Gran and Grandad

by Posted in Black & White, People Leave a comment
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A cousin in the UK recently sent me this picture. She’s into genealogy and has been building a family tree for us. She informed me that this is my grandmother (Mary Emily Poole) and grandfather (George Dale). As you’ve probably guessed it was taken on their Wedding Day.

I knew my grandmother, but my grandfather passed away sometime before I born. I think this is the only picture I have of him. I vaguely remember another one, but I haven’t see it for years. I remember my grandmother as a rather ferocious, elderly women. It’s easy to forget that she was once young. I understood that he was quite a bit older than she was, but in the picture, this doesn’t seem to be case. Maybe he looked younger than his actual age.

This is the part where I usually mention what camera was used. Of course in this case I haven’t got a clue.

A pair of giant skeletons

by Posted in Black & White, Statues Leave a comment
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During a recent walk I came across these gigantic skeletons.They’re truly huge, at least twice the height of a normal human being. I would not have been surprised if this was around Hallowe’en, but the picture was taken in May!! I guess they’re so big that it’s hard (maybe impossible) to take them down every year. So there they stand all year round.

Taken with Sony RX100 M3

In New York City – Empire State Building

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    Walking back along 34th street we caught some views of The Empire State Building. What else is there to say about this iconic building?

    When I first arrived in NY in the 1970s it had just been surpassed as the world’s tallest building (a position it had held for almost 40years), by the World Trade Center, tragically destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

    Now, 50 years later it’s the 54th tallest building in the world, but it will always have a special place in my heart. Incredibly, the current world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is more than twice its height.

    Despite all of the above it’s not my favorite NY City building, which continues to be the Chrysler Building.

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    Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

    • In New York City – The Skylight Diner

    by Posted in Black & White, Buildings/Structures, Photographs, Photography Leave a comment
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    By this time in my walk I had been walking around for nearly three hours and I was feeling tired and hungry. So I looked for something/somewhere to eat. I realized that coincidentally I had walked to the largest (I think) photographic store in New York: B&H Photo. It occurred to me that I could find somewhere close by to eat and then after that have a walk around B&H. Then I could return to wherever I found and have a coffee while waiting for my granddaughter to arrive. Looking around I discovered the Skylight Diner, just across the road.

    It bills itself as “The Best Diner in Manhattan”, which might be true since there aren’t many classic diners left in Manhattan. I went in and found a very pleasant diner with, to my surprise, a number of nice black and white (i.e. monochrome) prints on the wall. I ordered a full English breakfast. The bacon was American style rather than my preferred English style (less smoky, less salty and more meaty), both other than that it really hit the spot. After I’d finished I went off to B&H. Amazingly I overcame my Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) and didn’t buy anything. Then, as mentioned above returned to wait for my granddaughter.

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    Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

    In New York City – The Moynihan Train Hall

    by Posted in Black & White, Buildings/Structures Leave a comment
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    I’ve always hated Pennsylvania Station, or at least the one under Madison Square Garden (which I also hate because it’s ugly and it caused the demolition of the beautiful old station, which preceded it). The old Pennsylvania Station was an architectural masterpiece and it was a tragedy when it was torn down in 1966 to make way for the current monstrosity.

    So I was pleased to read that they were going to use a portion of the James A Farley Building as a train station. However, I hadn’t actually seen it until today.

    The Moynihan Train Hall is an expansion of Pennsylvania Station, the main intercity and commuter rail station in New York City, into the city’s former main post office building, the James A. Farley Building. Located between Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 31st Street, and 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, the annex provides new access to most of Penn Station’s platforms for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road passengers, serving 17 of the station’s 21 tracks. The hall is named after Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the U.S. Senator who had originally championed the plan. The building’s Beaux-Arts exterior resembles that of the original Penn Station; both buildings were designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White.

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    The 486,000 sq ft (45,200 m2) complex was built to alleviate congestion in Penn Station, which saw 650,000 daily riders before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The $1.6 billion renovation restored the Beaux-Arts Farley Building, a designated landmark, and added a central atrium with a glass roof. Moynihan Train Hall includes retail space, a 320-seat waiting area, and public restrooms. The hall is decorated with three artworks: a ceiling triptych named Go, a group of photographic panels, and a sculptural group.

    The project had been in consideration since the early 1990s, with the first blueprints made public in 1993. However, several previous plans had failed because of a lack of funding and logistical difficulties. Amtrak withdrew as a tenant in 2004, but returned after the Farley Building was sold to the New York state government in 2006. A first phase, involving an expansion of a concourse under the Farley Building, started in 2010 and was completed in June 2017. Construction of the train hall proper commenced in 2017, and it opened January 1, 2021. (Wikipedia)

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    While it’s not a patch on the old station, it’s a definite improvement on what preceded it.

    Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II