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I was in Hoboken, NJ this past Friday night and took this shot Midtown Manhattan. It was beautiful, clear night and this vantage point from Hoboken really captures the dramatic cityscape of Midtown. The illuminated spire of the Empire State Building can be seen center and cluster of skyscrapers to the left of center are buildings of the futuristic Hudson Yards.
This picture was taken with my Canon G9X Mk II.
I took this picture of Statue of Liberty this past Wednesday (05/02/18) from the top of Outlook Hill on Governors Island, in New York City. It was about 4:45 pm when I took the picture, approximately 15 minutes before that portion of the Island closed for the day. It was a sunny, but very windy day, with some clouds. It was an almost surreal sight to see the Sun Rays beaming down of the Statue of Liberty at the moment that I took this picture with my iPhone SE.
Here are my favorite photos from 2017. I initially selected just ten photos a couple of weeks ago that I was going present as my favorites of last year, but after multiple reviews of my 2017 photos I wasn’t totally sure I wanted to narrow down my number of favorites to ten. I ended up with sixteen after my final review.
I’ll start with my Pennsylvania Photos
My remaining favorites were taken in New York City and Montclair, NJ.
I took these pictures at the World Trade Center last night. One WTC is in Holiday Season mode. The base the tower changes color from Red to Green and back again. Pretty cool. #NYC, #WTC
I made a return trip to Governors Island a couple of weeks ago. The Island closed to the public for the year on Oct. 31st and does not re-open until May 1st, 2018, so it was important for me to visit the Island when I made a trip into New York City two weeks ago.
Governors Island is a former military base in New York harbor that has been a converted to a park and was opened to the general public starting in 2003. Conversion of large sections of the Island started in 2007 and is still a work in progress, but the Island is about 75% redeveloped. It is a great place to spend an afternoon in NYC when the weather is good and you can enjoy the spectacular views. You can easily spend 4 or 5 hours exploring the Island. I was on a tight schedule that day because I had other things I had to do in the city that day, so I was only able to spend about 2 hrs there that day, but it was still well worth the trip.
One of the best parts of Governors Island is a section of the Island called The Hills, which consists of four man-made Hills located in the Northwest portion of the Island.
I shot a couple of short videos with my iPhone SE on two of the Hills that occupy the Northeast portion of the Island.
The first video is my climb to the top of Outlook Hill, which is the tallest of the Hills, at 70 ft. That may not sound like much, but the 360 degree views of the New York harbor from the top hill are amazing on a clear day.
My second video was shot on Discovery Hill, right next to Outlook Hill. Discovery Hill is home to, The Cabin, a creation of British artist Rachael Whiteread and one of the permanent pieces of art that scattered around the Island. Like Outlook Hill, Discovery Hill provides outstanding views of lower Manhattan, the harbor and the Statue of Liberty and overlooks Picnic Point at the NW end of the Island.
Pictures below are from were taken in and around The Hills. I shot the pictures with my Canon GX9
I attended my first New York Yankees game at the new Yankee Stadium this past Wednesday, when the Yankees played the Cleveland Indians. I went to the game with my mother, which was only fitting, because she brought me to my first Yankee game way back in 1970’s at the old Yankee Stadium when we lived in northern New Jersey. The Yankee team of my youth was one with Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Thurman Munson, Greg Nettles, Bucky Dent, Mickey Rivers, Lou Piniella and Manager Billy Martin.
Our trip to the new Yankee Stadium was a first for the both us. Visiting the new stadium has been on my to-do list since I moved back to Pennsylvania from San Diego a few years ago, but I didn’t want to go the last couple of seasons because the Yankees were not playing real well. This year the team has shown a significant improvement and look like a they should at least secure the wild-card slot in the American League playoffs.
I knew the stadium would be impressive based on what I had read about and the pictures I have seen of it and the many times I’ve seen the stadium on television, but seeing it in person exceeded my expectations. As soon as you emerge from the D train subway stop at 161st street in Bronx you can see the massive limestone facade of the stadium and imposing Gate 6 stand right across the street. The building seems like a temple to baseball, which is appropriate for the baseball team with the richest history and tradition in Major League Baseball. The stadium is filled with tributes to multiple generations of great Yankee players that have played on teams that have won a total of 27 World Championships during the storied history of the team. There is a museum at the stadium that includes displays for the Yankee greats spanning the generations.
All in all, I had a great time and I look forward to future visits to this magnificent stadium
Here is the view from section 209 as the fans sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame..
Another stop I made in Manhattan last Sunday was at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The park looked great on this nearly perfect summer day. Whenever I visit this park these days and can’t help but admire how much it has been been improved in last ten years or so. I’m old enough to remember what this park was like back to late 70’s and 80’s when it dirty and and dangerous and not a welcoming place.
Photo taken with iPhone SE
