Week 23
June 13, 2016
The Highline
Chelsea Market
Train In/Out: Fairfield, CT
Miles walked: 7.25 (slacking!)
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with m.Zuiko 17mm f1.8, Olympus E-PM2 with m.Zuiko 40-150mm
Started the day with no photos but lunch with a new photographer friend, John Zappala. I actually met John through Emil, the man in Central Park that sells flags that I met in the winter. I've mentioned Emil a few times on this journey. He gave my card to John who is also a street photographer as a hobby. John checked out my blog and sent me an email so we chatted back and forth a few times. Decided to meet near Grand Central for lunch since he also likes to come into the city; had an interesting conversation ranging from photography to God to astral travel. :) And then we went our separate ways. He did encourage me to try taking a bus sometime. So far I've only used subways. One challenge at a time...
Didn't hit the pavement until around 2pm so I kept it simple and headed over to The Highline, figured I could walk the entire length today and still make a train back to CT by 7pm. The Highline, which is on the west side on Manhattan, is a 1.5 mile linear park built on an elevated section of a former railroad spur called the West Side Line. It has nice views of the Hudson River.
Onward.
Desitnation #1, The Highline. This is the start of The Highline @ 34th St & 11th Ave.
Some info about all the art installations on The Highline. http://art.thehighline.org/project/wanderlust/
This image shows:
a) a tad bit of construction on the west side of the city!
b) that the Highline starts at Harbor Yard where all the trains sleep
c) that the speaker on top of the fence is part of the first art installation, with strange noises coming out of the speakers representing tear drops or something
d) all of the above
This couple caught my eye because a moment before the guy had jumped pretty high up and tapped his ankles together. It was impressive (sorry, I missed the pic). The girl was trying to do what he did, to no avail, but still a cute action shot (and a chaotic background!).
I heard her yell something so I turned around quickly and got this shot. It's a fun image (although the girl is obscuring the best part) but the guy is in the air. And if you look carefully, a helicopter is flying right "into" his foot.
I'm fascinated by huge construction projects. This was a highrise going up. To think in a year or so people will live or work in there is mind boggling. Looks like it would take "forever" but chipping away, one day at a time, voila, a highrise is born.
At this end of the path there was lots of construction therefore tons of scaffoling. But it made for some nice shadows.
To my right is the turquoise "billboard". It was when I stood on a bench to get a different angle of the billboard that I noticed the art on the rooftop floor. You can't see it as you walk along the Highline unless you get up higher.
I thought this was a homeless person's spot, but it's actually another art installation (minus the water bottle, which is regular old garbage).
The construction tarps (? the orange & yellow things) made for some colorful reflections on the building next to them. That's a new apartment building. People's windows butted right up against the Highline at eye level. A tad awkward, but most had blinds that opened from the bottom up so they had the lower half of their windows covered.
If you think this looks like a Smart Car covered in tires, you are observant. ;)
However, if you thought it was a Smart Car covered in tires, filled with dirt with an apple tree growing out of the roof, then you are VERY observant. :)
The material he's working with has a sticker that says IThinkOutsideMyBox.com, which is a global community painting studio dedicated to engaging the public in public art. He's doing his public thing for sure, and getting an awesome tan.
I like this corner because the person has an Area 51 license plate in the window (hard to see unless you zoom in, sorry).
In the image above this one, the building to the right has this fancy swimming pool on its patio (which is a story or two above street level).
The "wavy" blue/gray building is my favorite along this walk.
Alas, no luck. ;)
The lookout for 10th Avenue.
Dapper Dan, love him. Now the girl with him either has her head turned, or is Cousin It. You kinda have to make yourself see her as Cousin It but it's funny to look at her that way. My brain intutively makes me see her with her head turned, but her shoulder and arm are facing forward, she really could have all her hair in her face and be truly facing forward.
The Chelsea Market Passageway. There are colorful windows to the right...
These windows in the passageway are also part of an art installation.
Quoting http://art.thehighline.org/project/spencerfinch/: "From a tugboat drifting on Manhattan’s west side and past the High Line, [Spencer] Finch photographed the river’s surface once every minute. The color of each pane of glass was based on a single pixel point in each photograph and arranged chronologically in the tunnel’s existing steel mullions. Time is translated into a grid, reading from left to right and top to bottom, capturing the varied reflective and translucent conditions of the water’s surface. The work, like the river, is experienced differently depending on the light levels and atmospheric conditions of the site. In this narrative orientation, the glass reveals Finch’s impossible quest for the color of water."
I've seen this window before but it wasn't until I researched a bit for today's journey that I came across this information. Truly amazing the stuff we walk by and have no clue how important or creative it is/was to another person.
His hat and beard caught my eye, but I really love the shirt.
Chelsea Market Skybridge. Chelsea Market is below...we'll go there later. :)
This is a water feature on The Highline. At first I thought their sprinkler system was leaking, but there were drains on either side. A pigeon landed in front of me and had a good long drink. Little kids were having fun playing in the water.
I'm including this snapshot because it wasn't until I looked at the image at home that I noticed that these lounges are on railroad "wheels"! I guess you can slide them left/right along the tracks. Interesting. Getting one to sit on is like winning the lottery, even on a Monday afternoon.
