12.21.08 - The final post

So, the trip has ended, I'm back in freezing Kalispell, getting set for Christmas.

But, the good news is, the adventure continues, so I will refer anyone to my other blog, which I will be updating as often as I have this one.

www.ericconnollyphotography.blogspot.com

www.ericconnollyphotography.blogspot.com

www.ericconnollyphotography.blogspot.com

Check it. Also, the photo today is from our Nativity set under our Christmas tree, fun stuff.

enjoy.

-eric

12.16.08 - First Snow

First snow I've seen in NYC.

48 hours to MT.

Home soon.

-eric

12.13.08 - Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa or just a happy holiday season to you all!

-e

12.13.08 - The Last Weekend

So, last weekend in NYC and there are still a few things I want to do!

One of them was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, so I did, and here are the photos.

Enjoy.

_eric

12.9.08 - Legend

Just got back from seeing legendary guitarist Les Paul and his trio.

One of the greatest experiences of my life.

amazing.

-e

12.8.08 - No Sleep Till....

Great day working with Seth Kushner in Brooklyn.

Photo - Downtown from the Brooklyn Promenade.

-e

12.7.08 - The wind down

One full week left in the city.

Gonna be awesome, more on that later.

Today's photo is a camera phone shot to switch things up a bit.

6th ave @ 51st street.

-e

12.3.08 - New of the Old

Photo today is another from the beautiful sunset I saw in Minnesota.

Beautiful.

_e

12.1.08 - New Month

Hey everybody,

First of all, a happy birthday to my little sister.

Second, got back today from MN and I'm a bit tired, but here is a photo from the Vikings game last night from halftime, where Viking great John Randle was inducted into the Vikings ring of honor.

Good stuff.

-eric

11.28.08 - Giving thanks.

Happy thanksgiving everyone!

Currently enjoying time with the family in MN.

Hope your holiday season kick off was filled with joy.

Much love, and, I broke my promise, here's a sunset picture from near my Aunt and Uncles house in Shoreview.

-e

11.19.08 - It's a Celebration!

Hey ya'll.

Been a really good week, had my birthday on Tuesday, ate at Turkish Cuisinf on 9th Ave. Amazing.

Photo today is a long exposure of Radio City Music Hall from right outside of where I work!

-e

11.16.08 - Weekend

Sorry about the hiatus, I've been very busy putting together my portfolio.

Here's a shot from St. Pat's Cathedral last week.

-e

11.13.08 QoS

Go see Quantum of Solace.

Seriously, I caught the midnight show.

It was phenomenal.

Incredible.

Mind blowing.

_e

by the way, check out my website (www.ericconnollyphotography.com) for my latest portfolio.

11.7.08 - Photoshop

Hey there gang,

I've been learning some new photoshop retouching techniques, so, todays photo is of my friend Erin Miller from a fashion shoot we did last year.

More of a first attempt than anything, but I thought it turned out pretty good.

Slainte

-e

11.4.08 - Election Day

What an incredible day to be am American.

Today, I woke up with a start, with the knowledge that the next 24 hours could very well shape the next generation in America.

After a restless day at work, a day constantly filled with checking my Blackberry for election updates, I made my way to Rockefeller Plaza, or, as it was called today, Election Plaza.

As the night unfolded, I saw a range of emotions within the crowd.

First, there was a sense of fear and question. After the 2000 and 2004 elections, no one was confident that what he pollsters and pundits had predicted would come through.

Then, as the numbers came in displayed in full color on a number of screens around the plaza, I saw the fear and apprehension shift to a feeling of excitement and apprehension as the pieces began to fall into place.

And finally, pure joy as the stress and anger of the last eight years, eight years filled with 2 wars, mounting debt and a economic breakdown, began to fade into the background, overshadowed by a message of hope.

So, as I sit here tonight, with a new president waiting in the wings, I am hopeful.

Whether your are Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Liberal, Independent, White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Gay, Straight, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, Atheist, rich, poor, old or young, you now have a new president. And being uncooperative will get us nowhere.

The people of America have spoken and the beauty of our governmental system is that the majority will speak for everyone.

So, wherever you sit on the issues, please be open to new idea while feeling free to speak your mind.

Be open to change while making sure that your ideals are not lost in the background.

Maybe I am just a optimistic dreamer, but I truly believe that everyone has a way to make themselves heard, especially in today's flat world.

While I may not agree with everything Barack Obama believes (i don't) or agree with all of the decisions he makes (I most likely wont), I accept that he will be my president and that I will have the right to disagree with him.

