flight club

flight club is a genius place. it's kind of pricey, but you can find the most 

amazing and rare kicks there.

check out some of the af-1's

i've got 8 of the af1's in this pic, but this day i was there to buy a pair for

a friend of mine who i'll call "credit"

he wanted the brooklyn editions from the boroughs pack... in size 14 !

while the assistant sent two people down to the stockroom to try and

carry the size 14's, i took the opportunity to take a few pics of flight club.

here's another view of the af-1's with people browsing

and looking down from the af-1's into the rest of the shop

and from the end of the counter. kicks on the left, caps and t-shirts on the right

what's not to like ?

after a while the box of shame arrived... size 14's !

i had to throw a load of clothes and camera equipment out of my bag to make

room for these bad boys, but still, they are absolutely fire. 

( they were only released in new york so "credit" will probably be the only 

person in london sporting these... apart from me )

www.flightclubny.com

the mudtruck

by astor place is an old favourite of mine... the mudtruck

i think i first bought a coffee from mudtruck about 15 years ago !

it's still doing great business

because it serves excellent coffee.

i like that it's about a 30 second walk from a massive starbucks, yet people queue in 

the cold to buy a coffee from the orange truck.

www.themudtruck.com

cars

photographing cars is not really my thing but i had to grab a quick shot

as new york's finest drove down lexington on the lookout for a tourist

with sharp hair and expensive trainers who had been out since 3.30am

and was likely to kick off if he didn't find a decent coffee soon.

my appreciation of new york taxis has been mentioned previously on this blog.

just behind times square i stopped at a junction for a minute and photographed 

the yellow cabs going by...

i took this with my trusty gf-1 and fisheye lens.

this too...

then i ducked into the subway and caught a train to where the good coffee was.

stumptown coffee roasters

as you may know, i'm officially boycotting starbucks.

even thought there was a branch 2 minutes from the pod hotel

i was determined to stay away and sample some good coffee in new york.

i showed you a couple of days ago, my first decent flat white in manhattan...

http://markwhitfieldphotography.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-york-coffee.html

now let me show you the next place i visited...

it is located in the lobby of the ace hotel and is called stumptown coffee roasters

it's at 18 west 29th street between 5th and broadway

there was a big queue inside, which i took to be a good sign. behind the counter were

four baristas. now i know this is not a great photo but i just wanted to show you

how the baristas looked in action...

they all wore really stylish hats. trilbys, fedoras, pork pies ? i don't know what they

were but they looked so stylish it was untrue. three of them also wore old-fashioned waistcoats, and they all had pencil moustaches. it was like having my coffee made

for me by a team of models. really friendly lads too. not too cool to talk or to be polite.

this is the flat white i had

shshshshrrr... it was off the hook !

here's the view of it as i stood at the bar inside ( there are no seats or tables )

here's the view i had of the interior from where i stood by the window

you can just see the queue snaking around the corner into the hotel lobby

and here's the view behind me. coffee and stuff.

stumptown coffee gets two enthusiastic thumbs ups from me

www.stumptowncoffee.com

www.acehotel.com/newyork

ace hotel shop

after the genius flat white at stumptown coffee roasters at the ace hotel

i turned my attention to the hotel shop...

it was on the other side of the lobby and was probably the coolest shop

i've ever been in ( except for crystal kebabs on holloway road )

imagine if an alien landed on earth with nothing, and wanted all the essentials.

the best essentials, the coolest clothes and accessories... well in this place he could

do all his shopping without having to go anywhere else. it was ideal.

it was an ideal place to buy scarves for mrs w too.

it was a tiny little place. hardly enough room for a self-portrait...

but i managed

for those of you who are interested...

bose headphones

maharishi jacket

evisu jeans

nike yeezys

boom !

walking from supreme to the knishery

the other day i was at supreme on lafayette buying a cracking winter hat,

when i got the munchies real bad... i had a craving for a knish.

so i started walking towards yonah schimmel's. on the way i saw...

two characters posing in elizabeth street

i've no idea what they were up to.

i saw this very nice painted wall

but their delicious food could not tempt me. i needed a knish.

i walked past this old butchers

true... it was indeed fast approaching turkey time

a nearby shop had a different take on the 'yes we're open' sign

much nicer than some versions i've seen in good old london town.







around the corner i spotted some posters for a film which has not opened in the uk yet

and one which i don't think i'll be going to watch when it comes out.

in the end, this was a good sign to see

it could mean only one thing for me...

a jalepeño and mozzerella knish !

boom !

more self-portraits in the pod hotel

i just found these two frames from when i was testing my cameras and lights

on my last morning in manhattan.

the t-shirt is a bathing ape 9th anniversary item which was only available

at the aoyama store... black camo print on black... it's quite a rare piece.

and here i am again bringing my own brand of misery to the big apple

i not only own that pose but i have it copyrighted.