Anna is now fully deboxed. Her skirts are stiff enough to permit her to free stand, although she a bit unstable this way. She is posed standing, supported by her included doll stand. All photos were taken with the built-in camera flash.

 

Anna is in her coronation gown, with a velvet black bodice and green skirt. The bodice is form fitting, with multicolored embroidery and jewels, with a dark green satin shoulder straps. Her outer skirt is made of panels of yellow green embroidered and jeweled satin alternating with plain dark green satin panels, the pattern repeating ten times. The lighter green panels are tacked together with plastic T-tabs, so we don't see the full extent of the skirt. When the sections are freed, the skirt can expand to a full semicircle. Under the skirt is a full length yellow green satin slip, with a wide lacy hem. Under that is a 3/4 length stiff tulle petticoat. Under that are yellow green satin knee-length bloomers. Finally under that are full length stockings or leggings. Anna is certainly dressed for cold weather. Her legs are wired to the doll stand at the ankles and knees. Her feet are posable, and she is wearing black flats, which is rather disappointing given the gorgeous and unique shoes that Elsa is wearing. She is wearing a necklace, with the pendant stuck to her chest.

 

Her face is very movie accurate. She has a round face, with huge blue green eyes, long gently curving rooted eyelashes, thin dark brown eyebrows. She has a small pointy nose, thin dark pink lips in a slight smirk, and large round ears. She has orange freckles all over her face, extending down to her neck, shoulders and chest, and even on her upper back. She has a very pale complexion, but her sister Elsa is much, much paler. Her body is the usual LE Princess body, with full articulation in her arms and legs, and an upper torso joint. Her rusty red hair is fashioned into a large bun in the back of her head, with a spiraling braid around a small bun in the middle, out of which comes several thin ponytails, including two very skinny braids, and also several satin ribbons. In front are long curly bangs, and a tight flat braid over it. There is a streak of white hair from her right side, and ending in one of the thin pony tails hanging off the small bun.

 

Anna is very beautiful and elegant, very much a Disney Princess.

 

First look at the Harrods special edition of the Disney Store's Limited Edition Anna and Elsa Doll Set. I purchased it through a reseller, as it was only sold at the Harrods London store. It was released on November 1, 2013, in an edition of 100. The retail cost is more than four times that of the separately sold LE Anna and Elsa dolls (which will be released worldwide on November 20, 2013, in an edition size of 2500). My set is #39 of 100, and I received it on November 11, 2013.

 

They are 17'' fully articulated dolls, with doll stands and certificated of authenticity. Anna is in her coronation gown, Elsa is in her Snow Queen gown. As might be expected, the dolls are considerably different in details than the ''regular'' limited edition dolls. In particular there is considerably more crystals on the outfits, and embroidered snowflakes completely cover the outer gown (cape) of Elsa. Also, Elsa's skin has a pearly shiny surface, very similar to the skin of LE Ursula, although it has a much paler purplish color. She has unique shoes, iridescent blue high heeled shoes with a snowflake design. She also bucks the trend of fully articulated legs in the Limited Edition dolls, by having fixed angled feet. She looks much more elegant with fixed feet in the high heels.

  

Next to be deboxed is Elsa. First the spacer is removed from the backing, with Elsa still attached to it. Rubber bands are removed that attach her braids to her arm. Then the spacer is removed from her head by snipping off the multiple T-tabs tacking her head to the spacer. Under the spacer is a protective adhesive plastic cap over her hair. Remnants of the T-tabs are sticking out of her hair.

 

Anna is now fully deboxed. Her skirts are stiff enough to permit her to free stand, although she a bit unstable this way. She is posed next to her doll stand.

 

The next step is to remove her from the doll stand, and remove the tacking that pins the sections of the skirt together. She is laid back down, and her skirts raised to reveal the wires attaching her legs to the doll stand. The wires are removed to free her from the stand, and then the stand is removed by gently pulling it straight down with one hand while holding on to the her waist with the other. Then the tacks pinning the sections of her skirt together are removed, one by one. There are tacks pinning the yellow green sections together, and also tacks pinning the dark green section between them to the satin underskirt. Four of the back sections are freed, and so the back of the skirt can be extended to show nearly the full width of the skirt. Then the skirt is partially raised to first show the underskirt, then the petticoat. Then Anna is turned around, so we can work on freeing the front sections of the outer skirt. Finally all the sections of her skirt are unpinned, and we can extend her skirt to its full width. It almost makes a full semi-circle. Then to show the full extent of her skirts, the outer skirt is lifted over her head, so make a full circle. Then the underskirt is raised as far as it can go, and finally the same for the petticoat. Then her skirts are put back down.

 

We prepare to remove the spacers from the backing by clipping off the ends of the wires, cutting the rubber bands and threads, and removing the tape holding the tabs of the spacers to the back of the backing. Anna will be the first to be removed from the backing. The tabs of the spacer are cut, and the spacer with Anna attached is pulled from the backing. There are wires attaching her bun and ponytail to the spacer, and a wire around her waist that goes through the spacer. Also there are several T-tabs tacking the back of her head to the spacer. The spacer is then removed from Anna. There is still a wire around her bun, her waist, and remnants of the T-tabs in her head. The wires are removed and T-tabs cut close to her scalp. The back of her dress is opened to make removing the wire around her waist easier. We see manufacturer's markings on her lower back, under her upper torso joint. It also has her edition number and size: 39/100. The back of her skirt is sewn shut, but I cut the thread loose, so I can open up her skirt and see the top of her petticoat underneath. We also see that her satin underskirt is permanently sewn to the top of her outer skirt. Then her skirt and top are closed up, and she is stood up, supported by her doll stand.

 

Then we untack Anna's dress from the backing. Now the bottom of the backing can be dropped down. We can see the bottom of the two doll stands, and see the bottom of Anna's and Elsa's shoes. Then we raise Anna's skirt up, and see the many layers of Anna's outfit. Her outer skirt is made of panels of yellow green embroidered and jeweled satin alternating with plain dark green satin panels, the pattern repeating ten times. The lighter green panels are tacked together with plastic T-tabs, so we don't see the full extent of the skirt. Under the skirt is a full length yellow green satin slip, with a wide lacy hem. Under that is a 3/4 length stiff tulle petticoat. Under that are yellow green satin knee-length bloomers. Finally under that are full length stockings or leggings. Anna is certainly dressed for cold weather. Her legs are wired to the doll stand at the ankles and knees. Her feet are posable, and she is wearing black flats, which is rather disappointing given the gorgeous and unique shoes that Elsa is wearing.

 

Next we begin to undo all the attachments that are accessible without taking the spacers off the backing. First we snip off the T-tabs that tack Elsa's dress to the backing, as well as enough of the fasteners that pin the cape shut. We can now open up the cape and her skirt in the front to see Elsa's legs and shoes. We see that she is bound to her doll stand by wires. She has unique shoes, iridescent blue high heeled shoes with a snowflake design. She also bucks the trend of fully articulated legs in the Limited Edition dolls, by having fixed angled feet. She looks much more elegant with fixed feet in the high heels.

 

Deboxing the Harrods Anna and Elsa LE 100 dolls. First we open the box to begin the deboxing process. We can do this without damaging the packaging in any way, by sliding the multiple covers off the box until the dolls are in the open. We can also get a look at the Certificate of Authenticity, which is below the bottom of the inner box. The set is #39 of 100. The dolls are still attached to the plastic spacers and cardboard backing by wires, thread, rubber bands and plastic T-tabs.

 

First look at the Harrods special edition of the Disney Store's Limited Edition Anna and Elsa Doll Set. I purchased it through a reseller, as it was only sold at the Harrods London store. It was released on November 1, 2013, in an edition of 100. The retail cost is more than four times that of the separately sold LE Anna and Elsa dolls (which will be released worldwide on November 20, 2013, in an edition size of 2500). As might be expected, the dolls are considerably different in details than the ''regular'' limited edition dolls. In particular there is considerably more crystals on the outfits, and embroidered snowflakes completely cover the outer gown (cape) of Elsa. Also, Elsa's skin has a pearly shiny surface, very similar to the skin of LE Ursula, although it has a much paler purplish color.

 

They are 17'' fully articulated dolls, with doll stands and certificated of authenticity. Anna is in her coronation gown, Elsa is in her Snow Queen gown.

Saw this parked at In-n-Out Burger, of all perfect places to see a car like this. The owner has to be in his 90's (note the handicapped parking permit). I told him what a beauty the car is and he gave me the story. He's the original owner...48 years.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

**************************

 

In the spring of 2014, we came to Paris for a week of relaxed vacationing, mostly to wander around and see some old familiar places. It was a “return” trip for both of us, though in my case I think it’s probably been more than 15 years since I was even here on a business trip.

 

Business trips to any city don’t really count as a “visit” -- since they basically involve flying into a busy airport at night, taking a taxi to a generic business-traveler’s hotel (a Hilton in Paris looks just like a Hilton in Cairo), and then spending several days working in the hotel (if the purpose of the trip was a seminar or computer conference), or at a client’s office (also “generic” in most cases — you can’t even tell what floor you’re on when you get off the elevator, because every floor of “open office” layouts is the same). The trip usually ends in the late afternoon or evening of the final day, with a mad dash back to the airport to catch the last plane home to NYC. Thus, a business trip to Paris is almost indistinguishable from a business trip to Omaha. Or Albany. Or Tokyo.

 

But I did make a few “personal” visits to Paris in the 1970s and 1980s, so I looked forward to having the chance to walk through some familiar places along the Left Bank. I’m not so interested in museums, monuments, cathedrals, or other “official” tourist spots (but yes, I have been to the Eiffel Tower, just as I’ve been to the Empire State Building in NYC), so you won’t see any photos of those places in this Flickr set.

 

As a photographer, I now concentrate mostly on people and street scenes. The details of the location don’t matter much to me, though I do try to geotag my photos whenever I can. But for the most part, what you’ll see here are scenes of people and local things in Paris that made me smile as I walked around …]

This image is my property and no downloads or copies are permitted without my prior consent.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

****************************************

 

I had a lunchtime dentist appointment in midtown Manhattan the other day, and when it was over, I decided to walk a couple blocks over to Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library. It was a sunny day, and I thought I might see some gorgeous babes sunbathing on the park lawn in their bikinis (even being an amateur photographer is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it). If not, I thought perhaps I'd find some photogenic tourists or oddball New Yorkers that I could photograph.

 

As it turns out, almost all of the central lawn was being covered over with some kind of wooden platform -- presumably for an upcoming concert performance of some kind -- so nobody was sunbathing out on the grass. But since that area was unavailable, and since it was still the lunchtime period, the periphery around the central lawn was chock-a-block with people. There's now a cafe immediately behind (i.e., to the west) of the library itself, and it was doing a land-office business. And all along the north and south sides of the park, as well as the broader western side, there were tables and chairs and benches where people could enjoy their lunch with whatever food or entertainment they had brought along.

 

I was already aware of the pentanque court on the western side of the park, and knew that I'd find one or two good pictures there. But I didn't realize that the Parks Department had set up two ping-pong tables, as well as several tables for chess-players. In addition, there were a few card games underway, and there was also a section set aside for people who wanted to borrow local newspapers to read.

 

As for the people: I had to remind myself that because Bryant Park is smack in the middle of mid-town Manhattan (a block away from Times Square, filling the square block between 41st/42nd street, and 5th/6th Avenue), most of the people enjoying their lunch were office workers. So the men typically wore slacks and dress shirts, and a surprising number of them were also wearing suits and ties. The women wore dresses and skirts, and generally looked quite fashionable and presentable. Of course, there were also tourists and students and miscellaneous others; but overall, it was a much more "upscale" bunch of people than I'm accustomed to seeing in my own residential area on the Upper West Side.

 

I was surprised by how many people were sitting alone -- eating alone, reading alone, listening to music alone, dozing alone, or just staring into space alone. You'll see some of them in this album, though I didn't want to over-emphasize their presence; equally important, many of the loners just weren't all that interesting from a photogenic perspective. So you'll also see lots of couples, some children, a couple of families, and occasionally larger groups of people who were eating and chatting and enjoying the warm summer day.

 

Three activities dominated the scene, all of which were fairly predictable, under the circumstances: eating, reading, and talking on cellphones. You would expect people to be eating at lunch-time, of course; and you wouldn't be surprised at the notion of people reading a book as they sat behind the New York Public Library on a warm, sunny day. But the pervasiveness of the cellphones was quite astonishing ... oh, yeah, there were a few laptops, too, but fewer than I might have imagined.

 

I've photographed Bryant Park several times over the past 40 years, going back to some photos of 1969 Vietnam War protest marches that you can see in this album. I was here in the summer of 2008 to take these photos; I came back in January 2009 to take these photos of the winter scene; and I returned again for these pictures in March 2009 and these these pictures in the late spring of 2009; all of these have been collected into a Flickr "collection" of albums that you can find here. But if you want to see what New York City's midtown office workers are doing at lunch, take a look at what's in this album.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

**************************************

 

A couple weeks ago, I arrived about an hour early for a photography class at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in mid-town Manhattan. Knowing that I'd have some time available, I was planning to wander through Bryant Park (behind the New York Public Library) to see if there was anything interesting to photograph. But there was a massive construction project underway (the details of which I still haven't figured out), occupying almost all of the block-square park area. It was also bitter cold, and the sun had dropped behind the office buildings on the west side of the park, casting everything into gloom and shadow ... so there were almost no people at all in the park area, and really nothing at all worth photographing.

 

So I decided instead to get a cup of hot chocolate at a tiny coffee/snack stand near the northwest corner of the park, and simply park myself at one of the outdoor tables near the corner, to see what kind of people might wander by. Specifically, I was at the southeast corner of 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas; and it was about 5 PM, so the after-work commuter rush was well underway. Buses, taxis, and cars were moving rapidly up the avenue, and back and forth along 42nd Street -- with drivers honking madly, slamming on their brakes, and revving their motors to vent their frustrations. Commuters, workers, students, and tourists (judging from their accents) -- as well as a few haggard people who looked homeless and cold -- were dashing west towards Times Square, east towards Grand Central, and north/south towards ... well, who knows where.

 

Because of the shadows and gloom, I had to turn the ISO setting on my D300 up to 3200; but that made it possible to capture most people without a flash, and without too much blurriness. I took a little over a hundred photos, and ended up with the 10 that I've collected into this Flickr set. I don't know if I can say that this collection is a truly "representative" set of New Yorkers (and visitor/tourists) ... but it's at least one "snapshot" that will give you a rough idea of what it's like at the end of the work-day on a cold winter's afternoon.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

**********************

 

I’m writing these notes about halfway through the 2014 World Cup, and I can’t help wondering if anyone will have the slightest interest in seeing photos about a bunch of guys running around the streets of New York as they hit a small pink rubber ball with what looks like a broomstick. Indeed, the Wikipedia article on stickball (which you can find at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball ) tells us that

 

"Stickball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game played in large cities in the Northeastern United States, especially New York City and Philadelphia. The equipment consists of a broom handle and a rubber ball, typically a spaldeen, pensy pinky, high bouncer or tennis ball. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation, for example, a manhole cover may be used as a base, or buildings for foul lines. The game is a variation of stick and ball games dating back to at least the 1750s. This game was widely popular among youths growing up from the 20th century until the 1980s."

 

So, what I was photographing here was definitely not soccer; nor was it the more “traditional” American sport of baseball … and definitely not (American-style) football either. It’s a game of its own, though the particular game that I happened to watch and photograph was a variation typically referred to as “fungo” — where the batter tosses the ball into the air and hits it on the way down, or after one or more bounces.

 

Like many of the other really, really good days on my 1+ years of photo-walking in NYC, today’s experience was completely unexpected. I was trudging along 109th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side — and shortly after walking through a tunnel that supports the overhead train tracks carrying MetroNorth trains (and Amtrak/Acela, too, I guess) up and down Park Avenue to the final stopping point in Grand Central — I found myself at a corner that has come to be known as the “Stickball Hall of Fame Place,” at 109th Street and Third Avenue. Two different stickball games were underway, but I was reasonably safe as long as I stayed on the sidewalks. (If you’re interested in the Stickball Hall of Fame, check out this web site: northattan.com/2013/10/07/keeping-a-tradition-alive-in-ea... )

 

As I’ve learned, you can never tell when unexpected occasions like this will happen — and they may indeed happen only once a year. Most days out on the street with my camera are relatively blah; and many (like most of Manhattan's west side, especially the area from 57th Street down to 14th Street) are frustratingly unproductive. There are a few good days, and a few good shots — but a concentrated burst like today happens only on rare occasions …

 

Thus, when such occasions do occur, it's important to exploit them for every bit they’re worth. Thankfully I realized that today — and decided that I’d be happy to stay on that one street (109th, between 2nd and 3rd Avenue) for the entire afternoon. In particular, I made no effort whatsoever to leave quickly in order to walk 108th Street, too; after all, it will be there tomorrow (and the next day, and the day after that), whereas the photo opportunity may never come back again.

 

Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to meet some of the stickball players, chat with them, learn about their friends and relatives (several told me of starting to play the game with their own fathers, many years earlier) and offer to send them some photos (which, thus far, nobody has done). Maybe one of the reasons that I have not gotten involved with many NYC people on the street before is that I really wasn’t particularly interested in what they were doing, and there was no obvious way they could continue doing what they were doing without my being an obvious intrusion. Not so today …

 

In addition to the still photos, I took about a dozen video clips, though I didn’t actually think of doing so until roughly halfway through the photo episode. But in retrospect, it should have been obvious: it’s a sports-game, so it depend on motion; and the yelling, shouting, and overall noise is a very important part of the experience, too. So I finally started shooting short 10-20 second clips when each of the batters was about to wallop the ball, and then run on to first base …

 

I was tempted to go back to watch the game again next weekend, weather permitting; but I already had other commitments for those days, so it didn’t happen. Maybe 2 weeks from now, or 2 months … or whenever.

