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New York City Skyline - Central Park and Skyscrapers from Above - By Vivienne Gucwa When the day stretches out leaving a trail of sighs in its wake, the sky and the infinite slowly implode folding themselves into one another until all that is left is a never-ending horizon reaching out towards the rest of forever. --- This is a view of Central Park and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan as seen from above. It was taken from the top of the Empire State Building on an impossibly perfect morning. Upper Manhattan sits in the distance with the Chrysler Building and Queens to the right. The trees of Bryant Park are peeking out in the bottom-left part of this image. ---
Bushwick Street Art - Brooklyn - New York City - By Vivienne Gucwa The sky wavered in mood earlier today displaying an angsty mix of rage-puffed storm clouds and baby blues streaked by sunlight. It was the perfect backdrop for Bushwick's incredible array of street art murals that pepper the industrial urban landscape. I have been spending an inordinate amount of time in Brooklyn lately. My other half was born in Brooklyn (I like to refer to it as his "hatch-zone") and is a great walking-off-steam companion. And so we keep ending up in interesting places on these walks. Bushwick was never really a friendly place when I was younger (this is a severe understatement). It's fascinating to see the stage of evolution it seems to be in currently. The factories are all still there but there is also an amazing amount of art that seems to be thriving on the walls of Bushwick. Growing up in Queens ogling 5 Pointz, a large industrial space transformed into a premiere space for graffiti/street artists to cover in art, I was sad to hear that 5 Pointz will eventually be razed. However, Bushwick seems to have a blossoming 5 Pointz feel at this moment in time which is exhilarating to witness. Who knows what the future holds for Bushwick? But, for now, it's a perfect mix of grit and art. ----
Williamsburg Bridge and New York City Skyline at Sunset - By Vivienne Gucwa Moments are vessels that contain: sparks, magic, effervescent happiness, lingering sadness, red-tinged anger, bittersweet joy all waiting to explode if and when that point in time is visited again. There are moments that exist somewhere between the excited beat of the heart and a welled-up tear in the eye. They are the chills that run up the back of the neck and the small smile that can't be contained when their memory is nudged by a sound, sight, scent, touch. It's the way the light was shining through the bridge as the boat pulled away under a sky blue with hope as the sun set and the lump in the throat subsided momentarily. It's the way the water looked as it rocked the boat gently like a lullaby as it drifted away from the sunlight that poured its light onto the surface of the water. And it's the way everything seemed pointless in comparison to the way the clouds gathered over the city: hopeful tufts of smoke emanating from the sun's extinguishing fire... --- This is a view of the Williamsburg Bridge and the Lower East Side as seen from a boat on the East River during sunset. In the distance sits the skyline of Brooklyn in Dumbo and the Manhattan Bridge. ---
Chinatown- Under the Manhattan Bridge - New York City Street - By Vivienne Gucwa When winter shifts into spring, the light shifts too. Stark, short afternoons that end too abruptly morph vivid, warm afternoons that linger until the sky relents. ---- This was taken on a stark, short afternoon that was only mildly flirting with spring a week or so ago before the city erupted into full-on springtime mode. This is one of my favorite parts of Chinatown under the Manhattan Bridge. ----
Williamsburg- Brooklyn - Hewes Street Overpass in the Afternoon - By Vivienne Gucwa With layers of dirt and paint under our nails from constantly peeling back the layers of this city, it's not the stars we seek. It's the light that seeps through... --- This is the overpass that looms over Hewes Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. ---
New York City - Rain and Wet Sidewalks - By Vivienne Gucwa Through eyelashes wet with rain, a thousand thoughts fall to the ground and through the raindrops the city lights blur together as shadows make their way into the night - impermanence registered with every blink. ---
New York City from Above - Midtown Skyscrapers and Queensboro Bridge - By Vivienne Gucwa This is a view of the entrance to the Queensboro Bridge (also known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, 59th Street Bridge, and Queens Bridge) and the skyscrapers of the New York City skyline in midtown Manhattan close to 59th Street on the east side. The vantage point is from the Roosevelt Island Tram, a tram that crosses from midtown Manhattan to Roosevelt Island a few times an hour which also offers breathtaking views of New York City. ---
New York Night - Queensboro Bridge and the Manhattan Skyline - By Vivienne Gucwa When the night falls hard onto the city's shoulders and the sky drapes a dark blanket over the skyscrapers and buildings, it's hard to contain the effervescent charm that bursts forth after the sun has retreated. --- This is the Queensboro Bridge which is known by a few other names depending on where you are from and how long you have lived in New York City. Despite growing up in Queens, I will always think of this bridge as the 59th Street Bridge because I think I belonged to one of the few families in Queens that for whatever reason associated the bridge more with 59th Street in Manhattan. It's also known as Queens Bridge which is a shortened form of Queensboro Bridge. Its current official name is the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, named after the now deceased former mayor of New York City who held office from the late 70s to the early 80s. He was many things least of all a "character" (as we say). The vantage point is from Roosevelt Island and this is the result of a 30 second exposure taken with the Sony A99. It was taken on a bitterly cold night in the beginning of March while I was having a spirited conversation with one of the Roosevelt Island security guards regarding the abandoned smallpox hospital further down the island. I tend to love to shoot long exposures alone but it was great to have the company (and quirky conversation) that night. It's those type of moments that make me love the city: little bursts of spontaneity and brevity while watching the lights sparkle in the city's eyes. ---
Midtown Manhattan Skyscrapers and Streets from Above - By Vivienne Gucwa I have been afraid of heights since I can remember. Even stepping on a tall foot stool would send me into a frenzied panic. It's partially a control issue and partially an irrational fear of the eternal "what if" quandary related to my own mortality. And yet, I have discovered as I get older that there is something supremely thrilling about being high up above things especially being high up above New York City. It's the same scattered sense of adrenaline-fueled excitement I get when I consider the vastness of the ocean. And in some ways, I think both vantage points offer the same sense of displaced wonder. A month or so ago, I watched an absolutely incredible video called Overview which examined something called the Overview Effect. "The Overview Effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface." I can't recommend the video highly enough. It's a 15 minute short film that explores different astronaut's life-altering experiences viewing the earth from above for the first time. The footage of earth from above in the film is overwhelming. It's an emotional journey of a film that definitely has lodged its way into my consciousness. Here it is: http://vimeo.com/55073825 A few years back, when I went to the Top of the Rock, I had such an incredibly visceral reaction when I experienced seeing the city from above. It was rough for me to even take the elevator up 70 floors to the observation deck. I clenched my sweaty fists and closed my eyes the whole time deep breathing probably much to the amusement (or dread) of the fellow elevator passengers. Once I stepped out and onto the upper deck, I was hooked. It was as if I was seeing the city for the first time. Once you take yourself out and away from the streets that surround you, it's as if the city opens up its arms to you. It's fascinating to consider all of the activity and stories that are contained in any one part of such a view. In the short film I linked above, one of the astronauts describes the Overview Effect saying that common features include a feeling of awe for the planet, and a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life among other perspective-shifting feelings. And I really think that anytime we take ourselves high above or deep below the reality we experience every day, it produces different (subtler and perhaps more overwhelming in regards to the ocean) versions of the Overview Effect. Since experiencing that amazing feeling when I pushed past my fear of heights to take myself high above my own every-day reality, I have actively pushed myself to seek out as many high vantage points as I can. This particular image was taken high above the 59th Street Bridge (also known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge) entrance overlooking the buildings and skyscrapers that make up the New York City skyline in midtown Manhattan. ---

