Broadway in Bryant Park

Every Thursday throughout this summer, Bryant Park will be hosting Broadway in Bryant Park out on the lawn behind the New York Public Library. This past Thursday, songs from The Little Mermaid, 9-5, Toxic Avenger and Pure Country were performed. I love every one, especially Toxic Avenger! 

You can get a sandwich from 'wichcraft, pull up a chair and take in the view (of both the Bryant park stage and beautiful Manhattan above the park's trees).

Here's their calendar for this summer's performances.

The crowds and a view from behind the stage

Allison Janney and crew performing a song from 9-5

View of the Empire Station Building (34th & 5th) 

Dali in SoHo

Inside the William Bennett Gallery at 65 Green Street in SoHo are 150 or so proofs, prints, photographs and other works by the Surrealist artist, Salvador Dali. I've been a fan of his since high school, so when I heard of about this exhibition running through the summer, I knew I needed to stop by at some point.

The outside of the gallery is a little surreal, with one of Dali's drooping clocks on display by the front window, willing passersby to come in. The gallery itself is a beautiful, two-story space with gleaming hardwood floors, long, stretching wall space and several little rooms with couches and coffee tables for viewers to rest in. 

I really liked this gallery and the collection of Dali's work that was chosen for display. The exhibition, titled Persistence of Dali, contained pieces that most people and even artists or art history buffs may never have seen before. The collection was well related and curated, and a treat for any art enthusiast as a lot of these Dali works are rare and unique!

French Festival: Bastille Day

There was a very interesting French festival on Sunday called Bastille Day  taking place along 60th Street on the East side of town. There were Can-Can dancers, information booths (about the French), food and treats to enjoy. There were plenty of people there and a friend and I enjoyed some really great crepes.

From there we ended up at the bottom of Central Park on 5th Avenue and 59th Street where there is an interesting new structure that people can both look at and interact with.

Additionally, 60th Street is beautiful street and is great to take a stroll along! See below for some of the views it offers:

American and French flags raised on Bastille Day

Interesting new structure by Central Park on 5th & 60th: Franz West's 'The Ego and the Id'.

View of the sculpture with the Plaza Hotel in the background

View down 60th Street towards Columbus Circle

DUMBO sights and sites

While out visiting the galleries in DUMBO, a friend and I wandered out to Brooklyn Bridge Park to get a view of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges and the east side of Manhattan's skyline.

You can see the skyline on the east side isn't much (I think that is either the East Village, Lower East Side or Murray Hill that you can see across the water), but the blue Manhattan Bridge is impressive enough. 

This is one of my favorite places in the city, and it is one of the most active. On Thursday's they have movies on the lawn by the Brooklyn Bridge and on Tuesdays they have yoga. Then just a few blocks away is the famous pizza place Grimaldi's, where there is always a line outside waiting!

You can see the Empire State Building in this shot!

View of Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan

There are always post-wedding shots going on out here!

DUMBO art galleries

On the first Thursday of every month in DUMBO, the art galleries stay open later for visitors as they walk through the scenic neighborhood. A bunch of us went out this past Thursday evening to view works inside the powerHouse arena, D.A.C (DUMBO Arts Center), Melville House and Smack Mellon.

There were a lot of great photographs and paintings on display, a live band playing, and lots of Booklynites and Manhattanites filling the art studios. One of my favorite pieces on display in A.I.R. Gallery was from Burst 387 - a collage of photographs of words and signs throughout the city, all arranged in alphabetical order.

Signs

One of the many beautiful things to see around the city are the signs for hotels, stores, restaurants, parks and events. 

Some of the best ones to see are the ones that have the sky as a backdrop. When it comes to backgrounds for New York City photos, there's nothing better than blue...

Hotel Empire on West 63rd street, as seen from Lincoln Center's plaza

Coney Island as seen from inside the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue subway station

Coney Island's Mermaid Parade

Since most of my photos from the Mermaid Parade are of topless people (yeah, it was frightful and yeah, there were lots of kids there), I'm going to share some photos of Coney Island and the area/aura of the famous parade.

