NY Through the Lens - New York City Photography

New York City. Night skyline.

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Night slides across the sky

like a trumpet’s note falling over a syncopated rhythm

and the stars swoon and sway

mesmerized by the city lights

that pulsate to their own time signature.

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I have been traipsing all over the city for the last few months trying to capture a large majority of New York City’s skyline views. I think everyone has a particular skyline view they immediately think of when they think of the city. And yet, it’s still incredible to me after all this time that I come across different skyline angles that I hadn’t previously come across or had the time to explore before from certain vantage points.

New York City has several prominent skyline views that are popular. One is in lower Manhattan and usually includes the skyscrapers of the Financial District along with the one or more of the bridges that serve the lower part of Manhattan. The other series of skyline views can be found from the top of a few popular skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan. Another series of skyline views involves the midtown Manhattan skyline as seen from different vantage points across (or in some cases directly from) the East River. This particular view is taken from one of the latter vantage points. It’s a 30 second long exposure taken with the Sony A99 on a gorgeously clear and cold night in the beginning of March from Roosevelt Island.

Prominent skyscrapers in this view are the Chrysler Building and the United Nations building (all the way to the left). The lights of other famous midtown skyscrapers can also be seen even if those skyscrapers (looking at you Empire State Building) are hidden in this view. The lights directly in front of the skyscrapers that line the East River belong to the FDR Drive, a major traffic route that lines New York City’s east side.

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New York City skyscrapers and streets from above. Midtown.

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When you find yourself above New York City (or perhaps any city), what really stands out are all of the layers of activity. It’s hard to completely grasp the layers when you are among them everyday. But when you change your perspective, it really shifts your understanding of the complexities of urban life.

This is a view of the entrance to the Queensboro Bridge (also known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, 59th Street Bridge, and Queens Bridge) and the skyscrapers of the New York City skyline in midtown Manhattan close to 59th Street on the east side. It was taken with the Sony A99 from the vantage point of the Roosevelt Island Tram, a tram that crosses over the East River from midtown Manhattan to Roosevelt Island a around 100 times a day.

Aside from the cross-section of a part of the midtown Manhattan skyline, you can also make out the pedestrian walkway of the bridge which runs alongside the busy traffic-laden vehicular section of the bridge. Above the traffic and pedestrians is the beginnings of the grand architecture that makes up the bridge itself and midtown streets and traffic snake their way through the city below the bridge.

The variety of architecture in this area of midtown is also striking when viewed from above. The lower-slung buildings sit alongside newer skyscrapers of varying heights and structure. It would be interesting to take this section and label each building according to its completion date to note the ever-evolving skyline throughout the years in relation to the bridge.

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New York City - Roosevelt Island Tram view. Midtown.

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I have been afraid of heights since I can remember. Even stepping on a tall foot stool would send me into a frenzied panic. It’s partially a control issue and partially an irrational fear of the eternal “what if” quandary related to my own mortality. And yet, I have discovered as I get older that there is something supremely thrilling about being high up above things especially being high up above New York City. It’s the same scattered sense of adrenaline-fueled excitement I get when I consider the vastness of the ocean. And in some ways, I think both vantage points offer the same sense of displaced wonder.

A month or so ago, I watched an absolutely incredible video called Overview which examined something called the Overview Effect. The Overview Effect is “a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface.” I can’t recommend the video highly enough. It’s a 15 minute short film that explores different astronaut’s life-altering experiences viewing the earth from above for the first time. The footage of earth from above in the film is overwhelming. It’s an emotional journey of a film that definitely has lodged its way into my consciousness. Here it is:

Overview

A few years back, when I went to the top of a skyscraper I had never been to the top of before, I had such an incredibly visceral reaction when I experienced seeing the city from above. It was rough for me to even take the elevator up 70 floors to the observation deck. I clenched my sweaty fists and closed my eyes the whole time deep breathing probably much to the amusement (or dread) of the fellow elevator passengers. Once I stepped out and onto the upper deck, I was hooked. It was as if I was seeing the city for the first time. Once you take yourself out and away from the streets that surround you, it’s as if the city opens up its arms to you. It’s fascinating to consider all of the activity and stories that are contained in any one part of such a view.

