One of my favorite series that I’ve shot so far has been the Building Corners one from downtown SF. I realized my trip to New York last week was a perfect opportunity to expand on it, so I opted for the same film stock (Kodacolor 100) and the same lens (the 135mm lens).
I’ve heard one good rule of thumb for photographers is “one camera, one lens” for traveling. I broke that rule and brought two lenses. I did one lens swap in Tribecca at the start of this roll, and spent one day wandering Manhattan lugging around the 135mm lens. Then after I finished the roll, the 135mm lens stayed packed away in my luggage.
I knew exactly what building to start this roll with! The Jenga tower, which I spotted on my trip to New York last year. It made an appearance in last year’s Manhattan walk as well. Just like the Mira building is my muse for SF, the Jenga Tower is my NY muse. Outside this roll, I took many shots of it from all over the city.
The Jenga Tower
The Jenga Tower
Under construction
One World Trade, with leaves
One World Trade, without
130 William
The Empire State Building
The Aro building was one of my other favorites
While I was taking photos of One World Trade, I noticed a crew of window washers. I wanted to see how a shot of them with the long lens would turn out, I like the result!
Washing One World Trade
In general, New York’s building corners were more challenging than those in SF! Usually my process is to stand on the corner directly across from the buildings, but I think that the taller height of the buildings in NY meant that it was too close to get the type of angle I wanted. And since there are so many neighboring tall buildings, often another would be in the way of the shot I wanted when I walked to get a better shot. It also means that the buildings are not always “alone” like the SF ones.
In the end, ehe angles for this series aren’t quite as consistent as I’d like, but I do like the variety of buildings.