This parade has been going on for years—since 1983—and happens every year towards the end of June, rain or shine. This year, there was rain. And it was cold. And windy. Whereas last year it was beautiful and warm and bright and sunny. I went with some friends and a fellow photo-taker and ran into some of our other photo friends while there. This is a great event for photography lovers, not because it is a parade—it is not just any parade—it is an outrageous spectacle, an excuse to dress even crazier than you would on Halloween, and a gaurantee that there will be jaw-dropping sights.

Again, most of my photos of the participants contain nudity (they are mermaids, after all), so here are some other pics from the outing!

A rainy view of Coney out of the Q train window



the crowds by the subway station



Lots of guys show up for this event...



Ha! It says, "Free Willie Nelson"



More from last year: here

Poster sighting in the West Village

Spotted on Avenue of the Americas just above West 4th Street in the Village, this framed poster was sitting out on it's own (as in, not as part of a vendor's collection to be sold). I have this poster already hanging up in my room, otherwise I would have taken it home with me! Well... no, I wouldn't have, but still, what a cool sighting!

Top of the Empire State Building

Back in February I went to the top of the Empire State Building for the painstaikingly third time in my life. The first trip up was when I was in 8th grade, during a school field trip to Washington D.C. and NYC. The second time was with a group from my dorm at Marymount Manhattan college (where I stayed during a summer internship back in '06), and most recently on Valentine's Day with my boyfriend who was in town visiting me from Florida.

He got all of the good pictures because he has one of those professional cameras, whereas mine is pink and little and only 7.2 megapixels.


View towards 14th Street Union Square



So close and yet so far: the buildings vs. the fence along the viewing deck

Governors Island ferry

On Saturday I unexpectedly took a trip out to Governors Island. I figured, it's cold-ish and cloudy, so at least I won't get sweaty while trying to figure out how the heck to get there!

To get to Governors Island, you take the subway (or cab, if you're rich, ha ha) to Whitehall Street in downtown Manhattan. The Staten Island Ferry station is a gigantic building you can't miss, and next door to it is the Governors Island ferry station. It's a beautiful army green station, and the ferry is free!

It is a small ferry, and the ride is only a few minutes—Governors Island is so close to Manhattan you could swim to it. I didn't even know it existed until this day. And when I got there, I had no clue what it was. Apparently it is a preserved Island that is only open on weekends throughout the summer season. No one actually lives there, but there are houses, forts, park/field areas, a church and a castle - all of which host family friendly festivities and art events.

Here are some pictures from my ferry ride out to the island!


View out of the ferry window: The Statue of Liberty





another ferry!

Museum Mile Festival, 2009 - activities along the way!

One of the activities going on along Museum Mile (5th Avenue from 82nd to 105th Street), was chalk drawing. Yes, it was mostly children participating with their parents looking on, but I wanted to join in too! See below:



For fun I said a little hello from my NYCphotos twitter account, and wrote one of John Lennon's quotes on 5th Ave & 88th Street:



Someone wrote messages and made little drawings all along the way. Here are some...



"awww"



See more here!

Museum Mile Festval, 2009

The annual Museum Mile Festival took place on June 9th with the blocks along 5th Avenue that count as "Museum Mile" (82nd-105th) blocked off to cars so that people can walk the mile and participate in activities along the way. The museums were all free admission and two in particular had lines around the block. They were The Guggenheim, where there is a special Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and The Neue Galerie, where there is an enticing (ha ha) German Expressionist exhibit including works by one of my favorite painters: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

You only had 3 short hours to visit these famous museums, including the Met, Cooper Hewitt and the Museum of the City of New York. I was so exhausted afterwards. Why am I such a museum lover??? I love it so much!

the crowds in front of The Guggenheim

Sightings in Alphabet City

On Sunday June 7th I had a birthday brunch to get to at The Sunburnt Cow in Alphabet City. The Sunburnt Cow is a popular brunch spot because of the endless drink special ($10 all you can drink "Moo-mosas", "Moo-Marys", and so on). I can't really take advantage since I can only handle about 1 drink at a time, but my friends all love to go and the food is actually really good!

Located all the way over on Avenue C between 8th & 9th Streets, the restaurant is a far walk from the 8th Street subway stops over in Astor Place (3rd Avenue-ish), and once you reach the neighborhood of Alphabet City, you wish it wasn't so far because there are so many cool spots and unique stores and restaurants that you'll want to visit over and over again. One place called "Life Cafe" caught my attenion with the saying, "Enjoy Life Every Day" on it's awning. Here's a pic.

