mark whitfield photography: new york story part 3: coffee and cymru

Sunday, 17 April 2011

new york story part 3: coffee and cymru

it was still early when i finished breakfast and there weren't many people about

in the usually busy lobby and lounge areas.

i took the opportunity to put my gf-1 on a self-timer and...

boom !

first self-portrait of the trip.

i thought the above pic was ok so i took another shot after taking my jacket off.

yeah, i was flying the flag like a boss !

up to my room to freshen up before heading out. i'd just bought some hair product

from a shop next to the flame so was eager to try it out.

sportin' waves. i think it cost about $4 and it turned out to be magic darts.

oh... here's a shot of my room, and the bed where i'd tried to sleep.

you can just see the sportin' waves on the table on the left and the table lamp

above it that i'd used to light the previous shot.

here's the view from my door looking into the room

there were three hooks on the white wall so i hung my headphones and jeans

on them. i thought it made the room my own... put my stamp on it.

here's the view looking out to the door...

eddie cruz af-1's tucked in the corner. gucci belt hanging up. it's all good.

after fixing up my barnet and changing t-shirts it was time to head out.

i shot this just around the corner from my hotel, outside the nearest subway station.

it was still early morning in manhattan but in cardiff, wales were just about to

play their vital euro qualifying match against england. hmmm...
i headed over to 'culture espresso bar' ( w38th st and 6th ave )

wow ! what a sweet coffee shop.
as i entered you'll never guess what song was playing...
"i want you" by elvis costello. i spotted that they were actually playing the whole
'blood and chocolate' album... on vinyl. how quaint.

i ordered up a flat white. no problem, the owner was australian.
it looked a good 'un so i carefully placed it on my table to take a photo...

then i kicked the table as i sat down and spilled it into the saucer.
it still looks ok though right ?

here's a wider view of my flat white from where i sat...

the place started to fill up... mainly with women who looked like they'd just finished
yoga class. oh, also my phone started beeping... text messages from england !

i started to read my messages...

how considerate... both gooner jeff and jack from the mail on sunday kept
me up to date with how wales were getting on against england. thanks lads.

behind me on the right hand side you can see the turntable and stack of albums that
the barista was in charge of. i still couldn't get over him playing that elvis album.

here's my view of the counter

the turntable is on the left, a few photos on the walls and an interesting menu.
1. what is a hand pourover ?
2. isn't their logo just like london's congestion charge thing ?

oh, cracking lighting in the place