 

***************

 

This set of photos is based on a very simple concept: walk every block of Manhattan with a camera, and see what happens. To avoid missing anything, walk both sides of the street.

 

That's all there is to it …

 

Of course, if you wanted to be more ambitious, you could also walk the streets of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx. But that's more than I'm willing to commit to at this point, and I'll leave the remaining boroughs of New York City to other, more adventurous photographers.

 

Oh, actually, there's one more small detail: leave the photos alone for a month -- unedited, untouched, and unviewed. By the time I actually focus on the first of these "every-block" photos, I will have taken more than 8,000 images on the nearby streets of the Upper West Side -- plus another several thousand in Rome, Coney Island, and the various spots in NYC where I traditionally take photos. So I don't expect to be emotionally attached to any of the "every-block" photos, and hope that I'll be able to make an objective selection of the ones worth looking at.

 

As for the criteria that I've used to select the small subset of every-block photos that get uploaded to Flickr: there are three. First, I'll upload any photo that I think is "great," and where I hope the reaction of my Flickr-friends will be, "I have no idea when or where that photo was taken, but it's really a terrific picture!"

 

A second criterion has to do with place, and the third involves time. I'm hoping that I'll take some photos that clearly say, "This is New York!" to anyone who looks at it. Obviously, certain landscape icons like the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty would satisfy that criterion; but I'm hoping that I'll find other, more unexpected examples. I hope that I'll be able to take some shots that will make a "local" viewer say, "Well, even if that's not recognizable to someone from another part of the country, or another part of the world, I know that that's New York!" And there might be some photos where a "non-local" viewer might say, "I had no idea that there was anyplace in New York City that was so interesting/beautiful/ugly/spectacular."

 

As for the sense of time: I remember wandering around my neighborhood in 2005, photographing various shops, stores, restaurants, and business establishments -- and then casually looking at the photos about five years later, and being stunned by how much had changed. Little by little, store by store, day by day, things change … and when you've been around as long as I have, it's even more amazing to go back and look at the photos you took thirty or forty years ago, and ask yourself, "Was it really like that back then? Seriously, did people really wear bell-bottom jeans?"

 

So, with the expectation that I'll be looking at these every-block photos five or ten years from now (and maybe you will be, too), I'm going to be doing my best to capture scenes that convey the sense that they were taken in the year 2013 … or at least sometime in the decade of the 2010's (I have no idea what we're calling this decade yet). Or maybe they'll just say to us, "This is what it was like a dozen years after 9-11".

 

Movie posters are a trivial example of such a time-specific image; I've already taken a bunch, and I don't know if I'll ultimately decide that they're worth uploading. Women's fashion/styles are another obvious example of a time-specific phenomenon; and even though I'm definitely not a fashion expert, I suspected that I'll be able to look at some images ten years from now and mutter to myself, "Did we really wear shirts like that? Did women really wear those weird skirts that are short in the front, and long in the back? Did everyone in New York have a tattoo?"

 

Another example: I'm fascinated by the interactions that people have with their cellphones out on the street. It seems that everyone has one, which certainly wasn't true a decade ago; and it seems that everyone walks down the street with their eyes and their entire conscious attention riveted on this little box-like gadget, utterly oblivious about anything else that might be going on (among other things, that makes it very easy for me to photograph them without their even noticing, particularly if they've also got earphones so they can listen to music or carry on a phone conversation). But I can't help wondering whether this kind of social behavior will seem bizarre a decade from now … especially if our cellphones have become so miniaturized that they're incorporated into the glasses we wear, or implanted directly into our eyeballs.

 

Oh, one last thing: I've created a customized Google Map to show the precise details of each day's photo-walk. I'll be updating it each day, and the most recent part of my every-block journey will be marked in red, to differentiate it from all of the older segments of the journey, which will be shown in blue. You can see the map, and peek at it each day to see where I've been, by clicking on this link

 

URL link to Ed's every-block progress through Manhattan

 

If you have any suggestions about places that I should definitely visit to get some good photos, or if you'd like me to photograph you in your little corner of New York City, please let me know. You can send me a Flickr-mail message, or you can email me directly at ed-at-yourdon-dot-com

 

Stay tuned as the photo-walk continues, block by block ...

 

Nikon F2A, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 pancake, Ilford Delta 400

(more details later, as time permits)

 

**************************************

 

Months from now, if people stumble onto this set of Flickr photos, they won't know or care when the photos were actually taken. After all, rain is a fairly universal phenomenon, and it can happen in any of the four seasons of the year.

 

Still, it's an odd experience to be writing these notes a week after the photographs were taken -- at an altitude of 35,000 feet, on a flight to Miami that lifted off from JFK airport just as the first snow flurries hit the runway at the beginning of what promises to be the first major snowfall of the 2009 season. Twelve inches of snow are expected by the time the storm stops, which makes this collection of water-soaked individuals seem like they got stuck in the wrong place and the wrong time.

 

But a week ago, the temperature was about ten degrees warmer -- and what could easily have been a foot or two of snow was instead just a couple of inches of cold rain. Rain, of course, brings out the umbrellas; and on a couple of earlier occasions this year (which you can see here and here on Flickr), I began to see that -- notwithstanding the typical stories about New York fashions -- people were not restricting themselves to black raincoats and black umbrellas. My winter coat (courtesy of North Face) is black, and just about every umbrella I've ever owned has been black; my suitcases are black, my backpacks and briefcases have always been black, and even my camera bag is black. Since it's promising to be a cold winter, I just bought a new pair of gloves and a new woolen cap ... in black.

 

But that's apparently not true for many other New Yorkers. While you'll see a few black outfits in the photos collected here, the range of vivid colors continues to surprise me. Somehow, it's something you would expect to see at the beginning of the spring season -- signifying the rejection of the dark gloom of clouds and rain, and celebrating the imminent arrival of flowers and blossoms, of emerald-colored trees and thick green grass and the chirping of birds. But this collection of photos was taken in mid-December, only a week before the official beginning of winter. You'd think that people would be carrying black umbrellas and somber raincoats that marked the season of death and darkness, but I guess that's just not the way things are here in New York City.

 

On the previous occasions when I've photographed umbrellas in the rain, I've deliberately used a "pocket camera," albeit a fairly sophisticated one such as the Canon G-10. I wanted something that would be compact enough that I could stick into my jacket pocket if the rain got heavy, and I didn't want to risk damaging the electronic components a really expensive, sophisticated camera by getting it wet. The results were usually fairly good, but I always wondered if I could do a better job with one of my high-end DSLR cameras...

 

... so that's what I used for this collection of photos: my Nikon D700 camera, with a big, heavy 70-300mm zoom lens. I attached a lens hood to the lens, to minimize the chances of raindrops falling directly onto the lens itself; and I stood beneath the awning and overhang of various storefronts and buildings along Broadway as the rain poured down steadily all around me. Next time, I might be even more adventurous, since I've got a professional waterproof bag-thingy that should keep the camera dry even if I'm standing out in the middle of a torrential downpour. But for now, this was a good start.

 

Because of the rain, most of the people I photographed paid no attention to me at all; they were too busy concentrating on where they were walking, where the puddles were deepest, and whose umbrellas were about to poke them in the face. On the rare occasions when they did see a crazy guy standing under an awning, pointing a camera in their general direction, they frowned or gave me a quizzical look, and just kept going...

 

So that's the way it was, on this rainy Sunday afternoon. At this point, I'm going to assume that winter has officially arrived, and that the precipitation during the next few months will take the form of snow, not rain. I don't know how well it will turn out, but one of my future projects will be a series of photos during a blizzard. Stay tuned ... and in the meantime, stay dry.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

***************

 

This set of photos is based on a very simple concept: walk every block of Manhattan with a camera, and see what happens. To avoid missing anything, walk both sides of the street.

 

That's all there is to it …

 

Of course, if you wanted to be more ambitious, you could also walk the streets of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx. But that's more than I'm willing to commit to at this point, and I'll leave the remaining boroughs of New York City to other, more adventurous photographers.

 

Oh, actually, there's one more small detail: leave the photos alone for a month -- unedited, untouched, and unviewed. By the time I actually focus on the first of these "every-block" photos, I will have taken more than 8,000 images on the nearby streets of the Upper West Side -- plus another several thousand in Rome, Coney Island, and the various spots in NYC where I traditionally take photos. So I don't expect to be emotionally attached to any of the "every-block" photos, and hope that I'll be able to make an objective selection of the ones worth looking at.

 

As for the criteria that I've used to select the small subset of every-block photos that get uploaded to Flickr: there are three. First, I'll upload any photo that I think is "great," and where I hope the reaction of my Flickr-friends will be, "I have no idea when or where that photo was taken, but it's really a terrific picture!"

 

A second criterion has to do with place, and the third involves time. I'm hoping that I'll take some photos that clearly say, "This is New York!" to anyone who looks at it. Obviously, certain landscape icons like the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty would satisfy that criterion; but I'm hoping that I'll find other, more unexpected examples. I hope that I'll be able to take some shots that will make a "local" viewer say, "Well, even if that's not recognizable to someone from another part of the country, or another part of the world, I know that that's New York!" And there might be some photos where a "non-local" viewer might say, "I had no idea that there was anyplace in New York City that was so interesting/beautiful/ugly/spectacular."

 

As for the sense of time: I remember wandering around my neighborhood in 2005, photographing various shops, stores, restaurants, and business establishments -- and then casually looking at the photos about five years later, and being stunned by how much had changed. Little by little, store by store, day by day, things change … and when you've been around as long as I have, it's even more amazing to go back and look at the photos you took thirty or forty years ago, and ask yourself, "Was it really like that back then? Seriously, did people really wear bell-bottom jeans?"

 

So, with the expectation that I'll be looking at these every-block photos five or ten years from now (and maybe you will be, too), I'm going to be doing my best to capture scenes that convey the sense that they were taken in the year 2013 … or at least sometime in the decade of the 2010's (I have no idea what we're calling this decade yet). Or maybe they'll just say to us, "This is what it was like a dozen years after 9-11".

 

Movie posters are a trivial example of such a time-specific image; I've already taken a bunch, and I don't know if I'll ultimately decide that they're worth uploading. Women's fashion/styles are another obvious example of a time-specific phenomenon; and even though I'm definitely not a fashion expert, I suspected that I'll be able to look at some images ten years from now and mutter to myself, "Did we really wear shirts like that? Did women really wear those weird skirts that are short in the front, and long in the back? Did everyone in New York have a tattoo?"

 

Another example: I'm fascinated by the interactions that people have with their cellphones out on the street. It seems that everyone has one, which certainly wasn't true a decade ago; and it seems that everyone walks down the street with their eyes and their entire conscious attention riveted on this little box-like gadget, utterly oblivious about anything else that might be going on (among other things, that makes it very easy for me to photograph them without their even noticing, particularly if they've also got earphones so they can listen to music or carry on a phone conversation). But I can't help wondering whether this kind of social behavior will seem bizarre a decade from now … especially if our cellphones have become so miniaturized that they're incorporated into the glasses we wear, or implanted directly into our eyeballs.

 

If you have any suggestions about places that I should definitely visit to get some good photos, or if you'd like me to photograph you in your little corner of New York City, please let me know. You can send me a Flickr-mail message, or you can email me directly at ed-at-yourdon-dot-com

 

Stay tuned as the photo-walk continues, block by block ...

Photo Caption:

The drillship Noble Globetrotter I has been used by Shell Offshore Inc. at several sites in the Gulf of Mexico, most recently at Alaminos Canyon 772, a lease block near it's Perdido Spar.

 

June 30, 2017

WASHINGTON -- The operation of drilling an offshore oil and gas well provides for economic development and supports as many as 450 new jobs. As Energy Week concludes, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s well permit approvals in 2017 total 69. Approval of a well permit paves the way for an offshore operator to begin the drilling activity and initiates a vast project supported by drilling crews and service and supply contractors.

 

“I believe BSEE holds the potential to move the U.S. offshore energy program forward in both energy production and economic development, and done in a safe and environmentally-responsible manner,” BSEE Director Scott Angelle said today. “Overall, operators in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf are producing more oil and gas than ever before and it all begins with drilling the well.”

 

BSEE engineers consider well design, capabilities of safety barriers such as the blowout preventer, environmental determinations and other components involved in drilling a well through the application review and analysis, all of these considerations are done to ensure that offshore operations are conducted according to both industry and regulatory safety and environmental standards.

 

To date, nine wells have been completed in 2017, and 33 wells are currently being drilled on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The economic activity surrounding an offshore drilling project is extensive; it involves the contracting of the rig, the manufacturing of the drill pipe and casing strings, to suppling drilling mud, and the multitude of services required for a successful project.

 

Federal permits for offshore wells have been issued for more than six decades throughout the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Pacific and Arctic oceans. As America continues to move forward on its path to energy dominance, BSEE plays a vital role in ensuring safe and environmentally-responsible operations to secure reliable and efficient energy production for America’s future.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

***************************

 

About a year ago, I created Flickr album for photos that I had started taking with my iPhone5s; and now I’m creating a new Flickr album for photos that I’ve begun taking with myiPhone6, which just arrived from T-Mobile this morning.

 

In last year’s album, I wrote, "Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, it’s hard to walk around with a modern smartphone in your pocket, and not be tempted to use the built-in camera from time-to-time. Veteran photographers typically sneer at such behavior, and most will tell you that they can instantly recognize an iPhone photo, which they mentally reject as being unworthy of any serious attention.

 

"After using many earlier models of smartphones over the past several years, I was inclined to agree; after all, I always (well, almost always) had a “real” camera in my pocket (or backpack or camera-bag), and it was always capable of taking a much better photographic image than the mediocre, grainy images shot with a camera-phone.

 

"But still … there were a few occasions when I desperately wanted to capture some photo-worthy event taking place right in front of me, and inevitably it turned out to be the times when I did not have the “real” camera with me. Or I did have it, but it was buried somewhere in a bag, and I knew that the “event” would have disappeared by the time I found the “real" camera and turned it on. By contrast, the smart-phone was always in my pocket (along with my keys and my wallet, it’s one of the three things I consciously grab every time I walk out the door). And I often found that I could turn it on, point it at the photographic scene, and take the picture much faster than I could do the same thing with a “traditional” camera.

 

"Meanwhile, smartphone cameras have gotten substantially better in the past few years, from a mechanical/hardware perspective; and the software “intelligence” controlling the camera has become amazingly sophisticated. It’s still not on the same level as a “professional” DSLR camera, but for a large majority of the “average” photographic situations we’re likely to encounter in the unplanned moments of our lives, it’s more and more likely to be “good enough.” The old adage of “the best camera is the one you have with you” is more and more relevant these days. For me, 90% of the success in taking a good photo is simply being in the right place at the right time, being aware that the “photo opportunity” is there, and having a camera — any camera — to take advantage of that opportunity. Only 10% of the time does it matter which camera I’m using, or what technical features I’ve managed to use.

 

"And now, with the recent advent of the iPhone5s, there is one more improvement — which, as far as I can tell, simply does not exist in any of the “professional” cameras. You can take an unlimited number of “burst-mode” shots with the new iPhone, simply by keeping your finger on the shutter button; instead of being limited to just six (as a few of the DSLR cameras currently offer), you can take 10, 20, or even a hundred shots. And then — almost magically — the iPhone will show you which one or two of the large burst of photos was optimally sharp and clear. With a couple of clicks, you can then delete everything else, and retain only the very best one or two from the entire burst.

 

"With that in mind, I’ve begun using my iPhone5s for more and more “everyday” photo situations out on the street. Since I’m typically photographing ordinary, mundane events, even the one or two “optimal” shots that the camera-phone retains might not be worth showing anyone else … so there is still a lot of pruning and editing to be done, and I’m lucky if 10% of those “optimal” shots are good enough to justify uploading to Flickr and sharing with the rest of the world. Still, it’s an enormous benefit to know that my editing work can begin with photos that are more-or-less “technically” adequate, and that I don’t have to waste even a second reviewing dozens of technically-mediocre shots that are fuzzy, or blurred.

 

"Oh, yeah, one other minor benefit of the iPhone5s (and presumably most other current brands of smartphone): it automatically geotags every photo and video, without any special effort on the photographer’s part. Only one of my other big, fat cameras (the Sony Alpha SLT A65) has that feature, and I’ve noticed that almost none of the “new” mirrorless cameras have got a built-in GPS thingy that will perform the geotagging...

 

"I’ve had my iPhone5s for a couple of months now, but I’ve only been using the “burst-mode” photography feature aggressively for the past couple of weeks. As a result, the initial batch of photos that I’m uploading are all taken in the greater-NYC area. But as time goes on, and as my normal travel routine takes me to other parts of the world, I hope to add more and more “everyday” scenes in cities that I might not have the opportunity to photograph in a “serious” way.

 

*****************************************************************************

 

Okay, so now it’s September of 2014, and I’ve got the iPhone 6. They say that the camera is better, and that the internal camera-related hardware/firmware/software is better, too. Obviously, I’ve got the newer iOS, too, and even on the “old” phones, it now supports time-lapse videos along with everything else.

 

I’ve still got my pocket camera (an amazing little Sony ERX-100 Mark III), and two larger cameras (Sony RX-10, and Sony A7), but I have a feeling that I won’t even be taking them out of the camera bag when I’m out on the street for ordinary day-to-day walking around.

 

That will depend, obviously, on what kind of photos and videos the iPhone6 is actually capable of taking … so I’m going to try to use it every day, and see what the results look like …

 

Like I said last year, “stay tuned…"

NOTE: You are not permitted to use this image for any purposes without contacting me first.

 

The private course built by jeweller Michael Hill will host the Open for the next three years in a deal that will be music to the ears of the sport's stakeholders.

