LAW AND ORDER

This neo-classical style courthouse in lower Manhattan was built in 1927 and is probably best known as a backdrop in the TV show law and order. It's facade has been used in that show countless times. But I kind of like a less common perspective-- from the top of the steps looking out at Foley Square and Manhattan.

CHARACTER

The weathered look of this building caught my attention, but I was in a hurry. I knew there was a photo to be made, but I also knew I would have to hunt for it a bit. I liked the geometry of the composition, the angles and the tonal range created by the peeling paint lends interest. A little wear and tear builds character, not just in buildings but in people too!

EAST END ART GALLERY

I stumbled upon this simple scene when I popped into an art gallery in Riverhead. I was shooting an assignment and cutting through the art gallery was a shortcut to where my car was parked. It was pure serendipity because I lingered looking at the exhibit and couldn't help but take a picture of this scene. Sometimes the shortcut winds up taking you a little longer, but it was worth it. Things happen for a reason.

NEW AND OLD

As I was walking on Lexington Avenue I looked up to see the juxtaposition of this new building with the old one. I just really liked the interplay.

BROOKLYN

AHEAD IN THE END

As I waited to shoot an assignment today I saw this building across the street and it reminded me of another time, a simpler time. A time when you could embrace the belief that if you worked hard and did the right thing you would come out ahead in the end. It isn't that simple these days.

EARLY LIGHT ON 125TH STREET

The first thing I noticed as I walked to my car on West 125th Street was the crisp light on the facades of these buildings. Then I noticed how they look like a bunch of building blocks, stacked on top of one another and next to each other. A hodgepodge of buildings that have had their raison d'etre reinvented time and again. I guess in that respect the lives of buildings are not unlike our own.

AT NIGHT

When I was reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Crack Up in college I came across a line that has always stuck with me: "In the real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning...." I think of this often when I wrestle with things late at night. Both thoughts and images can appear very different when shrouded in darkness. Something I might pay no attention to as I pass it during the day, becomes interesting at night. I have passed this building many times and never felt compelled to photograph it. Yet at night with the walkway lights reflected in the snow it looked both inviting and mysterious. The glass blocks added a sense of texture too and all of a sudden I saw things in it that I would never have seen in by the light of day.

EIGHTH AVENUE

As I crawled up Eighth Avenue in midtown today I couldn't help but marvel at the hodgepodge of architectural styles... old and new, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Somehow it all works. As I looked at it through my camera it was a bit dizzying. When I look at it now it almost reminds me of an Escher print. Okay, so maybe the silver lining to sitting in traffic is that I see things I would miss otherwise!

THE GUGGENHEIM

I seem to be in a museum mode and after my trip to The Metropolitan Museum yesterday, I found myself at The Guggenheim today. I don't get to this museum very often. Whenever I do I marvel at Frank Lloyd Wright's spiraling design which always reminds me of the inside of a chambered nautilus seashell. The museum is really conducive to just ambling along and being surprised by one exhibit after another. Today was no exception. I just have to keep myself from continually looking up at the architecture.

STORMY SKY

It was a gray cloudy day, but the sun still managed to peek through the clouds. I like the way the sun highlighted the relief on the facade of the building, yet the sky was cloudy and gray. There is color here, yet the photo has a monochromatic feel to it.

NOT SO FLAT IRON

I have driven past the legendary Flatiron building in Manhattan countless times and really not given it much of a thought. Recently, I walked past it and stopped to take a closer look. I was amazed by the detail and design in the facade. As I looked up from the sidewalk below it was so imposing, almost overpowering. It reminded me of the prow of a ship. What a beautiful building.