New York City Stand Pipe Hydrant On Tuesday I had some business in New York City. I showed up early and by 10 AM it was all taken care of. And there I found myself tired, sleepy, unmotivated in hot and hazy weather with the camera still in my bag. For a while I even considered heading back to the airport and hoping for a standby.

New York City Stand Pipe Hydrant

And then I noticed these. Just turning around I spotted a few hydrants, each different. Some in ground, some in walls, different colors. And the camera came out of the bag, and the day started!

As I slowly headed west on 73rd street I looked for a place to pick up some breakfast, and kept looking for more water sources. They were everywhere and not one the same.

After getting some food and drink I've made my way to Central Park and zigzagged my way south. Very nice there, feeling cooler by the ponds in the shadows of trees but no hydrants there!

New York City Stand Pipe Hydrant From Columbus Circle I headed further south moving between 5th Avenue, Park Avenue, and Lexington Avenue as I tried to see some of the Manhattan hallmarks like the Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, and more. All along the way there was no shortage of my new buddies for the day.

Here and there, I wondered what the people passing by might think of me. Will they think I am up to no good? Will a cop stop and ask what the heck I am doing? It happened to me before on several occasions. But no, not a single strange look all day long - I don't mind.

New York City Stand Pipe Hydrant As the day went on I had to stop and get a drink several times, it was really hot and the miles I've put in my legs started wearing me out slowly but surely. Lunch in an air conditioned place was a nice treat and an energy booster. I eventually made my way down through China Town to the Brooklyn Bridge and across, at which point I needed to find my way back to the airport. What took me a day to walk took the subway 20 minutes and I was back on 125th for my bus to La Guardia.

So what else did the day bring in terms of photography? I ended up with way more than these four stand pipe photos here, I have a pretty good collection now. But as the day went on I got some other photos that say New York City too. And based on the direction they were shot at the haze was not always so prominent.

New York City Park Avenue

Yellow Cabs on Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York, NY.

New York City Bowery Avenue Buildings on Bowery, Manhattan, New York, NY

So next time you despair, look around. You never know what is going to catch your eye and what is going to pull you out!

Have fun with your own photo projects!

Equipment used:

• Nikon D600
• Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Tokina 11-16mm Lens (yes, at 16mm this one works on full frame too)
• Promaster 72mm Polarizing Filter
• Handheld, no tripod
• Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
• Nikon Capture NX2

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