MAKE MUSIC NEW YORK 2012

It was Make Music Day throughout New York City. From 9am to 10pm, musicians of all ages and abilities performed in over 400 public spaces in the five boroughs. It was a hot day with temps in the 90's. I was playing guitar in Union Square - my first outdoor performance - along with several others.

They gave us chord sheets for six songs and after a brief rehearsal, we were led from the stage with a chord card as well. In this case, the America song, Horse With No Name. Just two chords for the solo acoustic version. I think there were actually three guitars in the original song - each playing a different part.

As always, I look to make an artistic statement. That sun was really cooking - 90 plus degrees - when I shot this. It was probably even hotter since we were on a concrete path leading to the grassy, shaded area of the park.

Guitar players always seem to wear cool sunglasses.

This guy is showing perfect form with his fretting hand on the strings. We all strive to be so precise with our hands.

Here are the chords for the classic Jimi Hendrix song, Hey Joe. Most of us can play these basic chords - we just needed a little time to get the melody down so we could follow along.

And here I am with my fellow players. They told us it was the largest outdoor gathering of guitar players in New York City history.

NEW YORK AT NIGHT

Here's a 20-second time exposure of the Brooklyn Bridge looking back into Manhattan. To the right, one of the iconic towers of the Bridge itself. To the left, the still-under-construction Freedom Tower - now known as One World Trade Center. It's officially the tallest building in the city. Click on the photos for larger views.

Meanwhile, after I shot the image of the Brooklyn Bridge and One World Trade Center, I turned around to shoot the Manhattan Bridge and the Empire State Building. This is a five-second time exposure. I wanted to play up the reflected light from all the buildings on the low-hanging clouds.

Scenes From New York City

Heading to lunch in Brooklyn I saw this dog with that pose. Great pics almost take themselves.

The blue M&M seems mildly amused with the box-head guy. The things people do to get attention in busy Times Square.

I like to layers within pictures to create interest in more than one part of the scene. The glass of water with the hand and the tattoo on the guy's arm give a sense of depth. And that bottle at the lower left adds to the image.

Some people can sleep anywhere. And this lady was napping - apparently was tired after a long day at work. Or ... maybe she was an extra for the Ben Stiller movie and was awaiting her scene call.

Actor Ben Stiller is doing a remake of the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - the 1939 James Thurber short story. The first movie came in 1947 with Danny Kaye playing the lead. It's also been a stage play.

People still like to smoke in New York. But there are fewer and fewer places where one can light - up outdoors here. Times Square - however - is still smoker-friendly.

Space Shuttle Comes to New York

The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise has arrived in New York.  It flew atop a 747 over Manhattan on its way to JFK airport.  The Enterprise will then be on permanent display at New York's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum this summer.

Thousands of New Yorkers got a pretty good view of the Space Shuttle Enterprise as it flew over mid-town.  I was in Brooklyn when I took these shots.

As the Space Shuttle Enterprise arrived in New York,  a smaller aircraft (lower right) was captured in my shot.       ,

Both the Space Shuttle Enterprise and the 747 it flew atop are huge aircraft and their size made it easy for New Yorkers to get a good look at latest tourist attraction.

Tony Bennett - Then and Now

I photographed singer Tony Bennett in 1995 when he performed a free concert atop the marquee at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

And here is Tony Bennett today as he gestures to his heart to thank an audience member after Bennett was praised for his all-inclusive attitude about life.  Bennett is the subject of the movie, The Zen of Bennett, which he saw for the first time at its debut at the famed Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

This is the view from my seat inside the theater at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.  The blue picture at the bottom is the screen itself and the rest is the ceiling which doubles as an ever-changing series of colorful video panels.

That's Tony Bennett in the middle of the post-film question and answer session.  They took questions from members of the audience and from a special Twitter account set up for people in the room who'd rather participate in that way. 

Favorite Florida Fotos

These types of giant, puffy clouds are a daily sight in Florida - often times this type is a prelude to a late-afternoon rain shower. I'm glad the two birds decided to fly very high to contrast well against the clouds.

I don't care much for bees, but I like to take pictures of them. I got in real close and shot this image as quickly as I could before retreating to a safe distance

This cruise ship is heading to Mexico after just barely clearing the underside of the Florida Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The margin for error is only about 15 to 20 feet. So it's as close as it appears in this image. Check out this video to see just how close.

