Random Pictures Thread

[Arn213]

@Ray D that object in the foreground is called “Little Island”. That was an old pier (pier 54) and slowly but surely, the NYC Parks has transformed some of the piers into some functional recreational spaces as well as performance space. There is an amphitheater inside and performances are held. Very unique experience as the island is sitting on the Hudson River flanking the west side of NYC and NJ (right side). You can quite see it, but at about 12:30 orientation, is where the Statue of Liberty resides as well as Ellis Islands. These piers were once important ports, but over time they were left to dilapidation. I am shooting this on top of Pier 57- another unique space with an open rooftop and eateries down below it. The next pier is important (north)- which is the “Chelsea Piers”. The Titanic was suppose to dock here after its maiden trip, but didn’t quite make it ending to its deadly run with the iceberg. The Carpathia did dock here after rescuing the survivors of the Titanic. The Chelsea Piers now is a multi use space- the old pier was turned into a multi level golf range and has nets around the perimeter to keep the balls inbound. I’ll tag you with the adjacent pics. of what is around this place. Coincidentally when I first got married, I lived around here, literally 2 blocks from all of this.

 

[Arn213]

@Ray D - I shot that from the rooftop of Pier 57:

South side……..



The north side of this Pier 57 rooftop is overlooking the Chelsea Piers that I mentioned in the previous post- the netting perimeter is the multi-level golf range……..

 

[Arn213]

@Ray D - this is what it looks like inside Pier 54 or “Little Island”……….

 

[Ray D]

@Ray D that object in the foreground is called “Little Island”. That was an old pier (pier 54) and slowly but surely, the NYC Parks has transformed some of the piers into some functional recreational spaces as well as performance space. There is an amphitheater inside and performances are held. Very unique experience as the island is sitting on the Hudson River flanking the west side of NYC and NJ (right side). You can quite see it, but at about 12:30 orientation, is where the Statue of Liberty resides as well as Ellis Islands. These piers were once important ports, but over time they were left to dilapidation. I am shooting this on top of Pier 57- another unique space with an open rooftop and eateries down below it. The next pier is important (north)- which is the “Chelsea Piers”. The Titanic was suppose to dock here after its maiden trip, but didn’t quite make it ending to its deadly run with the iceberg. The Carpathia did dock here after rescuing the survivors of the Titanic. The Chelsea Piers now is a multi use space- the old pier was turned into a multi level golf range and has nets around the perimeter to keep the balls inbound. I’ll tag you with the adjacent pics. of what is around this place. Coincidentally when I first got married, I lived around here, literally 2 blocks from all of this.

View attachment 258884

Thanks for the detailed response and the extra pictures. Very interesting and such a cool piece of art

 

[Ray D]

@Arn213, I have never been one to like the city….in fact I go out of my way to avoid the city. That being said, I find myself enjoying seeing the city through your lens. I’ve always loved art so maybe that helps.

 

[Mike Hill]

Man, I know one thing fer shure - y'all spend more money than we do. This is our version of a renovated pier (well actually a former barge building launch site)! And I bet your boats are better than ours. But I bet we have more drunk bachelorettes wearing sun dresses, cowboy boots, and pink cowboy hats pedaling a pedal tavern than you do!

 

[DLJeffs]

Out here they just designate them as historical structures and don't allow anyone to touch them. Let's the authorities feel good about themselves and gives them money to use on other useless projects.

 

[trc65]

But I bet we have more drunk bachelorettes wearing sun dresses, cowboy boots, and pink cowboy hats pedaling a pedal tavern than you do!

I know you do, seems everybody around here just "has" to go to Nashville for their bachelorette party.

 

[Arn213]

It is challenging and difficult to show what is going on without a map and to try to connect the dots of the stretch of “Hudson River Park”. This is where the piers are (west side/west end) and each one is being brought back to life in some way or form. It stretches from the lower tip of Manhattan which is the Financial District (World Trade Center) and all the way to uptown. When you start at one end, along the way it will offer outdoor activities like basketball courts, playgrounds, skate park, tennis courts, dog parks, kayaking, beach, several soccer fields, restaurants/eateries, rooftop views, music venues, amphitheaters, etc. These gets integrated into the neighborhoods and each one has their own “angle” of what they provide- museums, galleries, restaurants, eateries, indoor markets, coffee shops, pastry joints, The Highline, historic districts full of old row houses, so on and so forth.

This map will give you an idea of the piers listed numerically and the adjacent neighborhoods……

 

[Arn213]

Along the piers there are some wonderful buildings that has spectacular views of the city. The Whitney Museum is one of them- it has about 360 degree views of the city landscape overlooking the Hudson River, New Jersey, lower Manhattan and midtown! You can see the Empire State Building, The World Trade Center, The Edge building at Hudson Yards, etc.

@Ray D if you look at some of the pictures you will see the “Little Island” towards the left side and all the other piers I just showed you.

Most of the time I would go into the museum just to see the views and it is more dramatic at night.

 

[trc65]

Some clouds from tonight's storm.

 

[JonathanH]

I had an incredible run in working track safety, too many stories & experiences to be believable. Instead of sitting in the stands outside of Turn 1, imagine standing in the grass field between the track and acceleration lane during the Anthem...waiting for the parachutist to arrive with Old Glory. Or hand-pushing the Marmon Wasp (or one of the Turbines). Or having Andy Granatelli in the golf cart next to you when Mario Andretti snuck up from behind--seeing each other for the first time in 20-something years.

