I <3 NY

Our first trip to New York City was fairly successful... although I'm still not quite sure why they call it the Big Apple - seems a bit of a misnomer. I was half expecting some kind of giant landmark in the shape of said fruit that could be seen from space, or at least an oversized tetrabrik Sun-Rype Apple Juice box plunked right in amidst the skyscrapers of the New York skyline. It'd be a brilliant marketing campaign now that I think of it - putting up a big print of your juice box label on the front facade of a skyscraper in the Big Apple? Excuse me, while I phone up Sun-Rype to make my pitch.

Anyways, getting back on track here - the trip was great. Of course our first order of business when we landed on Friday night was to hit up Chinatown. Who travels to world class foreign cities to see Chinatown? Apparently, us. {I wonder if we'll find one in Tokyo next month?} Next up, Times Square, which, really isn't a square at all. In fact, it's more like a number sign, or the lb. symbol on your touch tone dial. Misnomer # 2. Or should I say Misnomer Square 2. It reminded me very much of Picadilly Circus - which at least bears some resemblance to its moniker - a carnal circus of seizure inducing flashing lights, broadway billboards, and chaotic tourist pedestrian traffic.

Over the next few days, we saw all the typical tourist sites, ate some fantastic latin American cuisine, hit up the Giant Robot store (yes, that Asian American Culture magazine), had a ridiculously overpriced Japanese lunch (which in retrospect seems even more retarded considering we're going to Japan in 2 weeks), and got threatened by a decidely high and hostile African American hobo at the Fulton-Broadway subway station. Mission accomplished.

My feet logged what felt like 3000 miles of walking (they were howling at me by the last day), but I finally took control of my photographic life - after two years of dabbling in photography, I shot in full manual for the entire trip. No more lazy Aperture Priority. And I feel like I ended up with some of my best work yet. Two of these made Flickr's Explore in the past week (which, I understand doesn't actually mean squat in real life, but still it's an ego boost). I haven't processed all the images yet, but here are a sampling of a few highlights. More to come. Check my Flickr stream for a more up to date look.

Cheers,
-G














1. This way to Brooklyn, 2. Passing By, 3. Weathered, 4. Inversed, 5. Sprocket Panorama