Category Archives: New York City

December 14, 2011 · 2:38 am

“Old Friends.”

* Preface *

“I know I’ve been neglecting to post on my blog. I could hit you all with excuses about how I’ve been traveling the world and shooting since March in India, Nepal and about 7 different states here in the U.S.. I could go on and on about how time seemed to have moved so quickly because of the flights, the bus rides, the couch-hopping and the friend-visiting. I could even talk about the wonderful two months I was able to spend in California with my beautiful 10-year old daughter and how I barely had time enough to pull the trigger, let alone find a wifi signal and try to update my blog every few days. I could say all those things…but I won’t. Instead I’ll just say that ‘I’m sorry’ and that I was ‘busy’. I’m glad to be back however, thanks for being patient! As you can probably tell I’ve revamped my website. I have some snazzy new blog ideas to begin using, as well as some feature stories to write about some of the things that I’ve shot during my absence: beaches in South Carolina, MLB games, Occupy Wall Street, models, snow-covered mountains in Colorado, NCAA football games, old friends, Alcatraz, my beautiful little girl and so much more. For now however, we’ll just start off with a new series of posts…smaller, but more intimate.”

“They’ll be called: The Story Behind The Shot.”

“Enjoy.”

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(photo: Fidel Amos)

While in Union Square in NYC one Spring day in 2009, I saw an elderly woman leaning on a wall small wall, facing the grass. For a second I thought she was merely staring off into space or resting, then I realized she was motioning with her hand…holding something. I looked in the direction that she was looking and saw a beat-up, raggedy, NYC squirrel standing on his hind paws in the grass about 30 feet from her, staring back at her. I prepared my Canon (which was slung around my shoulder) ready to shoot the interaction between them, trying to figure out a way to squeeze them both into the same frame. Suddenly the squirrel darted in her direction, quickly (yet politely) snatched the peanut from her by-then outstretched hand  and ran up into a tree.

By the time he go to her I had approximately 1/2 a second to pull the trigger…it’s a fraction off focus, but it came out rather nice.

A casual onlooker might think this was just a case of an elderly woman feeding a nut to a squirrel…as she might bread to pigeons on her stoop, or apples to a mounted officer’s horse. Judging by the condition of the squirrel, the familiar way in which it seemed to notice her and head in her direction and the simple fact that she was motioning for that particular one and none of the others that were within the same distance, I like to think that she had been going there for months and that the squirrel had been expecting her…
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(Wanna hang it on your wall? It’s available via my online gallery on Society6.com. Click the photo below to find out more…)

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April 9, 2011 · 12:59 am

“Just Like That…Your Wallet’s In The Mail.”

A little while ago my mind was blown.

I found myself enjoying the regular, run of the mill, average, old, everyday grind…when out of nowhere, my wallet arrived in the mail. Now it wasn’t the fact that my wallet was actually in the mail and not on my physical person that surprised the hell out of me.

You see, because last week (I believe it was thursday) I stupidly left my wallet inside of a taxi cab after paying for my ride (and tipping nicely if I do say so myself). Leaving one’s wallet inside of a taxi cab in this big bad apple we all call New York City is nothing new. I mean hell, I must have lost 3 wallets, $100’s of dollars, 4 cellphones, and a miniature Doberman inside of various taxicabs in the six years that I’ve been living here.

But THIS time was different…

THIS time I had just received my spankin new NY license.

THIS time the wallet was 2 days old, a small Perry Ellis perk left over in a VIP giftbag after one of the insanely expensive events hosted at my job.

THIS time I was having a bad day, week, month…whatever period of time you wanna say it was, I was pretty pissed off.

So I cursed New York City.

That’s right my friends.

I friggin cursed this friggin piece of s**t city that keeps friggin kicking the friggin s**t out of me every friggin day when all I friggin wanna friggin do is just friggin LIVE my damn life in peace and friggin loneliness without getting the friggin piss stomped out of me every time I friggin turn the friggin corner…

…but I digress.

