Friday, August 14, 2009

Grimaldi's and the Brooklyn Bridge

Pin It My brother got off work late and we decided to head out for a delayed dinner—we ventured into Brooklyn via the subway under the channel, and ended up somewhere near Old Fulton Street—or as my brother said…just the place we wanted to be.

I had been told several times in transit about this place; it was supposed to be spectacular, but I won’t lie…I had my doubts.

We exited the subway and after a few minutes of walking we encountered a line which stretched over half a city block. My brother proudly proclaimed that this was the place.

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria extraordinaire.

We waited.

The line moved infinitesimally slowly over the next 45 minutes; I found myself playing with my camera, taking photos of the street as the double-decker tour buses passed by on the street and the occupants waved and yelled to us.

One might think that waiting that long might have become tiresome, but being in a place like Brooklyn, there was always something to look at, or something to notice; besides, with a camera in one’s hand, how can one possibly be bored?

Before I knew it, my brother and I were whisked into the restaurant and I was taking shots inside the building as we were seated—all of which were severely blurred. You see, it just so happens that I had forgotten to switch my camera back to ‘automatic’ focus mode and therefore, every shot taken by my brother and myself in Grimaldi’s Pizzeria was junk.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. “Wait, Teachinfourth…aren’t you a photographer? Didn’t you notice that things weren’t in focus when you were taking those shots?”

Admittedly, I should have, but if I could bottle the smells in that restaurant—those aromas which accosted me as I walked in—if I could but take those incredible odors and perhaps have them waft though the exhaust port fan of your computer you’d be distracted right now, too.

However, images are not always necessary to convey thoughts. Helpful? Absolutely! Vital? Not necessarily.

Needless to say, the pizza had been well worth the wait and the cost.

My brother and I ventured outside and walked down to the pier for an ice cream; while he stood in line I strolled past the couples snogging each other on the benches, and friends laughing and sharing humorous experiences. I moved to the edge of the wharf and from there took a few photographs of the lights of the city reflecting off of the night water. Luckily, by this time I’d noticed my little error of focus and had since corrected it; alas, too late to save the other photos, but I had noticed it in enough time to capture these.


After my brother and I had eaten our ice cream we walked along the Brooklyn Bridge. I cannot convey that feeling of immense wonder I had as I gazed at those massive stones which were used to construct that bridge, and the steel cables lit up by the lights of the city in the distance.

I was in a state of awe. The things which mankind has wrought over the ages staggers the mind; it makes me reel back and consider the possibilities of the ever rapidly approaching future.




16 comments:

MindyElias said...

Reading your blog makes me happy.

♥Concerned♥ said...

Totally heard of Grimaldi's, lol. You did the one thing I super wanted to do, but never got to...walk the Brooklyn Bridge :'(

Linn said...

Wow! Those last photos more than made up for the first ones that were blurry. Incredible!

Danielle said...

Gorgeous night shots!! LOVE IT!

Leah Z said...

Ten points for using the word snogging.

In the last two photos it looks like you're standing next to a backdrop -- like the iron railing is a set piece and the background is a picture.

Kathy said...

Uhmmm...how high up were you in the 5th picture?

Kathy said...

And how did you get there?!!

Kathy said...

I mean up that high in photo number 5?

SHELLS BELLS! said...

Amazing photos!

Gerb said...

The pictures of the city & bridge totally made up for the lack of pictures at the pizza joint. Amazing.

Gerb said...

Hmmmm. Just noticed that Linn made pretty much the same comment as I. I suppose that means she must have a great mind, because we think alike. :) I try not to read comments before I post my own so I'm really writing what I think and not a reflection of others' words. So, Linn... rock on!

Teachinfourth said...

M - Thanks for coming back.

J - It was awesome - especially at night.

L - I would have included the blurry shots of me holding a slice of pizza, but it was so badly focused that it really wasn't worth the effort.

D - They turned out swimmingly; thanks.

L - Probably the safest word I could have used.

I thought the same thing with those last few shots, but it really was real, it was just the rum light where we were and I hadn't taken my flash along.

K - I walked along the steel girders over the traffic - okay, not so, we were about twenty to thirty feet over traffic about 1/3 of the way out over the bridge. I set my camera on the rail and did a time exposure and there was a bit of jiggle because of the movement of the bridge, but it came out pretty well.

S - Thanks, I liked them, too.

G - I probably would have said something similar, too. Count me in on the 'cool' club which thinks alike.

Anonymous said...

I love the word "snogging"! I am totally adding that to my scrabble vocabulary.

Gorgeous pics; I feel like I'm right there. FAIL for not setting that auto focus so we could catch the indoor visual whiff.

Teachinfourth said...

L - Yeah, I proverbially kicked myself for that faux pas.

Richard & Natalie said...

I don't know if you'll see this, but incase you did, I had to let you know these pics are spectacular! I needed more NY, so I dove into your archives (hope you don't mind) and definitely found what I was looking for.

Teachinfourth said...

N - I don't mind at all...that's why it's there. I hope it helped to fill a need.

I'm glad you liked the shots; it's good to hear that others like them as much as I do.

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