Headed Home, Sitting in LaGuardia

I grabbed a town car to get a ride to the airport. I was worried about the NY City Marathon holding things up, but we made it in plenty of time. On the ride, I mostly looked out the window and took in as much of NY as I could in the final minutes of my stay. I looked forward and paid attention to the road twice, which was not a good idea either time. Both times, I nearly saw death.

The first time, I saw the driver of my car try to burn past a nice family of 5 as they were trying to merge onto the freeway that we were on. He just got by them quickly, almost pushing them off the road, and then he cut over into the left lane, just barely in front of another vehicle. I thought we were going to send that family to their grave.

The second time I looked forward, we were driving through a construction zone. I immediately saw those signs with flashing numbers that tell you how fast you’re going. This one read:

Speed limit: 30. Your speed: 69.

Ohhh crap. Time to stop paying attention again. What I don’t know can’t hurt me, right? Check the seatbelt...good.

And I thought driving in the Twin Cities was nuts. It’ll be good to be home.

Day 3 in NY at the PhotoPlus Expo

Today started with a bang. Literally.

I had another great night sleep, but I woke up with stomach pains from all the food I ingested yesterday. Somehow, the mix of an omelet, Chinese food by the pound, 4 Dunkin Donuts (Four? What the hell was I thinking?!), pizza, and a sandwich from the Hello Deli did not sit well with my lower intestine. You know what they say: What goes in, must come out.

Well, I got over it and headed to the Expo. I got to the photo expo too early, so I walked through the marathon expo that was happening in the other half of the convention center. Now I was picking up free running crap to pile on top of my free photo crap. But the good thing was I was handed 3 Snickers Marathon bars from one booth. One of those made a good breakfast that sat well with my stomach. They’re like Power Bars with that slight hog-feed-like taste. For some reason, I’ve always enjoyed that taste. Maybe it’s that it brings me back to my good-ole, farm-raised days. Now, I’ve never tried pig feed, so don’t even ask. Dog food: yes. Cat food: sure. But you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

I also had time to pick up a New York Post and did my first ever Sudoku puzzle.

After temporarily leaving the Expo, I grabbed a quick pretzel on the street. The bottom was rock hard, so I only nibbled off the top.

OK, back on track. I headed back to the convention center and had a portfolio review by Suzanne Sease , which was very helpful. Thanks Suzanne. Then I was able to meet photographer Colin Finlay who had been part of a roundtable discussion that I attended on Thursday. I attended a few more small lectures and talked to a few more people/vendors. The expo closed late afternoon, and I walked back home. I had time to quickly sprint to the International Center of Photography near Times Square. (Note: have you ever tried to sprint down 7th Street toward Times Square on a Saturday evening? CRAZINESS!) The woman at the desk thought I was a student, so what the hey - I saved 2 bucks.

After that, I found some advertising space for sale in Times Square (look to the right side of the image):

This space cost me $37,000
for 19 seconds of publicity

So I leave NY tomorrow early afternoon. My stay has been nice and productive, and I’m ready to head back to the Cities. However, I need to cross the marathon route by taxi tomorrow, and I’m afraid that it will take FOREVER. We’ll see. Thanks NY City.

Day 2 in NY at the PhotoPlus Expo

Had a solid night sleep last night, and it was HARD to get up. My feet are beat!

This morning on the way to the Expo, I stopped at B&H. Yes, THE B&H. It’s like a Mecca for any photographer.

It was how I envision Heaven.

I arrived at the Expo early, and met a few vendors. I also was able to meet Elizabeth Greenburg, the director of the Maine Photographic Workshops. We had communicated over e-mail before, so it was nice to put a face to her name. I went to a Photoshop lecture, and then to a roundtable discussion about the images of 9/11.

Adobe Lectures

I ran back to my hotel room, but before that I stopped by a buffet where you pay by the pound. Delicious.

There’s sesame noodles and
peanut chicken under the rice. Yummers.

I walked up through Times Square and stopped in on the New York Times. I wanted to meet Kathy Ryan, the senior photo editor who awarded me the GLA a few months ago, but she wasn’t in. But Joanna Milter, who I worked with when I shot the Gay Fathering story for them, was there and she was kind enough to give me a quick tour of the Times photo department (it’s 6 cubicles in a corner - real glamorous). She introduced me to many of the other photo editors and photographer Justine Kurland who was shooting a story for them. Thanks Joanna.

One more important New York stop to make: Rupert Jee at the Hello Deli.

He’s just as awkward in person as he is on Letterman. But him and his wife are really sweet, and they make a mean Shaffer sandwich:

After filling up, I headed back to the Expo for a lecture by Martin Parr. I never pictured him to look so normal:

I had some extra time, so I walked to the Empire State Building and had a look from the top.

Day 1 in NY at the PhotoPlus Expo

I’m safely in New York, staying just kiddy-corner from Madison Square Garden. Today was great! I listened to a few small presentations at the Expo capped off by a round table discussion on Photography and Social Change. This Expo is much different than the Portfolio Reviews at Review Santa Fe. In New Mexico, I was able to meet and talk with other photographers much easier than here. But I expected that. PhotoPlus is more about seeing new products and attending lectures and workshops.

Before the roundtable discussion, I thought I saw Joel Meyerowitz walking in the convention center. I stalked him for a while - all the way out onto the street. He was talking with a young woman the entire time, and I was trying not to butt in. I finally was able to get a word in, and it turns out that it was Joel. He was a nice man. He took one of my postcards (the first one I gave out in NY!) and he had some nice comments about the image. We talked for a few seconds about working for the Times.

Earlier in the day, I hit a few tourist attractions on a quick walking tour: Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, and Times Square. I now have photos of Times Square that look just like anyone else’s photos of Times Square. I also ate at Virgil’s BBQ (which was GREAT) and had a big slice of pizza at La Bella Stella on my way back to my room tonight.

My plate after a huge burger jumped into my belly.
Notice the "napkin" is really a towel.

Time to sleep...sore, sore legs.

14 Hours to My NY Flight

EARLY tomorrow morning, Sarah will be dropping me off at the airport. I'll be on my way to the PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. Two bits of bad news though:

1. The NY Times Magazine cover was put off until Dec 3 (see last post). If it hadn't been put off, it would have been the current cover image while I was out in NY, and that would have been a spectacular thing to discuss with other photographers.

2. I just found out earlier today that the show that was to highlight the Golden Light Awards at PhotoPlus is ALSO being delayed a month or 2. Now, my work that won the GLA won't be up at PhotoPlus. Even less to talk about with the photographers at the expo...

Well, whatcha gonna do. I'm still going to make the most of it and hopefully make some good connections and meet some great people. Bon Voyage.

Upcoming Trip to PhotoPlus in NY

Just over 2 weeks ago, I booked a room, bought my plane tickets, and registered for my trip to the PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. It’s spendy, but I just found out that a faculty support grant that I wrote at CVA is going to help me out with about 70% of my costs! I was VERY happy to learn that!

So I’ll be out in NY from November 2 through 5. I’ll be staying in midtown Manhattan and walking to the convention each day. It should be a good (and productive) time.