![Note: I chose this photo, among the ten that I uploaded to Flickr on the morning of Sep 18, 2011, as my "photo of the day." I've got a bunch of photos like this, and clearly I'm a sucker for sunset shots -- especially when they have the interesting trappings of a clock tower and an old sign from a defunct railroad...
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It's been two months since I last photographed the tango dancers in New York City at the beginning of Fourth of July weekend -- even though I know they've been gathering each Sunday down at the end of Pier 45, where Christopher Street runs into the Hudson River in the West Village. But I've been busy or out of town for most of July and August ... so the summer drifted away before there was a combination of free time and clear skies that enabled me to find a quiet perch out at the end of the pier on the weekend before Labor Day, to watch the dancers once again.
As I've pointed out in some previous Flickr albums (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157623735292849/ ) , for example), I do not dance the tango (or any other civilized form of dance), and even after watching the dancers for over a year, I know almost nothing about the history, the folklore, or even the steps and rhythms of the tango. But after accidentally stumbling upon a local gathering of tango aficionados on a business trip to Washington in August 2009 (see my Flickr set Last tango in Washington ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157621943882787 ) ), I discovered that there were similar informal events throughout New York City. When I got home, I searched on the Internet and found a schedule of upcoming tango events at several different NYC locations -- including Pier 45, where I made my first visit in mid-April of 2010, which led to this set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157623735292849/ ) of photos.
I returned in mid-July of 2010, even though I knew it would be much hotter ... and indeed, it was so hot that the music did not even begin until 6 PM. But then the dancers began to appear, one after another, until there were a couple dozen pairs of dancers filling a large space under a sheltering canopy, as the sun went down. And since it was the end of a hot summer evening, tango wasn't the only thing going on: there were people sunbathing, watching the boats on the river, playing frisbee, or simply enjoying themselves. I photographed a little of everything; you can see it in this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157624476326483/ ) .
After that, I came back in August 2010 to watch the tango dancers in Riverside Park (also on the Hudson River, but up near 68th Street, which you can see here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157624862341542/ ) ), and then back to Pier 45 in September (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157624960094577/ ) ) and October (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157625209791454/ ) ). There was even a tango party on Valentine's Day of 2011, at the Winter Garden building down near the site of the 9-11 tragedy; you can see that (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157626099523322/ ) ).
But the winter chill of Valentine's Day is now only a distant memory; springtime has now come and gone; and summer is almost over, with Labor Day approaching. But I also suspect the tango dancers will be here every Sunday throughout the fall, until it finally gets too cold and dark and rainy to continue dancing...
And if you'd like to watch some other examples NYC tango dancing, check out Richard Lipkin's Guide to Argentine Tango in New York City ( http://www.newyorktango.com/ ) .](/Other/Sunsets/i-DZR8cHK/0/Ti/Tango%20at%20summer%27s%20end%2C%2083111%20-%2066_6158710024_o-Ti.jpg "Note: I chose this photo, among the ten that I uploaded to Flickr on the morning of Sep 18, 2011, as my "photo of the day." I've got a bunch of photos like this, and clearly I'm a sucker for sunset shots -- especially when they have the interesting trappings of a clock tower and an old sign from a defunct railroad...
*******************************************
It's been two months since I last photographed the tango dancers in New York City at the beginning of Fourth of July weekend -- even though I know they've been gathering each Sunday down at the end of Pier 45, where Christopher Street runs into the Hudson River in the West Village. But I've been busy or out of town for most of July and August ... so the summer drifted away before there was a combination of free time and clear skies that enabled me to find a quiet perch out at the end of the pier on the weekend before Labor Day, to watch the dancers once again.
As I've pointed out in some previous Flickr albums (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157623735292849/ ) , for example), I do not dance the tango (or any other civilized form of dance), and even after watching the dancers for over a year, I know almost nothing about the history, the folklore, or even the steps and rhythms of the tango. But after accidentally stumbling upon a local gathering of tango aficionados on a business trip to Washington in August 2009 (see my Flickr set Last tango in Washington ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157621943882787 ) ), I discovered that there were similar informal events throughout New York City. When I got home, I searched on the Internet and found a schedule of upcoming tango events at several different NYC locations -- including Pier 45, where I made my first visit in mid-April of 2010, which led to this set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157623735292849/ ) of photos.
