Shift Shots!! 8/6/2013 - 11/20/2013

Wow, been a while. Alright, Let's do this, here are some of my recent shots!! yeah that's right, I've been taking pictures this whole time, but the editing, posting process is more time consuming than anything else. So here we go, I've worried too much about losing my pictures in file madness when I edit them, I've also worried too much about which pictures should go on the blog, which one's are good enough, and which one's just don't belong because they weren't taken during my shift.

You know what, I shouldn't worry so much about the editing, I shouldn't worry so much about what goes where, the important thing is that they're up there, this is my blog, it's like my wall, and I should just throw it all up on the wall. well... not all of it, but most of it.. pictures I take on my off days, pictures of anything, if they're worth looking at, or talking about, might as well plop it on here.

okay here we are, bleh:

Saw a beetle in Midtown:



This idiot thought he saw a possible passenger one block down the road, so he pulls this completely asshole maneuver crossing his car in front of mine as we all have a red light, not only blocking my car, but also driving through the crosswalk, and also coasting through a steady red light. Oh and guess what? there was no customer. Idiot!!  my car was empty too, but thankfully, I wasn't too anxious at the time about all of it. This is the kind of thing that stupid drivers do in August when it's sometimes hard to make a profit after driving for 12 hours, but this, this just the height of idiocy, this guy needs to get his license revoked for pulling stuff like this.. oh yeah, and also, this behavior slows down the entire flow of traffic, as the approaching wave of traffic coming in as the lights turn green all have to slow down to a stop to avoid hitting this guy. It is one thing if he made a mistake and he needs to make a right turn but turns out to be on the wrong side of the street, but this is intentional, this activity needs to be addressed. Thankfully there are less and less of these drivers now, because we are getting paid better, so we don't need to resort to these tactics:



Sunset at J.F.K. International Airport:



This is the back alley of one of, if not the oldest buildings on Park Avenue north of 46th street. At the time this building was constructed, virtually nothing was here. This alleyway is a passageway back through time still attempting to function as an entrance for a horse and carriage, I'm guessing, but the building always keeps the alley closed now. They may take deliveries through here, but they'd just pull the trucks to the gate. There is no way a truck is fitting in there.



At the end of my shift driving through Brooklyn, despite a relatively small amount of traffic, I took the scenic route to get my cab back to its home to avoid the construction on the expressway. Better to look at some cool stuff than to fight with traffic in my last hours of the night.



The Green Cabs are here!! No, not environmentally green, but painted green rather than yellow. Our new green cabs are functioning basically just as our car services were functioning before, only now, it's perfectly legal. They are now allowed to pick up people in Harlem, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, even if they don't call in advance. We yellow cabs are also still allowed to pick up people all over the city too.



composition presentation:









The first all glass office building, or something:



If a photograph of a lady in a window stares into the dark of night and her minions of headless manikins await her instructions, but nobody's there to see it does she make a sale?



2nd hand taxicab:
Brownsville, Brooklyn:



Times Square, I have taken a picture here, at the exact same spot, just a few years ago before the streets closed off. Times Square has changed a lot, I suppose it has always been changing, but lately at a more drastic rate:



Again I have a shot of this from one or two years prior. This corner hasn't changed much. In fact this corner has been used by movies or tv shows to re-live the 1920's. However still, drastic contrasts can be seen in night versus day.



Here up at Hunter College, again the difference of night and day are staggering:



meh, I like this car:



Another green Boro Taxi:



J.F.K. International Airport:



An example of something that would be unheard of only one year ago. Under the Liquor sign, and painted ad on the wall, is a neighborhood couch cushion type coffee house with a worn column and brand new red paint and brand new windows. Hey, at least they kept the Liquor sign, hopefully they won't get rid of it:
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn


J.F.K. Airport:
This is the landmark TWA Terminal. Not really an actual terminal, it is located inside the loop of the new Jet Blue Terminal. No public is allowed inside the building, or even close to the building. It just stands there being perfectly preserved, though I can't help thinking that an entire terminal around in kind of ruins the aesthetic functionality of it. I wonder if it will ever be opened as a museum.



Had to snap a shot, I don't see too many late 70's Porsche's:



Bushwick, Brooklyn:



Williamsburg, Brooklyn:





West Village



Wow! Hey?
A 1954 Nash Metropolitan, this car is actually smaller than a modern compact car:



Stillness of constant motion:







TriBeCa:



It's not my father's Olds, but maybe it's your father's Olds. Who's father is parking their Oldsmobile on the street at night?







Greenwood Cemetary, Sunset Park, Brooklyn:
I've heard many times, that at the top of the hill in Greenwood Cemetary is the most spectacular view in Brooklyn, but I've yet to go in.



I wish this was in focus, but still cool uniqueness to this specimen:



The coldness is making occasional visitations, before a bigger chill, but the sun is battling back.
SoHo:





I don't see a Toyota Supra too much anymore:



This car was built to purpose for wheelchair customers, also built to purpose for taxicab use. But A, this car is too heavy, so it wastes too much gas and it isn't to much of a driver's car. It seems more like a drivers truck. But they listened to the industry and put all the old technology of the Ford Crown Vic in it, they just didn't have big money on their side. All the politicals across the world I figure were bought by Nissan, so Nissan is going to be our new taxicab, or our daft future.



Speaking of Crown Vics, this is what I'm talking about. Look at how hard to drive these are! this guy thought he parked the cab nice and even. He did park it level, however, the road dips on the sides to form gutters for rain flow to the sewers. anyway, I think it looks kind of cool that the huge tire is half on the sidewalk and half floating in mid air.





yup, here it is, this is the first genuine "Taxi of Tomorrow" that I've seen:



I'm not telling you where this is. it's actually a lot safer than it looks:



Another shot going home at the end of the shift:



And the Manhattan Bridge, into the night trying to get a few more rides in Manhattan before I end the night:



This is just more geekyness on my part. Not too many Ford Transit Connect yellow cabs in New York City that are retrofitted for wheelchairs. So I just need it for my records of every single type of yellow cab in New York City:



The South Bronx:



Punch Buggy Red!! I dunno, this is somewhere in Manhattan probably:



Belt Parkway, Brooklyn, end of the night:



These 11 below below were taken on my days off. After that we're back on duty again below that, yes, this post is long, I'm making up for lost time, and also, I'm sick of just showing a few pictures. I need to use this internet space as my go to wall, so that I can look at stuff and edit it down later:























And we're back!



I shot this for the 1930's or 40's car on the right:



Very foggy day that day, the traffic was light though, so I took a few shots:


oops, spoke too soon, weekend construction, and traffic up ahead goes to 10 miles per hour average:


So we get some nice bridge views, traffic is very slow, but still rather peaceful:







On my way to my house from the train, I saw this big beauty:








My day off again, I saw this Masaratti, and had to shoot it. I once saw a Buick Grand National parked at the exact same spot a few years ago, good memories. That guy opened his hood and showed me the supercharger, turned the car on and revved the engine. Then he let me film as he drove off. This Maserati's owner however were nowhere to be found.



I'm drawn to this new building at Astor Place as it always reflects all the buildings around it so much, that you wind up looking at an alternate universe seemingly when you look at it. All of those windows you see, are not in the building, they are actually windows on the other building behind us.



Toyota Avalon Taxicab, sorry, it's my nerdy thing:



Tesla



Fiat 500 Abarth, American Spec, at the dealership:



LaGuardia Airport



Another Taxi of Tomorrow