I would love to bring an out-of-towner here sometime!

Inside La Plaza Cultural (a junky park) on Avenue C bet. 8th & 9th Streets



Mural on 10th Street near the corner of Avenue C



Outside The Sunburnt Cow

The new Mural and a bit more of Dumbo

I think you've all been hearing about this new mural in the riverside town of Dumbo, Brooklyn. Apparently it was started and completed over Memorial Day weekend and the artist has some significant meaning behind the subject matter. Read about it here via dumbonyc.com.

I passed by it on my way to the Water Street Restaurant for one of those digital dumbo events. It was rainy and wet outside, but I had taken the long way to my destination because I was hoping to come across this new mural on Water Street. Because there are no numbered streets in this quiet neighborhood, I always get lost... no matter what!

I was hoping to spot this neat little arty treat and I did! Here it is... as well as some other photos of the area:




The beautiful blue Manhattan bridge



Building on Front Street

Manhattanhenge 2009!

Manhattanhenge 2009 occurred over the weekend. They call it "Manhattanhenge" because the sun becomes centered on New York City's grid at this time. The City is about 30º out of line with the sun's setting and so the dates of "Manhattanhenge" do not fall on the dates of the spring and autumn equinoxes.

On Saturday, May 31, you could see half of the sun on Manhattan's grid (by looking down a city street towards the West), and on Sunday May 31st, specifically at 8:17 pm, you could see the sun in full.

I originally planned to view the sun setting by looking down 57th Street from the east side of town, but I ended up over in Queens on a dock in Long Island City (off of Gantry Park on 50th Ave & 2nd Street). Besides the view of the sun being centered between the buildings on 33rd Street (below), there were also great views of the East River, Queensborough Bridge and the famous Pepsi Cola sign.







More info here on NewYorkology.com via the Hayden Planetarium of The Museum of Natural History.

Up but not away...

Back on a warm-turned cold day in February, I had nothing to do so I wandered into and through Central Park hoping to see something special and unusual. Actually, I was hoping to see some colorful balloons somewhere at some point, and I did! It's weird; rarely when you know exactly what you're looking for do you find it - unless you're shopping at Wal-mart.

So on a warm-ish winter afternoon I walked up through Poets (Literary) Walk to Bethesda Terrace then back down to the beginning of Central Park so that I could get the heck out of there because like I said, it turned really cold! And while shivering and shaking (I almost just wrote 'shiveraking') I spotted these balloons tied to a pole near hot dog stand that was next to a Merry-go-Round and other kid-related activities and information booths.


You can see the Time Warner buildings of Columbus Circle in the background



You can see that the air is smoky from the hot dogs

Lost sock in the Upper East Side

A week or two ago I was checking out the new Staples store on 65th Street and 2nd Avenue when I spotted this random "Lost" sock sign on the side of a phone booth. It's one of those things that I'm glad I got my camera out for. I hesitate to take pictures so often because I am very self-conscious of when people look at me and then look at what I'm photographing. Some people are weirded out by it, and I know I shouldn't care... but I am really shy, even behind the camera!

The flyer points to http://www.lostmysock.com/ and is actually an ad for littlemissmatched.com. Heck, I took it seriously at first. I really was wondering to myself, who lost their sock? What dryer was it in?

Anyway, check the photo out on Twitter/TwitPic and vote for it on the main page of NYC.is!

Out and about in Chelsea

A few weekends ago I went out to Chelsea with some fellow photographers to visit some of the galleries out by the West Side Highway. The shows at these places change every few weeks so you can visit often and see a wide range of work. We saw everything from airplanes to bamboo installations to sculptures and paintings. 

This is Adel Abdessemed's 2008 piece Telle mere tel fils from his show RIO on display at David Zwirner Gallery on West 19th Street. It is a 65-foot sculptural soft felt braid of tailfins and cockpits from three real airplanes. It was an insane sight from the street. Imagine walking along West 19th Street and then looking up to see this! The installation is mammoth. 

From inside the 7Eleven Gallery on 10th Avenue at West 20th Street where there was a group exhibition. It is a garage-type space that opens out to the street and these beautiful apartment buildings across the way. 

