us open 2011: gearing up?

hmm. i never dreamed they'd let a look like this --1981? --come back. not even for juniors.



(and: yes, i'm shopping for us open gear.)

the sound, before the storm

The trees of the mind are black. The light is blue.

--sylvia plath, from "the moon and the yew tree" via the poetry foundation

post-irene: as if she never came

streets, dry...

@anita aguilar

post-irene: lucky and pretty

hope folks can now have a relaxing sunday...

@ anita aguilar

post-irene: safe on the hill side

grey skies and showers-- and an occasional wind gust-- at around the 9am hour.

but the hill was lucky.

it was a nice, quiet walk, hardly any cars on the avenues or even the fdr drive.

park ave...

second ave

first ave

first ave

38th/fdr drive south

a little flooding, on the northbound fdr drive

the UN

***

and: lights are on... we have bagels!

pre-irene: nothing yet...

east 38th street, 6:20pm

pre-irene: checking the 'hood

no double lattes...

@ lucid cafe...

no fresh bagels with delicious, salty nova...

should i be taping my windows, too?

but we do have BOOZE...

my favorite wine store in mh...i am storm-proofed...

and all is well, at the rare bar and grill...

rare bar and grill @ the shelburne hotel...

pre-irene: ain't nobody

a few minutes before noon...grand central market, aug 26.

@ anita aguilar

open season, in the 'hood: marin cilic

marin cilic. aug 26, 2011 © anita aguilar

i have to say that when i saw him from across the street, i knew i was staring at a big server, but i got nervous and forgot his name. he was very, very nice about it and let me take his photo...

he plays ryan harrison in the first round...should be a good one to watch...

inspiration: green street

lever house/park ave. aug 20, 2011

@anita aguilar

i love the contrast between the uptown and downtown sides of park ave...and all the shades of green.

pretty city: summer streets style

lafayette street, nyc.

summer streets, aug 20.

@ anita aguilar

b roll: attack of the hot tomato....

aaron sanchez @ union square greenmarket

aug 22, 2011

zipping through the park this morning, i spied aaron sanchez (with crew and all, hard not to notice) and snapped this photo for my friend z, who at some point in time, had a little thing for him. i didn't know if he was shooting a commercial, or a food network veggie segment, or a heat seeker's segment. no time to stick around--i just wanted the photo for her.

she's apparently no longer keen. but i sent word about the sighting through my little social media network and i soon found out that a colleague of mine from years ago, rafael, who runs the amazing showdown pictures, just finished wrapping the show that they were in the park shooting this b-roll for. "aaron loves new york" will debut on the spanish language channel utilisima this fall.

yay for showdown!

and: if the show gets picked up for season 2, i think i get to visit the set...

so let's look out for it, si?

when love comes to town: the 2011 edition

when love--la famiglia--comes to town, sometimes they stay at a fancy new, five-star, fifth ave hotel, where they serve popcorn with truffle oil and the mirrors in the bathroom have tvs in them. but wherever they stay, wherever they are, i always have so much fun...

photos from the fancy, friday night:

***
my cousin asked me if i'd done some modeling for the hotel book:

i could see why he thought to at least ask the question...when my hair was just a bit shorter...

we did a little reenactment (ha).

pretty close, i think.

summer streets 2011: best for last

i've had a lucky month for freelance work, but i was particularly grateful that my job yesterday took me outside for "summer streets," otherwise i might have missed it this year entirely. (where has the month gone?) mother nature definitely saved the best for last: it was warm, with none of the despairing humidity that marked most of this ny summer. for me, it was a tonic for what had been a grinding week.

i loved the chance to see the different sunshine and the different energy between nolita in the early morning and park avenue in the early afternoon. and i loved the view from the metlife/helmsley underpass -- at the time i was there, i caught the last of the daylight streaming in on the uptown side, making for a really romantic view. i was surprised at how good it made me feel to see new yorkers taking over the streets to enjoy a simple thing: summer sun.

