![This view is looking west to New Jersey, with some low hills/mountains in the far background. The barge was fairly stationary in the river, which facilitated my being able to take 9 separate HDR images without suffering any blur...
Note: this photo was published in a Mar 10, 2011 blog titled "NJ Senate Passes First Bill to Ban Controversial Hydraulic Gas Fracturing (Fracking) ( http://cleantechnica.com/2011/03/10/nj-senate-passes-bill-banning-controversial-hydraulic-gas-fracturing-fracking/?shared=email&msg=fail ) ." And it was published in a Mar 16, 2011 blog titled "Fracking Debate Heats Up as New Jersey Seeks Ban ( http://www.truth-out.org/fracking-debate-heats-up-new-jersey-seeks-ban68494 ) ."
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.](/Other/Sunsets/i-gBdWr2K/0/Ti/New%20Jersey%20skyline%2C%20looking%20west_4295414000_o-Ti.jpg "This view is looking west to New Jersey, with some low hills/mountains in the far background. The barge was fairly stationary in the river, which facilitated my being able to take 9 separate HDR images without suffering any blur...
Note: this photo was published in a Mar 10, 2011 blog titled "NJ Senate Passes First Bill to Ban Controversial Hydraulic Gas Fracturing (Fracking) ( http://cleantechnica.com/2011/03/10/nj-senate-passes-bill-banning-controversial-hydraulic-gas-fracturing-fracking/?shared=email&msg=fail ) ." And it was published in a Mar 16, 2011 blog titled "Fracking Debate Heats Up as New Jersey Seeks Ban ( http://www.truth-out.org/fracking-debate-heats-up-new-jersey-seeks-ban68494 ) ."
**************************************
In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.")
![Note: this photo was published in an Aug 26, 2011 blog titled "Schöne P-s-a Photos ( http://www.p-s-a.de/2011/08/26/schone-p-s-a-photos-2/ ) ."
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.](/Other/Sunsets/i-Hgjnr9t/0/Ti/Manhattan%20skyline%2C%20looking%20north_4295411928_o-Ti.jpg "Note: this photo was published in an Aug 26, 2011 blog titled "Schöne P-s-a Photos ( http://www.p-s-a.de/2011/08/26/schone-p-s-a-photos-2/ ) ."
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.")
![Note: this photo was published in an Aug 26, 2011 blog titled "Schöne P-s-a Photos ( http://www.p-s-a.de/2011/08/26/schone-p-s-a-photos-2/ ) ."
**************************************
In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.](/Other/Sunsets/i-jsP8vLj/0/Ti/Manhattan%20skyline%20%232%2C%20looking%20south_4295411248_o-Ti.jpg "Note: this photo was published in an Aug 26, 2011 blog titled "Schöne P-s-a Photos ( http://www.p-s-a.de/2011/08/26/schone-p-s-a-photos-2/ ) ."
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.")
![This view is looking south, toward the skyline of office buildings in midtown Manhattan. The third tall skyscraper from the left, with the angular slanted roof, is the Citicorp building. Rumor has it that the entire building is filled with hundred-dollar bills, from the ground floor right up to the tippy-top. But maybe that's just a rumor...
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.](/Other/Sunsets/i-N5qps2T/0/Ti/Manhattan%20skyline%20%233%2C%20looking%20south_4294668169_o-Ti.jpg "This view is looking south, toward the skyline of office buildings in midtown Manhattan. The third tall skyscraper from the left, with the angular slanted roof, is the Citicorp building. Rumor has it that the entire building is filled with hundred-dollar bills, from the ground floor right up to the tippy-top. But maybe that's just a rumor...
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.")
![(more details later, as time permits)
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.](/Other/Sunsets/i-C54L2Rg/0/Ti/Manhattan%20skyline%20%231%2C%20looking%20south_4294665469_o-Ti.jpg "(more details later, as time permits)
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.")
