Post by Leslie

One of the fun stops we had in New York was visiting the city library. It was kinda like stopping by Hogwarts.I've got big shoots today and tomorrow, so I'll still be posting from my trip until Thursday or so. Please bear with me, I've got some fun surprises for the end of the week! For your internet shares of the day:+ Why Uma is angry.+ This pleases me greatly.+ One of Obama's favorite books. I guess I can add it to my list. (Speaking of, I'm currently reading Beartown and it is SO GOOD.)  

This was the view out of our living room window in the glorious apartment on the Upper West Side. I know it's not much, but we loved it. I am finally back home from a week of traveling (some in NYC, some in Cleveland), and I could not be happier to be sitting on my couch in my homey living room with my sweet dog at my side. But this apartment in New York also holds a special place in my heart as well. It was the perfect spot for my short retreat.I decided to skip off to Manhattan for two or three days to be inspired and simply take photos of the city I love. And I invited my pal Valerie who lives in Rochester, New York to join me. Much to my delight, she agreed!We had great walks through the city, arm-in-arm as we tried to keep each other warm. We had a delightful dinner at a delicious Italian joint, we ventured to the Top of the Rock to take in the city, and we stopped for coffee and tea and pastries at little spots all around the city. We bought souvenirs and even tried the cookies and cakes at the much publicized Milk Bar (highly overrated, in our opinions).Today is Valerie's birthday, and I thought it would be a good time to post some of the fun photos I took of her in our spots. Oh yeah, she also got her eyebrows threaded for $6. She is much braver than I, in that regard. And how about some internet shares of the day, eh? It's been awhile!+ We all take the same photos.+ How to turn around a bad day, from my dear friend Sarah.+ This design professor kills it with these graphics.

Yesterday morning, I woke up on my own 20 minutes before sunrise. I often decide, "Ok, I'll shoot that early morning thing for the blog if I naturally wake up in time." And this time I did.So again, I threw on the clothes, did nothing with this wild mane of mine (I mean, considering it's NYC at sunrise, I figure these locals have seen crazier), and jumped on the train down to mid-town. I wanted the sun coming through the tall buildings and to capture the long shadows of early morning commuters.Honestly? It was ok. I'm not sure what else I wanted, but it was really cold out and a lot of trouble for these few shots. But still, the way the light pours in from between the buildings captivates me. Next trip though, I think I'll go further south to SoHo because the cobblestone streets might add what I missed.Today I'm back in town briefly and then flying out to Cleveland for a commercial gig. I am just guessing that this trip won't exactly provide the same material as NYC, but I hope I am proven wrong. Again, no time for the internet -- too busy exploring. I hope to fill your cups with internet time wasters next week!

Today you get photos from Washington Square. Yes, I was the person standing in the middle of the sidewalk aiming her camera at the top of the monument, waiting for the birds to take flight. Oh, but when they did? It was lovely.

Good morning! New York City gave me the most amazing gift today by covering the town in powdered sugar. Or snow. Whatever.I threw on my clothes, gave up on my hair and ran out the door (or down the 5 flights of stairs to the door) and down the block to Central Park. As I write this, three hours later, the snow is mostly melted and I'm so glad I bolted out when I did. It was glorious.

Hello there! I'm in New York for a quick getaway FOR FUN because my husband is the greatest man on the planet and recognized that I needed to get away for just a bit for a little inspiration. And man, am I doing that right now!I met up with a college buddy (who lives in Rochester, NY) and we are having a great time, staying in an amazing air bnb and walking about 20K steps a day.Today I dragged her to the Top of the Rock like any upstanding photographer tourist would do around sunset, and I shot these images. It was too cloudy for an actual sunset, but it was OK because watching the lights come on around the city was pretty spectacular in itself.I have a bunch more shots from the day, but I'm traveling all week, and I thought I would spread them out a little. Enjoy! PS: No internet shares today as I'm not surfing the web right now. More later this week though!

I had a shoot yesterday on the twentieth floor of a building downtown, and the fog remained all day long. I kept thinking it would lift, but finally at 3 pm, I snapped this image because it just felt so dang mysterious out there.I haven't had much time for internet shares this week, but here are two things I've enjoyed. I hope you all have a glorious weekend, and just wait until you see what I have in store for you on Monday!+ This story about living with a mini fridge was super inspiring.+ I loved these faked images.

Last night I ventured over to St. Paul to photograph Børns (I feel so fancy every time I get that character to show up correctly). I had listened to his music a little and thought it would be a fun show to photograph. I was right.One of my new years resolutions was to photograph more shows. Because they rarely pay anything and keep me up late at night, this work has fallen to the side in the last few years (let's be honest, since the arrival of Ezra, sleep has taken on the value of gold bricks in my household).But now that we appear to be settling into the smallest of routines at home (knock on wood), I feel like I can fit music back into my schedule. And while these photos do nothing to pay my bills, they fill my soul, and that's pretty important. I'm trying to focus on both sides of the equation these days.Below are a few more of my favorite shots, and you can see the full take over here. Enjoy!