A Quick Walk on The High Line:
Hey Everyone! I’m back after a long hiatus. Don’t worry, I wasn’t kidnapped by aliens or anything :). For those who are frequent visitors, as you can see, my blog has gone though a lot of updates. My brother in-law is definitely one of the coolest people I know; even though he’s a very busy person who works on his own websites, he has been kind enough to make several worthwhile improvements to my blog, both in terms of what you can see and what you can’t. There are a few finishing touches that need to be done but those will be added over time. Since this is my first post after the update, I thought I’d just write up something quick (like a walk on the High Line) just to get the ball rolling again, and to test out some of the new features.
So, a few weeks ago, I was walking up from Union Square to meet a couple of friends for dinner in Chelsea, and ended up walking on the High Line for old times sake. I used to walk on the High Line quite a bit but I don’t spend as much time as I once did on the West Side.
What’s cool about the High Line, other than it being an old above ground railroad in the middle of the city, is that it changes quite frequently, so there’s always something new to see: new art, new events, new landscape, etc. Sometimes, when I’m walking on the High Line, I feel like I’m in one of those movies set in the future where cities are overpopulated, and have to start building upwards to meet the demand :).
Some of you already probably know this but the High Line has been extended recently. It now stretches to 34th st. I definitely plan to see the new section soon.
More and more property is definitely being built around the High Line. This area of New York has definitely changed a lot in a short amount of time.
For those who want to know, since I was only meeting my friends for dinner, my photographic kit was simple and light: I just had my Leica M 240 and my 18mm Super Elmar. Thanks for stopping by!
Welcome back (it’s about time). Really missed your very special camera work.
Hi inthedarkroom,
Thanks for the kind words and it’s great to see you back here! Sorry for the break, I will definitely be posting more.
Best regards,
Patrick
Great city shots, as always Patrick!! The lighting of all the twilight into early evening shots are gorgeous. Well done!
I’m also continually impressed at how well you handle the 18mm Super Elmar on your Leica M, and the 12mm Zeiss Touit on your Fuji X cameras. While I use those angle of views for my work too, I can’t seem to handle them properly without using a tripod. I also have to work slowly and make sure everything is level, to avoid flying lines.
You are able to shoot with such extreme focal lengths, hand-held. Yet it doesn’t have that wacky, ultra-wide look when lesser photographers mis-handle such wide focal lengths. You’re shots don’t look exaggerated or off-kilter. Great work!
Marco
Hi Marco!
Great hearing from you. Wow, thanks for the kind words! They are very encouraging, especially when they come from a seasoned pro like you. It’s funny because every time I say I’m going to take out my 50mm or 35mm, I always grab the 18mm :). Over time, the 18mm focal length actually became my most used lens! Surprising now that I think about it, especially since my preferred focal length has always been a 50mm :).
Take care!
Patrick
I very much concur with what Marco says above – your wide angle work is extremely well done & most impressive. Getting something in the foreground, middle & background, keeping it working at the edges & not managing to point the camera up or down is really a challenge even for 18mm. I know from my own experience with my Fuji XF18-55 zoom, but the wide option is becoming one of my favorites. So much so that now I really want to add their XF14mm to my bag. Also really liked your Zeiss 12mm review some time back but that ultra wide is a little too scary for me. Cheers, welcome back & keep up the good work.
Jed
Hi Jed!
It’s great to see you around here again! Thank you for the kind words! They are very encouraging, and I’m just glad you like them. The XF 14mm is a nice lens! It’s also compact, so it will balance nicely with your X-E2. I can definitely relate with your desire for a wider focal length.The 50mm has always been my preferred focal length but nowadays, I think that changed to the 18mm. I don’t know what happened; I think it’s the fact that the city is always so crowded, and space is limited, so the 18mm just works for me. Most of the time, I actually have the 18mm mounted on my M and the 12mm Zeiss mounted on my Fuji :). I’d love to see some photos when you get that lens!
Take care!
Patrick
Hallo Patrick,
always a pleasure to read something new here. i heard about the high line and how they develop that part of town. it is something special and after they startetd to put some work into it, it seems to become a place of great interest especially for locals. it keeps attracting people with new ideas and i really like what is going on there. i appreciate your article about this project and i am looking forward to part II. nice images as always but they become great images along with your writing.
hope you find some more interesting stories about NY and share them with us packed with a lot good images 😉
the appearance of your website looks a bit cleaner but most things happend under the hood as you said. should make your work on the site more convenient. me thinks this is not the final version right ?
at least you should make the menu bar more prominent.
looking forward to hear from you. greetings elderin.
Hi Elderin!
It’s great to hear from you again and thank you for the kind words! It really means a lot to me that you come by from time to time to check out my site. How was your summer?
The High Line is one of my favorite places in the city. It’s always changing, so there is always something new to see. Unfortunately, I’m just not up there as much as I used to be, so I don’t get to walk on it as much. However, I definitely want to check out the new section that they recently added, so there will be a part 2 at some point :).
I still have some further work to do on my site but as of now, I am concentrating more on posting new content, since it’s been quite a while ;). But I am still working on certain things like the menu. I want to reorganize it and make it more streamline. I’m also changing a lot of the other things like the gallery.
When you are viewing my site, are you seeing the right side bar (with the ads, recent comments, social networks, etc.)? The reason I ask is because if you’re not, you might be seeing the menu as it would look like if you were viewing my site through a smart phone or tablet. The menu will minimize as the browser window shrinks to better fit a tablet or phone. One thing I really wanted for my site was larger photos but because of the bigger photos, the browser window needs to be slightly larger.
If the browser window is not big enough, the right side bar (with the ads, the recent comments, etc.) automatically goes down to the bottom of the page. This is because the site is also designed for tablets and smart phones. The menu bar also minimizes as you shrink the browser window, which makes it a little harder to see. But if you expand the browser a bit, the menu will go back to its regular size.
I hope that works for you. Again, it’s always great to hear from you!
Take care!
Patrick
You are right, i was referring to the mobile site. On my Mac it looks like it should.
I like the design for mobile devices and it makes sense the way you builded it up, but
the word menu can easily be missed. It is a very light red (if a color at all). If this word would be a
super hero it would be hollow man i guess.
Keep up the good work.
Hi Elderin,
Yes, Hollow Man haha! I know what you mean and I completely agree. I think it’s the template that I’m using…I can change the color but I am having trouble making it darker, so I have to look into it a bit more. I appreciate the feedback!
Take care!
Patrick