Well, there’s no denying it.  I’m in a bit of a grumpy funk today.  I attribute it to this winter weather.  We had a glimmer of spring a couple days ago… two days in a row of fifty and sixty degree bliss.  The energy of spring was in the air.  I walked and walked and walked, camera in hand, a lightness in my step and a new outlook on the city around me .  New York is awesome when springtime starts poking around the corner.  Everyone is outside, coats off, smiles, a crackle of excitement in the air.  Hope and possibility on our minds as we collectively breathe a sigh of relief that we survived the winter months.

So that happened on Thursday and Friday and then Saturday came roaring through with fifty mile per hour freezing cold winds and then Sunday brought us snow.  And now here we are…  white wintry sky, snow once again on the ground, a thirty degree chill in the air and those forty-eight hours of spring feeling like just a big tease.  I’m grumpy.  I need a change of scenery big time.

But I am happy to say, my mood started to lift a bit as I began going through and working on my photos from over the weekend. The lack of inspiration I’m feeling inside is not really apparent in the photos I took.  I’m actually quite pleased with several of them.  So that helps. 🙂

Photo 314 out of 365 – “Old Man in Washington Square Park”

"Old Man in Washington Square Park" - Settings: ISO 100, f/4, 1/800 sec, 50mm lens

I took this on Thursday – it was beautiful outside and Washington Square Park was buzzing.  I spent about an hour there, moving around to different areas of the park, observing and taking pictures.  I was sitting on a bench when I caught a glimpse of this man approaching.  I love the way he looks – his long serious face, his hat, his wool coat… he looks like a man who has stories to tell.  I’m so glad I was able to snap the picture before he was gone, though I wish I had more time with him – to learn about his life and to take pictures of his super expressive face.  I played with the coloring and vignetting in Lightroom later on to give the photo an aged look.  I’m really pleased with the way it came out.

On Friday I met another interesting character… Captain Bob .  I was waiting for the bus to take me up sixth avenue and Captain Bob was waiting alongside me.  I got the vibe right away that he’d be open to me taking his photo, which he was.   Then, as we parted ways, he gave me a hand-drawn business card with “Captain Bob” on it along with a cartoon drawing of a Captain, an NYC address and phone number complete with an extension.  Again, I wonder what Captain Bob’s story is… is he really a Captain?  Does he have any family?  Did he work for USA Today?  Is he a little quirky?  A little crazy?  I don’t know, but I had a nice moment with him and he came across as very kind.  People are so interesting to me.

Photo 315 out of 365 – “Captain Bob”

"Captain Bob" - Settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/4000 sec, 50mm lens

On Saturday we stayed in most of the day until later on the evening when we hopped a train to Brooklyn for “game night” with some friends.  We got there a bit early, so we sought shelter from the gusty freezing wind in a cozy little place called Brook.Vin in South Park Slope.  We had a glass of wine and a taste of a delicious cheese called Von Trapp, Oma.  It is a raw cow’s milk washed-rind cheese from Vermont, made by the Von Trapp brothers and aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill.  It’s meaty, perfectly pungent and delightful.  I took this photo while eating cheese and drinking wine at the bar.  I played with the color a bit in Lightroom to give it this cool, moody look.

Photo 316 out of 365 – “Blossoms Against a Brick Wall”

"Blossoms Against a Brick Wall" - Settings: ISO 3200, f/1.4, 1/15 sec, 50mm lens

And to finish off the weekend, yesterday I went wedding dress shopping with my lovely bride-to-be pal, Pam.  I just love looking at wedding dresses!  Though I took lots of pictures of Pam in several knockout dresses, I cannot post them, as the dress must remain a surprise!  But on the walk home, I snapped this photo of a tree on 2nd Street that had about fifty pairs of sneakers hanging from its branches (rumor has it that marks a gang territory… anyone know if that’s really true?).   Anyway, I took lots of photos – some capturing all the sneakers, some from underneath, some from across the street, but this one is my favorite.  I like the framing of the shot with the branch running along the top of the frame, the brick apartment buildings in the background and the solitary pair of yellow sneakers.

Photo 317 out of 365 – “Yellow Sneakers”

"Yellow Sneakers" - Settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/250 sec, 35mm lens

So… that’s all for now.  Adam and I are going to go do a mini shoot on the roof.  I hope everyone is having a lovely President’s Day and that’s IT winter!  I’ve had enough of you!  Go away!  I’m ready for spring.