After lengthy deliberation I have selected the photos that I took in 2016 that are my favorites. I originally published this post with 10 photos, but soon after decided I needed to add a few because 10 just wasn’t a large enough group to represent my favorites.
Most of the pictures I selected were right here in Easton, PA, along with a few in Montclair, NJ, where I once lived, and New York City, another former home city of mine.
All photos with my iPhone SE or my iPad Pro 9.7.
Nisky Cemetary, Bethlehem, PASpring Garden St., Easton, PAPainters on the Lehigh River, Easton, PACentre Square, Easton, PAOld Passenger Train Station, Easton, PAFall in Easton, PA, Route 611Toll Bridge, Route 22, Easton, PA
Group II
Lower Manhattan from Governors IslandOne WTC from the SouthChristmas Tree at Rockefeller CenterSt Francis Xavier Church, 16th St., Manhattan
Group III
Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, Montclair, NJPresby Gardens at Mountainside Park, Montclair, NJGardens at Van Vleck Estate, Montclair, NJTicket Windows at Hoboken Terminal
I took these four pictures on the Karl Stirner Arts Trail in Easton, PA between October, 2016 and January, 2017, one each month, capturing the change in seasons. All pictures were taken with my iPad Pro 9.7.
I made a trip into Manhattan this past Sunday to do a little Christmas shopping and just see New York during the Holiday Season. It was an overcast, cold and rainy day, but I still throughly enjoyed my visit. I arrived in the city before noon, so I was pretty much able to spend a full day in the city and was able to make stops at all the stores I planned to visit. First I went down to the West Village, then walked over to the Union Square area and finally headed up to the Midtown area.
While I was in the West Village I was able to pay my first visit to the new Whitney Museum of Art at 99 Gansevoort St, which has been on my to-do list since the museum opened on May 1st, 2015. I had to go to a few stores on West 14th St. and while I was in the neighborhood I figured I finally go to the Whitney. I must say that really enjoyed my visit to the “new” Whitney. I had visited the Whitney back at it’s old home on the Upper Eastside several times, but it was a real treat to see the new Renzo Piano designed building, which I must say is a dramatic improvement over the old building. More on the Whitney later, I’m going publish a separate post on my first impressions of the museum.
I really enjoyed seeing the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which I visited while mass was in progress. It was inspiring to see so many of the faithful at the historic Cathedral.
Here are a few of the pictures I took as I made my way around the city…
I made a trip to Governors Island in New York City last weekend to take some photos photos of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the NY harbor from the unique vantage point that the island offers. I also took quite a few pictures on the island itself, which is undergoing a remarkable transformation from a former 172 acre military post to a fantastic park.
I made the video posted above shortly after I arrived on Governors Island. As I approached Outlook Hill, the tallest of the new man-made hills on the island I saw two red chairs on the lawn in front of the hill and it struck me as a good spot to make a short video explaining the purpose of my visit. See my pictures below.
I do have to make a correction to something I said in the video. When I was explaining the history of Governors Island and I stated that the history of the island goes back to the Revolutionary War period, when it was under the control of the British Army. In fact, the island was occupied well before that, going back to when the Dutch arrived in 1624.
Here is the timeline of Governors Island:
1524 Giovanni da Verrazano was the first European to see the island.
1624 First settlers arrived from the Dutch Republic
1674 The British took control of the island
17883 The American Army takes control of the island as the British leave the island on Evacuation Day
1966 The U.S. Army leaves the island and the island is converted to U.S Coast Guard base.
1996 The Coast Guard closes it’s base at the island.
2001 Governors Island National Monument created. The monument encompasses 22 acres and includes Fort Jay and Castle Williams
2003 The Federal Government turns over 150 acres of Governors Island to the City of New York.
2007 Redevelopment of the island begins.
Here some more pictures from the northern end of the island…
I took this picture at Eagle Rock Reservation in July, 2001. The reservation is located in Montclair, NJ. I have previously posted a picture of just the WTC Twin Towers and lower Manhattan that I took from the location. Today, on the 15th Anniversary of 9/11, I decided post this picture of the entire Manhattan Skyline. I think this picture really illustrates just how prominent the Twin Towers were in relation to all the other skyscrapers in the city.
Photo was taken with my first digital camera, a Kodak DC 290.
gmf journal 