The Greatest City in the World Part 1

I came back about a week ago from probably the best vacation I've ever taken. I went out to what still seems to be the hub of America, New York City. Over the next few posts, I'll bring to you some of my best vistas from my eight day trip, including my train ride to this magnificent city and my short visit in Chicago.

One of my biggest goals for this trip was to hit some of the views and locations that were less tourist trap and  played better to my imagination and my extreme eagerness. I do have several shots of well known landmarks, but they are more of an accidental nature. So, Sit back, relax and have a nice trip to the Big Apple.

Tom

The Chrystler Building, seen from near United Nations.

Third Story look inside The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

The 911 Memorial (South Tower)

the Statue of Liberty, seen from the Staten Island Ferry

A tour helicopter just after takeoff, Near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Battery Park

A guy fishing from just below the Brooklyn Bridge

A small police substation in Times Square

New York State Pavilion Observation Towers 

Central Park Near 5th Ave and 59th St

Red Bull Soccer Stadium, Harrison, NJ

Get the Point?

801 Tower on Figueroa, Downtown LA

I thought this was the outside of a nightclub in Downtown LA, but it seems to be a cool courtyard outside of a building that could be an apartment or an office building.

Little Devils

Alpine Village January 2012 - Shot with Canon Rebel XT, Canon 50mm f1.8,  Fujicolor Superia 400

I'm not sure what is the point of these guys but they look like they would make some interesting decorations. I wouldn't want to wake up to one of these guys on the table next to my bed though. Talk about Nightmares!!

Do the Brew!

Orange County Brew Fest - Irvine Lake, May  2012

This beerfest is always an interesting event. Unfortunately it's starting to get littered with hipsters and drunks. These events are for several beer companies to get together and introduce their beer to the public. They give you a meager 8oz plastic cup at the entrance for you to hold your beer. Now the point of this event is to try the beer and not drink it all. Unfortunately nobody knows that rule and the drunks come out of the woodwork.

Beerfests that I would recommend are

Noble Ale Works Anniversary in February
Bootleggers Brewery Anniversary in April
Brew Ha Ha in September
Brew Ho Ho in December

Another great one I went to was the airshow at the Riverside Airport. Packinghouse Brew Co held an event at their brewery, right across the street, where you could watch the airshow for free.

Enjoy your beer. Cheers!

Walking the Line

Shot with a roll of generic Fujifilm 100 ISO

Today's photo takes us into enemy territory. My cat Kyookii is walking on the edge of the neutral zone while taunting all of the enemy combatants (feral cats). My cat only would patrol the back yard and kept it pretty damn empty of the feral cats during the day. I remember one night leaving the door open and she saw a feral cat coming up close to the door and my cat zoomed off and chased the other one right outta there.

Bit the Dust

I might have posted this shot before, but oh well. I took this picture mid repair. Well, it was more like no repair because I had just found out that the shutter was permanently frozen and wouldn't go anymore. These old Yashica Mat cameras are some of the most inexpensive and easiest cameras to learn with. I love how the viewfinder shows everything flipped backwards.

Did He Save the Cheerleader?

Arco Plaza, Downtown LA - Shot with Canon 10D, Canon 50mm f1.8, ISO 400,1/640 @ f7.1

You might recognize this sculpture from Season 1 of Heroes. I'd been looking for it for a few years now and it turns out that I've walked past it several times. It's right across the street from the LA Public Library on 6th st and around the corner from the First Interstate building (The tallest building in the city). It has a couple of "it looks like" the main ones I think it looks like are a strand of DNA and the Cobra logo from GI Joe.