High Line - Night Photography

I'm fascinated by unusable spaces that have been given a new lease on life. 

The High Line Park is exactly that. This disused train line meanders through the Meat packing region and used to service 250 slaughterhouses and packing plants. Given that it was built in 1930 it is great to see that the city was able to "reinvent" this site into a space that provides residents and visitors with a refreshing space to walk, catch-up and enjoy a part of history. 

Official site

For more information on the Highline design see:

Landscape architects: James Corner Field Operations

Architects: Diller Scofidio + Renfro

 

btw: a nice site to look at regarding the fake tilt shift effect I used above see: Tilt Shift Photoshop Tutorial

 

New York - A Great Urban Adventure.

Dan Abatelli - Brilliant Tour GuideMy first (full) day in New York I started with a 6 am - 14km run from the hotel and thru Central park. It was great. All the local cyclist were out in force and the were so many runners. As I was running I was gobsmacked with all the spots that I recognised from movies and television.
Do yourself a favour. If you are ever in New York. Grab your runners and do the park early morning. Nothing beats it!
After this very energetic start to the day I met up with Dan from Urban Adventures for their Slice of New York walking tour. It was a great way to get an overview of the city. Dan was very knowledgeable and happy to share what he knew.
For the Urban adventures trip check out: http://www.urbanadventures.com/Slice_of_New_York
Dan also runs tours under: http://dansdoubledozentours.com/

The Slice of New York tour ran for a full day and incorporated many of the key sites including: 
  • Grand Central Terminal’s
  • Battery Park.
  • Staten Island Ferry
  • The Financial District
  • Ground Zero
  • Times Square and 
  • Top of the Rock to only name a few.

Santa Monica and the Getty

Los Angeles was only a stop over for me before my next flight which would take me from the west to east coast.

So I decided to skip the theme parks and just chill-out and take in what ever I could.

These are a couple of photos from my stroll around the famous Santa Monica beach.

The Getty Center

As my room wasn't available yet I decided to take the rapid transit bus to The Getty Center.

What a stunning place! And it was free!

I'm blown away by peoples generosity. The architecture is every bit as interesting as the art it contains and the gardens it's surrounded by. If you every go to LA check it out: Getty Website 

Dad's B-day Dinner

We have a tradition to go to a nice restaurant for each family members b-day. Dad's birthday was no exception. We went to Longrain in Melbourne.

The food was exquisite. In particular the "Betel leaf topped with smoked trout chilli roasted galangal garlic & trout roe".

This is a photo of Dad inspecting the next course.

Somebody is really getting into their new G11. I'm so envious...