The origins of “Empire Taxi” occurred in June 2013 shortly after I had moved to Manhattan from Jersey City. As happens so often I was out for a walk one evening, glanced to the left and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. There is just something about the majesty of the Empire State Building’s glow, the world famous NYC yellow cabs in the foreground and the long exposure of a passing car that pulls this all together quite nicely.
Marcy Avenue Station
I had originally seen a picture similar to this posted on my Instagram feed, and I immediately knew that I wanted to recreate it in my own vision. It was one of those shots that took some preparation, such as calculating when the sun set that evening, how much time it would take to get to the Marcy Avenue Station in Queens, and the right place to be on the platform for when the next train came rolling in. While much of photography is very much spur of the moment, taking the time to set up a perfect shot is just as rewarding for me.
A Different Point of View
I had pulled a double and filling in at a different building for the second shift. My desk mate was kind enough to let me go to the roof of this 30 story apartment building. I had been hoping to capture a spectacular sunset as dawn broke, but I did get a consolation prize, as I had always admired rain spattered windows. Sometimes in life we don’t get always get what we want, but more often than not there is a silver lining, if you’re willing to open yourself to it.
Kryptonopolis
It had been a wet and rainy evening, but my need to get out of the house trumped any atmospheric precipitation. One of my favourite haunts to take pictures is on the waterfront of Long Island City, a part of Queens. The rain had stopped by the time I came upstairs from the subway, but their were gorgeous repercussions. Mother Nature and man had pretty much compiled the image for me - the golden mist of the sky met the fog enshrouded skyscraper to produce a “picture-perfect picture,” if you will. The name of this photo comes from “Superman: The Movie” and is an updated homage to Krypton’s capital city. The fate of Superman’s homeworld is already foreshadowed in the image by the glowing green light atop one of the skyscrapers.
