Quaint and English

Another beautiful and quaint front yard in Hampstead.  My favourite part is the flowers over the door.  A lot of buildings in the East Village in New York City seem to do this too, and I think it makes a place look so much like a home, rather than just another city building.  

Hampstead, London, England, UK

Like this?  Take a look at Brownstone.

Charming

I was searching back through some of my photographs, and remembered an entire album that I had taken in Hampstead Heath, back in London.  I've only posted a few photographs from that day, but I took over five hundred.  Unfortunately, the photo quality on these is a little bit blurry due to the broken-ish state of my camera the day these were taken.  I like them enough to want to share them with you despite this fact, and I hope that they are enjoyable regardless. 

Here is someone's lovely front yard full of pale, pink tulips. 

Hampstead, London, England, UK

Like this?  Take a look at Two Lips.

Morbid Perch

So, I was walking past Trinity Church in the Financial District, and I saw a pidgeon perched right on top of a gravestone.  My camera was out in a flash as I started to snap away at the bird.  Another pidgeon looked at the first, and stood on top of the adjacent double gravestone.  I was ecstatic!  What a neat happenstance.  Then, a third joined in.  The pidgeons were tilting their heads around as they noticed that some tourists had joined in the fun.  It's as if they were posing for us.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Take a look at some much more intimate pidgeons in Lovebirds.

Falling Water

This is a close-up shot of the fountain in the middle of City Hall Park.  I feel that this park tends to be one of lower Manhattan's forgotten sights.  The Brooklyn Bridge is visible a block away, City Hall is on the other side, it's just a few blocks downtown to Ground Zero.  But this park is always full of beautiful contemporary statues that change periodically.  Art and life are all over this park.  The fountain is gorgeous, and the lamps actually contain burning gas rather than lightbulbs.  Neat.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Take a look at Frogger.

A Sense of History

Taken in front of the Catholic Church of St. Andrew, right across the street from City Hall.  I love how beautiful and simplistic this church is.  The colors are subtle and attractive.  Thought I've never been inside, I hope that the interior and the exterior are similar in design. Yellow and pink flowers filled the large planted areas outside of the church.  So lovely. 

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

I was just wondering, dear readers, where are you from?  I'm originally from rural Pennsylvania, moved to New York City, lived in London for a bit, and have now moved back to New York. Leave a comment and let me know :)

Like this? Take a look at Frogger.

Toad

This is another shot taken at the toy store in Chinatown.  I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the store, or the exact intersection.  When I remember it or go back there, I will let you know, because frankly, it was very cool.  Anyways, I love toad, and everything to do with Mario.  When I was a kid, I didn't own any video game systems, so when I got to college, and realized that everyone seemed to have brought along their Nintendo 64 to school, a fascination with Mario Kart began.  This made me remember that, which definitely made me smile.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Take a look at Shrubbery.

Child's Play

I was having lunch with a few friends of mine in Chinatown the other day, at a favourite restaurant of mine.  Before this time, I had only been there for dinner.  During the day, Chinatown is always full of people, and the stores spill onto the sidewalk with all of their neat merchandise.  The store next to the restaurant was no exception.  And, it was epic.  Hundreds of small stuffed animals hung on descending chains, crowding one another.  Very few of them were exactly the same, but they did seem to be at least someone organized by type and color. My inner child and outer geek flipped out, and I started cooing over the fun toys and snapping photographs of them.  This is one of my shots.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Think this is fun?  Take a look at Pink Is Pretty.

Chinatown

This was not actually taken in Chinatown, it was taken in Coney Island, and is the last Coney Island post I have (for the time being).  Eating was one of the most important things about our day there.  Stands were all over the boardwalk, selling all kinds of fried stuff, fruit, soda, and ice cream.  This one, however was my favourite.  Chinatown Bubble Tea.  I love bubble tea.  I think it's delicious.  I didn't think I'd find it at Coney Island.  What a wonderful surprise!  Yes, I did buy some, and it was excellent.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Take a look at The Performance.

Here I am with my bubble tea, happy as a clam!

Photo by Daniel Garrison

Enjoy the Ride

Probably the most epic looking amusement park ride ever, right?  At least I think so.  Wow, I love roller coasters and crazy thrill rides like that, but this almost looks terrifying- yet, gorgeous at the same time.  I didn't ride it the day I took this photograph, because we were all trying to save money, but next time I go to Coney Island, which will probably be in just a couple weeks, I have promised myself that I am going to try this.  The people look like they're flying!! 

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

If you liked this, take a look at Carousel, and a longer look at Creepy Carnival.

After the Party

Once again, this photograph is from my day in Coney Island.  Sorry for the barrage of photos from there- it's just that there were so many interesting things to shoot.  Thousands of people, carnival rides, food, a beach, street performers, sea life... it was kind of an exciting day for me.  AND I was with friends who were encouraging my stopping to take photographs.  So, basically, I took five times more pictures that day than I usually do.  Which means that, a bunch of posts in a row are going to be from Coney Island.  I have a couple more after this one.

