Abstractions

Ice-Land

We had a high of 26 degrees yesterday (-3C), after waking up to a temperature of 11 (-12C) so a lot of ice had formed at various points along this little stream.

Pumphouse?

I think this was the old pumphouse. This is from my father-in-law's country home where I sepnt the last couple of days, in upstate New York. A dusting of snow is on the ground, which had mostly sublimed by today when we left. I will be posting a lot of pictures from here over the next few days, so a lot of rural, nature stuff in contrast to the more usual urban material.

I wanted to get some more dramatic flare from the sunlight in this one, but it didn't work out - it's kinda lame, really.

Happy Holidays

Whatever and however you celebrate. For me it's about nothing more than being with friends and family and expressing love and gratitude through gatherings and gift-giving - an ancient and probably universal, instinctive impulse. At work the last day of school before break is little more than a party, and much as I sometimes complain about the inability to get anything substantive done, I should recognize it as an important social bonding ritual. My students crave this time with one another, but they also like to show their appreciation to teachers as well, and to spend a some time interacting with us as human beings rather than just taskmasters. It takes a really mean spirit to squash that energy going into that last week in the name of covering superficially another chapter in the already mindlessly broad biology curriculum. And my students are really wonderful human beings.

Back at home I enjoy the family get-togethers and of course the down-time that arrived not a moment too soon this year - a much needed break to decompress and to spend some time with the kids.

Not much time for shooting pictures this week. The above photo was taken a few weeks ago as part of my assignment to the photography club to take pictures with winter/holiday themes. It has a black border because it was prepared and uploaded for printing to go with our winter exhibit.

Spuyten Duyvil Bridge

Legend has it the name means "spite the devil." from the Dutch, who of course originally settled New Amsterdam, specifically lower Manhattan, later renamed New York. Here is the northern tip of Manhattan, the bridge connecting us with the lower portion of Riverdale, in the Bronx. Another legend that I've never verified, is that this waterway (the portion that connects the "East River" with the Hudson River) was moved from a point further north. That is, the lower section of Riverdale was once part of Manhattan, and even retains its 212 area code for this reason. This was told to me by a geology professor at City College some years ago, as I remember it.

UPDATE:

So I guess I should do a little research before posting these things!

This is actually the Henry Hudson Bridge, which I've traveled scores of times just in the last couple of years, and I never bothered to notice its real name, because somewhere long ago I heard it referred to by someone as the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, and the name just stuck. There must be signs as you approach the bridge alerting you to its true name, but it just never registered in my brain. Funny how that works.

The Spuyten Duyvil Bridge is a small Amtrak railroad bridge just to the west of the Henry Hudson Bridge.

Then there is a small section of Riverdale (which is, remember, a small section of the Bronx) called "Marble Hill," and which was in fact once physically connected to Manhattan and separated by hook in the Harlem River from the Bronx. That hook proved to be a difficult shipping passage and thus the river was re-routed through Marble Hill, separating it from Manhattan. Eventually the original path of the river was filled in and built on. Administratively, Marble Hill is still part of Manhattan and New York County (not Bronx County)

Hope I got all that right this time. Take a look at the maps linked to above, it all makes sense.

Inwood Little League

Scoreboard stored away for the winter behind a corrugated steel cargo container over in right field.

GWB at Night

Now that it's dark so early around here I get to enjoy the beauty of the GWB lights reflecting off the water while biking home in the evening - this is around 5:30 PM.

The colors are beautiful live, but I don't think the camera does them justice, while the b&w somehow captures the drama better...

Tortured House

You can almost feel the pain....

GWB Bus Terminal

The M5 bus stop outside the terminal. Working class, immigrant neighborhood. Still an ugly building with a major piece of retail space on street level shuttered up for years now (behind the waiting riders). I think the Port Authority is working on a plan to revitalize the terminal and the surrounding area, but I haven't seen anything yet.

Pier Seating

I liked the way the light worked on these seats. I should have spent more time shooting them from different angles, but it was a very cold, windy day and I had no gloves - I was freezing. So I took a couple of shots and headed for the nearest coffee shop. Came out OK, I think, but next time I'll remember the gloves...

A Cacophony of Fire Extinguishers

Garage

A very clean garage, with very little business on a Saturday morning.

Pier 1 Cafe

At 68th Street & Hudson River. Closed for the winter.

UPDATED

Here's a full view of the facade, Behind it is the bar/restaurant counter. The Bike path runs along behind that, the facade faces the river and piers. In Summer the space in front is filled with outdoor tables umbrellas.

No Standing

Most of my photos these days are taken on the weekend - I try to get enough photography in to let me post a different image every day throughout the week, except on the rare occasion that I find the time to get out during the week. This one is from Saturday again. Just a deserted street around 61st or so. Took a lot of pics along this street and a little further on - a bunch of urban residential highrises that Trump put up a few years ago.

Street Lamp With Reflector

Well, technically this lamp is on the recreational piers along the Hudson, but I don't think there's a special name for pier lamps. Designed to reduce light pollution, and aesthetically pleasing as a bonus.

A Time for Reflection

Does this mirror make me look fat?

You'll forgive the title pun, but it's my 50th birthday today. I was thinking of doing a self portrait anyway, when I stumbled upon this fish-eye mirror walking around and waiting for my son to have his high school admissions interview at Beacon High School today. Yes, the high school application process in New York City is worse than college applications.

