If you've ever spent time here, for the first or the twentieth time, you know what this is. I suppose if you are from here it may be different, but I wouldn't know. But there's a vibrance that seeps instantly in to my soul every time I come here. Most would describe it as "feeling alive", but that's sort of nondescript since anyone who is breathing can actually say that and be correct too. But I think it still works. I feel like I get a couple inches taller, I walk faster, I notice things I maybe wouldn't notice in other places. It's tangible, and I love it. Every time.
In the winter, the cold wind whips around the buildings like flocks of tiny daggers, and the snow/salt/slush combo eats leather boots for breakfast. Taken a couple of painful spills over the years too, but I've learned sort of how to move with the ice here. And walking the streets filled with people, dodging and darting through gaps and spaces still gives me the same thrill it did the first time. I love to walk in general, and it's just next level hoofing here.
The people watching is second to none. I fall in love on every noisy street, in every cozy cafe, in every corner bar. With faces, expressions, colors, hilarity.. it's all here, all the time. The entire range of human emotions can be seen and felt in the minutes between 42nd and 44th. Impossible to process at the time, I find that as I sift through and edit in the middle of the night, I start to actually feel some of their stories.
I met my good friend Meredith at the MoMA after lunch at my favorite burger joint, Shake Shack. The fine art of a quick burger is readily apparent in there. Shake Shack, not MoMA. Some debate this, which is inevitable I suppose. It happens with burritos as well, thought there aren't the same number of burrito chains, that's more of a local and regional battle back in Cali. MoMA was cool. Henry Matisse is currently the featured artist, commanding the 6th floor with colorful cutouts, which to me looked like blobby leaves, but to others probably looks like the 9th dimension. Such is art. Unsurprisingly I found the most inspiration on the 3rd floor, photography and design.
Some of the art was so terrible I had to tear it off the wall and build a fort out of it. In other news, I'm not welcome there anymore.. No matter, NYC offers plenty of moving works of art. I enjoy the everyday, the street vendors, the working men, faces at crosswalks, one guy about to sneeze, etc. It's way too entertaining. I run all of my device batteries into the dirt every day here. They're like little kids at a birthday party post-cake and ice cream. They run hard and crash fast. And New York days are long, it's always 4 am before you know it.
If I lived here (which I heavily contemplate every visit) I would probably have to buy a hard drive every week. It's a photographer's wonderland. I focused mostly on humans yesterday, but one of my favorite views here is down the streets from the middle, at night. The colors are incredible.
One of my favorite images from yesterday almost didn't happen. I saw a reflection of two mannequins in a bus window, and it was just pulling away as I fumbled to shoot it. A little editing and it looks pretty cool, but it was pretty surreal in person. It looked like 2 aliens having a silent conversation. The best shots are often semi-accidental. A lot like life I suppose. The best loves, the best restaurants, the best nights out.. when you don't see it coming, it just has that extra something. I call it the New York effect. It happens every day here, everywhere. Love or hate this city, it never fails to entertain and inspire.