![This was taken from the southeast corner of Amsterdam & 95th Street, as I was walking north. I thought it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of old and new, though I can't take any credit at all for the way the red lines in the condo skyscraper line up so nicely with the black-line edges of the five-story red-brick apartment building.
Anyway, the church on the right, which occupies much of the square block between 96th and 97th, and between Amsterdam and Broadway, is the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus; it was taken over by the Order of Franciscan Friars in 1990. According to the Wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Name_of_Jesus_Roman_Catholic_Church ) on the topic, the main part of the church (hidden behind the red-brick apartment buildings) was built between 1891-1900, and the steeple was added separately in 1918.
Meanwhile, the condo in the background is known as Ariel East ( http://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/manhattan/ariel-east-2628-broadway/31702 ) , to distinguish it from Ariel West across the street. Ariel East is a 37-story condo, which was constructed in 2007, and whose blue-tinted windows seem to change color in coordination with the background sky. For another view of this condo, taken from Broadway and 92nd street, click here here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3741907813 ) .
One last thing, though it's a minor detail: the photo is an HDR blend, consisting of 3 separate handheld images, each one varying by one f/stop; they were merged together with the "tonal mapping" feature of the Photomatix software program on my Mac. That explains the vivid red color of the apartment building, which normally appears much more drab.
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This is the continuation of a photo-project that I began in the summer of 2008: a random collection of "interesting" people in a broad stretch of the Upper West Side of Manhattan -- between 72nd Street and 104th Street, especially along Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.
As I indicated when I started this project in 2008, I don't like to intrude on people's privacy, so I normally use a telephoto lens in order to photograph them while they're still 50-100 feet away from me; but that means I have to continue focusing my attention on the people and activities half a block away, rather than on what's right in front of me.
I've also learned that, in many cases, the opportunities for an interesting picture are very fleeting -- literally a matter of a couple of seconds, before the person(s) in question move on, turn away, or stop doing whatever was interesting. So I've learned to keep the camera switched on (which contradicts my traditional urge to conserve battery power), and not worry so much about zooming in for a perfectly-framed picture ... after all, once the digital image is uploaded to my computer, it's pretty trivial to crop out the parts unrelated to the main subject.
Thus far, I've generally avoided photographing bums, drunks, crazies, and homeless people. There are a few of them around, and they would certainly create some dramatic pictures; but they generally don't want to be photographed, and I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of them. I'm still looking for opportunities to take some "sympathetic" pictures of such people, which might inspire others to reach out and help them. We'll see how it goes ...
The only other thing I've noticed, thus far, is that while there are lots of interesting people to photograph, there are far, far, far more people who are not so interesting. They're probably fine people, and they might even be more interesting than the ones I've photographed ... but there was just nothing memorable about them.](/Landscapes/NYC-HDR/i-hS6jJHW/0/Ti/Old%20meets%20new_3816837265_o-Ti.jpg "This was taken from the southeast corner of Amsterdam & 95th Street, as I was walking north. I thought it was interesting to see the juxtaposition of old and new, though I can't take any credit at all for the way the red lines in the condo skyscraper line up so nicely with the black-line edges of the five-story red-brick apartment building.
Anyway, the church on the right, which occupies much of the square block between 96th and 97th, and between Amsterdam and Broadway, is the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus; it was taken over by the Order of Franciscan Friars in 1990. According to the Wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Name_of_Jesus_Roman_Catholic_Church ) on the topic, the main part of the church (hidden behind the red-brick apartment buildings) was built between 1891-1900, and the steeple was added separately in 1918.
Meanwhile, the condo in the background is known as Ariel East ( http://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/manhattan/ariel-east-2628-broadway/31702 ) , to distinguish it from Ariel West across the street. Ariel East is a 37-story condo, which was constructed in 2007, and whose blue-tinted windows seem to change color in coordination with the background sky. For another view of this condo, taken from Broadway and 92nd street, click here here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3741907813 ) .
One last thing, though it's a minor detail: the photo is an HDR blend, consisting of 3 separate handheld images, each one varying by one f/stop; they were merged together with the "tonal mapping" feature of the Photomatix software program on my Mac. That explains the vivid red color of the apartment building, which normally appears much more drab.
