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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Eight: A city portrait -- impressions of New York > First light, New York City, New York, 2009
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24-MAR-2009

First light, New York City, New York, 2009

Dawn does not immediately bathe Manhattan in light. The first hints of sunlight appear as patches of gold, falling on the cornices of aging brownstones flanked by immense high rises still cloaked in darkness.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/320s f/5.0 at 51.0mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time24-Mar-2009 04:25:53
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-G1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length51 mm
Exposure Time1/320 sec
Aperturef/5
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis03-Apr-2009 02:02
I agree, Tim. Both Yosemite and New York are iconic American places. Both have been photographed by the masters -- Yosemite by Adams and Muench and O'Neill. New York by Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand, and Kertesz. If you study their work, you will see that all of them share a common theme --they build meaning out of light.
Tim May02-Apr-2009 23:55
It was interesting to me to visit NYC so soon after I had spent time in Yosemite National Park. Both places are grand and chaotic in their own ways. Both present challenges to the photographer to make images that don't just report, but that express and that aren't cliches. One can make a point that Half Dome and the Chrysler Building are icons. Light can so wonderfully help us present the unique expressive view we are looking for.
Phil Douglis01-Apr-2009 04:47
Thanks, Cyndy -- the first touch of light in Manhattan is always exciting because you never where it is going to alight as it works it way through the man-made canyons lining every street. Dawn is always a metaphor for a new beginning, and this dawn was no different.
Guest 01-Apr-2009 03:12
Has that beautiful "early morning" feel to it, where everything has the potential of becoming fresh and new again.
Phil Douglis31-Mar-2009 00:28
You are right, Carol -- the sun filtering through the walls of New York's buildings is always an exciting adventure for photographers. We never know where it is going to show up.
Carol E Sandgren31-Mar-2009 00:09
Those golden patches are what make first light in NYC so special!
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