The Industrial Side of New York

New York City is filled with beautiful skyscapers, overpasses and underpasses, bridges that connect you from one borough to the next, and tons and tons of annoying construction sites that cause massive amounts of traffic (not my favorite part of nyc). Well, being 10 weeks post-partum and anxious to go for a jog I ventured off. The hubby had off from work and I immediately took advantage of the opportunity and set off with water bottle and iphone at hand. 

Now if you know me, you know that my eyes tend to be drawn to the softer side of life-flowers, lakes, sunset at a horizon, babies, portraits-anything that screams soft and beautiful. As I was running down southstreet, (my usual route), listening to my "No Pain No Gain" playlist, I couldn't help but notice that there was nothing really "beautiful" to look at. My surroundings weren't flowers and babies and sunsets- but an old highway above me, the garbage bins to my right, tall buildings that needed an entire face lift, the construction site that for some reason never seems to be getting anywhere, and gates that sealed off empty warehouses. It was just never ending and extremely difficult for me not to be sucked in to the hard side of NYC-the grimy, dirty, rough side that some might only think gets in the way of a great photo. 

So during my light jog (and I emphasize light..lol) I took a few photos and began to think a little bit about this thing we call beauty. Is there a way that beauty can be found in the rough side of nyc? Is it possible for the soft to co exist with the rough?  Well, I have decided to explore this concept and see what emerges. Feel free to take some time during the hussle and bussle we call life and see what you find.

And now begins a series I like to call- 

"The Industrial Side of New York"

Overpass on SouthStreet

A once upon a time Fulton Fish Market

Gated empty warehouse by Pier 17

Good old Brooklyn Bridge

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more on this series!!


PS Feel free to follow me on twitter  or Instagram for iPhone @dmsanabria

iPhoneography: Camera App for iPhone Users

The summer is in full force and with my new little bundle of joy, I have been LES bound! With that said, every street corner in my neighborhood is up for exploration. Now carrying my huge Canon camera is not so feasible these days. Leading me to an exploration of iPhone camera apps. My two loves right now: instagram and camera+.

Quick review of both applications

Using Instagram: Free

Well the best part about Instagram is that it is FREE!!! With all the money we spend on itunes, it is a plus to finally get something for free and that actually works. There is a batch of descent presets to work with and with a touch of a button your picture can go from bland to vintage. For those that know Instagram, Hefe is my go to! The good thing about this app is that even if you are not savy with a camera or technology, it is easy to manipulate any photo. There is a basic editing option of tilt shift, which is helpful and I love that you don't just have to save it to instagram. The application as the option for the photo to save in your iphoto library and you can upload to FB yourself, without the application. 


And it is fun fun fun!!

But my two favs about the app: the community of photographers you can follow and get inspiration from and the capability of uploading to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr at the same time.

Photo using Instagram:

View of brooklyn bridge 

Using Camera +: $3.99

I absolutely love right now!!  There is a lot more to work with than Instagram. More presets to choose from, uploading is smoother and the camera quality is better than Instagram. However, editing is still basic compared to other apps (which I will review at a later date). The usual crop, rotate, lighting etc., but there is a zoom option and the importing of photos is fun and you can store.

What I don't like is that u can't upload to your social networks all at the same time as you can with instagram. However the flow in which you can upload is better and allows for more detail.

My favorite part is that you can upload directly into an album on Facebook or a Set on Flickr. Definitely a plus for us overly organized photo enthusiasts.

Still exploring this app, so stay tune for more on Camera + ...

Using Camera +

At Southstreet Seaport

Be on the look out for more photos and reviews...