So the west side of Manhattan gets the sunsets. I’m fine with that. I can deal. Especially on nights like tonight when the setting sun illuminates the clouds over the East River. I was running after work and had to stop to snap a few shots. Thank you, iPhone and hipstamatic! A couple treatments, so tell me which one you like best.
Click each to see larger files.
I spent another early morning out on the East River today. The clouds were billowing up and down the skyline in all shapes, shades and patterns. Some grew straight up. Some lay flat. Others dotted the glow of morning against a background of gray. Altogether, it was a beautiful way to start the day on a river that gets a lot of flack for it’s “lack of beauty.” Well, maybe these photos (and those from other posts) will help people come to check out the waterway and care for it.
And I had to find some way to make the ConEdison building look kind of quasi ok-ish. In doing so I found that graffiti really pops in the morning light.
There were some lone birds nibbling on whatever scraps they could find. Then, they gather for flight. It reminded me of Henry Beston’s classic nature memoir, The Outermost House, where he says this of the birds on Cape Cod, “Birds which have been feeding yards away from each other, each one individually busy for his individual body’s sake, suddenly fuse into this new volition and, flying, rise as one, coast as one, tilt their dozen bodies as one, and as one wheel off on the course which the new group will has determined.”
I’m serious. This guy was a welcomed distraction and placed an interesting and fresh mood in the air around Madison Square Park this morning. Really good street musician.
Growing up I remember mentions of the East River on the news or sitcoms to be, let’s just say negative. Now that I live in New York, I have an entirely different view. Yes, times have changed. The city is a safer place, which is a huge factor. But if you already read my “Faces of the East River” post a while back, you’ll know, it can simply be the way you view the river that makes the difference. This is a beautiful and inspiring stretch of New York. The night time joggers, the strollers, the gazers and the ones who just don’t want to go home just yet, we all find something in the river that changes us, that gives us a new idea or triggers a memory, if for only a brief moment. I hope these photos do the same for you.
(This shot was just featured on Gothamist.com. Check them out. Top notch!)
* For the photographers out there, I don’t do HDR. These are all single shots adjusted only for normal color and tone. Everything else is in camera white balance and a trusty flashlight that I used for the first time to add light to the rocks/wood while taking long exposures.
With the rain still coming down and clouds seemingly stuck over the city, I thought it’d be nice to remember how beautiful the weekend was. I took this while walking down 6th avenue.
Thank you thank you dear readers and commenters. Your kind words and support of my photography has been so inspiring. I’m always emailable (word?) if you’re interested in any of the photos you see on my blog, but recently I’ve put some up for sale on the site Etsy.com.
They head the call of progress. Of duty. Of the wild. Ok, not that. But they do spring out of subways, like this Christopher Street Path Train, into an uncertain world.
They walk past monuments erected for the triumphs of our forefathers — those who set the wheels in motion and whose great vision has inspired millions. And then there is this guy…
Even when he walks down a quiet West Village street he barks instructions into a, wait, what is that thing??? Is that a full headset? Let’s take a closer look…
I can’t concentrate anymore. I’m done. Have fun at work!
I had followed these geese up and down the river for about twenty minutes. They were moving in a tight pack. (Do geese travel in packs when they’re not flying? Ok, flock.) I was the “one man wolf pack” looking like a crazy person who gets angry when geese don’t do what he wants. Finally, they spread out in a line and it was a beautiful sight. All in a row, it added some serenity to the evening.
Also, just after I took this shot, Julian, yesterday’s blog post, came up to me. All in all another fun evening of shooting and taking in all that I could spy in this great city.
When Julian rolled up on his bike I really didn’t know what to expect. I was taking photos along the East River of the sunset and a few geese splashing around below. My usual spot. All of the sudden this guy came up close and asked me if I could help him out. He looked straight out of a hip hop video, complete with a gold grill on his lower teeth. The look is authentic and completely fitting. Julian is a musician trying to make in it New York.
To listen to a sampling of his music (hip hop and electro) check out his myspace page here. Let the first song play through. He’s got a line in there, “They call me odd, but I’ll get even.” that I think is pretty cool.
Oh, and the way I helped him out? He needed a photo taken of himself. We traded emails and here it is. He’s a cool guy and I hope his music career takes off.
