#project365 [day 69] Little Italy

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The late Italian Food Center, now Gelso & Grand, in the middle of NYC's Little Italy is one of those iconic Lower Manhattan buildings that shines. With it's distinctive, and possibly soon to be extinct, external fire escape, beautiful red brick facadeand the glass frames on the ground level. The rusted sign left by the new owners adds a lot to the character of the whole building.
Little Italy itself is changing a lot, what was once known for its large population on Italian, is now being taken over by the expanding neighboring Chinatown, with only a few Italian stores and restaurants still surviving. 

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

#project365 [day 68] Brooklyn Bridge Tower

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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 67] Walking around Chinatown

Walking from Midtown Manhattan to Chinatown feels like moving from Metropolis to a small city, if that small city was located in China. The huge skyscrapers start to become less ubiquitous and slowly give way completely to streets full of 5 stories buildings. The grand avenues transform themselves into narrow streets, and the storefronts go from the franchise clones to a colorfully chaotic mash of exotic produce and homewares. The city also loses a layer of veneer and becomes more gritty, this also changes the way I approach documenting and lends to a harsher black and white tone on this street scene.   

-- 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 Silver Efex Pro 4: Toning, detail extraction and black & white conversion

#project365 [day 66] The Helmsley Building Entrance

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The location of this building baffles me, as it sits in the middle of Park Avenue, but for today the focus in on it's beautiful main entrance. Built in 1929 and designed by Warren & Wetmore in the Beaux-Arts style, this was a created as a showpiece by the New York Central Railroad Company. That shows of in its ornate entrance and is carried on in the grandiose lobby that is marked by a beautiful row of chandeliers, the first of which can be seen here.

-- 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 65] the Rink at the Rock

The ice rink at the Rockefeller Center is a New York City Winter tradition. In the heart of Midtown, steps from Times Square and the Theater District. And thankfully it was still going in the end of March for it makes a wonderful focal point for this view of the Rock. In the foreground you can see the back of the statue of Prometheus, probably the most photographed monumental sculpture in all of NYC. Created by Paul Manship, an American sculptor, it has become the main attraction of the Lower Plaza. Behind it there is an inscription, not seen here, that reads: "Prometheus, Teacher in Every Art, Brought the Fire That Hath Proved to the Mortals a Means to Mighty Ends." by Aeschylus a Greek dramatist on the 6th century BC.

-- Gear
Fujifilm X-PRO1
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye
-- Post
Lightroom : HDR photomerge, initial toning and final crop
Photoshop: Sharpening, colour blending and clean up
NikCollection Color Efex Pro 4: Toning and Detail extraction

#project365 [day 64] Revolutionary War Veteran

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Scattered throughout the cemeteries located in church grounds I kept seeing these medals. Being something I never came across before they intrigued me, and this one even had a tiny flag next to it which made for an irresistible target for my camera.They are in fact grave markers to distinguish the brave souls who perished in the call of duty. This one is dedicated to a soldier of the Revolutionary War, better known to us as the War of Independence. You can find a number of other markers for most other wars that the US fought in and even for Fireman amongst others. This one was found next to Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

-- 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 63] 1 Wall Street

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In the most well known street of Lower Manhattan, New York City, you can find this great example of Art-Deco Architecture. Not that it is hard to find Art-Deco examples all over NYC. But on the narrow Wall Street this one stands out. Known as the BNY Mellon building since 2007, is was originally built in 1931 for the Irving Trust Company and designed by Ralph Walker. Standing fifty stories high and 199m tall, has a steel skeleton with limestone covering the facade.

-- 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 62] Inside the NYPL the bust of John Stewart Kennedy

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Inside the main entrance of the Stephen A, Schwarzman Building of the NYPL in Midtown Manhattan you can find the bust of John Stewart Kennedy. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he established himself in New York being prominently connected throughout his life with many charities in the city, namely the Columbia University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and of course the New York Public Library. The main hall of this lovely building is worth a visit on its own, but if you have the time I would advise you to wander through the corridors and explore the whole building.

-- 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 60] William Cullen Bryant Memorial

On the back of NYPL's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, you can find Bryant Park, a tiny 39,000 square meter public park with a wonderful lawn in the middle of all of midtown Manhattan's skyscrapers. Previously known as Reservoir Park, in 1884 it was renamed Bryant Park to honour the New York Evening Post editor and abolitionist William Cullen Bryant. In 1899 the construction of the New York Public Library building began, and when it finished in 1911 the memorial was also created. On it's center you can find the bronze statue of Bryant created by Herbert Adams. The history of the park has been marked by a great period of deterioration, and by the 1970s it had been taken over by drug dealers, prostitutes and the homeless. In 1980 the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation was created with the purpose of restoring the parks former glory, which had been achieved by the 1990s after major rebuilding projects.

-- 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