I Love New York Travel

I customized my photo of the railroad with Corel Paint Shop Pro. I used the “timeline” effects… I think this one was 1960s. I like it. Railroads are so conducive to old-timey effects, wouldn’t you say?

That, my friends, is more than a simple photo of our camp fire. That photo epitomizes my newly found photography freedom. I love it!!!

In the past, I used to haul my huge DSLR camera and all its accessories to take photos. I would then have to transfer the photos from the DSLR memory card to my computer. I would then have to load all the photos onto my computer into my Paint Shop Pro program. There, I would edit and crop and adjust and add my NewYorkTraveler.net logo watermark. Then I would have to upload every photo to my Flickr account online. And finally, I would have to blog about our trip and insert the Flickr URL into the posts. It was exhausting, especially if I had a hundred or more photos.

BUT NOW my life is changed. NOW I have a watermark app. And the Flickr app. And the new iPhone with it’s 8MP camera. And a photo-editing app. WOOOHOOOO. All I have to do is snap the photo on the iPhone. I crop, edit, and add the watermark right from the phone. I upload the photos to Flickr right from the phone! All that’s left to do it write the blog post and insert Flickr URLS. Oh, it’s so much simpler.

I love my logo. I’m starting to personalize everything, So far, we have t-shirts, business cards, magnet calendars, mousepads, and car magnets. Maybe some time I’ll get baseball hats, polo shirts … Not sure, But the sky is truly the limit. Well, there’s my pocketbook, too. haha.

But for now I’m having a BLAST with my new apps. YAY!

VERY cute!

I was skimming through my NYC photos. I take a LOT of pictures of the buildings! LOL. I also try to get snapshots of the people (that’s always a little dicey, though, as some folks do not care to have their photos taken). One thing NYC has plenty of are solicitors on the street corners. Some are annoying– they stick pamphlets under your nose. Others are impressive– they beg. Others are amazing– they play music! I happened by some excellent musicians as we strolled past the New York Library and Bryant Park. These guys were good, too– one guy played a cello, another a guitar, and a young lady was on violin. I assume they were students, trying to raise money. There wasn’t a great deal of cash in the open guitar case, though. Most of us bustled by in a hurry.

When I lived in NYC, I used to walk along…. hm, what’s east of Lexington. I forgot. Park? No. Gosh, I totally forgot! Well, I used to walk down it and there was always a saxophone player who played, alone, on the streets. He came out about every 7 or 8 pm, right before dusk. He played quiet, mellow tones. It was beautiful. He was an old guy.

I’ve not come across too many street musicians here in Upstate NY. Once we walked through a park and watched a man and a young lady (maybe his student?) play violin and the piccolo together. It was so wonderful to hear.

Have you ever heard any street musicians before?

As warm weather settles in, I’m getting more and more ready to get back on the road again, traveling. I’m especially eager to return to New York City and the Adirondacks. I hope and pray I get to go. We’d like to see Lake Placid AND we’d like to take the Adirondack Railroad this summer. I also got invited to Coney Island and I’ve promised my son I’d take him to the big Lego store down there, lol. Plus, there are many things to do in Central NY, too. I just hope the rainy season isn’t so bad this year! Last year, we had THREE major flood events. I’ve got plenty of rain to fill my rain barrels, now, thank you very much!

Looking forward to a new travel season!