Category Archives: New York City

Christmas in February

Posted on February 15, 2015 by | 7 comments

By Johna Till Johnson

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Maggie’s Magic Garden

Last week I did something I’ve been meaning to do for a while: I went to Maggie’s Magic Garden to take a few photos.

Vlad and I had passed this space many times. It’s a community garden, a small, open plot of land surrounded by buildings. As the seasons changed, it provided a lovely glimpse of nature amidst the urban setting.

So I was curious to see what I’d find in midwinter, after the first few snowfalls of the year. I don’t know what  I expected, but it wasn’t what I found: Christmas in February!

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Christmas in February

My favorite part of the Christmas decorations was the homemade creche, with what looked like a bedsheet draping over the figurines. (Also note the angled angel over the manger.)

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Homemade creche

And there were more secular decorations as well…

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Bright candy canes

Alas, I wasn’t able to get into the garden to explore—despite the sign, it was closed when I visited. But it clearly lives up to its description: Magical indeed. I’ll be back there in the spring, to see what magic is afoot then!

7 Comments

Posted in Culture, Nature, New York City, Society

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Panorama

Posted on February 5, 2015 by | 55 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Adobe Photoshop certainly makes nice panoramas. Here’s a 180-degree panorama of NYC’s frozen Central Park Reservoir, stitched together from 10 individual photos.

Central Park Reservoir panorama

I haven’t posted many panoramas on Wind Against Current, because the results have always seemed unsatisfactory. The panoramas are long and narrow, and so unimpressive when wedged into the 500-pixel width of our page. You can always click on the panorama to expand it (try it on the panorama above), but even so…

How about presenting the panorama this way?

Central Park Reservoir panorama, rotated

All you have to do is rotate your device 90 degrees, and scroll through ;-)

Maybe this will start a trend—but I wouldn’t count on it. :-)

55 Comments

Posted in Nature, New York City, Photography

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NYC’s Magical Snow Day

Posted on January 31, 2015 by | 46 comments

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Johna Till Johnson and Vladimir Brezina

Johna exploring a snow fort in Central Park (photo by Vlad)

By rights, New York City should still be digging out from the blizzard that was to be “historic, catastrophic”—except that it wasn’t.

The storm was predicted to bury New York in up to thirty inches of snow. In anticipation, the Mayor and the Governor declared a state of emergency, shut down the subway system, and banned all vehicles (including taxis and delivery bicycles) on the grounds that stalled vehicles would impede emergency efforts.

And then the blizzard didn’t happen. True, Long Island got a couple of feet of snow. And coastal New England, including Boston, got hammered.

But here in New York, we awoke to a mere eight inches of snow in Central Park… and a government-mandated, universally observed, snow day.

It was great!

Continue reading →

46 Comments

Posted in Life, Nature, New York City

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Industry

Posted on January 24, 2015 by | 17 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Seen on our travels through New York Harbor—

New York Harbor 1
New York Harbor 2
New York Harbor 3
New York Harbor 4
New York Harbor 5
New York Harbor 6

Spot Johna in the last photo!

A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Industry.

17 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Photography, Science and Technology

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Ice in the Morris Canal

Posted on January 18, 2015 by | 53 comments

By Johna Till Johnson

Ice in the Morris Canal

For my first paddle in a long while, the weather was cooperating beautifully. The day before had been cold and blustery, and the day after was predicted to be dark and rainy. But Saturday dawned sunny, clear, and calm.

There was just one catch: The temperature had been below freezing for a couple of days, and wasn’t predicted to rise above it today. Would the embayment at Pier 40, where we launch from, be iced in?

I worried anxiously in the cab on the way down.

Continue reading →

53 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City

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Shadows and Reflections

Posted on January 10, 2015 by | 33 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

In Winter—

Shadows and reflections in Winter 1
Shadows and reflections in Winter 2

and in the Spring—

Shadows and reflections in Spring

Where are Summer and Fall? Clearly, I have work cut out for me this year!

A second contribution to this week’s Photo Challenge, Shadowed. The first contribution was here.

33 Comments

Posted in New York City, Photography

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Blue Shadows

Posted on January 9, 2015 by | 60 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Seasonally appropriate: sunny days after the big snowstorm in NYC’s Central Park—

The scene in NYC's Central Park
Blue shadows 1
Blue shadows 2
Blue shadows 3
Blue shadows 4
Blue shadows 5
(More photos are here, here, and here)

A contribution to this week’s Photo Challenge, Shadowed. A second contribution is here.

60 Comments

Posted in Nature, New York City, Photography

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Last Days of the Year

Posted on December 29, 2014 by | 47 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Last red leaf
.
.
.
The one red leaf, the last of its clan,
That dances as often as dance it can,
Hanging so light, and hanging so high,
On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky.
— Coleridge, Christabel
.
.
.
Sunset at the end of December 2014 in NYC’s Central Park—
.
Winter sunset
.
(Click on any photo to start slideshow)
.
Red berries 1
Vines
Entwining
Red berries 2
Red berries 3
Red berries 4
Red berries 5
Red branch
Fluff 1
Last red leaf
Milkweed pods 1
Milkweed pods 2
Red growth
Milkweed pods 3
Fluff 2
Milkweed pods 4

Last light over the Central Park Reservoir—

Last light

47 Comments

Posted in Nature, New York City

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The Turn of the Year

Posted on December 21, 2014 by | 45 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

I mean, of course, the ancient turn of the year, the Winter Solstice—not that newfangled, artificial New Year on January 1st.

The Winter Solstice occurs today, December 21st, at 6:03 PM EST (New York time).  This year, especially, we look forward to the days finally getting longer…

Winter sunset at the Central Park Reseervoir

… and we are still waiting for our first real snowstorm, which at least for a day or two makes everything brighter :-)

Happy Winter Solstice from us in NYC!

45 Comments

Posted in Nature, New York City

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Golden

Posted on December 20, 2014 by | 22 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Golden light in New York Harbor…

Tug silhouettes
In the Kill van Kull
Bayonne Bridge
Turning her aroundFrom the Hidden Harbor Tour, September 2013.

A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Golden.

22 Comments

Posted in New York City, Photography

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