I returned in mid-July of 2010, even though I knew it would be much hotter ... and indeed, it was so hot that the music did not even begin until 6 PM. But then the dancers began to appear, one after another, until there were a couple dozen pairs of dancers filling a large space under a sheltering canopy, as the sun went down. And since it was the end of a hot summer evening, tango wasn't the only thing going on: there were people sunbathing, watching the boats on the river, playing frisbee, or simply enjoying themselves. I photographed a little of everything; you can see it in this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157624476326483/ ) .
After that, I came back in August 2010 to watch the tango dancers in Riverside Park (also on the Hudson River, but up near 68th Street, which you can see here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157624862341542/ ) ), and then back to Pier 45 in September (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157624960094577/ ) ) and October (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157625209791454/ ) ). There was even a tango party on Valentine's Day of 2011, at the Winter Garden building down near the site of the 9-11 tragedy; you can see that (here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157626099523322/ ) ).
But the winter chill of Valentine's Day is now only a distant memory; springtime has now come and gone; and summer is almost over, with Labor Day approaching. But I also suspect the tango dancers will be here every Sunday throughout the fall, until it finally gets too cold and dark and rainy to continue dancing...
And if you'd like to watch some other examples NYC tango dancing, check out Richard Lipkin's Guide to Argentine Tango in New York City ( http://www.newyorktango.com/ ) .")
![This was taken from my hotel window, looking across a highway at a large exhibition and park devoted to Russia's space exploits in the late 1950s. The swooping structure is apparently made of titanium, and you actually have to look fairly closely to see the small rocket at the top. There's also a large promenade, exhibition center, and even a Ferris wheel, which are visible in the next several pictures...
The television tower in the background is apparently held upright by roughly 150 specially-made steel wires. There was a serious fire about 10 years ago, and most of the wires were destroyed; people feared that the tower might topple, but it didn't.
It took quite a while for the wires to be replaced, and for the first week after the fire, there was no television in Moscow; the local joke is that, just like the aftermath of NYC power failures in 1965 and 1977 and 2003, the birth rate shot up dramatically exactly nine months later...
Note: this photo was published in a Moscow Insider's Guide blog titled "Cosmos Hotel Moscow ( http://www.moscow-russia-insiders-guide.com/cosmos-hotel-moscow.html ) ."
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These photos were taken during a week-long trip to Russia in September 2008, the last four days of which were spent in Moscow. The first several photos were taken from the window of my hotel room, on the 24th floor of a massive complex known as the "Cosmos" hotel at the northern edge of the city. The others were taken during a 3-hour drive to see various scenic areas of Moscow (some of which, like Red Square, I had already seen and photographed on an earlier trip to Moscow in April 2008)](/Other/Sunsets/i-6RBg4n9/0/Ti/Moscow%2C%20Sep%202008%20-%2001_2900483142_o-Ti.jpg "This was taken from my hotel window, looking across a highway at a large exhibition and park devoted to Russia's space exploits in the late 1950s. The swooping structure is apparently made of titanium, and you actually have to look fairly closely to see the small rocket at the top. There's also a large promenade, exhibition center, and even a Ferris wheel, which are visible in the next several pictures...
The television tower in the background is apparently held upright by roughly 150 specially-made steel wires. There was a serious fire about 10 years ago, and most of the wires were destroyed; people feared that the tower might topple, but it didn't.
It took quite a while for the wires to be replaced, and for the first week after the fire, there was no television in Moscow; the local joke is that, just like the aftermath of NYC power failures in 1965 and 1977 and 2003, the birth rate shot up dramatically exactly nine months later...
Note: this photo was published in a Moscow Insider's Guide blog titled "Cosmos Hotel Moscow ( http://www.moscow-russia-insiders-guide.com/cosmos-hotel-moscow.html ) ."
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These photos were taken during a week-long trip to Russia in September 2008, the last four days of which were spent in Moscow. The first several photos were taken from the window of my hotel room, on the 24th floor of a massive complex known as the "Cosmos" hotel at the northern edge of the city. The others were taken during a 3-hour drive to see various scenic areas of Moscow (some of which, like Red Square, I had already seen and photographed on an earlier trip to Moscow in April 2008)")
MohonkTowerCloseUp
MohonkTowerCloseUp
See photo in original gallery.