New York City Skyline - Central Park and Skyscrapers from Above

- By Vivienne Gucwa

When the day stretches out

leaving a trail of sighs

in its wake,

the sky

and the infinite

slowly implode

folding themselves into one another

until all that is left

is a never-ending horizon

reaching out towards

the rest of forever.

---

This is a view of Central Park and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan as seen from above. It was taken from the top of the Empire State Building on an impossibly perfect morning. Upper Manhattan sits in the distance with the Chrysler Building and Queens to the right. The trees of Bryant Park are peeking out in the bottom-left part of this image.

---
New York City Skyline - Central Park and Skyscrapers from Above - By Vivienne Gucwa When the day stretches out leaving a trail of sighs in its wake, the sky and the infinite slowly implode folding themselves into one another until all that is left is a never-ending horizon reaching out towards the rest of forever. --- This is a view of Central Park and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan as seen from above. It was taken from the top of the Empire State Building on an impossibly perfect morning. Upper Manhattan sits in the distance with the Chrysler Building and Queens to the right. The trees of Bryant Park are peeking out in the bottom-left part of this image. ---

New York City Skyline - Central Park and Skyscrapers from Above

- By Vivienne Gucwa

When the day stretches out

leaving a trail of sighs

in its wake,

the sky

and the infinite

slowly implode

folding themselves into one another

until all that is left

is a never-ending horizon

reaching out towards

the rest of forever.

---

This is a view of Central Park and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan as seen from above. It was taken from the top of the Empire State Building on an impossibly perfect morning. Upper Manhattan sits in the distance with the Chrysler Building and Queens to the right. The trees of Bryant Park are peeking out in the bottom-left part of this image.

---
See photo in original gallery.
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