The Sites: New York City - Historic Building Day

Last year, I traveled to New York City for an extended weekend.  It was an opportunity to visit a friend I hadn't seen in years and finally explore a city I'd previously only experienced through its airports.


Each day was a different theme, either intentionally or by serendipity: Museum Day, Family History Day, Solemn Remembrance Day.  Because it was New York City, every day was Delicious Food Day.


My favorite was Historic Building Day.


There are few cities in the US - and arguably the world - that contain so many iconic images and places.  From the arts to politics to transportation to architecture, simply walking through the city is like walking through a giant cultural museum.


We'd already spent some time wandering the West Village, sitting in Washington Square Park under the shadow of the Empire State Building.  

We'd walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at night, with the Manhattan skyline beckoning us as we came ever closer.  

But Historic Building Day was a tour of some of the best gems to find in the city, both for the sheer beauty of the architecture as well as for the cultural mystique that they hold.

New York Public Library

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Grand Central Station

Flags of the United Nations

Rockefeller Center

Audrey Hepburn's hangout

Solow Building

Lincoln Center

The Tips: Perspective

In life as well as in art, perspective is a very valuable thing.

Framing & your zoom lens are two of the most powerful tools in your arsenal for taking great photos.  Sometimes it's best just to try and capture the scene in front of you as is, such as a landscape or a wider architectural shot or a skyline.

Blue Ridge Mountains; near Asheville, NC

Venus flytraps; Chapel Hill, NC

Other times, zooming in can shift the entire dynamic of the photo, where you can make the big seem small, the small seem big, or highlight the details that would otherwise be overlooked.

Riverfront Bench; Elizabeth City, NC

When I was a kid, I used to get a magazine where the back cover was an extremely zoomed photo of something; the puzzle was to guess what it was.  It was usually something innocuous, like a zipper or the wing of a bird, but it was my favorite part.  I'd like to think those puzzles helped lay the groundwork for my photography style, as I get really excited about finding those minor details that pack major visual punch.


Shifting your framing & employing your zoom can help make a good picture a great picture.  You may also need to be a little adventurous with your positioning: could that picture be better if you climbed up/over something or crouched under to peer through something else?  (Of course, be sure that you are always keeping an eye on your own safety, as well as honoring laws & regulations!)  Walk around your subjects if you can; you may find your own photo puzzle.

Flaming Wing; NC Zoo; Asheboro, NC

The Projects: Portraiture with Ashley Memory

Over the past few months, I've posted a few times about events for my friend Ashley Memory and her upcoming novel, Naked & Hungry.  

While working with Ashley on stock photography projects, she asked me if I'd consider doing some headshots to assist in promoting her novel.  As you can see from my collections, I'm not exactly a portrait photographer - and I don't really see myself going in that direction at the moment - but it sounded like a good way to expand my skill set and get some experience with a very sympathetic and understanding client. 

We've done several morning shoots, with locations including the NC Arboretum and the Forest Theater on the UNC campus, as well as Ashley's house in Pittsboro with gorgeous fall foliage as a backdrop.  We've gotten a little more adventurous each time and our third session at the Forest Theater produced the author's photo for her book cover.

In addition to the skill development side of things, this has also given me some of my favorite shots, even if they're not going on any book jackets any time soon.