NYC's High Bridge
Took a walk over to the High Bridge, the oldest bridge in New York City. Dating from 1848, it was built not for horse and carriage, but for the delivery of the city’s first reliable clean water.
Its center span was gutted in the late 1920s and replaced with a steel arch to make way for marine traffic in the Harlem River, but the parts over land remain original. It was reopened for pedestrians in 2015 for the first time in 45 years.
Skyline View
The view of the skyline from this uptown perspective is unusual, and even more dramatic with the construction of the supertalls.
The skyline of Midtown Manhattan from the High Bridge, an unusual vantage point.
Original cropped shot of the skyline from High Bridge.
I offer two views demonstrating just what can be gleaned from one shot. These are the same photo. My finished product, the black and white, a product of many adjustments, but the most important are probably the dehaze and black and white color adjustments. With the latter, I generally lowered the reds and greens. This was a case of surprise, taking a hazy, bland photo and pulling out something I find artistically satisfying.
High Bridge Tower
The water tower from the High Bridge. The High Bridge was built in the 1840s to carry the Croton aquaduct to Manhattan and deliver fresh, reliable water to the city. The tower was built around 1870 to improve water pressure, which was in demand due to the increasing popularity of flush toilets.
I only had my 35mm prime lens today—sometimes I like to discipline myself by leaving the house with only one lens—so this shot is a panorama of, believe it or not, ten photos. I wanted enough detail to get a good shot of the bridge, the tower, and jungle that lies between them.
Sylvan Terrace
These timber-framed row houses were built in the 1880s along what was the carriage drive to the Morris-Jumel mansion. They are a unique sight in Manhattan, where wood and siding is a rarity.
Sylvan Terrace is a continuation of 161st Street in Manhattan. Originally it was the carriage drive for the Morris-Jumel mansion, but these wood-framed houses were built along it in the early 1880s.
The manhole celebrates the Croton aquaduct, and has the cryptically etched “DPW” in its center.
A manhole form the Croton aquaduct days. Croton Water is easy enough to read, but the DPW in the center is a bit more cryptic. This stands for Department of Public Works.
A tangle of highways and ramps in the Bronx.
The second photo shows the tangle of highways and ramps that emerge out of Manhattan and into the Bronx.
The final image is the side of a new building in upper Harlem. I messed with the perspective a bit on this, just to square off it’s sides.
The black facade of a new building in upper Manhattan.