NY Through the Lens - New York City Photography

The New York City skyline at sunset in silhouette under dramatic storm clouds.

Clouds, which once covered the sky like a thick, dark purple blanket open slowly to reveal the blue hues that breathe life into the day.

And as the sun’s flame dips closer to the horizon, its scintillating luster reaches up to the clouds.

For, you see, the sun only disappears temporarily to make way for the moon and stars that blush white-hot in thoughts of its splendor.

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Manhattanhenge overlooking 42nd Street and Tudor City Overpass. New York City.

This was taken during last year’s Manhattanhenge sunset.The experience was rather intense. Even though I got to the overpass an hour and a half before sunset, I was told that many photographers had set up their equipment as early as 3 pm. When the sun started its very dramatic descent all that could be heard was the sound of cameras clicking away. It’s definitely a phenomenon I don’t plan to ever skip now that I have experienced it.

While the sun’s dramatic dip only lasts for a few minutes, it’s enough to take one’s breath away for the entire duration. The city is bathed in the light from the sun and the most beautiful red glow is cast through the streets.

Manhattanhenge is a semiannual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The term is derived from Stonehenge, at which the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices. It was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist who is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History.

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The New York City skyline at sunset under clouds in silhouette.

I used to refer to sunsets as sun-fire.

Those first sunsets burned through my retinas into the innermost recesses of my mind.

Clouds poured over the smoldering sparks of orange like thick plumes of smoke and before the sun extinguished itself, it burned the brightest of any flame in existence.

When the sun sets over New York City, it’s as if a thousand flames dance across the sky, leaving embers scattered across the skyline in the wake of it’s burning: like a fevered dream scattering its remnants across the mind before the deepest of slumbers.

I used to refer to sunsets as sun-fire.

I still do.

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Buy “Sun Fire - The New York City Sunline in Silhouette at Sunset” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Skyscrapers. Financial District, New York City.

When I was very young, I remember learning about vast mountain ranges that existed in what seemed like universes beyond New York City. I would regale myself with images of these towering feats of nature trying to imagine what it was like to come in contact with such powerful natural wonders. I used to think to myself “There is nothing like this here in the city, all we have are buildings.”

It wasn’t until my teens when I lived in New Mexico for a little over a year and more specifically when I got to experience the majesty of Taos that I was able to understand how infinitely small everything seems in comparison to the vastness of the world.

And yet, while I was in school there in Albuquerque, other students would ask me daily to tell them what it was like to live amongst buildings that soared to the sky.

It never occurred to me before that time that the man-made feats of architecture that I viewed on a regular basis were for these students what the images of mountain ranges were to me before I had the experience of seeing mountains with my own eyes.

When I moved back to New York City, I carried that new knowledge with me like a precious gift, tucking it away for safe-keeping.

And it wasn’t until I discovered photography, that I took that knowledge out from where I tucked it away for many years and started to view my own city with new eyes.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t recall the time when I realized that New York City is its own man-made land of enchantment.

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The New York City skyline and the Empire State Building on a beautiful, hazy day.

On a hazy day, New York City stretches on indefinitely: infinity sprawling out like a somnolent feline. Clouds cast a bone-white hue on the tops of skyscrapers that jut out of the landscape: their axis-mundi-aspirations propelling them skyward. The day languidly yawns, its heavy eyelids blurring the horizon.

Despite growing up in New York City, I hadn’t been to the tops of any of the iconic skyscrapers with observation decks since I was very, very little. The Top of the Rock is an observation deck on the top of Rockefeller Center. It closed in 1986 for renovations and reopened in 2005. When I was younger, I went on a few school trips to Rockefeller Center to go on the NBC Studios tour which was a lot of fun but since it was the late 80s and early 90s, the top was closed to visitors. In recent years, I decided to finally visit the Top of the Rock.

The Top of the Rock is the top of what is also known as the GE Building. It’s an Art Deco skyscraper that is in the center of Rockefeller Center. The GE Building used to be known as the RCA Building until the mid 1980s when GE incorporated RCA and NBC. The building is 850 feet tall (70 stories) and since the address is 30 Rockefeller Center, it is usually referred to as “30 Rock”.

What I find really incredible about the observation decks at Top of the Rock aside from the views is that there is so much room. There are three observation decks in total and all three are designed to resemble the upper decks of a 1930s luxury ocean liner complete with deck chairs. Two of the decks on the the 67th and 69th floors include outdoor terraces which are enclosed in transparent, safety glass. The top deck which is on the 70th floor features a completely open air, unobstructed 360-degree view of New York City and beyond.

The day I went, there were barely any people up on the top deck with me since the weather wasn’t ideal. However, I think it’s often less crowded than the Empire State Building’s observation deck even in beautiful weather. At 850 feet above street level, the view is jaw-dropping and includes complete views of Central Park and the Empire State Building which you can’t really complain about.

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Posted as a request since several people messaged me to ask what my favorite photo of the New York City skyline with the Empire State Building is that I have taken. This would be one of them :).

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lensblr-network:

Photography found me a few years ago and I found, in turn, that photography and writing are two of my biggest passions in this world. Nothing makes me happier than the process of sharing that beauty and diversity with the rest of the world.

