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New York: Central Park
Inspiration: Sometimes I feel a little bit guilty about catching publicly private moments like these. At the same time, but for the photograph, this specific moment might be lost permanently except, possibly, to the person or persons actually living it. The power of a camera to give everlasting life to otherwise ephemeral and fleeting seconds of time is truly addictive.
New York: Washington Square Park
Inspiration: No. It turns out that he isn't Lenny Kravitz. But, for a second, through eyes squinted to protect against the brightness of the sun, he looked like Lenny. In any event, he was kind enough to let me take a portrait shot of him. For a photo of him in color, check out The Photodiarist In Color.
New York: Washington Square Park
Inspiration: As I strolled around Washington Square Park yesterday, I spotted this guy dressed in a manner evocative of Thom Browne. The difference? Instead of being a brand new $5,000 T. Browne suit, every article of clothing he wore appeared to be vintage. In fact, the jacket had a few holes and the shirt looked a bit worn around the edges. Nevertheless, he looked incredibly cool. Yet another example of inexpensive creativity (vs. pricey uniformity). So, unbeknownst to him, I decided to do a "photo shoot". I thought he made a great model.
New York: Central Park
Inspiration: Woodland Fairy and I are great acquaintances. I've photographed her almost every season (see here and here). People who have followed my blog for a while may remember my brief sadness when I realized that she wasn't a fairy for the sake of it. Indeed, she's quite enterprising. She charges moolah (which you drop in the duffel bag pictured in the last photo) for the fairy dust that she sprinkles all over you. Nonetheless, she makes a great photographic subject! For the color version, go here.
Tokyo: 400 year-old garden on the grounds of the New Otani Hotel in Akasaka
Inspiration: This old, incredible garden is a part of the grounds of my hotel in Tokyo as well as the view I had from my room. When I return to Tokyo, I plan to stay in a smaller, more intimate hotel than the New Otani, but I won't forget this garden. Such a haven. The view from my apartment in New York is much different. Not such a haven. But I love it for all of its urbanity.
New York: Downtown, Eastside
New York: Union Square
Inspiration: I'm back! In New York, that is. Not quite as relaxed as he is, but working on it (sans cigarette, though). Some vacations are amazing but not relaxing. Such was my trip to Japan. I was way too hyped up to see stuff and get going every morning to be relaxed. It was rather unnatural, actually. Usually, when I go on a vacation, I wake up late, see sights if I happen to pass them, shop, eat and hangout at cafes all afternoon and then go out at night. This time, I was up at dawn, out before all of the tourists and kept going and seeing and discovering and snapping photos until I was exhausted. And I still didn't see a fraction of Tokyo or Kyoto! I need a vacation as a result of my vacation!
Tokyo: Harajuku Station
Inspiration: I am back in New York trying to get back into a normal routine (including sleeping at night instead of wanting to nod off during the day) after having spent a swell time in Tokyo. Here's a mini-collection of Harajuku shots before I return to my usual New York photos.
Tokyo: Omotesando-dori
Inspiration: Just some random shots of people hanging out on Omotesando during my stay in Tokyo. No matter where I am, I always find a street musician to photograph!
Tokyo: Omotesando Hills
Inspiration: I thought she had such a great look that I had to ask for a portrait shot.
Tokyo: Omotesando
Inspiration: On my last day in Tokyo, I went back to Omotesando-dori to check out a store called Forbidden Fruit in Omotesando Hills, a small but super-chic shopping mall in the area. Just before I walked in, I saw this dapper guy walking by and could not resist asking him for a photo. I love that hardly anyone says no to being photographed in Tokyo.
P.S. About Forbidden Fruit: Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes blogged about it last summer and I couldn't wait to check it out. I was not disappointed. The store carries unique brands, including their own: If Six was Nine and Bedrock. To access the store, you have to find a cheery little cafe by the same name. Once in the cafe, a staircase leads you into a dark gothic cave full of the most incredible displays (and clothes) that I've seen in a long time. The sad part for me was that everything in the store is cut for really tiny people. I found an incredible leather jacket with sleeves like petals. But I couldn't get the thing to stretch nicely over my shoulders. Even though I wear a size 6, I just wasn't small enough. And I couldn't buy shoes there either (I am a big old size 39 when the largest that they carry is 38). So, I was left to enjoy the crazy gothic displays, which was probably a blessing in disguise considering that I am now quite penniless after this trip and didn't need to buy one more thing . . .
