Shooting Day 3

Thanks to all my readers! Last night in NYC! Remember to check the site  and spread the word about the blog to all your friends!

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I'm wicked wiped after today. I got into the city around 12:30 PM and walked all the way from Madison Square Garden to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. to give you some perspective, I went from 33rd Street to 80th Street.  The walk was actually really nice. From the Met I took the subway to Ground Zero.  I was a little confused as to how to get to the ferries, so I took a cab.  Lady Liberty looks wicked small on the Polaroid.  On my way back to the subway, some creepy, old guy handing out tour ads hit on me. EWWWWW!

I took the 1 back to Times Square and walked to the Midtown. There, I took pictures of the Time and Life Building, Radio City, and a couple food stands. One of the vendors flipped out and asked to see the pic. I assured him that he wasn't in the picture. INS, anyone?

The last pic I took in the fading daylight was the sign for "Next to Normal". A critically acclaimed and NPR recommended musical.

Review of today's pics:
1. Metropolitan Museum of Art
2. Ground Zero
3. Statue of Liberty
4. Time and Life Building
5. Radio City
6. Sabrett's and Nuts for Nuts stands
7. "Next to Normal" sign

Shooting Day 2

Thank you to all my readers! I'll be on a more regular schedule again once I get back to Boston. But, please keep checking the site daily and spreading the word around!

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Yesterday, I was supposed to get up early and get a lot of shots down, but it was the day after Thanksgiving and it was gloomy so I didn't make it to the city until the afternoon.
I ended up covering a lot of area anyway. I went from Madison Square Garden to Central Park.
These are the shots I took:
1. Empire State Building
2. NY Public Library
3. Grand Central Station
4. Carnegie Hall
5. Central Park

I even stopped to have some coconut at a Nuts for Nuts stand. I highly recommend them.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you eat lots of turkey and remember to count your blessings!

First day of shooting

Thank you to all my readers and followers! I'll be changing the posting time from 3 pm - 5 pm EST to 6 pm - 9 pm EST since I will need to utilize all the daylight I can.  Don't forget to keep checking the blog daily and spread the word!

Comments = LOVE!

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I survived navigating New York City by myself! I guess I kind of cheated because I only stayed in the Theatre District. The first thing I did when I got off the train was make a bee-line to the TKTS discount booth. I did this first so that I could plan my photos around what time I had to be at the show.  Based on my friend's advice, I bought a matinee ticket for "Hair". I made a steal with the tickets and I reccomend the show, but be advised it's not exactly kid-friendly (nudity, swearing, sexual content, suggested violence). For the full review visit my livejournal account.

My signed Playbill and my ticket from "Hair"

Taken with my BlackBerry Curve

The first picture I took was of Broadway musical billboards.  Next, I took a picture of the people walking through Times Square.  After that, I took a picture of the Reuters building.  I tried to find the original "New York Times" building, but I ended up taking a picture of the current one.  The last picture I took happened by chance.  While trying to find the theatre "Hair" was playing, I passed none other than Birdland! So, even though Birdland was on the lower end of my list (ludicrous, I know) I doubled back and took a pic.  By this time it was getting close to the showtime, so I ate and went to the show, hoping there might be some daylight left when I got out.  No such luck.  The other 15 Polaroids will have to wait until Friday and Saturday.

You're probably looking for the Polaroids at this point and I hate to say that you won't see them under I get back to Emerson. That way, I can scan them instead of taking crappy pics of them with my BlackBerry.

1st day is done. I got 5 pics and 15 to go!

1st Night in NY

Thank you, once again, to all of my readers and followers. I'll be uploading mobile posts and then, longer posts everyday. So, don't forget to check the blog everyday from 3 pm - 5 pm EST. And please keep spreading the word!

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I took the Peter Pan bus from Boston to New York City.  The ride took around 4 hours and it was pretty sweet since I got WiFi. It was actually a nice day today and I got in while there was still daylight, but I was lugging around all my stuff, plus I thought I'd take the time to scope out some prime real estate to photograph. And I have to figure out a way to store my Polaroids while I'm out and about.

View from my bus seat

Taken with my BlackBerry

So the weather looks a little better for the rest of the week.

Tonight: Clear this evening then becoming mostly cloudy after midnight. Low 44F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow: Cloudy. Slight chance of a shower late. High near 55F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow night: Showers in the evening, then cloudy overnight. Low 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

Thursday: Cloudy skies with a few showers later in the day. High 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.

Friday: Chance of afternoon showers. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 40s.

Saturday: Cloudy, periods of rain. Highs in the mid 40s and lows in the upper 30s.

info from Yahoo!Weather 

Hopefully the weather stays like this or gets better.

Sorry for the short post without any pics, but I'm currenty working from my BlackBerry. I'll be posting a longer version later tonight.

Thank you to all my faithful readers and followers! Don't forget to check the site between 3 pm and 5 pm EST. And keep spreading the word!
I'm officially in NY!

Rain, Rain Go Away - NY Weather Report

So, my roommate pointed out that a couple of storms are coming to the North East and I decided it would be best if I checked the weather reports for NY.

Captures of Yahoo!Weather report for NY

So, not the best weather for taking pictures. Hopefully, the weather will clear up or I'll just have to deal with it. I'm also a little down because the reality of not seeing my roommates for nearly a week just hit it and it's pretty darn depressing. Despite the crappy weather conditions and emotional toil, I'm still super excited to go.

