ABOUT ME

My photographs are reflections of my long love affair with New York City.  Photography is a hobby and for years I've been taking what I call "New York City snapshots" of the city's landmarks, historic sites, and streets.  I'm delighted when I get a shot that might make a fun NYC postcard, etc.  At a time when photography was becoming an art form, images of the city were beautifully captured by some of America's pioneer 19th Century Photographers.  Over the years, New York City has become the most photographed city in the world.     

As a kid growing up in North Carolina and the Jim Crow South, New York City seemed like the most exciting place in America.  In my youth, almost every television show was filmed here and most of them begin with a "LIVE FROM NEW YORK CITY" announcement.   During my childhood years, I dreamt about moving to New York and in the summer of 1968, my dream came true.  I came to New York at a time when folk music reigned in Greenwich Village and flower children stood in line at the Fillmore East (fondly known as the "Church of Rock and Roll") to buy tickets to concerts by the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Richie Havens, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker and many others.  Subway tokens were 20 cents and Broadway orchestra seat tickets cost a whopping $15. In those days, most Americans pictured the city as an "urban nightmare" ridden with crime and with major financial problems.  But to me, it was Heaven and remains so.  

At first, I stayed with good friends in Greenwich Village.  Thus the Village was the first neighborhood I experienced and it's still the neighborhood I love most.  My first job was as an editorial assistant at Show Business newspaper, then located in the Times Square area.  Times Square of that day was a dangerous place with pornographic cinemas and peep shows lining 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.  New Yorkers were afraid of walking on 42nd Street and the now-very-crowded neighborhood was almost empty at night except for a few theatergoers, colorful ladies and gentlemen of the night, and people high on drugs.  But, somewhat naively, I felt safe and at lunch time would often buy tickets for a Broadway show.  I can fondly recall my exhilaration when purchasing a ticket to Broadway's then biggest hit, the musical Hair!     

Over the years, my travels have taken me to many wonderful places.  London, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, New Zealand, Japan, the Grand Canyon, Prague, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Park, and the Canadian Rockies are among my favorites.  But after a week away from New York, I get homesick, miss the city's energy, and look forward to coming back.

For up-to-date info on what's happening in New York City, check out @nycfavoriteplaces on Instagram.