The Great White Way

I

don’t like your fashion business, mister
And I don’t like these drugs that keep you thin
I don’t like what happened to my sister
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

Those are Leonard Cohen’s lyrics.

I suppose you can think of New York in those terms. I don’t. I usually like it there. I like the energy, the power, and the light. But, I have to be in the mood. We chased around the city in December. It was wonderful. It was cold, clear and the light sparkled.

I was in the mood.

Nights like the one in the picture put, and keep me, in the mood. The weather was cold. The night air was clear. I had no choice but to make pictures. So I did.

T

echnically, this isn’t what you think. It’s pretty dated. I made it on Fuji Velvia. I set it ISO to 32. I probably set the camera at f5.6 and an exposure was at least 2 seconds. Knowing me at the time, I used a 20mm lens.

Yes. This is a film picture. I told you that it was dated. It still lingers in one portfolio that I show to buyers who are interested in something very different to symbolize a very well known location. Has that happened? Yep. It also lives in a private collection.

That is an example of photographers luck… after the fact.

Lucky me.