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Skaters & Stoners. 📍Venice, California

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"Dumbo, Brooklyn"

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“SoHo Photo-Walk 3” Some street art to get us through the day @thedustyrebel. And also, guys, my obsession with decorative doors has only just begun ;)

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"So-Ho Photo-Walk 2"

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"So-Ho Photo-Walk" I took the plunge and finally went out for some new shots. Guys, I've been putting a ton of effort into a YouTube channel ... you know, because I didn't have enough on my plate already. In any case, these were taken in Downtown Manhattan, throughout Chinatown too. I love that image with Anna Laurini's art featured in the second photo...how visually delicious! @thedustyrebel

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“Nighttime’s Twilight” Taken within a block radius of my home from twilight time and on. I just decided to reverse its order for fun...

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“Marine’s Bay 3”

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"Marine's Bay 2"

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"Marine's Bay" The one strange thing about getting lost is you're given an entirely separate experience; one you couldn't plan, one that isn't lodged somewhere on your ridiculously pinned-down itinerary. It turns out I needed to go just three blocks back to get to my initially set-out destination, but granted, it's a location that's difficult to map out because of its surreal hidden-treasure identity. Next week, I will try to go again. But I ended up here. The Marine Parkway/Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge or often times referred to as Marine Parkway Bridge. This beach was peaceful, quiet, I got to walk under a bridge for the first time ever and it was honestly a rush. It's good to go out and clear your head; making time for yourself is so ultimately healthy.

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“Bronx Zoo 7” The remainders…

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“Bronx Zoo 6” I LOVE ME A RED PANDA! If you want to search my tumblog for my images of the Prospect Park Zoo’s red panda, you’ll see a far more aggressive one. And this one was so calm and cool. I feel awful, though, because I scared the guy. You see, I got all the shots I needed and then got greedy, so decided to come back and startled him awake from his nap. But he didn’t hold it against me. He just growled and left so I wouldn’t have the satisfaction of photographing any more of his auburn magnificence.

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“Bronx Zoo 5” At this point it started raining heavily. I had a crappy umbrella but a pretty expensive camera, so even if the bears cooperated, (which they didn’t), I wasn’t able to get anything more than what you see in these 3 images.

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“Bronx Zoo 4” And even more docile friends…with some snow-capped prettiness. I love how the faded maters in the background of image #3 make me feel; all cozy whenever I look at it. As if this was my view from some Aspen getaway and they just happened to be outside my window.

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“Bronx Zoo 3” The docile monkeys with their adorable heart-shaped faces!

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“Bronx Zoo 2” Remember those peacocks I mentioned in the post right before this one? Well, funny story: they’re everywhere. They be rollin’ and patrollin’ all over that zoo. Just like the entitled sort that they are. (I am actually quite used to this because when I head upstate to this bi-annual retreat I’m invited to, they have peacocks struttin’ their stuff there as well.) What I wasn’t used to was the way they so instinctively choose to poo all over the paths. When I approached the lions, these glorious beasts had zero interest in looking at me. In fact, they literally turned around and allowed me to get some nifty tail shots, but c’mon…that wasn’t what I was after. I pitied these magnificent beauties, what circumstances to live in…. However, when I stepped into some aforementioned peacock poo, I decided to scrape it off on some remaining snow, a wooden panel, grass…quite certainly anything that would take it off the sole of my boot. And then I looked back up and these lions were just staring at me. Licking their whiskers. Sitting upright. In other words, if there was a way shorter distance between us, I would’ve been their meal ticket. So the expressions you’re seeing in their faces is taken within this exact moment. I then whispered a thank you and a peaceful farewell. In reference to the other pictures, that was the only decent tiger + snow leopard shot I was able to get. And trust me, I put in the effort, but they just weren’t having it. (That sign roughly translates to: “Beware / Watch Out! Tigers close-by!”) @bigcatwildcat

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“Bronx Zoo” I haven’t been here since I was around eight years old, so on a whim, I decided to plan a trip to NY’s largest zoo. I’ll tell you why I’ve held out for this long: because of my sheer distaste of zoos. Yes, it IS a wildlife conservation site, but space is so limited and ironically, there’s even LESS spacing for the animals that need it most i.e. big cats, our feathered friends, etc. However, I heard pretty okay things about the Bronx Zoo as opposed to Central Park’s…yes, you read that right. The staff in Manhattan is known for their cruel animal treatment. So I buckled down and went. I certainly enjoyed myself despite the rain and chill and lack of certain animals, (due to the snow), but as you know at this point - I love exploring alone. It’s my highlight. Of course I leave details with someone back home and you should too if this is your preference of choice as well. So given the fact that this time of year makes for virtually zero visitors, I had the ultimate pleasure of getting to do what I love with the ease that it requires. I mean, heck, I had to still share the grounds with a couple of hipster families, but hey, not a tremendous loss. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to any sort of companion if I dragged them along or made them wait until a certain animal finally gathered enough patience to look into my lens. This first batch of photos was a part of the ‘Wild Asia’ *snort* terrain…if you will. They’re the only birds I managed to capture on camera. The other images I took were of caged birds or those far off in the aviary section which I missed because this zoo is acres and acres wide. So here, enjoy some multi-colored peacocks.

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“21 Years” I took these last year on November 16th atop the Empire State Building to commemorate the 20 years since my Mama took her two babies and, with the help of my Babushka (grandmother), left an abusive relationship in Azerbaijan to come here; New York. I thought I had lost these images; I searched everywhere, sifted through printed photos, my sister’s cameras, not to mention my own…thinking I was just being absent-minded. Finally, after taking out my memory card, (while my camera was still attached via wire to my PC), I found them! I forgot an SD that day! And I’ve been carrying these images around with me wherever I went for the entirety of a year but had no clue they were there with me. So I’m only now getting around to posting them, but the sentiment remains...always will. In the words of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “These streets will make you feel brand new / these lights will inspire you / let’s hear it for New York!” (I’d also like to give a tremendous shout-out to Nikon for allowing the 10mb or so hold photos without a memory card, otherwise I wouldn’t have these to show nor commemorate bubkes, so yeah, thanks!)