DKADSHOTNY

audrey dimola: NYC skyline at twilight; long island city, queens.

AD’s inspiration and reason: can you take a bad photo of the skyline from long island city’s gantry park?! maybe not, but there’s also many times you feel particularly lucky to have a camera on hand - or in this case (again) - my phone! i love this shot because i love twilight - in this city, especially, the sights are gorgeous at this time of night. in this case the good ol’ manhattan skyline (with empire state clearly apparent!) is perfectly silhouetted in darkness and backlit with warm light, contrasting with the beautiful blues of the sky offset in a lovely way by those wispy clouds, or airplane trails - i’m not quite sure! either way, it makes for a nice photo. if you haven’t been to gantry park, please go - the views are unparalleled and it’s not difficult to see why LIC has become such a destination in recent years.

audrey dimola: silhouettes; union square, manhattan.

AD’s inspiration and reason: this is another photo actually taken by my android phone of the statue atop the ‘drinking fountain’ on the side of union square park. i often walk there to hang out on lunch from my job, and on this particularly cloudy/misty day i was killing time and snapping photos of things i hadn’t noticed before - reflections in puddles, raindrops hitting the pavement, and of course, this. i love how striking the silhouette of the figure looks from this perspective, and with all of the black, leafless tree branches exploding all around it - looks almost menacing in a way.

daniel kapovic: Midtown Skyscrapers, Highline Park, Chelsea, Manhattan

DK’s Inspiration & Reason: As you have seen on this photoblog many times before, I take a lot of photos from the Highline Park. This is another example of just some of the sights you can see while walking along the trail. I love skyscrapers and architecture so for me, to be walking along the Highline and seeing the Chrysler Building framed perfectly between these two other structures, it was a beautiful thing to see. I knew immediately that I wanted to zoom in on the buildings a little bit and take a photo of what I saw. I love how the Chrysler is perfectly in the middle and is standing tall above the rest, it really brings the focal point in on the beautiful sunburst spire which crowns the building. The various buildings within the photo also makes it seem like it is many layers of framing all leading to the Chrysler Building.

daniel kapovic: Clock and Display, Chelsea Market, Chelsea, Manhattan

DK’s Inspiration & Reason: I know it has been a long time since I posted and I apologize. I wanted to come back with a nice photo that wasn’t too complex to understand yet beautiful at the same time. A couple of weeks ago I was walking in the Chelsea Market with a few friends of mine and I was pretty amazed. I have passed the market plenty of times but never have I actually stepped foot inside. Not only are there plenty of shops and eateries, it feels like you have been transported to some market in the middle of a rural world. The clock and lighting really caught my eye, not only is it bright but I think it’s also quite beautiful and simple. I liked the individual lights entirely covering the arched walkway with the clock hanging in the center, just a simple clock, nothing fancy about it. I also love the mechanical feel of the ceiling being exposed behind the display. The Chelsea Market is definitely a place to check out.

audrey dimola: as it began at sculpture park; long island city, queens.

AD’s inspiration and reason: i actually took this photo with my smartphone (!) on new year’s day. it’s funny because this vantage of the east river and the gorgeously dilapidated wooden ruin is also the very first photo on DKADSHOTNY back in feb 2010! it will soon be our two year anniversary.. how much has changed. this vantage, thankfully, is still just as beautiful every time i visit it. i had some much-needed quiet time sitting on some rocks at the shore, just reading and writing and admiring the view. there were so many birds flying around - the tiny flecks of white in the water are actually seagulls! - and the sky was perfectly dusted with fair-weather clouds. no matter where i go, this will always be my favorite place.

daniel kapovic: 383 Madison Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, New York

DK’s Inspiration & Reason: Ever since 383 Madison Avenue was completed in 2001, it has been one of my favorite buildings in the entire city. It rises around 750 feet tall and is unique in New York City because it has a cylindrical shape for the tower which rises from a square base, something we don’t see much in NYC. The tower really comes alive at night with the bottom lit up wonderfully as well as the crown. I loved how clear this picture came out, how Gotham like it looked. The crown is quite amazing and I thought it made for a great photo of architecture.

audrey dimola: queens and manhattan from the bridge; over the east river.

AD’s inspiration and reason: i took my camera with me nearly everyday to and from work for the first week of august, and this is a shot from back then. i love working with different perspectives and the frame of this shot is the window of the cab i was riding in - check out the handle sticking out! i love it because there’s a subtle sense of haziness and movement, and you can see both manhattan and queens with the river between them. i also like it because it captures the development that continues to press on in long island city - more and more condos, for better or worse!

audrey dimola: anti-gravity on the mountain; belleayre mountain, upstate new york.

AD’s inspiration and reason: i have many fond memories visiting belleayre mountain near fleischmanns in upstate new york. this weekend we went as we have in the past to enjoy their fall festival, and as nerve-wracked as i was (in my “old age”!) we rode the ski lift up to the top of the mountain - something like 3,365 feet up! this is a shot from the top of the mountain - of the slanted ski lift pole bending over a ridiculously steep incline, and the ski lift chairs merrily floating along their way. i was almost too petrified to fully enjoy it, but there’s really nothing like it - almost as if you’re freefalling and there’s nothing to be seen but fall colors and mountains for miles and miles, fading into the hazy blue horizon. amazing.

audrey dimola: after irene; margaretville, upstate new york.

AD’s inspiration and reason: i love photos with stories behind them, and the photos i took last night in margaretville upstate certainly have a story - tragic and yet resilient at the same time. NYC got lucky with irene but many of the towns i grew up visiting were devastated. yesterday was the first time we went upstate after the hurricane, and it was so sad and strange to walk through the towns and see the structures - some shuttered and abandoned, others completely gone. this is a shot looking off towards the main bridge that is now closed - the parking lot to the left was overrun with the flood, and others like us touring the town were wandering around at night.. there was hope, though - signs abound calling the community to rebuild margaretville, because it truly takes a village, and the cracker barrel on the corner left a message on the window: “that that will not kill us can only make us stronger!” god bless margaretville and all the beautiful towns hit in irene. i KNOW you will recover, stronger than ever. 

daniel kapovic: World Financial Center Fountain, Lower Manhattan, New York City

DK’s Inspiration & Reason: This may not be the best photo nor the clearest photo but I love the colors that are lighting up the picture. I was passing by the World Financial Center and noticed they have these small fountains along a walking path in the open space next to the harbor. The reds, oranges, and yellows that are filtering through the water are actually the reflection of the sun setting which was off to the west of where I was taking this photo. It was a beautiful sunset and I just loved the way the water, which was pouring out in individual lines, was capturing the light and colors. Something interesting to note, the new World Trade Center memorial waterfalls also run on a system very similar as the water pours out in individual lines there as well in the notion of falling tears.