It is on this that our country is built, the right to believe what we want, and voice our opinions as such.

So, tonight, I ask, I plead, I pray for open mindedness.

(Insert sound of me jumping off of soap box.)

Hope your night is well.

Peace

-Eric

*Photos - From the election night, included is my favorite photo of my time here with my new friends Kim and Karen, celebrating the Obama win with a display of pure joy. Enjoy :)

10.30.08 - fisheye

Some cool fisheye shots for ya.

10.28.08 - Rainy day

It was an incredibly rainy day in NYC today.

Awesome.

-e

10.26.08 - Fall in Central Park

Had a great day wandering through Central Park.

Beautiful as the colors began to change. Wonderful.

10.22.08 - Times Square in the Night

Hey everybody!

Long time, no talk.

Lately, life has been a lot of work at Atlantic, a bit of exploring and a lot more time learning about this city.

*Video today, well, kind of a video, slideshow if anything, of my Monday night stroll through Times Square*

-e

10.15.08 - Doin' work

Hey hey everybody! A quick update for you all.

I have been crazy-busy with work lately, but it has been a lot of fun.

Along with the new (aforementioned) website, I have been working hard on putting a portfolio together and a final product will hopefully come to fruition soon!

Hope you all are well, wherever you are!

Also, ate at the Carnegie Deli today, fantastic. Receives my full recommendation.

Much love,

-eric

*photo* another shot from Coney Island, hopefully some new photos soon!

10.13.08 - The New Site

So, finally purchased the domain name I wanted and started a web site.

At this point, I have no web design skills, so it's pretty bare bones.

Any suggestions (programs, especially open source freeware) would be greatly appreciated.

Much love.

-e

www.ericconnollyphotography.com

10.12.08 - Coney Island

GREAT day today.

Took the subway out to Coney Island.

Really good time walking the boardwalk.

Good day.

10.11.08 - Wandering with KRubes

Had my good buddy Kelly Ruby in town this week.

A couple good shoes,
lots of good food and drink.

Good week.

*photo*
in honor of Monday, Colombus Circle.

10.2.08

Photo:
Inside the Eclectic/Encore prop house.

Great place but one of the creepiest places I have ever been in.

Just odd.

-e

9.29.08 - Big Day Tomorrow!

Well well well.

Tomorrow.

A day of discovery...

new experience...

destruction?

Well, to make a long story short, I have to drive tomorrow.

In Manhattan.

In a 15 passenger van.

Yeah, gonna be fairly intense.

This photo will be my world tomorrow.

Yikes.

-e

9.28.08 - Sunday

Great day of rest and exploration (quite the combo, I know.)

Well, week starts tomorrow.

Today's photo, a little play with the flash, self portrait style.

Not great, but it'll do.

-e

9.27.08

Wow.

Let me first apologize for my prolonged time away from this small studio apartment in the blogosphere. I was preoccupied with life, which seems like a good enough excuse for the time being.

So, the last week has been incredibly busy, so here's a quick recap.

-Monday - Went on a shoot with Seth Kushner (noted in previous post), really good learning day.

-Tuesday/Wednesday - Began my internship with Atlantic Records. Check atlanticrecords.com, it's a neat place. My supervisor, an amazing photographer named Andrew Zaeh (andrewzaeh.com) began showing me the ropes. Atlantic is an amazing company, one of the first places I have ever been where everyone seems to really enjoy their work.

-Thursday - First shoot! Went on my first shoot with Atlantic for an artist named Ryan Star. www.rstar.net. Really cool up and coming artist, really cool guy and I really think he is going to be big.

-Friday - Relaxation day. Very nice.

-Saturday - Took a trip downtown and took a walk in the rain. Simple. Fun.

*photo* subway. I'm in a simple mood.

Paz

-e

9.21.08-9.26.08 - Mini hiatus

Sorry about the break.

Things have been quite busy.

But! New stuff coming this weekend!

-e

9.21.08 - Community

Really amazing stuff today!

Outside of the apartment, along about 15 blocks of 8th avenue, there was a Fall Festival, complete with a shut down street and rows of booths.

Even in the middle of the biggest city in the world (in mind at least), there can be a sense of community.

It was a blast. Good day. The two photos are from that experience, not great, but they'll have to do.

-E

9.20.08 - Weekending

Good Saturday!

Football during the day, a night on the town for the night.

Lots of stories to go with this one, but I'll just leave you with the picture.

