Awhile back I mentioned something about Weehawken people having a spectacular view of the city.. well, here it is. Imagine having to wake up to this scenery.
Category: Nightscape
Cut
Took a stroll under DUMBO, killing time while waiting for the plane to land.
Unisphere
As taken from Wikipedia.
Unisphere is a 12-story high, spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth. Located in Flushing Meadows Park in the Borough of Queens, New York City, the Unisphere is one of the Borough’s most iconic and enduring symbols.
The Unisphere, commissioned to celebrate the beginning of the space age, was conceived and constructed as the Theme Symbol of the 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair. The Theme of the World’s Fair was “Peace Through Understanding” and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence. It was dedicated to “Man’s Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe.”
The Times
Tied in third as the “Tallest Building in NYC” is the New York Times Building, which is the newest kid on the block. The Times’ motto is “All the news that’s fit to print.”, and my motto is “All the stuff that’ll fit the frame” 😀
New Yorker
So, a while ago, I went out & took a boat to New Jersey to get a different perspective of Manhattan. I walked south from Port Imperial along the waterfront when I spied a 100-foot stairway zigzagging against the cliff. Thinking that a better view could be seen from atop the stairway, I ventured further. Although a bit out of breath from the climb, the view was astounding! I was thinking “Boy, these Weehawkens (or whatever they’re called) have it good!”.
Top of the Rock (Revisited)
Armed with a mini-tripod, I again went up The Rock. If it weren’t for the windy, cold weather a while ago, I would’ve stayed a bit longer gazing around the city. It’s a really magnificent view. This is probably why there was this guy who proposed to his girl just a few feet away from me. Awww.. 🙂
The Met
Turista
This is Times Square.
Conservatory Water Revisited
I just can’t help but take a walk this fine day, the sun went down & I was still taking a stroll. I’ve been to this place & have shot it already but when passed by it again, it was totally different (of course it was different dum dum, it’s night already).
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Waking up later than usual after recuperating from yesterday’s travels, my thoughts swayed from going to the Verrazano Bridge & laying down in bed owning the remote. As this post shows, the former whim prevailed.
The reasons for procrastination were several things: (1) I was watching a Laker game (they won!) (2) It felt cold outside. (3) If I stayed till dusk, am I going to get mugged?! And lastly ->(3) That bridge (like all other stuff here in NY) has been “shot” to death.
The thing that swayed me to go is only because I haven’t been there.
As it turned out, it wasn’t that cold. There were at least some people when the last rays of light disappeared. And I counted 2 guys with SLRs & tripods (They probably were thinking what I was thinking. 🙂 )
Anyways, here’s the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the largest suspension bridge in America. Read more about it here.
New York City Hall
There was this nice spot near the guardhouse where I always wanted to shoot City Hall. The thing is, I don’t think it’s allowed.. or so I thought.
Daguerreotyped
Taken on location at our weekly meetup.
The decision to render it this way was probably because I was watching Headbanger’s Ball reruns. 😀 \m/
Empire
Downtown
Off the promenade @ Brooklyn Heights, Manhattan’s downtown.. illuminated.
Zoom Zoom
Sniping the FDR from an overpass from the East River Park.
Imprint
NY got hit again with another snow storm. A blanket of snow 6″ thick was expected and it was what we got. 🙂 Satiated my curiosity by moseying around in the snow. Here’s a yeti’s pawprint. hehe..
Aw0o0o0o..
What happens when the moon falls under the earth’s shadow? It’s a lunar eclipse! 🙂 I had no intention of shooting this event unless I acquired a significantly longer lens but then again, do what you can with what you have. We were just peering out of our place from the top floor & admiring the view, another thing lead to another thing, and then I was downstairs in the cold wearing slippers, PJs & a thick jacket shooting the moon.
Bethesda
Yesterday’s first “major” winter snowfall disturbed a hornet’s nest. I mean “camera-toting” hornets. Despite the snowfall & the failing light, Central Park was bustling with tourists & locals alike lugging either a flimsy P&S or their hefty SLRs. I must’ve seen two guys with Hasselblads around Bethesda Fountian.
Show’s Over
This was taken a few hours ago at the East River Park. My face’s still kinda numb. I guess this is what botox feels. lol. I’m too lazy, here’s a clip from Wikipedia.
East River Park, part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, is a public park located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The park stretches along the East River from Montgomery Street up to 12th Street. The southern entrance boasts good views of the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge. The amphitheater, built in 1941 just south of Grand Street, has been reconstructed and is often used for public performances. The park includes football, baseball and soccer fields, tennis, basketball and handball courts, a running track and bike paths including the East River Greenway. Fishing is another popular activity. The park is bisected by the Williamsburg Bridge.