 

After losing almost $1.2 million in two years, and four days after revealing a $695,472 loss on the 2006 edition of the Open, New Zealand Golf has handed over the financial risk or reward of the event to Australian promoter Tuohy Associates NZ. European and Australasian co-sanctioning will be retained, but already the balance sheet looks brighter for what will be New Zealand's 100th national open.

 

Hill has generously waved the six-figure venue fee that had been attached to Gulf Harbour and Bob Tuohy has already predicted this year's event will break even.

 

But while there can be no doubt the first South Island Open since 1985 has the potential to restore the tournament's tarnished image, and NZG's balance sheet, there will be some uncertainty about the venue.

 

Hill is the sole member of his private Arrowtown course and aside from his close friends and a small group of New Zealand's top players, few have played the course.

 

Recently completed after five years in the making, it will have no track record come November, but Turner, a former European PGA professional, said any concerns were unfounded.

 

"I went and had a hit with Michael (Hill) a few weeks ago and I can tell you it's a true championship course. It's going to be a real test," he said yesterday. "It's difficult, there's lots of water, lots of tussock and undulating greens."

 

Turner said it would provide the players with a unique challenge and believed it would draw good crowds despite being outside Auckland for the first time since 2002.

 

"I can't think of anything like it in New Zealand. It's unusual. It's a lot of rock out crops and tussock grass. I think it will be a really good venue. I think a lot of people will come. The Queenstown area is rising right now, but also I think people will come from Invercargill and Dunedin and possibly from Christchurch as well."

 

Hill said there had been enough feedback to allay any fears the course would not meet PGA standards.

 

"All the top New Zealand players have had a crack. Phil Tataurangi was first and he gave a lot of advice, then Greg Turner in the early stages too."

 

Their main advice had been to lengthen the course to combat technology, but they had been more than happy with the layout, he said.

 

"One hole is over 600 yards all up hill into the wind, so it will be quite a challenge."

 

Hill said it was a "thinking man's course" with many holes providing players with two options.

 

"You can go over the bunker, which is harder, but you get a kick down the hill. Several holes are split in two where you can go for the green over waterways or vile swamps, or go around the fairway, which is longer, but more conservative."

 

He had no plans to host any other tournaments on the course and believed the "curiosity value" created by keeping it closed to the public would enhance the appeal of the Open.

 

The 2007 tournament will be held from 29 November to 2 December, following the co-sanctioned MasterCard Masters in Melbourne with Kiwi No1 Michael Campbell the official tournament ambassador.

 

It will be up to Campbell, Tuohy and Hill to leverage Queenstown's tourist appeal to both players and the pubic alike. If successful, New Zealand's premier golf tournament could again become a jewel in the country's sporting crown.

 

[text courtesy The Dominion Post]

 

NOTE: You are not permitted to use this image for any purposes without contacting me first.

"No permitas que nadie diga que eres incapaz de hacer algo, ni si quiera yo. Si tienes un sueño, debes conservarlo. Si quieres algo, sal a buscarlo, y punto.

¿Sabes?, la gente que no logra conseguir sus sueños suele decirles a los demás que tampoco cumplirán los suyos"

Fazıl Küçük (Turkish pronunciation: [faˈzɯl cyˈtʃyc]; Greek: Φαζίλ Κιουτσούκ; 14 March 1906 – 15 January 1984) was a Turkish Cypriot politician and a medical doctor who served as the first Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Fazıl Küçük, the son of a farmer, was born in Nicosia in 1906. After graduating from the Turkish High School in Nicosia, Küçük went on to study medicine at the Universities of Istanbul, Lausanne and Paris. Having returned to Cyprus in 1937, he started a practice, but his interest in politics soon led to him to become a voice for Turkish Cypriot rights. In 1941 Küçük founded the newspaper Halkın Sesi (The Voice of the People) and became the managing editor. Due to his campaign against the British colonial administration, his paper was not given a permit for publication until 1942, the paper is still being published to this day.

 

In 1943, he became one of the founders of the Kıbrıs Adası Türk Azınlığı Kurumu (Association of the Turkish Minority of the Island of Cyprus – known as KATAK). The aim of the party was to promote the social, economic and political well-being of the Turkish Cypriot people. Due to disagreements with some of its members, Küçük parted with KATAK and established the Kıbrıs Millî Türk Halk Partisi (Cyprus National Turkish People's Party – known as KMTHP). Following a 15-year struggle, Küçük helped for the transfer of the Evkaf (a Turkish religious fund) from British to Turkish Cypriot control.

 

During the 1959 London and Zurich Conferences for the creation of an independent Republic of Cyprus, Küçük represented the Turkish Cypriot community and was able to secure constitutional safeguards for the people. On December 3, 1959 Küçük was elected vice president of the new republic. Following Greek Cypriot proposals to modify the constitution (see Cyprus dispute), Küçük continued as the vice president of the Republic of Cyprus until 1973 when he was succeeded by Rauf Denktaş. Despite ill health, Küçük continued to support Turkish Cypriots through his Halkın Sesi newspaper.

 

Küçük died in a Westminster hospital on January 15, 1984, less than a year after the Unilateral declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was the uncle of former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus prime minister, İrsen Küçük.

 

Nicosia ( Greek : Λευκωσία (Lefkosia), English : Nicosia), located in the middle of the island of Cyprus , is the capital of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus . It is the most populous city of Cyprus and the most important cultural, industrial, trade and transportation center. Nicosia is located at 35°10' north, 33°21' east.

 

The city is divided into two by the border called the Green Line . Although de jure the Republic of Cyprus has the administration of the entire city, de facto it only has control over South Nicosia . Northern Nicosia is under the rule of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and is considered to be under Turkish occupation by the international community. The two sectors are separated by a Buffer Zone administered by United Nations Peacekeeping Forces . With the 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Municipality of Nicosia was granted legal status.

 

Nicosia is known as "Lefkosia" (Λευκωσία) in Greek and "Nicosia" in English .

 

The first name of the area where the city is located was "Ledra". This name is also written as "Ledrae", "Lidir", "Ledras", "Ledron" and "Letra". Later, this city was destroyed and when it was rebuilt by Leucus, the city was named "Lefkotheon" (Λευκόθεον - city of the white gods). This name was also occasionally referred to as "Ledron". Later, the words "Kermia" and "Leucus" (Λευκούς) were used for the city. In the 7th century, Hierocles, a Byzantine geographer, mentioned the city as Lefkousia (Λευκουσία) in his book Synekdemos (Vademecum) . In the 13th century , the Patriarch of Constantinople referred to Nicosia as Kalli Nikesis (Καλλι Νίκησις - Beautiful Victory). A writer and monk, St. Neophytos referred to Nicosia as "Leucopolis" (Lefkopolis - White City) in a sermon he gave around 1176. Since the 10th century, the name "Nicosia" has become generally accepted. In the 18th century, Greek Cypriot historian Archimandrite Kyprianos stated that another name for Nicosia was "Photolampos" (Shining with Light).

 

There are various claims that the city is referred to as "Nicosia" and similar forms in European languages. According to one claim, the Latins replaced the first syllable of the word, "Lef", with "Ni" because they could not pronounce it. Another claim is that the name derives from the name "Kallinikesis". A writer from Sicily named Sindaco connects the name "Nicosia" to the town named "Nicosia" in Sicily and claimed that King Tancred from this town was with Richard I during the siege of Cyprus and named the city after his own town. . Another claim is that the name "Nicosia" emerged during the rebellion of the city's people against the Knights Templar in 1192. A German priest named Ludolf named the city "Nycosia" between 1341 and 1363. HAS Dearborn, in his book published in 1819, says that another name for Nicosia is "Nicotia". In 1856, William Curry stated that the Greeks called the city "Escosie" and the Western Europeans called it "Licosia".

 

The name of the city is mentioned in Ottoman documents as "Nicosia" or "medine-i Nicosia" . In addition, in a letter regarding the conquest of Nicosia in 1570, the name of the city is mentioned as "Nicosia". Kâtip Çelebi refers to the city as "Nicosia" (which is sometimes used today).

 

The first settlement in the area where Nicosia is located took place in the Neolithic Age . The date of the first settlement is approximately 3000-4000 BC. In 1050 BC or in the 7th century BC, a city called " Ledra " was founded in the region. This city had an important place among the other city kingdoms on the island. During archaeological excavations, a Greek inscription written in the 4th century BC was found indicating the existence of a temple dedicated to Aphrodite in Ledra. By around 330 BC it had shrunk to a small village. When this city was destroyed due to earthquakes , in 200 BC, Leucus, the son of Ptolemy I Soter , founded the city that is today Nicosia.

 

The city's importance began to increase in the late Byzantine period. In the 7th century, it became the capital of the island during the Arab raids.

 

It fell into the hands of Richard I in 1191 . It was the capital of the island during the period when the Knights Templar purchased and dominated the island. A rebellion broke out in the city on 11 April 1192. The knights suppressed this uprising with a massacre and then left the island.

 

The Lusignans purchased the island and Nicosia remained their capital. During the Lusignan period, he built many new buildings in the city. During the Venetian period, most of these were demolished and used in the construction of walls. During this period, the Lusignans also built walls around the city. These walls were in the shape of an irregular pentagon . There were no walls in the city before. King Henry I built the first walls with two towers in 1211, Peter I built a third tower, and Henry II built the first walls. Henry had the city completely surrounded by walls. The city became quite wealthy during this period. Nicosia was one of four dioceses on the island. It also became the center of an archdiocese in 1212. During this period, events were taking place between Greeks and Latins, and bloody conflicts broke out in the city in 1313 and 1360.

 

Nicosia has been damaged by many earthquakes throughout its history. The 1222 Cyprus earthquake was felt strongly in the city and caused great damage. In November 1330, a flood occurred in the city and three thousand people lost their lives. In addition, the city was heavily damaged by the Genoese in 1373 and the Mamluks in 1426.

 

On February 26, 1489, Nicosia, along with the entire island, came under the rule of the Republic of Venice . Just before the Ottoman conquest of the island, the Venetians inspected the walls and found them too weak. According to the new plans, the walls of Nicosia were reduced from eight miles to three miles. Meanwhile, all buildings outside the new walls were destroyed. According to a claim, the route of Kanlıdere was changed by the Venetians. Another claim is that the Ottomans changed the route of the stream to save the city from floods.

 

During the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottomans , Nicosia was the third largest settlement taken. Piyale Pasha and his army took action to take Nicosia on 22 July 1570. On July 25, Nicosia was besieged. Clashes began on July 27, as the Venetians did not accept the Ottomans' demands to surrender the castle. The fact that the walls were very strong ensured that Nicosia would not fall. At dawn on 9 September 1570, a new attack was launched and troops of more than 20 thousand people conquered Nicosia.

 

As part of the settlement of Turks in Cyprus during the Ottoman period, the settlement of the Turkish population in Nicosia, as well as in the entire island, started in 1572. Non-professional Greeks in the city were settled in the neighborhoods outside the city and replaced by Turks. According to a census made during this period, the city had 31 neighborhoods. In two of them ("Ermiyan" and "Karaman"), the Armenian population was in the majority.

 

During the Ottoman period, Nicosia first served as the capital of the State of Cyprus as the center of a district called "Mountain Kaza", and later became a sanjak . During the Ottoman period, St. Large churches such as the Sophia Cathedral were converted into mosques. ​​Nicosia - Larnaca road was built. The gates of the city were opened at sunrise and closed at sunset. The Governor, Judge, Interpreter and Greek Archbishop resided in Nicosia. ​​William Kimbrough Pendleton states that in 1864 most of the houses in the city were made of clay brick. As a result of a major earthquake in 1741, one minaret of the Selimiye Mosque collapsed and had to be rebuilt. There were riots in the city in 1764 and 1821.

 

On July 12, 1878, Nicosia, along with the rest of the island, came under British rule . British troops entered the city through the Kyrenia Gate and hoisted the first British flag on the Değirmen Bastion next to the Paphos Gate . Nicosia Municipality was established in 1882. Under British rule, Nicosia grew outside the city walls. Between 1930 and 1945, villages such as Ortaköy , Strovolos , Büyük Kaymaklı , Küçük Kaymaklı began to merge with the city, and the first settlements were made in regions such as Yenişehir . On January 1, 1944, Ayii Omoloyitadhes was included in the municipal boundaries. In order to provide access outside the city, the walls on the sides of the Paphos Gate in 1879, the Kyrenia Gate in 1931, and the Famagusta Gate in 1945 were cut. In 1905, a train station was built in Büyük Kaymaklı and train services to Nicosia started, this practice ended in 1955. In 1912, the first electricity came to the city. Also in the same year, kerosene-powered street lamps were replaced with electric ones. Under British rule, the sewer network was cleaned and the roads were repaired. On October 17, 1947, as a result of an explosion in the power plant that supplied energy to the city, the city was left without electricity for 116 days.

 

In 1895, Greeks attacked the Turks in the Tahtakale region of Nicosia. In 1931, Greeks rebelled against British rule and burned the government building. Founded in 1955, EOKA attacked public buildings and the radio station in the city against British rule.

 

The Republic of Cyprus was established on 16 August 1960 . The flag of the Republic of Cyprus was hoisted in the House of Representatives at midnight that night, ending British rule on the island. In accordance with Article 173 of the 1960 constitution, a Greek (Nicosia -Greek Municipality) and a Turkish ( Nicosia Turkish Municipality ) municipality were established on the island. On the night of 20–21 December 1963, the events known as " Bloody Christmas " began. Zeki Halil and Cemaliye Emirali were killed as a result of fire opened on cars in Tahtakale district of Nicosia. Between 23-30, Küçük Kaymaklı was besieged. On the night of 23-24 January, 11 people were killed in the Kumsal region, and the family of Turkish major Nihat İlhan was killed in the incident known as the Kumsal Raid. An attack was carried out against the Turks in the Kanlıdere region. As a result of the events, the governments of Turkey , Greece and the United Kingdom met on 30 December 1963 . As a result of this meeting, the border , also known as the Green Line, was drawn, dividing the city into Turkish and Greek parts. The reason why this border is called the "Green Line" is that the pen of the United Nations official who drew the line on the map was green. The borders of the city were finalized with the Cyprus Operation carried out in 1974 by the order of Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit .

 

On 29 March 1968, the suburbs of Eylence , Büyük Kaymaklı, Küçük Kaymaklı, Pallouriotissa , Strovolos (partially) and Kızılay were also included in the municipal borders. Following the de facto division of the city, the area under the administration of the Republic of Cyprus continued to grow in a southerly direction. North Nicosia also continued to grow and merged with outlying villages such as Gönyeli (which has a separate municipality) and Hamitköy (which is part of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality).

 

Kermiya Border Gate was opened in 2003, and Lokmacı Gate was opened in 2008 .

 

Nicosia is located in a central point of the island of Cyprus, in the central parts of the Mesarya Plain .

 

Nicosia has a hot semi-arid climate according to the Köppen climate classification . The hottest months are July and August, and the coldest months are January and February. The month with the most rainfall is January. Nicosia is one of the warmest places on the island.

 

Nicosia is located in the center of the geological formation called Nicosia Formation. This region dates back to the Lower Pliocene period. Gray, yellow and white marl layers, sandy and yellow limestones and sparse conglomerate bands are frequently encountered. The reconnection of the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean resulted in the rise of sea water and the formation of new sediments, which formed the Nicosia Formation. Underneath Nicosia is the Nicosia- Serdarlı aquifer , which has an area of ​​60 km² .

 

The riverside parts of Nicosia city, especially Kanlıdere , have a great biodiversity. [88] In a research conducted in the streams in a 12.5 km diameter area of ​​the city, which is rich in vegetation (especially in stream beds), 185 different plant species belonging to 62 different families were identified. Among these, there are four endemic and 16 rare species. The most common tree species found on the banks of streams in the city is the eucalyptus tree (various types can be found). There is a total of 0.262 square kilometers of forest area in the Nicosia Central agricultural region of Northern Cyprus . Two kilometers outside Nicosia (in its southern part), within the boundaries of the Municipality of Eylence, is the Pedagogical Academy National Forest Park, and to the south of the city is the Athalassa National Forest Park. In Northern Nicosia, there is the Nicosia Forest Nursery, which is 0.5 hectares in size.

 

The habitats of animals in the stream beds in some parts of the city are in danger. The reeds along the streams host many animals, especially bird species. Many creatures such as kingfishers , water chickens , striped turtles and chameleons live on the banks of the streams . There are especially many turtles in the streams.

 

Nicosia is the commercial center of Cyprus. The city hosts the central banks of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus .

 

The city of Nicosia is divided into two parts in terms of urbanization, these are old Nicosia (the area inside the walls) and new Nicosia (outside the walls). In Old Nicosia, the roads are narrow and there are dead ends. In New Nicosia, there is more vertical and horizontal development over a wider area. Junctions and roads are wider, parks occupy larger areas.

 

In Nicosia during the Ottoman period, Greeks and Turks lived mixed in some neighborhoods, and in some neighborhoods, one of them was the majority. Mosques can be found in Turkish neighborhoods and churches in Greek neighborhoods. Armenians also lived in the city. The houses of the Armenians who used to live in Köşklüçiftlik were all made of cut stone and had their own unique architecture. Bay windows are a common feature in houses in Old Nicosia . The Büyük Han is one of the most advanced architectural works on the island, and today it is a cultural center where various activities such as exhibitions, sales of antiques and traditional items, and shadow plays take place.

 

There are fourteen museums in the part of Nicosia south of the Green Line. The Cyprus Museum was founded in 1888 and exhibits hundreds of archaeological artifacts brought from all over the island. The house of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, who worked as a translator for the Divan during the Ottoman period, built in 1793, is used as an ethnography museum. In the northern part of the city, the number of museums is six. Derviş Pasha Mansion is used as an ethnography museum.

