Week 34
August 29, 2016
SoHo, Chinatown
Manhattan Bridge
Train In/Out: Fairfield, CT
Miles walked: 8
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with m.Zuiko 17mm f1.8, m.Zuiko 12-40mm PRO, m.Zuiko 8mm fisheye
Hi! Magic Monday on a Tuesday this week for a special reason. I had the opportunity to do a photo walk with James Maher and Darlene Hildebrant. James is a well known NYC street photographer and I've been looking forward to meeting him (James Maher Photography). Darlene is the editor of Digital Photography School and also runs Digital Photo Mentor (check out their sites!). Darlene was in town from Canada and teamed up with James to offer a photo walk. James took us through SoHo, Chinatown and on the Manhattan Bridge. I definitely hit some streets I haven't done before. Fun day!
Onward.
I was early for the photo walk so I explored the SoHo area around our meeting spot at Crate & Barrel for 20 minutes or so. Loved the dogs being cradled.
This dog freaked out because the guy in the background went by on, well, I don't know what it was. Like a wheel of a Segway? It was motorized, he was cruising along. I don't know how he managed not to fall off on the cobblestones.
My 30th high school reunion is coming up. Would this be too over the top? ;)
This seemd to be an outfit made out of pantyhose type material.
Oh please let this be Mom coming out of Starbucks... (no, it wasn't...he was sad, but patient)
Greene Street in SoHo. I don't do much architecture photography, mainly because I do not like my shots "looking up"...but I did get my fill today because there was some really interesting stuff. Did my best with the shooting angles.
Yeah, so that happened.
Really like this one.
Now that's a door.
A ton of street art in this area. There were a bunch of Donald large sticker images on this street. Someone seemed to have some strong feelings about The Donald. I also think this is a Donald Trump look alike, definitely a Photoshop creation.
Here is where the previous image came from.
Sneaker traffic light. :)
Some interesting history on Fluxhouse on another blogger's page: http://thishiddencity.blogspot.com/2014/10/fluxhouse.html
And FYI, last year there was a gorgeous loft for sale. Only $1.8 million! https://www.6sqft.com/full-floor-flux-house-loft-with-endless-ceilings-beams-asks-1-8-million/
Hollow sidewalks?
My husband and I had fun analyzing the meaning of the Donald Duck sticker. Use the comment box at the end of the page and let me know what it means to you!
Loved this one. They were very friendly, probably wondering why I wanted a photo...this is why. Such a great moment captured.
Classic. I wonder if it was on purpose.
This was being hand painted - hard to see (didn't have a big zoom), but the guy on the left in front of the face is holding a printed image and painting the woman's face. Such talent.
I cannot draw a stick figure.
A new addition to my #peopleleavingdrinks page. They have to be interesting to make the cut so this is only the second image on the page. I thought the McStraw in a coffee cup qualified.
A few favorite architecture shots next...
Many of the buildings had these cool long shutters on the windows. Interesting fire escapes, too.
LOVE this shot. The juxtaposition of 3 different eras of buildings all coming together. Amazing.
A favorite of the day. Steam was rising up as these guys were feeding this netting up to the roof. Friendly, they gave me a smile as I took the shot. Love that they are behind the steam.
Another favorite. The dog tie...really everything about him is awesome.
A fellow photographer's blue suede shoes! Loved them, and the socks.
We headed into Columbus Park in Chinatown. A lot of gaming / gambling happens here.
She was paying her respects.
The men at the tables down below are ok with you taking their photos, but there was a stone gazebo structure where people did high dollar gambling upstairs. James advised us NOT to take photos up there. I did walk up. The smell of cigarette smoke was overpowering which was fascinating since it was an open air structure.
Something I've never thought about as being a store.
Views from the Manhattan Bridge coming up...
What do you think? B/W or color? This is a single image with my 8mm fisheye lens.
Me and James Maher on the Manhattan Bridge.
Kept the fisheye on for the rest of the day. The fisheye is fun / challenging with street work.
Welcome to my Interesting Things... page. And your friend right behind you, he also wants to join you on the page.
Welcome! And the guy behind you, he gets honorary mention in this photo.
Must WHAT? The suspense is killing me. :)
We mostly said our goodbyes after lunch at Joe's Shanghai (fantastic food!). Everyone went in different directions, but I continued to walk with my new friends, Martha and Phillip. Phillip lives in the Lower East Side and Martha has a huge love of street art. So Phillip took us to a few locations in the area. This is the Chinatown fire station. They call themselves the Dragon Fighters.
This mural is done in the opening of an exposed I-beam. The fisheye lens let me get all 3 sides in one shot. Pretty cool art!
Phillip told us about the #100GatesProject. At night, many of the storefronts have those metal gates/doors that they pull down to lock up their store. An artist is working on getting beautiful murals done on 100 of these gates in the city. This was one partially down. You can see in the lower right corner of the gate that it says #100gatesproject. Of course the beautiful lady in red was an added bonus to the shot (waited for her to walk by once I saw her coming). :)
Phillip pointed out this gate which was part of the project.
I said my goodbyes and hopped a subway up to Washington Square Park. I was hoping to find Kyler James, the tarot card reader I talked about in Week 33 but he wasn't around. I want to get a reading from him.
They take the prize for Interesting Things... today! I applaud their efforts. I think they are my favorite for the entire Interesting Things collection right now.
I have not seen this before. In Grand Central, they have people designated to help the less fortunate, many of whom hang out in the food court of Grand Central for much of the day. This man had just flagged police offers to help a man who was on the floor in the eating area.
And that's a wrap for August! What a great way to end the month, photographing with new photography friends. Huge thank you again to James Maher for leading the group today.
Just an FYI - I'm on Instagram @MeganCrandlemirePhotography.
Until the next Magic Monday...let's hope this tropical storm brewing in the south stays away for next week's trip.
xo,
~MC
