Continuing my new series “Amatuer Learns Aperture” about going outside in New York City to take a million test photos as I learn how to use my camera!

In this post:

• The Grey Dog
• All the pretty restaurants
• Sweet Moments Cafe
• Chinatown Lanterns
• Juniors
• Coney Island

I am having a rough time because my cell phone photos still come out better than my camera photos.

Here is the cute doggo that greets barks at you when you ring the bell to enter the building for photography class.

I am also having a bit of a bipolar crisis. I have an extreme bit of buyer’s remorse adding up what I spent week one and doing math of where I could fly to for that amount, and an even more extreme to SPEND ALL THE MONEY LET’S FUCKING GO OUT WE HAD FUN. ONE LIFE ONE CHANCE!

I started with lunch at The Grey Dog.  There’s more than one, I went to the one on Mullberry Street.

Pretty interior:

Mocktail, iced coffee and French toast:

The cute restaurant next door:

Then a million random cute restaurants.  I honestly spent this time trying to figure out if NYC restaurants were always this cute and I just never noticed?  I cannot remember the last time I actually ate at a restaurant here that didn’t involve work.  Have I possibly never?

Not a restaurant, but adorable:

Christmas store:

After, I had 50 minutes to walk a few blocks to get my appointment to get my hair straightened.  50 minutes turned into over an hour without me realizing it because I was so busy cursing at myself for my inability to take photos correctly.

During my hair appointment, my hairdresser told me I seemed very stressed out and gave me a massage, which he has never done before. YOU try using a fucking camera.

After, I went to a coffee shop named Sweet Moment, that was supposed to be part of my homework. I had to photograph 3 things and I thought those three things should be three lattes with super cute latte art.

It didn’t work out like that.

There was no seating at this place.  There were two huge tables, one was a birthday party, one was a bunch of people just sitting there for no reason at all?

I finally get a table and because I am alone and have no one to save it, I put my coat down.  I hear a noise as I am walking away and it is someone moving the table away from my chair.  Moving THE ENTIRE TABLE away from my chair.  Mother fucker.

I still got a red velvet latte, but I am also still mad.

Cute interior camera, before I knew what the fuck tungsten is:
Cute interior from my phone, which knows what tungsten is:

I walked around Chinatown for about 389473 hours trying to get a decent photo of these lanterns:

Once again, better cell phone photo:

I had to stop on the way home to buy a winter coat and went to Juniors.

Better cell phone photo, I hate myself.

Juniors Christmas ornament:
I still don’t know how to use my camera and I still have to do my homework I failed on at Sweet Moment.

I have to photograph 3 objects, but not against a white background.  My apartment walls are white so it’s tough to not have a white background. I got it to work but putting a black shirt over my printer and began taking photos that would only come out yellow.

This was my downfall and I almost gave up.   After about 4 hours of trying every God damned setting, I finally learned what tungsten is. Fuck tungsten. Apparently there is a camera setting to use with certain types of lightbulbs, which I surely didn’t know.

I went to class without my homework done but was determined to get it done this weekend.  So I went to Coney Island for sunset.

Coney Island also has Frost Fest going on, where Luna Park is open at night through the holidays.  I wanted to ride the Wonder Wheel but it isn’t part of Frost Fest.

Frost Fest:

Accidentally mastering the art of Bokeh:

Me: What the fuck is this post even about?

Me: Learning how to use my camera?

Me: Show me where you wrote anything about using your camera

Me: I wrote about TUNGSTEN

Me: (Deep breath) No one asking Google about how to use a camera is going to find this search result useful

Me: Ah, I see what you mean

Me: You wrote more about pretty restaurants and Coney Island but those are not featured in the title

Me: I know but…

Me: Maybe you should start making these posts about ONE place and not all the places AND PUT THE PLACE IN THE TITLE

Me: Good advice, I will try it next time