Rainy

The conditions are not always the best to take pictures in the rain, but the resulting shots are far more interesting than when on dry land. Street lights, traffic lights, car taillights, neon lights all pop. The water reflection on the pavement creates a doubling and surrealistic effect. Umbrellas provide colorful elements that are a nice accessory. When it's raining, frequently I will go out and try to find a dry perch to that can give me a view of the street activity.

The problem is that its wet outside when it rains. It's a bit harder to take a picture when you're holding an umbrella. The lens gets wet. It can be cold. But, it's worth it.

Alleys

I discovered an alley I never noticed before. It might actually be a street. I decided to cut through and found a number of sites that homeless people had setup. There was a lot of character and a few people wandering around. It struck me as strange that on either end of the alley, life went on as usual. But, passing through this cut through was more like going through a 3rd world country.

Smoking Women

It's not quite clear to me why, but I've noticed that the most popular pictures that I've posted on the Flickr site are related to women smoking cigarettes. Yes, there is a style and personality related to these women, but most of these are found by direct search by putting in searches for "Woman" and "Smoking", so they are being specifically sought out. These pictures jump statistically in the "view" statistics, and they have style but they are not necessarily more remarkable than other less "popular" photos.

Click the sideshow and see the ones that have gotten the most attention:

Tickertape Parade

A tickertape parade. I always wanted to experience one, but they are not as common as they once were. There are commemorative strips embedded in the sidewalk up Broadway that record each parade. They were rather regular in the '50s, any visiting dignitary seemed to have one. Lately though, it has only been for NY sports champions.

The victory by the Giants in the Super Bowl, quite a feat as they beat the undefeated Patriots, sparked the parade that I had sought. The crowds started assembling 5-6 hours before parade time. The streets were busy with excitement as the anticipation grew.

While, the focus was on the Giants as they went by in the parade trucks, there was a buzz and electricity on the blocks, called "The Canyon of Heroes". Waves of enthusiastic crowd noise circled up and down the avenue. People hung from balconies and looked out of windows, and the floors were littered.

I started taking pictures as people got ready, then as the parade approached I got a perspective from the 39th floor of an office building. Then descending in the midst of the crowd to see what was going on there. The atmosphere was electrifying.