Day 2 - NYC - Photographers Paradise

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Saturday 12th November 12 at 2.23am

Status: content
Body clock: screwed
Ground Zero Memorial: fail
International Photography Centre: win
Checked items off list: photograph the Brooklyn bridge, grand central station and at least one photo of the empire state building.

Bit of a rough day today, still tired from travelling and from going straight out to play last night when I arrived. I met up with an old friend who showed me that NYC is an easy place to get around and not terrifying at all.

However, feeling alone whilst surrounded by, literally, hundreds of people all day long is a very strange sensation. There were those who were rude to me without cause and those who changed my day for the better with just a few words. I went to the international photography centre on E43rd st (incidentally, E44th st smells like burnt toast all the way down) and having been pushed around, turned away from the Ground Zero Memorial and losing all my camera power at Grand Central Station just half way through my day and with the added headache of very sore feet I was not in a good place. I told the ticket collector that I was just going to sit down for a minute before going in and took a moment to start writing in my journal. After five minutes of furious writing I gave him my ticket. His skin was black as night and his accent thick with Africa. He was an older man with a warm smile and he said with laughter in his voice 'you writing about me in your book?'. We talked for only moment but he cheered me up so I asked him his name and told him I would write about him because he had made me smile on what felt like a bad day. He said, simply 'today is not a bad day, day is a good day'. I smiled and wandered off thinking to myself that that really depends on your perspective now doesn't it. However, having walked through an exhibition called 'Remembering 9/11' I realized that he was right. Today really was a good day, with tiredness, disappointments and aching feet, today was a great day. I am doing what I have always dreamed of doing, something that others can literally only ever dream of. 9/11 was a bad day. The ticket collectors name was Karl.

Having gone through today's photos at this very strange hour, I've realized, and this is something that I would imagine is fairly common for new comers to big cities and to NYC in particular, that I have spent most of my first day here looking up! What an amazing place. New York is so tall!! But tomorrow, having been inspired by a fantastic exhibition at the photography centre called 'Signs of Life' I vow to look around me at ground level to get a better idea of real New York life.

Also, I've decided that I really like doorways so I'll grab some interesting doorway shots.

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