I had been in the city to see a screening of an Israeli film ” a Matter of Size” with people from two meet-up groups, the Film Culture Club and the Hebrew Speaking meet-up group. It was a cozy set up in a restaurant on 57th street. It was a beautiful, clear evening, I took the following shots on the trip back to Staten Island.

All the passengers have boarded and the entrance ramps have been lifted off of the ferry just before we departed.

Mates and police man were on the decks below. one mate gave the captain the all clear for departure sign.

The ferry pulls out.

I refer to this water as ‘Making Soup in the Slip’.

A view of the Brooklyn Bridges lit up on the East river.

Looking to the west  side of lower Manhattan.

The work lights on the World Trade Center Tower have been colored, probably for the upcoming  4th of July Holiday. I wisj they had made red and white bands with a blue top. then it would resemble our flag, this way it looks a lot more like the French Flag.

As the ferry progresses acros the harbor, the Empire state building makes appearances in the skyline,  first  a small appearance on the east and then a little longer on the west side of the tower.  On the west it look larger.

 

Using the telephoto as we begin to lose view of the Empire state building.

Passing the Statue of Liberty.

Another passenger shoots photos from a lower deck.

Our Dark Wake.

Coming back home from an opening, we stopped on Richmond Terrace to take a few photos. It’s a cool, clear, spring night and the view of the city is dazzling. I should have taken a video so you can see the movement and light changes. Next time. . .

All the major landmarks. Statue of Liberty, Empire State building, the Chrysler Building and #1 WTC  with red on some of the work lights.

Wednesday, November 3, 2011

I went into the city earlier than I usually do for two meetings and to do a little shopping. First stop, Broadway and 23rd Street at Madison Square.  The new in-the-street-park has a lot of planters, in this planter I saw what I thought was a tree with unusual leaves.  It had what appeared to be a woody trunk and extraordinary purple palmate leaves, turns out it is a Castor Bean plant, trimmed so that it bushed out instead of taking on its usual taller shape.

Second stop was on 47th Street where I was shopping for silver and burnishing compound.  On the way there from the Broadway line, I saw these policemen with their horses. Don’t think I’ve ever seen this many together at once.

The third horse was standing with its hind foot like this. It didn’t move at all the whole time I was there, hoof tip to pavement.

I saw this bracelet in one of the windows on 47th Street and admired the layout of this filigree design.

Third stop, Canal Street, to Kam Man (Golden Gate) to buy tea. Fall vegetables are in all the sidewalk stands. This was an enormous squash.

Lychee and cactus fruit with chestnuts and  blue grapes.

Okra, asparagus and avocados, a totally green selection.

One of the seafood stores closer to Broadway as I make my way West on Canal.

These guys were alive and rustling in the basket.

Some Canadian tourists deciding on lunch.

Closer to Broadway, I looked south on Center Street toward City Hall.

A telephoto of the City Hall tower and a newer tower with undulating sides.

I remember when this red building was being built, it has had a number of tenants over the years and was starting to look worn, now seems to be under renovation.

Behind the red building, old graffiti and a cluster of water tanks.

Walking West on Walker Street I saw this collection of plants being discarded.  Someone’s roof garden had roses and cotton plants in it for the summer.

Lower Sixth avenue looking northwest.

Some Tribeca cafes.

Looking east to the AT&T Building. Its crown of antennas was built after 9-11 when we lost the aerials on the WTC.

An old building that is marked where it was built. Near my last stop before heading home.

Thursday night, November 4, 2011

After class at FIT, I met Colman, we had dinner and went to an opening in Chelsea. No photos there, it was a art book fair, too many people and exhibits.  We met a friend and a neighbor in the ferry terminal on the way home and had a pleasant ride back to Staten Island.  Here are some  shots in the dark, first as we walked back out of Chelsea to the 1 train on 23rd Street.  A very clear and cool night. The Met Life tower was lit like a beacon to Fifth Avenue.

The Empire State Building, unusually all in white lights.

From the boat as we rode into the harbor.

June

We were going into the city to have dinner with Anja and Austin in Queens.  Adi and Sabine were in New York then too.

The harbor is always hazy in summer.  I keep wanting it to be clear like it is in the Fall when the water and temperatures are closer to each other.  It is a little disappointing to have warm weather, nice to be outside after winter or a cold spring, and be in a perpetual fog.

 

This is the Norwegian Gem  leaving on a cruise.

Coming back from our dinner near midnight. The World Trade Center is growing in height.

July

There’s a summer sculpture in Madison Square. I don’t like it very much.

These are some large architectural elements on the upper East Side.

A view across the harbor from the platform  outside the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

My new camera has an over the top zoom. It compresses space as it telescopes in on things. Here’s the golman Sachs building in New Jersey, a lighthouse and the Statue of Liberty all looking like they’re a stone’s throw away from each other.

One of the dredges  working constantly in the shipping channels.

