While the distant New Jersey countryside looks comparatively two-dimensional, the structure of Manhattan and Hoboken are so vertical.
Tag: Manhattan
Governors Island (No Apostrophe)
Seen here from the One World Observatory on a sunny Sunday morning, Governors Island has been mostly transformed to park space. On the right side of the island, you can see the Longines Global Champions Tour grounds are still in place from the day before.
Four Trees
Though it may be a semi-intended consequence of Manhattan’s zoning rules regarding floor space, setbacks, and public space, public art in downtown Manhattan is still refreshing. Jean Dubuffet’s Groupe de Quatres Arbres and its curving lines fits so nicely against the linear structure of the building behind it that I’m naturally drawn in.
Scales of Structure
Human structures—food trucks and skyscrapers—side by side on a Manhattan Sunday morning provide a striking statement on the possible scales of fabrication.
Mostly New Jersey
The dividing of the southern end of the Hudson River into New York and New Jersey is subject to a great deal of mythology, but whatever the truth is, the practical reality today makes the difference between the two feel pretty fuzzy.
Midtown B&W
Though Midtown’s 20th-century skyline is iconic, it’s quickly being amended with needle buildings. Time will tell how these impact its icon status.
Ferry to Governors Island
So much of the experience of Manhattan involved being surrounded by the tall buildings that to suddenly be “outside” it—perhaps on a sunny morning, on a ferry—it a bit surprising.
Helicopters Over the East River
The brightly colored helicopters leaving the heliport on the East River stand out against gray and green colors of Brooklyn.
Just moments later, that color palette swaps—a colorless helicopter in front of colorful buildings. Perhaps my favorite detail of this image is just how much you can see of the passenger (first officer?) in the window of the Eurocopter, adding a human element to an array of otherwise designed/manufactured structures.
Brooklyn Bridge
When pretty much everything else in this picture is newer than the Brooklyn Bridge, the beauty of the timeless design is effectively articulated.
North in the Morning
Cityscapes were the images that first really drew me to photography—those images with seemingly infinite detail. Zooming deeper and deeper reveals trees and cars and people down at street level. Surpassing the current limits in this respect will probably mean a new camera (or a real commitment to multi-shot panoramas.)
Two Bridges
I’m aware that this picture technically contains three bridges, but it is nonetheless an image of the Two Bridges neighborhood just after sunrise. There are so many sunset pictures of New York; I think the dearth of morning shots is correlated with the sleep schedule of the average photographer.
Inhuman Scale
The absolute enormity of Manhattan’s buildings is sometimes inaccurately portrayed by their steep, vertical faces. The great wings of Westfield World Trade Center leave little doubt in the mind. Look at those two tiny people at the bottom of the image.
Manhattan Rooftop Scenes
Given the catastrophic cost of real estate at the southern end of Manhattan, a look at the use of rooftop space reveals a sharp contrast: roofs are either lush garden spaces or barren mechanical utility areas. I had expected to see more “in between” spaces among the penthouses—casually or informally used rooftops. I guess nothing spends more than a few hours on a New York rooftop without a reason to be there.
Mighty Midtown
Neighborhoods like Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and the Bowery are remarkably low-rise until they suddenly run into the wall that is Midtown Manhattan. The new pencil towers under construction may look out of place, but at least they don’t block the views of nature to the north.
Winter Arrives in Manhattan
Days are shortening and skies are hardening and winter is coming.