That's just the tip of the iceberg...and doesn't include pranks, other tracks, operating a jet dryer, traveling with a drag racing safety team, you name it. Was blessed to have done what i did, but like @trc65 mentioned--no way i could do that today. Could still do emergency part, but 12-16 hour days (or longer), too little sleep and too much coffee, spending 80-90 nights a year away from home (while working a full-time job)--that's for young folks!!

Those are cool stories and I'm sure are just the beginning of it.

In the early '90's a neighbor was in a motorcycle club that rented out a few tracks each year for track days. No real racing but timed heats with different speed classes. I got recruited for working a corner twice, at Roebling Road and Road Atlanta tracks. Long day in the hot summer sun both times. Roebling Road was uneventful, different story at Road Atlanta. I had the corner coming off the long straightaway and had 7 cyclists run off the track at speed. One rode the hill all the way down, I called an ambulance for the other 6. That ended my short-lived fascination with watching motorcycle racing, I didn't enjoy seeing people get hurt.

 

[Arn213]

DUMBO Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights:

 

[Fencemender]

Just after the tornado watch was lifted in New England a few days ago.

 

[Greenacres2]

Those are cool stories and I'm sure are just the beginning of it.

In the early '90's a neighbor was in a motorcycle club that rented out a few tracks each year for track days. No real racing but timed heats with different speed classes. I got recruited for working a corner twice, at Roebling Road and Road Atlanta tracks. Long day in the hot summer sun both times. Roebling Road was uneventful, different story at Road Atlanta. I had the corner coming off the long straightaway and had 7 cyclists run off the track at speed. One rode the hill all the way down, I called an ambulance for the other 6. That ended my short-lived fascination with watching motorcycle racing, I didn't enjoy seeing people get hurt.

Motorcycles were a different breed. MotoGP was mostly a hoot, but carrying a hay-bale out on track as a safety device for a "local yellow", then carrying bikes back through gravel traps got old fast!! And the gravel traps at IMS were spec'ed for F-1 cars--about twice as deep as MotoGP required.
Hated seeing John Force's crash recently--was pretty common for him to hang out at our truck for test days, even when he wasn't running since his shop wasn't far from Raceway Park. If it was his teams testing, not unusual for him to bring lunch for us.

 

[Wildthings]

Barry @Wildthings thought of you when I saw this yesterday at The MET (American Wing); Alexander Pope “The Oak Door”, 1887 oil on wood. From very far away, this looks like they are real objects and not painted because of the exceptional rendering with the shade and shadow. This is so sublime and uniquely, very well executed IMHO.

View attachment 258797

View attachment 258798

View attachment 258799

WOW no matter how close you get it still looks like physical objects on that door.. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Wildthings]

Man, I know one thing fer shure - y'all spend more money than we do. This is our version of a renovated pier (well actually a former barge building launch site)! And I bet your boats are better than ours. But I bet we have more drunk bachelorettes wearing sun dresses, cowboy boots, and pink cowboy hats pedaling a pedal tavern than you do!

View attachment 258895

Pictures of said bachelorettes please! For proof of course!

 

[Mike Hill]

Geesh! I try not to go near them, for fear of catching something or for fear that I might just accidentally/on purpose run one over!!! Not my pics as I haven't been down to the cesspool since Easter of 2022.



And if for some reason one doesn't want to get sweaty pedaling - you can ride.



Or if a pink bus ain't good enough - get pulled around by a tractor.



But for the ultimate - don your best bikini and lounge in a tub pulled around downtown Nashville. BTW, the tall building on the right is one I did. (Man, just realized that I'm getting old - in a couple of months that building will be 30 years old!!!!)



And they are all so sweet and demure, but possibly quite coquettish!

 

[Arn213]

Geesh! I try not to go near them, for fear of catching something or for fear that I might just accidentally/on purpose run one over!!! Not my pics as I haven't been down to the cesspool since Easter of 2022.

View attachment 258930View attachment 258935View attachment 258936

And if for some reason one doesn't want to get sweaty pedaling - you can ride.

View attachment 258931

Or if a pink bus ain't good enough - get pulled around by a tractor.

View attachment 258932

But for the ultimate - don your best bikini and lounge in a tub pulled around downtown Nashville. BTW, the tall building on the right is one I did. (Man, just realized that I'm getting old - in a couple of months that building will be 30 years old!!!!)

View attachment 258934

And they are all so sweet and demure, but possibly quite coquettish!

View attachment 258933

^So what’s the best time to go to Nashville you said?

We have those too, less the cowgirl hats, but they strut . Not just in Times Square, but every stinking hole in the city.

 

[DLJeffs]

Okay, time to get out of the city and into nature .... couple shots of North and Middle Sister (couple of our local volcanoes), viewed from up near Three Finger Jack. Jack Lake is in the foreground in one of the shots. About two weeks to a month too early for wild flowers. This area saw a large wild fire in 2003, hence the dead trees sticking up. It's been fun to watch how it recovers - many of the pines are now 10 - 15 ft tall and densely populated. I asked the Ranger today if they would plan to thin them or leave it to mother nature to do it her way and he said the later. It's physically impossible to walk through some of the young groves now. More and more of the dead snags are toppling over too, had to scramble over a half dozen along the trail today. We were ahead of the trail crew coming behind us cutting pathways through. No motorized stuff, so two man bucking saws, axes, etc. Better men and one woman than I to haul all that equipment up there and cut trees in half.