Light-Vomit

Its amazing what you can do when you expose for 20 seconds, f/32, oh and [most importantly] a dirty lens... Taken from Kings Highway in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn

Set Coordinates to ESB, Maximum Warp

Engage…

Taken from the Kings Highway stop along the Brighton Line in Midwood, Brooklyn.  This photo should be viewed large, click the image to do so.

Chomp…Chomp…Chomp

For some reason, this reminds me of Super Mario Bros 3.; well, that dates me.  Taken on Spring Street in Soho, Manhattan.

Choose your Weapon

Take from the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza bus terminal on the South Side of Williamsburg.

You Be the Sun

As fun as it would be to be a large ball of fusion reactions, if I were the sun, I would kill everything and everyone in my presence. And while I'm being completely literal here, I can't seem to place this quote with Gandhi. If anyone can confirm my (in)correctness I would be much appreciative!

The ‘Escapes’ Of Turtle Bay

The Ominous Bodega

 

The local bodega and deli, the ubiquitous New York City icon.  They tend to get a bad reputation for being over priced or unclean.  I find them quite useful for late night convenience and don’t go in with the same expectations of a full size grocery store.  I came up with the idea of this humor-themed post when I joined and added photos to a few groups on Flickr centering around Bodegas.

Bed Stuy, Do or Deli.  This bodega is around to corner of my apartment; I was fiending for a zebra cake around 2am (and yes, I was completely sober) when I came upon this scene.  I knew immediately that my partially hydrogenated snack run was canceled, making the best of it, I pulled out my camera and snapped this photograph; I did so quite stealthily, owing to the fact that the NYPD is not exactly the most camera friendly organization in existence.

Do Not Resuscitate Deli.  This bodega is located in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn on 4th Avenue.  I spotted the D, N, and R trains and along came the title.

God Bless Deli.  Some people may see ‘God Bless’ as comforting, but I tend to view it as alarming.  Think about it, God Bless, like God Speed is something that many would say to someone that's about to embark on some risky endeavor like going into battle, having heart surgery, or riding a bicycle in New York City.  Taken from Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Terminal Deli.  Yeah, I know, I recently used this one…  Taken in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Guard Dog Deli.  Muscular dog, ready to pounce on and maul unsuspecting shoplifters.  Taken on Myrtle Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Local Militia Deli.  Gotta keep ‘King of England out of your face’ – Borrowed from Krusty the Clown.  Taken near Broadway and 9th in Manhattan.

Y?

I've seen many examples of people attempting to create a two-way dialogue with the MTA service changes that greet you on night and weekends.  What can only be described as an entity that slightly resembles Slimer, questioning its merit; that would be a first.  Taken from the Bedford-Nostrand subway station, one of the few stations in my neighborhood.

The Myrtle Platform

The platform of the Myrtle Avenue subway station in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.  This station is one of three in relatively close proximity of where I live; I come here when I need to catch the J, Z, or M trains into the city or to JFK.

Diamond in the Rough

Bored waiting for the bus?  Take our your camera.  Some of my finest shots have been taken while waiting for a bus.  This could only happen of course, when I finally remembered to carry my camera with me today.  Taken at the corner of Bowery and Hester, near Little Italy, err, becoming more of Chinatown everyday.

Clinton Café Arbitration

Taken near Hamilton Avenue, under the Gowanus Expressway in Red Hook…

Neighborhood above the Tracks

Residential houses along the Brighton Line of the of the subway system in the Flatbush area in Central Brooklyn.  Taken in late winter after all the snow has melted, but before the leaves grew on the trees.

Out of my Comfort Zone, Photographing Fragments

If you haven’t notice my preference to take full, wide angle urban scenes as opposed to microcosmic shots, here’s my official proclamation: I like to take full, wide angle urban scenes as opposed to microcosmic shots. This post celebrates the small attention to detail that you notice when you stop (pissing off all the people behind you) and observe the environment around you.

