NY Through the Lens - New York City Photography

Autumn light. Central Park, New York City

On this day last year, someone who I was close with in my early 20s died and I am still trying to make sense of such a tragic loss. I don’t think I ever will. I made a a lengthy post about Jen and my memories of her (with videos of her amazing performances) here last year:

Jeniviva

A few days later, I wrote this poem and posted it with this photo I am posting right now. It was raw and it’s the only thing I can think of posting today that sums up what I am (still) feeling:

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Buy “Adagio - Light Through Autumn Trees - Central Park” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Sun through weeping cherry blossom trees. Brooklyn, New York City.

Through the sky’s shadowed embrace, the sun pulls back the curtain of night.

And the earth basking in night’s afterglow stirs slowly under the sun’s radiance as each tree awakens to the promise a new day.

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Buy “A New Day - Sun Through Cherry Blossoms - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Panorama of the New York City skyline in silhouette at sunset.

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Night pulls its blanket of darkness across the sky as the sun pours the last of its gold over the city.

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View a large version of this photo over at my Flickr:

New York City Skyline Silhouette Panorama

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A client requested an 8 foot wide version of this panorama this past weekend. While my main online New York City photography store has this image (along with some of my other panoramas), the lab I use there which is quite wonderful doesn’t print up to those dimensions.

Thankfully, another place that I sell my photography online was able to accommodate such a request. Here it is: New York City Skyline Panorama. I am very happy that the requested large version will be on its way to that awesome person soon!

If anyone has requests like this, I always do my best to try to accommodate. To contact me about a request or to ask a question, feel free to email me at my business email.

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Buy “New York City Skyline at Sunset Panorama ” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Summer sun through ivy covered trees. Conservatory Garden. Central Park, New York City.

Kissed by the sun, the day lingers long into the night.

Earth devours every last bit of of light as trees sway with their graceful branches adorned by summer’s heavy garlands.

And the glow of daylight’s promises basks in its transient longevity.

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Buy “Kissed by the Sun - Summer - Central Park Conservatory Garden - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Soho street in bright afternoon sunlight. New York City.

In the bright afternoon light of the sun, the city squints its eyes momentarily.

Buildings emerge from their slumbering shadows and streets glisten.

It’s during this momentary squint that every sun gleam and distant figure on each sun-kissed street flicker in and out of view: urban mirages filtered through the eyes of the city.

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I just wanted to share that this past weekend for the first time ever I had a request for and sold a visual print of one of my pieces of writing to accompany a print (this poem) . I have never been so happy!

I get really excited every time I sell a print but to sell a piece of writing is something I consider really special because my words are so intrinsically linked to my photography (and vice versa). Many thanks to the wonderful customer!

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Buy “Urban Mirages - Soho Street - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Afternoon sunlight on fire escapes. Greenwich Village, New York City.

The afternoon yawns with its mouth full of sunlight before it slips into the shadows of evening.

Fire escapes catch the sun’s gleam: staircases for dreamers propelling dreams skyward.

And the trees bow graciously in the lingering glow of sweet sunlight: courteous hosts beckoning wanderers to bask in the shared glow and warmth of the city.

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Buy “Afternoon Sunlight on a Greenwich Village Street - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Weeping cherry tree illuminated by the sun. Japanese Hill and Pond Garden. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. New York City.

Winter’s sun is distant, withdrawn and content to sleep behind clouds.

Spring’s sun, on the other hand, is ebullient, extroverted and prone to magnificent displays of splendor.

On afternoons, light from the sun pours over the the earth spilling itself onto every blade of grass enchanting every fresh spring blossom with warmth and brilliance.

Its as if the weeping cherry trees with their hanging white and pink blossoms are crying with joy: their petals scattering to the ground below like tears falling from ecstatic eyes.

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Buy “Enchantment - Weeping Cherry Tree in Sunlight - Brooklyn - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Cherry blossoms against a dramatic sky. Brooklyn, New York City.

The sun burned bright like a fiery orb as the churning storm clouds in the sky sought to extinguish it: their tufts of purple and grey gathering round in consensus before a final engulfing embrace.

As the sky determined its own fate, the sun’s fire burned a fiery trail through teh delicate spring blossoms and leaves.

And in the sun’s wake, each blossom twinkled: luminescent stars in an earthly sky.

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If you didn’t see my initial contest entry post for the current Artists Wanted photography contest, you can still help me out by going to my contest entry page and clicking collect me

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Buy “Stars in an Earthly Sky - Cherry Blossoms in the Sun” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Spring sun over cherry blossoms. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. New York City.

The sun washes over the battle-scarred winter weary limbs of the earth’s trees drying the melted tears of winter with its rays of light.

And the world reels in the warmth of the sun and it’s hues of possibility.

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It’s incredible how lush some of the trees are this early into spring all over New York City. This photo was taken at Brooklyn Botanic Garden a few days ago. Last year at this time, it wasn’t until the end of April that the trees were this full of blossoms.

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If you didn’t see my initial contest entry post for the current Artists Wanted photography contest, you can still help me out by going to my contest entry page and clicking collect me

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

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Buy “Spring Sunlight over Cherry Blossoms - Brooklyn Botanic Garden” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Cherry blossoms in the spring sunlight at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. New York City.

Staring into the light of the bright spring sun surrounded by flowering trees, petals swirl in the wind catching the light like glowing embers eventually scattering to the algae-colored pond below where they shimmer on the surface like tiny lanterns.

