NY Through the Lens - New York City Photography

Street art and a bicycle. Soho, New York City

Through each scattered urban landscape every sidewalk dream unfolds periphally as daily adventurers traverse the city full of promise and silent giddy trepidation.

It’s in the quiet still moments marked by emptiness, vast loneliness and encroaching solitude that these peripheral dreamscapes come into focus.

These moments, suspended in time, marinate in the severity of their potential to eventually etch themselves into the eternity of the mind.

The rest of time moves with the rapid ebb and flow of life like bits and pieces of paint on a wall chipping and peeling off, finally scattering like a discarded lover’s flower petals in the wind.

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Trees do indeed grow in Brooklyn. Cobble Hill Brownstones. New York City.

The light after a heavy rain is transcendent. Deep golden hues cling to the damp tree branches as they frame lush green leaves reeling under the weight of the rain water.

It’s all the more impressive against a backdrop of beautiful brick brownstones that can be found in neighborhoods like Cobble Hill located in Brooklyn. Cobble Hill (or Ponkiesbergh as it was first called) was originally settled during the 1640’s by Dutch farmers. The name “Cobble Hill”, according to various historical sources, came from the large amount of cobble stones being disposed in the site.

The cobble stones were used as ballast on the trading ships arriving from Europe. The high elevation point at the corner of present day Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, where the greatest amount of the cobble stones was disposed, was used as a Fort during both the American War of Independence and the War of 1812.

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Looking out over the skyscrapers of the New York City skyline. Midtown.

There is an inherent romance that can be found in the sheer density of the architecture of New York City.

Buildings huddle close like lovers before a nervous first kiss. Their bodies rise up to the sky proud and majestic each one holding dozens if not thousands of stories.

If you look intently you can see their bold spirits traveling with the wind carrying the hopes and dreams of those who share their world to soaring heights of possibility and promise.

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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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Red Hook Stores at 480 Brunt Street. Red Hook, Brooklyn. New York City

480 Brunt Street is a Civil War-era storehouse located in the Red Hook Waterfront Historic District in Brooklyn.

Red Hook, located in Northwestern Brooklyn was settled in 1636 by Dutch Colonists who named the area Roode Hoek (red point) after the red hue of the soil and because the area jutted out into the water. Due to its waterfront location, ships from all over the world would dock at Red Hook to exchange cargo and make repairs for well over a century. When many of the shipyards were relocated in the 20th century, the area fell was marked by significant urban decay.

The building in this photo, known as the Red Hook Stores, was built in 1869 by the builder William Beard. Beard, who was an Irish immigrant made millions via his building and railroad empire. At the end of the Civil War, New York City was receiving such a large amount of goods that Manhattan could not handle all of the cargo. Brooklyn’s waterfront became the alternative and warehouses like this one played a crucial role in offloading cargo like grain, cotton, hemp, jute, indigo, leather, fruits, tobacco, vegetables, cocoa beans and coffee. This building now houses a Fairway Market and apartment residences. The beautiful iron shutters that give this warehouse building so much charm were initially built to protect the precious cargo stored in the warehouse from the elements.

The decayed trolley cars which sit in the foreground also have an interesting link to the past. In the 20th century, there were many trolley lines that criss-crossed the Brooklyn landscape and served as transportation for residents. The trolleys were in use until the 1950s. To celebrate the trolleys that would have been seen here for many years, these trolleys were acquired and put in front of the Red Hook Stores permanently. They aren’t from New York City originally though. The trolley cars were acquired from Boston and Oslo and were repainted to match the original color scheme of the trolleys that would have been found in Brooklyn in the beginning of the 20th century. Worn by time and natural elements, they are beautiful examples of urban decay.

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Above Chinatown looking down East Broadway at the Chinatown skyline. New York City.

I have been going through my photos as I add them to my new SmugMug store . It’s been quite a journey (and a huge task since I have hundreds, if not thousands of photos to add to it!) since I am trying to also add the prose and/or descriptive writing associated with each photo to the photos there.

