Textures of New York: A Photo Essay

Explanations of the last four pictures

2009-07-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

I said the picture from the post on 1 July is in NYC because this texture can be seen in at least two other places in the world. This is a section of the Sibelius statue that sits outside the UN complex in NYC. It is a piece that matches the pipes of the original organ sculpture in Helsinki. Another similar sculpture is in Canada.

The next texture is from a building that stands all the way at the end of the island of Manhattan. It is the gateway to one of NYC's greatest history and architectural treasures, Governor's Island. This building is the Battery Maritime Building where the fairy takes people to and from the island. The building has recently been refurbished or at least repainted because the exterior is so fresh with brilliant colors. Much of the building's beauty really is on the back so be sure to take the free ferry over to Governor's Island so you can at least see the back of the building if not to see some great buildings and learn some amazing history.

The next texture is kind of obvious as a mosaic in the subway but I found this station particular unique and interesting. This is the N-train station at 23rd Street and the hat is Scott Joplin's, he was a composer. All along the wall are hats that were worn by famous people. The hats are placed in a way that it may be fun to take pictures looking like you are wearing them as they are at many different heights. If you want to learn more about NYC subway art in any station visit http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork.

The last texture is kind of obvious too. It is the thickness of two pennies and was molded over hand-made wooden frames. It is the Statue of Liberty from the inside. I had the great opportunity to visit the crown of the statue on 4 July, the first day it was open to the public since 11 Sept. 2001.I loved it and encourage everyone to do it if they can. You have to book the tour at least 6 months in advance so plan now.

More for week 2

2009-07-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more for this week. They may seem obvious. Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day.

Can you guess what this texture is?

2009-07-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is in New York City.

Week 1 picture explanation

2009-06-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here are the explanations of the first texture pictures I posted.

Of the many icons of New York City, one of the most famous is the Brooklyn Bridge. Thousands if not millions cross it each year, some as commuters going to and from work and many as tourists just wanting to walk across an icon. If you have walked it you will see the cables that suspend the bridge. These cables give a texture to the bridge and the views. Next time you walk across the bridge try to look at the structure in a different way.

This too is detail on one of the many bridges that connect Manhattan to the surrounding boroughs and New Jersey. This texture is from the Queensboro Bridge. When you look at the bridge, which spans over Roosevelt Island, it looks like many industrial metal bridges. Only when you get close to one of the ends you can see this beautiful tile work (at least on Manhattan). This detail is easily overlooked as most people are driving over it on the bridge or just don't pay attention.

This little texture of New York City is tucked away down a short dead-end street that many people would never go down. As I ventured down the east side trying to get a better look at the Queensboro Bridge, I went to a little park at the end of Sutton Square a little street just off of Sutton Place. This is the front door of a row house on the street. The woodcarving, whether hand-made or mechanical is beautiful and surely a great site to see when the occupant goes home after work.

New Yorkers, tourists and commuters all have seen countless tiles and mosaics as they ride the MTA subway system. Each station seems to have its own design or symbol like the "T" at Times Square/42nd Street. As more stations were built or old ones remodeled the mosaics have changed too. This mosaic covers the wall at the East 53rd Street at the Citicorp Center. The art piece quickly became one of my favorite NYC subway mosaics.

There are many historic or landmark buildings in New York. One address that has become known because it is also the name of a sitcom on NBC is 30 Rockefeller Plaza (30 Rock). All of the landmark buildings have distinguishing traits to them like the Chrysler Building's sun motive at the top of the building. Even though the Rockefeller Plaza has many buildings and tons of people see them each year, some of the details are overlooked like this colored and shaped glass which is right out on the plaza side right over the entrance way. Above it is a great image of a god and the quote "Knowledge and Wisdom Shall be the Stability of Thy Times."

You can see my not-so-close-up photography on Facebook. Just search for Kevin Earl and you can get to my pictures.

More textures coming soon.

Textures of New York Photo Essay Introduction

2009-06-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

New York City, the city that never sleeps, is constantly swarming with people. Millions of people live in the 5 boroughs and millions commute to the city, mainly Manhattan, each day to work. Many more millions of tourists visit the Big Apple each year. They are all familiar with the landmark buildings and structures that make up the city, but many of them are in too big of a rush to notice some of the details or textures. I am in New York for two months for an internship. I love the city and all there is to see and do. I am trying to do as much as I can while I am here. One thing I want to do is share the textures and details that I see through photographs. I will post pictures during the week and at the end of the week I will tell you what the image is. If you know you can guess in a comment. Also, let me know if you know of anything I should see. Feel free to share with your friends and others. I will have other pictures on Facebook. You can search Kevin Earl to find my albums. Also, you can follow me on Twitter to get updates on when I post something new. Since this is the first post I will put a few pictures up to get started.