NY State Pavilion

Just a short stroll from the Unisphere, these are the observation towers from the World's Fair, part of the NY State Pavilion complex, which is now essentially in ruins, a shell of its former self. It's hard for me to imagine it in the original form.

One of the neighborhood regulars chatted with me about it, said they were going to tear it all down a few years ago - what a shame that would be. It's also a shame that they can't make better use of the structure, the open interior would be an interesting outdoor theater space, and it is after all right next to the Queens Theater, which was built recently in the spirit of the World's Fair architecture:

But as of now the old pavilion is simply gated up and overgrown with weeds and stray cats.

Unisphere

At Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York. Left over from the 1964 World's Fair. My first real visit to this park, I think I'll be going back soon...

I also took pics of the NY State Pavilion, which I'll post at a later time. But today I was just kind of awestruck at the structure, and I think the shots reflect that "wow, isn't this cool" kind of superficial treatment.

Henry Hudson Parkway

This is from a few weeks ago. We had another dreary cloudy rainy day. By the time I'm free to go for a walk it's too dark to get much going.  This is the Henry Hudson Parkway as it goes under the ramp to the George Washington Bridge. I know what I like about this shot now, which I couldn't put my finger on before, but I'll wait to see if anyone else mentions it.

Cloisters Museum

From a couple of days ago.

Adirondack Chairs

A revisiting of last summer's assignment to pick one mundane subject and take 20 pictures. I picked these 4 to post.

Inwood Park & Salt Marsh

Low tide created some interesting patterns with the water and the mud. Also revealed a child's scooter. I imagine a certain degree of sadness over that one.

The tennis and basketball courts are being renovated. Not yet open or complete, the colors are about as deep as they will ever be. I had to shoot through the chain-link fence, so my ability to get a good angle was limited.

Utility

Really just an exercise in composition, perspective, and light. Sometimes (often, actually) when I can't see anything new or unusual to shoot, I take pictures of familiar things with an eye toward just getting it right, hoping that when I do see something new or unusual, I'll be prepared to take the picture. Critiques welcome, did I get these right?

A different look in B&W, horizontal:

Pine

Symmetry again. I thought this one was going to be black & white, but the tones didn't work out.

Lichen

Just got back from a short trip upstate.There's a symmetry here I could only get by focusing on the center branch of this mountain laurel grown over with lichen. No tripod, otherwise I might have gone for more depth of field.

Corners

The less I say the better...

Hostas

So we finally got a break here in NY from the heat wave, a dramatic one at that. We had a high temperature today of 73F (23C) after a week in the 90's (on Wednesday it was 98F (37C).

Anyway, a stroll through a rather wet Ft. Tryon Park this morning yielded this shot of the water beading on the leaves of a hosta. Best observed on flickr full-screen mode.

UPDATE: By the morning light I see that s.c.'s comment was well taken, and revised the contrast & exposure.  The original is still posted on flickr for comparison.

IS 143

In memory of Ronnie Pappas, my assistant principal for a number of years (and principal after I left), who tragically and suddenly passed away this week, much too soon.

515 West 182nd Street is a rather unattractive building. I've walked by here several times looking for an angle, a beneficial light, anything to get an image of the school that was my second home for so many years, but nothing I've produced struck me as worth posting.

Fortunately, a school is not a building but a community of people, and in that sense IS 143 was a beautiful place that I worked in for about 15 years, give or take. I was this week reminded of the true spirit of a school as the community came together to remember, mourn, celebrate, and honor Ms. Pappas, who dedicated so much of her life to this school.

And so even though this shot is a pretty predictable and even clichéd composition, it captures the defining characteristics of the building, and in the parallel lines converging toward the heavens, I see a certain symbolism that works for me on this day.

Cushions

Another one from the freezer, end of June. Hope to get out tomorrow and take some pics.

4WD

No time to shoot today, so this is another one from yesterday. Had to work a bit to bring out the SUV that was in the shadows, but I don't think it's too noisy. This is a parking lot that has elevated slots so they can park them two deep. Overlooking one of the many buildings that are part of the NY Presbyterian Hospital Complex.

PS 8

A public school ("PS") in upper Manhattan. PS also designates that it is an elementary school (usually K-5 or K-6) as opposed to an "IS" (intermediate school, usually grades 6-8) or an "HS" (high school, grades 9-12). Of course the grade ranges are somewhat variable.