If you don't already know, there's a lively burlesque scene in the city with weekly shows going on in the East Village/LES or Williamsburg nearly every night of the week and as we move into summer, you can expect additional shows down at Coney Island.

Tonight there's Starshine Burlesque at Rififi and if you come back on Sunday there's Red Hots Burlesque.

Meanwhile at The Slipper Room you can catch two nights of shimmy Friday and Saturday with The Hot Box and Mr. Choade's Upstairs/Downstairs.

Mondays at Galapagos in Williamsburg there's The BombShell Girls hosted by Lady Ace.

There's also Ixion, burlesque theater based on Greek mythology. Check their web site for details of upcoming shows.

Most of these shows are photographer friendly if you ask permission and agree to share with the performers and organizers. They're fun and surprisingly challenging to shoot if you play nice and don't use a flash.

"Professional Cameras, Made for the Amateur" (NY Times) compares the latest additions to the Canon vs. Nikon SLR war and includes a slideshow of images.

This month, both cameras gained new features - and new letters tacked on to their names. Canon's new Digital Rebel XT (the EOS 350D) is aimed at eliminating the performance gap between the original Rebel and the Nikon D70. And only yesterday, Nikon struck back with the D70S, an updated version of its own consumer S.L.R. It's an Olympic game of leap-cam.

"Both take pictures so good, you'll feel guilty when friends and neighbors begin asking how you became such a great photographer overnight," according to author David Pogue.

If you're like me, every morning you cycle through your favorite photo posts: Joe, Magneto, Rion, Shadow, Jake and, and, and, and...before moving on to my favorite local resource pages: MUG and Gothamist. Before I check in on my favorite New Yorkers though, I like to take a step back, hit APOD and begin my day with perspective. The buildings around us are larger than life, the pace and pulse of our city is infectious and all encompassing. In this city, it becomes very easy to lose sight of a greater existence.

We've all watched strangers agonize over the inconsequentials. Subway seats, become the center for pitched battles of will as two diametrically opposed manifest destinies compete for that all important orange or gray gluteal real estate, inevitably warranting sucked teeth and expletive muttering by one or both parties.

Before you duke it out with somebody's grandmother over that cab, think about where you fit in. Not only are you one person in a vast metropolis of millions, that metropolis is one of thousands, which exists in one nation out of hundreds, on one planet out of 9 in our solar system, circling one star out of thousands in our galaxy, which is one galaxy out of trillions of billions in the universe. Suddenly that guy clipping his fingernails on the subway becomes a little less irksome. I hope that APOD will be more for you than yet another daily photo page.

Cherry Trees, originally uploaded by Muckster

Washington D.C. isn't the only city with Oriental Cherry Trees - we have our own collection right here in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. According to the Cherry Watch, the Oriental cherries will blossom in early April to mid-May depending on the temperature, precipitation, and general weather variability. I visited the Botanic Garden last weekend, and the Cherries are just shy of blossoming. Also check out the Annual Cherry Festival on April 30th and May 1st.

Admission is $5 (more info) and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and Prospect Park - which is an excellent park in its own rite. Visit the Garden and the Park on a Sunday and you can see the Drummers at Drummer's Grove.

Here's a Flickr search for Brooklyn+Botanic and Cherry Blossom.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden (garden map)
Adminssion: $5 (free on Tues & Sat 10-12 noon)

2/3 to Eastern Parkway
B/Q to Prospect Park
google maps

Every year, Nikon hosts the annual Small World Competition, in which thousands of scientists from around the world submit their most beautiful microscopic photography. Prizes range from an 8 x 10 of your own print (ha ha) up to $3000 in Nikon equipment (hmmmm). Word. I've submitted a couple of times, but sadly, I have not even received an 8 x 10. The cool part is...

Some of our great NYCPB friends have been selected to appear in JPG Magazine's second issue, entitled "Lost." Congrats to Eliot and Joe! Buy a copy today- a bargain at $20!

Issue 2 of JPG Magazine, the quarterly of brave new photography, is here. Inside you'll find 43 photographic interpretations of the word "lost." Also includes a set of powerful portraits by featured photographer Ryan Keberly of Detroit's disposessed, as well as an interview with Adriene Hughes, who is using photography in her battle with cancer. This issue of JPG Magazine paints a new picture of what it means to be lost ... and found.

Rion and I have talked about producing a semi-annual NYCPB MAG- same basic idea, but probably a different size, maybe twice a year production schedule. It would be on-Demand printing, so no up-front investment. We'd need to program a submission sub-site, among other things- let me know if you want to help out.

The Flickreenies over at Flickr have recently expressed their gratitude for members who supported the company in Beta by purchasing a "pro" account. In a recent letter sent to members with a "pro" account, the company has announced plans to add an additional year to their existing account, double the monthly upload quota to 2GB, and the best part, the option to upgrade the accounts of two friends. I currently operate a second photoblog by pulling photographs from Flickr, so this is a good deal. What do you think about the news?

Read more to see a copy of the e-mail sent by the Flickreenies.

We're having our next NYCPB night at the Apple Store on Friday, June 17th from 7-9pm, with a happy hour at a local bar afterwards. That's only 8 weeks from now, and it'd be great if we could get the ball rolling. What we're looking for:

Presenters: We need six or seven of the best NYC photobloggers around. We're looking for people who can do seven minutes of presenting and five minutes of Q&A. The best presentations move beyond simply showing images to a discussion of some larger theme or motivation. Eligibility requirements: kick-ass photoblog, open for more than one year, based in NYC. Three spots are reserved for returning presenters.

Sponsors: Gothamist has agreed to sponsor the Happy Hour, but we're always looking for new sponsors to help us defray the costs of organizing the event. As usual, we'll be having giveaways of free stuff during the event- if you have something to contribute, let us know.

The best way to submit ideas is in the comments on this thread- it'll be easy for us to look up when we want to start contacting people.

yep! nyc.photobloggers.org is in the process of getting a facelift. stay tuned over the next week or two as we continue to fix and fine tune.

Interested in circumnavigating Manhattan Island? Here's your chance to see a ton of areas you've probably never visited. On Saturday, May 7, 2005, the Shorewalkers will hold their 20th annual Great Saunter—a 32-mile walk around Manhattan’s rim.

Join the Shorewalkers on this spectacular 32-mile walk around the rim of Manhattan Island, starting early at South Street Seaport and ending there that evening for celebration. Walk through 20 parks, experience many cultures, and celebrate the new Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. See the Statue Of Liberty, New Jersey, the Palisades, all four outer Boroughs, people fishing in the rivers, cherry trees in bloom, spring flowers, a press conference in front of the Circle Line Terminal at 42nd Street at 9:30 am, and enjoy lunch in Inwood Park. Walk part or all of the route. Meet people from all over.

(Editor's note: Unfortunately, the Shorewalkers Saunter page doesn't work particularly well in Firefox 1.03. Either rev up IE, or view the PDF flyer.)

[Via A Test of Will]