Gary Burke.'s photostream  

During the Chinese New Year celebration, many people like to touch or pet the Lion Dancers thinking that it will bring them good luck for the coming year. Another thing people do for luck is to put red envelopes of money into the mouth of the lions, like this child is doing here. These red envelopes are known as Lai See.

The demise of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather was one of the most violent movie scenes of its time. Death by a hail of gunfire from a Tommy Gun, Sonny's death was painful to watch not just because of the brutality of the death, but because Sonny was everybody's favorite Corleone. Coppola was a fan of Bonnie and Clyde, so he staged Sonny's death in The Godfather to be reminiscent of the final death scene.
This is the tollbooth where Sonny was supposed to have been killed, but the scene was actually shot a few miles away on an abandoned airfield where a fake tollbooth was set up. Now, that area is a parking lot for the local community college.
I have been wanting to get to this area and do some shooting for a while, and I'm glad I finally did it. I was a bit nervous though, since this is actually a highway I was standing on so I didn't stay here very long. I would like to come back sometime when the weather is a bit nicer though.
This is a 3 shot HDR image, done with Photomatix and then run through Photoshop.

Here's a closer, more detailed, look at one of the Lion Dancers that come out during the Chinese New Year celebration. This is actually a shot from last years festival, when the weather was a lot nicer and the crowds were not so intense. Hardly any Lion Dancers were out this year because of the rain. I don't blame them for staying inside. I don't think water would be good for these beautiful costumes!

This was the scene at Mott Street in New York City's Chinatown during the Chinese New Year celebration. I was shocked to see so many people come out to join in the festivities! I try to get there every year, but I have never seen it this crowded before. I felt like I was in Times Square during New Year's Eve!

Here's pair of Lion Dancers strutting down Mott Street in New York City's Chinatown during the Chinese New Year celebration. This is my second time for posting a video. Since my first one worked, it's encouraged me to try some more. I'm still not really used to shooting videos on the Canon T1i yet, but I'm having fun practicing.