I just spent a few days in New York City last week. I haven't been here since I took the Jay Maisel Workshop. That was probably the best week of photography of my life. A great group of class mates and a great instructor. Half of this trip was work and then I took a few days off to shop and explore the city a little bit. I was able to hear Bruno Mars play Uptown Funk live. That is a man who can put an entire room on their feet in 1 second. I attended an after party where our DJ was SnoopDogg. As you would expect he makes a fantastic DJ. I also bumped into Spike Lee in an elevator. He was a very nice guy. I also got to catch up with my brothers who I haven't seen in a few years. You can check out all of the 'behind the scenes' of my NYC trip on my Instagram.

While in New York City I stayed at the very hip hotel The Standard. It was located in the heart of the Meat Packing District and sat upon The High Line. If you are not familiar with The High Line, it was a project to restore the abandoned elevated railroad tracks that runs through the Meat Packing District and turned it into a park above the city.

It makes for a beautiful place to walk around and escape the noise and hustle of the city...

It's nice to be in the city and look up and see green...

This place has a fantastic burger...

The famous dive bar Hogs & Heifers Saloon was across the street from my hotel. This place was too funny...

Typical NYC randomness...

I am off for 10 days and really looking forward to unwind after a year of extremely aggressive work and travel schedules. I tend to set way too many goals around blogging, studying, and photography during my vacations and end up working really hard on personal projects during my vacations. I am trying to take it a little easier this time and spend more time relaxing. I'm pretty tired...

I decided to do the unthinkable while in NYC. I sold off my Leica Noctilux and picked up the new Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Black Chrome. This is a new limited edition version of the Summilux 50mm with the same optics but some 1950s styling to it. I love my Noctilux but it is so heavy and I find I am never shooting it anymore. I really wanted to pick up a Summilux but didn't want a $4,000 credit card bill. Selling my Noctilux allowed me to pick up the new lens and pocket some cash as well. Perhaps I'll regret it one day and end up buying another but for now I am looking forward to shooting 50mm more.

I love NYC architecture...

I went to New York Shaving Company. I get terrible razor burn when I shave and it is something that has bothered me for years. It's one of the downside of having very sensitive skin. I ended up picking up a Safety Razor and it seems to be helping. It is interested that a double sided razor blade is called a Safety Razor. I was always afraid of using one of these for fear I would cut myself but it seems to be working well so far. Hopefully my razor burn will be 100% gone soon. I found out that you can find many cool antique ones on eBay for not a lot of money. Does anyone else use a Safety Razor?

Tokyo needs this type of an aggressive stance on bicycle parking...

Leave your bike and this happens...

I walked around the Financial District. I was really surprised how much security is in place compared to pre-9/11. I spent a lot of time down here when I was working in NYC.

The new Freedom Tower is pretty impressive... It was so sunny and bright it was almost impossible to take a photo of it.

A pretty amazing memorial...

This is the fire station that is located directly next to the World Trade Centers. These were the first responders on that day. When the buildings collapsed the fire station was filled with 3 feet of debris. Sadly 5 firefighters from this Ladder and Engine Company were in the towers when they collapsed and died along with the many others.

As I said I have been traveling so much. I am very happy to be home with Mayumi and Kai for the week without much to do than spend it with each other. I am hoping to get in a few dates with Mayumi this week...