The point is I was mad at New York, and I couldn’t understand why after six years of ups and downs, after six years of trying and trying and trying and trying, after six years of standing up for her…she was letting me down again.

I thought to myself “No one is going to return my Perry Ellis wallet. No one is going to give a damn that it contained my money, cards, contacts, and brand spanking new NY id. No one.”

So I got over it.

I accepted it.

I took it all with a grain of salt.

I chalked it up to experience.

Whatever the hell you call it, I gave up.

And then it happened.

I checked the mail. I opened the letter that someone had ACTUALLY paid $1.06 at the post office to mail to me. I carefully checked the contents inside the wallet. I noticed that EVERY SINGLE THING was there. I smiled. I almost cried. I giggled like a little red headed schoolgirl on her first day at 1st grade in her first new red dress…

The good news is they used the current address on my new NY id to mail it to, the bad news is they put no return address…so I’ll never be able to write them back and thank them. I just have to thank them internally and keep on keepin on.

I love you beautiful stranger.

I love the fact that you went that extra mile when no one else would.

I love that you’re faceless, nameless, gender-less, race-less, but in all those seperate ways more human than most.

Thank you my friend.

And thank YOU New York.

– F

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August 6, 2010 · 4:27 am

“No 9/11 Mosque? Tough Crowd…”

I love NY, and I love the fact that it made me the New Yorker I am today.
I also love my fellow New Yorkers, and not just because they all happen to live in New York, arguably the most well known, talked about, and sought after city in the world. New Yorkers are so much more than that. They’re all from other places, which makes them the closest thing to being European/American. This, as you guys know, is exactly what I am…so I hold a personal, biased love for them.
Um, I mean us.
Us New Yorkers also have the ability to be able to tell you exactly what we’re thinking, any time of day, all day, every day, twice, in very few words…which usually start with the letter “F”. It is this brass, forward, confident, self-empowering style that caused me to immediately fall for this big, bad, Apple.
* Note: I’d like to express a personal apology to all my friends in Kansas, but just because I went to college there doesn’t mean I’ll ever claim being a Kansan. I love you guys, and it was a nice place to live during some of my formative years, but I’m only Italian, or New Yorker…no Kansan. I’ve got a NY license and everything now, get off my back!! *
…but I digress.
It is perhaps due to the intimate relationship I have with the City (NY gets the big “C”) that never sleeps that I’m exactly torn down the middle of this “mosque being built near the 9/11 site” issue. Well, that and the fact that I’m half American, and probably bleed red, white, and blue…Italian white though.

Half of me is proud of the fact that Mayor Bloomberg and “the gang” want the mosque to go up based simply on the fact that we’re America (hell yeah), and anyone can be American (except illegal aliens, terrorists, and a few select folks in Arizona), and everyone has the right to worship who they want to worship (unless the person you want to worship is David Koresh) here in America.
We’re fair, that’s our story, and we’re sticking to it. We have to be stand by what we said, and we have to lead by example, and be right…even when that means doing something that may seem wrong. That’s the way that we, as Americans, are going to do things around here because we have rules…AMERICAN rules, and those will never die. Born in the U.S.A. Talk to me Goose. Some folks were made to wave the flag, ooooh, that red white and blue.
The flip-side of that coin however, is me thinking “You wanna build a mosque WHERE..?” Not because the people building it are Muslim, or Arab, or believe in a different God than I do…or whatever else it is everyone who’s against them is complaining about. I just think it’s a little sketchy because it was folks from that way of life (allegedly), representing that nation (supposedly), and claiming to be followers of that religion (probably) that most of us here in America don’t follow.

