Hi!  I wanted to share an Instagram photo I took in New York last week.  Before that though, I have to talk about my birthday excursion!  John and I flew out of JFK on the 10th, back to Abu Dhabi.  As the thought of an 18 hour journey ahead was a bit mind numbing, my lovely husband agreed to take me to NYC early to spend the day at B&H Photo.  The B&H Photo & Video Super Store is amazing.  I have literally clicked through every page of their website (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/)~ for me, it is the modern day version of the Sears Holiday Catalog!  So to actually step foot in this massive wonderland was a really big deal, and the best birthday gift ever!   The store is run so amazingly well... I was in awe of the efficiency (especially after spending the last 35 months in the land of "inshallah"!)   I poured over the studio lighting, the accessories, the printers, and all the bags!  My mission coming into the store was to get a thinkTANK briefcase because when I go on jobs I feel a bit unprofessional carrying my red backpack.  I ended up with a new travel bag and hiking bag from Lowepro (with a cool water compartment!) and yes, the coveted thinkTANK UrbanDisguise as well.  I have a very patient and generous husband!!  Then we got to play with the lenses.  AHHHH!!   I tested the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens, the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, the 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, and the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM.  You know the expression kid in a candy store?  Yep, well that was me, literally!  The associate got me a pile of brightly wrapped candy to test the macros!   I loved them all but I am still saving and hoping to soon get the 70-200.  It's been on top of my wish list for a number of years but something keeps coming up and it gets bumped down!

Ok, so the Instagram photo!  Well first, I have to say I love Instagram.  I know that not all photographers are keen on iPhone photos but I really enjoy seeing what I can create with my phone.  As much fun as the big cameras are, sometimes moments are missed just due to the nature of the beast.  I can't always swing out my DSLR, but my phone is surgically attached to my hand most days!  

So I took this in a brightly lit diner in New York, the Skylight.  It's right across from B&H and we were looking for a quick bite before heading to the airport.  It was delish, by the way, despite the wicked reviews on Yelp and some other NY review websites!  Skylight Diner was named Best Diner in Manhattan in 2005 by the Daily News, as you can clearly learn from the large sign on the front of their shop, and I guess it's come under fire since.  We, however,  had an excellent experience!  Ok, ok, the photo:

The reason I love photography, and why I love this photo is this cheesecake was sitting on a quite bright white table, in a decently lit diner, yet it looks completely different here.  As the name of the diner implies, there was a large skylight above our heads.  Although it was mostly cloudy that afternoon, suddenly a bright beam of sunlight filled the skylight and shone down directly on my birthday cheesecake!  I took the photo from the left side as opposed to straight on, and what I got was this black background.  In reality my husband, John, is sitting directly behind this and the table is shining white under it.  Photography is a magical context changing art that allows one random beam of sunshine to transform a plain old plate of cheesecake into something that looks like we were busy doing a special foodie photo shoot in a studio somewhere!  

We had such a great morning in NYC so I thank my husband for taking me and I thank B&H for being everything I expected and more!  And by the way, the cheesecake was scrumptious!!!

Best City on Earth: 

To read my previous postings, please click http://goo.gl/2BZ0O or to browse my photography, please click http://goo.gl/jLu5P.  Thanks for visiting!!