 

Although there are many theaters in the south of the city, the headquarters of the Cyprus Theater Association is in Nicosia. The State Theater Building, built in the 2000s, formerly hosted this institution, which suffered from inadequate facilities, and is not allowed to be used by any other theater organization. Nicosia Municipality Theatre, built in 1967, has a capacity of 1220 people. In the north, the Turkish Cypriot State Theater performs plays and organizes tours; but it does not have a hall. Also in the north is the Nicosia Municipal Theater, which was established in 1980. The Cyprus Theater Festival, jointly organized by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality and Nicosia Municipal Theatres, is a large organization attended by institutions such as Istanbul City Theatres , and all of these can be held in only two halls.

 

There are nineteen cinemas in the southern part of the city, six of which are owned by a company called K Cineplex, and thirteen are owned by other companies. In the north of the city, the number of cinemas is four.

 

Two waterways built during the Ottoman period were used in Nicosia until the mid-20th century. These waterways were Arab Ahmed and Silihtar waterways. Apart from this, water extracted from wells was also used.

 

Telegraph was first used in the city in 1873. In 1936, a public telephone network was established covering the entire island and Nicosia.

 

The migration to the city of Nicosia as a result of the Cyprus Operation in 1974 caused problems such as development, transportation, sewerage, housing shortage and lack of infrastructure in the city.

 

Since Nicosia is a divided city, the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus education systems are implemented in the city. A university called Near East University in North Nicosia , Cyprus International University, Mediterranean Karpaz University, Anadolu University 's open education faculty, apart from these, colleges such as Atatürk Teachers Academy and Police School There are. In the area under the control of the Republic of Cyprus , there are universities named University of Cyprus , Open University of Cyprus , Frederick University , University of Nicosia , [132] and European University of Cyprus.

 

In the Nicosia District of the Republic of Cyprus, there are 42 secondary schools, 133 primary schools and three kindergartens. There are a total of 30 primary schools, kindergartens and special education centers at the primary level in the Nicosia district of Northern Cyprus .

 

The roads on the island were built to be centered in Nicosia and unite in Nicosia. All important roads meet in Nicosia. During the Ottoman period, only the Larnaca road was built, and the previously built roads were in ruins. Under British rule, these roads were rebuilt and a regular postal service was established between Nicosia and other cities. The first car arrived in the city in 1907. The first bus services from the city started in 1929, these services departed from the Kyrenia Gate and went to Strovolos, Aydemet and Büyük Kaymaklı. [139] Train services started between Nicosia and Famagusta on 21 October 1905 . Train services were organized from Nicosia to approximately 30 stops. Train services ended on December 31, 1951. Nicosia International Airport was opened in 1949 . This airport is in the Buffer Zone today and is not used.

 

Today, there is a bus service in the Republic of Cyprus controlled part of the city run by a company called Nicosia Bus Company . All buses leave from the terminal in Solomos Square and make stops every 20 to 30 minutes. There are plans to expand the bus line, increase the frequency of services and renew the bus fleet. The Department of Public Works signed an agreement to establish tram and light rail lines between Nicosia - Larnaca and Limassol . There are motorways such as A1 and A2 from the city . In addition to developing this road network, there are also projects to improve the roads within the city. Apart from this, there are also taxis . Air transportation to the city is provided by Larnaca International Airport (44 km away) and Paphos International Airport . Larnaca Airport is used more than Paphos Airport.

 

LETTAŞ company also has buses in North Nicosia. The first municipal bus was put into operation on the Göçmenköy-Yenişehir route on January 15, 1980, during Mustafa Akıncı 's term as mayor. Starting from 1984, this service was transformed into a public transportation network within the municipality and started to provide service, and later the same vehicles were privatized to be operated by the LETTAŞ company. There is a bus terminal in the Yenişehir area. The airport used by the northern part of the city is Ercan Airport . Transportation to the airport is provided by buses. It is also possible to reach the city by taxi and minibus .

 

Nicosia Municipality is a sister city with the following cities:

Germany Schwerin , Germany (1974)

Greece Athens , Greece (1988)

Ukraine Odessa , Ukraine (1996)

Iranian Shiraz , Iran (1999)

Romania Bucharest , Romania (2004)

Chinese Shanghai , China (2004)

 

The city has also collaborated with the following cities:

Russia Moscow , Russia (1997, 2002, 2003-2004, 2006-2008)

Italy Nicosia , Italy (2000-2002)

Chinese Qingdao , China (2001)

Greece Athens , Greece (2001, 2003)

Finland Helsinki , Finland (2003)

Syria Damascus , Syria (2003)

Croatia Zagreb , Croatia (2004)

Malta Valletta , Malta (2007)

 

Sister cities of Nicosia Turkish Municipality

Türkiye Izmir , Turkey (2019)

Türkiye Ankara , Turkey (1988)

Türkiye Bursa , Turkey

North Macedonia Kumanovo , North Macedonia (2007)

Gagauzia Comrat , Gagauzia

Türkiye Gaziantep Turkey​

Türkiye Istanbul Turkey

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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About a year ago, I created Flickr album for photos that I had started taking with my iPhone5s; and now I’m creating a new Flickr album for photos that I’ve begun taking with myiPhone6, which just arrived from T-Mobile this morning.

 

In last year’s album, I wrote, "Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, it’s hard to walk around with a modern smartphone in your pocket, and not be tempted to use the built-in camera from time-to-time. Veteran photographers typically sneer at such behavior, and most will tell you that they can instantly recognize an iPhone photo, which they mentally reject as being unworthy of any serious attention.

 

"After using many earlier models of smartphones over the past several years, I was inclined to agree; after all, I always (well, almost always) had a “real” camera in my pocket (or backpack or camera-bag), and it was always capable of taking a much better photographic image than the mediocre, grainy images shot with a camera-phone.

 

"But still … there were a few occasions when I desperately wanted to capture some photo-worthy event taking place right in front of me, and inevitably it turned out to be the times when I did not have the “real” camera with me. Or I did have it, but it was buried somewhere in a bag, and I knew that the “event” would have disappeared by the time I found the “real" camera and turned it on. By contrast, the smart-phone was always in my pocket (along with my keys and my wallet, it’s one of the three things I consciously grab every time I walk out the door). And I often found that I could turn it on, point it at the photographic scene, and take the picture much faster than I could do the same thing with a “traditional” camera.

 

"Meanwhile, smartphone cameras have gotten substantially better in the past few years, from a mechanical/hardware perspective; and the software “intelligence” controlling the camera has become amazingly sophisticated. It’s still not on the same level as a “professional” DSLR camera, but for a large majority of the “average” photographic situations we’re likely to encounter in the unplanned moments of our lives, it’s more and more likely to be “good enough.” The old adage of “the best camera is the one you have with you” is more and more relevant these days. For me, 90% of the success in taking a good photo is simply being in the right place at the right time, being aware that the “photo opportunity” is there, and having a camera — any camera — to take advantage of that opportunity. Only 10% of the time does it matter which camera I’m using, or what technical features I’ve managed to use.

 

"And now, with the recent advent of the iPhone5s, there is one more improvement — which, as far as I can tell, simply does not exist in any of the “professional” cameras. You can take an unlimited number of “burst-mode” shots with the new iPhone, simply by keeping your finger on the shutter button; instead of being limited to just six (as a few of the DSLR cameras currently offer), you can take 10, 20, or even a hundred shots. And then — almost magically — the iPhone will show you which one or two of the large burst of photos was optimally sharp and clear. With a couple of clicks, you can then delete everything else, and retain only the very best one or two from the entire burst.

 

"With that in mind, I’ve begun using my iPhone5s for more and more “everyday” photo situations out on the street. Since I’m typically photographing ordinary, mundane events, even the one or two “optimal” shots that the camera-phone retains might not be worth showing anyone else … so there is still a lot of pruning and editing to be done, and I’m lucky if 10% of those “optimal” shots are good enough to justify uploading to Flickr and sharing with the rest of the world. Still, it’s an enormous benefit to know that my editing work can begin with photos that are more-or-less “technically” adequate, and that I don’t have to waste even a second reviewing dozens of technically-mediocre shots that are fuzzy, or blurred.

 

"Oh, yeah, one other minor benefit of the iPhone5s (and presumably most other current brands of smartphone): it automatically geotags every photo and video, without any special effort on the photographer’s part. Only one of my other big, fat cameras (the Sony Alpha SLT A65) has that feature, and I’ve noticed that almost none of the “new” mirrorless cameras have got a built-in GPS thingy that will perform the geotagging...

 

"I’ve had my iPhone5s for a couple of months now, but I’ve only been using the “burst-mode” photography feature aggressively for the past couple of weeks. As a result, the initial batch of photos that I’m uploading are all taken in the greater-NYC area. But as time goes on, and as my normal travel routine takes me to other parts of the world, I hope to add more and more “everyday” scenes in cities that I might not have the opportunity to photograph in a “serious” way.

 

**************************

 

Okay, so now it’s September of 2014, and I’ve got the iPhone 6. They say that the camera is better, and that the internal camera-related hardware/firmware/software is better, too. Obviously, I’ve got the newer iOS, too, and even on the “old” phones, it now supports time-lapse videos along with everything else.

 

I’ve still got my pocket camera (an amazing little Sony ERX-100 Mark III), and two larger cameras (Sony RX-10, and Sony A7), but I have a feeling that I won’t even be taking them out of the camera bag when I’m out on the street for ordinary day-to-day walking around.

 

That will depend, obviously, on what kind of photos and videos the iPhone6 is actually capable of taking … so I’m going to try to use it every day, and see what the results look like …

 

Like I said last year, “stay tuned…"

flickriver.com/photos/javier1949/popular-interesting/

 

Nave 16 (espacio de exposiciones)

 

Arquitectos: Alejandro Vírseda, José Ignacio Carnicero e Ignacio Vila Almazán, 2011

 

Un versátil espacio expositivo de más de cuatro mil metros cuadrados, capaz de acoger grandes proyectos multidisciplinares, cuya rehabilitación ha sido finalista de los premios FAD de arquitectura 2012. El espacio puede ser fácilmente dividido en módulos independientes separados por grandes paneles de acero y permitir así la programación de contenidos de forma simultánea: proyecciones, grandes exposiciones, conciertos, talleres de producción de obra, charlas, propuestas escénicas o actividades sociales. El proyecto transforma la nave en un gran espacio expositivo versátil y polivalente, que puede funcionar como la mayor sala de exposiciones, instalaciones o actividades de artes vivas de Madrid o como un conjunto de espacios independientes de menor tamaño (hasta 5 salas). Esta flexibilidad se logra mediante la introducción en los dos espacios de doble altura de unos recintos de puertas de dos alturas, concebidos como una gran instalación efímera que contrasta con el carácter tectónico e imperecedero de la envolvente arquitectónica de la nave. Estas puertas, que garantizan mediante sencillos giros la total polivalencia del espacio interior de la nave, dotan igualmente a los mismos de la versatilidad lumínica y ambiental requerida en cada uno de los espacios según las características de la actividad realizada (Las instalaciones del edificio también han sido sectorizadas para colaborar con esta versatilidad espacial). El material utilizado para realizar estas cajas de puertas es el acero, cuyo cromatismo contrasta con la superficie interior de los paramentos de la envolvente, caracterizándose así, de modo particular los dos espacios en doble altura de la nave. Cuando las puertas se abran los paramentos puros y herméticos de la caja oscura desaparecen, apareciendo la envolvente actual con su característica estructura de finos perfiles metálicos. El estrecho cuerpo adosado a la nave en su fachada hacia el río Manzanares alberga las dotaciones de servicio.

  

MATADERO MADRID - CENTRO DE CREACIÓN CONTEMPORÁNEA Antiguos Matadero y Mercado Municipal de Ganados

Pº de la Chopera, 2 a 14 C/V a Pza. de Legazpi 8, Vado de Santa Catalina y Av. del Manzanares. Madrid.

Actuación inicial: Luis Bellido González, arquitecto y José Eugenio Ribera Autaste, ingeniero. 1910 (Proyecto) 1910-1925 (Obras).

Matadero de aves y gallinas: Luis Bellido González y Francisco Javier Ferrero Llusiá: 1926 (Proyecto) 1932-1933 (Obras).

Acondicionamiento de la Casa del Reloj, Nave de Terneras y pabellones de acceso para Junta Municipal del Distrito de Arganzuela y salas culturales y deportivas: Rafael Fernández-Rañada Gándara: 1983 (Proyecto) 1983-1984 (Obras).

Rehabilitación de la “nave de patatas” para Invernadero-Palacio de Cristal, antiguo parque del matadero y consolidación estructural de naves del recinto sur: Guillermo Costa Pérez-Herrero: 1990 (Proyecto) 1990-1992 (Obras).

Adaptación de naves para sedes del Ballet Nacional y Compañía Nacional de Danza: Antonio Fernández-Alba y José Luis Castillo-Puche Figueira 1990 (Proyecto) 1993-1999 (Obras)

Vestíbulo y Espacio Intermediae. (nave 17c) Arquitectos Arturo Franco y Fabrice Van Teslaar en colaboración con el arquitecto de interiores Diego Castellanos 2006-07

Naves del Español (naves 10, 11 y 12) Arquitectos Emilio Esteras 2007-10 y Justo Benito 2009-10

Central de Diseño (nave 17) Arquitecto José Antonio García Roldán 2007

Taller y Oficina de Coordinación (parte de la nave 8) Arquitecto Arturo Franco 2010

Calle y Plaza Matadero Arquitectos Ginés Garrido, Carlos Rubio y Fernando Porras 2011

ESCARAVOX Andrés Jaque Arquitectos 2012

Depósito de especies y nuevo acceso por Legazpi. BCP Ingenieros -Luis Benito Olmeda y Francisco Calderón- con María Langarita y Víctor Navarro arquitectos. 2011

Nave 16 Arquitectos: Alejandro Vírseda, José Ignacio Carnicero e Ignacio Vila Almazán, 2011

Nave de Música (Nave 15) Arquitectos: María Langarita y Víctor Navarro, en colaboración con el diseñador mexicano Jerónimo Hagerman, 2011

Cineteca y Cantina Archivo Documenta (nave 17 c, d, e y f) Arquitectos: José María Churtichaga y Cayetana de la Quadra Salcedo 2011

Casa del Lector. Centro Internacional para la Investigación, el Desarrollo y la Difusión de la Lectura de la Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez. (naves 13 y 14, 17b y tres crujías de la nave 17. Arquitecto Antón García Abril. Diseño gráfico y señalización: Alberto Corazón. Interiorismo Jesús Moreno y Asociados 2012

 

El arquitecto Joaquín Saldaña resulta ganador del concurso convocado por el Ayuntamiento de Madrid el año 1899 para la realización de los nuevos matadero y mercado municipal de ganados en la Dehesa de La Arganzuela, junto al Manzanares, si bien, finalmente las obras se realizan de acuerdo con el proyecto redactado en 1910 por Luis Bellido, arquitecto de propiedades del Ayuntamiento, con la colaboración de J. Eugenio Ribera, ingeniero de reconocido prestigio. El conjunto arquitectónico se compone de 48 edificios agrupados en cinco sectores de producción: dirección y administración, matadero, mercado de abastos, mercado de trabajo y sección sanitaria, cuenta además con viviendas para el personal y capilla; también de sistema de circulaciones y ferrocarril propios... una autentica ciudad laboral.

Sigue el sistema alemán de pabellones aislados, relacionados por medio de viales y presididos por un edificio administrativo, la "Casa del Reloj" situado sobre el eje principal de la composición. Por sus características arquitectónicas y por su escala es uno de los conjuntos edificados más significativos de Madrid. Se advierte en él una unidad estilística y constructiva derivada del uso racional en sus fábricas de tres materiales esenciales ladrillo, mampostería y cerámica, y una cuidadosa introducción de elementos metálicos en la estructura; además de otros aspectos significativos como el empleo de un lenguaje de inspiración neomudéjar muy atenuado, habitual en la arquitectura industrial de la época. El matadero de Madrid sirve de modelo para la construcción en España de este tipo de edificios.

Para el crítico González Amezqueta "Es un ejemplo de gran calidad de arquitectura industrial perfectamente insertado en los procedimientos del ladrillo, con derivaciones hacia el neomudéjar. La mecánica funcional de los procesos laborales no impide discretas acentuaciones ornamentales, ya que todo el proceso constructivo es estrictamente artesanal, con predominio de las técnicas fabricadas del ladrillo en las partes más acertadas".

En 1926, en zona próxima al Vado de Santa Catalina, proyecta Bellido el matadero de gallinas y aves, siendo realizadas las obras, entre 1932 y 1933, bajo la dirección de Francisco Javier Ferrero con la introducción de una clara y cuidada estructura de hormigón pionera en la ciudad y en la que reside uno de sus valores principales.

A partir de 1940 se llevan a cabo diferentes remodelaciones y ampliaciones, entre ellas la de la nave de patatas, el pabellón de autopsias y los abrevaderos.

En la década de 1980, perdida su función original, el Departamento de Conservación de Edificios del Ayuntamiento comienza la rehabilitación sistemática de los edificios del conjunto para su uso como contenedores de actividades culturales, sociales, deportivas y administrativas propias del Ayuntamiento; primero bajo la dirección de Rafael Fernández-Rañada, que acondiciona la Casa del Reloj para Junta Municipal del Distrito de Arganzuela y la nave de terneras para sala cultural y deportiva, y después, de Guillermo Costa que realiza el Palacio de Cristal (rehabilitación de la nave de patatas para invernadero) y el parque del matadero, con la colaboración del ingeniero, también municipal, M. Ángel Martínez Lucio.

