The city may be in a fictional hue of black & white in this animated video, but the sights and sounds are all accounted for. Join a tourist as he fights the crowds and experiences many failed attempts at taking the perfect shot of many city attractions. As the creators state, "In a city full of landmarks, there will always be someone to ruin your shot." Indeed.......

Should you somehow manage to finagle one of precious 12 seats at David Chang’s wildly hyped restaurant Momofuku Ko, don’t go pushing your luck by trying to commemorate the experience in photographs. Chang has banned picture-taking at Ko because he feels it’s become a distraction to other diners. “It’s just food. Eat it,” he declares. Could this be a new trend? Serious Eats talks to other chefs around town about their photography policies.......

The war between photographers and police wages on, with the latest battleground being Coney Island. The Village Voice reports that Simon Lund, a Manhattan commercial photographer with a habit of hitting Coney 10 to 20 times each summer for personal photographic expeditions, was busted by the NYPD. The thing is, he didn't do anything illegal. The paper talked to Todd Maisel, vice president of the New York Press Photographers Association and a Daily News photographer,......

While simultaneously seeking out new talent, WNYC is exploring the art of street photography through the eyes of six diverse photographers in their Street Shots series. One of them, 61-year-old Bruce Gilden, is more of a character than some of his subjects. He's been taking photos of strangers on the streets of Manhattan for decades, and he's becoming a little bored with the homogeneity of the passersby. See how his "in your face" approach goes......

Last week the website Mental Floss discovered a treasure chest of old Polaroids online, all chronologically ordered and taken throughout the years 1979 to 1997. Soon after the discovery, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn provided the full story behind what seemed like a very mysterious website. The site was in the process of being created by Hugh Crawford and Betsy Reid, who were in possession of over 6000 Polaroids taken by their late friend Jamie......

Perhaps now more than ever, New York City residents create homes for themselves in vastly different ways. Are there any bad neighborhoods anymore? Or are there just places that immigrants and long-time residents subsist next to high-rise hotels and luxury condos? It's a question not limited to NYC, especially as people are being ejected from their McMansions and middle class homes in the current mortgage meltdown. Presciently, photographer Rick Smolan and his partner Jennifer......

New Yorker and Polaroid appreciator, Joe Howansky, has started a project to commemorate the soon-to-be-extinct Polaroid film, while simultaneously connecting with strangers through the medium. He explains:I will send you a Polaroid of anything anywhere in New York City. I don’t already have these stocked up - each one will be taken just for you. You will have the only copy in the entire world of a picture that was taken by someone else for......

A new photography exhibit examining the shifting views of public and private space, Eminent Domain, opens today at the New York Public Library. Five photographers' recent projects "deal with the life of the city in terms of passage (of seasons and time, people and place) and exchange (between individual and collective, interior and exterior)." Thomas Holton photographed one family in Chinatown for two years, (photographs taken by the children are also included). Bettina Johae......

Tomorrow, iconic photographs of American presidents over the years will be on display at Federal Hall. The exhibit, "The American President," is put together by the Associated Press, which is showcasing over 80 photographs of presidents "at war and at ease, in victory and in defeat, confronting national crises and facing personal scandals, running for office and leading the country on the world stage"--and photographs of this year's presidential candidates on the campaign trail. The......

MOVIE: After Marion Cotillard took home the gold for best actress in La Vie en Rose last Sunday, French cinema is sure to be all the rage. Today the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2008 series kicks off with a screening of Roman de gare (pictured). Buy tickets and get the schedule here. Friday// 6:30 and 9pm // Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts [70 Lincoln Center Plaza] // $12 (stand......

The International Center of Photography is now in possession of something truly magnificent -- three lost valises of negatives belonging to wartime photographer Robert Capa. For the few of you who haven't heard of him, Robert Capa was a wartime photographer who died while on assignment in Indochina in 1954; he was only 41 years old. In his short life, he documented five wars and founded the famous Magnum photo agency.......

MUSIC: The Stone has been bringing out the big names lately. Tonight Marc Ribot brings his solo act to the 8pm set, then follows himself up by delivering his experimental sounds with none other than Laurie Anderson. Avant-garde all the way. 8 and 10pm // The Stone [Ave C at E 2nd St] // $10 THEATER: In her multimedia musical theater piece North, Heather Christian, daughter of a go-go dancer and a blues musician, is......

Just a month after a Columbia grad student was hassled by the NYPD for photographing subways for a school project, another young man armed with camera has been taken down by the long arm of the law. The NY Post is reporting that "a Brooklyn teen says he was busted and beaten for taking a picture of a uniformed cop while he was asleep." Tyshawn McDonald, 18, took this photo in a laundromat on New......

Proliferating in great number in the wake of the Civil War by freed slaves migrating north, who had little economic resources, "storefront churches" are primarily a black and urban phenomena, where small congregations could worship in smaller numbers. More recently, the ecclesiastic form has been adopted by other ethnic groups such as recent immigrants. The site Fotki has a collection of 100 images of storefront churches located in Brooklyn that makes for some interesting......

There's something to be said for pausing in the fast-paced environment of New York to truly capture the essence of our city. On the other hand, speeding things up can really give one some perspective on the dynamics of New York. Below is a time-lapse video taken between September 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007. It's of Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan looking east to west, and the video features 4,385 individual photographs taken from......

