DeborahShapiroPhotos

The Night before Thanksgiving

Posted on November 25, 2015 by deborahshapiro

Inflating a Power Ranger balloon

Mayor deBlasio and Macy’s CEO

Police Commissioner Bratton

Ready to go

Enchantment

What is New York City’s favorite ritual on the night before Thanksgiving? It’s watching the inflation of the balloons for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s a huge operation that takes hours and delights countless children who watch heaps of plastic grow into gigantic, colorful figures like Sponge Bob and Ronald MacDonald. This year, Mayor Bill deBlasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton held a press conference to assure New Yorkers and the nation that tomorrow’s parade will be a safe one. Two NYPD helicopters circled overhead, perhaps sending a mixed message.

Posted in Manhattan, New York | Tagged balloons, Bratton, deBlasio, Macy's Parade, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mayor deBlasio, NYPD, police commissioner | Leave a comment

Twilight on the Upper West Side

Posted on November 23, 2015 by deborahshapiro

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iPhone photo, Broadway and 80th Street

Posted in iPhone, Manhattan, New York, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Procession of the Animals

Posted on October 4, 2015 by deborahshapiro

Every year for St. Francis Day, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine holds a special service for the blessing of the animals. Any animals – dogs, cats, lizards, alpacas, hawks, and rabbits. People can bring their pets and attend the service, and an animal sanctuary from upstate New York sends rescue animals that it has rehabilitated. This year, a camel and a tortoise were among the visitors.

The congregation

An owl waits to enter the cathedral

Led by a service dog, the animals enter the cathedral

Led by a service dog, the animals begin the procession

The entry of the camel

An alpaca and a camel wait for their blessing

The bishop blesses every animal in the procession

Posted in Manhattan, New York | Tagged Blessing of the Animals, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Feast of St. Francis, St. Francis Day | 1 Comment

New Yorkers Welcome Pope Francis

Posted on September 25, 2015 by deborahshapiro

A young admirer

Extraordinary security

Central Park made into a security fortress

Central Park converted into a security fortress

Central Park West, shut down

Pope Francis made a procession through Central Park in his Popemobile today to the delight of 80,000 people who won tickets in a lottery, then passed through metal detectors and waited on their feet for up to 8 hours for his arrival. The park was completely surrounded by an 8-foot fence. Sanitation trucks and police vehicles closed off all of the surrounding streets. The Secret Service, NYPD, snipers on rooftops, and antiterrorism squads were everywhere and two helicopters kept pace with the procession overhead – one low and one high. Some wondered whether this unprecedented show of security was perhaps excessive to protect the man of peace who came to New York and won the people’s hearts in just one day.

Posted in Manhattan, New York | Tagged Central Park, Central Park West, papal visit, Pope Francis | 1 Comment

Photoville

Posted on September 20, 2015 by deborahshapiro

Photoville 2015 on the Brooklyn waterfront, a great open air photo show. There’s no way to summarize the work of 400 contemporary photographers exhibited in shipping containers, but one recurring theme was social engagement.

Posted in Brooklyn, New York | Tagged Brooklyn, New York, Photoville | 2 Comments

23 Years Later

Posted on July 26, 2015 by deborahshapiro

At Columbus Circle, 1992

Outside the Central Park Zoo, 2015

He’s still playing his saxophone on the street, choosing a spot with good acoustics. In 1992 I photographed him with a Leica, developed the negative and printed it. In 2015 I used an iPhone.

Posted in Black and White, Manhattan, New York | Tagged black and white, saxophonist, Street performers, street photography | 2 Comments

9/11 Memorial

Posted on July 1, 2015 by deborahshapiro

9/11 Memorial Museum

A photograph of the facade of the old World Trade Center reaches for the sky

One of the memorial pools

Jeremy Glick, judoka, fought the hijackers on Flight 93

Posted in Manhattan, New York | Tagged 9/11 Memorial, World Trade Center | 1 Comment

Public Eye

Posted on June 9, 2015 by deborahshapiro

Public Eye: 175 Years of Sharing Photography, an exhibit well worth seeing at The New York Public Library on 42nd Street. Surveillance, privacy, sharing, street photography – all topical themes. Like many visitors, this Dutch tourist stopped at the entrance to record her own appearance in the public eye.