The New York City Flickr.Com Meetup

Last Saturday I had a great experience. I joined up with more than 150 other folks for a Flickr meetup at Hight Line Park in Manhattan. It was a brilliant sunny day perfect for a photographer. And it was a jolly crew. Everyone either had a camera in hand or had one hanging from her or his neck.There were teachers, husband and wife teams, retirees, students, office workers and one guy, an MTA worker whose job it is to rescue malfunctioning subway trains trapped in tunnels or anywhere they might be stalled. I didn’t get a close up of him but he’s in this crowd. He’s the guy on the far end with a shock of white hair.

I met a woman whose name on flickr.com is ‘Chloe & Ivan’ and she has created a fantasy world with a troupe of fabric mice she calls “Marcus and Tilly.” She brought them along with her and these fine little creatures became quite a hit. Everyone wanted to take their portrait.

This is Marcus & Tilly.  It seems that the jewel hanging from Tilly’s neck was a Valentine gift from the Camera toting Marcus.

There were people taking photos of people taking photos. Everywhere you turned someone was aiming a camera or getting ready to take a photograph.

This guy, he goes as ‘pixielatedpixels’ on flickr.com, he was standing on the top step of the bleachers aiming his camera at Marcus and Tilly. It was a photo feast!!

I never did get this flickr guy’s name but he was aiming a big old lens at someone every chance he got. And I aimed my camera right back at him. Such a lot of fun!!

In this photo, Holly E. Clark, one of the flickr organizers who flew out to NYC from CA for the NYCflickrmeetup is trying to take a group shot of everyone on the bleachers. She moved boxes and arranged things a bit so that the photo turned out the way that she wanted it. And then as she was about to click her shutter this guy, a stranger to all of us flickr folks, came up behind Holly and gave her rabbit ears just as she clicked the prized group photo. And then the guy just kept walking.

I didn’t stay the entire day with the flickr folks. I had, previous to learning about this flickr meetup, made plans to spend the weekend revising a novel. I headed back uptown through the High Line Park but I could not pass up a couple of photo ops. I particularly liked the way that the lines and brick played so well together in the sunlight.

And this is the view at 32nd Street and 10th Ave, the first uptown entrance to High Line park. It was a fantastic day and I certainly will stay with the group longer next time there is a flickr meetup.