The last few weeks have been rather hectic when it comes to life in NYC as we have been jumping through every hoop imaginable to secure a roof over our head. Last Sunday we found ourselves stuck in a downpour of biblical proportions en route to an interview on the Upper West Side in order to convince the co-op board of directors (intense) that we're good people and that they should accept our application to rent in their awesome building. Drenched from head to toe (having set off looking immaculate) I was about as confident that we'd get the apartment as I was that I'd be able whip my camera out there and then to get a cracking shot for your theme, Summer in the city.
The week was not looking promising.
On Monday, we then found ourselves having to hot-foot it out of our old Airbnb to a new one, just up the road. It seemed like a complete waste of money to get a cab and we reasoned that we could do a couple of trips and the move would be done in no time. I was amazed that the 2 suitcases and 2 holdalls we moved to a different country with had managed to multiply to bags and bags and bags of... stuff!
The rest of the week had pretty average looking weather (but still averaging around 30 degrees...) so we made the most of the indulgent, large apartment we're currently in, hoping that this weekend would have more promising weather... alas, the weather app predicted the weekend would start cloudy and have a grand finale of thunderstorms.
So you'll understand how surprised I was when I was able to get the below shot, since thunderstorms were notably absent the whole day. (This is roughly the 5th time thunderstorms have been predicted, only to turn out to be glorious sun. Ed reckons meteorologists feel the need to slip them in or otherwise people will notice how little they're needed in the summer months here...)
Summer in the city
I spent Saturday morning at the theatre (a children's LGBTQ production of Cinderella by Ragtag Theatre Company... more on that another time) and then Ed and I spent the afternoon seeking out the perfect summer shot in Central Park.
We both had the same picturesque shot in mind - a vast expanse of grass filled with summer frolics (families, baseball, frisbee, picnics, you know the drill) with the Manhattan skyline protruding from the tops of the trees in the background. However, when it came to taking the shot I was instantly reminded of the difficulty that is landscape photography. It is not my forte and I have hundreds of shots to back me up with bleached out sky or super shady picnics.
The above picture has been played with a little bit, mainly correcting the mistakes I made when taking the shot (who knew it was really difficult to see the screen on a camera in the glaring sunshine) but overall I'm pretty chuffed with it.
Next Challenge... Fountains.
I'm quickly finding out that wandering Manhattan at night time is one of my favorite things to do. All. Of. The. Lights!
Again, I played with a long exposure to capture the magic of this moment.
Happy snapping.
New York.
p.s. Totally got the apartment. Hello rooftop terrace come July!