Anyways, the content of this shot really intrigued me.  A group of guys were cleaning up after a party on the pier.  They had bags of trash, empty coolers, big beach umbrellas, and a grocery cart full of recyclables.  It just looked so strange to see a brightly coloured grocery cart sitting there, but when I took a closer look at how the sunlight was reflecting off of the water bottles and beer cans, I realized that the sight was actually rather pretty.  I hope you think so too.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

If you liked this photograph, I must be perfectly honest... I haven't really posted anything quite like this before.  So I don't have a stellar recommendation for you.  Thus, I shall recommend something random.  The Artist.  It's one of my favourites.  Enjoy!

Holes in the Sand

There was this one area in Coney Island, just off of the pier, where about ten children were digging shallow holes in the sand.  They'd wait for the waves to fill them up, then sit in them, cooling off in the shallow, constructed tide pool.  This little boy was waiting for his to fill up again.  

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Check out another child at play in La Fille et Son Scooter.

Happiness

Because nothing in the world could possibly make me happier than a giant, pink, inflatable dolphin on the Coney Island Boardwalk.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

If you  were filled with happiness because of this post, check out When You Wish Upon a Star.

Roses are White

This photograph really surprised me- with how little decided to come into focus!  I almost deleted it, then decided that I liked it.  After about a month, I stumbled upon it again, rotting in a forgotten album with some other photos from Central Park, and fell in love with it.  Now, I have decided to share it with you.  The vintage feel of this just kind of makes my heart sing.  And makes me want to go to five thousand weddings.  Well, maybe not five thousand, but you get the idea.  This rose makes me happy.  I hope it makes you happy too.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

If this did, in fact, make you happy, then Beautiful Disaster might just make you ecstatic.

Fool

So... I know that this is not coherent with the rest of this blog.  At all.  This isn't particularly lovely... but I think it is hilarious.  This clown was performing on the boardwalk at Coney Island, and this guy walked up to him and watched him, for about five minutes.  The entire time, he just looked unbelievably confused.  He moved progressively closer to the clown, until he finally acknowledged his existence.  They made eye contact.  They both looked confused.  And, I caught it on film. 

:-D

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Take a look at The Performance to see some other (much younger) street performers.

I'll Have it With Lemon

I love seafood.  I don't eat meat, but I basically cannot live without fish and shellfish.  Though I believe that animal lives are important... I'm sorry.  They are just so tasty!  Especially when they are fried.  Clam strips and fried shrimp are two small joys in my life.  I don't indulge often, because fried food is not particularly good for me, but when I do, I go all out.  So, when I was at a cafe in Coney Island, on the Fourth of July... I used the holiday as my excuse to essentially pig out.  I got clam strips and fried shrimp.  With lemon. It was a great day.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Take a look at Gala for another photograph of fruit.

Tips Please + Thank You!

This woman was working behind the counter of a cafe/ bar in Coney Island.  She just seemed so cool and happy.  Most of the time she was smiling, but I was taking photographs stealthily, because I feel very awkward about taking photographs of strangers, so I caught one her looking down. Heh heh.  I'm really not a creeper, I swear.  But, that is why there are so few photographs of people on this blog.  I'm trying to get over it, because I think that people are usually much more important than things, but such is life.  Anyways, her earrings were so nifty and edgy, and I loved how the crisp white of her tee shirt matched the crisp white of the plate rubber banded around the coffee can tip jar.  So fun.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

If you like this, you should take a look at Spray Paint.

Burger Queen

This just made me giggle, it was so cute.  This statue is on top of a restaurant in Coney Island, and from the Boardwalk, you can see the magnificent Wonder Wheel behind it.  Together with the American flag and the mug of Brooklyn Lager... it just looks so patriotic.  To add to that, this photograph was taken on the Fourth of July! ( That's the USA's Independance Day.)  I'm a vegetarian, but this cutie might convince me to have a burger.  So fun.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Take a look at Carousel for a very different kind of Carnival Ride

On the Vine

This is yet another photograph of a store window, taken while the store was closed.  I was walking down Park Avenue one night, pretty late, when this caught my eye.  It was a window display with faux grapes, mossy trees, and yellow forsythia.  Out came my camera!  And this picture was the best result.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

If you liked this, have a little extra fun with your wine with A Little Something Special.

Pink is Pretty

I think that my title pretty much covers it.  This rose was one of hundreds of bright pink roses in Stuyvesant Square Park a few weeks ago.  They were intertwined through trestles, and around small garden statues.  Once again, I found myself wishing that I had a garden so that I could fill it with roses.  

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

If you swooned over this photograph, or even if you just liked it, take a look at Spring.

Window to the Soul

So this isn't really a window to the soul.... but it is a pretty window!  And ny soul wishes that it were a window on my building.  I was just strolling through Bed-Stuy one day when I saw this- the entire building was rather lovely, but this window, with the crisp white box full of flowers, and swirly heart-shaped iron work caught my eye.  I'm jealous of whoever lives here.  They have nice taste in windows.

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Like this?  Try out Open a New Door.