't know if Animals of New York will find a following. I also don't know if it will evolve into something very different from its initial premise, as HoNY did. I suspect I'll continue to tinker with my photographic technique and how I present pets and their masters, so please bear with me as I figure out what the heck I'm doing.
I'd really like to turn Animals of New York into a regular gig shooting portraits with people and their pets. (And if you want photos, email me!) Because shooting people is cool, and pets are great, but it's when they come together that it really gets special. That's the ultimate goal, but in the meantime I'd just like to share this awesome thing going on between people and their furry friends. If you feel the same way then I hope you'll join me over at AoNY.
Cherry Blossoms 2015: The Peak Bloomening
in photography
It's becoming a tradition for me to go down to DC during the cherry blossom festival and take a luxurious nap surrounded by tourists and falling petals. I did it last year and again this past weekend when a friend and I arrived mostly through dumb luck during "peak bloom."
I'm not sure what it is about cherry blossoms that I find so relaxing. I don't think they're the most beautiful flower; I can't even tell them apart from dogwood trees. But they bloom for so short a time, it's like nature is painting a swirling landscape that will be blown away by the next strong wind. A nap must be my way of enjoying the calm and beauty around me because I usually experience the same drowsiness when I'm at a museum. The key difference of course is that nobody kicks me out of the cherry blossom festival when I put my head down and drool on the ground for a couple of hours.
Pillow Fight 2015: The Reckoning
in photography
I only brought a camera to the NYC Pillow Fight on Saturday, but about halfway through I somehow acquired an off-white foam beauty and finally got to whack some revenge into everyone who had spent the previous half hour thrashing my innocent skull. I'm not saying that an epic pillow fight pitting hundreds against each other is like a battleground, but let's just say that I now have a pretty good idea of what it felt like storming Normandy beach.
Holy Crap, People Are Walking Around Again
in photography
But I guess that's what happens when it stops being so cold that your nose hairs freeze.
Venice's Carnival
in photography
Flashback time!
Last month was Venice's annual Carnival, which is a bedazzled costume party that started in the 13th century as a way to let nobles and commoners break free from the caste system by anonymously partying together behind masks. The party died during the late 18th century when French troops took over the city but Venice's tourism board brought it back in 1979 and now swarms of visitors travel from around the world to join in the celebration.
I went there in 2010 and I can still remember the chill that hung in the air as my dad and I wound our way (me pretending to be in an Assassin's Creed game) through the narrow cobblestone paths to St. Mark's Square. Dozens of photographers would gather at the nearby docks to take photos of the sunrise and the church of San Giorgio Maggiore in the distance.
Our local guide was Silvano Candeo, who has photographed Venice's Carnival for many years and knew all the corners and canals (and best pizza places) hidden away from the hundreds of thirsty photographers prowling the streets. Just as important, Silvano knew many of the people who like to dress up in masks and elaborate costumes (whom we creatively called "Masks"). Like a colorful train we'd walk from photo shoot to photo shoot throughout the city, with the Masks in front and us photographers trailing behind. Last would be the inevitable passers-by who wanted to see what we were up to next.
One of the most desired shots was to capture a Mask in front of a passing gondola. It's not as easy as it looks because Venice is basically half canal and it's not at all uncommon to accidentally to step into a waterway while composing your photo. And look, I got the photo so it was all worth it in the end.
My favorite part of the day was when afternoon settled into evening. We'd wrap up our final photo shoot before sunset then we (or possibly just me) would stuff our faces with pizza and an espresso. By the time we'd step back outside, more people would be in costumes and the street vendors would light up their carts so each plaza and walkway felt like a different room in the same sprawling party.
In the early 16th century, 16,000 people were believed to work in Venice's Arsenale and were able to build a ship in a single day. Boats aren't built there anymore, and in fact it's not usually accessible to the public but the area is opened up during Carnival. We spent a while photographing Masks there, but it wasn't long before we hurried off to find less crowded backdrops.
It's hard to imagine a place like Burano existing without seeing photos of it. Our guide explained to us that the kaleidoscope of colors were used by the island's fisherman to tell their houses apart while they were sailing back with the day's haul. Apparently that might be more folklore than truth, though the local government does require all neighboring houses to have different colors. I kept a sharp eye out for any slip ups, but Burano checked out OK -- this time.