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New York: Broadway and 12th Street
Inspiration: In checking this photo out, I kind of wish I'd bought that feathered helmet for tonight. But it kind of scares me. I don't want to scare myself on Halloween. In any event, I am off to check out the parade for a bit and then I am heading uptown for a party. Happy Halloween everyone. Be safe.
New York: Union Square
Inspiration: Something about that hat of his reminds me of a wedding cake. My favorite part of his ensemble is his jacket. It's studded with the tops of soda cans. He made it himself.
P.S. Happy Halloween
New York: Central Park
Inspiration: Sometimes, I just have to take my photographs as I see them. In other words, I have come to accept that in capturing street shots, I cannot disrupt people in order to get the best light or the best shot. This was one such moment. If I could have, I would have asked him to move so that he wasn't so "sun-dappled". But this is his spot and he was in the middle of a tune. In any event, when I got home and saw this on the big screen, I realized to my silly delight that in addition to him, I captured his likeness in the shadows. Little things make me happy. What can I say.
New York: New York Public Library
Inspiration: Some of the rooms in this wonderful building are just spectacular. No wonder the New York Public Library snagged herself a role in the Sex and the City movie a year ago. She's gorgeous.
New York: Columbus Circle
Inspiration: She caught my eye because, even though she was sitting around the Columbus Circle, a buzzing "beehive" of people,cars, cyclists, and horse-drawn carriages, she'd completely tuned it all out and seemed completely tuned into her own thoughts.
Inspiration: Some time ago, while roaming around in the park (one of my favorite things to do), I heard a faint tune. But I could not figure out the direction from which these musical notes were floating. After a few minutes of walking around and a little bit of focus, I came upon this alcove close to one of the tunnels. Voila! There there they were. The makers of, what were for a moment, hidden notes.
New York: Washington Square Park
Inspiration: Like another guy in one of my earlier posts, he reminds me of Rodin's statue, The Thinker.
New York: 40th Street and 5th Avenue
Inspiration: All over the world, an hour is an hour, a minute is a minute and a second is a second. So why is it that in New York, it seems as though an hour is a minute. A minute is a millisecond and a second is not even measurable? I suppose that the ever-quickening velocity of the city and the overwhelming number and diversity of things to do here makes time seem as if it is flying at a pace that rivals sonic jets.The shortness of the proverbial "New York Minute" combined with a to-do list that is as long as Lebron James is tall makes me yearn periodically for total, utter relaxation. In its purest form, this means (at least for me) no work, no going out on the town, no photography, no walking around, no reading, no filling my mind with information, not doing anything but just sitting (or lying) around, watching people and time go by. Unfortunately, I've always been (and remain) hyper-conscious of time. The passage of it, the efficient use of it, the pace of it, the waste of it. But sometimes, killing time is the best use of time.
New York: Union Square
Inspiration: The light drew me to this spot in the square. And then I saw these two playing with a crystal ball.
New York: Union Square
Inspiration: After a busy day about two weeks ago, I decided to walk home instead of taking the subway. Before I knew it, I found myself walking through one of my favorite haunts, Union Square. After hanging out on the steps for a few minutes, I saw this guy making his way to the large open area adjacent to 14th street. He looked odd. But I thought nothing of it at first. Lots of people look "odd" in this town. Sporting the face paint of a Kabuki artist, he strode up within a few feet from the steps where several people were sitting. He wore all white, right down to the cap on his head, with the word "why" stenciled up and down the back and front of his shirt. One of his hands clutched a bag filled with various items and the other wielded a large pizza box. He put down the pizza box and pulled from the bag a six-pack of beer, a venti cup of Starbucks coffee, a book of art with a beautiful shiny cover, a pack of cigarettes and several packs of gum. At that point, I thought he was gearing up for a picnic of sorts. Um, no. At this point, the scene became a bit strange. He pulled the slices of pizza from the box one by one and and formed a circle with them. He shredded the beautiful book and placed the pieces between the pizza slices to complete his circle. Afterward, he placed the beer cans on the pizza slices. As this progressed, I instinctively raised my camera and clicked, hypnotized and perplexed by this morbid ritual. Behind me, one guy said: "What the f---." His friend responded: "Dude, I don't know." Yeah. Exactly. At this point, the Why Guy was chewing gum furiously. He used the sticky wads to secure cigarettes to the tops of the beer cans. For his final act, he picked up the huge cup of coffee, stood in the middle of his circle, gulped the coffee and almost simultaneously spewed it out towards the crowd in arcs of brown. I was so grossed out (I have an unnaturally queasy stomach). But I realized that I can take photographs even while suppressing the desire to throw up. He spun around slowly, spewing coffee in each direction. Another photographer knelt on the ground within a foot of this guy snapping pictures. She probably took way better photos than I did, but in this case, I wasn't about to risk my person and my already lurching stomach for the perfect photographic angle. While spewing coffee, he reached into his pockets and pulled out a fist full of change, which he threw at the crowd as he turned. Then. Without notice. He put the cup down, coffee dripping from his clothing. And left. He walked away leaving a rather expensive mess (think about it: a whole pizza, six-pack of beer, a pack of cigarettes, a book of art, change, gum and a Venti Starbucks coffee amount to at least $75 bucks). Some of the homeless guys who hang out at the square jumped in between the slices and coffee remains to gather up the change. When I looked up, the Why Guy had almost disappeared into the crowds on Broadway, visible only by the "Why" imprinted on his back. Leaving all of us who'd witnessed this act asking the same question.
So . . . have any of you fellow New Yorkers seen this guy before?
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