inspired photography with just enough perspective
Last time I was in New York I hung out here after walking my feet off all over the city. It’s an upscale mall in the Time Warner Center that has some nice spots to grab a pastry and chill with a coffee. Also, being so close to Lincoln Center there is a venue here for Jazz should you be so inclined. I was content to just sit and people watch. One thing about New York, this is the perfect place to people watch.
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On Saturday we walked around downtown Tampa which took us across the University of Tampa campus. We were walking our dogs and three students came up to say hello and pet the dogs. They were all pretty happy to be here at this school especially since it was about 70 degrees warmer out than back home in Chicago or Boston. The architecture of these buildings was too much for me to resist, nor was I the only one. There were several weddings taking place with all the photographers using these as backdrop.
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On a chilly evening a few weeks ago I stood here in front of the statehouse in Hartford Connecticut. I think because of the cold the entire property was deserted which afforded me an opportunity to walk around it at will with my tripod. Only later when I processed this did I notice the flags at half mast. The ornate dome and outer walls reminded me of buildings I’ve seen in Germany. In any case, despite the lack of any anyone around I’m guessing the guards watched me on security cameras as I walked around the building. They probably figured I was harmless and it was just too cold for them to do anything about it.
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The sign said trail to tower. It was cold, snow on the ground and I just arrived from Florida a couple hours earlier. But all the native New Englanders were out in their shorts and running shoes so I couldn’t turn back, wouldn’t look good for Florida. I figured once I got to the top of the mountain there would be a cell tower and I could pull out my iPhone and check the temperature, as though I needed a reminder. Little did I know that a mile and a half up the trail was a Bavarian fortress with spectacular views of the valley and city of Hartford below. Chalk one up for dumb luck.
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This is the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch near the capitol building in Hartford Connecticut. I took this a few nights ago in the twenty degree chill and so not too many people were out. However, as I set up for this shot someone starting walking towards me while singing quite loud. I sized up my situation but had nothing to worry about as the gentleman simply inquired about my photography. Turns out there was a concert, opera I think, just up the way and he was just walking home reveling in the moment. I, on the other hand quickly finished and made a hasty retreat to the warmth of my car.
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I took this not long ago at the World Trade Center in what is called ground zero. A lot has happened in the last thirteen years and now the Freedom Tower is in the final stages of completion. The sight of this building leaves a feeling that cannot be conveyed, but you soon realize its more than just a building, it’s a symbol of revitalization on many levels. Eventually the people working here will go about their business day in and day out, a return to some semblance of normal. But to anyone coming here, residents, workers and visitors such as myself, it is undeniably an emotionally charged setting.
Another shot of the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn.
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While in New York we stopped in here at Columbus Circle for a little snack after a day of walking and sightseeing. While I was working on a cookie I noticed this perspective from inside the ultra modern Time Warner Center out onto the older architecture of Central Park South. If I went back in time fifty or sixty years I could imagine a very similar scene as these buildings (at least from the outside) have changed very little. But alas I awoke from my time travel reverie to check my e-mail and send a text. It seems to me that I stood here somewhere in time between eras with a little bit of both mixed together. And all of this from a building that begins with the word “Time”.
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Last weekend I went to the World Trade Center in New York City. As I approached there was a lot of construction everywhere, a lot of noise, and a lot of people, …typical New York. But here, below the Freedom Tower at ground zero, despite the thousands of people gathered, it was hushed, the only sound was that of the water from the fountain. This is the reflection of Freedom Tower in the hushed silence of the fountain at ground zero.