What I Saw: The Early Show in NYC

Photographing CBS' The Early Show and its set was one of my New York City highlights. It's neat to watch a tv show come together live. I also had the pleasure of meeting some very nice (and entertaining) people who work behind the scenes. There was a sweet musical performance from Katie Armiger. And, as you'll see below, there were plenty of interesting people in the audience to photograph too.

Hosting the day I photographed were Chris Wragge and Rebecca Jarvis.

Here's Katie Armiger and her band. And yes, those are multiple Lady Gagas watching her.

Here's a bit more of the "Gaggle of Gagas." I love the claw hand of the one in the photo with Rebecca Jarvis. 

After the show is over, you can stick around for a free tour of the studio given by Sarah The Awesome Audience Coordinator. She gets the best arm workout six days a week.

Special thanks to Sarah who was especially helpful in suggestions of where to stand and brought me around with her. I hope I can stop by again and photograph another show some day. If you're ever in New York City and are looking for some entertainment in the morning, stop by The Early Show. It's free. If you want you can probably get your face on TV. And there's a certain audience coordinator who will be happy you stopped by.

This concludes the What I Saw: New York City series... for now.

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission.

Taking A Moment to Say Thanks

I try to remember to quietly acknowledge what I am thankful for every day. Some days are definitely harder than others, but if you look closely something, even if it's only something really small, went right.

Today is not one of those harder days. Today I feel ready to pour out an abundance of thanks. The second half of this year has marked another large step forward in developing my photographic work and I feel joy over the strides I've made so far.

These past months have not been a solitary journey. So foremost I'd like to thank my fellow photographers. I am constantly learning from all of you. In particular Sarah Barlow, Cassie Schott, Christina Moodie, Charity Deane, and Shannon Morse - thank you for sharing with me your stories, answering my questions, and being so incredibly kind. Faith Teasley - we've never met, but you kindness and notes here are very much appreciated as well.

I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had too - for everyone who has asked that I take their photo, for everyone who has let me visit them and photograph where they live, and for Sarah allowing me the opportunity to get my first wedding as a second shooter under my belt.

A few dear friends and family members have given me feedback and viewed hundreds upon hundreds of my photographs. Thank you as well. You're so patient. :)

And thanks for stopping by this blog. I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission. 

What I Saw: Museums of the Upper East/Upper West | NYC

I've explored a few museums in NYC, but what you'll see here is just a start. There's the whole Museum Mile on the Upper East Side, but here you'll only see one from that set. And how fitting, these museums featured in this post are on either side of Central Park.

Got your camera ready?

We'll start at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, aka The Met. There were a lot of areas closed when I went but I still saw so many things.

I really admire the way the artifacts are displayed in this museum. They let them just stand out in beautiful spaces.

When I first saw the room shown on the right side of the collage below, I may have gasped a little. There is such beautiful light pouring in the huge windows and these structures totally take center stage. And there's a water treatment. It's a fabulous display made even greater by the fact that you can walk right up to it.

I almost want to write them a thank you card for the fantastic lighting. Where there is not an abundance of beautiful natural light, their lighting setup is lovely in itself (with the exception of the samurai armor - why so dark in there, Met? Why?).

This was another one of those times I was walking through somewhere and just happened to look to my side at the right moment - from a second floor window looking down at a courtyard. These students may not know how fortunate they are that they can sit right in front of these works and learn from them. I know from my own art history class experience, once you learn in this kind of environment, slide shows become more painful than ever.

I realize by this point I've done a fair share of gushing over the Met. Well, I'm about to do more. There are a series of rooms for the European Sculptural and Decorative Arts. They are an experience. Entire period rooms are assembled - sculptures surrounded by chairs and cabinets and sofas... So much cooler than seeing a cabinet sitting all by itself in front of a blank wall.

More great displays are in the armor area as well. Some are standing in their cases but the highlight is the center area, complete with horse armor and no glass.

If you do visit there, be sure to go up to the roof to see if there is a special exhibit or just admire the view.

Sliding over to the Upper West Side, we have the American Museum of Natural History, which fit into the landmark covered in scaffolding experience that appears where ever I go. It also was pretty crowded, so I'll leave you with two sets from there.

