On my recent vacation to New York, I went out one clear night to shoot from an abandoned pier. After spending a couple hours out shooting, about to go inside, I noticed that a giant purple building at the bottom of Manhattan had moved and gotten bigger. I threw on a zoom lens, took a shot, and took a close look. Turns out, it was the largest private boat I had ever seen, moving very slowly up the Hudson river.

I ran back in the condo, got some longer zooms, and went back out to get some shots as it came up the river and got in the frame with the empire state building. Below is the shot I waited for. 

I am a fan of beautiful water going vessels, as I have spent many weekends out on the lake here on jet skis, and my parents cabin cruiser. So when I see beautiful engineering and architectural specimen like this I always try and get a good shot. 

While waiting for the ship to make its way slowly into my frame, I did some googling. This is the 6th largest yacht in the world. This is also one of the most expensive in the world, costing over half a BILLION dollars. Blows my mind to see that some people have that kind of riches, while the majority are in poverty. I can appreciate this beautiful ship, and want one for myself, but it is hard to think that some one born into royalty and worth 50 billion dollars can have such a life. I am starting to sound a bit whiney but IT'S NOT FAIR lol. hahaha jealous I guess, because I dream of sailing the world and what better way than on a vessel like this. 

Hope you enjoy today's pic :)

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Topaz Super Yacht

So I have been getting a little more gritty with my editing lately if you haven't noticed. This particular photo I did something that I had never done before. Not because I wasn't able to do it, but because it was teetering on the line of my editing ethics.

Usually I like to bring out what was already in a photo rather than manipulate it. I always clone out garbage and things, but I try and stay true to the moment that was there. But I tried something on this pic that I want to see if you can notice. Do you see anything different? Look really hard because I added something that wasn't there, but was essential to making this a better photo. 

If you are able to spot what it is let me know. I will say that it did test my photoshop masking skills a bit to get done properly. Anyways, I like how the image came out and I don't feel too bad. And if you can't tell then I did my job well :)

Hope you enjoy :)

On a beautiful spring stroll through central park last week, we came upon several street musicians. It seemed to me that musicians are a dime a dozen in central park. Most are pretty talented, otherwise they wouldn't be making any money. But some make you stop and take in a moment of beautiful sights and sounds in the middle of a over stimulated world. 

I imagine it's pretty hard as a street musician in the biggest city on earth. There is plenty of competition, and choosing a good spot is harder than I can imagine, I'm sure. This particular scene was in a tunnel, with absolutely beautiful architecture and tile work. The scenery was complimented in such a major way by the perfect choice of musicians. A violin and cellist filled the beautiful hall with equally beautiful music. 

After giving them a tip and staying to listen for a few minutes, I wanted to try and capture them in a way that personified the mood they created. This is the best I could do with capturing and editing. Only being there can truly provide the beautiful moment that I got to stop and take in. Hope you enjoy this pic of the day. 

So I just got home from the family vacation to NYC. We stayed in an amazing condo in Hoboken, directly across the hudson from the city and right next to the Ferry to take us across each day. I couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. Hoboken is the only part of NJ that is worth being on this planet, and the view from the condo was absolutely gorgeous. 

But if you know me, you know I can't just settle for taking a pic out the window. My wife and I took some shots one night from the pier right outside the condo. While she was shooting I was eyeballing a pier that had been taken out of commission by Sandy a couple years back. It didn't seem to have any access, but I had to find a way on it. 

After some investigating, I found one narrow strip of broken concrete and rebar holding this pier to the street. It was about 5 feet long and 2 foot wide, of jagged loose cement. The next night I hoped a pretty small fence and lowered myself down and jumped across to the sketchy swaying pier.

I spent about an hour shooting all kinds of interesting things, up and down it, but this shot was one of my favorites. Edited during a layover in atlanta on my way home today, I bring you the Pic of the Day :)

Hope you Enjoy.

Today my wife and I walked around mid town Manhattan a bit more, visiting the metropolitan museum of art, Hayden planetarium, and strolling through central park, stopping here and there for a bite to eat. As the day moved on we headed into Brooklyn to buy some discount broadway ticket for a show tomorrow. We got the tickets and met up with the rest of my family. 

We then spent the evening at Coney Island. While my wife and sister rode rides, I noticed the beautiful sunset and chose to run out to the beach to see if I could take advantage of the beautiful colors, and guess what was there waiting for me. The beautiful Coney Island Pier was a few hunder meters away on a closed beach. I hopped the barricades and sprinted down the beach to catch the color before it left the sky. And I would say I got there at the perfect time. 

Todays photo is the best shot I was able to get of the pier as the sun was setting over the Brooklyn beach. Hope you enjoy :)