Another dredge with a gantry and one of the Ferry gunboat escorts.

September

Heading back to  Staten Island on a sunny day after the 11th. The 9-11 Memorial has opened and the WTC #1 has a huge Flag draped on it above the memorial.

The towers rise at the rate of one floor a week.

 

The tower has begun to fill the space left empty by the Twin Towers on our skyline.

 

We went to several openings today, it’s Second Saturday on Staten Island and that is the time of the month when galleries open shows and performances take place. There are sometimes tours of artist’s studios too. You can find the listings by googling Second Saturday, Staten Island.
Tonight was also a surprise birthday party for Craig Mannister at the Art Lab in Snug Harbor. Didn’t take photos there because I knew a LOT of people attending and I hadn’t seen them for a while. There was a lot to talk about.
After the party we wanted to walk home but the gate closest to Tysen Street had been locked and Colman and I had to walk through the harbor to the West gate and make our way home along Richmond Terrace on foot. It looked like there was a full moon out. It was really beautiful through the scattered clouds.  As we walked through the trees I noticed  a bright spot  in the clouds and was confused because it wasn’t where I expected the moon to be.  Then I realized that it was the  lights from the World Trade Center  across the harbor. This is looking eastward as we headed toward the West Gate.

This is approaching the West Gate where we can leave the park.

Colman ahead of me on Richmond Terrace as we headed back to Tysen Street.  That’s the moon in the clouds above the street lights.

Near the center of the Snug Harbor buildings on the terrace there is a little dock in the Kill van Kull, the trees part and  there is a view of Bayonne  where a dock has been built as an entry for a ferry bringing visitors to the Harbor. (That ferry doesn’t run yet)  I had a clear view of the column of light from the cloud ceiling to near the ground where the columns are separate.

A shot through the fence of one of the Snug Harbor buildings.  Next weekend this part of the front lawn will host the annual Art On The Fence Show put on by the  Staten Island Museum which will be moving here over the next few years.

One last view of the moon before we got home.

I had to go into the city twice in the past two days. Yesterday was the third day of rain from Lee, I made a wet trip to into the city to buy silver and go to class at FIT. We had had a couple days of sunshine after the overcast of Irene left the area. There’s flooding all around us and the water in the harbor had changed color. Muddy brown. Makes me wonder if the sea life is having a hard time breathing like people who live in heavy smog.
Here are some shots taken Thursday September 8th and today the 9th, 2011.

A freighter with a distinctive paint  job moored with the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in the background.

Today it’s still hazy but much brighter, the little orange boat does have guns mounted on it. It is an escort for the ferry, we’ve had these Coast Guard escorts periodically since 9-11-01. The harbor water is usually a shade of green.

A telephoto shot of lower Manhattan where Number One World Trade Center is going up at the rate of a floor a week. It’s going to be very tall on the skyline. I think it’s at the 70th floor now.  When the twin towers were there, we only caught glimpses of the Empire State Building as we passed on the ferry. Now we have a full view to the 34th street building.  from another angle we can see  the Chrysler Building  on 42nd street too.

We had dinner with friends in the city tonight. Have been trying to get a good night time shot of Number One World Trade Center (  the white construction lights, formerly known as the Freedom Tower) as it is going up. It’s hiding the Empire State Building from this angle but you can see the Chrysler Building’s distinctive spire as well as some colorful additions to our old skyline. The weather was with me tonight. I shot this from the  Staten Island Ferry Terminal (about 11 miles away) as we walked back to our parked car.

Earlier this year we went to the City Center to see the Youth America Grand Prix  ballet competition finals. The following photos  are a combined group from the past two trips to the Grand Prix finals. They have been in line for publication on the blog for some time and it is time to clear them from my hard drive.

As we left the parking lot by the ferry in 2010, trees were beginning to bloom.

New residential towers over a remainder of old New York (2010).

We arrived in time to have dinner on Seventh Avenue at the  Delicatessen Cafe. (2011)

I had just gotten my new canon and tested the zoom on this skyscraper.(2011)

City Center is an ornate building in the Moorish Style. A lot of dance performances take place here, we were here to see the finals of the Youth America Grand Prix last year and again this year. (that’s why I’m dating some of the photos. . .)

Some shots of the ceiling in the theater.(2010)

The whole auditorium needed to be repainted. ( and it still did this year)

Part of the proscenium.

Ceiling vents .

In the hallway ante rooms during the intermission. (2010)

Colman took these shots in the auditorium, they show a little more of what the theater is like. (2011)

A view toward the stage,  a lot of the performers show up in the audience after they perform in the competition.

As we were leaving I this year I took photos of the painted ceilings outside of the auditorium. It’s a grand example of gilded stencil work.

Some leaded glass in a niche at the top of the stairs.

Colman took shots of me  shooting the ceiling.

And I got him on a landing.

