#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 77] love-locks at Brooklyn Bridge

Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge I made an unexpected discovery. Thousands of padlocks with romantic inscriptions scattered around the length of the bridge. These are called love locks which sweethearts lock to a bridge to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts' names or initials are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolize unbreakable love. Since the 2000s, love locks have proliferated at an increasing number of locations worldwide. They are now mostly treated by municipal authorities as litter or vandalism, and there is some cost to their removal. But saying that, they provide some interesting photos, either by creating a different perspective of a known subject or by becoming the subject themselves. I had these four photos, which I couldn't decide which one to show, since I didn't think any by itself would convey message I was trying to get. So combined they clearly show a collection of details that frame the iconic bridge and these locks.

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

#project365 [day 68] Brooklyn Bridge Tower

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NewYork_20150325_008

The most photographed bridge in New York City, and probably the only one most people can actually name. The Brooklyn Bridge was a place I had put on the top of things to see and photograph in NYC. Crossing it was one of the most interesting walks of my week there, not only because of the views it offers all across Manhattan, Brooklyn and the East River, but also because of the sheer industrial beauty of the bridge itself.
This is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge and one of the oldest of either type in the USA, being completed in 1883 it spans almost half a kilometre connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan. The two towers are built of limestone, granite and Rosendale cement.

-- 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 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 36] "Ed Rogowsky" New York Water Taxi

Painted like a yellow cab, even down to the black and white checkered pattern, the New York Water Taxi is one of the most convenient ways to have a look around Manhattan, Brooklyn and go shopping at IKEA. That is right, you can use this service to go get your favourite flat-pack Swedish furniture at their Brooklyn store, and you can do it in a hurry using the IKEA Express.

I would recommend just using as a sightseer day transportation with an All-Day access pass, going from Midtown Manhattan, down to Brooklyn, past the Statue of Liberty, and back to Wall Street in Downtown. On the background you can see the Brooklyn Bridge, and some of the construction work that is revamping the river front on the Brooklyn Bridge Park. 

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