The Animals of Manhattan

Some animals from around Manhattan (2008 edition).



Charging Bull (AKA Wall Street Bull). There's usually a throng of tourists around this sculpture, found at Bowling Green, Lower Manhattan, even at night.







Sparrows hanging out and bathing in Central Park.



A Duck in Central Park's Pond.

Squirrels found in Central and Battery Park.

Seagulls around Battery Park Pier. Must be nice.

Quick Hop to Roosevelt Island

I was walking around the city when I saw an interesting building on 60th and 2nd.

There was some sort of car hanging on a wire and thought that it was some aerial sightseeing tour of the city. Not wanting to miss any touristy opportunities, I dashed up the stairs, but noticed that there were the standard subway turnstiles at the gate. My initial enthusiasm quickly subsided as I realized that this was not some sightseeing tour, but just an aerial tram to-and-from Roosevelt Island. The ride was only $2, so I thought I'd go anyway just to see the island.

The Queensboro bridge from above

A view down 2nd (?) Avenue



The Queensboro Bridge as we passed

There wasn't really that much on the island. There was this factory, some abandoned warehouse, and a bunch of plain-looking apartment blocks.

The best thing going for it was the view of Manhattan. Actually, as I was taking pictures, some random woman came up behind me and started laughing at me - no joke. I suppose she found it funny that someone could find anything worthy of taking pictures of on her island.



The UN building as seen from Roosevelt Island.

A Walk in Central Park

Central Park (or any other park) seems to be a good place to start for the amateur photographer. There's a nice mix of people, animals, things, and events going on at any given time, so there's no shortage of photo opportunities.







Bethesda Terrace and Angel Statue in front of The Lake in Central Park. This is a fountain but the water is shut off in the winter. In the warmer months the terrace is filled with tourists and The Lake with boaters, but in January it's a much thinner crowd. However, the fountain itself is still a draw even in the winter.

A little wooden bridge over a dried-up stream just to the side of The Lake, along the trail that wraps around it - I think this area is called The Ramble.

At this time of year, there aren't too many animals around the park except for a few squirrels and pigeons. And of course some people, but I'm not ready to start taking pictures of strangers just yet.





Well, I guess I was ready after all. This (apparently homeless) guy created a flower arrangement on the ground in the shape of a peace sign, with pictures of John Lennon scattered around. I think he wanted tips, but I didn't see where people were leaving him money so I didn't. Where he gets fresh flower petals in the middle of winter I do not know.



Belvedere Castle. The sunset and ominous cloud formations made for a great end to the day.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

The First Post

In an attempt to free myself - at least on the weekends - of the tediousness of my job in finance, I decided to try my hand at photography. I'm a beginner/amateur at best for now (hence "dilettante"); I only purchased my first dSLR last fall, so I would appreciate any comments/critiques/questions of the images I put up here.

I keep most of my photos on Flickr, but I thought I'd showcase some of the better ones here. Most of the images will enlarge if you click on them. If that's still not large enough, I keep all the full size 5.0+ MB images on my computer so if you really want to see it, ask nicely and I'll consider sending it to you. Enjoy!

As of January 2008, I am armed with the following -

Body:
Canon Digital Rebel XTi

Lenses:
EFS 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

I also have the EFS 18-55mm kit lens, which is a decent kit lens especially for the small premium over the body alone, but I never use it since the EFS 17-85mm lens covers the same range with better results.

Books:
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D by Charlotte K. Lowrie
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi EOS 400D by Michael Guncheon
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
Learning to See Creatively by Bryan Peterson

Misc:
Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW Camera Bag

Pictures to come shortly!

UPDATE 01 June 2008/ I've been adding old posts from various places, so any post before this one are here for archival purposes. Just in case you were wondering.