8 Tips for Taking Polaroid Pictures

2 MORE DAYS UNTIL NY! 

Thank you to all of my followers and readers! Please keep checking the blog daily. I'll be posting between 3 pm - 6 pm EST everyday. And spread the word!

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Picture of a 55mm lens... Best related pic I had.

Taken with a Canon SLR Rebel

 
Here's a list of tips I found about taking Polaroid photos:

1. Don't clutter the frame.
2. Take your time.
3. If the photo turns out horribly, edit it (draw on it, cut it, load it on Photoshop).
4. DO NOT shake the Polaroid. The current technology no longer requires shaking to develop.
5. Store pictures at room temperature.
Night-time
6. Use flash and all available light sources.
7. Get as close to your subject as possible without compromising focus.
Warning: Longer exposure means more light, at night a long exposure time could cause light streaks.
8. LOVE YOUR SUBJECT AND HAVE FUN.

Information from:
Associated Content
eHow

Polaroids of New York ON SALE

This project has peaked my interest in the art of Polaroid photography. I've been  a huge chunk of spending my free time researching the resurgence of people taking Polaroid pictures.  When I think about it, it's actually not that far-fetched for a riding trend in using instant film when it's about to die.  Everyone loves retro; it's cool, it's arts-y, it shows you have intellect (supposedly).

I stumbled on this website where a guy was selling Polaroids of New York for anywhere from $5 USD to $50 USD.  Now that might seem a bit price-y, but then again, who can put a dollar sign to a dying art?  Joe, the photographer, will mail anyone a picture of anything in New York.  He lists sites such as Coney Island, Brooklyn Bridge, the view from the top of the Empire State building to everyday things like rush hour traffic jam, snobby upscale art gallery, and his apartment.

 Capture of Joe's banner on his website

Check it out if you're interested.
http://haybale.org/

SPECIAL DELIVERY!

Thank you to my four followers and my readers! Keep checking the blog daily for new posts and spread the word!

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I took a nap after my one and only Friday class (which, of course, is at 8:30 am), I woke up to one of the most wonderful notifications on my phone.

Capture of the Emerson Mail Service package notification

My film arrived! I picked up the package from the mail room and could hardly contain my excitement as I ripped the package open. I took a quick snapshot, then proceeded to crank up the fan in my room all the way.  Hopefully, my roommates won't mind the room being a little chilly.  For extra measure, I resealed the package with duct tape to keep all moisture out.

The 2 packs of Polaroid 600 film.

Taken with my BlackBerry Curve.

The package with the beautiful teal duct tape protection

Taken with my BlackBerry Curve

The reality that I only have 20 pictures at my disposable has finally set in and I'd be lying if I didn't say I was nervous about my endeavor. But, I'm so happy that I got the film in time! Now that I have all the necessary supplies, a big load is off my shoulders and I'm so pumped to go. NEW YORK OR BUST!

Ordering the Film

My Amazon order for 20 photos of the LAST of the few remaining Polaroid 600 instant film was confirmed!

Capture of the confirmation email

Picture of the twin pack

I would like everyone to note that the film cost $59.99 USD. That is more than what I paid for the actual camera! I spent a minimum of an hour going back and forth about whether I should go the cheap(er) route and buy a single pack that cost around $36 USD or buy the twin pack or just shut up and put down the cash for a 3 pack which cost around $100 USD. I chose the twin pack because it was a compromise between being cheap or having more pictures.  Cost is only one of my worries.

Since I ordered it on November 18th, I put a rush on the order so that I could get the film on time.  Hopefully, the film will arrive before I leave for NY on the 24th. I'm hoping that the proximity of the distributor will help get the package to me ASAP. If the film isn't here by Monday morning, I'll be forced to go and buy film at Urban Outfitters.

Introduction

A week into the semester, my digital camera broke. It was a Canon Powershot SD750 that apparently has a manufacturing glitch; if you take the memory card out too many times, then the little switch on the inside indicting whether or not the memory card is locked will break. And being the avid photographer I am, I took the memory card out one too many times. CRAP. Instead of getting a new digital camera right away, I decided to wait and ask for a new one at Christmas.

My broken Canon.
Picture taken with my BlackBerry Curve.

Then, I made plans to go to NY for Thanksgiving. I was pained by the fact that I was going to be in NY without a camera. So, I ordered a Polaroid One Step Express camera kit from Amazon. I thought it would be fun to experiment with an old school model.

My Polaroid camera.
Picture taken with my BlackBerry Curve.

I received the package today and was ecstatic! The camera came with a carrying case, but no film. No worries, right? Wrong. The One Step Express takes Polariod 600 film. I looked at the listings for 600 film and found a 10 pack cost near the amount I paid for the camera. YIKES! So I went to polaroid.com to try and buy it directly from the company. Guess what, Polaroid has discontinued manufacturing all instant film. So, the listings on Amazon are the last instant films in existence! While trying to find the best deals on film, I stumbled upon a review that mentioned a group of people (http://www.the-impossible-project.com/) trying to re-open a Polaroid factory and start re-selling instant film for those of us who still own non-digital Polaroid cameras.

Realizing that I stumbled upon a dying art, I was inspired to create a photography project. Armed with a Polaroid One Step Express and 20 photos of Polaroid 600 film (I ordered a twin pack of 600 film, today, and put it on rush), I will document my first trip to NY. This will be a challenge for me because I've never worked with a Polaroid camera before and I'm limited to only 20 pictures. This goes against my personal photographing style. I'm accustomed to digital cameras where I can take as many pictures as I want and not worry so much about messing up.