Thanks for visiting the blog. It acts as a photo diary of sorts where I'll share some of my favorite images with the insights and stories behind them.
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72 Hours in Lisbon
In December, I took a side trip to Lisbon for three days over the Christmas holiday. It's a short, easy flight from London, and the weather is still pretty nice. It's impossible to explore the city properly in three days, of course, and if I had more time there, I would have loved to get out to other neighborhoods like Sintra, as well as spend more time in Lisbon itself.
I stayed in Alfama which is on the eastern edge of the city, and that gave me ample opportunities to explore some great streets and sites. Highlights included Castelo de S. Jorge, Se de Lisboa, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Belem Tower, Praça do Comércio and Carmo convent.
Here's a selection of photos from my trip to the Portuguese capital.
Philadelphia's Chris Pontius leads the Union against New York Red Bulls
Chris Pontius scored his 12th goal of the season and added an assist on Fabian Herbers' 15th-minute strike, but his Philadelphia Union fell to the New York Red Bulls, 3-2, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on Saturday evening.
The win catapulted the Red Bulls to the top of the Eastern Conference and left the Union in sixth place but still in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Union wrap their season with consecutive home games -- against Orlando City on Oct. 16 and then in a rematch with the Red Bulls in the regular-season finale on Oct. 23.
I wasn't originally scheduled to photograph this game, but I made a last-minute trip to watch Chris after missing him when he played NYCFC in June and when he came to New York as a member of DC United in 2015.
Chris spent seven seasons with DC United from 2009-15, including the 2011 season when he played alongside friend and current Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty, who scored the winning goal on Saturday.
In the second half, I sat behind the Red Bulls' goal, below the section of the stadium where Chris family and friends were sitting and below where the traveling Sons of Ben supporters' group were cheering. I figured that if he scored, he would run toward that corner of the pitch to celebrate.
After the match, he applauded the Union fans and climbed into the crowd where his girlfriend was. As a result, he was the last player back into the dressing room, but he still stopped to sign every single autograph and take selfies with the fans. It was very cool to see and I hope to see Chris in the playoffs.
MLS: New York Red Bulls destroy NYCFC 7-0
It was billed as a highlight of Rivalry Week, but the New York Red Bulls proved #NYisRED with a dominant 7-0 thrashing of host NYCFC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
The match was one-sided from the very beginning, with Dax McCarty heading home from Sacha Kljestan's third-minute corner. A Bradley Wright-Phillips brace at the end of the first half sent the visitors into the interval with a 3-0 advantage, but the onslaught did;t stop there.
McCarty stooped low to head home another Kljestan set piece in the 51st minute before substitutes Alex Muyl (56), Gonzalo Veron (83) and Gideon Baah (89) wrapped up the victory.
The Red Bulls jumped into third place in the standings with the triumph, one point behind NYCFC and two points behind league-leading Philadelphia Union who have played two fewer games.
Here are some photos from the game.
New York Red Bulls vs. Houston Dynamo
The New York Red Bulls rallied from behind to beat the visiting Houston Dynamo, 4-3, at Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening.
Sacha Kljestan opened the scoring for the hosts after 22 minutes, but Houston hit back behind a pair of Will Bruin goals shortly before half time. Red Bulls midfielder Mike Grella drew New York level shortly after the hour mark before Alex re-established the Dynamo lead two minutes later.
Felipe tied things at 3-3 with a curling shot from the edge of the penalty area on 77 minutes, and he sent the home fans into a frenzy when his 83rd-minute free kick crept into the top-right corner past the outstretched dive of Joe Willis.
New York City FC vs. Orlando
New York City FC fell to Orlando, 1-0, in a regular-season game at Yankee Stadium on Friday evening.
Cyle Larin's seventh-minute header proved this difference as Orlando won its first game of the season. The hosts dominated possession throughout, but failed to covert their chances as they were shut out for the first time this year.
Here are a couple photos from the game.