#project365 [day 66] The Helmsley Building Entrance

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The location of this building baffles me, as it sits in the middle of Park Avenue, but for today the focus in on it's beautiful main entrance. Built in 1929 and designed by Warren & Wetmore in the Beaux-Arts style, this was a created as a showpiece by the New York Central Railroad Company. That shows of in its ornate entrance and is carried on in the grandiose lobby that is marked by a beautiful row of chandeliers, the first of which can be seen here.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone, final crop and vignette
Photoshop: Minor clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 64] Revolutionary War Veteran

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Scattered throughout the cemeteries located in church grounds I kept seeing these medals. Being something I never came across before they intrigued me, and this one even had a tiny flag next to it which made for an irresistible target for my camera.They are in fact grave markers to distinguish the brave souls who perished in the call of duty. This one is dedicated to a soldier of the Revolutionary War, better known to us as the War of Independence. You can find a number of other markers for most other wars that the US fought in and even for Fireman amongst others. This one was found next to Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone, final crop and vignette
Photoshop: Minor clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 63] 1 Wall Street

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In the most well known street of Lower Manhattan, New York City, you can find this great example of Art-Deco Architecture. Not that it is hard to find Art-Deco examples all over NYC. But on the narrow Wall Street this one stands out. Known as the BNY Mellon building since 2007, is was originally built in 1931 for the Irving Trust Company and designed by Ralph Walker. Standing fifty stories high and 199m tall, has a steel skeleton with limestone covering the facade.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone, final crop and vignette
Photoshop: Minor clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 62] Inside the NYPL the bust of John Stewart Kennedy

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Inside the main entrance of the Stephen A, Schwarzman Building of the NYPL in Midtown Manhattan you can find the bust of John Stewart Kennedy. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he established himself in New York being prominently connected throughout his life with many charities in the city, namely the Columbia University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and of course the New York Public Library. The main hall of this lovely building is worth a visit on its own, but if you have the time I would advise you to wander through the corridors and explore the whole building.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone, final crop and vignette
Photoshop: Minor clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

"Get Your Photography On The Web" by Rafael 'RC' Concepcion [full review]

This is the full review after the first impressions published before. 

I originally bought this book because I wanted some advice on how to engage more people with my photography, and to possibly grow my hobby to be self sustaining.
After reading the whole thing I was left with the same feeling I had before, that the passage of time has not been kind to some of material on offer. Saying that, I still think that I got a few very useful tips and a god advice that made the purchase worthwhile.

It is a very low level how-to create a photo website using GoDaddy for hosting, and Wordpress as a blog and site template. That theme is carried out throughout the book, as all examples are made using Wordpress. Thankfully it also has a few advices that are not specific to these tools and apply to almost any photo website and interspersed with some short but very juicy interviews with photographers and designers that are relevant to the whole theme of photography on the web.
The latter part of the book RC describes how to sell your prints straight out of your site, and also how to generate some revenue using your site besides selling prints, which I found to be one of the most interesting parts of the book.

Still maintain what I suggested on the first impressions, that this is a great book for the complete beginner that wants to build a website or for those who are just not that comfortable with technology. For the more tech savvy there is a more limited appeal, but I would still recommend it. But, with new companies offering the same sort of services and more focus on design and ease of use, I think RC needs to come up with a new version of the book, for me to give a full recommendation. As it stands, there is value in the book, and I enjoyed reading it very much, but it looks a bit dated. I heard on a recent episode of The Grid that a new revised edition is in the works, so I would probably wait for that to come out and get it. You can find out more about it on RC's Website.

#project365 [day 59] Customer Service @ Grand Central Terminal

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A stern face lady faces of against a pleading man at the Customer Service window on NY's Grand Central Station. Eventually she would smile at him, and he came out seemingly satisfied. But still this scene was a lot more interesting in setting up a story, the everyday scene repeated inumerous times that most of us can relate to. The ornate booths that fill the walls of the iconic station main concourse are a beautiful example of the care taken when creating this sort of building on the beginning of the 20th century, but unfortunately are falling into disuse with some being repurposed since the introduction of ticket vending machines.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone, final crop and vignette
Photoshop: Minor clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Silver Efex Pro 4: Toning, detail extraction and black & white conversion