Desde 1996 Costa continúa la consolidación estructural de fachadas y cubiertas de 7 naves del recinto sur, sin un uso predeterminado y en distintas fases, a la espera de la realización del proyecto para su adecuación a nuevas actividades de carácter cultural, comercial o de ocio. Finalmente, el conjunto edificado se incluye en el catálogo de bienes a conservar dentro del Plan General de Ordenación Urbana de 1997.

En el extremo norte parte de las antiguas naves de estabulación son cedidas al Instituto Nacional de Artes Escénicas y de la Música (INAEM) para establecer en ellas las sedes del Ballet Nacional de España y de la Compañía Nacional de Danza, según proyecto de Fernández Alba y Castillo-Puche, concluyéndose las obras de adaptación en 1999.

En 2005 se aprueba la modificación del Plan Especial de Intervención, Adecuación Arquitectónica y Control Urbanístico-Ambiental de Usos del recinto del antiguo matadero municipal, que incrementa el uso cultural hasta el 75% del total.

A partir de 2006 el Ayuntamiento se plantea rehabilitar en distintas fases, mediante proyectos derivados de concursos de arquitectura, este inmenso contenedor de casi 150.000 m2, para albergar multitud de eventos y encuentros, fomentando la creatividad de artistas de múltiples especialidades. El conjunto se convierte en un núcleo de actividad cultural que alberga las más importantes citas de la ciudad. Así, se inician actuaciones para convertir el recinto en centro de apoyo a la creación, en campo de experimentación de la nueva arquitectura, pero siguiendo los criterios de intervención del Plan Especial, que establece la preservación de la envolvente de las naves. La línea maestra que ha guiado las intervenciones es la reversibilidad, de modo que los edificios pueden ser fácilmente devueltos a su estado original. Las actuaciones mantienen expresamente las huellas del pasado para reforzar el carácter experimental de las nuevas instituciones que alojan. Se ha buscado el equilibrio entre el respeto máximo al espacio, y una dotación específica, que lo distinga, a través del uso limitado de materiales industriales directos y que, al mismo tiempo, dé servicio a los diferentes usos que pueda albergar.

En 2012, tras la visita del jurado de los premios FAD a Matadero Madrid, decidió reconocer la labor en conjunto de todos los arquitectos que han participado en el proceso de reforma. El fallo valora “tanto la actitud global de la propuesta, que apuesta de una forma valiente por la experimentación y el respeto a los espacios de libertad gestionados desde la sociedad civil, como la conceptualización del proyecto, desde su inicio en el 2007 con la rehabilitación del vestíbulo y el espacio Intermediae, hasta las recientes intervenciones de la Nave 16 y la Nave de Música finalistas en la presente edición de los Premios FAD”. Así mismo, el jurado destacó de Matadero Madrid “la inteligencia colectiva, la unidad que le viene inferida por la arquitectura industrial preexistente, y que con un mínimo de protagonismo exterior de las nuevas intervenciones, en el interior resuelve con rigor y autenticidad las diversas necesidades del extenso programa del centro, buscando no sólo mantener los espacios arquitectónicos y formas estructurales, sino también el carácter, la atmósfera y sobre todo el irrepetible paso del tiempo”.

Ese mismo año el Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid otorgó uno de sus premios a las intervenciones en la Cineteca y Archivo Documenta, y en la Nave 16. Por último, destaca la interconexión de Matadero Madrid y Madrid Río mediante la urbanización de los espacios públicos -Calle y Plaza Matadero- por el mismo equipo de arquitectos -Ginés Garrido, Carlos Rubio y Fernando Porras- que proyectó Madrid Río. Está previsto además que dicha conexión, gracias a dos nuevos accesos, se amplíe entre diciembre de 2012 y julio de 2013. Madrid Río ha recibido, entre otros premios, el International Architecture Award 2012 del Chicago Athenaeum of Architecture and Design y el European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, el Premio de Diseño Urbano y Paisajismo Internacional otorgado por el Comité de Críticos de Arquitectura CICA, en el marco de la XIII Bienal de Buenos Aires; o el Premio FAD de Ciudad y Paisaje 2012, entre otros galardones.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

***************************

 

This is one of approx 260 photos that I decided were not so bad that I had to delete them and recover every wasted binary bit of storage on my computer disk ... but also not good enough to warrant uploading to Flickr as a "public" photo.

 

Since Flickr now provides so much storage to us picture-crazed photographers, I've decided to upload all of these "random pix" as restricted "friends and family" photos so that most of the world doesn't have to suffer through them ...

 

I've cropped and edited these photos, but have not gone to the additional trouble of geo-tagging them ... sorry about that.

  

**************************

 

In the spring of 2014, we came to Paris for a week of relaxed vacationing, mostly to wander around and see some old familiar places. It was a “return” trip for both of us, though in my case I think it’s probably been more than 15 years since I was even here on a business trip.

 

Business trips to any city don’t really count as a “visit” -- since they basically involve flying into a busy airport at night, taking a taxi to a generic business-traveler’s hotel (a Hilton in Paris looks just like a Hilton in Cairo), and then spending several days working in the hotel (if the purpose of the trip was a seminar or computer conference), or at a client’s office (also “generic” in most cases — you can’t even tell what floor you’re on when you get off the elevator, because every floor of “open office” layouts is the same). The trip usually ends in the late afternoon or evening of the final day, with a mad dash back to the airport to catch the last plane home to NYC. Thus, a business trip to Paris is almost indistinguishable from a business trip to Omaha. Or Albany. Or Tokyo.

 

But I did make a few “personal” visits to Paris in the 1970s and 1980s, so I looked forward to having the chance to walk through some familiar places along the Left Bank. I’m not so interested in museums, monuments, cathedrals, or other “official” tourist spots (but yes, I have been to the Eiffel Tower, just as I’ve been to the Empire State Building in NYC), so you won’t see any photos of those places in this Flickr set.

 

As a photographer, I now concentrate mostly on people and street scenes. The details of the location don’t matter much to me, though I do try to geotag my photos whenever I can. But for the most part, what you’ll see here are scenes of people and local things in Paris that made me smile as I walked around …

(more details later, as time permits)

 

***************************

 

About a year ago, I created Flickr album for photos that I had started taking with my iPhone5s; and now I’m creating a new Flickr album for photos that I’ve begun taking with myiPhone6, which just arrived from T-Mobile this morning.

 

In last year’s album, I wrote, "Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, it’s hard to walk around with a modern smartphone in your pocket, and not be tempted to use the built-in camera from time-to-time. Veteran photographers typically sneer at such behavior, and most will tell you that they can instantly recognize an iPhone photo, which they mentally reject as being unworthy of any serious attention.

 

"After using many earlier models of smartphones over the past several years, I was inclined to agree; after all, I always (well, almost always) had a “real” camera in my pocket (or backpack or camera-bag), and it was always capable of taking a much better photographic image than the mediocre, grainy images shot with a camera-phone.

 

"But still … there were a few occasions when I desperately wanted to capture some photo-worthy event taking place right in front of me, and inevitably it turned out to be the times when I did not have the “real” camera with me. Or I did have it, but it was buried somewhere in a bag, and I knew that the “event” would have disappeared by the time I found the “real" camera and turned it on. By contrast, the smart-phone was always in my pocket (along with my keys and my wallet, it’s one of the three things I consciously grab every time I walk out the door). And I often found that I could turn it on, point it at the photographic scene, and take the picture much faster than I could do the same thing with a “traditional” camera.

 

"Meanwhile, smartphone cameras have gotten substantially better in the past few years, from a mechanical/hardware perspective; and the software “intelligence” controlling the camera has become amazingly sophisticated. It’s still not on the same level as a “professional” DSLR camera, but for a large majority of the “average” photographic situations we’re likely to encounter in the unplanned moments of our lives, it’s more and more likely to be “good enough.” The old adage of “the best camera is the one you have with you” is more and more relevant these days. For me, 90% of the success in taking a good photo is simply being in the right place at the right time, being aware that the “photo opportunity” is there, and having a camera — any camera — to take advantage of that opportunity. Only 10% of the time does it matter which camera I’m using, or what technical features I’ve managed to use.

 

"And now, with the recent advent of the iPhone5s, there is one more improvement — which, as far as I can tell, simply does not exist in any of the “professional” cameras. You can take an unlimited number of “burst-mode” shots with the new iPhone, simply by keeping your finger on the shutter button; instead of being limited to just six (as a few of the DSLR cameras currently offer), you can take 10, 20, or even a hundred shots. And then — almost magically — the iPhone will show you which one or two of the large burst of photos was optimally sharp and clear. With a couple of clicks, you can then delete everything else, and retain only the very best one or two from the entire burst.

 

"With that in mind, I’ve begun using my iPhone5s for more and more “everyday” photo situations out on the street. Since I’m typically photographing ordinary, mundane events, even the one or two “optimal” shots that the camera-phone retains might not be worth showing anyone else … so there is still a lot of pruning and editing to be done, and I’m lucky if 10% of those “optimal” shots are good enough to justify uploading to Flickr and sharing with the rest of the world. Still, it’s an enormous benefit to know that my editing work can begin with photos that are more-or-less “technically” adequate, and that I don’t have to waste even a second reviewing dozens of technically-mediocre shots that are fuzzy, or blurred.

 

"Oh, yeah, one other minor benefit of the iPhone5s (and presumably most other current brands of smartphone): it automatically geotags every photo and video, without any special effort on the photographer’s part. Only one of my other big, fat cameras (the Sony Alpha SLT A65) has that feature, and I’ve noticed that almost none of the “new” mirrorless cameras have got a built-in GPS thingy that will perform the geotagging...

 

"I’ve had my iPhone5s for a couple of months now, but I’ve only been using the “burst-mode” photography feature aggressively for the past couple of weeks. As a result, the initial batch of photos that I’m uploading are all taken in the greater-NYC area. But as time goes on, and as my normal travel routine takes me to other parts of the world, I hope to add more and more “everyday” scenes in cities that I might not have the opportunity to photograph in a “serious” way.

 

**************************

 

Okay, so now it’s September of 2014, and I’ve got the iPhone 6. They say that the camera is better, and that the internal camera-related hardware/firmware/software is better, too. Obviously, I’ve got the newer iOS, too, and even on the “old” phones, it now supports time-lapse videos along with everything else.

 

I’ve still got my pocket camera (an amazing little Sony ERX-100 Mark III), and two larger cameras (Sony RX-10, and Sony A7), but I have a feeling that I won’t even be taking them out of the camera bag when I’m out on the street for ordinary day-to-day walking around.

 

That will depend, obviously, on what kind of photos and videos the iPhone6 is actually capable of taking … so I’m going to try to use it every day, and see what the results look like …

 

Like I said last year, “stay tuned…"

(more details later, as time permits)

 

**************************

 

In the spring of 2014, we came to Paris for a week of relaxed vacationing, mostly to wander around and see some old familiar places. It was a “return” trip for both of us, though in my case I think it’s probably been more than 15 years since I was even here on a business trip.

 

Business trips to any city don’t really count as a “visit” -- since they basically involve flying into a busy airport at night, taking a taxi to a generic business-traveler’s hotel (a Hilton in Paris looks just like a Hilton in Cairo), and then spending several days working in the hotel (if the purpose of the trip was a seminar or computer conference), or at a client’s office (also “generic” in most cases — you can’t even tell what floor you’re on when you get off the elevator, because every floor of “open office” layouts is the same). The trip usually ends in the late afternoon or evening of the final day, with a mad dash back to the airport to catch the last plane home to NYC. Thus, a business trip to Paris is almost indistinguishable from a business trip to Omaha. Or Albany. Or Tokyo.

 

But I did make a few “personal” visits to Paris in the 1970s and 1980s, so I looked forward to having the chance to walk through some familiar places along the Left Bank. I’m not so interested in museums, monuments, cathedrals, or other “official” tourist spots (but yes, I have been to the Eiffel Tower, just as I’ve been to the Empire State Building in NYC), so you won’t see any photos of those places in this Flickr set.

 

As a photographer, I now concentrate mostly on people and street scenes. The details of the location don’t matter much to me, though I do try to geotag my photos whenever I can. But for the most part, what you’ll see here are scenes of people and local things in Paris that made me smile as I walked around …]

(more details later, as time permits)

 

******************************************************

 

What do New Yorkers do on a hot Sunday afternoon at the end of July?

 

Typically, between one and two million (yes, million) of them head to a nearby park to relax and enjoy themselves. That might mean heading to Central Park, or Prospect Park, or one of the dozens of other parks scattered throughout the five boroughs of the city. But if you live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, one of the more tempting choices is Riverside Park, which stretches along the Hudson River from 59th Street up to 125th Street, and even further north (if you're somewhat adventurous) to the George Washington Bridge.

 

It's a relatively narrow park, but there's enough grass to stretch out and sunbathe, or enjoy a picnic. Or you can find a shady spot under a tree, and read a book or the Sunday New York Times. Swimming in the river is not encouraged, but fishing is okay; or you can rent a (free) kayak down by the 70th Street pier, and paddle around in the river to enjoy a cool breeze. For the more athletically inclined, there are tennis courts (at 96th Street), soccer fields (a little further north), and baseball diamonds (a little further south).

 

But since there's a wide, paved walkway that stretches along the entire distance of the park, a lot of people seem compelled -- even in hot, humid weather -- to jog, run, walk, skate, or bicycle along the river. It's a great opportunity to show off your fancy bike, or your fancy skates, or your handsome/beautiful body; and it's hard to beat the view and the scenery.

 

I came down here to Riverside Park some four months ago to photograph the biking/jogging/skating action, which you see on Flickr in a set I called Riverside Park - first day of spring, Mar 20, 2011. But it was still pretty cold, so most people were bundled up to stay warm.

 

Today, on this last day of July, nobody was bundled up. True, nobody was running naked, and I didn't see anyone in a bikini; but brief shorts and t-shirts were pretty universal ... except for the guys who wore shorts and no shirt at all.

 

In my usual fashion, I took quite a few photos -- 800 in all, as people continued skating, jogging, walking, and riding past me. About 10% of them were out of focus, or cut off (a running body with no head is not all that interesting), and another 80% were okay, but relatively boring. So, as usual, 90% of the photos got deleted, and I've got 80 "keepers" to share with everyone on Flickr.

 

I have a feeling that I won't bother with any more summer photos along the river, like this. But I may come back in the fall, when the leaves have turned and the air is crisp and cool. Who knows what everyone will be wearing at that point?

  

(more details later, as time permits)

 

****************

In case you had't noticed, summer is over. Fall has arrived. The air is cooler, especially in the early morning -- but also in the evening, when only a few weeks ago people would wander all over the city in shorts and tank tops. Sunset is well before 7 PM, and the sun has moved noticeably north along the New Jersey skyline.

 

But the tango dancers are still here - in Riverside Park, in Central Park, at the South Street Seaport, and out at the end of Pier 45, where Christopher Street runs into the Hudson River in the West Village. I had not been here since July, and I didn't know how much longer it would be before the chill in the air drove all the dancers away. So when I got an email announcing that the weekly event was going to be held again on the final Wednesday evening in September, I decided that it was a good time to dust off my camera (metaphorically speaking) and head downtown again...

 

As I've pointed out in Flickr albums (here, for example), I do not dance the tango (or any other civilized form of dance), and I know little or nothing about the history, the folklore, or even the steps and rhythms of the tango. But after accidentally stumbling upon a local gathering of tango aficionados on a business trip to Washington in the summer of 2009 (see my Flickr set Last tango in Washington), I subsequently learned that there were similar informal events throughout New York City. When I got home, I searched on the Internet and found a schedule of upcoming tango events at several different NYC locations -- including Pier 45, where I made my first visit in mid-April, which led to this set of photos.

 

I returned in mid-July of 2010, even though I knew it would be much hotter ... and indeed, it was so hot that the music did not even begin until 6 PM. But then the dancers began to appear, one after another, until there were a couple dozen pairs of dancers filling a large space under a sheltering canopy, as the sun went down. And since it was the end of a hot summer evening, tango wasn't the only thing going on: there were people sunbathing, watching the boats on the river, playing frisbee, or simply enjoying themselves. I photographed a little of everything; you can see it in this Flickr set.

 

So now I've come back once again ... and it may or may not turn out to be the final tango event of the season, at least for me. I have to assume that there will be at least a couple of warm spells during the month of October, for New York is usually blessed with that kind of weather. But my "day job" is keeping me pretty busy at this point, and I've got trips coming up to places as diverse as Rochester (NY), Camden (Maine), Rome (the Eternal City), and Miami (North Dakota ... heh, just kidding) in the next couple of months. And if I don't manage to return this fall, I may have to wait until next spring before I see the dancers once again twirling and gliding across the wooden deck of Pier 45.

 

If you'd like to watch NYC tango dancing on your own, check out Richard Lipkin's Guide to Argentine Tango in New York City.

Zulu Reed Dance Ceremony.

 

Once a year, in the heart of South Africa's Kingdom of the Zulu, thousands of people make the long journey to one of His Majesty’s, the King of the Zulu nation's royal residence at KwaNyokeni Palace. Here, in Nongoma, early every September month, young Zulu maidens will take part in a colourful cultural festival, the Royal Reed Dance festival - or Umkhosi woMhlanga in the Zulu language.

Steeped in the history of the rise of the Zulu kingdom under the great King Shaka, the Reed Dance festival has been tirelessly celebrated by countless generations, and attracts thousands of visitors from throughout the country and from across the world. A dignified traditional ceremony,

the Reed Dance festival is at same time a vibrant, festive occasion, which depicts the rich cultural heritage of the Kingdom of the Zulu and celebrates the proud origin of the Zulu people.

The Reed Dance is also a celebration of the Zulu nation and performs the essential role of unifying nation and the king, who presides over the ceremony.

The festival takes its name from the riverbed reeds, which are the central focus of this four-day event. The reed-sticks are carried in a procession by thousands of young maidens who are invited to the King's palace each year. More than 10 000 maidens, from various communities throughout the province of KwaZulu- Natal, take part in the Reed Dance ceremony, with the rest of the Zulu nation helping them to celebrate their preparation for womanhood.

