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...

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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.

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New York City Sunset - Skyline  - By Vivienne Gucwa

I never really get tired of this view. 

I know I have expressed that sentiment many times but it's absolutely true. There's something incredibly breathtaking that occurs when you are above the rooftops of the city. It's as if the city shrinks below a vast sky in a huge universe and everything that once seemed impossible seems effortless and within the realm of possibility. 

It's so easy to forget that sort of thing when you live in a large city like New York City. When you are in the thick of it all, it can feel like the you are alone in a never-ending maze of cavernous streets as everyone else's dreams and hopes fly past you at the speed of light. But when you take yourself out from the middle of everything and change your perspective, it's as if the city holds its arms out to you beckoning you to come back and put your own dreams out there so they can spread their wings and fly up to the sky towards the horizon leaving a trail of hope in their path.  

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This was taken from the top of Rockefeller Center (also known as Top of the Rock) and it's probably one of the most popular views of the New York City skyline since it includes the Empire State Building and the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan. The view is looking south towards One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower and 1 WTC) and the skyscrapers of the Financial District. 

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New York City Skyline and Central Park - Sunset  - By Vivienne Gucwa

Summer evenings are when the city smolders

as the sun paints the clouds

and the night sky waits just another hour longer

to dance with the last remnants of the day.

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This is a view of the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan and Central Park from above looking north towards upper Manhattan. I took this at the end of August on a gorgeous, sweltering evening. I made it up to the top deck of Top of the Rock (30 Rock) just as this spectacular sunset was making its way across the sky. It's hard not to feel overcome with emotion when the summer sky puts on one of its late summer sunset shows. When it happens, the city is bathed in an other-worldly glow as the lights in the buildings twinkle on like stars and the sky and the impossible all seem to melt away into an infinite horizon full of endless possibility.

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Skyline Sunset - New York City - By Vivienne Gucwa

Late summer and early autumn sunsets in New York City are intensely beautiful. The city seems to cling to every bit of sunlight through a haze that sleepily hangs low over the urban waterfront. This was taken near the end of a four hour long ferry ride back and forth around the East River in the late summer. There were barely any people on the ferry that day and I spent entire rides just taking note of the sun's descent in the sky. 

When this moment occurred, it was so brief and fleeting and yet so dramatic in its intensity as the sun dipped towards the midtown skyline grazing the skyscrapers that I barely even knew if I captured it properly since the waves were kicking up in the river and the boat was swaying up and down over the waves. By then, I had gotten my 'sea legs' and knew the exact way to stand and counter the movement with my camera in my hands. 

And the sun-kissed skyline drifted away from view and descended into the twilight of evening.

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This view is of the New York City skyline in midtown including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building during the last moments of a sunset as seen from the East River.
 
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New York City Skyline at Sunset - Lower Manhattan Skyscrapers - By Vivienne Gucwa

New York City is magical

during the pause between night and day

when the sun dips behind the skyline

shining its light out through the twinkling eyes of the buildings.

This time of day is when 

dreams roll off the tongue, 

with a slow-motion exhale 

at the end of a word

in a phrase

that trails off 

without end.

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Winter in New York City isn't the friendliest especially near the water when the wind-chills dip into the single digits and the wind whips across the waves. This is the result of a 30 second long exposure taken last night with the Sony a99 after a long-walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. The view is of the skyscrapers of the Financial District in lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty can be seen fading into the sun-streaked horizon. I have always loved the way the skyscrapers in this view just sort of abruptly break up the more open view on the left.  

I love the moments just after sunset. The sky sinks into a momentary pause before the night sky pulls itself over the city. When everything is devoid of color on cloudy days, the tiny bits of color during these moments that come from the lights in the skyscrapers and the color that streaks across the bone-chilled-grey sky reach right into the heart. 


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New York City Skyline and Empire State Building - Top of the Rock View  - By Vivienne Gucwa

When the night pulls its cobalt blanket over the city

the lights flicker like stars

in a magnificent universe.

