CMA New York 08

This past week was the much anticipated CMA Conference in New York City. I'd never been to NYC prior to this trip, so it was extra special for me to see what all the fuss was about.


SATURDAY

Rumors of bad weather made me nervous that I wasn't going to have very good conditions for good pictures, but luckily the weather was in my favor (at least for the first few days). I sat on the right side of the airplane which was fine up until the last ten minutes of the flight when I realized that a good views of Manhattan were on the other side. I did however snap a few good ones of the area from my side.

The 4,260 ft. Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island (south of Manhattan). This bridge was actually the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was finished in 1964.

The New York area is famous for its bridges, each with their own personality and look. The Verrazano-Narrows is a less-than-glamorous compared to some others in the area, such as the Brooklyn Bridge. Funny enough, almost all of the bridges that link NYC together are designed by the same man. Hmm...

I honestly don't know where this is. Afterall, I took this from the airplane window.

On the way in, I got a good look at the sea of people and buildings of Brooklyn. This is what I saw on the right side. The left of the plane saw Manhattan. I'm actually glad I saw this because I was going to see nothing but Manhattan while visiting. Seeing this from my window gave me a real perspective of how many people call this area home. I was almost taken aback at that thought of how many people are actually in view in the picture. Probably an unbelievable sum.

So, I landed at La Guardia in the afternoon, met up with a fellow editor, Briana, and took a shuttle to our hotel, the Marriott Marquis in the heart of Times Square. A guy named Jonathan Ong checked us in and recommended places to eat. He was very helpful for us first-timers shell shocked from the overwhelming scale of the city. Thanks Jonathan.

Jonathan said he would hook us up with a good view of the city. Here it is, a view of Times Square from the 24th floor. Nice.

Jonathan also recommended with try Asian or Italian in the area. After about eight seconds of consideration, we picked the first sign with Asian writing that we could decipher in Times Square. A lot of signs were shouting, this one just happened to shout in... Asian.

Ruby Foo's on Times Square. First thing you notice as an outsider - prices. Everything was about twice the price. I wasn't sweating it, I knew I was going to spend while being in the city. Foo's had some ridiculously good Pad Thai. Excellent meal for the first night.

Since everyone's flights were at different times, we were only able to meet up as a complete group after we ate. The M&M Store served as a good place to convene. There was a giant wall of different colored M&Ms, most of which I would never see anywhere else but the store. I was impressed. It's too bad some of those don't make it to your regular bagged variety M&Ms. I guess if they did, the store wouldn't be all that exciting (not that 'exciting' is the right word for it).

The group at the M&M Store. I asked the first guy I saw with a DSLR around his neck to take this one for me. He looked a little flustered, but the job was done.

Next up - The Hershey's Store, right across the street. Much to the delight of some of us in the group, the Hershey's Store exhibited some Project Runway dresses. I didn't know what was going on. The store itself was awfully small for the amount of people in it. In one corner of the store, a worker was passing out sweet hats.

Looks good on Kelsey!

Sadly, the hat did not fit on Breia's head. Sad.

Next on the Times Square field trip - Colony, a store with some awesome movie and Broadway memorabilia as well as more sheet music than I've ever seen under one roof.

Kelsey and Breia navigate through the never-ending isles of sheet music. I overheard one of the workers say that they do not have music for Legally Blonde the Musical. Interesting.

So many commands when in NYC.

Snapped while on the move crossing the street. There wasn't much room anywhere for any stopping and shooting, unfortunately. Also, I was traveling with a group, so stopping and shooting wasn't really a smart option at the time.

It seemed like the lights went on for miles when seeing them for the first time. The spectacle faded away after the first night, however.

SUNDAY

The next day featured what we were really there for as far as the convention was concerned - the Gold Crown and Gold Circle awards.

The awards were preceded by the conference's keynote speaker, former CIA covert operative Valerie Plain. Her situation - sketchy, wrong and unfortunate. Her speech - long, boring and also unfortunate. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to hear her speak about the injustices and malpractice of power, but not when I was sleepy and itchy to get out and do things in the city.


The fruits of our labor. Sooner/Crimson Traditions wins a Gold Crown, one of only two this year. Very Nice!!

To celebrate, we enjoyed the city.


Big shadows in the big city. Light falls very differently here than anywhere I've been.



MONDAY AND TUESDAY

From here on out, the days really mixed together. I'm not really sure off the top of my head when these were taken, and if I cared enough to look, I could fill in the blanks. But I don't, so I won't.

The line in a market/restaurant just off Times Square. We stuck to Times Square a lot the first couple of days and by then I was eager to get out and really see more of the city.


The rules.

Time to walk around. This leg of the trip took us into Grand Central Station, Central park, the Apple Store, FAO Schwarz and some other places.

