inSPIREd Sunday

The picture was taken almost 30 years ago,
when Kodachrome was king.  This is
the monastery of the Taxiarchis, in Panormitis,
on the Greek island of Symi.  My family and I
spent a couple of idyllic days here as guests of the bishop,
who showed us the miraculous icon
of the archangel Michael that's housed here.
(This is also where we saw the Milky Way
for the very first time.  
Unforgettable in lots of ways.)

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

"I'm not actually looking at you,
but I can still see you."

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

This is the lobby of a certain building
on Fifth Avenue that's owned by
a certain candidate for higher office.
I never thought I'd have anything positive
to say about him, but I have to admit:
His floors are very clean!

[To see more Weekend Reflections,
visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"unusual (#2)"

The canopy over the entrance to the Graybar Building
is supported by "hawsers" (a tribute to NYC's
standing as a seaport).  They went a step further and
added rat guards (just as a real ship would have)
and rats trying to get past them.  The circular designs
at the top, where the supports meet the building, 
feature more rats—supposedly these represent the ones that
did manage to get aboard.  Creepy but creative!

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—C is for "complementary colors"

And here's the full array.

[To see more ABC pics, go here.]

Buddha's footprints

And looking at the silver statues in the middle,
where is "see no evil"?  On the other hand,
what does that have to do with Buddha
(as opposed to those turquoise monkeys)?  Oh well,
it's what you might expect at a NYC street fair.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Saving the Planet

There are 12 of these globes on display
(until sometime in September)
as part of the exhibit "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas
for a Cool Planet," which traveled around
the world for years before arriving here in Battery Park.
Each one is five feet in diameter and each
portrays a simple, everyday idea for combatting
climate change.  You can see them all here.

[Linking back to Blue Monday at Backyard Neighbor.]

High noon

At the new(ish) Fulton Street subway hub
downtown—the shadows are
compliments of this.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

This flower is not the only thing wilting in the
heat wave we're having around here
at the moment.  (97°F/36°C today.)  And I
haven't turned on my AC because birds
have nested right underneath it.
Am I being foolish? 

[To see more b/w shots, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

emerging moon

I was coming home late from work one
night last week and saw this
(just about) half moon playing peekaboo
with the clouds.  Snapped this just
as it was emerging.

[To see more Skywatch Friday pics, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"unusual"

Not something you see every day:  This guy
was painted silver and had a parakeet
(on his head) and a kitten.  I didn't hang around
to see what his schtick was; I also didn't
give him money to see if it would make him move.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—B is for "Bill Cunningham"

Those young women were there for the same
reason I was: to pay homage and snap
a picture for posterity of the sign the city placed
at the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street.
 Bill Cunningham was the New York Times's
"roving fashion photographer" and this corner was
one of his favorite spots for catching candid shots of
NYC's fashionable women.  His photos could be
seen in the Sunday Times Style section every week.
He will be missed!

[To see more ABC shots, go here.]

The BFG?

More sculpture:  This is Tom Friedman's 
30-foot-tall stainless-steel work, 
"Looking Up."  It's been here on the Park Avenue 
median since January, but is scheduled
to come down this month.

[Linking back to Our World Tuesday.]

"Van Gogh's Ear"

I know it looks like a swimming pool, but that's
the name of this 30-foot sculpture by
Elmgreen and Dragset, on display at the
Fifth Avenue end of the Rockefeller Center
Channel Gardens until August 16.

[Linking back to Blue Monday at Backyard Neighbor.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Another view of St. Thomas church,
on Fifth Avenue.  I've featured it before.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

church doors

Peering through the doors of St. Bart's church
to Park Avenue beyond.  From peaceful
and quiet inside to bustling and noisy out there,
the difference is like night and day.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme. 
Also linking back to inSPIREd Sunday.]

Weekend Reflections

In one of the shops along the Channel Gardens
at Rockefeller Center, these pretty prisms
reflected the surrounding buildings.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"neat"

Wonderful things at my local greenmarket, 
all lined up neatly at 8 a.m. on
Saturday morning and waiting for the
neighborhood folks to arrive
(and they did, in droves). 

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—A is for "amber"

This jewelry is in the Maison de l'Ambre, located
under the arcades of the Palais Royal in Paris
and specializing (something the French do SO well)
in pieces made of fossilized tree resin.
Worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing—
and not even that expensive, considering
that this stuff has been around for millennia. 

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

A Quiet Sunday in the Financial District

A red food cart, a red bike, and
Isamu Noguchi's "Red Cube."

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday 
and Our World Tuesday.]

Dancer descending

This graceful mural, at Spring and Hudson Streets
in the West Village, is the work of the French
artist JR, who has created other dancers
around the city.

Linking back to Monday Mural
at Oakland Daily Photo.

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church,
and it's worth checking out at least
some of its history here.  Right now, the exterior
is undergoing a big renovation (you can see
the scaffolding through the window
at bottom right), necessitating the removal of the
Celtic cross and clock tower atop the spire.
It's a big job and the whole church is enveloped.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

I did not take this picture, but the person
who did absolutely captured my
daughter Lila—whose birthday is tomorrow.
Happy Birthday, Lila!
[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

Another souvenir from my most recent
visit down south: These sailboats
were already docked in a quiet cove for
the night, but I love to see them
under full sail out on the Chesapeake Bay!

[To see more weekend reflections, visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"warm"

Warm: the colors, the temperature,
and the recent gathering with
friends and family here in the Virginia delta.

[Linking back to Thursday Photo
Challenge and Skywatch Friday.]

ABC Wednesday—Z is for "zebra"

. . . and a cab zipping by.  Saw this somewhere on
Madison Avenue, in what's not exactly a
funky neighborhood.  Someone has a quirky
sense of urban design style, I'd say.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Happy 4th of July

Took my long lens up on the roof of my building
and got some shots of the Macy's fireworks 
display.  Not too bad for several 
miles away at night without a tripod 
(and it was raining)!
That's the Trade Tower on the right.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

(Red, White, and) Blue Monday

A very Happy 4th of July (and 240th birthday)
to all my fellow Americans from the 
heart of Manhattan—let the fireworks begin!

[Linking back to Blue Monday at
Backyard Neighbor.]

Trinity Churchyard

Trinity Church is down on lower Broadway
(at Wall St.).  The current building is
the third one, built in 1846.  (Its spire was the
highest point in NYC until 1890.)
Among the people buried here in the churchyard are 
Robert Fulton, Albert Gallatin (the founder of 
NYU), and Alexander Hamilton—Founding Father, 
bad shot, and current pop-culture icon.

[Linking back to Shadow Shot Sunday
and to inSPIREd Sunday.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Last weekend I stopped by to visit my
favorites at the Central Park Zoo.
I know the snow leopards are actually
quite fierce, but this cross-eyed
kitty looks like a total pussy cat to me.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

(Long) Weekend Reflections

Bathing suit?  Check.  Sunscreen?  Check.
Cool shades?  Check!
Don't know how you Americans out there plan
to celebrate the long 4th of July weekend,
but I hope you get all the hot dogs,
hamburgers, beer, and fireworks you want.

[To see more weekend reflections, visit James's meme.]