Just beachy!

Montauk, NY

When most people think of the beach, they think about the hot summer sun and long days spent laying out or swimming in the (almost always freezing) water. For me, I think of watching the waves and observing the footprints in the sand. I would much rather go to the beach in the early Fall when the sun is still warm but the breeze is cool and relaxing. Plant my chair in the sand, grab my camera and just fire away. As much as I love where I live, the city beaches aren't exactly the ideal place to shoot, for me. Too many people for my taste. Haaaa.

Besides Manhattan, my favorite place in New York is Montauk. The beach is bliss! Perfect for doing what I love to do. Couples young and old, walking hand and hand on the shore line, dogs running, children playing and men paddling out to catch some waves.
I spend some time walking and shooting and then return to my chair to take a quick nap. It's just so quiet and peaceful that I can't resist.

There was one other beach that I enjoyed. It was in Florida. I took a trip back in February when of course, my luck, it was 20 degrees cooler than it normally is that time of year. The beach was a little windy but still beautiful. It had the same calm about it, like Montauk.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of photographing beaches, especially since there are so many more I'd like to see one day. On my list: Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Aruba and Tahiti. Hopefully I'll at least cross ONE off of that list before I die.

 



Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

 

I ♥ NY

Who doesn't love NYC? I could spend hours upon hours just walking around shooting pictures. From the sights of the buildings and parks to the people (and we all know how some of the people in NY can be). It's endless!


When I bought my first camera, I didn't really know what I wanted to shoot. I just saw something I liked or found interesting, and took the picture. As the years went on, I started hunting for the things that I wanted to shoot. It made photography THAT much more fun for me! It was like an actual scavenger hunt! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those spur of the moment "gotta catch this on camera" photos too!

When my niece was born, I went camera crazy! It's not that hard to photograph a newborn but once they start to crawl and cruise, all bets are off! I have a fast camera, but sometimes you still miss that moment you were hoping to catch.
 I started to focus more on landscapes. Nothing captures me more than Central Park in the Fall or Spring. No matter how many times I've been there, I always go back during these seasons! I've yet to take pictures in the Winter with snow because unless you get the fresh snow, it's just not the same. Maybe one day...

Last year, High Line Park was introduced over by Gansevoort Street and the meat packing district. Old elevated freight railroad spurs were redesigned and planted into an aerial greenway. The city preserved some of the original tracks, which I thought was pretty cool. The debut of this thing was almost as big as those huge waterfalls that were strategically placed throughout the city (which I never got a chance to check out).
 Being that I went on one of the first weekends it opened, I really couldn't stop as often as I liked. I kind of had to keep moving because of the heavy traffic of people. The tourist were out in full force that day. Every single person had a camera and took a picture of every bit of the entire "park".
In all honesty, I really didn't take that many pictures that day. I spent more time looking at the view from the park rather than what was going on in the actual park. I think I was more fascinated that I was able to see the  Diane Von Furstenberg building and was secretly hoping that I'd see Whitney Port come walking out and snap her photo (for all of you non MTV reality show fans, Whitney Port is from the show "The City").
I did however, take one of my favorite photos that day (My other fav. being one taken in Central Park).

Fav. #1- High Line tracks

                      Fav. #2- Central Park, Fall

 I'm always searching for that one photo that I want to blow up and hang on my wall in my apartment. I'm not sure I've gotten there yet but I'm certain that it will be of something "New York".  I think I find one that I love enough to hang on my wall but after a week or so, I say "Nope. Not it"
Out of 100 pictures I might take on any given day, I usually end up only loving one or two and that could be considered a good day! Here are a few from Central Park in the Spring and Fall and High Line Park.

A little piece of history

I never was a big traveler. As long as I can remember, I've always been afraid to fly. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to see the world and photograph it, but not have to get there by plane. I'm slowly overcoming that fear though.

Before I took my first flight ever, last year, I realized how lucky I was to be in NYC. People come from all over the world to see where WE live! It's amazing! I said to myself "New York City is incredible! I have an endless amount of photo ops right here in my own backyard!" That being said, my first stop was Coney Island!

Something about this place just makes me so happy. To know that my parents came here when they were kids, puts a smile on my face. I love being able to share something that they enjoyed. In May of 2008, I paid a visit to C.I.

 I hadn't been there since I was a kid, (I know...it's embarrassing.) so it was almost like I was seeing it for the first time. Here are some photos of my visit on that Memorial Day weekend in 2008.

These last few are more recent. I think I shot these in the Summer of 2010. It was the opening season of the new Luna Park at Coney Island so I had to see what it was all about. I was pretty proud of myself for getting the shots I did of two of these rides. They were pretty intense and VERY fast! Thank goodness for my nifty cameras quick speed!

This last one I threw in for fun! It was a mural on the wall of a tunnel that leads to the other side of the park. The other side leads to the entrance of the Wonder Wheel. I just thought it was cute..in a scary kind of way.

What does this button do?

 I've always been the type of person that likes to take the picture rather than be in them. Even going back to the simple days of "point and shoot". I started out with an old 35mm Minolta film camera that I bought for $300 from Ebay. It was as basic as they come. Simple to use but made you feel like you were a pro using a big ol' fancy camera.

 To me, the coolest thing was using black and white film. I felt like it made my pictures serious even if it was a photo of something silly. At that point, I was hooked! I needed to know more about photography! By 2006, my camera was shot. I basically used it until it died. Back to point and shoot...

Once I found out when I was getting my Christmas Bonus in 2007, I went shopping! I found it! The one! It was perfect. It was beautiful. The Nikon D80. It was like nothing I've ever seen. I was fascinated. So many buttons to choose from! If I only knew how to use it!

Once I figured out how to take a picture using the auto setting, I hit the streets! Check out some of my first photos with my fancy new camera!

My first entry!

Welcome to my blog! I bit the bullet and decided to give this a shot. I figured this would be a good way to share my work with others and give myself some sort of creative outlet at the same time. I'm no pro. Just a girl with a hobby. I look forward to taking my readers on a journey with me as I capture my findings on camera.