Can I make a happy flower look really weird and mysterious?  Of course I can:

Ever so briefly:

And by the way, god do I ever love that square crop setting on iPhoto!

Get ready to get really bored.  JUST KIDDING.  I am going to talk a lot, but there will be photos.  Aren’t there always?

Anyway, here is our subject:

OK, obviously I didn’t take this recently because it was snowing sideways outside today.  I took this in June at Bethesda Terrace in New York.  I went down there to do some usual sort of perspective-arch shots that I do constantly and endlessly.  When I was done and standing inside Bethesda terrace, I noticed this performer preparing.  It was one of those moment when the shot just set itself up absolutely perfectly.  There was no question it was going to be an absolutely gorgeous shot.

As is usually the case in these instances, I stood there trying to be as incognito as you can possibly be with a giant camera around your neck.  I had my long lens on and she was pretty close by, but I thought it worked.  I stood and then I shot three photos.  She noticed, or maybe didn’t.

After I got home and took a look at the pictures, I made the decision to keep it mostly as was.  I adjusted the contrast slightly, brightened and sharpened.  This is pretty much standard for me when I shoot.  I wanted a photojournalism feel to the photo, rather than the insane collage of colors from Salvadore Dali’s acid trip that my photos usually look like.

I showed what I thought was a great photo to a bunch of my friends.  Most of them thought it was a fairly competent photo and nice, but one said it was cute and not much else and that it might have actually  been improved with some tweaking.  So, here above is the tweaked version.  I squared it and darkened the edges slightly to give it more of a fashion photo feel.

OK, lecture done.  Return to your lives now.

I took this shot in the summer and thought it was super.  And I looked at it on the computer.  And looked, and looked and looked.  I couldn’t get it right.

Now it is too cold and snowy to go out and shoot, so I decided to go through the archives and found this shot again and finally figured out where it was supposed to go:

It was supposed to be dark and edgy.  Who knew?

Admit it. You’ve missed seeing this thing up here, haven’t you? Another photo and then some commentary:

Grand Central, as is obvious from this blog, is one of my most favorite places on the face of this planet. I frequently wondered why. I could make the excuse that it is beautiful and of course it is, but with these latest batch of photos, I thought to myself — really, why do I love this place? Then I thought — I love this place because is an integral part of New York, but also sort of an anomaly. It is something historical and there are not too many of those in New York.

When people think of New York, they don’t automatically think history, but it is a city that is much older than most of America. Grand Central is not 300 years old, but it is a snapshot of a time in the history of New York when money was being made with trains and shipping. It shows the power of the city, but also an optimism that industry would be the way forward.

OK, enough chit chat. More photos:

Oh and with all the chattering, I forgot to mention that steam rises from Grand Central in winter, bathing Mr. Grand Central in this white fog that is amazingly beautiful.

Many people ask why I take so many pictures.  I ask myself how can I not when things out there look so beautiful.  Short note to the photography nerd herd out there: the post processing on these was absolutely, absolutely minimal.  Because of the beauty.  Whatever, enough words.  The photos, the photos:

This one above is one of my favorite photos I have taken recently.  Its genius, anyone can see why I love it so.  Just kidding.

Two more:

Ah, blog readers, perhaps you recognize this reflection:

For so long, Wrongsideofthecamera has broadcast from a secret location, but it can all now be revealed.  This is a seemingly nondescript building is in fact our headquarters.  I know, you expecting something more glam, but there you have it.

Actually I have Margaret Bourke White’s old office.  Her ghost still visits and helps me with my inspiration with occasional shots like this one:

She wanted me to go out and actually shoot it from outside, but that wasn’t in the cards.  Well, there you have it, the big reveal.

**I made this all up!

Bigger, better, less filling:

I can’t Hurrell just once:

Do you want me to?