I was reminded of a comment that someone made about several of my recent spring photos where they were surprised to see nature represented in such a way in New York City because for them, New York City seemed to be nothing more than “a wilderness of rocks”. The truth is that there are so many places to find serenity and nature in New York City. There are over 1700 parks that span all five boroughs of New York City, many of which boast beautiful landscapes.

This particular image was taken yesterday at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the Japanese Hill and Pond Garden, one of my favorite spots to enjoy the many colors and sights of spring. The Brooklyn Botanic garden has more than 200 cherry trees of forty-two Asian species, making it one of the foremost cherry-viewing sites outside of Japan. The first cherries were planted at the garden after World War I, a gift from the Japanese government.

The Japanese Hill and Pond Garden located in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was the first Japanese garden to be created in an American public garden. It was constructed in 1914 and first opened to the public in June 1915. It is widely considered by numerous landscape architects, to be the masterpiece of its creator, Japanese landscape designer Takeo Shiota.

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If you didn’t see my initial contest entry post for the current Artists Wanted photography contest, you can still help me out by going to my contest entry page and clicking collect me

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

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Buy “Catching the Light - Cherry Blossoms - Brooklyn Botanic Garden” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Japanese Magnolia Blossoms. Spring. Stuyvesant Square, New York City.

As the steel exoskeletons that wind along city buildings bask in the glow of springtime, fresh-faced blossoms blush in the warmth of the sun tilting their heads skyward hoping for a kiss.

And the earth swoons.

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Spring definitely ‘sprung’ in New York City this past weekend. Trees are already blooming nearly a month ahead of schedule which is unusual but also beautiful to witness after what seemed like a long and rather dreary winter.

These are some of my favorite spring blooms. They are Magnolia Liliiflora also known as Japanese Magnolia. The tree is actually native to China, but was also cultivated for centuries in Japan. It was introduced to English-speaking countries from Japan and so the name of Japanese Magnolia has stuck even though the tree is not technically native to Japan.

I love how lush the blossoms are when they first open. They are quite delicate though and don’t last for very long so it’s a special and rare treat to catch them when they first bloom.

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Buy “Blush Response - Japanese Magnolia Blossoms - Spring - New York City” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Sun rays pouring over Bow Bridge in the late summer. Central Park, New York City.

There are moments that remain etched into time: moments that aren’t easily forgotten no matter how much time passes between the yawning gaps in between memory and dreaming.

The ability to capture uniquely experienced moments is at the core of photography. Cameras become jars with which to capture moments that flicker like fireflies.

Photographers are moment collectors and dream catchers.

Every collected moment and every captured dreamscape is the result of the tiny flicker that catches the photographer’s eye in such a profound way that it becomes an impossible feat to deny the urge to embrace the moment by capturing it in a photo.

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After my awesome interview last week for Photo Talk Plus (here: http://goo.gl/nrLj7 ), a few people messaged me privately about this photo since I talked about it on the show. Since it is an earlier photo of mine and it is positively gorgeous outside today in NYC, it felt like a good time to re-share it. Enjoy! :)

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Buy “Like Fireflies - Boats Under Bow Bridge - Central Park” Prints here, email me, or ask for help.

Autumn light through trees. Central Park, New York City.

It’s in the way the sunlight streams through the last vestiges of autumn: as golden as the leaves that hold onto their branches.

It’s in the way the earth bares itself under this fanfare: as vulnerable as new lover’s heartbeats buried under layers of clothing.

Winter’s prelude starts slowly: a distant refrain that works its way through the earth chilled in anticipation.

We slow-dance on this mortal coil to the adagio of life twisting and turning with the whims of the winds that scatter our spirit to the ends of the earth.

It’s all we can do.

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Buy “Adagio - Light Through Autumn Trees - Central Park” Posters and Prints here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

Autumn sun through Central Park trees, New York City.

In Autumn sun drips down like melted gold on tree limbs decorated in the finest foliage. The earth, chilled by the memory of winter, holds onto the sun’s light with hands outstretched as each ray slips through its fingers like fine sand.

There is an entirely different quality to the air and sun in autumn and this is especially true in Central Park. The bitingly cool air pushes past flushed faces and every speck of sunlight provides only the smallest assurance of warmth. Dying embers of sun-specked leaves fall to the ground like ashes and creatures scurry in preparation for the long and arduous months ahead.

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Buy “Autumn Sunlight- Central Park - New York City” Prints and Posters here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.

Doyers Street illuminated by the sun. Chinatown, New York City.

Out of the way streets tell a wealth of tales. The bright afternoon sun beats down on old decaying walls and fire escapes creating elongated shadows that seem to stretch indefinitely. If the well-worn awnings could talk, just think of the secrets they would reveal.

This is one of my favorite streets in Lower Manhattan. It’s Doyers Street located in Chinatown. I have always considered it more of an alley. It’s a peculiar street that winds and curves around tucking itself away from the rest of Chinatown. At only around 200 feet long, Doyers Street runs from Pell Street to Chatham Square. It’s home to very old tenements and long-standing businesses like The Nom Wah Tea Parlor which opened in 1927.

In the early 20th century the curve in the street was known as “the Bloody Angle” because of a plethora of violent acts carried out by Chinatown gangs. The expression ‘hatchet man’ is said to have come from this era and these violent acts which often included hatchets. While the street is not bloody or violent today, it’s been used in a variety of films and is definitely worth a visit.

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Buy “Doyers Street - Chinatown - New York City” Prints and Posters here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.