NYC UP2 min read time

February 2016 – It might hurt your neck, but if you don’t look up, you may be missing some of the most interesting visuals while wandering the streets of Manhattan. Not just the obvious skyscrapers, but those things most won’t notice. The intersection between concrete and sky, between evening and nightfall, between cracks in space that separate buildings. That’s the space I like and there’s no better place to find it than looking up.

Sometimes they want you to look up, but those are not always the most interesting places to look. But who cares, really. A sea of humanity flooding through the streets, fighting their way past street vendors. like blood cells through the carotid arteries of a 94-year-old. That’s what it feels like pushing your way through the sidewalks as one moves north into Manhattan deeper into Time Square.

The most dramatic sights are not the massive skyscrapers or the flood of taxis, it the small and mostly unnoticed balconies and overhangs on theaters and apartment buildings. The art is in the symmetry, in the details and in the contrast between night and light. It’s where I belong, it’s how I see, it’s what I want; just that.

I could tell you more about New York but what could I really add to the endless dialogue of critiques, news, and reviews?

Actually, not much but the single viewpoint of just one native now turned tourist, doing the same thing as everyone else who blows into town; looking for a good time. Sure, there’s broadway theaters and endless performances from somebodies and nobodies, but the night time is the biggest venue and the best show in town.

Just look up, it’s all there.

Ya know, I have to have the most glorious tool of all to capture the incredible visual panorama of life and land, and that “eye” is the incredible Sony A7r. Every image at night was hand held and shot at ISO 6400 For this trip, I carried only one camera and along with only one lens; The Sony/Zeiss FE 16-35mm zoom.

In addition, I used Topaz Texture Effects to process the 1st image on this post called “The Residence.” On every image posted here, I used Noiseless CK to smooth out the fine grit of the ridiculously incredible resolving power of this camera/lens combination when used at ISO 6400. There are several very capable noise processing software programs available and all of them are competent but this one seems to be the best for my needs at this time, and that may change soon. So many great options for photographers exist, just get comfortable with the ones you like.

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