I'm guessing M is for museum. :)

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission. 
Indoor photos from this post are not available for purchase.

What I Saw: Central Park | NYC

Remember back in the Liberty Island post how I said I like to take photos of people taking photos? 

Well, that statement is also true in Central Park. 

This is Strawberry Fields, a portion of the park dedicated in memory of John Lennon. The amazing thing about the Imagine circle in particular is the amount of respect that surrounds it. Notice how everyone stands a few steps back from it. And if someone wants their photo taken in the circle, people (gasp!) patiently take turns. Someone quietly plays Beatles songs on a guitar on a bench nearby. No one raises their voice. People watch over the area. Look at it. 25 years after the place was inaugurated, the mosaic is in terrific condition. It's almost too rare a sight.

So as much as I appreciate all the architecture and buzz of New York City, I like a green space now and then. Central Park definitely fulfills, providing some beautiful green spaces with little pops of architecture.

And then this is where Central Park gets really neat... where the skyline collides with the green tranquility. It's not just that it does; it's the way it does. I love a good dichotomy, so I may sort of/totally love this next photo.

Sigh. Two more NYC posts to go. Then our 8-part, preliminary, skimming of the surface of the city is complete. 

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission.

What I Saw: A Bit of NYC Art

In and around the MOMA area...

Sometimes modern art equals primary colors. Sometimes.

See? Sometimes.

But art isn't just a painting (or a photograph).

Sometimes art is interactive.

People got really excited about the opportunity of screaming into a microphone. We sort of felt bad for the security guard policing the exhibit. But it seems like a good release for New Yorkers.

Sometimes art is also a giant, famous kitty hidden in a courtyard that you just happened to catch a glimpse of as you were walking down the street.

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission.

What I Saw: A Little Italy

In New York City, there's a little bit of Italy. And just one photo collage of it. So really... just a little of Little Italy here. :) 

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission.

What I Saw: Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge is a great place to practice your walking and photographing at the same time. I enjoy all the lines of the bridge itself. Although if you step aside there's some great people watching to be had as well.

Of course there was some construction on the bridge. I have lost count of the landmarks I have visited that were at least partially covered in scaffolding at the time. But I have to say these were the most entertaining barriers I've seen. Every single reflector was written upon. And every single one that didn't have a "(insert name) was here" had a positive message.

The ground was drawn on too. Humans are compelled to write on blank spaces.

Did I mention the people watching? And the golden bicycle watching?

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission.

What I Saw: Battery Park | Liberty Island | Ellis Island

Yes, the Battery Park/Liberty Island/Ellis Island area of New York City is touristy. But touristy makes for entertaining photos. It also gives you permission from the general public to stand somewhere and photograph something for several minutes without people starting to stare and wonder what the heck you're doing.

They're too busy staring at something else... like other people dressed up as the Statue of Liberty in Battery Park.

I like taking photos of people taking photos. And then I take a photo of what they were photographing.

People standing in line are a close second.

I like how easygoing and quiet Liberty Island is. There's a ton of people on it but everyone's just doing their own thing. Plus it's always interesting to see in person something you've seen photos of a hundred times.

Modern-day Lady Liberty knows it's important to protect your eyes from UV rays.

And then there's the Statue of Liberty's neighbor, Ellis Island. Ellis has this strange dichotomy of being historical and yet feeling really sterile. To be fair, the cleansed, too new feeling is mainly due to the buildings falling into disrepair for over 30 years after the island was no longer used as an immigration station and a major renovation taking place before it reopened in 1990. The Registry Room has beautiful tile work and great light. And it's still neat to think of all the people that stood in there before you, what they'd been through, and where they were hoping to go.

There's still a bit of what I called in my head "The Real Ellis Island". 

Sure, you can't go in it. But that's the building that's been worn over time. And there's something appealing about seeing history without makeup.

Hang on to your bootstraps. I have more NYC coming your way. (Ellis Island is partially New Jersey but just... pretend like... you didn't know that.)

©2010 Kristin Serna This post and these photos cannot be republished without my permission.