Kiss fail! (You will probably need to view this large to see what I mean) The 2nd Avenue subway station near 2nd and Houston on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

I wanted a shot full of windows, the lighted windows in the silhouetted building on the left was an added bonus. Taken near 9th and Broadway in Manhattan.

Crossed wires, fire escapes, a large chunk of infrastructure, and barbeque building clipart…This scene could probably sum up this entire blog! Taken from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The corner of Stillwell and Mermaid Avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn. What’s in a name anyway? Its location at the Stillwell Avenue Subway Terminus and the boarded up windows makes it somewhat poignant.

Spotted under the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge, on the Brooklyn side, I shall call it…Bridge Measles.

Rusting, screeching, R42 train = Romantic…Seriously!

Phallic-esque traffic signal, that just happens to be a Broad and Beaver; nothing to see here, please move on. Taken in the Financial District.

Rust and fumes in all its dirty, gritty glory! Taken near Queens Plaza in Long Island City,Queens.

Peppers 24-7

Taken on Broadway in the upper ‘70s on the Upper West Side…

The Tales that Tiles Tell within the Subway

 

The New York City Subway system is an old rapid transit system, which is the source for many of the issues it faces, however it is also responsible for much of it distinctive character.  Much of the stations in the system are either over or approaching 100 years old, a different time when greater detail was focused on the aesthetics of the architecture of public spaces and infrastructure.  One of the most distinctive features within the New York City Subway systems is its mosaic tile work.  What’s even more interesting is the story that this tile work has to tell.

The operation of the system has a complicated history, which is worthy of its own post in the future, but lets just say that in the past, before a single agency operated it, there were three separate companies operating their own lines throughout the city.  The Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), and the Independent Subway System (IND) all competed in servicing the passengers of the city’s boroughs.  Each company has their own style of tile work that was implemented in the stations.

IRT Style

This is from the 86th Street Station on the Seventh Avenue-Broadway Line (Manhattan, 1 train).  I fully admit, I indulged myself a little in the composition of this photo, but I felt only a wide angle photo would tell the complete story here.  Much like the IND style, the station name is plainly identified within a mosaic.  Unlike the IND style however, is the use of frieze around it and as a border.  The older the station, more of this is used.  This station was opened in 1904 and most of the original tile was removed in renovation years ago, this small section still exists.

More of the station featured above, showing a more human perspective.

The Bleecker Street station on the Lexington Avenue Line (Manhattan, 6 Train) uses faience tablets to identify the station name.  Like the previous station, much of the original work has been removed, by a few remain preserved.

IND STYLE

The Metropolitan Avenue Station on the Crosstown Line (Brooklyn, G Train) features a very standard form of tile work featuring plain lettering that is used widely on the old IND lines.  The IND lines tend to be newer than the IRT and BMT lines and the style and the tile work tend to have a more streamlined look.

This work is a little more unique and is located on the Smith-9th station on the Culver Viaduct (Brooklyn, G and F Trains).  This station (and the viaduct as a whole) is undergoing renovation, and I hope this remains untouched.

Many station also use individual letter tiling to identify the station.  Carries much less prestige, but hey its easier to maintain I guess…The modern attitude of how infrastructure is treated.

BMT Style

The tile work in BMT stations tend to be a little more intricate than IND tile work and use monogram frieze work.  This work was taken from the 42nd-Time Square station on the Broadway Line (Manhattan, N, Q, R Trains).

Taken from the Prince Street Station on the Broadway Line (Manhattan, N and R Trains), demonstrating a BMT Style name tablet.

‘Modern Style’

This tile work is typical in stations that have been renovated or relatively new stations built in the ‘60s and ‘70s.  Many stations in Brooklyn use this light blue tile, such as Court Street Station (R Train) (Pictured).  Many other stations use similar tile in that 1960’w rusty-red color, such as the Lexington Avenue-63rd Street (Manhattan, F Train) and 125th Street Station (Manhattan, A,B,C,D Trains).  Others use an off white, such as the 57th Street Station (Manhattan, F Train).