Stephen Crosson

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Lost in New York - Day 2

I have plenty of images to share, so I'll try not to write as much but I make no promises lol. It's been over a month since my trip, and all of the minor or small details, might be getting lost as time continues to stroll. So I'm using the images in my Lightroom Catalog to jog my memory of happenings before and after the image(s). 

I woke up to a beautiful Friday morning in Manhattan and I walked to the subway to try and start my foodie adventures....

Ok let me start off by saying that me being a foodie in NY was a MAJOR fail lol. Half the places I took note of on Instagram either were SUPER old photos and/or the place either relocated or closed (fail one), or they were in Jersey (fail two). So needless to say, I did not get most, if not any of the food I planned to get during my trip lol. 

This morning I was on a hunt for food. The GPS led me from the upper east side to lower Manhattan in the financial district. Numerous subway stops later, I surfaced and had NO idea where I was. Didn't even realize where I was at first until I saw a street sign. I reached Wall Street without looking for it lol. 

The image with the girl in the street is the scene I had seen once coming out. Felt like a movie...maybe I'd seen the area in a movie before and it just hadn't clicked, but that area is super photogenic and honestly wish I had a muse with me in that moment to get some shots.

I kind of wish I went in to this building but it was definitely cool to see, partly due to the banners hanging outside. Without them, I wouldna even known what that building was lol. Judge me not.

Since my initial food trip to the one spot was a bust, I walked to another place which was nearby. Never heard of it, only saw one picture that I stumbled across on Instagram while trying to find something to eat. So I walked several blocks to this place only for them to say they weren't open yet. It was about 8:45ish, and they told me they open at 10. I was so hungry but decided I'd wait and not snack on anything so I didn't ruin the experience. So, I went walking yet again lol.

While walking I came across a shot I haven't seen anyone share before so I felt rather unique for coming across it. I don't doubt it hasn't been shot before because it is New York but either way it was a good moment for me to have lol. After taking the shot, I thought "Well, I have my 'Never Forget' shot for next year if I post one". Maybe that's a bad thought to have, but I enjoyed this sight.

That was a nice spot to see on my way since that's where I was actually going.

Upon walking through the WTC Memorial, I made my way to Oculus. Spotted something right by the door and pointed my cam. Straightway a construction worker decided to strike up a convo with me lol. "What you shooting?" Me: This crane... Him: Why? Me: I like the way it looks...its minimal and I'm a fan of minimalism (hoping he didn't ask what minimalism was). Him: Ahh ok. Yea New York is good for shooting all kinds of stuff. Me: Yea I know. That's why I'm here shooting lol. It's always something happening. Him: Yea like you should shoot that! *Points past my head* If you know me, you know I give the straightest faces when people say or do things and I just don't have a feeling to muster up other words lol. This man pointed to this...window washers. WINDOW. WASHERS. I legit shot this picture with the purpose to talk about this later lol. 

Oh ok brotha. *Walks away* 
Nah I laughed a bit and said "Hmm I've seen those in my city so that's not too exciting haha. But it was nice talking man. Take care." and I walked into Oculus.

I spent a considerable amount of time inside of Oculus. Like I looked at my timestamps, and I was there for over an hour lol. Which is good since I was technically trying to kill time before I could eat. 

I was glad to see that it was fairly empty, compared to the last time I went (during the Christmas season). You can see my 2016 vid that has Oculus in it here btw. 

Like I said, I spent a lot of time in here. So I was pretty excited over several images that I got. One of these I wish was a video, but I like it even as a still. The light play in the other is a great find to me because keep in mind, it's bright in this building so the beauty of the camera being able to shoot in a setting of what the eye can't see was dope and clutch.

Saw how much time passed and was geeked because it meant that I was about eat. As stated earlier, I was already hungry but at this point, I was ready to eat a llama. These next pics are from my iPhone. I have an iPhone only/food account on Instagram if you the reader, do not know. Check it out here.

I pretty much hightailed it back to the restaurant. Clinton Hall is the name of the restaurant and I soooo wish we had one here in Michigan. Mostly outdoor, so they have massive picnic tables as primary seating. Also have games like putt putt, giant Jenga, and more in the area. But more importantly, they have several beastly items on their menu! I ordered this...and did not know what I was getting myself into.

Now before you judge me, NO I did not eat all of that. Could I? Heck yea I could have. Why didn't I? Because I still wanted to be able to maneuver around the city on foot and not be rolled like a log. So I humbled myself and ate half. I lowkey wish I ate the cake too but I didn't. I boxed up the cake and the rest of the waffle and took it with me. 
Enter Mona.
Mona met me at Clinton Hall, and I was quite glad for her company. Her facial expression of seeing diabetes on a plate was quite hilarious. We sat and chatted for a bit and ended up leaving to go to the One WTC. 
Let me first say, Mona is a real one. Because she held my leftovers while I took pics, and didn't complain at all like "I know this negro is not handing this thing to me again" lol. In fact she kept holding it. I appreciate the little things since it wouldn't fit in my bag especially without spilling. Digressing, we made it to the WTC.

That place is pretty impressive! Another reason why she's a real one is because she was willing to let me shoot her lol. A lot of people always wanna put up some sort of fight at first lol, but she was down for the cause. 

I wish I had recorded the elevator video, but I don't wanna be one of those people lol. But in the elevator, it's a 360 view of Manhattan and as you climb, it pretty much goes from when it was nothing but farmland and being settled, to the present day. It was such an amazing CG video that it blew my mind. Moving along, we got to the top, saw another vid and then got to roam the observatory deck. 

I've never seen the Statue of Liberty in person. Only in movies, publications or social media but never with my own eyeballs. Seeing landmarks and other historical things are cool as well but for some reason I've always been drawn to Lady Liberty. So when I saw it out there in the distance, it was definitely a special moment for me. 

We spent time talking and must've circled the WTC at least 4 times. So you can imagine I have a lot of pics from all the different angles. 

After we left, I snagged a couple pics before walking her back to the station.

We walked to the Pennsylvania Station and little did I know that this was one of the buildings I had been looking to get into while in the city. I just hadn't planned really to find it's location. When we walked to the lower level, I looked up and all I saw was...

Amazed, I of course had to take some shots and I'm glad the officers didn't say anything but they prob are used to people coming in there to take photos. 

As I was leaving, sitting in the windows, there were at least 4 people with yellow shirts on. While I was trying to get the shot perfectly, I think one of them noticed me shooting at the end, and laid back....the jerk lol. 



The next several images, I honestly can't remember my train of thought of why I walked where I walked, and shot what I shot. So I'll just share them in the grid below. 

I don't know why, but I went to Times Square and just sat there for a good 2 hours. I moved around maybe 2 times but twas due to someone coming by me with cigarette smoke.

I took shots from different parts of the street, only to be followed by other tourists/photographers. I kid you not, I posted up on a corner where there were no photographers, only people in line for a restaurant, and a squad of photographers came up behind me, tripods and all, and set up all around me. Lol I just started looking at them like hey whats up but umm could yall not just encroach on my personal space like that? Haha. After a few minutes, they packed up and moved down the street.

One of my faves from Times Sq.

One of my faves from Times Sq.

After I left Times Square, like I said I spent two hours there so I figured I'd hit the area of Rockefeller before heading back to Kyra's for the night. These are the last few shots to share on my way back. Thanks for reading - didn't expect this to be lengthier than Day 1 lol. But I hope you enjoyed the images and following along with my trip. Days 3-5 will be one shorter post coming very soon. 

Fin.

Stephen CrossonComment