Architecture | Brooklyn Wedding Photographer | Lindsay Taryn Photography

Travel Photography | Cordoba, Spain

So I’m a *wee* bit behind on posting photos from my trip to Spain in March – this is Post #4 of 5 from that trip. You can find photos from Madrid, Valencia, and Sevilla from posts #1-3 here.

And in case you weren’t sure – I love to travel. And I love shooting weddings. So if you’re getting married someplace other than NYC, you should definitely contact me about your wedding photography! :)

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Cordoba was a daytrip that almost didn’t happen. I hadn’t planned on doing it before coming to Spain, but after a day or two in Sevilla I was over it and needed a scene change. That, and I made friends with a few girls from my hostel who wanted to go to Cordoba as well, so it just worked out :)

The highlight of Cordoba by far was La Mezquita. I just couldn’t get over the exotic architecture and the way the light broke through all the windows. I spent a couple hours making snail-paced laps around the mosque with the word ‘wow’ perpetually on the tip of my tongue. It honestly is one of the most beautiful man-made things I’ve ever seen.

After La Mezquita, we mostly just wandered around town and visited El Alcazar, which was pretty impressive in its own right with its gorgeous grounds.

So I’d say Cordoba was a big fat WIN and well worth the trek. I’m so glad I decided to go!

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Travel Photography | Belgium | September 25-26, 2010

Not gonna lie, I wasn’t expecting too much of Brussels. My original plan was to arrive there from the Netherlands sometime in the afternoon, spend the evening wandering around, and then jet off to Brugge the next day. Too bad it took me twice as long as planned to get to Brussels, and I ended up with hardly any time the first day to explore.

But gosh, Brussels is awfully nice. I was so taken with the architecture there. The main square is absolutely stunning. And the waffles!! Oh man, to die for. I also felt obligated to sample some frites and chocolate (duh). You can’t go 30 seconds without seeing any of these things being sold in touristy parts. It was also pretty easy to wander off into the more residential and grungey parts of the city, which was a refreshing change of scenery.

But I was completely stoked for Brugge – everyone plays it up as being the quintessential medieval town, and by far the highlight of Belgium. And yes, I’d seen the movie ‘In Brugge’, so there was no doubt that I had to visit.

My experience of Brugge, however, was less than ideal. For starters, the weather was gross. Then I forgot that the train station was quite a ways from the old town, and I forgot how I was supposed to get there so I decided to walk toward it… except I ended up going the complete opposite direction and it was starting to get dark, so I hopped on the first bus I saw that was heading back toward the train station. Then I failed to get off at the right stop and had to get off at a bus terminal and walk all the way back uphill to the stop, which was the start of the old town. See, this is why I always travel with guidebooks!! I just didn’t have one for Belgium since I was only going to be there for a day or two. Never again will I make this mistake!

And oh, then it started to rain. I had to force myself to wander around but I just wasn’t feeling it. Brugge is SO commercialized now and super touristy. It borders on tacky, to be honest. When I felt like I had seen the bare minimum of the town, I went to a rustic little restaurant for dinner and treated myself to the house wine (being that it was the last night of my trip, and given the crappy evening I had endured, I think it was necessary) and some mediocre stew. Sigh.

I took a bunch of photos in Brussels, but not too many in Brugge (not surprisingly):

And a few from Brugge:

New lens + Europe-bound!

It’s been awhile since I posted photos from my explorations. I’ve been so busy this summer with weddings and shoots that I haven’t had enough time to wander around the city much. But that’s about to change because next week I’m heading to Europe!

I will be out of the country from September 10-28, traveling through Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium. I’m sure that I will have sporadic connection to the internet, so please be patient if I don’t respond to your emails right away! I’ll also try to post some photos along the way so you can see what I’m up to overseas :)

In the meantime, I’m excited to announce that there’s a new addition to my lens lineup: the Canon 45mm f.2.8 tilt shift! For the non-camera geeks, the best way I can explain it is that it’ll allow me to provide more creative images for my clients. I’m gonna give it a test run on my trip and hopefully end up with some creative travel shots!

Here’s a photo I took with the tilt shift lens of the Manhattan Appellate Courthouse on 25th street (by Flatiron). Notice how the head of the statue is in focus, while the rest of it (and most of the courthouse itself) is blurred – this isn’t possible with a normal lens!

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Open House New York – 2009

This year I only visited two sites for Open House New York. Both were interior spaces done by accomplished architects.

First, I toured the BBG-BBGM studio on the 25th floor of the Empire State Building. It was mostly just seeing the architects’ workspace and learning about how ‘green’ the studio is (from the lighting patterns to the heating system and beyond). I was particularly impressed by the sleek, modern design of the lobby.

Second, I visited the Kushner Residence in the West Village. I’d gone last year but hadn’t gotten in because the line was so long because they only allow 16 people in at a time. But this time I waited 45 minutes in line and it was totally worth it! It’s a duplex designed by Kushner himself. The bedroom has a glass shower that’s even glass on the bottom, meaning you can see through it from downstairs. The walk-in closet has doors made from the doors of a subway car. And oh, let’s not forget about the fountain downstairs that’s fed from the water that’s drained from the second floor. It’s the most impressive apartment I’ve seen in person, without even being that luxurious.

Atypical Washington DC Explorations

It seems like every time I’m in DC I end up chasing after various monuments and museums that a zillion other tourists swarm simultaneously. And with good reason, as they’re all pretty spectacular.

But this trip, Jill and I focused on Northern DC, starting with lunch at Ben’s Chili Bowl (where only Bill Cosby and the Obamas eat for free!). From there, we endured a lengthy walk to and from the National Cathedral, which is inconveniently located nowhere near the metro. I knew it’d be worth the hassle though, as most glorious cathedrals are. Then we strolled through Adams Morgan and had coffee and pastries at Cafe Tryst, which is apparently a ‘hot spot’ in DC. Not sure about that, but everyone there was on laptops or reading and I got to pour my own coffee from a french press! :)

En route to Dupont Circle, we passed by the Real World DC house and saw a bunch of guys brown bagging on the stoop, one of which was wearing a panda hat/mask! It was really weird to see a bunch of cameramen standing on the sidewalk waiting for them, and then following them down the street as they went off to get dinner, etc. After all my years of watching the show, finally seeing the behind-the-scenes making of it definitely made it appear less glamorous.

We had dinner at Raku, this fabulous Asian Fusion restaurant near Dupont Circle, and hung out at Kramerbooks browsing their psychology, photography, and travel books. I practically had to drag Jill out of there kicking and screaming!