manhattan Archives - Just Enough Focus

September 10, 2018

Lower Midtown

Here is a cityscape of Manhattan that I took from One World Observatory. High-resolution cityscapes are a way for me to explore the details in the quiet of my own home. There is no way to take it all in when you are there taking the photo.

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Lower Midtown — A view of Manhattan from the One World Observatory

This frame is only a small section of the city and having so much crammed together is one thing that makes New York so compelling. You could live your whole life in one part and never see it all. But maybe that’s true for most places, we never really see everything. Perhaps a cab driver does, but most of us limit our movements.

more cityscapes from the gallery

Whenever I’m up high like this, I like to take photos of the expanse. It’s a natural desire because scenes like this are so foreign to our earth-bound eyes. I make these photos with the knowledge that I’ll look more closely during post-processing. Post-processing can take an hour or more, and during that time I am emersed in the details, as though I was right back at the scene. It’s like Deja-vu all over again.

August 23, 2018

Walking the Dogs

To be honest, “Dogs” should be singular, there is only one dog. This image is a fun creation from a night in Central Park. To make this, I stood on an overpass and snapped several pictures as a couple, and their dog walked below. Then, in post-processing, I blended the images to create multiple copies of the people and dog.

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Walking the Dogs — Multiple blended exposures of a couple walking their dog in Central Park

There are endless opportunities for composition in Central Park, particularly at night. Low light is my preference anyway so for me it’s especially fun. The park is so big that I decided to rent a bike to cover more ground. It was a little awkward because I had a tripod hanging out of the basket as I rode. I get torn between the desire to cover a lot of ground and slowing down to focus on a small area. But either is okay; there are times for both.

Manhattan Vignettes

Here is a series of shots I took last year when in NYC. I walked to Times Square late at night in the pouring rain. While that may not sound fun, it’s an excellent time to do street photography. The combination of lights, reflections, and umbrellas create scenes that are fun to watch, in a people-watching kind of way.

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Manhattan Vignettes 1 — Crossing the street in a downpour

Manhattan Vignettes 2 — Kissing in the rain

Manhattan Vignettes 3 — Not enough umbrellas

Manhattan Vignettes 5 — A lot going on in this scene

Manhattan Vignettes 6 — I wish you called a cab

Manhattan Vignettes 7 — Where is our Uber?

Because of the rain and the late hour, there were far fewer people out than usual. If you’ve ever been to Times Square then you know that’s rare. It meant I was able to capture little vignettes without too many distractions. Each of these photos tells a different story from that evening. It is up to you the viewer to imagine what that story is.

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As the name of the series suggests, I’ve employed a vignette technique to each of these images to draw attention to the people. The setting, while electric, is only that, a setting. Each story is as different as the people that inhabit them.

June 18, 2018

So Many Stories

I’ve heard it said that eventually, everyone passes through Times Square. There’s no way to describe it unless you’ve been there; it’s electric.

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So Many Stories — The stories we tell with pictures are a form of virtual reality

Last week I was talking about telling stories with simple images at the beach, but this is an example of a subject that’s the polar opposite of serenity and sunsets. Regardless of the scene, success comes about by framing an image in a way that allows the viewer to enter it and muse about what is going on.

more urban exploration in the gallery

If you want to tell stories with your photos, it doesn’t matter what the scene is. It could be a beach, a farm, a city or anything in-between. I find that having a sense of depth draws us into the scene. We start at items close up and then wander around establishing distance and placement. It happens so fast we don’t notice, but crafting scenes are what makes photography so enjoyable. It’s a subtle version of virtual reality based on immersion. If we are, even for an instant, immersed in a photo, then we’ve experienced a form of virtual reality. Stories when told by a picture or a book, have always been a way to experience a different reality.

June 13, 2018June 13, 2018

Hot Summer Nights

Last year I was in New York City on the hottest three days of the year. It was unbelievably hot and the only thing to do at night was to walk around Times Square in the pouring rain.

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Hot Summer Nights — A hot and steamy night in the rain at Times Square

I should be used to the heat from Florida, but it was no easier. Nevertheless, the rain and lights created fantastic photo opportunities that are entirely different than those I get back home. A nice effect is how the rainwater creates a reflective sheen on the pavement.

more street photography from the gallery

Taking photos at night in a city is a matter of experimentation. With a camera, we have several choices to make. A wide aperture combined with a high ISO allows a type of street photography without a tripod. However, with a tripod, we can take longer exposures if we want to capture light trails. In this case, I just wanted to capture images of the scene without special effects. For me, the most exciting thing was watching people out having fun in the rain; which by the way, was what I was doing also.