Turning 30 meant nothing to me, I barely noticed turning 40, but 50 is something else all together. I feel it. It kinda has all the inverse significance of turning 18 (or 21 these days, I suppose). It's the point where you are officially old, half a century, waiting for the AARP invitation to arrive in the mail, senior discounts, etc. Oh, and of course the prostate exams, can't wait for that...

And apologies to s.c. for stealing his weekend reflections theme, it's just this once :-)

From My Window

A view of the city looking south from my classroom window, late afternoon. One of the perks of working in Midtown. My school  has an H shape, so you see two wings of the building on the left and right. I'm directly in the middle. Next week I'll post a morning view, where the buildings in the foreground are more evenly illuminated and colorful.

Sorry for the lack of posts and comments lately, it's been a really hectic week. Will try to catch up with you all on the weekend. Cheers.

Sunset on the Hudson

I don't do many sunsets, but this one made me jump off my bike yesterday to snap a few shots. The sun is about to come out from behind the clouds as it sets over the Hudson, throwing the abandoned pier pylons into silhouette. The sun is setting pretty far south of due west as we approach the winter solstice in a few weeks

Arcade

Ivy on Lamp Post

Parking

The biggest challenge of owning a car in the city is not the traffic but the parking. That's why I leave mine at my father-in-law's upstate house for the winter. I wonder how much carbon is released into the atmosphere from people just driving around the block for an hour looking for a space...

Buoy at Dawn

Nothing new today, a day of rest after a typical Thanksgiving overindulgence. This was taken on the way to work a few weeks ago, biking along the Hudson River Greenway. Didn't think much of it at the time but it's grown on me.

These are essentially parking spots for boats near the 79th Street Boat Basin.

Happy Thanksgiving

Somehow this fat squirrel seems to me to "embody" the general principle of Thanksgiving - get ready to hunker down for the long, cold winter. In ancient times fattening up made sense - food would be scarce and times would be tough. Nowadays, not so much, but traditions die hard...

Green & Brown

Ft. Tryon Park, a small lawn outside the Cloisters Museum, oak leaves.

Winter Fruits

Persistent fruits on the tree lasting through the cold months, or until they're all eaten up by the birds. Not sure what this tree is called.

Underneath the Gingko Tree

They're really nice trees, except for the females that bear "fruit," no offense..

Cloisters Museum

It's been a busy week around here and this is my first post in a few days and the first time I've had the energy or opportunity to go out and shoot. I wish the Parks Dept. would come up with a better solution to protect the shrubbery than these ugly wire fences they put up.

Those yellow leaves framing the tower of the museum are from an incredibly lovely, large, and old Ginko tree sitting in a popular lawn outside the museum. I may have another picture of the tree tomorrow, but it's hard to do it justice .

November Rose

I don't remember seeing roses in bloom this late in November before, maybe I just haven't been paying attention. Took this one on Sunday. Telephoto lens blurs out the dark green background, which turns to black when converted to B&W.

Waiting

An abandoned tennis ball on a court covered with oak leaves.

A Walk in the Park

Love this old Elm tree reaching out over the pathway, but I keep expecting it to fall and hurt somebody (like me, every time I walk under it). The parks are frequently closed during heavy winds and snowfall for this very reason.

Gulls Along the Hudson

Looking across the river to the Palisades of New Jersey. Pulled out the telephoto today for a change in perspective. I like the compression with the trees in full color. Cloudy day, though.

Trump Trees

Taken yesterday from the middle of 5th Avenue, which was closed off to vehicular traffic for the Veterans Day Parade. I'm no fan of Donald Trump, but I actually like the trees growing along the terraced side of this particular building. The facade, though, is typically tacky Trump.

For Gerry, With Apologies

Sorry man, by the time I got to the parade the Navy was all that was left. And some woman in front of me every 10 seconds shouting "Go Navy, Beat Army!"

LOL

Anyway, saw this guy sporting a Nikon D300 and thought of you.

The Final Hill

What goes down, must come up. I live in Washington Heights, and as the name suggests, it is in the highest part of Manhattan. My apartment is close to a park that has a marker designating it as the highest geologic point on the island (Bennett Park). And the climb from sea level (the Hudson River that runs alongside my bike path) to the highest point is a steep one. It's not so obvious from the photo, but this is the final steep leg of my bike ride home. There's more hill after this, but not quite as dramatically steep as this one.

The nice thing about living in my neighborhood is the vantage point - living at the top of the hill has always had certain socio-economic connotations. The disadvantage for a biker is that the early part of the ride is easy, downhill fun, while the last part of my ride, when I'm already tired, is all uphill. Was mich nicht umbringt...

UPDATED: I realized it was too dark and brought out some more highlights, it looks more appropriate now to the time of day, late afternoon, when it was shot.

Bridge Tower, Evening Light

Let me know when you're tired of the bridge - It's just such an awesome structure I keep wanting to shoot it...

Fall Colors in B&W

A ;little fall black & white to mix it up a little. From Sunday.

Bike Path

Like I said, hard to resist these colors.This one taken on foot from a walk yesterday afternoon. Incredible golden light at sundown these last few days.

Bridge Tower in Fall Colors

A lazy shot from the seat of my moving bicycle on the way home from work on Friday. I never want to stop when I'm riding, so it's really not a particularly good way to take pictures, unless I have lots of time and ride to a pre-determined destination, with the intention of parking and walking around.

The fall colors are so in your face right now it's almost impossible not to shoot them.

Water Tower, NYC

Crazy week around here. No time to shoot or post. This taken last week, I think. My brain is clogged :-)