This is one of my favorite views of Chinatown! On the day I shot this, I noticed a girl perched on one of the roof tops (you can see her on the right side of the photo if you click to see a larger version) eating food enjoying the view of the bridge where I was standing. It was such a great New York City moment. I waved to her and she half-waved back!

This particular spot is a Chinatown neighborhood known as ‘Two Bridges’. Two Bridges sits along the East River and has long been a dwelling spot for many different immigrant communities over the years. It sits alongside the infamous and historic Five Points area where Irish, Jewish and Italian gangs battled to the death in the mid-19th century. It is currently home to a large community of Chinese immigrants and many of the buildings are tenements dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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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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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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The New York City skyline and the Empire State Building as viewed from above on a hazy yet beautiful day.

There was a brief meme over at Google Plus yesterday regarding the posting of people’s first posts over on Google Plus. I thought it would be interesting to dig through my posts and find the first post/photo I posted on Google Plus back at the beginning of July. The community there is so wonderful and so many positive things have happened for me since I started posting there!

I was happy to find that business pages were released last night and my NY Through The Lens page there will most likely be the place where I post about all the things I do with my photography and writing (I bet you all didn’t know that I have been making and selling invitations and cards with my photography for quite some time now for example).

I was pleased to find that this was one of my first photos that I posted there. It’s one of my favorite New York City skyline shots that I have taken precisely because the Empire State Building isn’t the main focus. I happen to love the Empire State Building, don’t get me wrong. However, I really love the tops of the various skyscrapers that lead the eye towards the Empire State Building from this particular vantage point. There is a proud quality to the ornate skyscraper rooftops that seem to almost march forward in solidarity like one giant skyscraper army with the Empire State Building as its General.

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13-15 South William Street also known as 57 Stone Street. Financial District, New York City.

Something I absolutely love about New York City is that tucked away between the towering monuments of modernity that populate the cityscape are streets that look as if they have been transported from another era and geographic location entirely. These streets are suspended in time like flies in amber.

This area is known as the Stone Street historic district in lower Manhattan. Bound by Stone Street, Pearl Street, and South William Streets and Mill Lane, it is a section that is unlike any of its surrounding blocks. This particular section is bound by South William street. Around the block from this part of the area are other historic buildings and the Stone Street area ‘proper’.

In 1903, the architect C.P.H. Gilbert designed new street facades on the buildings in this section of South William Street (57 Stone Street on the other side). Gilbert’s neo-Dutch Renaissance architecture features structural details like stepped gables and strapwork and was a nod to the early settlement of Manhattan .

This area which dates back to the 1600s when New York City was first colonized by Dutch settlers was sadly destroyed by the Great Fire of 1835. The surrounding section of Stone Street was rebuilt with granite bases of post-and-lintel construction and upper-additions of brick which were specifically erected for importers and merchants.

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Sunset over the New York City skyline as viewed from the East River.

In the last minutes before the night rides across the sky with its trailing blanket of darkness, the sun melts over the rapidly darkening silhouettes in the distance pouring itself into the water like liquid gold.

It’s in these last minutes before the city lights illuminate the urban landscape like constellations, before every last ember of daylight fades that the remains of the day extinguish themselves in the long sighs of evening wanderers.

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Domino Sugar Factory illuminated by sunlight. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. New York City.

There is something remarkably touching about urban decay. It is as if sorrow and longing can be traced in the peeling layers and crumbling brick. In warm sunlight, the rich colors created by iron oxidation produce the most beautiful textures on old pipes and metal framework. The memory of those who graced the intricate insides of these structures is delicately preserved by the faded remnants that remain.

During the period following the Civil War, New York was the top provider of refined sugar to the United States, and for a period of time the Domino Sugar factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was the largest sugar refinery in the world. At one time, the factory employed over 4,000 workers and processed 3 million pounds of sugar a day.

