Cityscapes

Summer in the city isn’t my favorite thing. I imagine the hubbub of life bustling around on the endless sweltering concrete slabs, the throngs of life teaming in the streets. I reminisce about horns, the din of jack hammers, cell phones, and multiple radio stations floating in the air. I’m prodded by the odor of city life, the stench of waste and heat that assaults the senses during a summer walk around town. It floods my olfactory memories. Sticky feelings of clothing that won't slide easily against my arms or thighs, because of perspiration trapped against my baking skin. The yearning for a breeze that isn’t tainted with poisonous exhaust choking me. I am not a city creature.

That’s why I enjoy cityscapes so much. They let the grandeur and pride of a city shine. When wonderful light baths a city with deep reflections and colors, its wonders beam for the world to take notice. Giants soar into the sky proclaiming their might and regal dignity for miles and miles. Silent strength pushes towards the heavens with grace and tranquility as all the realities of city life are scrubbed clean.

I imagine this is what architects dream about. I hope they do...

Nikon D4 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 62mm f/8 ISO 250 1/400 sec

City Skylines

I have not taken a lot of city skyline pictures. Not because I don’t like them but because a clear view of a city can be difficult to find. I have seen Philadelphia from the Southwest and took what I thought would make a wonderful picture from a vantage point I had never seen, only to discover that too much surrounding noise was in the way of the miniscule recognizable peaks of downtown. You have to be close, almost within the city. Of course this presents the problem of looking up at everything you want in the picture and having other buildings in the way. I thought at one point maybe I could get a picture looking out of one of the high rise buildings which put me at the approximate altitude, and I could get a nice picture of the building next to me, but that was hardly a skyline. Of course the other problem being inside a building is shooting through the windows. Reflections appear everywhere in your pictures. It’s very distracting to see your camera faintly superimposed over what you thought would be a stunning photo. If anyone knows Philly then perhaps you might be thinking that a trip to the top of the William Penn statue on top of City Hall would do the trick, but to make a cityscape and not have Mr. Penn in it wouldn’t be very Philadelphian. There are (obviously) a few places to get a decent picture. I don’t recommend this one, but it worked. I pulled over on the section of highway where I-95 South turns into I-676 West. By the way, no photographers were harmed in the taking of this image.

Nikon D4 Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 65mm f/9 ISO 200 5 image HDR