Daytrip

The other day I took that little foray into Manhattan. I did a big loop from Grand Central to Times Square, Central Park, UN bldg, and then went back to Times Square and up to Rockefeller Cntr to get a few night shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

The top of the Chrysler Building, over Grand Central and another building.
Here is a view of the Empire State Building, as seen from across the street from Bryant Park.
Here is a view of Grand Central Terminal. It's a beautiful train station, and the light show on the wall and ceiling during the holiday season is impressive.
Here's a fun shot of Times Square from off 42nd Street.
Here's another of Time's Square:
Jackie and her friend Robyn went to see the Rockettes Christmas show last week. They really enjoyed it!
This pic is for Johnson. Your future employer is an interesting place.
Lots of "illuminations," as the Japanese would say. This building was right across the street from St. Paul's Cathedral.
Here is the tree at Rockefeller Center, the home of NBC studios.
And here is Rockefeller Center itself, on the right. They had big snowflakes of light descending the building. The left is St. Paul's Cathedral, one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen.
New York really enjoys its Christmas celebration. I wish I could put up all the pictures I have, but frankly, I don't think many of you are that interested. Macy's was great with all their window displays, but because of the crowds it was too difficult to get a good shot.
We were away this year during New Year's Eve, but thanks to the coming baby, we'll be staying around here next year. Maybe we'll make the trip then. We'll see! Time's Square looks insane on Dec 31st.

Thanks for reading.

Hint #2

Hint #1

Out with the old, in with the new

Now that school's all finished (enthusiastic A's on all my papers, of course!!), I finally have time to write a thing or two.

Relating to the blog, the most exciting development we have to date is an upgrade in equipment. We got a new camera! Here's what we were using before:

It's an old Canon PowerShot, 3.2 megapixels of decent picture-taking. The worst thing about this old camera, though, is its extremely weak battery life and even weaker user-friendliness. It really was a pain in the butt, and I'm not sad to see it go. But it must be said, it did take a lot of pictures for us, and was there when we needed it, even if it did take multiple efforts to make one shot.

Here's what we're using now:
It's a Casio Exilim ZX1000. Quite the upgrade! It's got 10.1 megapixels, amazing battery life, and is so easy even Jackie can use it without any trouble whatsoever. I really couldn't be happier with it. And at this point it is most appropriate to thank my good buddy James Heneghan, currently in Birmingham, UK, for his expert advice on camera shopping. I couldn't have done it without him, seeing how I know very little about photography and what makes a quality camera. Mad Props, James! Mad Props.

One note: the "neutral" pictures were taken by my old Japanese Nokia cell phone, which accounts for the poor focus. But for a cell phone, it takes the best pics I've seen.

Here's a little perspective on the Casio's size:It's quite sleek and small! Truly fits in one's pocket. What a delight.

Here's a shot taken with the new camera:
Jackie and her friend Robyn went early into the city to try and get in to one of the many famous morning shows that are produced here in NY. They ended up mixing in with the crowd at the Today Show on NBC, and Jackie got to meet her favorite, Ann Curry! Ann does a lot of news for NBC, and whenever Jackie sees her, she says, "Oh, Ann is so cute!" Jackie doesn't get excited about much in life that doesn't involve food or hotels, so it was fun to see her enthusiasm over meeting her. Apprently they had a nice little conversation. It was pretty cold that day (about 28 F or -2 C), hence the hats. A beautiful winter morning.

As soon as I get over having the flu (no fun), I'm going to make a foray into NYC myself and get some great images of the city. The decorations in New York this time of year are really something else. I'll post a few when I get a chance.

Well, that's all for now. Keep checking, because soon we'll have some very exciting news for the Bergstrom family! It'll be one that you won't want to miss...