After nearly 150 years of service, the factory shut down in 2004 due to a decline in demand. There is a new plan for this space to make it a residential space which is being actively protested by groups like the Waterfront Preservation Alliance and the Landmarks Conservancy who believe that huge development in this space would destroy the history and architectural legacy of the sugar factory. I am inclined to agree with their assessment.

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The New York City skyline featuring the Manhattan Bridge as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge. New York City.

I am in an exceptionally great mood today. Tonight, I am attending the first ever gallery showing of my photography. It’s a group show with three other photographers and a private event where 8 of my photos will be on display. I will post all about it over the next few days (with photos of course). I also just got back from the orthopedic specialist who gave me the go ahead to abandon my crutches (from my bike accident a week ago). While I am still dealing with a ligament tear, I am thrilled that I can just wear my knee brace to the event tonight!

In honor of today, I am re-posting this post from a few months back. It’s about my photography origins and it makes me well up with tears when I read it because it feels like I have come so very far in a relatively short amount of time. It’s been a bumpy road full of challenges and road-blocks but it’s also been one hell of an adventure.

It seems fitting to post today somehow. I am so thankful for everyone here and all the wonderful people who I met and friended on this wild journey. I can only hope that the years to come will be just as challenging, inspiring and full of brilliant moments like the ones I have had the pleasure to experience. Enjoy :)

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I started taking photos a few years back in a rather stream of consciousness manner. I don’t drive since I live in New York City and without much in the way of material things or financial prosperity walking became a way to deal with stress. It also became the main way to experience New York City in a way I hadn’t experienced the city before. I would choose a direction and walk as far as my feet would take me (I still do this). I started noticing lines, forms and structures I had previously ignored. Scenery unfolded before me as if it was just rendered before my eyes.

To embrace my new-found sense of wonder, I decided to take the only camera I had at the time with me on these walking adventures. It was a simple point and shoot which was less than $100. It was all I could afford at the time and I just wanted to be able to record the moments and experiences that made my heart swell. After doing this for several years, I decided to start posting my photos online to keep a record of some of my walking adventure photos. It didn’t occur to me that there would be an audience for my photography. I had no formal training in photography and no real knowledge of the rules or major concepts that defined the field.

The website I started posting on a year ago is now where my main site points to which is my Tumblr. It’s been quite a journey since I posted those first few photos online. Along the way I ended up on the receiving end of a variety of experiences that have changed my world in a truly dramatic manner. I am so appreciative of the many opportunities I have had come my way. With around 30,000 followers currently on Tumblr, I am extremely appreciative of all of the private messages and notes as well as the bevy of talented people I have come to know.

I have also been floored by the recognition and interaction on Google Plus. One of my greatest joys in this world is to share the beauty I find in this city I call home. It fills my heart with happiness that I can not only share these moments with the world but that there is a platform to meaningfully interact with other inspiring photographers, thinkers and people who are invested in making the platform a welcoming and encouraging place to share.

A wonderful person on Google Plus shared a quote by Henri Matisse that really resonated with me: “a large part of the beauty of a picture arises from the struggle which an artist wages with his limited medium.” I think that there is a tremendous amount of truth in the sentiment that when you are limited you are forced to work extremely hard to get the results you desire.

The photo in this post was taken on one of my walks across the Brooklyn Bridge. One of my favorite things to do is walk over any of the bridges in lower Manhattan. Each offers a completely different view of New York City and each time I cross any one of them, I still feel butterflies in my stomach as the views of the city’s skylines come into sight.

I hope I never lose that feeling of pure and unadulterated wonder.

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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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The New York City skyline as viewed from above looking out over the rooftops and architecture of Midtown, Manhattan.

There is an inherent romance that can be found in the sheer density of the architecture of New York City.

Buildings huddle close like lovers before a nervous first kiss. Their bodies rise up to the sky proud and majestic each one holding dozens if not thousands of stories. If you look intently you can see their bold spirits traveling with the wind carrying the hopes and dreams of those who share their world to soaring heights of possibility and promise.

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Buy “New York City Buildings and Skyline” Prints and Posters here, View my store, email me, or ask for help.