It is a great honour for the young women to be invited to take part in the Reed Dance ceremony, and its also a source of great dignity and pride for their families and communities.

According to Zulu traditon, only virgins are permitted to take part in the festival to ensure that they are ritually 'pure'.

The Reed Dance festival is a solemn occasion for the young women, but also an opportunity to show off their singing, dancing and beadwork, the fruits of many months of excitement and preparation.

As the Reed Dance ceremony begins, the young women prepare to form a procession led by the chief princess. One of the daughters of the Zulu King is also the leader of the group of maidens as they go through this important rite of passage.

Each maiden carries a reed which has been cut by the riverbed and it symbolizes the power that is vested in nature. The reeds reflect a deep mythical connection with origin of the Zulu people, where, tradition tells us, the original ancestor emerged from a reed bed.

And still, today an expectant hush falls on the crowd as the chief princess is the first to choose a reed. Shouts of joy and celebration greet her as the reed remains intact, and, with bated breath, each of the young women takes it in turn to choose a reed.

Accompanied by jubilant singing and dancing, the stately procession winds its way up the hill to the palace entrance where the king awaits, flanked by his royal regiment.

As leader of the group of young women, the chief Princess kneels down before the king and presents him with a reed to mark the occasion, before joining the young women in a joyful dance of tribute to the king.

   

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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Virtually everyone in America, as well as millions of other people around the world, know that Thanksgiving is one of the main occasions for organizing a huge parade.

 

It’s especially true in New York City, where I live — hundreds of parade workers converge on a one-block stretch between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West on 77th Street on the night before Thanksgiving to assemble the floats, and pump the huge balloons full of helium, so they’ll be ready to go the next morning. The parade itself lasts for hours, and stretches all the way down Central Park West and Broadway, and ultimately through Herald Square and past the main entrance to Macy’s on 34th Street. The whole thing is televised for the benefit of viewers all around the world, with TV commentators and an endless procession of marching bands, baton-twirlers, singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, Broadway actors, and other forms of entertainment…

 

While New York City may be the only example of a Thanksgiving-Day parade that people around the world actually see on their TV screen, it’s definitely not the only such parade that takes place in this country. I’m sure that every big city has its own version of the turkey-day parade, as do most of the medium-size cities, and quite a few smaller towns and villages, too. They may not be visible on television, but a lot of local citizens and visitors turn out to watch such parades, if only because their sons and daughters are typically marching in the high-school bands that form a big part of the event.

 

On this particular occasion — in November of 2013 — I happened to be in one such medium-size city, where the parade took place on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It was in Portland, Oregon where we were spending the holiday period with one of our sons and his family; the parade took place in the “Pearl District” of downtown Portland … and, to our amazement, we were able to park our car about a block from the parade route, and walk right up to the corner (at Davis St and NW Park, if you want to track it down on Google Maps) where all of the bands and floats and costumed marchers walked by. In fact, I was able to take the “parade experience” even one step further: the people were friendly enough, and the security was light enough, that I was able to walk right out into the middle of the street with my camera, to photograph the floats and bands and marchers as they approached me … scampering out of the way only at the last moment.

 

Admittedly, Portland is a much bigger city than a tiny village of a thousand people somewhere in the midwest … but it still felt like “small town America” to me, and it was a great spectacle to watch. I got the impression that many of the visitors and observers standing along the street actually knew the people marching past them … and in any case, the marchers laughed and smiled and walked right up to us, handing out little pieces of candy to all of the children. Maybe next year I’ll go looking for a really small Thanksgiving parade in one of those tiny midwest-America villages, before retreating back to the Big Apple to watch the spectacle of thousands of marchers parading past millions of observers, and a TV audience of tens of millions …

 

I wish that I had taken some video clips of the parade, because the sounds and the music and the motion were a big part of what we experienced. But for better or worse, all I took was a bunch of traditional still photos. Actually, I took a LOT of still photos — nearly a thousand, altogether — but I’ve winnowed the collection down to 50 “keepers” that I hope will give you a sense of what Thanksgiving is all about…

 

Actually, if you live anywhere besides New York City here in the U S of A, you already know what Thanksgiving is all about, at least to the extent that it’s symbolized by the parade. But for those of us who spend most our time in New York City, it was a very pleasant experience indeed. After an hour, it was all over; we walked back to our car a block away, and drove back to our son’s house … and a day later, we were back in New York City. And thus ended another Thanksgiving holiday, at least until 2014.

(more details later, as time permits)

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I love to stroll along Riverside Park, on the western edge of Manhattan by the Hudson River, during almost any season of the year (and you can see the photographic results in this Flickr collection). However, I've never been south of 70th Street nor north of 125th Street on these strolls -- even though I know the park extends all the way up to the George Washington Bridge, a couple miles further north.

 

Actually, it had not been possible to walk the entire distance between 70th and 125th, at least not right along the river, because there was a section between 82nd and 96th Street that had once been a very narrow, rough, rutted footpath between the river and the ever-busy West Side Highway ... until the New York Parks Department decided to close it off and build a properly paved, somewhat wider, pathway for bicyclists, skaters, joggers, and people just out strolling along, like me. Of course, it took the Parks Department a couple years longer than originally planned, and after a while, nobody paid any attention to the signs indicating that they were definitely going to be finished this spring ... no, this summer ... no, well, maybe this fall.

 

But then, all of a sudden, they did finish ... and word circulated around the Upper West Side that it would be officially opened, thus connecting "Riverside Park South" with "Riverside Park North," sometime just before Memorial Day weekend. So we decided to check it out, starting with a nice lunch at an outdoor cafe at the base of the pier that extends out into the Hudson River at 70th Street.

 

After lunch, I was planning to walk north and check out the new pathway ... but first, there was an old abandoned freight elevator at the edge of the water, which I decided I should photograph. It was just to the south of the 70th-Street cafe, and after taking the photos, I looked a little further south, and saw that there was a broad pathway, carefully mowed grass, and lots of people strolling ... where? further south!

 

So I followed the path, and found that it expanded into a complex web of sidewalks, mini-gardens, mini-piers jutting out into the river, wooden-slat chairs, picnic benches, and boardwalks leading through wild grass and flowers that had been carefully planted. All of this continued, block after block after block, down below the elevated West Side Highway, all the way down to 59th Street. And it turns out that that is where "Riverside Park South" actually starts.

 

So that's where most of the photos in this set were actually taken. There are some strange sights along the way, because the whole area used to be occupied by working piers that loaded and unloaded ships filled with freight and cargo, on and off railroads that snaked their way along the west side of Manhattan. But as ship-borne cargo was gradually replaced by truck, rail, and air cargo, the piers and docks gradually fell into disuse; and when the Penn Central Railroad went bankrupt, they really fell into disuse.

 

It turns out that there was a massive fire along this area back in June of 1971 (a time when I lived in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, and was more-or-less oblivious to what was going on in Manhattan), and the fire was so hot that it melted and warped the steel girders of many of the docks, cranes, and loading structures. When the whole area was renovated recently (apparently part of a required "civic contribution" by Donald Trump when he acquired the rights to build condos and apartment buildings along the stretch of the far West Side of Manhattan, from 72nd Street to the mid-60s), the city planners initially intended to remove all of the old twisted metal and rotting wooden piers. But local civic groups prevailed upon the city to leave some of it intact, as a reminder of what was there before... I could go on with more details, but you can check it out for yourself here on Wikipedia.

 

Anyway, I eventually strolled back to my starting point at 70th Street, and then up to 82nd Street, and finally along the newly-opened pathway connecting the southern stretch of park with the northern section that starts at 96th Street. Alas, it turned out to be utterly boring: absolutely straight, with a northbound bike lane, a southbound bike lane, a thick garish yellow line dividing the two, and a narrow 3-foot path by the railing for pedestrians to creep along. No benches, no tables, no mini-piers jutting out into the river; no curves, no artistic flair, no flowers, no grass, no nothing. You can see for yourself in the final two or three photos in this set ...

 

But all in all, it was a pleasant afternoon. One of these days, I'll go back down to Riverside Park South around sunset, and see if I can get some good pictures of the sun disappearing into the smoggy haze of New Jersey, across the water...

Only a minute and a half (as permitted by flickr) of fairly average video, but one which aught to be of some interest to our Portuguese friends and indeed anyone who enjoys scenic narrow gauge railways.

The Metre gauge Tua Valley line was the most easterly of the three surviving narrow gauge tributaries to the main Douro Valley line which just about made it into the 21st century. In recent times it ran from it's interchange through some initially spectacular scenery to a truncated terminus at Mirandela.

As local roads improved with the aid of EU cash at a similar time to CP (Portuguese Railways) feeling the financial pinch, the line ... and indeed all three, were unceremoniously closed.

This little video piece was recorded in the late 1990s when the meagre service was loco hauled using two or three coaches and a 1000hp Alsthom built Bo-Bo Diesel Electric. In the last days, it became the province of a single railcar.

Such was the carefree attitude which prevailed in Portugal at the time, I was able to film away from the open vestibule door whilst my travelling companion held onto my collar! I'd expected we might be in bother when it came time for a ticket check, but a quick glance from the guard at ours and away he went leaving us to do as we pleased. The line and particularly the trip up this spectacular gorge is much lamented ... Such a potential tourist draw in 90% of other EU countries would have ensured the operation would have had a secure future in that sector, but sadly, not in Portugal.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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In the spring of 2014, we came to Paris for a week of relaxed vacationing, mostly to wander around and see some old familiar places. It was a “return” trip for both of us, though in my case I think it’s probably been more than 15 years since I was even here on a business trip.

 

Business trips to any city don’t really count as a “visit” -- since they basically involve flying into a busy airport at night, taking a taxi to a generic business-traveler’s hotel (a Hilton in Paris looks just like a Hilton in Cairo), and then spending several days working in the hotel (if the purpose of the trip was a seminar or computer conference), or at a client’s office (also “generic” in most cases — you can’t even tell what floor you’re on when you get off the elevator, because every floor of “open office” layouts is the same). The trip usually ends in the late afternoon or evening of the final day, with a mad dash back to the airport to catch the last plane home to NYC. Thus, a business trip to Paris is almost indistinguishable from a business trip to Omaha. Or Albany. Or Tokyo.

 

But I did make a few “personal” visits to Paris in the 1970s and 1980s, so I looked forward to having the chance to walk through some familiar places along the Left Bank. I’m not so interested in museums, monuments, cathedrals, or other “official” tourist spots (but yes, I have been to the Eiffel Tower, just as I’ve been to the Empire State Building in NYC), so you won’t see any photos of those places in this Flickr set.

 

As a photographer, I now concentrate mostly on people and street scenes. The details of the location don’t matter much to me, though I do try to geotag my photos whenever I can. But for the most part, what you’ll see here are scenes of people and local things in Paris that made me smile as I walked around …

In these weird times, in which going out is often somewhat restricted due to the overwhelming risk of death, we explored an alternative route through St Michael's church grounds today. Ah to have had a real camera with me, but my phone served a purpose.

 

Stay safe!

Even though Wales is currently in the midst of one of the most rigorous lockdowns in Western Europe daily exercise is allowed. When the sun shone this morning I was out like a shot to take a walk along the Montgomery Canal between Welshpool and Pool Quay. Perfect conditions.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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Once upon a time, I had serious intentions of running the New York marathon. It was back in 1979, and the whole thing was much less formal than it is now. Indeed, it was sufficiently informal that Rosie Ruiz was accidentally given a “finished time” of 2:56:29 for the New York event that year, which qualified her for the 1980 Boston marathon. It was later discovered that she had not run the entire NYC course (nor did she do so up in Boston on April 21, 1980), and her time was ultimately rescinded in both races. Had her times stayed in the record books, her Boston time of 2:31:56 would have been the fastest female time ever in the Boston marathon and the third-fastest female time ever recorded in any marathon...

 

Informal as the New York marathon was in those ancient days, you still couldn’t just show up at the starting line and expect to be welcomed. On the other hand, all that was necessary to get an official invitation was going down to the main branch of the U.S. Post Office on 34th Street at midnight on some long-forgotten summer night,and waiting in line with a bunch of equally crazy people. I got my entry ticket (or letter, or certificate, or whatever it was) a few days later, and began following a fairly serious training regimen, working my way up to a modest 10-mile race … until a business trip took me to Sydney, Australia for most of the month of August, 1979. Between business and social events, and the cold, wet weather of Sydney’s winter season, I didn’t do any running at all for that whole month … and with my training regimen broken, I wisely decided not to run the marathon at all.

 

But since then, I’ve always had a fondness for the NYC marathon — especially considering how much it has grown, and what a city-wide celebration it has become. I missed the event in 2013 and 2012, so it has been three years since I watched on the sidelines in 2011. With the promise of cold-but-sunny weather this year, I decided to return once again — and, as in 2011, I positioned myself at roughly the 24.5-mile point, at the beginning of a downhill run at roughly 78th Street, at the side of the Central Park “inner roadway.”

 

The runners pass by all afternoon, and well into the evening; but it’s a little more difficult to anticipate when the lead runners will reach any particular point. There are now so many participants in the marathon (about 50,000) that the runners are released in “waves,” beginning with those on hand-operated wheelchair/bicycles, and the “elite” women, the elite men, and three or four waves of mere mortals. There was an additional delay this year, because the headwinds were so strong that the initial wave had great difficulty propelling their wheeled vehicles up over the “hump” of the Tappan Zee bridge. So if you’re standing somewhere along the route, at the 10-mile mark, or the 20-mile mark, or (as I was) the 24.5 mile mark, you can only guess at the moment when the lead runners — or a friend or family member whom you want to cheer onward to the finish line — might be coming near you.

 

On the other hand, there are some clues. Helicopters hover above the lead runners, low enough that you can hear the roar of their blades; and there are two or three waves of police cars and motorcycles zooming ahead of the runners, pushing people back to the sidelines, and ensuring that there are no disruptions or obstacles to slow them down. Then — and it’s always an adrenaline rush! — you see the official race car, driving just a few feet ahead of the lead runners, with a huge race clock mounted on its roof, showing those fast-moving runners the exact number of hours, minutes, and seconds since they started their journey back at the edge of Staten Island.

 

The lead runners, of whom there are often two or three or four even up to the last mile, are often several minutes ahead of the next ones; but those who are in positions three, four, five or ten, and who will get no recognition at all from the press, the media, or the crowd when they finish … well, they still run as if their lives depend on it. And the crowd cheers them on, clapping and calling out their names and urging them onward.

 

One of the differences I noticed this year was the widespread use of bicycle horns and cow-bells that the onlookers used to create a cacophony of merry noise; I don’t know if the runners took it as a sign of encouragement, but it sure sounded that way to me …

 

I stayed longer than I had intended, and took several hundred more photos that I had planned … but they’re all just bits on the camera’s digital memory card, so it doesn’t really matter. One might argue that I should have stayed for eight or ten hours, until the last runner had straggled by. And perhaps I should have photographed each of the 50,000 runners, for I’m sure they each had their own story to tell. But after a while, it gets overwhelming — and the faces and bodies and brightly colored shirts and tights and shoes begin to blur…

 

I think I got a representative collection of photos; and the video clips will give you a sense of the noise and the motion of what seemed like an endless stream of humanity racing past … but to really understand it, you need to be there in person. Barring a crippling storm (like Hurricane Sandy, which forced the cancellation of the 2012 marathon), you’ll find another crowd of 50,000 runners racing through Central Park at the end of next year’s marathon, on the first Sunday in November. And with any luck, I’ll be there with my camera …

 

Who knows: maybe even Rosie Ruiz will be there, too. It turns out that she was arrested in 1982 for embezzling $60,000 from a real estate company where she worked; after a week in jail and a sentence of five years’ probation, she moved back to south Florida, where she was arrested in 1983 for her involvement in a cocaine deal. But as of the year 2000, she still insisted that she had run the entire 1980 Boston marathon. C’est la vie...

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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About a year ago, I created Flickr album for photos that I had started taking with my iPhone5s; and now I’m creating a new Flickr album for photos that I’ve begun taking with myiPhone6, which just arrived from T-Mobile this morning.

 

In last year’s album, I wrote, "Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, it’s hard to walk around with a modern smartphone in your pocket, and not be tempted to use the built-in camera from time-to-time. Veteran photographers typically sneer at such behavior, and most will tell you that they can instantly recognize an iPhone photo, which they mentally reject as being unworthy of any serious attention.

 

"After using many earlier models of smartphones over the past several years, I was inclined to agree; after all, I always (well, almost always) had a “real” camera in my pocket (or backpack or camera-bag), and it was always capable of taking a much better photographic image than the mediocre, grainy images shot with a camera-phone.

 

"But still … there were a few occasions when I desperately wanted to capture some photo-worthy event taking place right in front of me, and inevitably it turned out to be the times when I did not have the “real” camera with me. Or I did have it, but it was buried somewhere in a bag, and I knew that the “event” would have disappeared by the time I found the “real" camera and turned it on. By contrast, the smart-phone was always in my pocket (along with my keys and my wallet, it’s one of the three things I consciously grab every time I walk out the door). And I often found that I could turn it on, point it at the photographic scene, and take the picture much faster than I could do the same thing with a “traditional” camera.

 

"Meanwhile, smartphone cameras have gotten substantially better in the past few years, from a mechanical/hardware perspective; and the software “intelligence” controlling the camera has become amazingly sophisticated. It’s still not on the same level as a “professional” DSLR camera, but for a large majority of the “average” photographic situations we’re likely to encounter in the unplanned moments of our lives, it’s more and more likely to be “good enough.” The old adage of “the best camera is the one you have with you” is more and more relevant these days. For me, 90% of the success in taking a good photo is simply being in the right place at the right time, being aware that the “photo opportunity” is there, and having a camera — any camera — to take advantage of that opportunity. Only 10% of the time does it matter which camera I’m using, or what technical features I’ve managed to use.

