Photobycate Weblog

Just Some Street Stuff

Although freezing cold  yesterday I needed to get out of the apartment and go for a walk.  Dressed cozy and warm in wool and down I walked along Astoria Boulevard toward the train station taking shots along the way of the everyday things that most people ignore but I love to photograph.

One interesting item caught my eye at the intersection of Astoria Blvd. and 23rd Avenue where there is a tiny triangle of a park with one bench and a few trees.  Outside of this little park I found a bronze plaque about the size and shape of a man-hole cover embedded in the sidewalk depicting the symbols of the Zodiac. This is the first time I noticed it and have no idea who put it there or why.  So far my researches on the internet have not turned up anything yet, but I’ll keep trying and update this post at a later date.

I took the train into the East Village and because it was getting very cold I did not wandered too far just around 1st and second avenue from East 8th Street down to East 4th street and back photographing the old and unusual as I saw it. I really enjoyed the street lights  covered in a colorful glass mosaic artwork from the base right up the cylindrical pole as I walked up 8th Street. I took my favorite shots of bicycles and locks, store fronts displaying something outrageous or interesting, people in a cafe eating alone or socializing face to face, old facades and strange bits of abstract art. My favorite shots are of the Double Bubble gum ball machines. So colorful and bringing back many sugary childhood memories of back in the day where a penny could buy you a little handful of candy!

When I could no longer feel my fingers or the tip of my nose I turned myself toward Broadway and the N train uptown to Queens taking photos along the way. I can’t say my day was full of excitement and challenge but it did give me a few good shots to add to my Urban Scenes, Bicycles and Locks galleries and a good reason to stay indoors sipping hot coffee for the rest of the day.

Enjoy the photos below.

February 13, 2012 - Posted by Cate Franklyn | Photography | abstract, bicycles, east village, locks, Manhattan, NYC, public phones, street photography, urban, winter' s day