Foto Friday: Vertical New York City

It’s Foto Friday! The weekly f/photo essay with pictures following a theme that will bring you a unique perspective on awesome locations around the world. Last time I gave you a crick in your neck, forcing an upwards look at Boston. Today we focus on New York City from a thinned out vertical perspective. New York City, the city that never sleeps. I’ve been to New York many times, my first time was in college when I reunited with my childhood friends from Oregon. We spent two nights in the city, partied it up, made friends with police officers, and wandered around Central Park. It was January and freezing cold, but we had a blast.

I’ve been a lot since then, and Alejandro visited several times when he was here. Hailing from Buenos Aires, another huge metropolitan in the southern hemisphere, Alejandro found the narrowness of the buildings and the way they rose into the sky fascinating. If you’ve ever been to Manhattan you know it is full of skyscrapers that help give the city it’s aura of massiveness, the varying heights texturize the otherwise flat landscape.

Brooklyn Bridge - Photo by Alejandro Bonzo

The Brooklyn Bridge is normally perceived from as a connector, we see it in distance not necessarily in height. Looking at it so narrowly cut pulls the focus at away from width. Instead the viewer sees the massiveness of the structure from bottom to top, from near to far: it’s a narrower view but a taller one.

Statue of Liberty - Photo by Alejandro Bonzo

Not every perspective has to be completely fresh, what I love about this trio of images of the Statue of Liberty is that it reflects the classic perception of the iconic landmark. With the silhouetted photograph in the middle, we are reminded of the history behind Miss Liberty. Many photos of the statue are from a distance, encompassing more of the city,, here we are forced to see it as a stand alone creation.

Grand Central and Rockefeller Center - by Alejandro Bonzo

The image in the middle is from inside Grand Central Station, and is a perspective I’ve never thought about for the station. Grand Central is beautiful but the architectural elements are spherical, the main room has a domed ceiling. While each of these lights is spherical, the essence of the imagery doesn’t allow you to look at it in that way, we are forced to look up and down instead of around. Both statue-like images on the left and right are from locations unknown, perhaps from near Rockefeller Center. Can you identify them? The images of mythological-like men is interested when juxtaposed with the lights.

Rockefeller Center - by Alejandro Bonzo

The image in the middle is from inside Grand Central Station, and is a perspective I’ve never thought about for the station. Grand Central is beautiful but the architectural elements are spherical, the main room has a domed ceiling. While each of these lights is spherical, the essence of the imagery doesn’t allow you to look at it in that way, we are forced to look up and down instead of around. Both statue-like images on the left and right are from locations unknown, perhaps from near Rockefeller Center. Can you identify them? The images of mythological-like men is interested when juxtaposed with the lights.

Far left is the Empire State Building - by Alejandro Bonzo

Here we have some more unknown buildings, can you identify the middle one? The far left is the Chrysler Building and the far right is the Empire State Building. The element that ties together these three is the night lights and the peak of the buildings. They rise far above the classic end to a skyscraper with a towering peak. Whether for radio purposes or simply nice design, these peaks are classic and remind us of old New York.

Next time you are in your favorite city, think about different ways to look at it.

2 Comments

  1. mplanck on August 16, 2013 at 5:46 pm

    Wow! I just visited New York City and never left my chair! Well done, commentary and photos!

  2. Rose L on August 16, 2013 at 4:54 pm

    Nice ideas!!!!

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