Roosevelt Island 2

Edward and I took a trip to Roosevelt Island last week. 

The last time we visited we checked out the south side of the island,

 

so this time we thought we'd head north and check out the inhabited part of the island. 

 

 

 

It really is such a strange place -- a one-horse town just a stone's throw from Manhattan.

 

 

Of course their days of isolation are coming to an end. 

 

 

It started when they added a subway stop. 

 

 

 

Now they are in the process of destroying the old hospital structures so that they may be replaced by the new graduate school . 

 

I have a feeling the natives will be totally shell shocked when the students arrive. 

 

As long as we were visiting we took time out to do our favorite thing -- sit along the shaded promenade and enjoy the view of Manhattan -- which now includes the Freedom Tower. 

 

But on this visit a bit of serendipity trumped it as our favorite moment when we ran into Carolyn Maloney - our Congresswomen.  We decided to drop our NYC cool long enough for a photo!

 

 

Oh, and here's a link to some additional photos of Roosevelt Island posted previously.

http://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html

 

 

Cheers

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer







Japanese Irises

Back in June I visited the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

 

and was thrilled to find that the Japanese Irises were in bloom. 

 

I had never seen them there before. 

It may mean that I just haven't been there at the right time -- flowers can be like that. 

Or it could mean that they were new. 

 

 

Either way I really enjoyed photographing them. 

 

 

I haven't seen so many different versions before. 

 

 

And of course they looked great juxtaposed with the decorative elements of the Japanese Gardens. 

 

 

So, even when the cherry blossoms are done blooming,

 

 

it's still worth checking out the Japanese Gardens.

 

 

Cheers!

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

 

 

 

 

 

 



Bronx Zoo

Since I can't remember the last time I went to the Bronx Zoo,

I was clearly overdue for a visit. 

 

When I think back to the last time I was there,

 

 

my memory is of either animals in too small cages or animals that were so far away you couldn't see them. 

 

 

Clearly much has changed. 

 

 

Zoos have caught on to the fact that if they create habitats that are more like where the animals actually live, they will be happier. 

 

 

And when the animals are happier, so are the people. 

 

 

Gee.  I would have thought that would have been obvious.

 

 

They have also created multiple viewing points around the enclosures so the animals can wander, but people can still see them close-up. 

 

 

Don't tell anyone, but I think this guy was actually an extra in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

 

 

Ciao

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

 



Origami 2

There were so many beautiful works on display in Cooper Union's recent origami show 

that I decided to post another set of photos. 

The exhibit -- "Surface to Sculpture" included 134 works

 from 88 artists

from 5 continents. 

Impressive. 

The exhibit marks the 55th year since origami was introduced to America with, you guessed it, an exhibition at Cooper Union. 

So here's some more adorable creatures,

swirling sculptures and

geometric hats to enjoy!

Ciao 

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

Here's a link to my previous blog

http://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2014/07/origami.html

And here's the link to an article about the exhibit.

http://www.surfacetostructure.com/

Florence, Italy

A friend recently told me that she was off to Italy on vacation soon, 

so I thought this was a good time to share a few of my favorite photos from Florence.  

Florence is one of those magical places

that feels like it stepped out of a beautifully illustrated history book. 

From Brunelleschi's dome to the Uffizi,

you can practically see the Medici before your eyes.  (Actually that was a well-timed costumed parade.)

There are so many not to be missed places it's hard to recap them all. 

A visit to the Uffizi and Bargello are must,

 as is a viewing of the justifiably famous David.  

But the Boboli Gardens on the far side of the Arno were definitely worth an afternoon too.

Enjoy!

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

Oh, and here's a link to a blog I posted about Venice.

http://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/05/venice.html