#project365 [day 86] Manhattan Postcard

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NewYork_20150325_074

This is one of the most photographed views of Lower Manhattan. I have seen inumerous versions of this view, and always wanted to know where it was taken from. And thankfully my wanderings through Brooklyn's shoreline got me to the right place. Unfortunately not at the best time, sunrise will reward you with the loveliest of light falling on the skyline, but at least I had some very interesting sky to help me out. The abandoned pillars make for an interesting foreground. Specially with long exposures which render the water with a velvety texture, which contrast with the well defined pillars. But I was there at midday, and without a Big Stopper to help me out, so the water looks very choppy. Whenever I get the chance to back to NYC, this is on my list to retake. It was taken at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, and you may want to venture even closer to the water than me. 

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
MeFOTO Backpacker Tripod 
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 78] Manhattan from the porthole

Taken from the Brooklyn Bridge Park, in NYC, looking over downtown Manhattan. I have described this view a couple of times before, but I really wanted to show it again with this image. It's not really taken through a porthole, just a cheap variable Neutral Density filter that was not big enough not to block the extreme wide angle field of view of this lens at 10mm. But it did allow me to get an exposure time of a couple of seconds at the middle of the day, which in turn allowed for a softer water, it was very choppy this day, and also a blurry New York Water Taxi coming in from the right. Thankfully I had my trusted MeFOTO Backpacker with me, It was actually brand new at the time, a very nice little travel tripod that has become a fixture of my camera bag. I will do a small review of the tripod very soon.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
MeFOTO Backpacker Tripod 
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 61] Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn

The panoramic view from the Brooklyn Bridge Park, with Lower Manhattan's skyline in the centre of the stage. The statue of liberty is also visible, but is so small in comparison that it is just a few pixels high, even on the original 87522 pixel long panorama shot. Using the X-T1's in camera panorama functionality makes is so easy to create these types of images, that I tend to use it every time I have a great landscape or cityscape. 

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone, final crop and vignette
Photoshop: Minor clean up and sharpening.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 58] Brooklyn classic

Back in days 13 and 24 I showed the two elements that make this image on their own. The iconic Brooklyn Bridge and the landmark Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory form the landscape of the Fulton Ferry Pier. Together they represent the most classic image of Brooklyn.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Fujifilm XF10-24mmF4 R OIS
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 54] the Eagle Warehouse & Storage Co. 1893

Back in day 7 of this #project365 I introduced the main entrance of this building. Located right next to the Brooklyn Bridge, and part of the Fulton Ferry District. The Eagle Warehouse & Storage Company used the warehouse primarily to store furniture and silverware, the latter kept in giant fireproof vaults in the basement. In 1906, Freeman added a six-story extension to the east side, which is "entirely in character" with the original building. Between 1904 and 1928, part of the warehouse was used as the headquarters of the Brooklyn Law School. In 1980, the building was renovated into condominiums by Brooklyn architect Bernard Rothzeid. In 2002, one of the building's 85 apartments was sold for over $600k.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Initial tone and vignette
Photoshop: Perspective correction, cropping and clean up.
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 49] Brooklyn Museum

This is the third largest museum in New York, at least in physical size, holding an art collection of roughly 1.5 million works of art. Founded in 1895 near the Prospect Heights neighbourhood in the borough of Brooklyn. The building designed by McKim, Mead and White it was planned to be the largest art museum in the world, the initial design was four times as large as the actual size, compromised by the specifications of the New York City government. The museum struggled to maintain its building and collection, until it was revitalised in the late 20th century.
The day was turning grey, after some respite while we were at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, with lots of menacing clouds over us (it would eventually rain). This made for a very flat light, which allowed me to capture the facade with lots of detail in the shadows, and added some drama to the sky. To be able to capture the whole front of the building, which is very wide, I decided to go with stitching 3 photos together and then cropping to a panorama.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6R LM OIS WR
-- Post
Lightroom : Crop, tone and vignette
Photoshop: Panorama stitching, sharpening and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction