Tag Archives: New York City

Weekly Photo Challenge: Through

Posted on March 23, 2012 by | 51 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Through.

Crowds of photographers gather as the magic moment draws near. What are they waiting for?

It’s Manhattanhenge! On two days in the year, for a brief moment before it sinks below the horizon, the setting sun is perfectly aligned with the cross-streets of Manhattan’s rectangular street grid and sends its last golden rays straight through its canyons…

These photos are from the first occurrence of Manhattanhenge last year, on May 30, 2011. More photos are here and here.

This year’s magic days will be May 29 and July 12!

________________________________________________________

Some other nice interpretations of “Through” I’ve seen:

51 Comments

Posted in New York City, Photography

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Spring!

Posted on March 20, 2012 by | 7 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

The Spring Equinox occurred early this morning. We are now officially—although it’s felt like it already for weeks—into Spring!

Here’s a preview of coming attractions. These photos were taken in New York’s Central Park in 2007… in late April. This year we’ll probably see these fruit trees bloom in a week or two—almost a month earlier!


More photos from Spring 2007 are here.

7 Comments

Posted in Nature, New York City

Tagged , , , , , ,

Spring Has Sprung, Seemingly

Posted on March 13, 2012 by | 17 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Contrary to the Groundhog’s prediction (he is right only 39% of the time, after all), the season seem to be well advanced into Spring.

In New York City, temperatures are reaching into the 60s or even 70s each day. Crocuses and daffodils are out, two or three weeks earlier than usual. Even some fruit trees are beginning to flower in Central Park. Nobody expects Winter to come back any more.

Continue reading →

17 Comments

Posted in Nature, New York City

Tagged , , , , , ,

Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrast

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | 45 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Contrast.

And New York City is a city of contrasts, photographically and otherwise:

A couple of these photos are already elsewhere on this blog, but I do like them and they seem to fit well this week’s theme…

More New York Cityscapes are here.

Some other nice interpretations I’ve seen:

45 Comments

Posted in New York City, Photography

Tagged , , , , , , ,

In Preparation for Landing, Please Return Your Seat Backs to Their Full Upright Position… and Take Out Your Cameras!

Posted on February 27, 2012 by | 22 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Like everyone who travels often enough by airplane, I’ve seen breathtaking things from the plane’s window: towering cloud formations, lightning storms, the brilliant colors of sunrise and sunset, and the map-like pattern of land and water sliding into view below.

But until yesterday, I’ve never taken out my camera. Looking out through a misted, scratched window at a cramped angle not under my control, the photographic situation didn’t seem too promising.

Still, I’ve always been tempted in one case—when landing in New York City. When landing at LaGuardia Airport, especially, if the wind is right the plane flies along the length of Manhattan, offering spectacular low-altitude views of the city.

So yesterday, when it looked like we were following that flight path once again, I got out my camera. And I was not disappointed!

Continue reading →

22 Comments

Posted in New York City, Photography, Travel

Tagged , , , ,

Wild New Yorkers

Posted on February 19, 2012 by | 15 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

To survive and to thrive in the big city, it sometimes seems that New York City’s wildlife has diversified to fill much the same niches as the city’s human inhabitants…

Some specialize in being decorative

Some are charming hustlers

Others still are quick small-time opportunists

The hustlers just won’t take no for an answer!

Many establish societies, in plain sight yet with their own secret rules, in the interstices of the city

But all come to watch the sunset along the river…

(All photos taken yesterday in Central and Riverside Parks, Manhattan.)

15 Comments

Posted in Nature, New York City

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

“A Bizarre Boating Accident”

Posted on February 10, 2012 by | 41 comments

By Johna Till Johnson
(Photos by Vladimir Brezina)

Since we posted our Red Hook adventure a couple of weeks ago, readers have been asking for more. So here’s a real adventure, which until now, for reasons that will become obvious, we’ve been a bit reluctant to post in full…

We’ve drawn upon the initial couple of hours of this story for a previous post. But at the point where that post left off, the adventure was just beginning!

Two further comments: First, we regret that photos are a little thin in this post. During most of these events, photography would have been difficult, or inadvisable.

And second, this is an example of people going “above and beyond” to be human, even when it could potentially threaten them professionally. So to protect the well-intentioned—and much-appreciated—innocent, all names, dates, and other identifying details have been modified or obscured.

This happened sometime last spring…

Continue reading →

41 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Winter Dawn Over Manhattan From the Statue of Liberty

Posted on February 7, 2012 by | Leave a comment

By Vladimir Brezina

At dawn, around 6:30 a.m. at this time of the year, the Statue of Liberty is, of course, closed to visitors. But it’s possible to see the dawn spread over New York Harbor and over Manhattan from the high-definition streaming webcam mounted high up in the Statue’s torch.

These photos span just 30 minutes as the new day arrives. A brightly-lit cruise ship makes its way up the harbor; early-morning ferries zip back and forth across the stretch of water between the Statue and Manhattan.

These photos were taken on Saturday, February 4, 2012—the day that Johna and I paddled out to Swinburne Island to see the seals. Early that morning, I was checking on the harbor conditions and watched, entranced, as this sequence unfolded…

Leave a comment

Posted in Nature, New York City

Tagged , , , , ,

Seals Revisited

Posted on February 5, 2012 by | 13 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Every winter, Swinburne Island in New York Harbor is home to a healthy population of seals. And every winter, we paddle out to see them.

But so far this year, our seal-watching trips have all gone awry in one way or another. Last time, we ended up having quite a different kind of adventure in Red Hook, Brooklyn…

So, on Saturday, Johna and I made a determined effort to paddle out to Swinburne Island. Here are a few photos.

Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Nature, New York City

Tagged , , , , ,

Red Hook: An Unexpected Adventure

Posted on January 25, 2012 by | 112 comments

By Johna Till Johnson and Vladimir Brezina

Freshly Pressed on the WordPress.com home page!

Experiencing the unexpected is the essence of adventure.

That was amply illustrated by our paddling experience on a recent weekend. In company with Harry and Runar, we set out toward Swinburne Island to see the seals that live there each winter. It was a perfect day for the trip: Sunny, temperature in the high 50s,  just enough wind to make things interesting. We figured it would be a great way to start off the seal-viewing season.

Instead, we ended up spending an afternoon exploring a part of the world we’d never seen before: Red Hook, Brooklyn. What we gave up in paddling and seal-watching we gained back in art, architecture, and entertaining social interactions.

Continue reading →

112 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Society

Tagged , , , , , , ,