Photography: Liberty State Park

Because it's Autumn, my real favourite season (I sometimes pretend Summer is, but Autumn really wins every time), and because I love going on long walks in new places, taking lots of photos, I'm determined to do this as much as possible until I won't be able to do it as much anymore. Who knows where I will be next year (although I have a pretty good idea of what I will actually be doing!), so I may as well do as much of it as I can right now. That and other outings like going out to dinner and the movies, things that I may not have too much of a chance to do much next year...

 
This week Cesar and I went out to Jersey City to visit Checho, and walked all around Liberty State Park, picnicking in the park, right across from the Statue of Liberty, watching the crazy clouds cross the sky, aiming to disperse and then failing and falling back into grey doom again. My favourite kind of weather, ominous and windy, with a hint of hope. I will never fail to admire the Manhattan skyline, even after over 8 years of living in this city. From wherever you are it always looks amazing, a mix of old and new with constant additions. I always wonder how many more skyscrapers will fit on the small island... I've heard news that in the next few years very tall buildings will line 57th street, right below Central Park, buildings that will rival the height of One World Trade Center, the building which now makes the Empire State building look tiny in comparison. I suppose that as long as there are pockets of land available there will be room for building up. And up.


In any case, it was a wonderful day, amongst people I love, with beautiful views. This city still has so much to share with me, which makes it all the more such an amazing place to live in.
You can see the full set of photos HERE

Liberty State Park, a set on Flickr.

Photography: Roosevelt Island

I love summer in New York. Especially those days when it's in the 80's and there is a slight breeze in the air. I also love taking photos in the city, and today I decided to go to Roosevelt Island and walk around, especially after I found out that there is a pretty cool ruin of an old smallpox hospital in the park (while randomly searching for abandoned mental asylums on the web the other day). I've only been to Roosevelt Island once in the 8+ years that I have lived in this city, and that was a couple of years ago when I ran a 5k charity run to raise money for women in the Congo. Needless to say, I didn't do any running today, but I did walk around a lot of the island.

Located in the East River, between Manhattan and Queens, the views are pretty amazing, especially of Manhattan. I could totally imagine myself living there - it's easily accessible via the F train or the cable car/tram thing, and it's so quiet! Not many cars around, a few buses, and mainly apartment buildings and hospitals. And a beautiful park - although for some reason the new FDR Four Freedoms Park is closed on Tuesdays. Luckily I could still access the area of the park where the Renwick Smallpox Hospital ruin is located though. I wish you could actually walk around the ruins, but apparently the building is unsafe (or they are just safeguarding it from graffiti and vandalism, who knows).  Everywhere is so clean on the island - I even found myself holding my cigarette butts until I found a trash can, as I didn't want to just leave them on the ground... Makes a change from the streets of Bushwick or the LES...

It always makes me happy to still discover places that I haven't really been to, or captured with my camera. Full set of photos HERE.

Roosevelt Island, a set on Flickr.

Photography: Spring equals Happiness

Springtime!!!

Springtime!, a set on Flickr.

Finally. This past winter dragged on and on and on and I never thought it would actually start getting warmer and brighter and more colourful outside. I woke up this morning and went for a walk around Bushwick, taking random shots of tree blossom, flowers, new and old street art and enjoyed feeling the warm sun on my face. I can't wait for it to get even warmer and for all of the adventures I aim to go on over the next six months... To be continued...

See full set of this mornings shots HERE (and link also above).

Photography: Back To Film

Back To Film, a set on Flickr.

It had been a while since I picked up the old Canon AE-1 and took it out for a stroll, mainly due to the fact that I can't always afford to develop film nowadays, and I probably won't again for a while after this... This is a collection of photos taken last year and over the last few days, taken from three rolls of film.

Grainy, overexposed, direct sunlight, colourful, portraits, candid shots, water, flowers, people, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe... For some reason I ended up with a few images that are split, containing half of the first frame and half of the second. Although not purposely, I know exactly what I did to make this happen, and they actually ended up looking pretty cool, so I may try it again sometime.  The best surprise was the picture of Charlie and Deej, taken last year when Thought Forms were on tour with Portishead - I had totally forgotten I had taken it!

