Late yesterday afternoon (07/29/2009), the weather service put out a severe storm alert for the Woodhaven area.  High winds and heavy rain was expected.  While most normal people would stay home, stay inside, stay dry -- we grabbed our cameras to see what we could find.  When we stepped outside, the skies did have that funny look to it.   Below left you can see the clouds rolling in, covering the sun.  And below right, you can see the wind picking up on Woodhaven Boulevard. 

We camped out on the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue, right outside the Dunkin' Donuts.  The plan was to wait for the storm, with coffee and donuts just seconds away in case of emergency.  The wind continued to pick up and, as you can see below at left, the dark clouds began to cover Woodhaven. 

And then the rain began to fall.  Lightly at first, and then a little harder.  Headlights came on.  Windshield wipers started going back and forth.  Folks getting off the "J" Train -- those who had been thinking ahead -- opened their umbrellas as they hit the street.    

The rain came down pretty steady for a few hours.  We took a break for dinner, then we came back a little later to take some night pictures.  When you put our camera on the "night" setting, things in motion tend to blur.  So in order to get the clearest picture possible, we placed it on a tripod.  I really love the way pictures taken at night in the rain come out -- with all of the lights and puddles, you get lots of bursts of color exploding out of the darkness. 

The streets and sidewalk look so clean after a good rain, don't they?  And with all of the reflections from the various lights, it looks quite festive.   

Here's a cool shot of the boulevard taken from the Woodhaven Boulevard Station.  Again, because of the settings on the camera, the cars sometimes look like streaks of light. 

One thing we noticed last night was how badly the sewers were getting backed up last night.  We saw some big puddles -- and we also saw some unfortunate pedestrians trying to leap over them.  I say "unfortunate" because they usually didn't clear the puddles and ended up with wet ankles.

We moved down Jamaica Avenue a bit.  There were folks inside Jason's Toy Store last night, working.  They had emptied that store out -- but now there are goods on the wall.  Below right, 90th and Jamaica.

Here's a cool shot -- the J train streaking by.  At the corner of 90th and Jamaica.

Moving along, we ended up near the corner of 75th and Jamaica.  There's a great looking old liquor store down that way, but we've never been able to get a picture of it while it's open.  We don't know the name of it -- back in the 1950's it operated under the name "Dexter Wines."   

Along the way from the liquor store is a grocery and the famous Lane Pizza.  And across the street, the Panda King and the Tattoo parlor kept the street lit up.     

Still on 75th, waiting to cross the street when an ambulance sped by.  It's funny, this stretch of the avenue might seem dark as you're driving by, but when you get out and walk the streets at night, you become aware of all the light around you.    

And one last puddle, to end this wet project, still down at the corner of 75th and Jamaica.  Actually, a correction:  that's not a puddle, that's a small river.   

We had a good time, experimenting with some night shots.  I'm sure we'll be out a few more times while the weather is warm.  We have a few places we'd like to photograph at night.  If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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