Other galleries visited include: Gladstone Gallery, Steven Kasher Gallery, Postmasters gallery, Hasted Hunt and Paula Cooper Gallery. Additionally, we stopped by the Gagosian Gallery on West 21st Street to see the Pablo Picasso: Mosqueteros show. ALL PABLO. The show had just opened and all the local art-goers were there! 

Out and about in DUMBO

The '09 New York Photo Festival was this past weekend in DUMBO Brooklyn. Registration was at the popular powerHouse arena on Main Street. They have so many amazing books of photographs and artwork and host a great environment for press events and presentations.

Right out front of the bookstore is a view of the beautiful Manhattan Bridge and the entrance to both the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. Gossip Girl films around here, and recently I've noticed this spot in the movies 27 Dresses and 13 Going on 30.

This neighborhood is one of my favorites in all of New York City. I mean, who could resist a trip to DUMBO!?

view of the Manhattan Bridge from outside powerHouse arena on Main Street



View from inside Smack Mellon art studios

Flowers at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

It's flower power season over at the Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn. Macro shots of these petals and stems are all over the internet (well, maybe just flickr) and they are impressive and intimidating to me because I can barely get a good shot with my little pink Sony camera! But also, they are inspiring. And they are the types of things that look so different when photographed than they do in real life.

More flowers here!





Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

Wildlife at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

I love the color Cherry Blossoms are famous in Japan), I know people who really like turtles, and someday I want a pet duck, so the wildlife on view at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens inside the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden are fun as can be for me!

orange Koi fish being koi

I couldn't keep up with this one!

Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

"Creeping Mint", "American Onion" and more!

I mentioned the many plant and flower species that are at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, and here are some of the entertaining and unique ones that I came across.

Which one is your favorite out of the bunch?

Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

Walk the "Cherry Walk"

Last year when I visited the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, it was a cold and windy May Day. This year, in late-April, it was as warm as can be. Rather than sweater and scarf weather, it was just plain sweat weather! It was so hot that I was even tempted to lay out and get a tan in the beautiful green fields among the famous Cherry Blossom trees.

It was great to revisit this plant-filled place because I got to see some familiar sights, discover some new spots, and gain a new experience in an old place.

The crowds came out to walk the Cherry Walk in its prime - the buds and petals were plentiful on these flowering Japanese trees. This is a wonderful place to visit with friends and family, from the hundreds of plant and flower species to the wildlife and of course, the cherry trees!

Check out my related guide on guidespot.com

At The Whitney

You would be much obliged to take yourself to The Whitney Museum of American Art on a Friday night—if you knew how much it costs! 

Friday nights from 6-9 pm the museum allows you to "pay as you wish", and I'll admit, I didn't go as low as just $1 like most people did! I asked the cashier if pictures were allowed in the galleries, and sadly, they are not. So to make up for it, I took lots of pictures inside the lobby and outside from the street. 

It was the Jenny Holzer Protect Protect exhibit that drew me to the museum but it was the Whitney's 5th floor permanent collection with works by artists like Edward Hopper, Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Georgia O'Keefe, Jackson Pollack and Andrew Wyeth that made my night. I love these artists, their mediums and the movements they participated—or chose not to participate—in. 

I could go on and on...

The exterior of the museum. Very modern and striking among the fancy Madison Avenue shops!

inside the lobby, loving it.

Walking up Madison Avenue

I remember three summers ago when I walked up Madison Avenue to the Guggenheim Museum and I took tons of pictures of the sky and buildings, and where they both meet. It was a long and inspiring walk, and so was the one I took last Friday afternoon up to the Whitney Museum of American Art on 75th Street. 

Madison Avenue is a narrow passage through the mid-east side of Manhattan, with buses and cars heading north and leaving the little people like me in the dust. 

It was nice to see all of the fancy stores like Carolina Herrara, Gucci, Prada, Juicy Couture and Oscar de la Renta. So nice. I can see it now, me shopping at these places in about 50 years, ha ha. 

Bottom line, Madison Avenue is a magical, miraculous avenue—because it would take either magic or a miracle for just anyone (and most everyone) to be able to purchase something along this pricey stretch, much less fit in...

The Fred Leighton store on 65th & Madison, 

right up the block from Chat Noir

In front of the Dolce & Gabbana store on 69th Street 

where they were doing a photoshoot on the corner!