New York City
One Day. One Camera. One lens.
As my 40th birthday was approaching, my wife planned a trip to New England. We were to home base in Boston as we traveled by train to Philadelphia and back through New York City. It was going to be a flash trip with a lot of ground to cover.
There were several things drawing us to that particular corner of the country. Among them was my wife’s understanding that this would be quite the opportunity for me as a photographer. And it did not dissappoint. It will take several stories to unpack this incredible expedition. What I want to focus on today, is the New York City photography of that trip.
For this trip I decided to take one camera and one lens. It was the Fuji x100f with its fixed 35mm equivalent focal length. Picking and sticking with one focal length for a project is something that I like to do for reasons that I will share in another story.
We left Philadelphia before the sun rose, catching a red eye train to New York City and finding ourselves with some commuters making their way to work. As a country boy raised in rural Oklahoma and living in South Texas at the time, the idea of commuting to work in any other fashion than an automobile was a foreign experience. Of course, I was aware that this mode of transportation existed and this was not my first trip into a large city environment. It is however, not something that I am used to seeing on the regular. This is a small thing but such an important part of travel and why I enjoy documenting humanity. Even a fragment of someone else’s daily routine can serve to provide an opportunity to broaden the mind and see from differing perspectives. This is what draws me to observe, photograph and think about what I am encountering— especially in unfamiliar surroundings.
We came into Penn Station around eight o’clock. Our arrival was met with overcast and low lying skies. Drizzle and even Light rain would come and go throughout the day but never to a point that we needed to find shelter. Much of our first hour there was spent looking for a poncho of some kind and getting our bearings.
As we started to traverse through the city, I wanted to capture as much of everyday life as I could. Nothing dramatic. Simply ‘we were here on this date and this is what was happening’ kind of images.
Times Square was our first notable stop. There was a bit of sensory overload as we entered the square from Seventh Avenue. It truly has to be one of the most visually stimulating areas that I have ever stood. The locals were about their business and the tourists were taking in the digital onslaught of sights and advertisements. The difference between the two groups seemed easily identifiable by those who were simply trying to get somewhere and those with heads swiveling in various directions.
We grabbed a quick snack at Junior’s. It was cheesecake and some coffee because well, its New York City. After some carbs and caffeine we crossed over to 6th Ave and headed North.
Taking a right at Radio City Music Hall we came to Rockefeller Center.
The entrance to Rockefeller Plaza revealed the “Seated Ballerina”, a 45’ inflated polychromed fabric sculpture by Jeff Koons.
“Seated Ballerina” was on exhibit from mid May through mid July of 2017 and marks the third time that Koons has displayed a piece of his work at the historical landmark.
St Patrick’s Cathedral, catty-corner from Rockefeller, took just over 20 years to complete and opened its doors in 1879.
Ironically, this massive structure was dubbed “Hughes Folly”. The criticism was that Archbishop Hughes was constructing the cathedral in the wilderness, too far outside of the city. In hindsight, I guess he did alright.
Central Park was our next major stop. It seemed a relatively quiet day with fewer people than I expected inside the park. Perhaps it was the hour or the light rain. There was a photoshoot going on at water’s edge, but for the most part we walked through its trails without much interaction— a tranquil experience considering we were surrounded by the largest city in the US.
With the early morning travel and several miles under our soles, we were ready for a break. We decided to take the subway to the other end of Manhattan. If the goal was to cover as much ground as we could, we were going to fall far short on foot alone. We Redlined it from Central Park to the World Trade Center area.
It was my wife that called me on the morning of 9/11 to tell me to turn on the television. I was watching as the second plane struck. We spent much of that day trying to figure out what was going on and speculating as to what this could mean for our nation. The feeling was heavy but there was somewhat of a disconnect. It was a tv screen showing us scenes from a far away place. We had personally never seen buildings that large, much less watch them fall. Not to mention that the number of people in the Trade Center Towers far outscored the population of the town that we were living in at the time. We were seeing, but not fully grasping.
Standing at the Memorial Fountains, reading the names that cover their borders and watching the reverence of the people in attendance brought more of a reality to what took place on that dreadful day.
The whole complex is highly recommended if you are ever in the area. It is complete with the Freedom Tower, reaching tall into the low lying sky on that particular day. It reminds me of our resolve as Americans, what we can bounce back from and the accomplishments possible when united.
It was time for some real food and if you’ve already had cheesecake in New York City, Pizza is the next obvious pursuit. Nourishment first, and then to the Statue of Liberty. Well, kind of.
The downside to being a one camera, one lens type of guy is that you end up being stuck with only one camera and only one lens. And while a 35mm lens fares well at capturing people walking to and fro on the street, it falls fairly short when trying to capture things that are far away. So did we see the Statue of Liberty? Yes. The shape of it anyway.
We started to return up the island again by way of Wall Street, stopping quickly by the Beaver Building. This building serves as the exterior shots for The Continental in the John Wick movies.
The New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall were the last stops before getting on the Green Line to Grand Central Station. It was getting close to the end of the work day and the city began to look as busy as we had expected. The subway car was shoulder to shoulder. So much so that I could not take an image of that situation. Finding an internal happy place and not hyperventilating seemed the most pressing priorities.
The day was drawing late and our train to elsewhere was departing soon. We walked just a few more blocks before heading back to Penn Station. We were worn out and decided to check our steps for the day to find we had clocked 17 miles walking around the city. It was a terrific experience, and we cannot wait to go back. If so, it will definitely be longer than one day.
