Just after the first of January I flew to New York City for work. I only had a couple of days and so only had a few free hours each day to take photos. I’m not one to stay out late so instead I got up a bit earlier than I might normally and got out on the streets. I knew I wanted to see the Highline because I have wanted to visit for years. On my first morning that was my destination and I walked over there from my hotel and walked south the length of it from 34th Street to the Meat Packing District. It was a really foggy day and that made for mostly interesting black and white photos. I really loved it. I had the place virtually to myself and took my time exploring almost every inch. I had never seen “The Nest” before and I really enjoyed the public art along the Highline. Near the end you will see a couple of pictures around/near The Village. But here are my favorite photos mostly taken of the Highline and from it.

On the second morning the sun was out but it was really windy and really pretty cold. I made the decision to go back to the Highline to explore with the blue skies instead of fog. This time I started south in the Meat Packing District and walked the entire length to the north entrance. Here are a handful of my favorites mostly in color this time.

On the third morning I decided I needed to try one of NYC’s famous bagels at one of their most famous locations: Ess-a-Bagel. So I walked from my hotel toward their 3rd Ave. location. Maybe I’ll make some enemies from this statement but I found the bagel to be pretty much, “meh.” Sorry, sorry. But on my way back to my hotel I sorta stumbled upon Rockefeller Center – I’m not a person who has much of a sense of direction so I didn’t realize I’d see it on my walk back. It was another somewhat overcast day but I snapped a few photos from that area of town that I think turned out pretty well. Ended up with some in black and white and some in color depending on how I felt. 

Overall I loved my trip! I fell in love with NYC all over again and can’t wait to go back!

My adventure this summer was another trip out West first to South Dakota and then a drive through Wyoming to Colorado. In South Dakota we ended up in a freak spring snow storm (May 21) where the area got 1.5 feet of snow. On the first heavy night of snow, try as we might, our rental car got stuck on the side of the road on our way back to the cabin. The snow was very wet and we came to a full stop because we missed a turn off toward our cabin and we just couldn’t get the car (despite 4-wheel drive) back into the rut that would give us the traction to get us home. And so our rental car was stuck on the side of a desolate mountain road for about 12 hours until the locals could come and plow the roads and pull us out. Our hope was to visit Custer State Park and or Badlands and or Spearfish Canyon for hiking and appreciating nature but the snow storm prevented all of that. We did have a wonderful birthday celebration for my sister-in-law and we spent the greater part of one day snowed into our cabin. We had a massive day-long game of family monopoly. It was fun in its own right! 

Invariably the snow melted and we headed west and south through Wyoming toward roughly Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Our overnight was in Saratoga, Wyoming and I got the chance in the early morning light to take some photos that are definitely more in my Photos by Frances style. The weather was gorgeous and the town was deserted and the North Platte River is spectacular. 

Our ultimate destination was a cabin in Redstone, Colorado and we had the luxury of spending a full day hiking along Avalanche Creek, which was just a couple of miles from the cabin. I fell in love with this area of Colorado and can’t wait to go back! Highlights of the hike included seeing a mama hummingbird in her nest and a bear (!) at the trailhead who was very obligatory toward the paparazzi gathered there to take photos (I didn’t get a good one).

I spent a short weekend in Savannah and, as per usual, it was overcast and rainy. I think I’ve never been to Savannah when it wasn’t. But that is just pure bad luck – for me – for photographing light and lines and compositions and colors (as per my usual style). And so, like Louisville, I threw my camera into black and white mode as we wandered around town. I feel like I got some decent photos (including one or two in color) and so I’ll post here for your perusal.