I'm a New Yorker living in exile in New Jersey. One of the things I missed most about living in the City was the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - we used to amble over to Central Park West to watch the parade go by before going back to our apartment to get showered and dressed for Thanksgiving dinner. It's one of my favorite memories of living in New York.
The last time we had attended the parade was eight or nine years ago, and the last time we had watched it outside the comfort of an office building was in 1994, before we moved to suburbia. Every time we have watched the parade on TV since then I have been overcome with intense homesickness. I'm a New Yorker,and I belong in New York for the parade.
This morning my husband and I decided to rectify the situation - we got up before dawn in order to make our way into the City for the parade.
We met up with friends in Columbus Circle, which was fun but turned out to be a strategic error vis-a-vis being able to take photos. So we wound up leaving our location in order to go up a few blocks in order to take pictures just west of Central Park West.
We learned some lessons from the experience. The next time (hopefully next year) we'll go straight to Central Park West and scope out a closer spot from the get go. Also, while I love my ultra wide angle lens, I think for parade purposes I'd be better off with my more versatile 18-200mm lens.
I chose this for my project shot because it was a shot that was particularly suited to the ultra wide angle lens. Plus it was my first shot of the day that didn't frustrate me - I felt a sense of relief that I'd be able to get some decent shots on the side streets, and the trip to the City wouldn't be for naught.
But those are small technicalities. The main thing was that I was back home for the parade today for the first time in way too long :)
Thanks Kerri :)
Thanks :)