Tag: Jersey City

By Land and By Water: The Lower Manhattan Cityscape

Attending By Land and By Water: The Lower Manhattan Cityscape

Saturday, July 21, 2018, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm (Rain date: July 28)

Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal, Jersey City, NJ Instructor: Bill Blanchard

We'll meet at the Jersey City Ferry Dock for a short ferry ride to Downtown Manhattan. From the ferry we’ll have views of Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty, Manhattan’s skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. After docking, we’ll make our way to Battery Park, shooting images and talking photography along the way, then on to the World Trade Center’s Memorial Pools. As the light changes, we'll talk about camera settings under different conditions. On the return ferry ride, we will shoot night images of the Hudson River and the New York skyline.

Registration Includes Round Trip Ferry Fare

Attending "By Land and By Water: The Lower Manhattan Cityscape" #PPW

Attending By Land and By Water: The Lower Manhattan Cityscape

Saturday, July 21, 2018, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm (Rain date: July 28)

Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal, Jersey City, NJ Instructor: Bill Blanchard

We'll meet at the Jersey City Ferry Dock for a short ferry ride to Downtown Manhattan. From the ferry we’ll have views of Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty, Manhattan’s skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. After docking, we’ll make our way to Battery Park, shooting images and talking photography along the way, then on to the World Trade Center’s Memorial Pools. As the light changes, we'll talk about camera settings under different conditions. On the return ferry ride, we will shoot night images of the Hudson River and the New York skyline.

Registration Includes Round Trip Ferry Fare

I'm doing a photography field trip with instructor: Bill Blanchard.

Statue of Liberty

Bhavna and I made promises to do certain things with the kids over the summer. During August, I decided to take a day off each week - alternating Wednesday’s and Thursday’s - to complete the checklist. Among them was a trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Bhavna had never visited Ellis Island while I had been twice, once with Shaan and once more with my daughter, Kiran, on a 5th Grade class school trip. I was a "class Dad" for Kiran's rip, a rare honour!

It was raining in Skillman, NJ but we hoped the weather in Jersey City would be better. It rained the entire boat ride to and from Ellis Island. Our tour included a stop at Liberty Island, but the heavy rain kept us on the boat.

Imagine what it was like to see this statue for the first time, covered in fog or rain, after spending months at sea, crowded inside the cargo area or cabin of a ship?

This image was captured on the return ferry from Liberty Island to Jersey City. It’s a single image “fake HDR” processed in Nik Software’s HDR Efex Pro.

Ellis Island Field Trip with the 5th Grade

My daughter’s 5th-grade class went on a field trip to Ellis Island today. My daughter insisted that I chaperone, so I was given the responsibility for seven girls (including my daughter).

We, of course, started our trip on the New Jersey side. I carpooled with another parent. Despite leaving 15 minutes before the school bus, we arrived too late to catch the 9 AM ferry. We got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on I-78 that caused our 90 minutes trip to take 150 minutes. We arrived just at the plank was pulled from the dock. We were in good company though since a lot of other parents were stuck in the same traffic.

I find it odd that we had to go through a security check very similar to the one you see at airports around the country. I even had to take my belt off. At least I got to keep my shoes on.

The girls were given an assignment sheet to complete, so we walked around looking for the information they needed before breaking for lunch. It’s fascinating the sort of questioning, and physical examination immigrants had to endure to gain entry to the United States. Things that we would not tolerate today. There were tests for mental health, financial status (so much about give me your poor), and physical disability. Fail the test, and the person was placed back on the next ship leaving for their homeland. Yikes! Imagine selling all your possessions, travelling weeks and months inside the no-windows cabin of a ship only to be told that you must go back. Some people,e could not bear it, and some jumped into the waters of the Hudson to their death.

I didn’t learn much, though. I was too distracted, making sure I didn’t lose my wondering flock. I think I'll have to make another trip back with the family.

Jersey City, New Jersey —NIKON D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (24 mm, 0.005 sec at f/18, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, Jersey City, New Jersey —NIKON D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (18 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Ellis Island, New Jersey —NIKON D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (26 mm, 0.006 sec at f/11, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Ellis Island, New Jersey —NIKON D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (18 mm, 0.010 sec at f/8.0, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Ellis Island, New Jersey —Nikon D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (32 mm, 0.003 sec at f/8.0, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Ellis Island, New Jersey —NIKON D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (18 mm, 0.001 sec at f/8.0, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Ellis Island, New Jersey —Nikon D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (55 mm, 0.003 sec at f/8.0, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Ellis Island, New Jersey —Nikon D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (55 mm, 0.003 sec at f/8.0, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Statue Cruises, Ellis Island, New Jersey —Nikon D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (18 mm, 0.008 sec at f/22, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams
Ellis Island, New Jersey —Nikon D40 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (34 mm, 0.004 sec at f/22, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams