Tag: Manhattan

George Washington Bridge and The Little Red Lighthouse

This past weekend I attended a New York City Bridges Photography Workshop with Loren Fisher and a group of photographers from New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut. The New Jersey group met at the Bridgewater Train Station. Loren drove to Penn Station where we picked a photographer from Weehawken, then we zipped over to Grand Central Staton to pickup photographers from Greenwich and Manhattan.

Our first stop was in Fort Washington Park where our group photographed the George Washington Bridge GWB and The Little Red Lighthouse under the watchful eye of a Port Authority guard who insisted that we exclude the east support pillar in any of our photographs. Just to be sure we behaved, an NYC police patrol car was on the scene. Fort Washington Park runs along a section of the Hudson River from 72nd Street to 158th street.

Under construction from 1927-1932 by Swiss engineer, Othmar Ammann, the 1,450 m GWB is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River. The bridge connects the Washington Heights neighbourhood of Manhattan with the borough of Fort Lee in New Jersey. The GWB has 8 lanes on the upper deck with 6 lanes on the lower deck and transport over 103 million vehicles per year between.

George Washington Bridge and The Little Red Lighthouse — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, f/6.4, ISO200), Copyright 2019-01-12 Khürt L. Williams

The forty-foot Little Red Lighthouse was originally built as the North Hook Beacon at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where it stood until 1917 when it became obsolete. The Lighthouse was moved to its current location in 1921 by the United States Coast Guard as part of a project to improve Hudson River navigational aids, and originally had a battery-powered lamp and a fog bell. It was operated by a part-time lighthouse keeper. In 1948, the lighthouse was decommissioned by the Coast Guard. The lights from the George Washington Bridge provided better lighting.

George Washington Bridge and The Little Red Lighthouse — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (30.2 mm, f/8.0, ISO200), Copyright 2019-01-12 Khürt L. Williams

Trio

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Trio by jansenphotojansenphoto (Dutch goes the Photo)

Three heads are better than one?

We've all heard of the rules of thirds but have you heard of the rule of three?

The rule of three is a writing principle that suggests that a trio of events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers in [the] execution of the story and engaging the reader. The reader or audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information conveyed. This is because having three entities combines both brevity and rhythm with having the smallest amount of information to create a pattern. It makes the author or speaker appear knowledgeable while being both simple and catchy.Wikipedia

Although a writing principle, one of my photography instructors, Loren Fisher, has suggested using this principle when composing images with more than one object of focus.

I’ve been trying to use this principle in my images.

This image was captured earlier this year near South Street Seaport during my lunch break. I used my Fuji X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR and shot using an ACROS Film Simulation Recipe by Ritchie Roesch.

My participation in the photography challenge has decreased. My thyroid problem has not improved and has left me drained of energy and motivation. I will soon have surgery to remove my thyroid and I hope my energy and motivation will return.

South Street Seaport District

Today I worked in Manhattan at the client's Old Slip address in the New York Financial District. As I have done the last few times, I drove for almost two hours minutes into Jersey City and parked in the Paulus Hook neighbourhood. The parking deck is a few minutes walk from the Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal. While I don’t enjoy the commute once I am in the New York office, I have more options for lunch and exploration than at the Metro Park, New Jersey office. Commuting to Iselin is easier and faster, but escaping the hoise of the open plan office means sitting in my car.

As I did on my last commute to the Financial District, I brought my camera, my FujiFilm X-T2, and my only lens, the Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR. This is only the second time I have done this since I bought the camera a few weeks ago. It’s a bit of a hassle bringing the camera kit. My TimBuk 2 messenger bag was never meant to carry a camera kit plus all the other things I need for the workday — over-the-ear headphones, notebook, iPad Pro, snacks, diabetes kits, phone charging kit. It just doesn’t fit well. I squeezed it all, but the bag bulked like the straps would burst. I think it’s time I bought a larger bag.

It was lunchtime, and I wanted to eat out (the office noise is a motivator), but it was hard to choose with so many options. I decided to walk on South Street and hoped to find something appealing. Last week I walked toward Battery Park, so today I walked in the opposite direction; toward Brooklyn Bridge.

Some people say it’s the end of summer, but the heat and humidity on this day suggest otherwise. The temperature yesterday at noon was around 32ºC (~90ºF), and the humidity was over 50%.

After a few minutes of slow walking, I spotted some trees and umbrellas just under the FDR. I thought it might be another urban oasis — a park under the highway. I was curious, but I also hoped it was a restaurant. I crossed South Street at Maiden Lane and made my way over to the area.

Industry Kitchen | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 22mm | f/16 | ISO 200

Yep, it was a restaurant and a park. I perused the menu at Industry Kitchen, but the crab cake caught my attention. The hostess gave me a choice of sitting inside the air-conditioned bar and lounge, but despite the heat and humidity, I decided to sit outside to observe people and the park. I ordered the crab cake and Camp Wannamango by Harpoon Brewing. Lunch was $34 with a tip. But Bhavna told me (we were texting during lunch) that the view was worth it.

Industry Kitchen | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 26.6mm | f/16 | ISO 200

After lunch, I explored the backyard of the restaurant — what some may call the South Street Seaport District.

Many people were eating lunches they acquired from the street side vendors. It’s a much cheaper lunch, and you still enjoy the view from park benches and seats.

Enjoying the view. | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 44.1mm | f/5.0 | ISO 200
Eating Lunch in the shade | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 34.2mm | f/5.0 | ISO 200

I was surprised at how many people were walking around despite the heat and humidity.

Let\'s all go for a walk. | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 55mm | f/16 | ISO 320
Hornblower Cruises & Events Pier 15 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 20mm | f/16 | ISO 320
Pier 15, East River Esplanade | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 21.3mm | f/16 | ISO 320

I explored Hornblower Cruises & Events Pier 15, both the pier and urban lounge. I had an excellent view of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and many sunbathers enjoyed the sunlight.

The view towards Wall Street. | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 23.4mm | f/16 | ISO 200

I was starting to feel the warmth, but it was time to end the lunch hour and return to the office. I slowly walked back down the other side of South Street toward Pier 11.

I think it’s exciting what I can discover with a few minutes of exploration in my colloquial backyard.

Ancheer | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 34.2mm | f/16 | ISO 1250
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 34.2mm | f/16 | ISO 400

Backyard: A person's neighbourhood, or an area nearby to a person's usual residence or place of work and where the person is likely to go.