In the short film I linked above, one of the astronauts describes the Overview Effect saying that common features include a feeling of awe for the planet, and a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life among other perspective-shifting feelings. And I really think that anytime we take ourselves high above or deep below the reality we experience every day, it produces different (subtler when it comes to standing on the top of a skyscraper and perhaps more overwhelming in regards to being deep in the ocean) versions of the Overview Effect.

Since experiencing that amazing feeling when I pushed past my fear of heights to take myself high above my own every-day reality, I have actively pushed myself to seek out as many high vantage points as I can. This particular image (taken with the Sony A99) was taken high above the 59th Street Bridge (also known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge) entrance overlooking the buildings and skyscrapers that make up the New York City skyline in midtown Manhattan.

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New York City skyscrapers and rooftops from above. Midtown.

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This New York City skyline view was taken from the top of the Empire State Building on an absolutely gorgeous summer morning with the Sony A77. The light from the sun in the summertime is un-matched in some respects. It seems to take on a distinct golden quality as it shines through the heavy summer air that hangs languidly over the city’s rooftops.

This particular view is of the tops of the skyscrapers and buildings of midtown Manhattan facing east.

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New York City sunset over the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan.

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I never really get tired of this view.

I know I have expressed that sentiment many times but it’s absolutely true. There’s something incredibly breathtaking that occurs when you are above the rooftops of the city. It’s as if the city shrinks below a vast sky in a huge universe and everything that once seemed impossible seems effortless and within the realm of possibility.

It’s so easy to forget that sort of thing when you live in a large city like New York City. When you are in the thick of it all, it can feel like the you are alone in a never-ending maze of cavernous streets as everyone else’s dreams and hopes fly past you at the speed of light. But when you take yourself out from the middle of everything and change your perspective, it’s as if the city holds its arms out to you beckoning you to come back and put your own dreams out there so they can spread their wings and fly up to the sky towards the horizon leaving a trail of hope in their path.

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This was taken from the top of Rockefeller Center (also known as Top of the Rock) with the Sony A99 and it’s probably one of the most popular views of the New York City skyline since it includes the Empire State Building and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan. The view is looking south towards One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower and 1 WTC) and the skyscrapers of the Financial District.

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New York City Skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. Night lights bokeh.

If you stop to squint long enough

all the dreams whispered on the wind during the day

flicker like fireflies when the evening

stretches out across the sky

and the rain washes the city’s despair away

so it can dream itself into another sunrise.

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This was taken on earlier this evening with the Sony A99 overlooking the New York City skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn. I was taking long exposures earlier this evening and as the sky filled with enormous clouds shortly after sunset as the city’s lights sprinkled themselves like glitter all over the evening cityscape and it was as if everything else melted away.

These are the moments I want to bottle up and save for later. And that’s why I absolutely love photography.

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New York City Skyline and the Chrysler Building as seen from Gantry Plaza State Park. Queens.

When clouds pull themselves over the city after sunset, the city reaches up to greet the night with stars in its eyes and a racing pulse.

And when the night reaches down to hold the city in the palm of its hands, the city’s lights spill out onto a dark sky peppering it with stars.

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There is a heady essence of myth and legend that permeates the in-between times of the day. It seems to seep out especially in the evening just after the sun has reached the horizon when the air is thick with legend. One of my favorite activities is waiting for night to fall while experiencing the deep inhale and exhale of the city. Light spills out from the buildings and pours itself onto the surface of the water and the sky while the blue of the day’s sky melts into the night’s palm.

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This was taken on a bitterly cold and windy evening at Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens with the Sony A99. The wind was whipping across the water with some ferocity and the dock was moving along with the wind gusts making even a 4 second exposure (as this is) quite a challenge. But the light and the storm clouds were magical that night and it was well worth the endless crossing of fingers hoping that the wind didn’t dance too much with the camera.

Some of the most beautiful views of the skyline are from across the East River and Queens has an impressive view of the skyline in Long Island City. When I was growing up in Queens, Long Island City was an almost entirely industrial area. It has become far more residential in recent decades and the areas that boast these views are now in high demand.

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New York City skyline and the Chrysler Building on a hazy day. Midtown.

Late summer light

hangs over the city:

humid-laden heartache

tinged with heavy hope

and hazy promises.

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Where the winter brings a crystal sharp clarity to New York City, the summer seems to bring with it a gorgeous, bittersweet gauze-like haze.

Summers in New York City cling to the ribs and heart like ethereal remnants of distant thoughts peeking their heads out of the sea of heat and humidity.

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Taken with the Sony A77.

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New York City skyline and Chrysler Building - view from Roosevelt Island

My recent foray into experimenting with long exposures has been blossoming into a zen journey. I am a solitary shooter by preference. While I thrive on being around people, when I am shooting it’s an almost spiritual experience that I enjoy only when I am alone. The world tends to melt away and my thoughts evaporate into whatever it is I am shooting. I am not sure if it is because my mind runs at around 1000 miles per hour normally and resembles a rushing waterfall of activity that I seek out these types of experiences where I can calm the mental flow into a gentle stream of thoughts but I am finding long exposures to be an absolutely blissful experience.

This is the result of a 20 second exposure taken late last week from Roosevelt Island with the Sony A99. I have been shooting skylines for the past month for a secret project that I can’t talk about until later this month and it’s been interesting viewing the skyline from different vantage points throughout the boroughs. Roosevelt Island is a tiny island that sits in the East River overlooking the Upper East Side and midtown Manhattan. The Chrysler Building is a beacon of white, sparkling lights in a sea of skyscrapers lit by the yellow glow of the lights on the FDR Drive. It’s a rather calm place to visit at this time of year since it’s not quite warm enough for people to take full advantage of the promenade that runs parallel to this amazing view.

The night tends to fall quietly over the lights of Manhattan when viewing the skyline from this vantage point. The only sounds that are prominent are the sound of waves lapping up against the sides of the promenade as the rare boat speeds by. I find it endlessly fascinating how a long exposure can calm even those sounds down visually - smoothing out the water’s surface until the lights seem to melt into the water like liquid stars in a watery universe.

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The New York City skyline in the Financial District as seen from midtown Manhattan

I love the variety of skyscrapers that make up the New York City skyline in lower Manhattan. They jut up like stalagmites from the city floor. This skyline view is usually photographed from the other side usually across the East River but this is a view of the skyline as seen from midtown Manhattan. Prominent works of architecture include New York by Gehry and the Municipal Building.

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I have been experimenting quite a bit with post-processing. Someone commented on another photo of mine that I posted recently (in a negative fashion) that it didn’t seem like my other work. I replied: “That’s the beauty of art and vision - both have the freedom to change and evolve. Without that freedom, things would remain stagnant.” I can see how my style has changed over the last 3 months or so and I am grateful to have the freedom to experiment. It’s liberating to approach every photo as a blank canvas.

This particular photo was taken with the Sony a77 which I had the pleasure of using for several months late last year. I have been working on a few different stylistic photography projects over the last month which has definitely opened up creative doors in my mind.

Life may be difficult at times but it’s art that makes everything seem worthwhile.

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New York City Skyline and the roof tops of Brooklyn Heights at sunset overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge.

Summer evenings in New York City weave their own spell when summer night skies slide onto the city through the sticky-sweet haze.

The skyscrapers cling to the sunlight wrapped up in the glow and hazy anticipation of just one more kiss of light.

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This was taken at the peak of last summer from a roof top in Brooklyn overlooking the skyline of Brooklyn Heights, the Brooklyn Bridge and a very hazy lower Manhattan skyline. I was shooting with a camera I wasn’t at all used to shooting with and the temperature was hovering near 80 degrees at night with nearly 100% humidity. The air was thick as molasses and the heat was unrelenting but it was an absolutely gorgeous summer sunset.

It’s usually this point of the winter when I start pining for summer evenings like this forgetting that on summer evenings like this, I am usually pining for winter :).

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The New York City skyline with Financial District skyscrapers in lower Manhattan.

In the winter, there is a clarity and edge that is carried on the frigid fingers of icy air and crystallized exhales.