A Columbia grad student, Arun Wiita, and the New York Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit against the NYPD last Thursday. Over the summer, Wiita was photographing a subway station entrance and its surroundings at 207th Street and 10th Avenue as part of an ambitious 10-day photography project. He was detained by police, handcuffed and held for 30 minutes; now Wiita is "seeking compensatory damages and reimbursement of legal fees." He believes that his South......

With the original set of rules tossed aside, the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting (MOFTB) has focused in on levels of sidewalk obstruction when it comes to shooting photographs and film in the city. Juliana Luecking points out the ridiculousness of the new rules, which don't allow much space for shooting. There will be a public hearing about the new regulations on December 13th (details here), and you can address your comments prior......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 155th Ave. and 79th St. in Queens, a bank robbery at the Chase branch on De Kalb and Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn, and a pedestrian struck at Hunts Point and Lafayette Aves. in the Bronx. The Guggenheim sent out a postcard inviting people to a seminar about Andy Warhol. The message on the reverse side is expletive-laced and describes Warhol and his fans in derogatory terms......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a vessel in distress off Rikers Island in the East River, a dead body found in the East River off Roosevelt Island and Queens, and an industrial accident on 52nd Ave. in Queens. Confirming recent speculation, The New York Times is cancelling its TimesSelect initiative, in which people subscribed to read a number of columnists and other special online content. Mayor Bloomberg signed autographs, greeted courtroom personnel, and posed......

MUSIC: Courtney Love makes her return to the New York stage tonight for a little birthday celebration show at Hiro Ballroom. The rocker turned 43 on Monday of this week, and there's only one way to see if she's acting her age! Last time she got a little crazy at a suprise show at Plaid, and when she turned 40 she took a trip to Bellevue. 10pm // Hiro Ballroom [371 W 16th St] //......

This morning, we were curious about a "prayer station" set up in the Times Square subway station. Were they praying for the MTA to fix platform gaps at the Times Square shuttle? Were they praying for the MTA to cool its squabble with a religious website whose URL is too close to the MTA's (mtainfo.com vs. mta.info)? More subway service in certain neighborhoods? No fare hike? Or were they praying for funding for the......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: white powder found at the U.N., a bank robbery on Bowery, and a jumper up on 45th and 10th. The Post has followup on the New Jersey legislature's decision to legalize civil unions: "among the benefits gay couples would get under New Jersey's civil union bill are adoption rights, hospital visitation privileges and inheritance rights." The governor hasn't said when he'll sign the bill. Sheldon Silver and George Pataki......

Dunh dunh DUNH! It's the most insane shopping day of the year, thanks to most people being off and feeling that the day after Thanksgiving is an acceptable beginning to the Christmas shopping season. However, some stores were actually open yesterday, giving turkey and football some competition. Some stores opened at 5AM today, others at 6AM. In fact, some people have been flying in from overseas, perhaps to take advantage of the exchange rate!......

Chartered flights: $161, 751. Photography: $51,313. Flowers: $13,169. Winning re-election: Priceless - or $29.5 million. Senator Hillary Clinton's handy 30 point reelection win two weeks ago cost a lot of money. The NY Times reports that her campaign spent about $30 million for this victory, which now puts her at the similar 2008 war chest levels as Senators John Kerry and Evan Bayh. And some Democrats and Clinton supporters are concerned about what this could......

+ Mayor Bloomberg hate cigs, but he doesn't want to raise the legal smoking age. + The feds have decided not to retry Junior Gotti-- apparently after losing three times, they've had enough. + Volunteers are collecting foliage from the High Line for replanting once the park is built. + The alleged child molestor killed by an angry Fairfield lawyer turns out to have been innocent-- apparently the child wasn't right. + NSFW Friday......

Yes, we wrote MILF, because that seemed the best way to approximate the call for women to participate in the Hottest Mom in America auditions. Uh huh - hot moms in the NYC area will get to strut their stuff this Saturday at the NYC auditions. The search for the Hottest Mom in America is for some sort of reality competition. It's being cast in Dallas, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta and LA as well, though......

Today is Primary Day in the city and state, with candidates for the Democratic and Republican tickets to be selected for Governor, Attorney General, Senate, Congress, and more. If you're registered to the Democratic or Republican party, you can vote! Some candidates are saying that the primary should be moved, because it falls so close to September 11 (remember how five years ago, September was Pimary Day?), which affects how much they can campaign.......

Today marks the seventh, and last, consecutive day of rain. It was a good run –3.31 inches fell in Central Park, but the streak itself falls well short of biblical standards. There's still enough moisture around to keep a few clouds in the sky today, but the threat of rain, and that stupid stationary front, have disappeared. Somewhat sunny and mild weather tomorrow will bring a little weather variety into our lives. Enjoy the sun......

Fans of urban exploration photography and naked women, rejoice, for your day has finally arrived! Naked City Spleen features dozens of pictures of Miru Kim posing in front of various urban ruins, including but not limited to the recently destroyed Greenpoint Terminal Market and the very-soon-to-be-leveled Red Hook Sugar Factory. And lest you think this is just about cheap thrills, Miru has a long essay explaining the project: Photography then is one of my......

Word is that the Apple Store Fifth Avenue is hosting its press opening today! For us mere mortals, the store will be open at 6pm on Friday-- and rumors say it will NEVER close. That's right, Apple insiders are saying the store is going to be open 24/7, which is perfect if you need your iPod fixed at 4am. It's also good if you get kicked out of your apartment because you blew too......