#project365[day 55] 745 Fifth Avenue, NYC

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Located close to the southeast corner of Central Park is a Art Deco masterpiece. 745 Fifth Av. is a stereotypical Art Deco office building skyscraper, designed by Buchman & Kahn and finished by 1931, that is 34 stories high. The entrance is a brass and brushed nickel  grille with intersecting vertical and horizontal lines reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's glasswork.
This building could easily be the inspiration for a city hall, a police headquarters, or a private detective's office in any number of pre-World War Two comic books.

-- 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 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 53] St. Bartholomew's Church, Park Avenue

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Another cold morning in NYC, but this time with a glorious sunshine to help keep our spirits up and our pictures illuminated. Located in Midtown Manhattan on Park Avenue, one of the busiest avenues in New York, is a fine example of Byzantine Revival design erected in 1916-17 was designated a landmark in 1967. This Episcopal Church is noted for its pipe organ, the largest in the city of New York and one of the ten largest in the world.
One of the services available at this church, which I found very surprising, is Brunch + Bible which combines bible studies with food for the body, it even has a vegetarian option.

-- 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 52] Rockefeller Center Atlas

The largest sculpture in the Art Deco haven that is the Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan, NYC, depicts the Ancient Greek Titan Atlas. Weighing in at 7 tonnes, this bronze statue is 14m tall, that's about as high as a four-story building. It was created by sculptor Lee Lawrie and was installed in 1937 to some strange controversy, it apparently resembled the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini who as in power at the time. The statue is located on the Fifth Avenue, just in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's gothic facade is clearly visible on the reflections in the glass, although somewhat more deconstructed that what it is in reality.
I decided to crop this down to a 6 by 7 format, not only because it reminds me of my trusted old Mamiya RB67, but it also makes for a more formal view giving more weight to the statue in the frame

-- 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 51] Lewisohn Building detail

Walking through Midtown Manhattan, where the streets are littered with skyscrapers, it pays to keep looking up. That is how I discovered this building which has 6 sculptures of medieval dressed men, seated with their ankles crossed. With it's lovely facade, the Lewisohn Building, completed in 1913 is a fine example of early 20th century skyscraper. You can read more about it at Daytonian in Manhattan.
These statues are located about 3 stories up from ground level, and the 40th street is a rather narrow road, which makes photographing them not a trivial matter. I had a group shot, of all six, and a few individual shots. Ended up deciding that the best way to show it was to pick the best statues, and after correct the perspective create a square format composit image. 

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

#project365 [day 50] Cloudy night in North Greenwich

At the end of a grey dull day walking around London, the view of the North Greenwich peninsula all lit up made for an interesting picture. The O2 Arena has a special lighting scheme during the World Rugby Championship taking place around England. Using blue and white spotlights that move around, instead of the usual white flood lights, these add some interesting color reflections on the Thames. The new towers, that hide part of the dome, are part of the new hotel complex that will be open early next year, and has changed the skyline of that part of town. The green light visible on the  right side of the image is the laser projected from the Royal Observatory and marks the line of the Greenwich Meridian.

-- 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 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

#project365 [day 48] USS Maine National Monument pt2

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Back on day five of my #project365 I showed the detail of the figures that reside on the base of this monument. So I thought I should also show the beautiful statue the sits on top of the USS Maine National Monument on the corner of New Yorks Central Park by Columbus Circle.
Sculpted by Attilio Piccirilli in 1912 the three bronze gilded figures representing Columbia Triumphant, her seashell chariot being drawn by three hippocampi,  make it almost 20 meters tall, and shine on a sunny day like this one. The monument is dedicated to the men killed aboard USS Maine when the ship exploded in Havana harbour. The bronze for this group reportedly came from metal recovered from the guns of the Maine.
 

-- 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 47] The Little Chapel That Stood

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The St. Paul's Chapel is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan. It's an episcopal chapel located at 209 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. It was built on land granted by Queen Anne, designed by architect Thomas McBean and, upon its completion in 1766 it was the tallest building in New York.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, in part by being the oldest public building in continuous use in the city. It also survived the Great New York City Fire of 1776, when a quarter of the city was burned following the British capture after the Battle of Long Island.

-- 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 46] From the ashes, the WTC Transport Hub

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From the site of the old World Trade Center a new focal point for the city is rising. The One WTC building is up, and shines to indicate that this part of town is back in business again. But closer to the ground there is a new building rising. One with a lot more architectonic interest, or at least that stands out from everything else around him.

The WTC Transportation Hub designed by Santiago Calatrava, renowned neofuturistic architect born in Spain, who as designed such iconic structures as the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and one of my favourite train stations the Gare do Oriente in Lisbon.
Oculus is the name of the structure visible above ground, and in the words of Calatrava it resembles a bird being released from a child's hand. To me, at this stage in construction, and maybe because of the history of the place, it feels like a phoenix rising again. Hope to see it again once it is completed later this year.

-- 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