 

"And now, with the recent advent of the iPhone5s, there is one more improvement — which, as far as I can tell, simply does not exist in any of the “professional” cameras. You can take an unlimited number of “burst-mode” shots with the new iPhone, simply by keeping your finger on the shutter button; instead of being limited to just six (as a few of the DSLR cameras currently offer), you can take 10, 20, or even a hundred shots. And then — almost magically — the iPhone will show you which one or two of the large burst of photos was optimally sharp and clear. With a couple of clicks, you can then delete everything else, and retain only the very best one or two from the entire burst.

 

"With that in mind, I’ve begun using my iPhone5s for more and more “everyday” photo situations out on the street. Since I’m typically photographing ordinary, mundane events, even the one or two “optimal” shots that the camera-phone retains might not be worth showing anyone else … so there is still a lot of pruning and editing to be done, and I’m lucky if 10% of those “optimal” shots are good enough to justify uploading to Flickr and sharing with the rest of the world. Still, it’s an enormous benefit to know that my editing work can begin with photos that are more-or-less “technically” adequate, and that I don’t have to waste even a second reviewing dozens of technically-mediocre shots that are fuzzy, or blurred.

 

"Oh, yeah, one other minor benefit of the iPhone5s (and presumably most other current brands of smartphone): it automatically geotags every photo and video, without any special effort on the photographer’s part. Only one of my other big, fat cameras (the Sony Alpha SLT A65) has that feature, and I’ve noticed that almost none of the “new” mirrorless cameras have got a built-in GPS thingy that will perform the geotagging...

 

"I’ve had my iPhone5s for a couple of months now, but I’ve only been using the “burst-mode” photography feature aggressively for the past couple of weeks. As a result, the initial batch of photos that I’m uploading are all taken in the greater-NYC area. But as time goes on, and as my normal travel routine takes me to other parts of the world, I hope to add more and more “everyday” scenes in cities that I might not have the opportunity to photograph in a “serious” way.

 

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Okay, so now it’s September of 2014, and I’ve got the iPhone 6. They say that the camera is better, and that the internal camera-related hardware/firmware/software is better, too. Obviously, I’ve got the newer iOS, too, and even on the “old” phones, it now supports time-lapse videos along with everything else.

 

I’ve still got my pocket camera (an amazing little Sony ERX-100 Mark III), and two larger cameras (Sony RX-10, and Sony A7), but I have a feeling that I won’t even be taking them out of the camera bag when I’m out on the street for ordinary day-to-day walking around.

 

That will depend, obviously, on what kind of photos and videos the iPhone6 is actually capable of taking … so I’m going to try to use it every day, and see what the results look like …

 

Like I said last year, “stay tuned…"

(for further information please go to the end of page and activate the corresponding link!)

TOPICS

The Vienna Opera Ball

Viennese Opera Ball

Just as already the operetta and the waltz had been imported from Paris to Vienna, comes also the model for the Vienna Opera Ball from the Seine metropolis. By a corresponding approval of Duke Philip of Orleans, on 2 January 1716 a "public ball" can be held for the first time, to which everyone has access who can pay the admission fee of five livres. First, the balls take place at the Comédie française, but already in 1717 was given the Académie de Musique, the Paris Opera House, the special right of the organization. Nevertheless, in the Comédie furthermore take place balls, with the audience far more popular than the 'opera balls'.

In 1861 the construction of an opera house begins at the Ringstrasse, on the explicit desire of Emperor Franz Joseph not solely intended for performances of operas and ballets, but also for the staging of the Opera Ball. With this, have been created both the spatial and the official conditions for a genuine Viennese Opera Ball according to Parisian model. It should, however, take another eight years before a dance event in the opera could be held for the first time after the completion of the house in 1869.

Initially, due to the increasing violence at the Paris balls but only Court Opera soirees take place. This includes elegant evening soirees with musical entertainment, but without dancing. On 11 December 1877 opened the court musical director Wilhelm Gericke the first Court Opera Soirée with the "Wedding March" by Felix Mendelssohn. After several concert pieces the baton is handed over to the Strauss family. First, Johann Strauss son conducts the Vienna Philharmonic with a waltz, followed by his brother Edward with a specially for this day composed "Opera Soirée Polka". After that, the dance-crazed Viennese are no longer stoppable: all chairs were put to the side, and the evening, which was thought without dance pleasure, ends like a ball. This is the hour of birth of the opera ball, even though for the time being still far away from being called so.

Already the second event on 15 January 1878 is announced officially as "Second Hofopernsoirée (Ball)". The third, for 12 February 1878 scheduled Soirée, is canceled for reasons of piety, since Pope Pius IX. a few days earlier had died. After the uncomplicated election of Leo XIII. to new head of the Church the ball is on 23 February rescheduled.

After these three opera soirees from March of the same year take place redoutes in the Court Opera, continuing the tradition of masked balls and linked with strict dress code: "in the hall, with the exception of the lodges, the ladies the stay is only permitted in an elegant mask, short costumes are not allowed. The gentlemen of civil appear in evening dress with white cravat, cylinder or Claquehut (opera hat - chapeau claque). "During the next twenty years during the carnival time each year should be organized two, in some seasons even three redoutes. However, at these festivals the Viennese society is not as boundless as once united in the common ball pleasure, because in the meantime the guests are spread across three different levels, not only differing in space but also in the appearance of guests from each other. Are the boxes the aristocratic guests in elaborate ball gowns reserved, so gather in the stalls the bourgeois guests, for which there is no mask constraint. In addition, there are the galleries that are accessible to every viewer without special admission ticket.

1899 the popular balls for the time being come to an abrupt end, as is discovered that the opera for such festivals does not comply with the safety regulations. Since an appropriate conversion proves to be too costly, the redoutes are discontinued for an unforeseen period of time. A certain compensation for those festivals offers in the following years the in the new town hall held "Ball der Stadt Wien".

Only in 1921, the tradition of the redoutes in the Court Opera has been resumed, but without being able to follow on the success of previous years. After several breaks followed in 1924, 1928 and 1929 again opera redoutes, neither musically nor stylistically corresponding with the level of the defunct imperial monarchy-time and they are not characterized by the former wit, charm and temperament. The twenties are not only politically, but also culturally a very different time in which with the progressive emancipation of women the meaning of a redoute became obsolete.

And so 1935 is launched the first as such referred to Opera Ball. In a time of political uncertainty, it complied in addition to social also with diplomatic and official representative purposes. Therefore, it takes no wonder that the guest list has many personalities from politics. The last opera ball before the outbreak of the Second World War should be organized in 1939, when Austria was already 'connected' by Adolf Hitler to the German Reich. Therefore respectively stiff and artificial resulted according to that this night on which no happiness will raise, previously the rule.

Image

Reopening of the Vienna State Opera, 1955

© wissenmedia

Shortly before the end of World War II, the Vienna Opera House on 12 March 1945 almost completely was destroyed by a bomb. It should take ten years until the house was rebuilt and with Ludwig van Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" at the 5th November 1955 ceremoniously could be opened. In the following carnival season with this also the first opera ball of the post-war period can be celebrated, but which has changed its face much: "Actually, the Opera Ball is not a Viennese event anymore, but already a pan-European one. A ball night for which the world envies us".

This new image has remained to this day, with the only difference that the Opera Ball is now no longer considered only as a pan-European, but as an international event. A highlight of the evening is the annual opening of the ball by about 180 debutantes who on the arm of the to them for this evening assigned Cavaliers in a Polonaise move in. After the Vienna Philharmonic for many years had taken over the musical interpretation of the evening, there is since 1982 a Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra grounded specifically for this purpose. In addition, since 1984, there is also a Viennese Opera Ball Ladies Ensemble, made ​​up of 15 musicians and beyond the ball unfolding a very busy concert schedule.

Today on the Opera Ball there is not exclusively danced just waltz anymore. Up to ten orchestras or soloists play at the same time in different places of the house, and as a concession to modern times there is since some years even a nightclub. And yet, the waltz enjoys as the king of dances to this day unbroken popularity, without which for many no Viennese Opera Ball is thinkable. Another innovation is also the since 1981 in the Schwind Foyer installed Viennese Opera Ball Casino, which is a special attraction especially for the younger guests. Collectors will also appreciate the annually by the casino issued special Opera Ball chips.

How to become a debutante?

Proposals are now mostly send in by the dance schools of the country. The first condition is the perfect mastery of the links waltz, which is checked at a Vortanztermin (dance audition date - don't worry, the Lipizzans are doing the same!). Has the potential debutante overcome this hurdle with flying colors, it is about to find a suitable partner for the big night. The criteria for this choice are less situated in personal relationships than in pure dance qualities. After finally the couples have found each other, for five days under the expert guidance of several ballet master not only the links waltz, but also the choreography of the marching in is practiced until everything is perfectly rehearsed. The question of clothes is strictly regulated for the couples: the ladies in white dresses with a little crown on the head and the gentlemen in evening dress. To underline the internationality of the ball, every year also Debütantinnen and Debütanten from around the world are invited.

Guests

Artists from the world of the theater and the music, film and television can be found on the Vienna Opera Ball as well as well-known athletes and fashion designers. Diplomats and politicians from home and abroad appreciate the special atmosphere, and every now and then you meet also members of the European nobility. The Opera Ball today is no longer just a lavish celebration in which together a whole evening and a full night is celebrated, but increasingly also a social forum that connects professional and political contacts in a pleasant way with a social event.

Scandals

In recent decades, the Vienna Opera Ball, however, has not only found unanimous support, but has been increasingly criticized. In the 80s made fights between angry citizens that characterized the event as a "festival of the political and monetary bigwigs" and the police the headlines. Unforgettable is also the demonstration against the reprocessing plant Wackersdorf when in 1987 the Bavarian Prime Minister Franz-Josef Strauss participated in the Opera Ball. In addition, now almost every year during the opera ball take place demonstrations against these seemingly senseless waste of funds in the face of hardship and misery, hunger and wars, social and health problems in the world.

Nevertheless, the Opera Ball has lost none of its fascination and all over the world - from Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur and Korea to Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul and Dubai, Ankara, Istanbul, Kiev, Prague and Budapest to Rome, New York, Los Angeles and Washington - it found imitation, without being able to ever really come close to the Viennese model. Even if the question of the contemporaneity of the Vienna Opera Ball ever and again was controversially discussed, at the latest in 2005 has been shown that even this traditional event cannot stop short before general social changes: for the first time a smoking ban for the Opera Ball was pronounced.

www.wissen.de/thema/der-wiener-opernball?chunk=wiener-ope...

No último domingo, depois de uma semana inteira de dias chuvosos, o sol brilhou e permitiu uma manhã de muito jazz ( Benoit Jazz Quartet ) e diversão no parque.

( extrato de nogueira -bico de pena e aguada )

At last I have managed to get a decent shot of this beautiful bird... after several failed attempts, this one gives some satisfaction.

 

Shot taken from Thrissur, Kerala.

 

This is a widely distributed species.

 

Common Kingfishers are important members of ecosystems and good indicators of freshwater community health. The highest densities of breeding birds are found in habitats with clear water, which permits optimal prey visibility, and trees or shrubs on the banks. These habitats have also the highest quality of water, so the presence of this bird confirms the standard of the water.

  

Anarchy is a fully immersive combat sim with three different levels. Home to grimly zombies, all weapons permitted, and PVP combat welcome. The levels include a cave system, winter forest, and an open, post-apocalyptic ground level. No rules, just combat.

 

Visit this location at Anarchy Combat NO CHILD AVATARS in Second Life

The words explain how the park area (roundish section) permitted some natural habitat to be created from the soil dredged out of the main shipping channel. All of this 'land' is about one mile further out in the waters of the bay than was originally the case. Over the years, the shoreline has been filled in to a great degree and although it is now being 'managed' in a much more sustainable way than it was for a long time, we cannot call it "original". The white area ringing the central section is the Middle Harbor Shoreline Park managed by the Port of Oakland together with the East Bay Regional Park District and is open for public recreation. It's actually quite nice and was the setting for several large picnic groups when I was there on a Saturday.

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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I’m writing these notes about halfway through the 2014 World Cup, and I can’t help wondering if anyone will have the slightest interest in seeing photos about a bunch of guys running around the streets of New York as they hit a small pink rubber ball with what looks like a broomstick. Indeed, the Wikipedia article on stickball (which you can find at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball ) tells us that

 

"Stickball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game played in large cities in the Northeastern United States, especially New York City and Philadelphia. The equipment consists of a broom handle and a rubber ball, typically a spaldeen, pensy pinky, high bouncer or tennis ball. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation, for example, a manhole cover may be used as a base, or buildings for foul lines. The game is a variation of stick and ball games dating back to at least the 1750s. This game was widely popular among youths growing up from the 20th century until the 1980s."

 

So, what I was photographing here was definitely not soccer; nor was it the more “traditional” American sport of baseball … and definitely not (American-style) football either. It’s a game of its own, though the particular game that I happened to watch and photograph was a variation typically referred to as “fungo” — where the batter tosses the ball into the air and hits it on the way down, or after one or more bounces.

 

Like many of the other really, really good days on my 1+ years of photo-walking in NYC, today’s experience was completely unexpected. I was trudging along 109th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side — and shortly after walking through a tunnel that supports the overhead train tracks carrying MetroNorth trains (and Amtrak/Acela, too, I guess) up and down Park Avenue to the final stopping point in Grand Central — I found myself at a corner that has come to be known as the “Stickball Hall of Fame Place,” at 109th Street and Third Avenue. Two different stickball games were underway, but I was reasonably safe as long as I stayed on the sidewalks. (If you’re interested in the Stickball Hall of Fame, check out this web site: northattan.com/2013/10/07/keeping-a-tradition-alive-in-ea... )

 

As I’ve learned, you can never tell when unexpected occasions like this will happen — and they may indeed happen only once a year. Most days out on the street with my camera are relatively blah; and many (like most of Manhattan's west side, especially the area from 57th Street down to 14th Street) are frustratingly unproductive. There are a few good days, and a few good shots — but a concentrated burst like today happens only on rare occasions …

 

Thus, when such occasions do occur, it's important to exploit them for every bit they’re worth. Thankfully I realized that today — and decided that I’d be happy to stay on that one street (109th, between 2nd and 3rd Avenue) for the entire afternoon. In particular, I made no effort whatsoever to leave quickly in order to walk 108th Street, too; after all, it will be there tomorrow (and the next day, and the day after that), whereas the photo opportunity may never come back again.

 

Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to meet some of the stickball players, chat with them, learn about their friends and relatives (several told me of starting to play the game with their own fathers, many years earlier) and offer to send them some photos (which, thus far, nobody has done). Maybe one of the reasons that I have not gotten involved with many NYC people on the street before is that I really wasn’t particularly interested in what they were doing, and there was no obvious way they could continue doing what they were doing without my being an obvious intrusion. Not so today …

 

In addition to the still photos, I took about a dozen video clips, though I didn’t actually think of doing so until roughly halfway through the photo episode. But in retrospect, it should have been obvious: it’s a sports-game, so it depend on motion; and the yelling, shouting, and overall noise is a very important part of the experience, too. So I finally started shooting short 10-20 second clips when each of the batters was about to wallop the ball, and then run on to first base …

 

I was tempted to go back to watch the game again next weekend, weather permitting; but I already had other commitments for those days, so it didn’t happen. Maybe 2 weeks from now, or 2 months … or whenever.

 

***************

 

This set of photos is based on a very simple concept: walk every block of Manhattan with a camera, and see what happens. To avoid missing anything, walk both sides of the street.

 

That's all there is to it …

 

Of course, if you wanted to be more ambitious, you could also walk the streets of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx. But that's more than I'm willing to commit to at this point, and I'll leave the remaining boroughs of New York City to other, more adventurous photographers.

 

Oh, actually, there's one more small detail: leave the photos alone for a month -- unedited, untouched, and unviewed. By the time I actually focus on the first of these "every-block" photos, I will have taken more than 8,000 images on the nearby streets of the Upper West Side -- plus another several thousand in Rome, Coney Island, and the various spots in NYC where I traditionally take photos. So I don't expect to be emotionally attached to any of the "every-block" photos, and hope that I'll be able to make an objective selection of the ones worth looking at.

 

As for the criteria that I've used to select the small subset of every-block photos that get uploaded to Flickr: there are three. First, I'll upload any photo that I think is "great," and where I hope the reaction of my Flickr-friends will be, "I have no idea when or where that photo was taken, but it's really a terrific picture!"

 

A second criterion has to do with place, and the third involves time. I'm hoping that I'll take some photos that clearly say, "This is New York!" to anyone who looks at it. Obviously, certain landscape icons like the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty would satisfy that criterion; but I'm hoping that I'll find other, more unexpected examples. I hope that I'll be able to take some shots that will make a "local" viewer say, "Well, even if that's not recognizable to someone from another part of the country, or another part of the world, I know that that's New York!" And there might be some photos where a "non-local" viewer might say, "I had no idea that there was anyplace in New York City that was so interesting/beautiful/ugly/spectacular."

 

As for the sense of time: I remember wandering around my neighborhood in 2005, photographing various shops, stores, restaurants, and business establishments -- and then casually looking at the photos about five years later, and being stunned by how much had changed. Little by little, store by store, day by day, things change … and when you've been around as long as I have, it's even more amazing to go back and look at the photos you took thirty or forty years ago, and ask yourself, "Was it really like that back then? Seriously, did people really wear bell-bottom jeans?"

