I failed guys. I was gonna write this blog post right before I went back to New York in Dec '17 but I ended up getting bogged down with a few things. But without further ado, here's day 3 from my solo trip to New York. 

Day 3 (Saturday) I woke up again with no complete itinerary. I'm thankful for my friend Kyra that I was staying with because if I recall correctly, I had Smorgasburg in phone as a food place to try but she and her friends kind of solidified my plan to go. She invited me to tag along with them later in the afternoon. But until then, I ventured from the Upper East Side over to Brooklyn. I wanted to see the famous Dumbo spot that everyone always shoots and is oft times displayed in rom-com movies.

Now when I came off the Subway, I don't why I was expecting it to pretty much just be right there. But man was I wrong lol. I walked maybe a block or two over and was so confused. I wish I took a picture of the area I was in because it was definitely not what I thought lol. From there, I turned to walk up a steep hill for 2 blocks and came to this area.

Came across this little area on my way to the "spot" and thought it was kinda dope. 

Eventually made my way to the Dumbo spot...and of course. it was a lot people walking around. 

Ok lemme stop being dramatic lol. Though it was quite the crowd, they weren't really in the way. 

Ok for those who wonder why am I calling it Dumbo, that's it's actual name. Yeah. I learned that it was actually an acronym while there lol. Come to learn some of the other Manhattan districts within the boroughs are acronyms for other things. But this area is properly known as Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (DUMBO). 

From the point of where I took these photos of both bridges, I sat for maybe an hour. Headphones in, music going, absorbing the chill side of the bustling city life. It was tranquil for a Saturday morning, and to be in an area unfamiliar to me with nothing pressing to attend or deadlines to meet. 

Before I knew it though, Kyra texted me saying they were going to start making their way to Smorgasburg. I hadn't a clue as to where it was going to be. I plugged it into my GPS and boy was I glad to see they were going to the one in Williamsburg (yes!) since I was already in Brooklyn.  

These next few shots will be unedited iPhone shots. I took these while walking to the meeting location. I'll prob edit these and post them to my iPhone only page @steeveaux (shameless plug). This wienermobile aka "Wurst Case" car below was amusing to me and made me feel like I was in California for some reason.

I got to the spot before the girls...and waited...and waited...and WAITED. Lol I prob waited literally an hour. I took a few pics of the only interesting area right outside the Smorgasburg area. 

The girls finally showed, and we walked around the event and grabbed a few diff foods from the different restaurants (iPhone shots again). I didn't take a pic of everything we all got because my hand was full with that pineapple juice, which was really good by the way. 

The story behind the shot of the pineapple juice on the beach is I saw three Asian girls sitting at the beach, and I wasn't completely content with the pineapple shot I had from earlier, so I asked if I could use theirs. I tossed mine in the trash maybe 10 min before hand and they were happy to let me shoot theirs especially since I taught them about portrait mode on their iPhones (smh) lol. 
Girls wanted a group shot for the day so being the photog on hand, iPhone's portrait mode got a workout lol. 

The reason why they're wearing U of M colors and clothing is because there was a game that day. They played and beat Perdue and 28-10. We went to a bar somewhere in FiDi (Financial District) I believe to watch the game. I ended up leaving around halftime though because I wanted to hit the Top of the Rock at Sunset. 

I arrived a tad later than expected so I kinda missed sunset. But this shot is def a fave from there. 

The Empire State Building is able to light up for different happenings in the city. The reason the top was illuminated with red was for the Global Citizen Festival which was headlined by Stevie Wonder, Green Day, The Lumineers, The Killers, and The Chainsmokers and also performances by Big Sean, Pharrell and others.  The concert was held in Central Park and it was visible from the top. You can see it in these two iPhone shots below. Look for the bright lights in the middle of the park.

On my way out, I stopped into this room and I really wish her boyfriend moved out the way, because this shot would have been perfect lol. The security guard standing to my left knew what I was waiting for and she said she was tempted to ask the guy to step away so I can get the shot, but I said nah leave them alone lol.  (iPhone shots)

After leaving the Top of the Rock, I kinda lingered around the Radio City. Was able to do a pan shot on this guy on a bike lol.

Then shot the reflection of Radio City in my lens from my phone. 

After leaving the Rockefeller/Radio City area, I made my way back to Kyra's place. But wanted to get one last set of shots so I went to check to see if the roof was accessible. She has a great view of the city rush right from the roof. 

Went to the other side of the roof and took shots of buildings...respecting privacy of course lol. 

This was a peaceful ending to my day for sure. I remember sitting on the roof for awhile just relishing in the winds and hearing the traffic flow over the bridges and under the overpass.

If you really know me, you'll know that oft times I don't use a tripod for long exposures. I improvise by propping the camera up some how or simply holding it myself. I'll let your mind wonder which way I did it for the shot above.

Fin.