windows with numbers

windows with numbers, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

This is one of an insane number of photos I recently took while wandering around in NYC on the Sunday before Halloween. Life has been a bit of a blur lately, but looking back through that sun-soaked Sunday afternoon of pictures has been a fun pastime for me this evening.

As I wandered that day I spent a good amount of time in Washington Square Park, surrounded by musicians of various kinds:
- A guy who played an upbeat if somewhat repetitive rhythm on a series of buckets, drums, weights, pans, pots, etc.
- There was a group of men with various kinds and sizes of brass instruments anchored by a dude with a drum kit, and occasionally they would seem to go head-to-head with the pots and pans man.
- Across the central fountain was a group headed up by a guy who bore some resemblance to Jimi Hendrix. This somewhat spaced out area was drenched in guitar licks and little else
- Further away from the heart of the park, off closer to the busy streets was a jazz quartet headed up by a trumpet-player who would occasionally play two horns simultaneously, quite the remarkable feat to witness.

Still, for me, there was a lot about that Sunday that had to do with quiet. When I lived in New York for 8 months I felt like I could never find quiet, perhaps because of the constant bustle, perhaps because I couldn't find it within myself. At the time I was actually living in Brooklyn, an area decidedly less frenetic than the section on Midtown where I was wandering this October. Still, there's something about all the human activity that can be like water when you're alone wandering through it. If you're observing, it can all start to feel like a meditation, where you settle yourself to a state of consistency, quiet, stability, and witness what is passing around you without letting it tear you away from your focus point.

I could be way out on a limb here.

Regardless, the mishmash ramshackle front of this building caught my eye, and I love the result for so many reasons. Whether it's the huge block letters of the sign printed one-letter-per-page along the top of the frame, or the taped up window panes below. I love the school buss that's reflected in lower right window of the brilliant blue door. I like the panes of stained glass, such a ceremonial feature that appears here so unceremoniously.

I'm very happy with this picture.

I hope you like it too.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Keene Jackolantern Favorite Pumpkin 2, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

My last post made me realize I should say something about today being Halloween, so I'll say this: I don't know what it's like where you are, but it's a beautiful day here in CT, and it's supposed to get a little warmer in the middle of the day too. Hence, it's perfect weather for all things spooky. Well, maybe it would be better if a thick fog hung over the Long Island Sound, and wind was whipping through the trees, animals howling in the distance, a faint strange electricity of some sort in the air. But you know what? I'll take a sunshiny day. Happy Halloween, above is a pic from last year's Keane NH Pumpkin Festival. That is an event to behold, my friends. I hope to make it back up there soon!

Holidays Closing In

Goeffrey the Giraffe, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

Does it count to say that it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas when you see Geoffrey strolling the street outside Toys'R'Us in his red polo? Perhaps not exactly the most direct sign of Christmas, and possibly not even related... maybe he just wanders outside this New York toystore every Sunday afternoon. But he definitely caught my eye, and then I began to notice how most of the people reacting to him were adults, not kids, which is fine. The guy in this photo had just taken a few pictures of the Giraffe himself, and a different toystore employee offered to take his picture with Geoffrey. He had just refused and started to walk away when I snapped this photo.

Snow White and the Witch

Snow White and the Witch, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

Spent the day in NYC yesterday and most of the afternoon I wandered through Union Square, Washington Square, and other parts of Manhattan snapping random photos of interesting events. It was a beautiful autumn day, and the sunshine brought out folks, as did events connected to Halloween. This picture is one of a bunch I snapped by the dog walk in Washington Square. Someone had organized a doggie Halloween costume contest there, and this pair were one of the more interesting entries. I didn't really follow all of what was going on with the contest, but snow white and the witch were pretty great. I'll updoad a photo of the guy who dressed his dog as Jackie Onassis soon. There was also a pug that was either some sort of 80's party girl or a ballerina with tons of makeup, either way there were many dogs who appeared to be thinking, "Come on, what the hell did I do to deserve this?"

More soon!

Hope you had a great weekend.

No Swimming

No Swimming, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

I love this sign, posted near one of the pieces of rapids where people are least likely to swim. What is there, 3 or 4 inches of water here? I snapped this photo at Kent Falls State Park in NW Connecticut. The sign is posted not too far from places where water does pool in such a way that you could imagine people swimming, hence I wondered if they could have found a better spot to nail up their warning.

All in all, I think the rocks at the bottom left of the image are my favorite part of this photo!

Lazy Bloggers

leaves changing 01, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

Just take pictures of colorful leaves

Post them

And call it a day

Good thing I'm not one of those.

I write very brief bits of text to go along.

Headed to bed

light in the woods 01, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

Wow... amazing how time can slip away when you're editing photos! I took a slew of pictures like this one in the woods this past weekend, and this is the first I've dropped into photoshop. Honestly I took too many because I see them all and cant decide on any to edit. I'll get around to it. This one came out very nicely, I think.

Friday, here we come!

Color

bright red leaves 01, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

The last few days have been an abrupt change from the weather we had in CT this weekend. Admittedly, the weekend was bizarre, with temps supposedly into the 90's, but still, we've swooped down into the 60's now with days full of gray skies, intermittent rain, and a general feel of autumn curling its fingers in closer around us.

While walking in the woods this weekend I took a few pictures of leaves, and above is one that includes some amazingly brilliant red leaves. The color on some is almost unbelievably bright. Finding these sorts of colors is one of my favorite fall activities. Since cranking up my photo obsession a bit in the past couple years, I've started paying much closer attention to places where leaves catch light and become illuminated films of color. They're like the gels you see on stage lights when you go to a theater or concert... and one thing that makes for great fun in photos is that they're so often surrounded by other leaves capturing light in completely different ways.

Perhaps this is a boring topic for most, but I like this picture a lot, and I've got a few more like it that I'll be uploading soon.

Weekend Sun

mums and bee 01, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

So it's gotten colder again here in CT after a weekend where it seemed like Summer had returned to us. While it was still warm we spent some good time outside and I took some pictures of things like flowers and bees, etc.

Here's a good one... more on the way!

Out and About

walk in the woods, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

Saturday was a great day with a big walk in the woods, a visit to the local apple barn, and a chance for Emily, Lyndsey's neice, to check out some bikes (upcoming birthday).

This shot is from the start of our walk, and as you can see in the top left corner, the morning was a foggy one, but it all burned off within the time we were out walking, and it turned into a warm and beautiful day. Lots of leaves changing. It was great to get some fresh air. Oh, yeah, and I took a zillion pictures. Working on photoshopping some.

We love the MOON!

Lyndsey Andrew Emily Beach, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

Because it's good to us.

I like this picture because I think it looks like Lyndsey, Emily & Andrew are walking on the surface of the moon... except for the whole water piece... yeah.

Ladies Talking

Ladies Talking, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

This is another picture I took on our walk this weekend with Stacy and the kids. Lyndsey and Caroline are having a bit of a chat, and the wind is clearly doing some very dramatic stuff with Lyndsey's hair.