On the way home we passed by a florists window. (2010)

On the way home this year the florist wasn’t as interesting, but next door there was what seemed to be a shop for fine crafts. These  jelly fish in glass pieces are very nice.

Looking at these photos now, I noticed that the glass pieces have a real layer of dust on them, the store must have been closed for some time for that much to build up on a window display.

This year when we returned to Staten Island and were driving out of the parking lot I was struck by the sharp reflections on the waters of the Kill van Kull. I have never seen the water so still that there were reflections.  It’s usually a choppy, wavy surface that shimmers in the lights of Bayonne. I asked Colman to stop the car while I took a few shots of the Stillness on the Kill.

 

 

The Bayonne Bridge, completed in 1928, is about to go under renovation. The road bed will be raised so that the newer larger container ships will be able to pass under it.  Contemporary images of the bridge or inspired by the bridge produced by local artists make up a lot of the show.

The Noble Collection is a fine museum located on the grounds of Snug Harbor. Here’s a link to the museum website. It will take you to the calendar where you can see videos about Snug Harbor and the Noble collection.

Colman and I went to the show’s opening and artist reception last Thursday night. This is the walkway in front of the four Federalist buildings, the face of Snug Harbor, at twilight.

Inside, a crowd had already begun to gather.  It was almost as if everyone there had arrived  in person from my FaceBook page.

One of the artists, Vincent Verdi, (with glasses on his head ) is talking with friends in front of Bill Murphy’s large watercolor view from the bridge.

Kristopher and Robert talking in front of Mark Ruffo’s large painting of the Bayonne Bridge.

Ed Davin, a painter and print maker, in the center.

Bob and Joyce

 

Tim Moran and Craig Mannister with a lady I don’t know. A link to Craig’s work.

Elizabeth Egbert, president and CEO of the Staten Island Museum talks with a friend.

Michael McWeeney, photographer, made videos that are being shown in the Noble Collection and are on the museum web site. His website is here.  Colman, in his hat, stands in the left side of my photo.

An old neighbor, Barry.

Denise Mumm in front of the unknown lady,  Robert and Bob in the crowd.

Chris and Amy.

Kristopher Johnson, photographer.  His work at Deep Tanks.

Michael talking with a sailing friend.

Erin Urban, the Noble Collection Executive Director.

Bill Murphy has an extraordinary large watercolor in the show. Bill’s work at Biddington’s.

Michael and Vincent with other visitors. An article about Vincent’s work.

The walkway after dark.

The Neptune Fountain lighting our way home.

The snow banks are melting, almost gone but still lingering in shadows and corners. The wind has been howling near gale force since late yesterday afternoon.  I thought  I would take a look at the snow photos I took late last month. It’s been a long time dealing with the-snow-that-won’t-melt.  Friday it was near 60 degrees, one spring like day and it’s in the 30′s again. . .

January 21, 2011

The first storm caught New York’s snow plows off guard. Snow piled up everywhere. When roads were finally cleared we went out to the Mall to take care of some bills. The parking lot was filled with small mountains of snow.

We Parked near this long miniature mountain range.

It looked like this  through the windshield.

January 27, 2011

We woke up to this a week later.

Very pretty  but you can see that the last snow had not begun to melt before we got the new 12-18″.

Take a closer look at how the snow piled up  in the fence and  wire plant supports. It looked like a wedding cake, above in the right side of the photo.  Below the fence started to fill in like a clogged sieve.

The front porch was covered again but not so deep. There was wind during this storm and it  made the snow wrap things as well as pile up on everything.  We had to mive the recycling  container and a trash can onto the front porch because it was too difficult to shovel a path around the porch to get to them.  There was  simply no place to put what you shovel out of  the way. 

Our cars were buried but the roads were relatively clear if you could dig the car out to go anywhere.

The snow piled high on the birdbath in our front yard,  the rhododendrons have really been pushed out of shape. I hope not many branches have broken.

Our neighbor Bill was out with his camera too.

Snow wrapped ballusters on the front porch.

Yes, I was out there with a shovel and broom in my birkenstocks.

Trying to free the vehicle. . .

Looking up Tysen Street From our house  position in the street.

A little further up toward Cassidy. The trees looked so nice with the snow on their branches.

Tysen Street after Cassidy.Looking down Cassidy toward Clinton Street.

January 29,2011

We went into the city a couple days later, I was surprised to see ice on the water,  it’s not usually cold long enough for the up river ice to get down to the harbor. There was a lot, it tends to gather in the currents around the south end of Manhattan.  I haven’t seen this  for at least ten years and I don’t remember seeing so much ice.

Back home on Tysen Street our paths are narrow.

The trees are still wrapped in snow coats.

Before 5 PM the street has few cars, but each car has its place.  Parking in neighborhoods has become almost impossible, especially after people arrive home from work.

Because of the early evening of this short day season, we have added lights in the greenhouse to extend daylight for the orchids. The lights turn off at 7 PM.