photo op: this is new york...

and when the POTUS and FLOTUS want to enjoy a dinner at one of our town's premier farm-to-table restaurants, we don't roll out the red carpet.

we bring the big trucks:


the big white sanitation trucks. they blocked access to a few avenues surrounding the restaurant.

funny to see and funny to think about (did they clean them?) but they look properly imposing when strolling by...

(don't mess...)

photo op: shabby chic

lafayette street, nyc

© anita aguilar

pretty city: posers

guess whose pose i like best?

23rd/broadway near mad square park

sept 30, 2011

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.)

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...

random: hot wheels

only in nolita...

lafayette/spring street, nyc.

april 23, 2011.

one of my favorite shots of the day, but...

what is it with the shoes?

photo: Marco Longari/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images via the nytimes, 2/11/11

i'm not sure about the "reporting" here, but apparently in addition to the shoe as a "new weapon of humiliation," there's a lot more cultural symbolism attached to shoes than i ever would have guessed...like, a groom can ensure a happy life if he, um, puts the sole of his shoe on his wife's head?

not so much a fan of that one, but good visual.

in all the wrong places...

fifth ave, nyc

a horse, of course

w 38th street, nyc.

oct 30, 2010.

all photos © anita aguilar

market seen: only in new york

buon giorno e...

che il buono libro!

on the downtown 4/5. oct 27, 2010

i'm not one for taking secret cell phone shots of my fellow commuters. it feels a tad too sneaky? but this morning was an exception--i love this lady. it's not every day you see a new yorker indulging in a book about a football player.

on the downtown 4/5. oct 27, 2010

here's the kicker--it's not a juicy, unauthorized, tell-all or a young memoir.

le nuove barzellette su totti is a francesco totti joke book. (she has the second volume of three; proceeds from the books go to unicef.)

figo!

pretty city: wedding day

i'm not big on weddings or wedding photography, but this was a sort of delightful encounter.

i walked alongside this couple for a block or two. they seemed a little unnerved by all the attention and the strangers like me who snapped unofficial wedding portraits. but if you decide to have your photos taken on fifth avenue near rockefeller center on a saturday afternoon, you're kind of asking for it.

in any case, when the real cameras went up, they put on their best, happy faces.

i wish you could see this bride's shoes...navy blue wedges. very cool.

i've not seen this move before--"the claw."

the photographer held his hand up for a while and made like he was squeezing one of those foam stress balls.

absurd, but he got them to laugh.

the shadow of the trees makes the photo work, for me.

and then he got them to make a heart with their arms.

if i ever get married, i hope i won't be so out of my mind that i'll agree to play simon sez with the photographer.

it's cute on these two, though.

market fresh: do you see what i see?

a man, grimacing?

ziggy?

mr. tomato head, courtesy of oak grove plantation, and the blew family, pittstown, nj.

union square, nyc october 6, 2010.

back in the saddle/downtown train

i've been without my dslr for about a month.

i've missed it.

(and i'm rusty.)

but here are the first "back in the saddle" shots. last saturday afternoon, the downtown #6 train.

the drummers from subwayrecords.com ("log on to the truth").

squirrel crazy/crazy squirrel

yesterday at work, in the midst of the afternoon lull, i started giggling. i couldn't help it.

my co-workers didn't say anything (this time).

i sort of wish they had because i would have explained that my maximum favorite writer (and i'd probably have to also explain the "maximum" bit) just wrote this really funny story about a squirrel. and i would have let them read it over my shoulder, or i'd have sent it to them.

it's actually not a squirrel "story," it's a lead-in to something about robby ginepri. but i love that he shared the news this way.

and then i thought of all the squirrels that have besieged, annoyed and impressed my friends, like "the scraper" at 147 bleecker. and the squirrel that frequents teresa's neighbor's roof (she flings slices of toast at him. he's clearly never going to leave).

by coincidence, today, at the union square market, the samascott orchards folks were all in a dither about some crazy squirrel that kept stealing their $7/pound italian-american chestnuts.

and then he popped up!


and he zipped and hopped boldly around, probably for the rest of the afternoon. sort of crazy and cute. but not sure how i feel about that garlic after his city squirrel nose and paws got all into it...

and on the 9th day...

i had an idea to mark the occasion of my first day at my new job with a photo of the "new" neighborhood. but i fussed a little too long over what to wear, and a quick snapshot was all i had time for. disappointing. i liked the lines in this shot. (meanwhile, a jam, a half-closed street and an ambulance seemed, for a second, a bit ominous...)


but it also seemed on review, an unremarkable photo. i probably wouldn't have posted it here, except a little more than a week later, you can see this small swath of 17th street has been transformed, as part of our transportation commissioner's livable streets program.

free line skaters

the pedestrian and bike paths and a handful of tables and chairs leave only a slim lane for traffic on 17th, and north on broadway...

not that i would sit here (the prospect of a cab sidling up to my elbow as i sip my coffee doesn't appeal) but it does change the energy of the block. people seem bolder, weaving in and out (on foot, on bikes, on skates) which may not be so wise. but they all seem happier with these small touches (well, maybe not the people in the cars and cabs).

window dressing: new york dolls

everybody watching, walking

the gesture of her hand...

14th street, nyc. sept 4, 2010

photos © anita aguilar

sun in the afternoon

west 37th street, nyc, sept 2, 2010.

secrets and shadows (red hook, bk)

aug 30, 2010

storm king, part 1: children of the corn

can you see me now?