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This is the continuation of a photo-project that I began in the summer of 2008: a random collection of "interesting" people in a broad stretch of the Upper West Side of Manhattan -- between 72nd Street and 104th Street, especially along Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.
As I indicated when I started this project in 2008, I don't like to intrude on people's privacy, so I normally use a telephoto lens in order to photograph them while they're still 50-100 feet away from me; but that means I have to continue focusing my attention on the people and activities half a block away, rather than on what's right in front of me.
I've also learned that, in many cases, the opportunities for an interesting picture are very fleeting -- literally a matter of a couple of seconds, before the person(s) in question move on, turn away, or stop doing whatever was interesting. So I've learned to keep the camera switched on (which contradicts my traditional urge to conserve battery power), and not worry so much about zooming in for a perfectly-framed picture ... after all, once the digital image is uploaded to my computer, it's pretty trivial to crop out the parts unrelated to the main subject.
Thus far, I've generally avoided photographing bums, drunks, crazies, and homeless people. There are a few of them around, and they would certainly create some dramatic pictures; but they generally don't want to be photographed, and I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of them. I'm still looking for opportunities to take some "sympathetic" pictures of such people, which might inspire others to reach out and help them. We'll see how it goes ...
The only other thing I've noticed, thus far, is that while there are lots of interesting people to photograph, there are far, far, far more people who are not so interesting. They're probably fine people, and they might even be more interesting than the ones I've photographed ... but there was just nothing memorable about them.")
(more details later, as time permits)
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In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.
**************************************
In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.
![(more details later, as time permits)
**************************************
In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.](/Other/Sunsets/i-C54L2Rg/0/L/Manhattan%20skyline%20%231%2C%20looking%20south_4294665469_o-L.jpg "(more details later, as time permits)
**************************************
In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.")
(more details later, as time permits)
**************************************
In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.
**************************************
In late January, I had a little free time at the end of a boring Thursday afternoon -- so I grabbed my tripod and my camera, and headed up to the roof of our apartment building, to see if I would be lucky enough to get some good sunset shots. The sky had been completely clear in the morning, but a few light clouds and haze began to appear as the sun dropped down toward the horizon on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. You just can't tell whether all of the "elements" of a great sunset will come together, or whether it will just be a "blah" event; but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I set everything up about half an hour before sunset and waited to see what would happen.
Our apartment building is 35 stories high, and I can walk around most of the circumference of the roof, to get views in all four directions. But the best views, with the fewest obstacles and distractions, are south and west -- so that's where I spent most of my time composing photos. The south view looks across several medium-height buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with a nice panorama in the background of office buildings and skyscrapers on Central Park South and midtown Manhattan. The western view looks across the Hudson River to the New Jersey shoreline -- which, I must say, is fairly boring in the winter season. The eastern view is fairly cluttered and uninteresting; I always enjoy seeing part of the Triboro Bridge in the background, but it's not prominent enough to warrant photographing. And finally, the northern view picks up the George Washington Bridge, and the northward route up the Hudson River.
Though it was definitely cold when I took these photos, it wasn't bitter; and there were apparently no weather fronts coming in from the west to create dramatic colors and patterns in the sky. It was also not as lush and beautiful as the scene in summer (see this Flickr set ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157620902423019/ ) , taken from the same spot on my apartment roof, to see what it's like in summertime). But it was ... well, peaceful ... and I'm glad I did it. I'll come back again, from time to time, when the sky looks more interesting...
P.S. A technical note: because I was using a tripod, and because there was no wind to shake things up, all of these photos were created as 9-shot HDR tonemapping composites. I'm sure that was overkill; I could probably have created approximately the same effect with a 5-shot composite, or perhaps even 3 shots. But I was curious to see whether the additional shots (which allowed me to cover four full f-stops of tonal range) would make any visible difference.
See photo in original gallery.