City that breaks all stereotypes. Almost forces you to change the perspective. Wonderful, emotional metropolis . Yet a place very far from my idea of "good home". I'm eager to tell You some more on it from my very short trip to NY.
[ 5th Ave, lucky shot with no yellow cabs ;) ]
I was walking down the Broadway from Columbus Circle one day. It was a busy, warm morning, with lots of people on the streets [ there is barely a time when this isn't true btw. ]. Without big rush we - me and my wife were following the flow...
[ Times Square after short, summer rain, man this Vader! ]
We were walking behind a disabled guy for af ew minutes. He was a man in his 50-ties, with artificial part of his leg and mechanical arm. You know the type - older clothes, tidy, but ones that seen a lot...
[ Tried to merge two worlds - Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral ]
Walking forward I forgot about this person and lost contact with him, or rather i changed my interest. 50-80 meters in front, I saw a beggar lying by the building wall. As we came closer I realized this was a girl. Young, pretty girl...
[ Times Square, during short storm, 35 1.4 ]
There was some note on the paper board but I didn't even read it. I've started to wonder what was she doing here? I didn't wanted to pigeonhole her, this could be just her own decision or some kind of trip she took....
[ Times Square, one minute later ]
And then it happened. The disabled man came slowly to her, opened his bag, and threw her some money. I know, I should't judge her, but this is something that shows how we are used to stereotypes, how they control our thoughts...
[ somewhere around 8th Ave, a little misfocus but light saves everything ]
I'm so grateful this happened in front of my eyes and that there is this city, NY, where it's just natural.
[Times Square ]
Anywhere I go on the globe, I expect completely different light. From places I've been it was most prominent in San Francisco - the haze, the sun, just marvelous. NY has its own uniqueness - especially in very bright sun coming through parallel streets.
[ Hudson River, Fuji's Classic Chrome in full flavour ]
I takes brass balls to train at the entrance to Metro! Very charismatic person, I hope not mad for me for taking this photo ;). But public space on the other hand has its rules.
[ somewhere in Manhattan ]
It's kind of obvious but you know - anywhere is a great place to live when you have money. Poland, France, US, Korea. Not worrying about income allows you to set your life the way you like it and want it.
[ View at China Town from Manhattan Bridge ]
But it's not that great without cash. There are places where you can be poor and still very happy. But there are some where it can be very hard and frustrating. It might be the case with US, and California comes to my mind as one of those places. Am I wrong?
[ View from Manhattan Bridge ]
One of the shots I really like - variety of NY in every aspect. Don't be angry at me ;) for shooting You.
[ Washington St., "blind" shot ]
This happened somewhere in lower manhattan, near Brooklyn Bridge. We were after a walk through Little Italy & China town. Tola [ my wife ] was a bit tired so she asked if she could rest a bit in small park - "Playground one" on Madison street. I wanted to wander even more so I set my feet along Madison just breathing NY...
[ Little Italy ]
After few minutes of my walk I met a guy. Young, black, smiling. Sorry for what I say, but I was a bit careful. I was holding my FF Dslr in hands, and he was interested in it. Stereotypes in my head from movies & media started to grow.
[ Manhattan Bridge ]
He asked my about "time" or something I don't remember now and then changed topic to my camera...
[ NY metro ]
Warning light was blinking in my head. There was even a second man few meters away. Probably his friend, also looking at me. No one else was near. Yet as a very optimistic person I continued the conversation."How much is it worth?" first guy asked about my Nikon. 500$ bucks i said.
[ Middle of Manhattan, trying to catch the Starbucks feel ]
With a bit of stress I shown him the camera. "I'll never be able to buy something this precious" he said. There was a bit of sorrow in this, but not to much, as he just smiled and we split at the end. What to say, these fucking stereotypes. And so lucky we photographers are debating about best gear and other shit ...
[ West 4th Street ]
Colorful, diverse, expensive yet with great cheap food. There is something for everyone here.
[ Washington Square Park ]
Just my observation, but when I first visited US, it was SF/California. I really liked it [ specially Monterey ] but people felt very artificial, "too happy", "too interested", "too helpful". Always smiling "how are You". NY is plain, unaffected, just natural.
[ Central Park ]
It's just so busy, crowded, requiring your attention. It gives a lot but in the long term could take much too. Or maybe I'm just too used to my calm Warsaw suburbs and polish mountains :)
[ under The High Line ]
Again, New Yorkers rock.
[ on The High Line ]
When you start to wonder and then read about it you realize that Manhattan is owned by funds, big money, very rich people, very limited group. And yet almost 2 million people live here. It's not their city, they are just ants, consumers, in this huge money making machine.
[ Manhattan ]
But what to say, it has the mood and saturation like in the movies. Not artifical, staged, edited, it's just there - every 24/7.
[ near Times Square ]
Who said it was only for cars? I pretty sure most people seeing him were so jealous :). And btw - go visit NY!
[ near Times Square again, had to compensate the blur with grain ]