the only thing missing? a bike for me to ride.

into the wild

the wild, wild...connecticut coast

august 6, 2011

@ anita aguilar

(this could probably use a curves adjustment to brighten the white...but this was the weather...)

the dream of spring and summer

and...

the park at versailles

may 20, 2011

inspiration: the king

ah ha! i knew if i trolled the internet long enough i'd find my favorite version of this song (on disc 5 of the 50s masters). elvis is one of my favorite dancers of all time--i'll take his cool shimmy over gene kelly's happy tapping any day of the week. too bad there aren't any videos (that i can find so far) of him performing this one.

in my experience, this provides a great soundtrack for all the things you don't want to do around the house (dusting, mopping, dusting). chores go a lot quicker when you're dancing. unless you dance too much. then it takes all day...

enjoy

wedding/party

favorite: the boys at the wedding

the flower girls

joy(ous) and dad

necklace and earrings made by sheena925...

mirian, kelly and sister

miss caitlyn

kelly and mirian

with joy(ous), country mouse, and sister (sheena925)

***

when work isn't work

it's so nice to be paid to take photos AND have your lovely lady friends swing by for a hello and some photo ops...

rachel and t...

aug 10, 2011

am i blue?

i recently read an article that offered advice to young photographers. (i took it all to heart--and took "young" to mean "new.") of all the encouraging notes, one stood out: from chris steele-perkins, "take a lot of photos....be depressed by them."

and then i did it.

i've been working on a project for a colleague--doing it for the cause (he needs photos for a custom pub for a cancer fundraiser) and the experience (shooting landscapes). the only two mandates from the creative director were location (the saugatuck river/long island sound) and mood ("moody"). he trusted my eye and skill for the rest. i spent the better part of two saturdays making my way up to connecticut. i took hundreds of shots, from land and sea, and had a pretty fun time doing it.

here's the depressing part: i'm not sure if i have 10 to give him.

but i haven't had the heart to go through them all closely, either.

of course the weather didn't really cooperate (saturday 1 was perfectly sunny; saturday 2 was thunderstormy--but there were barely any clouds. the sky gave color in mostly single shades of blue or grey). if there were a budget for me to be a cloud chaser, which i would love, then i could probably have given something more.

but the basic and more troubling issue at this point seems to be landscape photography itself. i shouldn't have expected that my first real attempt should have come so naturally and easily. (but between you and me, i was kind of hoping it would.) how do i transform a landscape into a compelling photo? photography is about problem solving, and i'm not sure how to figure the fix for this yet. but i know that i have to take the rest of mr. steele-perkins' advice: take more...

when i have the nerve to go through the rest, and if there are some, i'll post them here.

along the shore: contrast

and

saturday, in the sound.

august 6, 2011

© anita aguilar

ted talks: hear hear

i fear that i'm not a good listener (and want always to be better)

read a good poem: at a window

a favorite shot, from the northern spur of the high line

july 23, 2011

photo © anita aguilar

Give me hunger,

O you gods that sit and give

The world its orders.

Give me hunger, pain and want,

Shut me out with shame and failure

From your doors of gold and fame,

Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger!

But leave me a little love,

A voice to speak to me in the day end,

A hand to touch me in the dark room

Breaking the long loneliness.

In the dusk of day-shapes

Blurring the sunset,

One little wandering, western star

Thrust out from the changing shores of shadow.

Let me go to the window,

Watch there the day-shapes of dusk

And wait and know the coming

Of a little love.

--Carl Sandburg, via the poetry foundation

tuesday tune: ("taxi cab" duel)

thorn or vampire?





i think i know what sister will say
("neither")

wip: in between sails

a favorite scene that i stumbled upon in westport, at the bridgebrook marina:

it's really artful, somehow...

the titanic shot...

***

july 31, 2011

photos © anita aguilar