New Yorkers could look up at the city lights on Election night and enjoy the red, white and blue lights on the iconic Empire State Building. It was a clear night with balmy temperatures, perfect for rooftop photography.
I made a test print today of this image, 20 x 30 inches, and just wow! What a unique and amazing city!
Have you ever seen an iconic photo and wanted to execute your own? I felt that way about long exposures of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. I like the effect of a long exposure in the terminal center, where the people moving appear as a blur. A long exposure also allows you to take a high quality, low noise image in a low light space. I was really pleased with the results. You can even see the constellations painted on the ceiling.
If you love this image too, send me an email to order a print as large as 20 x 3o inches. At that size, the print is truly grand! Perfect for the New York fan on your holiday gift list. (For fast loading, a low resolution version of the image is uploaded here.)
What did you learn today? Whether your field is medicine or teaching or child rearing, I’m sure you learn something new every day. Right now I’m using these few months close to home to learn lots about processing infrared photographs. I’m finding Infrared Photography an interesting creative outlet.
After having a Sony camera converted to capture only Infrared and “SuperColor” light (over 580 nanometers), I learned how to White Balance, Channel Swap, and adjust the hue, saturation and tonality of the color captured. That may be a lot of meaningless jargon to you, but the message is this: it is all quite technical and detailed, but the tools, once mastered, are fun to play with!
Today’s share is a photograph I shot outside the Conservatory of the New York Botanical Garden on October 3. I chose the sharpen the foreground plants while fogging and softening the background. I also chose to feature the golden color we love in the Fall against the deep blue sky. All of these choices are creative ones; I like that this image is uniquely mine.
Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans! What a beautiful holiday that brings families together to give thanks. I feel very thankful for my family, my wide and wonderful network of great friends and for this beautiful country where we live in peace and prosperity. Certainly we must pray for peace and prosperity for all people around the world today.
I want to share with you this scene we discovered on a vibrant autumnal afternoon in western New York. My family enjoyed our first visit to Letchworth State Park at the height of fall foliage. How fortunate we were to arrive at this waterfall in the late afternoon.
Actually, I’m not trying to give you vertigo by suggesting you look straight down from the top of the Vessel in Hudson Yards. Only my Sony camera is extended over the handrail. I’m in no danger.
Have you put The Vessel on your bucket list? In my next blog, you’ll see views looking outside the Vessel.
Early morning is a great time to walk the Brooklyn Bridge, because it’s not too crowded. On this cloudy and windy morning, I was a little sad that I missed the clear blue skies of the day before, but in the end I think the clouds enhance the image.
This photograph was shot with Sony and processed in Lightroom, Photoshop and Luminar 2018. Lightroom does a great job of correcting the distortion created by a wide angle lens.
Back to the moment when I walked the Brooklyn Bridge, winter is here! I had to hold on to my hat as I coped with the wind on the East River.
This wide angle photography taken inside New York City’s iconic structure The Vessel shows the beauty and rhythm of its geometry. Judging from the size of the people climbing the Vessel, you can appreciate its size.
In this image, you can simultaneously observe the Hudson River, the rail yards, the top of the Vessel, the intriguing blue circle at the core and the elevator track on the lower left. More on that blue circle later!
I feel the best aspect of the image is the symmetry of the staircases. Does the childhood board game “Chutes and Ladders” come to mind? The copper outlines really stand out against the dark grey flooring and glass panels. I just love this design!
You can find The Vessel in Hudson Yards by taking the New York City subway 7 train to its western terminus.
New York City has so many major tourist attractions, that a new iconic work of art and architecture can open without the whole world knowing about it. I’m talking about the Vessel in Hudson Yards, the new Eiffel Tower or Saint Louis Arch of the 21st century. It’s a unique structure: a circular copper staircase that you can ascend and admire the changing views and geometry of its structure from different angles.
The Vessel’s location in Hudson Yards is especially fascinating to me, since my daughter Erin, the structural engineer, worked on its foundation, which is a super strong platform over the train tracks adjacent to Penn Station. Imagine a platform that can simultaneously hold a skyscraper and a park! Long before I visited the site, I was amazed by the engineering behind this development.
While construction on many buildings in Hudson Yards is ongoing, the Vessel opened earlier in 2019 along with an adjacent mall anchored by the only Neiman Marcus in New York City. Numerous high-end shops and restaurants are open in the Mall, adding to the enjoyment of an outing to the Vessel.
You can buy entrance tickets to the Vessel online ahead of time that will give you admission any time on a particular date. If you wander over to Hudson Yards (convenient via subway), you can buy a same day ticket that grants admission for a particular hour, to prevent overcrowding.
I loved the Vessel, and will share several photos from my walk inside it. The Vessel is handicapped accessible with a cleverly designed elevator. Go ahead and put it on your bucket list!
Next week, I’ll be back in the Big Apple, and I’m looking forward to seeing New York’s iconic sights again. Looking back at the images I have made in past years, I came across this 2013 black and white photograph that celebrates the geometry of the Brooklyn Bridge.
This style is a departure from the vibrant sunsets and colorful birds I have been shooting in Florida, but this subject begs for black-and-white interpretation with its emphasis on pattern.
Next week, I’ll wander no farther than Central Park with my young grandchildren, newborn and not yet 2. But Central Park in the Spring is something special. Stay tuned!
The detail and delicacy of a spring peony is best described not with words, but with a photograph. The New York Botanical Garden has a long, luxurious peony bed, full of different colors and varieties. Visit the Botanical Garden on your next visit to New York City. Easily reached on the D train or by Uber. The gift shop is inspiring, too!
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Blog: Cathy Kelly Photography 