Midtown

Manhattan was relatively quiet last week, like it’s been for months. And even though I’m not exactly a huge fan of crowds, it’s still a little sad. Like the city has been abandoned, which it kind of has been. No more tourists battling for that perfect picture of… whatever. No crush of people trying to get close to the tree (there were barriers anyway).

No one blocking my view of, well, anything, really. I actually had the luxury of waiting for the perfect moment to get that one taxi in front of Saks.

And I was able to take as many shots of the windows as I wanted so that the reflections in the window fit with the displays just like I wanted.

In normal touristy times, I would have gotten so thoroughly sick of the crush of people around Rockefeller that I would have run away to 6th Avenue and straight home. No Bryant Park or Times Square (are you kidding me?) As it was, 6th Avenue was just the way we took because I love the huge Christmas ball display in front of one of the buildings. Secret confession: I think I like that display even more than the tree…

And we went to Bryant park and Times Square and I didn’t feel aggressive at all. (I usually get frustrated when there are too many people around and I can’t move freely.)

It was obvious by the end that we’ve lost our extensive walking habit. We were so tired afterwards even though it didn’t feel like that much walking.

I had a hard time editing the first three pictures in the post. Those Christmas lights are really hard to make pop in daylight, especially if you don’t use any special editing software (I use my camera’s app and I just mess with general things like white balance, exposure, contrast, etc.). I’m thinking maybe I should get something better but I’m also not a huge fan of staying there on my computer, trying to get the hang of it. The time it takes to just select the right sections, the right brushes, and the right effects so that I can emphasize parts of picture without making it look unnatural. It’s all so much and I honestly don’t like hanging out on my screen that long. Each time I’ve had instruction, I’ve hated it. But maybe I didn’t have images I actually wanted to work with? I should get myself a free trial and see…