Look Down
Maybe it’s nostalgia from growing up riding Boston’s subway trains that makes the New York system so captivating to me — the dingy stations, the drama of arriving trains, the aloneness of working class commuters and aimless riders, and the artfulness and daring criminality of graffitti.
Don’t be disgusted by this underworld. Absorb it. Maybe discreetly shoot a batch of images.
Be sure to click/tap on photos for a closer view. And check out other ways to see New York City … Look Around, Look Up, People.
Feel the Exhilaration
Watch Out for Alligators
STOP! You almost stepped on the alligator coming out of the sewer on the floor of the 14th Street subway station. Lots of these creatures hang out in NYC — and, actually, around the world. They’re by Tom Otterness with the theme of dysfunctional capitalism.
When in Union Station
Underground Museum
Want to see similar photos?
Look Up
Manhattan is an island of canyons; they’re called streets and avenues. As you walk them, focus on the canyon walls: their variety, textures, and how light plays on them.
Look Around
Even on a drizzly evening unusual things are happening around you, so keep your eyes open and ask yourself not only what but why.
Look at People
New York is an implosion of diverse folks living their individuality. Some will fascinate you, others with make you uncomfortable. But all are humans like us.
Want to travel to other places?
Barcelona
Barcelona is an explosive visual experience of architecture, markets, and street folks, dominated by the billiant imagination of architect Antoni Gaudí whose mystifying church, La Sagrada Familia, has been under construction for over 140 years. Then there is the brilliant colors of the marketplace and the absorbing daily lives of locals.
Ireland
This is my visual take of over 150 waking hours of experiencing the contradictioins of Ireland, a landscape strewn with rocks and bogs and yet stunning beauty; a history of internal conflict and surprising reconciliation; and interminable struggles with famine, money, and dependency and yet determined problem-solving and amazing business acumen.
Saudi Arabia+
Over the years I consulted in Saudi Arabia and explored the Arab Gulf region, I was fascinated by the area’s opulence of magnificent mosques and ambitious commercial developments, by the implosion of multicultural people in the “oasis” cities — Riyadh, Jubail, Dubai — by the graciousness of everyone, especially Saudis, and by the love for the desert.
Sicily
Sicily is a place for drifting and sifting — and, consequently, of surprises. Recognizable, must-see landmarks are few. So you go there relatively uninformed and open to drifting around the island. Then comes the joy of sifting through the centuries of invaders — Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Normans – while experiencing the surprises of unforgettable food, welcoming locals, and camera-grabbing scenery.