And the world pauses

for a minute or two

enthralled in a reciprocal gaze

of epic proportion.

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The hour right after the sun dips below the horizon is one of the most enchanting hours of the day. It's not quite day and not quite night but it's a blended mixture of the two. There is no better place to witness this transformation in New York City than 70 stories up in the air on the observation deck of Rockefeller Center (known colloquially as Top of the Rock). After feeling the elation that comes with watching the sun set over the city, all of the city's lights come into view twinkling little by little until they all seem to build up to the most intense crescendo of illuminated splendor. 

This view is looking south towards lower Manhattan past the Empire State Building. This is the result of a 30 second exposure completed by placing my camera on one of the ledges (while tethered to a very, very still me with gloved hands in pockets barely breathing for fear of moving the camera/camera strap). The Top of the Rock and Empire State Building are rather strict about their no tripod policy. Sometimes you can catch a kind security guard who doesn't mind a gorilla pod but for the most part, you have to get creative if you want to take super long exposures. In this case, since it was so ridiculously cold, there weren't many people on the deck and I staked out my ledge during the pre-sunset time period (the sunset was stunning!) taking photos while waiting for this particular moment. There is a special clarity that comes with this time of year. While this spot is a popular vantage point in the summer, there is also a lot less visibility due to the thick summer haze that hangs over the city in the warmer months. In the dead of winter though, it's crystal clear if you catch a clear day (another rarity!). 

Locations of interest in this shot include: The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower or 1 WTC, the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan Bridge, the New York Life building (one of the buildings with a gold top), Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower.

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The New York City Skyline at Sunset - By Vivienne Gucwa

Late summer sunsets over New York City are the most intoxicating.

The bubbles from the wake of boats in the river go right to the head.

And the sun's trail of gold kisses on the water

lead straight to the heart of the city.

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It's this time of year when I start to miss late summer sunsets like this in New York City. When I need to clear my mind, I head to the water. Sometimes I go to the beach to listen to the waves and sometimes I go to the river to gain perspective on everything going on in my life. I don't know what I would do if I lived in a land-locked area.

On the day that I took this photo, I rode the East River Ferry for 4 hours straight (the day-pass is incredible) watching the light stretch across the sky and cityscape changing subtly every hour until the sun burst over the city like a supernova. The waves were perfect that day. The East River Ferry stops in both Manhattan and Brooklyn going from 34th Street in midtown, down to Wall Street's Pier 11, passing under each of lower Manhattan's bridges and then across to stops in Brooklyn and Queens connecting at piers in DUMBO, Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Long Island City.

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Williamsburg Bridge Sunset - New York City - By Vivienne Gucwa

When the sun sets in the winter, its light pours over the city like the glow from a distant bonfire with scattered light illuminating the grey, steel edges like embers strewn about in the wind.

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The Williamsburg Bridge is a favorite of mine in lower Manhattan. It tends to be overshadowed by the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge when it comes to popularity. This is probably because its pedestrian walkway is completely enclosed by a metal gate and because it isn't in super close proximity to the other two bridges (although one could argue that the pedestrian entrances to all three bridges are in walking distance to each other). However, it definitely lives up to its National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark status. Its architecture is incredible and the views of the New York City skyline and Brooklyn that can be glimpsed from either walkway are stunning. 

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Flatiron Building Sunset - Autumn - New York City- By Vivienne Gucwa

Late autumn in New York City has its own brisk beauty. Cold air sharply punctuates the end of every wind gust and the sun retreats earlier and earlier every day. Autumn clings to December in the brief moments before the trees drop their leaves to the ground for good and every afternoon sunset reaches through the sharp cold with its lighted fingers in one last dramatic attempt to bring warmth to the city. 

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This particular view is of the Flatiron Building, one of New York City's unique and classic skyscrapers, as seen from inside Madison Square Park during autumn. 

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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.

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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.

---

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.

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See photo in original gallery.