Backstory on View from Brooklyn Bridge (NYC)
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge has to be among my all time favorite things to do in New York. Typically, I like to wait for the golden light at sunset, but on this particular Saturday, I set out with my camera just after dawn. One of the oldest suspension bridges in the country, it features a pedestrian walkway, high above the traffic--rewarding those who travel on foot with spectacular views of the boroughs of New York, the East River, and its sister bridges upstream.
As the city woke up that morning, so did its residents on both sides of the span, who take advantage of the walkway for exercise, romance, solitude, or as a scenic backdrop for portraits. I took it all in, enchanted by the reflections on facades of the Manhattan skyline, and happy to be out with my fellow pedestrians--sharing one of those rare, perfect mornings in the city.
This collage consists of more than 250 fragments, from approximately 25 source images, which have been assembled, layered, and blended into a consolidated view. At the time I made it, my daughter lived in her first apartment, situated over a meat market in Brooklyn Heights. Construction activity on the lot behind her building geared up soon after she moved in, and within a few months a new high rise totally obscured her slim city view. #1 of this piece became her Brooklyn view, and now hangs in the entryway of her third New York apartment.