March 19, 2018

Under the Oculus

This is the Westfield Mall under Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus. I was standing on a set of steps where path station and mall meet.

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Under the Oculus — This is a mall connected to the Path subway station in lower Manhattan

I don’t necessarily like going to the mall, but in this case, I can make an exception. I am convinced that Calatrava is one of the greatest architects of our time. That’s based on the feeling I get when inside his creations. There was also an exhibition of art from the Sistine Chapel. The juxtaposition of Michelangelo with the modern architecture was amazing.

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We had no intention of going to the mall, we simply wanted to know what was here after touring One World Observatory. Anyway, there is a bistro just on the left and I sat there with a coffee while my wife looked for a certain type of shoes. I was also in the market for shoes but deferred that to spend the rest of the time taking pictures. After I got all the pictures I wanted we headed to Macy’s where I finally got my own shoes.

February 12, 2018February 11, 2018

Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus

I normally avoid malls. Not that I don’t like to buy things, I just find malls, well, kind of boring. However, if the mall looks like this then I’m all in. This is the Westfield Mall under Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus in New York City. If there is one mall you want to see, this is it.

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Santiago Calatrava's Oculus — Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus is perhaps the only mall in the world I love to visit

While visiting the city I walked in to see what it was and got totally blown away by the architecture. The feeling you get here is intoxicating, which is perhaps the intention as you lose your inhibitions and start buying really cool stuff.

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Also, it’s a perfect place to come and escape either the summer heat or winter cold. I was here on the hottest day in summer, so the cool air was a welcome break. While my wife looked for shoes I sat at a coffee shop and took it all in. Next time I’m back in the Big Apple, this place will be high on my list again.

December 18, 2017

Canyons of Glass

In New York City, the buildings on each side of the street are like canyons of glass. The last time I was there I booked a hotel in midtown and the first thing I did was open the curtains and look out; not surprisingly the view was another set of windows facing right back at me.

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It was late at night and all the offices were empty despite the lights being on. I was intrigued by the checkerboard pattern and took several shots at various times of the day. This is one of a dozen or so and perhaps my favorite.

more photos from nyc

When I look out across the high-rises of New York at night I get mesmerized by the three-dimensional ocean of humanity. It makes me think of futuristic visions of vertical cityscapes depicted in science fiction. And who knows, maybe that’s what it will look like in another hundred years or so. And in our science fiction future we’ll have flying vehicles that allow us to park on the upper floors without ever touching the ground. I saw it in a movie so I know it’s true.

October 24, 2017

As Luck Would Have It

As luck would have it I ended up in New York on the hottest three days of summer. It was stifling during the day and muggy late into the evening. When it started to rain I headed down to Times Square to take some photos. Despite the crazy weather some people still showed up to see the sights. It was an amazing experience to be there in those conditions because there was so much to photograph.

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I have an idea in my mind to capture people in crowded places. It seems I’m always traveling to places that are heavily populated. So rather than try to pretend people are not there I look for ways to make the crowds part of the composition.

I enjoy this idea because it allows me to examine things in a different light. The images are studies of crowds and crowded places. A natural inclination for landscape photography is to not include people but with urban exploration it has a different set of rules.

more new york photos

Maybe I see aspects of myself in the faces of crowds. Regardless, it’s why I call these types of images studies, because from them, I have something to learn.

September 27, 2017September 27, 2017

Path Station at the World Trade Center

I never saw the old one, but this is the new Path Station at the World Trade Center. I used to ride the Path train every day from Jersey City to Penn Station. That was years ago when I worked in midtown. On a recent trip I walked by this station after visiting One World Observatory. The new station is amazing to look at under the massive ribs of Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus.

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Santiago is a Spanish architect and you should check out his work. I first became aware of him through a building in Lakeland Florida that I’ve driven by many times. I stopped by once to take a few images of that as well. Then, several years ago when I saw the construction of the Oculus I knew it must be the same architect. By the way, I added the red color in post-production just because I liked the effect, in reality it’s white.

This station is connected to a mall with high-end shops. There’s a nice bistro where I had a coffee before checking out the two-level Apple store. If there are two things New York has no shortages of, it’s coffee and Apple stores; and I mean that in a good way. My first Mac was purchased from the flagship store on 5th Avenue. There’s something fun about getting a Mac from one of these big stores. However these days I just order it online because it seems like less hassle.

more architecture photography

The mall is impressive whether you shop or just walk around and take pictures. I came here on one of the hottest days of the year so just having an air-conditioned place to hangout was a bonus. I’m due for a new Mac soon so maybe I’ll use that as an excuse to come back up here and go to the Apple store. Not that I really need an excuse but it sounds like a fun idea.