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The Brooklyn Bridge and the skyscrapers of the lower New York City skyline.

The outline of the city’s memory rests in dreams so delicate they are paper thin and creased by time.

As hope escapes from excited utterances of urban dreamers, it etches itself into every structure: a permanent impression emblazoned on the cityscape secured in the vault of eternity.

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Love Me. Hudson River Park Pier view of the New York City skline. West Village.

Under cover of darkness, the city lights flicker: stars and skyscraper constellations in a vast urban universe.

And when the night squints, small evocations come into focus: plaintive pleas and heart fluttering statements released into the city’s collective mind.

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The Heart of the Brooklyn Bridge - the New York City skyline.

If the Brooklyn Bridge could pick the perfect Valentine, it would be New York City. It’s hard to argue that the Brooklyn Bridge’s heart isn’t completely devoted to New York City.

Its steel arteries all seem to lead away from its center towards the magnificent skyline that dominates lower Manhattan while its metal veins travel from Brooklyn to its very core.

I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day personally but I wish each and every one of you a fabulous Valentine’s Day if you celebrate it. Here is to hoping that everyone finds a special someone at some point who is the New York City to their Brooklyn Bridge.

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The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and the New York City skyline.

I had the fortune and pleasure of getting to visit the Google NYC headquarters this past weekend. While the offices are a lot of fun to visit, photos are obviously prohibited for the most part in the majority of the interior parts of the building so here is a shot from the outside terrace of their cafeteria. What a view, right? Lucky Googlers!

I should be back to my normal posting schedule soon. This past weekend was a whirlwind of fun and laughter due to over 70 people from Google Plus descending on NYC (from all over the world!) for a photowalk, concert and general mayhem. You can see some photos I am in (taken by others) from the weekend here if you are interested.

Can’t wait to go through the rest of my photos and get them online! Enjoy this in the meantime :).

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Sunset over a silhouetted New York City skyline.

Before the night trails across the sky leaving darkness and whispers in its wake, the sun melts over the city’s towering silhouettes pouring its essence into the water like liquid gold.

The city lights illuminate the urban landscape like stars while each and every last ember of daylight fades: extinguished sparks exhaled in the long sighs of evening wanderers.

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Buy “Two Suns - The New York City Skyline at Sunset” Posters and Prints here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

New York by Gehry and the New York City skyline under storm clouds.

In very, very exciting news my photography was discussed on a live on-the-air show called “Great Google + Photographer Discoveries” on Monday night. To my surprise (and many other people’s surprise too), Sergey Brin stopped by during the recording (yes, this Sergey Brin). I think my jaw literally dropped when he ‘popped in’. I was super honored to be one of the photographers discussed but I can’t even describe how it felt to hear/see my photography discussed while Sergey Brin watched. It’s one of those moments I know I will cherish forever.

You can view the broadcast here. I highly recommend it if you are looking for some insanely awesome visual inspiration because the other photographers highlighted are truly phenomenal and gorgeous examples of their work are also displayed and discussed (all photographers are also linked in the link below in case you want to browse their work:

And if that wasn’t enough excitement to last for ages, I sat in as a panelist last night for a live on-the-air discussion with the one and only Thomas Hawk and the inimitable Lotus Carroll for their weekly video broadcast called Photo Talk Plus. If you have ever wanted to hear me talk or see me try to not completely die of stage-fright on another great show highlighting photography (the theme last night was New York!), feel free to watch here:

Photo Talk Plus Episode 8

What a week, right? I have no clue how anything could top it :).

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The New York City skyline and the Manhattan Bridge illuminated by the sun. Viewed from the Brooklyn Bridge.

I have stated many times in conversation and online that photography found me a few years ago and I found, in turn, that photography and writing are two of my biggest passions in this world. This image inhabits a very special place in my heart and it’s why I chose it to accompany a post a few months back which was all about how and when I started taking photos.

It was taken near the tail-end of a storm back in May of 2011. It had rained only an hour before I made my way across the Brooklyn Bridge and as the sun started to set over New York City, the storm clouds parted just enough to allow the most magnificent amount of sunlight wash over the Manhattan Bridge. As the rest of the New York City skyline faded into the languid haze in behind the gorgeously lit bridge, I knew right then and there that photography was something that made me feel more alive and at one with myself than anything else in the world.

I am submitting this photo to the Best of 2011 - G+ Photography Book project which is a photography book created by the Google Plus community for charity. I can’t think of a more perfect image to submit.

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Buy “The Manhattan Bridge and the New York City Skyline at Sunset” Posters and Prints here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

The New York City skyline in silhouette at sunset.

I used to refer to sunsets as sunfire.

Those first sunsets burned through my retinas into the innermost recesses of my mind.

Clouds poured over the smoldering sparks of orange like thick plumes of smoke and before the sun extinguished itself, it burned the brightest of any flame in existence.

When the sun sets over New York City, it’s as if a thousand flames dance across the sky, leaving embers scattered across the skyline in the wake of it’s burning: like a fevered dream scattering its remnants across the mind before the deepest of slumbers.

I used to refer to sunsets as sunfire.

I still do.

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View this photo larger and on black on my Google Plus page

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Buy “Sun Fire - The New York City Sunline in Silhouette at Sunset” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.