Call me crazy, but folks who have all that in common with the terrorists that caused one of the most tragically memorable moments in America’s history would have to have some major balls to just want to build their place of praise…well…right there. Wasn’t there some other block in this gigantic City that they could’ve chosen..?? That’s kind of like the relatives of the person who killed your kids asking you and your spouse if they can move in across the hall from you.
This is officially the first time I’ve ever ended one of my blog entries with a question, but as I have no official position (because I’m having trouble choosing one), and I really don’t know what else to say, it seems like just this once, it may be the correct thing to do.
…what do you think?
-F

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Filed under Controversy...Ya Gotta Love It, New York City, Religion

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March 26, 2010 · 12:29 am

“Tom Cruise? Scientologist. Me? Christian. We still had a chat.”

I met Tom Cruise recently.
I mean, I meet a LOT of people everyday, and I meet a LOT of celebrities every day too…but I met Tom Cruise.

Maverick. Ethan Hunt. Les Grossman. Frank TJ Mackey. Jerry Maguire. Cole Trickle.

…TOM CRUISE.

A few things that came to mind upon meeting Tom Cruise:

He really is a short guy.

He’s really got a huge smile.
He’s a Scientologist.
Maybe if I stand too close to him, I’LL turn into a Scientologist too.
Wow…he really IS a short guy.

But you know what? I know a LOT of Scentologists. And I know a LOT of short guys. And hell, I’VE got a huge smile too.

All I saw was a guy who shook my hand when he met me.

He grinned that ‘Cocktail’ grin. He stood there in a pool of $20 mil-a-movie confidence and said:
“Fidel, huh? Hi, I’m Tom.”

I know your name Maverick.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Nice meeting you too.

(Pointing at my co-worker and I) “Are you guys leaving..?”

Actually yeah, we’re just getting off work, so I’m outta here..! I figured if you and Katie were leaving, the party’s GOTTA be over, no..?

“Ha! Guess so! Well it was nice meeting you again Fidel, thanks again for all your help tonight. You guys were fantastic, and everything was great. Goodnight.”

I know a liar (I’ve lied), and I know an actor (I’ve acted)…and this guy wasn’t doing either. There were no cameras, no tape recorders, no Boy Scout with a No 2 pencil and a pad trying to earn his Journalism merit badge. He didn’t dance on any furniture. He didn’t save any babies. He didn’t preach Scientology (if he did, I would have Last Samurai’d him).

He simply took his wife Katie by her waist, he said “Ok” to his security of 4 armed men (who I’m sure are, were, or are gonna be officers of the law) and he made his way…well…to wherever he was making his way to.

Goodnight Maverick.

– F

PS. Talk to me Goose.

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March 24, 2010 · 7:04 am

“A New Yorker’s Guide To Being A New Yorker. (Part 1)”

I consider myself a New Yorker.


I wasn’t born in New York, then again, most New Yorkers weren’t.

My family didn’t move to New York when I was 5 either. I’ve lived all over the world, in more cities than I can count on both hands…seriously. I haven’t even been here most of my life.

But I have lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, and I’ve always considered it to be the first city that I’VE actually chosen to live in on my own.

I remember seeing New York City for the first time in 1992…

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The Rules To Being A New Yorker:

(Photo by: Fidel Amos)

Rule #1: “Get The Frak Out Of My Way”

Yes, it’s a tall building. I know, I know, it’s REALLY FRAKKIN TALL. And there has to be at least, 1000 of them! They’re EVERYWHERE, right..?? Totally! Wait…what’s that..? They don’t have buildings this tall where you’re from..? REALLY..?? That’s incredible…well, why don’t you just stand in the middle of the sidewalk and take a look at them..? No, no, noooo…go ahead…take a picture too. I mean, your friends back home aren’t gonna BELIEVE this! Really? What’s that..? You HAVE no friends back home..? Ouch, well why not…

GET THE FRAK OUT OF MY WAY..!!!!

I don’t care what you’re doing..! I DON’T CAAAAAAAAAAARE..!!!!

Just MOOOOOOOOVE out of my frakkkkkkking way!!!

Move, move, moooooooooove!!!

Take your picture from ACROSS THE STREET..! Or IN THE STREET..!

Just mooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooove..!!!!!

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…that concludes today’s lesson.

…later on I’ll give you another one.

– F

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