And yes, this will be the last set of sunset pictures, I know how boring they can get.

-E

9.19.08 - Friday

Today was pretty awesome.

First day interning for Seth Kushner (awesome freelance photographer out of Brooklyn, check him out at www.sethkushner.com)

Really cool, fast, guerilla style shoot.

On my way back to the apartment I saw the scene shown above.

Fox News Business, most likely reporting on a story going on across the street at the Morgan Stanley building.

The longer I am here, the more I am convinced that when a reporter says "reporting on location," they are more than likely somewhere between the East River and the Hudson.

Might have to check my figures on the one though....
-E

9.17.08 - MoMA

Today I took a trip to the Museum of Modern Art. Really a great place, some incredible artwork.

I especially liked the Kirchner and the Berlin Street exhibit.

A great exposition from a cool time in an artists life.

I also went sans camera today, so above is another shot from the Staten Island trip.

9.17.08 - The Ferry

Today I jumped the N back downtown to take a walk down Wall Street and see where the day took me.

After walking the length of Wall Street, where people were, with good reason, quite unhappy. I ended up by the water.

It was a beautiful day, 75 degrees, partly cloudy, a great day to be walking along the East River.

I ended up at the Staten Island ferry station and decided to take a ride.

The trip across took me right by the Statue of Liberty, which resulted in one of those classic small town kid in the big city moments, filled with a sense of something bigger than yourself.

Cheesy. But awesome, what can I say.

Two photos today, one from the ferry, one from exiting the ferry, lots of fun.

-E

9.16.08 - Psuedo-Pilgrimage

One of the sites I was most excited to visit upon arriving in this city was St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Across the street from the Rockefeller Center, the Cathedral is a beautiful piece of architecture, holding a very special place in my spiritual life.

As soon as I walked through the giant doors, I could feel the history and the years of amazing and holy people that spent time in this building.

It didn't hurt that it was also incredibly beautiful.

Amazing day, and it has yet to end!

-E

9.15.08 - Connollys Pub and Restaurant.

Had an incredible day today. Took a trip downtown, hung out around Wall Street on the day of the largest market fall since 9/11, so you can imagine how happy everyone was! After an extended trip spent figuring out the Subway system, I made it back to Times Square where I received dirty looks from the register worker at Champs for purchasing a Dustin Pedroia shirt. It is still New York.... For dinner, we went to an amazing pub/restaurant that had one of the greatest restaurant names ever, as you can see above...awesome.
-E

9.14.08 - The Relaxation

Today was a great day.

Wake up, grab breakfast, head to Times Square to the ESPN Zone. Watch a bunch of football.

I'm loving this place.

More to come soon.
-Eric

Photo - Panorama view from the apartment window of the sun setting over the Hudson. Not the best stitch job, but beautiful either way!

9.13.08 - The Game

The house that Ruth built.

The place where Maris hit number 61.

The place where Reggie Jackson hit three home runs.

The place where David Ortiz hit a walk off 12th inning home run in the 2004 ALCS (had to go there, I'm a sox fan!)

I can confidently say that it is a venue that is on most sports fans "places to see before I die" list.

And today, I made it there.

Yankees/Rays, 1:05, Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, NY.

It was amazing, even with the Yankee loss.

And mostly, I could feel the history of the place. Many of the defining moments in sports history with their cheers still echoing through the concrete fortress, reminding all of the extent of America's pastime.

9.12.08 - Walkabout

This morning I took my first walk into the jungle. A nice morning stroll up Broadway and down through Times Square. As I walked, this quote kept running through my head.

"“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years”

I'm really starting to love this city.

9/11/2008 - The Arrival

Welcome to the new space.

Just a nice cozy loft in my own corner of cyberspace.

The purpose of this blog is simple, to document and catalog my experiences this fall in New York City.

As i flew into Newark this evening, I thought that I was prepared for what awaited me.

Yeah, not so much.

As our 737 dipped below the clouds at around 10:30 PM, i saw the New York skyline break open before me.

But the most incredible thing of all, the sight that cut straight to the core of me, was simple.

Two beams of blue light, slicing infinitely toward the heavens.

The light stood in its place, the place where two towers stood, 7 years ago.

I was left speechless for the rest of the flight. The memories of this day, seven years ago, flooded back to me.

So, tonight, my first night in this city, my thoughts and prayers are with those who passed away on 9/11. God bless you and God bless all who sacrificed that day. You will not be soon forgotten.

Pictures tomorrow. Goodnight internet :)