NYC :: Day Two

Another leisurely morning at the apartment with bagels from Murray's, this time with bacon, egg and cheese. Oh my god, so damn good.

We had a pretty loose plan for the day, mainly consisting of checking out some galleries around Chelsea and walking the rest of the High Line. If time allowed, we figured we would head up to midtown or Central Park and wander around.

When Will moved to NYC in 2001, he started working at the Gagosian Gallery on W. 24th Street so we headed there first. I can't even remember what show was up at the time, but we figured we'd check it out and see if any of the folks from our days in NYC were still there. As it turned out, two of Will's closest co-workers and the friend that he hooked up with his job when he left were still around. So instead of looking at art, we ended up talking to them for a long time. It was nice to catch up and hear some art gossip, including what really happened in that area during Sandy. (I never heard anything about Chelsea and the art galleries in all the news we watched so it was kind of a surprise, though not a surprise that we didn't hear about it. If that makes sense.)

[Polaroid Spectra + PZ Color Protection film]

Will spent a lot of time at the Gagosian, working and hanging out during art openings. Oftentimes, after I left work in midtown, I would meet him at the gallery and wait for him to finish up. As a result, I spent a fair share of my time there as well. It was particularly nice to see exhibits when there was no one else around as well as inside access to some of the back rooms that weren't so open to the general public. And that's where I went during the black out in 2003. I think Will and I had cell phones by then,  but I recall not being able to reach him so when we got let out of work, I walked from midtown to Chelsea. Then, after meeting another friend, we all walked back to Brooklyn.

Anyway, I am going off on tangents here. Suffice to say that being at the Gagosian brought back a lot of memories. The stories that Will can tell about that place. It's pretty crazy.

By the time we left there, we were getting hungry, but before finding a place to eat, we walked along the High Line until we reached the end. It was a gorgeous, sunny day so there were lots of people out. And lots of good light for instant film photos.

[Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1 SE + PX70 Color Protection film]

We had asked the gallery folks for some restaurant recommendations and ended up at The Chop Shop. It was good, and really, it was just nice to have decent Asian food. There are places here in Santa Fe that people rave about, but Will and I have been underwhelmed by most of them. (Picky much?) After lunch, it was already late in the afternoon and we were feeling worn out, so rather than dragging ourselves uptown, we headed back to the apartment for a nap. (I know! We're boring! But we vacation in a way that we both enjoy so it works.)

As luck would have, the Impossible Project NYC Space's holiday party was that evening so our plan was to go there and meet up with some of our New York friends. We also thought we might get to surprise another friend who was doing a reading in the East Village, but that didn't work out. So instead, we headed to Fanelli's Cafe again and had a quick beer at the bar before hitting the holiday party. (Yeah, we really ended up liking that place.)

The Impossible party was a good time. It was nice to see some of the folks that work there again, plus I got to meet one or two friends from Twitter. My friend Brad had said he might stop by and I kind of thought he wouldn't make it so I was delighted when he showed up. One of my favorite parts of our time there was being able to hang out with him. (We hadn't seen him since 2004 or so.) And it really meant a lot to me that he made the time to stop by and see my photos in the exhibit.

[Spectra Photo Booth + PZ680 film]

More of our friends showed up and it was a lovely time. We chatted and took photos in the Spectra photo booth. It was really hard for me not to geek out about cameras and film and all things Impossible. Twice I found myself showing a friend all the different films (the American Woods had just come out) and explaining the different types of cameras. And, "Ooh, look! This is the large format film." I would have no problem being a salesperson for the Impossible Project.

Eventually it was time to leave and we all needed dinner so we ended up at The Lucky Strike, mostly due to its close proximity. I can't even remember what I ate there. I do remember being horrified at the cost of beer though. I know it's NYC and all, but 7 or 8 bucks for a BOTTLE of crappy beer...come on. I think I might have had a burger. Or a chicken sandwich. Not such a memorable meal, but we were definitely in good company.

[Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1 SE + PX100 UV+ Silver Shade test film]

Eating dinner after nine o'clock? So not the norm for us, but in New York, it seemed totally normally and the only way to actually have dinner with other people. Santa Fe is pretty cosmopolitan for its size, but most of the nicer restaurants are closing down by nine o'clock. Life moves at an entirely different speed here. It is the "Land of Mañana" after all.

For more of my Impossible photos from our trip, check out my Analog Travelog on the Impossible Blog.