 

So, with the expectation that I'll be looking at these every-block photos five or ten years from now (and maybe you will be, too), I'm going to be doing my best to capture scenes that convey the sense that they were taken in the year 2013 … or at least sometime in the decade of the 2010's (I have no idea what we're calling this decade yet). Or maybe they'll just say to us, "This is what it was like a dozen years after 9-11".

 

Movie posters are a trivial example of such a time-specific image; I've already taken a bunch, and I don't know if I'll ultimately decide that they're worth uploading. Women's fashion/styles are another obvious example of a time-specific phenomenon; and even though I'm definitely not a fashion expert, I suspected that I'll be able to look at some images ten years from now and mutter to myself, "Did we really wear shirts like that? Did women really wear those weird skirts that are short in the front, and long in the back? Did everyone in New York have a tattoo?"

 

Another example: I'm fascinated by the interactions that people have with their cellphones out on the street. It seems that everyone has one, which certainly wasn't true a decade ago; and it seems that everyone walks down the street with their eyes and their entire conscious attention riveted on this little box-like gadget, utterly oblivious about anything else that might be going on (among other things, that makes it very easy for me to photograph them without their even noticing, particularly if they've also got earphones so they can listen to music or carry on a phone conversation). But I can't help wondering whether this kind of social behavior will seem bizarre a decade from now … especially if our cellphones have become so miniaturized that they're incorporated into the glasses we wear, or implanted directly into our eyeballs.

 

Oh, one last thing: I've created a customized Google Map to show the precise details of each day's photo-walk. I'll be updating it each day, and the most recent part of my every-block journey will be marked in red, to differentiate it from all of the older segments of the journey, which will be shown in blue. You can see the map, and peek at it each day to see where I've been, by clicking on this link

 

URL link to Ed's every-block progress through Manhattan

 

If you have any suggestions about places that I should definitely visit to get some good photos, or if you'd like me to photograph you in your little corner of New York City, please let me know. You can send me a Flickr-mail message, or you can email me directly at ed-at-yourdon-dot-com

 

Stay tuned as the photo-walk continues, block by block ...

Permit To Travel machines were originally a Network Southeast innovation at locations where proper ticket machines may not have been cost effective or where machines or ticket offices were only open at certain times of the day. Rendered generally obsolete in the mid-2000's by chip and pin credit card ticket machines they may still be used when these machines may be out of order. These machines have sometimes caused controversy as they will issue a permit to travel for as little as 5p and if travelling from one unbarriered station to another holders of the permit who are not challenged and choose not to pay their fare at a working ticket machine or office can in theory travel 'legally' for only a fraction of the actual fare.

 

Ruggedly built by Almex and similar in design to 1980's style parking ticket machines this surviving machine is seen here on the Hertford Loop outside the station at Watton-at-Stone, on 2nd August 2016.

Building permit issued 1924 Architect Jules-Michel Gaislin

 

www.carnetdesentier.com/media/pdf/Carnet_de_sentier-Reims...

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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In the spring of 2014, we came to Paris for a week of relaxed vacationing, mostly to wander around and see some old familiar places. It was a “return” trip for both of us, though in my case I think it’s probably been more than 15 years since I was even here on a business trip.

 

Business trips to any city don’t really count as a “visit” -- since they basically involve flying into a busy airport at night, taking a taxi to a generic business-traveler’s hotel (a Hilton in Paris looks just like a Hilton in Cairo), and then spending several days working in the hotel (if the purpose of the trip was a seminar or computer conference), or at a client’s office (also “generic” in most cases — you can’t even tell what floor you’re on when you get off the elevator, because every floor of “open office” layouts is the same). The trip usually ends in the late afternoon or evening of the final day, with a mad dash back to the airport to catch the last plane home to NYC. Thus, a business trip to Paris is almost indistinguishable from a business trip to Omaha. Or Albany. Or Tokyo.

 

But I did make a few “personal” visits to Paris in the 1970s and 1980s, so I looked forward to having the chance to walk through some familiar places along the Left Bank. I’m not so interested in museums, monuments, cathedrals, or other “official” tourist spots (but yes, I have been to the Eiffel Tower, just as I’ve been to the Empire State Building in NYC), so you won’t see any photos of those places in this Flickr set.

 

As a photographer, I now concentrate mostly on people and street scenes. The details of the location don’t matter much to me, though I do try to geotag my photos whenever I can. But for the most part, what you’ll see here are scenes of people and local things in Paris that made me smile as I walked around …

(more details later, as time permits)

 

************************

 

It's been a little over a year since the afternoon in March 2013 when I last photographed the tango dancers in New York City -- even though I know they come together every Sunday afternoon, down at the end of Pier 45 (where Christopher Street runs into the Hudson River in the West Village) through spring, summer, and fall seasons. But I’ve been busy with other projects, and also photographing other events and gatherings … so I eventually forgot all about the dancers and the pier, and drifted an entire summer, fall and winter before there was a combination of free time and clear skies in mid-April that reminded me that I should see what Pier 45 looked like, once again.

 

It occurred to me that tango (and any other form of dance) is all about movement and sound; you can’t very well stand silently, in one place, and tell people that you’ve been dancing the tango. So I spent much of my time, on this excursion, taking video-recordings of the dancers. These aren’t Hollywood movies, but they’ll give you much more a visual and audio sense of what goes on than you might have gotten from a collection of “still” photos.

 

As for the still photos included in this album: they’re mostly of the people who were sitting and talking, or walking and strolling, on the periphery of the dance area. So they don’t really have anything to do with tango dancing per se; but in my own head, I always associate them with the dance “scene.”

 

I’ve created Flickr albums of roughly a dozen different tango dances, which you can see here on Flickr:

 

www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/collections/72157624855980784/

 

And if you don’t know what any of this is about, it might be useful to see the notes that I attached to my first tango album, taken in Washington, DC in the summer of 2009:

 

*******************

 

Let me begin with a disclaimer: I do not dance the tango, and I know little or nothing about its history, its folklore, or even its steps and rhythms. I'm vaguely aware that it originated in Argentina (and Uruguay) in the 1890s, that a new style known as "tango nuevo" began to emerge in the late 1990s, and that various actors and actresses -- including Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Antonio Banderas, Madonna, Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger(!), among others -- have performed the tango in various movies. But beyond that, it never really occurred to me that it played any significant role here in the U.S.

 

That is, not until the summer of 2009, when I happened to return to my hotel, on a business trip to Washington, DC, just as a local gathering of tango aficionados was dancing to their music in a nearby square known as Freedom Plaza. I photographed the event (see my Flickr set Last tango in Washington) and learned from one of the participants that there were similar informal events in New York City, at the South Street seaport, during the summer and fall weekends. When I got back to New York, I searched on the Internet, and found a schedule of upcoming tango events just as my Washington acquaintance had indicated; but travel schedules, inclement weather, and other distractions prevented me from actually attending any of them; by the end of the autumn season, I had forgotten all about it.

 

For some reason, something reminded me of the tango again this spring -- perhaps some music that I overheard, perhaps a scene on some otherwise forgettable television show. In any case, I searched again on the Internet, and discovered that a tango "event" would be taking place on a Sunday afternoon -- but not at the South Street Seaport (on the east side of Manhattan, near the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges), but rather at Pier 45, where Christopher Street runs into the Hudson River in Greenwich Village. The event was scheduled to take place between 3:30 and 7:30 PM, and another quick search on the Internet informed me that sunset would occur at 7:30 PM. So I arrived a little before 6 PM, as the sun was beginning to drop down in the western sky, and photographed for a little more than an hour.

 

I captured some 522 images, of which 75 have survived in this Flickr set. For the majority of the photos, I stood at the end of the pier, with my back to the Hudson River and the sinking sun; the sun broken in and out of clouds on the horizon -- and because I was wearing sunglasses, I didn't fully appreciate the extent of sun-glare that was often striking the faces of the dancers, as well as the shadows where the sun wasn't hitting at all. But I think I recovered most of the inadvertent over-exposure and under-exposure with some post-processing on the computer... I was also able to get some shots facing westward and southward, so that you could see the New Jersey skyline behind the dancers; indeed, there are a couple of shots with the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Bridge in the background. (Note to self: come back here at twilight, on a Sunday evening in mid-summer; it could well be even more spectacular.)

 

Since I have no personal expertise (or even competence) at the dance, there's not much that I can say about what's going on; I have to let the pictures speak for themselves. Though it wasn't universally true, I noticed several occasions where the women were taller than their partners; I gather that that's an advantage when the dancers are twirling and twisting around. Also, I had the distinct impression -- just as was the case in Washington last summer -- that few (if any) of the dancers were "couples" in the traditional sense. Indeed, many of them seemed to be strangers who had met for the first time at this tango event, but who seemed to enjoy the experience of the dance together. And others, from what little I could tell, might have encountered one another at previous tango events -- but had no other interactions or relationship with one another.

 

In any case, I had photographed everything I could imagine photographing by a little after 7 PM. I put away my camera equipment, walked a few blocks east to Hudson Street to enjoy a delicious dinner at a local restaurant with my wife, and made a note to check the Internet again for future tango events in Central Park and the South Street Seaport. If you'd like to pursue this on your own, check out Richard Lipkin's Guide to Argentine Tango in New York City.

 

Enjoy...

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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In late May of 2014, my wife mentioned that she had seen a New York Times article indicating that some interesting sculptures were being installed in Riverside Park South — the stretch of Riverside Park (along the Hudson River, on the western edge of Manhattan) between 70th Street and 59th Street. If you’re interested in checking it out, the article is titled "Sculptors to bring works to city parks,” from the May 29, 2014 issue of the paper.

 

Of course, I thought that the sculptures might be really interesting, and thus worthy of some photographs; alas, they turned out to be rather mundane (at least from a photographer’s perspective), but there was no way I could know that until I saw them first-hand.

 

I had been down to this section of Riverside Park once before to photograph — but I was shocked to see that it had been four years earlier, in May 2010. If you’re curious, you can see those photos here on Flickr:

 

www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157624207637080

 

Here’s an excerpt/summary of what I wrote after that initial May 2010 photo-stroll:

 

"After lunch [at an outdoor cafe at the base of the pier that extends out into the Hudson River at 70th Street], I was planning to walk north and check out the new pathway [connecting Riverside Park to Riverside Park North] ... but first, there was an old abandoned freight elevator at the edge of the water, which I decided I should photograph. It was just to the south of the 70th-Street cafe, and after taking the photos, I looked a little further south, and saw that there was a broad pathway, carefully mowed grass, and lots of people strolling ... where? further south!

 

"So I followed the path, and found that it expanded into a complex web of sidewalks, mini-gardens, mini-piers jutting out into the river, wooden-slat chairs, picnic benches, and boardwalks leading through wild grass and flowers that had been carefully planted. All of this continued, block after block after block, down below the elevated West Side Highway, all the way down to 59th Street. And it turns out that that is where "Riverside Park South" actually starts.

 

"So that's where most of the photos in this set were actually taken. There are some strange sights along the way, because the whole area used to be occupied by working piers that loaded and unloaded ships filled with freight and cargo, on and off railroads that snaked their way along the west side of Manhattan. But as ship-borne cargo was gradually replaced by truck, rail, and air cargo, the piers and docks gradually fell into disuse; and when the Penn Central Railroad went bankrupt, they really fell into disuse.

 

"It turns out that there was a massive fire along this area back in June of 1971 (a time when I lived in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, and was more-or-less oblivious to what was going on in Manhattan), and the fire was so hot that it melted and warped the steel girders of many of the docks, cranes, and loading structures. When the whole area was renovated recently (apparently part of a required "civic contribution" by Donald Trump when he acquired the rights to build condos and apartment buildings along the stretch of the far West Side of Manhattan, from 72nd Street to the mid-60s), the city planners initially intended to remove all of the old twisted metal and rotting wooden piers. But local civic groups prevailed upon the city to leave some of it intact, as a reminder of what was there before... I could go on with more details, but you can check it out for yourself here on Wikipedia…”

 

So, now — in early June of 2014 — I took only a few photos, including two out on the pier that extends into the river at 70th Street. You’ll get a sense of the grass and the trees and the spring season that lent a magical air to everything in the park at that point. But as for the sculptures: yawn. Maybe if I was a “real” artist, I would be better equipped to understand and appreciate them. Maybe the problem is that I really only know how to do “street photography.” Anyway, I’ll leave the sculptures to someone else to capture...

View On Black

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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I first visited Coney Island back in the late 1950s, after what seemed like an endless bus ride from our little town on Long Island, with a few dozen high school classmates. We wandered up and down the boardwalk, munched on a few hot dogs, and rode a few of the ferris wheels. But we knew almost nothing about the history of the raucous amusement park, and didn't even know that the term "ferris wheel" became popular because George Washington Ferris, Jr. built such a contraption (the general nature of which had been known as "pleasure wheels," originating in Bulgaria in the 17th century) for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago (but I'll bet you didn't know any of that, either. And you probably didn't know that Coney Island is actually a peninsula now, having been partially connected to mainland Brooklyn by landfill.)

 

In the half-century(!) since then, I don't think I've been back to Coney Island at all. I've learned a little about the island's history; the original Dutch name was "Conyne Eylandt," where "conyne" morphed into the old English word "coney," which translates roughly into "rabbit." So it was originally Rabbit Island, and rabbit hunting was apparently quite popular until resort development began in the 19th century. (There are other theories, too, including the one that the island was named after Henry Hudson's assistant, John Coleman, who was supposedly slain by one of the tribes of Native Americans.)

 

Anyway, the original Coney Island Hotel was constructed in 1829, and the first carousel was built in 1876. And from 1885 to 1896, the Coney Island Elephant was the first sight to greet immigrants arriving by ship from Europe, for they would see it before the Statue of Liberty became visible. Railroad lines, steamboat docks, and subway lines gradually made it easier and faster for New York City residents to visit, and what had once been a fairly remote resort requiring half a day to reach, gradually became a popular recreational site for day-trippers.

 

"Nathan's Famous" hot dog stand opened in 1916, and it's still there (some photos in this Flickr set will confirm it). Since its opening, Nathan's has sponsored an annual "Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest" on July 4th, and it now gets fairly broad attention and TV coverage. But aside from that, the popularity of other famous parts of Coney Island began to fade after World War II. Luna Park (which was first opened in 1903) closed in 1944 after a series of fires; a new Luna Park was eventually opened in May 2010. And Steeplechase Park (which I'm sure I must have seen on my first visit) closed in 1964. And then there was Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012, which severely damaged the boardwalk and various parts of the overall amusement park; but Nathan's continued running its annual hot-dog eating contest, and Luna Park reopened in March 2013.

 

Notwithstanding all of this historical background, I really wasn't sure what to expect when my wife and I decided to make a day-trip excursion on a sunny weekend in May, riding the subway all the way from the Upper West Side to the Coney Island - Stillwell Avenue terminal. I expected the boardwalk would still be there, and indeed it was (partially rebuilt). I expected Nathan's hot-dog emporium to still be prominently visible, and indeed it was. But my old childhood memory was one of dozens, maybe hundreds, of ferris wheels and roller-coaster rides; now there seem to be only a few, and they're not nearly as impressive as they once were (at least to me).

 

I guess I expected the crowds, especially as it was a warm, sunny, blue-skied weekend day. But I didn't expect so many dogs; it seemed like almost every one of the people strolling the boardwalk was dragging along a dog of some kind. Big ones, little ones, noisy ones, silent ones … but why on earth would a dog want to visit Coney Island?

 

Anyway, now I can at least say that I've been here twice in my lifetime. And twice may be enough … except that Coney Island is now the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the New York Mets. So maybe I'll come back out here sometime and watch a baseball game. It might be more interesting than watching the Yankees or the Mets ...

(More details later, as time permits)

 

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It's been several months since I last photographed the tango dancers in New York City, even though I know they've been gathering each Sunday down at the end of Pier 45, where Christopher Street runs into the Hudson River in the West Village. But the weather was rainy on several occasions, and I was out of town on various other occasions ... so, half of the summer drifted away before there was a combination of free time and clear skies that enabled me to find a quiet perch out at the end of the pier, to watch the dancers once again.

 

As I've pointed out in some previous Flickr albums (here, for example), I do not dance the tango (or any other civilized form of dance), and even after watching the dancers for over a year, I know almost nothing about the history, the folklore, or even the steps and rhythms of the tango. But after accidentally stumbling upon a local gathering of tango aficionados on a business trip to Washington in August 2009 (see my Flickr set Last tango in Washington), I discovered that there were similar informal events throughout New York City. When I got home, I searched on the Internet and found a schedule of upcoming tango events at several different NYC locations -- including Pier 45, where I made my first visit in mid-April of 2010, which led to this set of photos.

 

I returned in mid-July of last year, even though I knew it would be much hotter ... and indeed, it was so hot that the music did not even begin until 6 PM. But then the dancers began to appear, one after another, until there were a couple dozen pairs of dancers filling a large space under a sheltering canopy, as the sun went down. And since it was the end of a hot summer evening, tango wasn't the only thing going on: there were people sunbathing, watching the boats on the river, playing frisbee, or simply enjoying themselves. I photographed a little of everything; you can see it in this Flickr set.

 

After that, I came back in August to watch the tango dancers in Riverside Park (also on the Hudson River, but up near 68th Street, which you can see here), and then back to Pier 45 in September (here) and October (here). There was even a tango party on Valentine's Day of 2011, at the Winter Garden building down near the site of the 9-11 tragedy; you can see that (here).

 

But the winter chill of Valentine's Day is now only a distant memory; and springtime has come and gone. Summer is now upon us, and I suspect it will be hot and sultry until sometime after Labor Day. But I also suspect the tango dancers will be here every Sunday, come rain or shine, in hot weather and the occasional cool respite. In case I don't manage to return with my camera in the next few weeks, you should come down and watch for yourself.

 

And if you'd like to watch some other examples NYC tango dancing, check out Richard Lipkin's Guide to Argentine Tango in New York City.