New York City is the “City that Never Sleeps” – a concrete jungle full of 8 million people living in close proximity.

In NYC there’s always something going on no matter what time of day and there are always interesting subjects to photograph no matter where you are in town.  The hectic and eclectic nature e of the city is great for photographers but I’m not sure that I would want to live there on a long term basis.

In 2011 I made my 4th or 5th visit to NYC in as many years. Here are some of the best photos from my trip:

The Brooklyn Bridge seen from Lower Manhattan – we walked over to Brooklyn to get away from the busy city streets for a while.

The Peking, a 4 mast ship on Pier 17 in NYc

View of Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge

A street scene from Historic Little Italy in New York City

Echo, a sculpture by Jaume Plensa in New York’s Madison Square Park

The Empire State Building viewed from Street level with American Flags waving in the foreground

Cables from The Brooklyn Bridge form a web of steel

Locks of Love on the Brooklyn Bridge

9/11 Memorial tiles in New York City – Tiles for America

The historic Flatiron building in NYC

A Pink Elephant in a truck full of Antiques in New York City

 

The Most Interesting Objects – items from Olde Good Things in NYC

Yarn Bombing or Knita – a form of Street Art perhaps best suited for your grandmother

Pork ribs from Eataly at the Mad St Eats street food Festival near Madison Square Park in 2011

An imposing Gargoyle in Brooklyn sits in front of a Brownstone just across the bridge

Where 5th Avenue meets 18th Street on the Ladies Mile Historic District (NYC)

The interior of Toys R’ Us in Times Square

Smartphones like the iPhone and the Android devices are thin, light, connected to the Internet, and come equipped with pretty decent cameras. Smartphones are also becoming indispensable pieces of technology as we are increasingly calling, texting, and updating each other via social media apps such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Our increasing dependency on smartphones means that they are always with us and for a shutterbug like me, my iPhone camera is a great way for me to document what’s going on in my life – a sort of social photo diary for people with bad memories.

Below are my selected 365 Instagram photos from 2011 – Hover over any of the photos below to see a caption and what day it was taken on. Click on the image to see a full sized picture.

Do any of you keep a 365 photo gallery? Do you find that smartphones make it easier to keep up with taking one photo a day for a whole year?

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In the shadow of some of the tallest buildings in downtown Austin is a hidden spot that has become a graffiti Mecca to aspiring “writers.” This abandoned lot in the Castle Hill neighborhood has received attention from some of the most famous Street artists: Shepard Fairey, the well known street artist who designed Barack Obama’s HOPE poster pasted up some very large pieces on the back wall at this location, which is known as the “Foundation”.

This spot hasn’t always been so popular – 3 years ago I did a portrait photo shoot here and there were many more weeds and vines on the wall than graffiti pieces. Today the tables have turned – virtually every usable stretch of wall has been used. Why has this place become so popular in the last few years? I have a feeling it has to do with the mass influx of creative people from areas of the country where Street Art is more popular like New York and Los Angeles.

This is a great off the beaten path place for photographer to visit – enter at your own risk though – the grounds are not maintained and no trespassing signs are posted!

Red and Yellow Jester, Dog, and Turtle Graffiti – Artist Unknown

Large Obey Paste Ups by Sheppard Fairey of Obama HOPE and Exit Through the Gift Shop fame

2 Walls at the Foundation – “The Grass is Greener” and a Grasshopper mural – artists unknown

Japanese Anime style graffiti behind advancing weed growth – artist unknown

Flying Man Kite Graffiti – Artist Unknown

Walls are almost completely covered at the Foundation – Black and White Sheppard Fairey Obey paste on the back wall

Brittney Spears Streetart by the local Austin Graffiti Artist Niz

Jodie Foster piece by Austin Graffiti Artist Niz

2 more works Austin Graffiti Artist Niz (images of females in the foreground)

The foundation hosts many different styles of street art – Artists Unknown

Window frame from some long abandoned building

Chupacabra StreetArt ? – artist uknown

Monsters – Artist Unknown

This guy looks like he’s being punched in the face by a Wildstyle piece by various artists including well known local Graffiti Artist Sloke One.

Japanese Mountain Graffiti in Austin, Texas – Artist Unknown

The grass is greener Graffiti staring out at what else? green grass

Poker Graffiti – also Sheppard Fairey paste ups on the back wall

What the Foundation walls looked like in October, 2008 – no graffiti on the walls, just vines and a few small patches that had been painted over.