New York City | Virtually Gina

Brooklyn Quiet

April 2, 2020 by Gina Marie

The streets of Brooklyn were mostly empty. The few brave souls outdoors wore masks, scarves, or bandanas around their faces to keep virus at bay. A sign posted on a lamppost encouraged neighbors to stay connected in spite of the shelter-in-place order, now in its second month. And yet, the flowering trees still bloomed. Their message: your worldly illusions have been shattered, but deep within the earth, it’s business as usual.

Categories: America, Brooklyn, Nature, New York, New York City, NYC, Photography, Spooky, Spring, Urban • Tags: Brooklyn, nature, New York City, Photography, Spring, Urban

Lessons Learned from a Year in New York

April 21, 2018 by Gina Marie

I’ve always loved cities. I love the hustle and bustle, the cool architecture, the colorful street art. When my husband and I made the decision to move from suburban Monmouth County, New Jersey, to the crown jewel of all American cities last year, it seemed like a dream come true. From the very beginning, I knew that there would be sacrifices. Steep housing costs and cramped living quarters were just the beginning. In preparation, I got rid of as much […]

Categories: America, Humor, Memoir, New York, New York City, Personal, Recovery, Urban • Tags: Humor, Memoir, New York, New York City

Just Be Here With Me: People-Watching in NYC

November 23, 2017 by Gina Marie

I see you walking, talking, looking at your phone not wanting to be alone. You’re never alone: so many places, spaces, people to see. We’re in NYC. Let’s take a selfie.

Categories: America, Brooklyn, New York, New York City, Nikon, NYC, Photo Essay, Photo Journal, Photography, Travel, Urban • Tags: Brooklyn, Candid, Manhattan, Mickey Mouse, New York, New York City, Photography, Urban

Exploring Brooklyn

July 5, 2017 by Gina Marie

Not all who wander are lost. I’ve lived in Brooklyn a full two months, and I’ve finally started to explore the city. My first month in this area consisted of mainly unpacking, figuring out all the minute details of life in this new region (selling my car, getting familiar with the subway, finding my way around, job-hunting), and also recovering from a summer cold that hit me hard. I found a few yoga studios that I like, although I haven’t started teaching since I’ve been here. It may be […]

Categories: America, Art, Brooklyn, Mural, New York, New York City, Nikon, Photo Journal, Photography, Urban • Tags: Brooklyn, Bushwick, Green Point, Murals, New York, New York City, Photography, Urban

Falling Towards New York

April 7, 2017 by Gina Marie

“Gravity is an interaction. The Earth pulls on you, you pull on the Earth. You fall to the Earth, the Earth falls to you.” (Found at: http://srjcstaff.santarosa.edu/~lwillia2/p10/p10ch4.pdf) For 16 years, since my darling BFF Katy and I first visited New York together in August 2001 as a post-college-graduation-treat, I have fallen towards New York. According to the above logic, she must have been falling towards me, too. From time to time, while living in Boston in my early 20’s, I […]

Categories: America, Art, Earth, Friendship, Mural, New York, New York City, Photo Essay, Photo Journal, Photography, Travel, Urban • Tags: Architecture, Art, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Murals, New York, New York City, Travel

My Umpteenth New York Visit

February 7, 2017 by Gina Marie

Before we delve into the New York pics, let’s start with this: “Always maintain only a joyful mind.” This is one of the 59 Lojong slogans taught to students on a path of meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. These slogans are traditionally used to help meditation students tame the mind. Even in the face of distractions and suffering, the idea here is to maintain a sense of joy that you are on a path of awakening. That being said, […]

Categories: America, Meditation, New Jersey, New York, New York City, Nikon, NYC, Photo Essay, Photo Journal, Photography, Recovery, Spooky, Travel, Winter • Tags: Lojong Slogans, New York, New York City, Recovery, Travel, Urban

Hello, Brooklyn . . . Hello, B.I.G.

January 15, 2017 by Gina Marie

On a wintry afternoon, Ilona and I took New Jersey transit on a slow (under the snowy conditions) train trek into New York. It was so cold that I wore my pajamas underneath my clothes, plus several hoodies and my black puffer jacket with the goofy faux fur hood. The city was magical under a blanket of fallen snow. “Biggie Smalls is from here,” I observed as we trudged through the snowy sidewalks of Brooklyn. “I saw him in concert the year before […]

Categories: America, Biggie Smalls, New York, New York City, Notorious B.I.G., NYC, Photo Journal, Travel, Urban, Winter • Tags: Biggie Smalls, Brooklyn, iPhoneography, Manhattan, New York, New York City, Notorious B.I.G., Travel, Urban

Nueva York: The Latest Visit

January 17, 2015 by Gina Marie

For the first time in several years, I paid a trip to the Big Apple (or, as one might call it in Spanish, la Gran Manzana) without my Nikon in tow. I couldn’t resist capturing a few snaps with my handy-dandy iPhone 5S. Following are a few of the images which I managed to preserve for posterity’s sake. A flower vendor and several fashionable young passers-by at Penn Station. Here is a fast food kiosk in Penn Station. The name […]

Categories: America, New York City, Photo Journal, Travel, Urban • Tags: iPhoneography, New York City, Photo Journal, Travel, Urban

One Week Ago Today

January 27, 2013 by Gina Marie

Sunday morning, 6 a.m. Streetlamps still flooded Lexington Avenue, and the first hint of light was barely detectable in the skies overhead. In search of an elusive breakfast joint, I settled for a medium coffee from a national chain known for their remarkably strong brews. My husband, Jeff, was trying to hold out until we could find the restaurant. With the styrofoam cup nestled snugly in the crook of my palm, and my Nikon D-SLR swinging from the strap around […]

Categories: Memoir, New York City, Photography, Travel • Tags: Memoir, New York City, Photography, Travel