another side of the city

When my nephew Jack was about 5, he visited NYC for the first time. Exiting the subway station at Times Square, Jack looked around and said, "This is what people think of when they think of New York."

Jack has always been an astute observer.

But there is a NY that people rarely think of when thinking of NY. 

Its beauty.

Its solitude.

And its relative serenity.

I am walking through the park and notice four young men. One is holding two cameras (a cell phone and a Nikon) and taking a photo of his three friends who are seated on a bench. They don't speak English all that well; tourists I think. I ask the one with the cameras if he wants to be in the picture too. He smiles, nods and hands me the cell phone.

I take a few pictures of the four men, then ask the original photographer if he wants me to take some photos of him and his friends with the other camera, the Nikon. He eagerly hands me that camera too.

I take a few shots. They appreciate the effort. I hand back the camera and continue my walk.

On my return, I pass the same four men in the same place, and near them is a couple.

"Excuse me," says the woman. "Are you a famous photographer?"

I laugh and tell her I'm not. "But I'm curious," I say. "Why would you ask that?" 

"You just looked so comfortable handling those cameras," she replies.

Maybe next walk I'll take my Nikon. I haven't used it in a while. 

And there's a lot of beauty coming back to the city these days.