Out and About in Brooklyn

My good friend, Jenny, and I met for a spur of the moment coffee this afternoon. She was in between jobs and me, well, being unemployed at the moment and not having been out of my apartment yet, was more than happy to oblige.

After downing our lattes and getting winks from the earthy, exotic barista bloke, we decided to head off to the local library in search of some English textbooks for her TESL class in the morning.

I just so happened to include the camera in my bag and was able to get a few nice shots. :-)

So many flowers

The lovely Miss Jennie

An old apartment building on Washington St.

A sunflower patch 'grows in Brooklyn'

Little 'Gordon King' - my neighbor's pup - soooo adorable!

My library finds :-)

Remembering

This photo totally took me by surprise as it came across my screen saver tonight. I not only was impressed, but also forgot taking it.

Come to find out, I snapped it while at home on my parents' farm in Pennsylvania back in mid-summer. One constant memory of my father will always be of him either out in the fields on his tractor in the heat of summer, or back at his shop tinkering away on a bit of machinery in need of repair.

And even though it seems I'm worlds away from those tractors and fields, there will always be some piece of nostalgia that takes me back.

I think it's that way for many of us.

Photo of the Week: Czech Auto

Taken in about 2007 in the countryside of the Czech Republic These little cars were quite common, though this has one has seen better days. They were a favorite!

'New York, New York - A Wonderful Town'

I have to admit (and in case you haven't noticed) I've been a bit down on New York lately. When a person lives here, it can be unforgiving. But there are many amazing sights and things to do despite it's unforgivingness.

In honor of 9/11, The Classic Movie Channel dedicated all films to New York on Sunday. I just so happened to catch 'On the Town', a 1949 musical with Gene Kelley and Frank Sinatra (*swoon*).  Musicals were part of our childhood growing up, so it was with much nostalgia that I watched this classic.

'On the Town'

'New York, New York'  (for some reason, I couldn't embed the videos from Youtube, so here are the links)

In the movie 3 sailors have exactly 24 hours of shore leave in the Big Apple. They explore the city hitting sites such as, The Empire State Building and Coney Island, all while looking for girls to spend their day with. Anyway, their excitement is totally contagious and gives those of us that live here renewed longing to enjoy the city, and perhaps even be a tourist for a day or two!

Here's a little taste of the Big City:

Old meets modern - Manhattan

 The Empire State Building

Ah, the famous yellow taxi

Statue of Liberty from Governor's Island

From Governor's Island

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Heights

With my friend, Amanda, in Times Square - '08

Vintage Coney Island

Well, I believe this about does for Coney Island. It's probably getting a bit redundant for you, so thought I'd liven things up with doing a vintage touch-up to the photos.

Enjoy!

Not sure why I was so enthralled with this - perhaps the amount of bad-assity contained on one street corner. Notice the guy on the bike to the far left.

We were like kids in a candy shop, lol ;-)

A favorite!

We ended the evening at a local pub :-)

Coney Island .. continued

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Here are a few other photos worthy of sharing from our little excursion last week.

We've fallen in love with Coney Island and have decided to set up a little shop there next summer.

Hope you enjoy!

Beach essentials

The latest trend - feathers in your hair (in case you're wondering). Trying to convince her to put one in mine!

Getting our caricatures done! We attracted quite the crowd :-)

Fun with Photoshop

Take it from me - not for those afraid of heights!

Ode to Summer - Coney Island Adventure

In a farewell to summer, my friend, Jenny, and I packed our bags and headed down to Coney Island last weekend. It was all we had expected and more as you'll see from the photos. :-)



The Boardwalk and Jenny :-)





Not in a million years!




Fried oreos sounded strangely good



Miss Jennifer

Love this!



Yours truly :-)



Mr. 'Hot Stuff' lol... love people watching!



These guys were intriguing

 To be continued...

'American Girl in Italy'

I just came across this article by Laura T. Coffey which made it to the MSN webpage today.

'At 83, subject of ‘American Girl in Italy’ photo speaks out'

Many have perhaps seen this photo at one point or another.

© 1952, 1980 Ruth Orkin /

Courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery

The woman in the photo happens to be Ninalee Craig and, as stated above, the photographer was Ruth Orkin. Both were young single girls who travelled Europe alone post World War II in 1951. Coffey's piece encases Ninalee's recollection of their adventures. A very delightful read for fellow travel enthusiasts.

© 1952, 1980 Ruth Orkin /

Courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery

Above: Ruth on left and Ninalee at right 



© 1952, 1980 Ruth Orkin /

Courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery



The Gentlemen - Bratislava, Slovakia

Have you ever taken a photograph and it seemed as though time stood still just for you? Perhaps it was as if the scene was custom made for the exact moment you would be there.

In fact, maybe to this day when you look at the photo it takes you back to another place and time so far away from the reality you are in now. Many photographers know exactly what I am speaking about.

One of my experiences with that happened back in 2006. At the time, I was living in the Czech Republic. My sister had come from Pennsylvania to visit me and we took a trip with friends to Bratislava, Slovakia. We strolled with our chums along the cobblestone streets of the old centre, checking out the quaint little boutiques, and an occasional coffee shop. Upon coming out of one of the shops, my heart skipped a beat. And I when I saw this, it felt like, yes time was standing still. In fact, I could not believe that I was actually able to capture the photo in time.

So there you have it - two men with their trench coats and hats just observing the sights of Bratislava.

Here are a few others from that same trip:



Terezka, my sister - Katie, and Majka



The skinniest house



The Bratislava Castle at dusk

One should most certainly experience a European city at least once in their lifetime - they possess such old-world charm and are definitely some of the most romantic, magical places I have ever been.