Photograhy: California Garden

California Garden, a set on Flickr.

Back to colour today! My mother has an amazing ability to take any garden and turn it into a beautiful area full of colour and comfort. I first saw this new house in California when she moved back here about a year and a half ago, and it was pretty bare apart from the pool, some grassy areas, trees and oleander bushes. When I came back last July she had already done some work on it, but now, a year later, the place is looking stunning, all types of flowers everywhere and a huge vegetable garden in one section, with everything you really need to survive (beets, lettuce, carrots, zucchini/courgettes, radishes, artichokes, beans, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes etc etc). If you also include meat as a staple, there are a bunch of wild turkeys strolling around the place, and unless they get eaten by the coyotes they are fair game if you can catch them.
The garden is part English, part French, part American, part Secret Garden. Oh and did I mention that there is a little creek running alongside it and the property is surrounded by trees? Pretty paradisaical for a city property! I love coming here to relax and rest.

You can see more about the actual gardening process on my mum's blog HERE.

Photography: People/Portraits

People/Portraits, a set on Flickr.

I finally took the time yesterday to start putting this collection together. Taken over the past two years, these are all shots of people that I have taken with either my Canon AE-1 (film) or my Canon DSLR. A lot of them are of people I know, some are random shots outside on the streets of NYC and nearly all of them are completely candid, which I really love.

I shall be adding to this as time goes by, or maybe I will make a second set, as this one is already quite substantial!

Photography: Through My Eyes - Jan & Feb 2012

Through My Eyes - 1, a set on Flickr.

Taking a little break from novel writing today and compiling some random shots I have taken over the past few weeks. I found myself with a lot of photos that don't really fit into any category (area, place, show etc), but are all images of something that caught my eye when I was walking around.
I feel so lucky to live in a place where there is always something to take a photo of, however fleeting or permanent it may be...

Photography: Little India, Jackson Heights, Queens

Little India, Queens, a set on Flickr.

This week has been a mix of really good days and really bad days. Today was one of the latter, with an early start over to Jackson Heights where there is a small Indian community. I love it there, but don't make it out there often enough. The colours, the smells and the sounds, bring me right back to the time I spent in India. I love that country so much and can't wait to go back again.
I spent the morning walking around with my friend Holly, taking photos, enjoying some excellent conversation with sweets and chai.
I know I have been on a black and white kick these past few months, but this was definitely a day for colour, as there was so much of it. If one day I were to leave Bushwick I would maybe consider moving to this neighbourhood.

The only thing missing were tubs of grains to stick my hands in... Oh and maybe a delicious samosa. Maybe next time. I am considering buying the green tunic one day though, it was seriously gorgeous.

Coney Island in the Autumn

Coney Island in the Autumn, a set on Flickr.

I missed the ocean. I missed the soothing feeling of listening to the waves on the beach, of walking along the sand and just contemplating on everything that is happening in my life with a clear mind. The ocean, the beach and the sun always helps me think, whatever the season.
I woke up wanting to go out and take photos, and decided that Coney Island would be the spot for today. I tend to usually go to the Rockaways for beach time, but really wanted to capture the gaudiness of Coney Island on camera, in both black and white and colour, during the off-season.

I'm very happy with the result, and will just let the photos speak for themselves.

Bushwick To Ridgewood Via Myrtle Ave

Bushwick To Ridgewood, a set on Flickr.

It was a beautiful, warm day today, and there was no way I could sleep through it, even if I didn't get to sleep until 5am last night. I had a few errands to run so I took my camera out and took photos all along Myrtle Avenue, going through Bushwick to Ridgewood, where the nearest branch of my bank is. Today was a colour day, I needed to capture the colours of the murals, the shop awnings, the gaudiness of the Christmas decorations and the skyline.
This is my neighbourhood... I love it. I feel at home here, and always have done, ever since I moved here from Manhattan over 4 years ago...

From the trash on the street to the Wanted posters on the signposts to the street art to the colourful cheap shops to the crazy traffic to the mix of Dominican/Puerto Rican/Mexican/Indian/Polish/Ukranian food, to the elevated subways and the gorgeous skylines, I love this place.