We meet again, sleepwalker friend, only this time I know you are an art installation and not real. But not everyone knew that on Monday...
I watched people for several minutes assess the sleepwalker. The man right in front of him was so hesitatant to touch him because he thought he was real. It was really funny watching him finally be brave enough to tap the end of his fingers with his. It's not until you see it in person that you can appreciate how real it looks. Look at the sleepwalker's feet! Amazing.
Stood on the backside of this wall and waited for people to walk by.
Windy!
Version 1
Version 2
Which do you like better? I'm torn. It was windy so I liked how the girl's hair was blowing, almost like that fan-thing would blow her hair. Can't decide if having it more cropped is more interesting than full sized...if you have an opinion, let me know at the bottom of the page on the contact form. Thanks!
If you visit the Highline, be prepared for guys dressed like this to hand you things.
The End (of the Highline, that is).
Still trying to figure out the meaning of the picture of Anne Frank in the cell phone on the mural / ad (??) in the background.
I could see this place at the street level below the end of the Highline, had to check it out because the signs in the window were hilarious!
I love the "Chicken Flavored" Pigeon for $1.99. And the last one reads 'Rainbow Tinted Unicorn Meat $100/lb'. I enjoyed the people in front of these artful statement ads smoking and chatting away.
iPhone selfie.
I talked with this couple after I snapped this pic. The guy said he was also an "anti-advertisement" artist. Now there's a term I haven't heard before but it made sense as to what I was looking at. The Red Bird Gallery artist is Tim Okamura; apparently this gallery is open on Saturdays only.
A peek through the windows..."Obese O's", "Count Calorie", etc.
Across the street (again, at the end of The Highline) was the Whitney Museum, and this restaurant, Untitled. Gotta love the name.
The Director of Beverages (I looked it up, that's his position) was giving 20 employess a speech and kept asking "do you have any questions about the past 24 weeks". Must have been some kind of intense training wrap up session!
Starting to make my way north on 9th Avenue. TV soccer watching peeps on the sidewalk at this cafe.
Post-It notes meet Bernie supporter. I have to say, they got a bit lazy with the last E. Maybe they know it's a losing battle...or at least a long shot.
Destination #2 for the day, Chelsea Market. And one day I hope Google, on the right, is a destination for the day. You need to know someone at Google to get a tour. Anyone reading this have a contact?? I would be ever so grateful. :)
Chelsea Market is in the former Nabisco building.
Ok, so I think they sell wine at Chelsea Market.
There is fun art everywhere, including inside the market. Really liked this guy's stuff. His name is Jason Archer: http://thejasonarcher.com
Cheers.
Beam me up, please.
The green is actually a waterfall. I did a 1.6 second exposure hand held (ok, railing / hand held).
More of Jason's art. Love the little black cat (I have one of those! Mine is crazy and I wouldn't have it any other way).
I sat on the bench in the previous image which had this art piece across the way. I waited for a while HOPING someone with a cowboy hat would walk by. No luck. This was my favorite fail.
Back to trekking up 9th Ave (which wasn't too exciting). Saw a couple of Great Danes. The guy walking the dogs was not so happy to stop and chat with people. The woman on the right and her two kids, OF COURSE, stopped to talk to him and ask if they could pet the dogs. I don't know what people expect when they have such unusual dogs in the city. Sorry, but you are going to get stopped by strangers. I would think this would be a really fun part of owning these dogs.
Once again, forgot to change my camera settings so she's blurry but I had to include the Watermelon Helmut!
It didn't seem that funny to me.
I'm including this totally unedited blurry photo because I had a very strong / bizarre Deja-Vu experience here. It was like I had done this before, I even turned all around looking for something else that would feel familiar but it was just this moment and the next second or two. Weird!
Destination #3 of the day, B & H photo, although I could tell from here things were not looking promising.
Wonderful, they decided to take some kind of weird vacation in the middle of June for a couple of days. Oh well, didn't feel too much like shopping. I would like to purchase a lighter travel tripod...another time. My wallet was safe today.
I don't know, she had this cool vibe going. Not trying hard, just being herself. And she's rocking the Lulu fannypack! (my Lulu friend will get this)
Why am I not surprised that Burgers & Cupcakes went out of business?
Version 1
Version 2
Again, I can't decide what I like better. In the color version, the red is very true to the "logo" aspect of Ghostbusters. But this image works in black & white, too. Just took the one picture, wasn't sure how happy he was that I even took the one. I think it's a favorite of the day (mostly because it wasn't a very exciting day).
Ugh, me judging again, but I don't agree with keeping cats on the street. At all.
Just an FYI...I think this means mustaches are coming back (along with everything else from the 90's)!
Shhh...
No lack of people at 6:30pm on a Monday.
Not my most eventful Monday, although I did enjoy lunch with my new photography friend. I definitely noticed more police presence in Grand Central, I'm sure in part due to the Orlando shooting over the weekend. There are always military people present, but there were many more uniformed NYC officers on Monday, at least that I noticed. Thanks to the NYPD, and all other personnel, for keeping watch!
Until the next Magic Monday.
xo,
~MC