Cloverfield
Cold days like this make you want to cower in the warmth of your bed or in our case, surf movies in our local theater. We were planning to watch Cloverfield but got tickets for Mad Money instead to qualify for the “early bird” rate (yeah, we’re cheapskates). It was a good thing that the former didn’t go first, lest we suffered dizziness & headaches throughout the day – my temples are still throbbing while writing this. I mean, really, it was a poor judgement on our part not to read about the movie before hand. Honestly, it was crap. The remedy for our headache may have been the next movie, Meet the Spartans, which was totally hilarious. I highly recommend this.
The nightscape pano above was taken at DUMBO last December. On the movie Cloverfield, they obliterated the Brooklyn Bridge. Watching a monster rampage around Manhattan feels kind of weird because the setting is so familiar. It makes you wonder what to do if you were in their (the characters) place. It still doesn’t change the fact that the “shaky camera” style sucked big time.
Tudor
Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower
Today’s travels brought me back to Coney Island. I’ve always wanted to get a shot of the sunset with no crowd so now was the best time. The weather was crisp & clear but the only thing going against me was the freezing temperature. Properly layered clothing nearly eliminated that issue. Since I got there a bit early and the sun was still up, I just walked around aimlessly, looking for a nice scene to shoot. What surprised me was in spite of the bitter temps, there were still a handful of people there doing their thing. Strolling along the boardwalk, jogging, fishing, tourists (like me) taking pictures and there were also 2 photogs stalking the sunset. (both had “L-type” lenses..) I’ll be posting those sunset shots in later posts. Today’s shot is taken from the west end of West 8 subway station. This is the Parachute Jump which was originally an amusement park ride where you get hoisted up 190 feet into the air and dropped down using guy-wired parachutes. It was opened in the 1939 New York World’s Fair & has since been closed on 1968.
Regurgitating Steel
Soldiers & Sailors
The Alley
Wherever I May Roam. That’s a Metallica song that I dig. It’s today’s topic. The itch to shoot definitely pushes you to wander around or you’ll end up shooting the same thing over and over again. A good comfortable shoe is a must for the habitual stroll around the city. Explore corners unfamiliar to you. Experiment. Who knows what you might see. The street you’re traversing might be boring as hell but turn a corner, climb a flight of stairs and boom! Just be careful you don’t get mugged. Keep a pepper spray just to be cautious. hehe..
Woolworth
There’s nothing worth watching on the boob tube now especially since all the writers are still on strike. Haven’t watched Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert for quite a while. But they’ll be coming back next week! Goody.. Some late night talk show hosts got back on air this week too. And to top of the new year, I got tickets to see David Letterman! Sa-weeet!!
My recent wanderings brought me downtown to City Hall, this is the Woolworth Building. Neo-Gothic, Art Deco building constructed by Cass Gilbert from 1911-1913. It was the tallest building in the world for 17 years until the construction of 40 Wall Street. Read more about it.
Boom.. boom.. boom!
Being used to the abundance of fireworks & firecrackers at home, the new year celebration here is a bit tame. Well, if you factor in the partying that goes on after midnight then forget about the pyrotechnics, this is the place to be! Not that we partied along, well, we tried to. It’s our first new year here so we went to Times Square to witness the ball drop but the closest we got was at 52nd street.. and the ball was nowhere in sight. Bummer. It was time for Plan B. That photo was Plan B. Fireworks @ Prospect Park.
Launch Pad
Brick-a-brac
Ahh.. fisheye.. this is fun.. For a full-frame glass, it still looks good on a crop sensor.. lol.
Gluttony
Merry Christmas to all! As always, the holiday season is an excuse to satiate some of our worldly desires. What better way to celebrate the holidays by stuffing your mouth full of hot dogs no? Bon Apetit!
BP Grill & Cafe
Fairy Dust
Brooklyn Bridge
Angels & Snowflakes
Scarecrow
Manhattan Pano
I again recently got to test how steady my grip was. A single shot just wouldn’t cut it so I just stitched 4-5 not-so-sharp exposures in a pano to minimize the blur. 🙂
- Shot hand held on the “Rock” with only the ledge to steady my grip. (I guess tripods aren’t allowed, except for the “official photographer” who’ll sell you a shot for a not so reasonable price.)
- Freezing winds buffeted my gloveless hands.
- The widest I could go was 3.5