In the 'Hood


Okay, I'll admit it, I am hooked on digital photography now, having borrowed a digital camera from Rochester IndyMedia so I can shoot the Global Day of Action rally in Buffalo tomorrow. Here are a few I took today as I went about what I hope will become a daily jaunt around my neighborhood, either on foot or on my bike.

Okay, I'll admit it. I am hooked. I took the Olympus digital still camera (borrowed from Rochester IndyMedia so I can shoot the Global Day of Action rally in Buffalo) out for a spin today so I can get used to it before I put it to work. I was taking what I hope will be a daily stroll around my neighborhood and down toward the Neighborhood of the Arts and figured I might as well bring the camera along. Earlier in the day and yesterday I fiddled around taking self-portraits using my tripod, one of which you now see in the "About Me" section on the front page of this website. What a kick that was! I love being able to delete into oblivion all the crummy stuff -- the bad lighting, the horrible expressions, the views that show off my double chin. And in almost the blink of an eye it's all ready for the web. (I'm especially proud of myself for having figured out how to get that photo up into that section of this blog! It's not as easy as dropping a photo into a blog entry.)

As I was walking around I was thinking what a great way to show off to the world why I like living in Rochester, despite the bad weather (hey, just last Tuesday we received the heaviest snowfall of the season -- about a foot -- but it came down after all the old stuff had melted and now the new snow is melting away as well). A gorgeous blue-sky sunny day, perfect for shooting snaps.

While the street I live on is not so great, the Neighborhood of the Arts -- with the Memorial Art Gallery, the Visual Studies Workshop, a funky coffee house/wine bar (Starry Nights) and Writers & Books -- is just a few short blocks away. Normally I've been walking from the art gallery on down Goodman to East Ave. and back to where I live, but today I thought I'd drop on by Writers' & Books to see if my friend Wendy Low (Director of Youth Education and Community Outreach) was in and had a minute to chat. She was, but didn't. Still I'm glad I went because I picked up a lot of literature about various goings on in the neighborhood, things I would have missed otherwise! The next few weeks are going to be very busy for me if I get to do everything I want to do, and there are many more great things to come, which I hope to publicize here.


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1) The "Triangle Building." Starry Nights Cafe is in the corner. 2) Cutler Auditorium, Memorial Art Gallery



3) Writers & Books, Rochester's Literary Center. 4) The "west wing" of the Memorial Art Gallery

Got to spend a little time in the Starry Nights cafe and wine bar -- cute little corner cafe where the old Moonbeans coffee house used to be. The new owner has made great use of that tiny space and offers a menu that includes real food, not just the pastries Moonbeans always had. Wish I could link to a menu, but I can't. Starry Nights does have what looks like delicious pastries as well, but I was a good girl today and stuck with a decaf coffee, black, no sugar (my preference). I was sorely tempted, though!

Anyway, I snapped a few shots -- including one of a new neighbor, Randy, who has just moved into an apartment above the Guys and Dolls hair salon on Main Street, just around the corner from me. He was walking behind me when I snapped a few of the old East High School (now East Court -- a collection of business offices and apartments) and teased me about wanting to get his picture taken. So I said, hey, why not, and I'll even put it on my website! Hey, Randy! Welcome to the neighborhood...



Randy. The old East High building is in the background.



Posted: Fri - March 19, 2004 at 09:24 AM          

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