Being There: Images of New York City
A street photography view…
Images of New York City bring an angular view to urban spaces, seen through street photography. Catching what’s missed in the rush.
Up Close, What Does New York City Look Like?
Deborah Julian is a New York City based street and urban landscape photographer.
Her eye finds images from the street that tell stories.
Balloon Girl tells its tale on a summer day in Tribeca: A long-legged woman in a pink dress and high heels seems about to be lifted off the street corner, carried by her balloons.
But in reality, her distracted expression suggests she’ll be anchored on the assignment for a while.
Another, more subtle narrative about urban life can be seen in Between Two Universes, a vision that strikes the social differences in the dungeon-like characteristics of the New York subway system.
The woman in the photo descends steps from the upscale neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. The subway system, its filth and rudimentary design is a great equalizer. All travelers, rich or poor, young or old, greeted with indifference and disrespect.
People connect New York’s urban landscape with Manhattan’s aggregation of competing towers, now mostly glass, as they resemble a geometric mountain range, the angles squared and clean. But an older New York stakes a claim on values that once shaped Manhattan.
Muscular in what now seems like old age, a force more than a presence. And not glass.
See a related story: Why Is The Empire State Building Shrinking?
On naming, neglect, and the quiet work that keeps things standing
About twenty years ago, there was Harbor Police activity near the water, just south of the subway entrance. At the time, no one really thought of it as a pier, though technically there was a small boardwalk there. Of course it wasn’t a pier. A pier implies intention.
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