It had been just over 10 years (10 years, 3 months & 6 days to be exact) since I was last in New York.

I was there to attend a YouTube hosted News event but the business trip ended up being extended to San Francisco at the last minute.

Outside of work I spent a few days exploring (and re-exploring) the city.

View of the Empire State Building from the Rockefeller Center on a foggy day

I actually found it to be quite difficult to get a good photo of the Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock Observation Deck. The two buildings are not quite aligned for a perfectly symmetrical view and the closer you are to the ideal positioning the more tourists there are huddled together in the corner of the Rockefeller Center’s rooftop.

After color correction, and some heavy-handed use of Google Photo’s ‘Pop’ adjustment filter (a.k.a. Clarity in Adobe Lightroom), I’ve come to quite like the mist and the moody atmosphere created by the reduced visibility.

View of Central Park from the Rockefeller Center on a misty afternoon

Central Park on a misty afternoon.

I like how this view gives a real sense of Manhattan Island. The Hudson river is visible in the background on the left and the size of Central Park, sprawling across the middle of the island, can be seen clearly.

View of the Empire State Building from the Rockefeller Center at dusk

The perspective issues, and resulting asymmetry, are clearer in this photo of the Empire State Building at dusk.

There were even more tourists huddled together in the optimal corner of the observation deck when this photo was taken. In order to get a usable photo I had to remove the DP-3 viewfinder from my Nikon F2 body (after first using it to set exposure), then hold the camera upside down above my head and use the ground glass for framing.

View of the North Tower Pool of the 9/11 Memorial with Hudson River Trading's building in the background

North Tower Pool of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

I didn’t make it to New York’s financial district when I was here 10 years ago but was glad I made it down this time. The way that the real estate of World Trade Center’s historic two towers have been artistically memorialized was impressive and meaningful.

View of the NYC skyline from the Staten Island ferry

New York City skyline.

Taken from the free Staten Island ferry. I quite like how this turned out.

Classic view of Dumbo bridge

Dumbo (Manhattan Bridge View), Brooklyn.

There was no queuing system for the teams of wannabe influencers that were posing for a photograph with Manhattan Bridge in the background. Your ‘turn’ was based mainly on how much risk you were willing to take with the oncoming traffic.

Looking west down Water Street in Brooklyn at sunset

Water Street, Brooklyn (looking west from somewhere near the Washington Street intersection).

This might be my favourite photo from this trip.

Taken close to sunset, the harsh lighting conditions really push the limits of the Kodak Pro Image 100 film stock with lots of grain visible (after colour correction) and only the most essential detail surrounding Brooklyn Bridge being retained in the highlights. I particularly like the way the incident sunlight reflects off of the windows creating pools of light across the cobblestone road.