Tag Archives: astoria

Sunset from Astoria Park

I tend to go back and forth on whether I prefer to run before or after work – before work means I can go out after work while after work means I get to sleep in. But when I do run after work, I always make sure it gets me to sunset while looking across the East River. Look at the photo and you’ll know what I mean.

This photo was taken on April 24, 2014.

Sunset from Astoria Park

Yup, More Snow

Not to get all Old Man McCrankyPants but, seriously? More snow when we’ve yet to entirely do away with the last blast of snow still lingering on our sidewalks? Sure, it’s not Mother Nature’s fault that the city’s slow response is mostly responsible that there are still reminders of the last storm – the remaining, greying snow and the garbage bags lining the curb – but it’d be nice if she’d be a little understanding. Perhaps a one-month reprieve? Is that too much to ask? Then again, maybe she’s taking pity on us because, as I type this, it seems like the snow is starting to taper off already.

This photo was taken on January 7, 2011.

Yup, More Snow

It’s Snow Go for MTA

I’m not gonna pile on against the MTA here – they’ve taken enough hits from the public. I just wanted to say it’s pretty funny to see snow in the underground stations like the one where I get on the M/R. At the height of the storm on Sunday night, there were some underground stations that looked like they were above ground and outdoors. The 57th Street entrance in the second photo was just a mess. People were gripping onto the handrails for dear life and that hardly mattered since one in every five still managed to slip and slide.

These photos were taken on December 27, 2010.

Finally, A Snow Plow!

I raced down the block last night to take these photos. Why was I so excited that I had to do that just to get some photos of a snow plow? Because at 10:25 pm last night, my block finally saw its first Sanitation Department snow plow, only two-plus days after it stopped snowing. This blizzard has been just one huge clusterf*ck for the city – Mayor Bloomberg, Sanitation, and the MTA, in that order, should all be ashamed of themselves for the way they’ve handled the situation.

These photos were taken on December 29, 2010.

Shadowy Self-Portrait in the Snow

Walking around after 20 or so inches of snow has been dumped on my block isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Actually, it was a lot easier to walk in the street as opposed to the sidewalk since the necessary passage of cars helped clear it a lot faster than the pedestrians’ passageway. Crazy, right? While walking home from the subway station, I noticed my shadow was very pronounced in the snow since it’s, you know, pure white which, compared to the darker sidewalk, certainly makes it easier to see one’s shadow. Never one to pass up an opportunity to take what I think might be a neat photo, I snapped this one just before an approaching car’s headlights would have ruined the shot.

This photo was taken on December 27, 2010.

Shadowy Self-Portrait in the Snow

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Without my trusty DSLR by my side, I hadn’t planned on taking any photos of this unique lunar eclipse. It’s unique in that it also occurred on the winter solstice. So why did I end up taking photos at 2:30 am? Well, that would be Con Ed’s fault. They sent a work crew to fix a mistake another crew made which necessitated the use of heavy equipment – heavy equipment that made a lot of noise. So, unable to sleep, I ended up arguing with Con Ed for a few minutes, taking a few photos of the lunar eclipse, and then back to bed for a terrible night of sleep. Bastards. Ah well, at least I got to see the eclipse. Yay.

These photos were taken on December 21, 2010.

Lunar Eclipse

There are some times where I think I’m a pretty good photographer. This photo, unfortunately, is not one that would lend credence to that thought. This was supposed to be a shot of a total lunar eclipse or at least the beginning of one but I just flat out Blaise-choked (Top Chef reference for all my TC watching friends). It came out okay but nowhere nearly as nice as what I had hoped for. My problem? No tripod. I tried shooting this by propping it an an angle on a fence but it just wasn’t steady enough for the shot I wanted. The next one’s in four days but that’s gonna do me no good since I’m presently DSLR-less. Goddamn.

This photo was taken on February 20, 2008.

Lunar Eclipse

A (Red) River Runs Through It

Imagine walking through the turnstile and then see this stream of viscous red liquid running from just to the right of your foot all the way to the edge of the platform. Even in a Disneyfied New York City, the first thought that pops into your head has to be “this is blood,” right? It certainly looked burnt red and seemed thickish enough (thicker than water, thinner than syrup) that blood wasn’t entirely a bad guess. Thankfully (or sadly, depending on what you think is cool), after tracing it back to the source, it was just a spilled cup of some rather thick fruit juice. Oh, what could have been…

This photo was taken on December 4, 2010.

A (Red) River Runs Through It