photography

Hello, Summer!

I am thrilled that my favorite time of year has officially begun!

This Long Slog seemed especially endless. But now that it’s over, I’m looking forward to all my long-awaited, beloved, hot weather activities: Beach weekends.В Outdoor eating and drinking. (Even just having lunch outside on weekdays, among all the other suits on Park Ave., feels special!)В River tubing.В Sleeping in my un-air conditioned apartment with the windows wide open. Waking up to sunshine—and getting out of ballet at 9 p.m. and still seeing the remains of daylight.

Welcome back, summer—I’ve been waiting all year for you!

(Miami Beach hut photo by Leo Caillard; see the full series of them here. Found via Architizer)

Thinking of Boston

As someone who lived, worked and ran in Boston—and still has many dear friends and former colleagues in the city—I am very saddened by the tragic events at today’s marathon. Stay strong and safe—you’re all in my thoughts and prayers.

(Photo by Bram Platel via Pinterest)

So Ready for an NYC Weekend!

I am so glad the weekend is here! My next few days are pretty full, but luckily, there are lots of nice, relaxing elements involved. My mom, sister and I are getting massages that we all got each other for Christmas and birthdays, and we have a family brunch planned for tomorrow. And I’ll be running at some point—our race is a few weeks away and I’ve only squeezed in four runs, so far! But I’m not worried. рџ‰

This week seemed to be chock full of awesome NYC photos. A few days ago I stumbled upon the one above. An Expedition 35 crew member aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station shot it on March 23; NASA recently posted it on its site. It’s truly amazing how clearly the gridded streets are lit up. And I love how easily you can spot Central Park and the riot of lights that is Times Square.

Have a wonderful weekend!

(Photo by NASA)

Whoa, Manhattan!

How stunning is this photo? It was taken from what will be the 100th floor observation deck at One World Trade Center, 1,250 feet up in the air. When the building opens in 2015, it’ll be 1,776 feet—and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere!

It’s funny; I can’t recall ever seeing another shot taken from this angle before. The clarity is astounding, and I love how you can see both sides of the island from downtown all the way up to my ‘hood, near the George Washington Bridge. Plus, it’s crazy just how much higher up this building is—it’s towering so far above all the others.

Pretty amazing.

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images via Gizmodo )

Firefall at Yosemite National Park

My visits to national parks have been few and far between—my first trip to the Grand Canyon was just a few months ago!—so it was no surprise that I’d never heard of “firefall,” at Yosemite National Park, before today.

For about one week each February, the sunset over Horsetail Fall creates an amazing illusion: It makes it seem like the water is on fire. And each year, hundreds of photogs trek to the park for a chance to capture this “firefall.” Some of the images out there are astounding—it really looks like red-hot lava, and not mere water, is flowing over the cliff!

Have you ever witnessed firefall in person? Or seen anything like it? (Yet another reason to add Yosemite to my list of must-visit places!)

(Photo byВ Jim Wilson via The New York Times)

Seeing Stars

I never saw stars until I was 20 years old. As a kid in Queens, I sometimes glimpsed the occasional one or two, but never a sky filled with them. It wasn’t until I was camping in the Australian Outback, during a college semester abroad, when I saw a night sky completely lit up with countless stars. The sight both wowed and shocked me—until that night, it had never dawned on me that I’d never anything like it before.

That’s why I’m loving Thierry Cohen’sВ “Darkened Cities.”В The French photographerВ juxtaposes photos of, well, darkened cities, with the night skies of less populated areas along the same latitude. So this is NYC with stars from the Nevada desert. If we didn’t have so many bright lights, that’s what we might see, every evening. ( NYTimes.com has a gorgeous gallery featuring several other cities from the project, including Paris, Rio and Hong Kong.)

And speaking of stars, check out this brilliantВ StoryCorps video—it’s sad, sweet, funny and inspiring!

Have a wonderful weekend!

(Image by Thierry Cohen via Socks Studio)

Animals in Hiding

Maybe it’s because we grew up in the city, but Mal and I are TERRIBLE at spotting wildlife. (She’s bad and somehow, I’m even worse than she is.) Anytime we’re hiking, our guide, or whomever we’re with, will point out an animal—a sloth, monkey, bird, deer, cool insect, whatever—and it takes us 10 years to spot it. Half the time, I can’t find them at all, no matter how hard I look.

So I couldn’t help but laugh to myself when I came across the work of Art Wolfe, a man far more talented than I am—both at spotting animals and photography. For his “Vanishing Act” project, he somehow found wildlife camouflaged in their surroundings and captured them on film. I honestly have no idea how he did it. Because if I were embarking on a similar project, I’d have a grand total of zero pictures.

Here are a few of his incredible shots:

And, um, could someone please tell me where the animal is in the photo above? I haven’t been able to find it!

(Photos by Art Wolfe via Bored Panda)

NYC Expeditionist

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