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I have been really getting into long exposures. There is something incredibly zen about the experience of setting up, and taking long exposures. The waiting is interesting. It forces a pause in the process. You start to be hyper-aware of the movement of clouds and light transitions. In the winter especially, it’s a commitment. The minute or so of waiting seems to encompass an eternity of thought(s).

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This is a 30 second exposure of the lower Manhattan skyline featuring the skyscrapers of the Financial District and Pier 17 taken with the Sony a99. The Freedom Tower (also known as 1 WTC or One World Trade Center), New York by Gehry, the Woolworth Building and the spire of the Municipal Building can all be seen here.

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The New York City skyline in midtown Manhattan at sunset.

Late summer and early autumn sunsets in New York City are intensely beautiful. The city seems to cling to every bit of sunlight through a haze that sleepily hangs low over the urban waterfront. This was taken near the end of a four hour long ferry ride back and forth around the East River in the late summer. There were barely any people on the ferry that day and I spent entire rides just taking note of the sun’s descent in the sky.

When this moment occurred, it was so brief and fleeting and yet so dramatic in its intensity as the sun dipped towards the midtown skyline grazing the skyscrapers that I barely even knew if I captured it properly since the waves were kicking up in the river and the boat was swaying up and down over the waves. By then, I had gotten my ‘sea legs’ and knew the exact way to stand and counter the movement with my camera in my hands.

And the sun-kissed skyline drifted away from view and descended into the twilight of evening.

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Taken with the Sony A77.

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New York City. Skyline cityscape at sunset.

There is something really extraordinary about the shift between day and night in New York City. It’s gradual and at the same time abrupt in its magnitude. The lights on the skyscrapers flicker on as the night sky pulls itself over the city while the sun is still dancing with the horizon. I love this time more than I love the moments when the sun disappears for the night.

It’s this sort of in-between time that seems to suit a city full of people who feed off the frenetic energy and constant shifts that occur on a momentary basis. New York City rarely dwells in absolutes. Its landscape and structures only seem to remain still.

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This is a 20 second long exposure taken with the Sony a99 from the highest desk on the Top of the Rock (also known as 30 Rock and the top of Rockefeller Center). The skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan sit in the foreground leading up to the Empire State Building and further in the distance sits the Freedom Tower and lower Manhattan.

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The New York City skyline and the Empire State Building. View from Top of the Rock. Midtown.

When the night pulls its cobalt blanket over the city
the lights flicker like stars
in a magnificent universe.
And the world pauses
for a minute or two
enthralled in a reciprocal gaze
of epic proportion.

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The hour right after the sun dips below the horizon is one of the most enchanting hours of the day. It’s not quite day and not quite night but it’s a blended mixture of the two. There is no better place to witness this transformation in New York City than 70 stories up in the air on the observation deck of Rockefeller Center (known colloquially as Top of the Rock). After feeling the elation that comes with watching the sun set over the city, all of the city’s lights come into view twinkling little by little until they all seem to build up to the most intense crescendo of illuminated splendor.

This view is looking south towards lower Manhattan past the Empire State Building. I took this photo last night bundled up in layers of winter gear since the temperatures have been rather arctic here in New York City as of late. I wanted to take the Sony a99 up to capture this time of day specifically. This is the result of a 30 second exposure completed by placing my camera on one of the ledges (while tethered to a very, very still me with gloved hands in pockets barely breathing for fear of moving the camera/camera strap). The Top of the Rock and Empire State Building are rather strict about their no tripod policy. Sometimes you can catch a kind security guard who doesn’t mind a gorilla pod but for the most part, you have to get creative if you want to take super long exposures. In this case, since it was so ridiculously cold, there weren’t many people on the deck and I staked out my ledge during the pre-sunset time period (the sunset was stunning!) taking photos while waiting for this particular moment.

There is a special clarity that comes with this time of year. While this spot is a popular vantage point in the summer, there is also a lot less visibility due to the thick summer haze that hangs over the city in the warmer months. In the dead of winter though, it’s crystal clear if you catch a clear day (another rarity!).

Locations of interest in this shot include: The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower or 1 WTC, the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan Bridge, the New York Life building (one of the buildings with a gold top), Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower.

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