The Chrysler Building as seen from street level. The weather was absolutely awesome.
The weather was clear enough to snap the details of the building from a street corner.


Grand Central Station

The station proved to be quite the place to shoot. It's big, yellow and full of history. Upon setting up for the next few shots, a member of our field trip Adam set up his composition next to me. I looked up and suddenly remembered a documentary I saw on the Discovery Channel. I thought it was important enough to inform Adam since he was right next to me.

Anyway, when the station was first built, the ceiling was decorated with white constellations and mythical characters on a green background. As years and years of trains entered and exited the station, a thick layer of black soot caked itself on the beautifully decorated ceiling, concealed for decades. Very recently, a restoration project not only renovated the station but also removed the layers of soot off the ceiling, revealing the artwork once again.

I felt really good about knowing a little history behind what I was seeing, which made the experience that much more enjoyable.

The busy terminal.

A look at the terminal in color. You can see a little bit of the green ceiling in this shot. I do have a shot of the ceiling, but don't feel like posting it.

Busy in motion.

I bet if I did my research I could figure out how old the clock is.


Our whole group. I set the camera on the floor of the terminal and told everyone to gather around. Again, you can see a little bit of the green ceiling.


Descending into the Subway.


Navigating the ancient tunnels of the New York Subway proved to be a tall order for some. I felt pretty comfortable with the system.


These magical cards can get us anywhere.


On the other side of the tracks. People in the city were understandably standoffish and cold, only concerned with the task at hand. It was a great look into how people lived in the city, at least how they got around. From what I gathered, it's a bitch.


Central Park

Local artists offer to draw caricatures for a mind-blowingly cheap $5 (plus tip of course). It's too bad I didn't take advantage.


Local wildlife.


A triangular shaped ice rink in south Central Park. Funny enough, it stank the whole time we were in the park. Relief from the hustle of the city can't be perfect I guess.


The Empire State Building

Finally, after however many days in the city, we got to see more of the city. Our first stop after one very early session - Empire State Building. As with everything in the city, the building kind of crept up on us. It is in the middle of a bunch of other buildings, so it would be easy to just pass by it and not even know. I assume that's how it is for locals.

It was about 9:30AM when we entered the building and got in line to get to the top. The building had a real sense of history. It even smelled historic. After navigating a labyrinth of rooms, lines, elevators and vendors selling Empire State Building stuff (not to mention a $19 ticket), we finally made it to the top. Needless to say I shot a lot while up there.


Looking south toward Downtown.


Southeast Downtown. Notice the bridge in the background. That's the same Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that I saw on my way into the city. Crazy.


Notes written in black marker dated 2007. I briefly thought about leaving my mark, but defacing isn't really my thing. I prefer stealing.


A look at the Statue of Liberty waaay off in the distance. She looks awfully small, I must say. While on the top, we joked that we should tell France that their gift is too small.


Mirrors on the inside offered me an opportunity for a self-picture. Lighting made it look old and antique-like. Post processing would have fixed it, but I liked it so I left it.


I had no idea that the Empire State Building was so close to Times Square. I know very little about anything actually. Here is a look at the other side of Manhattan. Times Square is on the left, and Central Park is in the distance.


Back in the Subway to go to Canal Street - a shopper's paradise and home to many shady vendors.


A street intersecting Canal St.

There's a good story with Canal St., but to spare you, I will refrain. It's a bit lengthy.


Little Italy

Little Italy and its many signs. The Empire State Building stands in the background to give you a sense of scale.



We ate at a splendid place called Giovanna's. The food was less than spectacular, but the authentic Italian staff and wall-mounted heaters made up for it.


Back at the hotel with our Canal St. booty, we took pictures of our spoils and found time to pose with some items left by Adam. Along with Adam's items was a sweet watch that he bought for his brother. Kelsey, in her quick wit, put on his hat and snapped the watch on her wrist for a sweet photo opp.

Here, Kelsey works on some post-editing on the photos we shot of her in Adam's gear.


After some Photoshopping, this is the best I could come up with. They came up with the phrase. This is one of my favs.

The night before we left we reflected on the trip. We all agreed that the trip was about the right length, not to short and not too long. Had we been there one less day, we would have felt bad for not going out and seeing more of the city. One more day, and I'm pretty sure we would have been so sick of getting up early, walking to no end and coming back to the hotel exhausted. Our 1+ hour delay at La Guardia almost felt like the city was taunting me, daring me to think about coming back for a longer stay. Perhaps a summer. Perhaps more. Anyway, I can say that I am pretty much addicted to NYC, and cannot wait until I visit again. Thank you NYC for a great experience. I hope to see you soon.