It looks like this bird is taking off to try and catch the cruise ship which is on the left of the photo. To the right is Florida's Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Seminole Sights

Is is that guy from ZZ Top? Billy F. Gibbons? No ... it''s the bass player from the band that was playing to the crowd at the annual Seminole, Florida neighborhood carnival. I saw him playing and the beard stood out.

Whenever the moon is around I try to put it in a picture. Here is the moon with a part of one of the rides in the foreground.

Using a slow shutter speed - I wanted to get three rides in one shot when they were all in action.

The vendor here posed for a portrait as she worked her magic light device. I used a combo of slow shutter speed and delayed flash.

Before heading to the carnival, we stopped at a local sushi place. This fellow was not on the menu ... at least not while we were there! They told me it's a blow fish. Unlike the other fish who ran from my lens, this fish was ready for its close-up and stayed very still.

My Eye is in the Sky

The minarets atop Plant Hall at the downtown campus of the University of Tampa. Platnt Hall - the former Tampa Bay hotel - was built in 1891.

Parking lot light standards at sunset at the rejuvinated Parkside Mall in Pinellas Park in Florida near St Petersburg.

The downtown Tampa, Florida Museum of Art with its inviting opening at the top of the building where I waited and waited (about 90 seconds ... ) for a bird to fly through the scene.

And the birds on a telephone wire with the moon in the background. There were so many birds that it was easy to get one of two of them in flight.

Van Halen Hits New York City

The newly re-formed Van Halen played Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. And Guitar star Eddie Van Halen looks like he's enjoying himself.

The original Van Halen members - except for bassist Micheal Anthony - are together again. Singer David Lee Roth (L) was in strong voice as the band plays New York in the early stages of its nationwide tour. On the drum kit is Alex Van Halen.

One guess - if you know Van Halen's music - as to which song David Lee Roth is acting out. That's right ... JUMP. Roth is 56 and only did this move twice all night. In the 80's and 90's Roth was known to jump like this 15 to 20 times during a concert. It helped to be young!

The clothing change to the yellow leather jacket helped me quite a bit. Trying to focus on dark colors is a challenge. And the red hankie added to the colorful look.

Here's Alex Van Halen taking his drum solo while the other band members took a break. The giant video screen only showed black and white images all night. The blue lights on the drum stand really make Alex pop out from the background.

When longtime bassist/vocalist Micheal Anthony was fired from the band in 2006, Eddie's 16 year-old son Wolfgang (R), was ready to take over. He's has done a very good job replacing a popular player. Wolfgang's mother is the actress, Valerie Bertinelli - the ex wife of Eddie.

New York's refurbished Madison Square Garden was packed with Van Halen fans who were whipped into a party mood by the opening act, the funk band Kool and the Gang.

The trend of having a father-son combo in a rock band seems to be very popular these days. Here Eddie (R) and Wolfgang trade licks. Such rock music big names like Sting, Peter Frampton, Neil Schon and Dick Dale - among others - have their son's playing in their road bands or, in Sting's case, his son's band was the opening act at many of the Police concerts of recent years.

A Day at the Beach

Can't have a collection of beach shots without one with a boat in it. I drained the color from the image to reduce it to its bare elements. A Venice Beach, California lifeguard station and sailboat.

It was a nice, clear day at Venice Beach in southern California and the among first things you need are some brightly colored sunnies (as sunglasses are called in Australia.)

The skateboard park at Venice Beach draws riders of all ages and skill levels. I positioned myself so as to get the shadow of the palm tree in the shot when the kid came flying my way.

Shooting into the sun can yield great results and the birds were flying low late in the afternoon when I made this image.

I call this "Sad Dog" but the fact is, this dog probably looks like this all of the time. I just liked the various textures and colors surrounding his face.

People At Work

The watch repairman and the ice creme lady.

Inspired by a recent article in Photo District News - a major photography industry magazine - about people at work. I've selected two of these environmental portraits.

The top photo is of a watch repairman who has street-side vending stand in downtown Brooklyn. He was so intent on fixing that timepiece that he didn't notice me quietly firing off a few frames.

My camera is always set on "silent" shutter anyway so he didn't hear me pressing the button as I tried to get the perfect shot with the watch face showing.

The ice creme lady photo is from my files - I shot this a few years ago - but, like ice creme, it's a timeless image. I actually bought the delectable cone she's holding.

But I thought it was such a colorful scene that she gladly posed for a picture ... before collecting my money.