#project365 [day 80] Hello, from the Grand Central Terminal

Late morning commuters hurry about NYC's Grand Central Terminal trying to get to their lines, or getting out of the station. These public telephones are ignored by everyone that passes by.  In some ways akin to fossils, a remnant reminder of an era long gone. A time where thinking about carrying your own phone seemed futuristic or just ludicrous. Even when mobile phones started to appear most people couldn't afford their price, or would refuse to carry around a briefcase sized phone that weighed more than most briefcases. Before the ubiquitous pervasion of the mobile phone, these would be essential and almost mandatory in all places where groups of people would gather. A lifeline at times, or just to tell your significant other that you would be late for dinner. I loved the golden color of the metal plates where the phones are secured to, making them feel high end. And also the lack of signs of use on the handsets, that seems like they have just been refurbished. Probably a side effect of the lack of usage, since no one approached any of them while I was there. Not even to check for leftover change from previous users. 

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

#project365 [day 45] Walking south on central Park

Spring is trying to take hold on an almost frozen Central Park. Trees are mostly naked, grass is getting greener, the sun is shinning bright, but the cold is still here and the wintery feeling refuses to go away although it's almost April. Walking south, on the west side of the park, towards the Central Park Zoo, on the left you can see the buildings of the prestigious 5th Avenue.
Another in camera panorama, and I wanted to make use of that red bag that was being carried by the couple in front of me. The spot of bright colour in an otherwise pastel scene helps make it more interesting.

-- 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

#project365 [day 44] I'm on top of the Rock

Out of all the photos I took at the 'Top of the Rock', some of them with breathtaking views, this is the one I think translates better the feeling of being up there. The sense of being high above the streets, above most buildings even, and the city lights stretching almost infinitely in all directions. 
Below us is the Fifth Avenue, where you can see St. Patrick's Cathedral, a Neo-Gothic church built in 1879 whose twin-spires measure 100m tall and seem tiny from up here. This was taken from the 69th floor, 256 meters from the ground (that's 840 feet in imperial), and I can't recommend enough going there when in NY. Even the elevator trip up there has been transformed into a ride.
Again using the fisheye lens, this time to give more of the impression of really being there, not to try and include more in the frame. This tiny lens has found a permanent place on my travel bag.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- 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

#project365 [day 35] Departments of Health, Hospitals and Sanitation

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In lower Manhattan there is an area dominated by public service buildings, in a few blocks you can find the City Hall, Tweed Courthouse, Court of International Trade, Supreme Court and the Department of Health, Hospitals and Sanitation.

Huge monolithic buildings, mostly made of stone and largely in the Art Deco style. This facade has a wonderful weathered stone and some very intricate metal detailing. I couldn't find any information on the building itself, would be interesting to find out who designed it and when it was built. 

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

#project365 [day 34] Going through book cards at NYPL

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Wandering inside the NYPL building, I found one of the small reading rooms actively being used for research. Looking through the cabinets full of book cards, one of the readers tries to find the right book. In an age of digital, where all information seems to be found at the click of a mouse, it seemed an action out of time. The Library seems to still be the guardian of old times, where a physical interaction was needed to be able to find what you wanted, and time had to be invested with delayed gratification.

Being an active reading room, I had to stay outside the door shooting through the glass, hence the reflections. But the action being capture seemed to outweigh the technical flaws of the image. Hope some agree... 

-- 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

#project365 [day 33] Madame Tussaud’s NYC

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Midtown Manhattan, the chaos of the skyscrapers, crazy big adverts, neon lights, thousands of cars and even more people crowding the sidewalks and streets. In the middle of all that, a hand holds a sign over a building. A very big golden hand, that catches my eye in the middle of all the visual noise. It signals the building that houses the Madame Tussauds NY collection. I think about trying to isolate the hand from the rest, but end up deciding on including its surroundings, and show a bit of the sensory overload that is NY.

-- 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