Contrails at dawn, New York City, New York, 2009 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Eight: A city portrait -- impressions of New York > Contrails at dawn, New York City, New York, 2009

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18-MAR-2009

Contrails at dawn, New York City, New York, 2009

Three major airports make the New York metropolitan area the busiest transportation hub on earth. As dawn breaks over the city, I symbolize this fact by abstracting a skyline draped in a maze of fading jet contrails.

Leica D-Lux 4
1/500s f/4.0 at 5.1mm iso80 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	18-Mar-2009 10:29:51
Make	Leica
Model	D-LUX 4
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	5.1 mm
Exposure Time	1/500 sec
Aperture	f/4
ISO Equivalent	80
Exposure Bias	-0.33
White Balance
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis		19-Apr-2009 19:01
Thanks, Ianko -- contrails make a wonderful photographic subject because they can symbolize mankind writing upon the heavens. We can then add our own context by juxtaposing those contrails against the subject of our choice.

Guest		19-Apr-2009 15:46
loving your photo here Phil, i have one very similar of the moment they open the skies from London Heathrow from a few years back.

Phil Douglis		13-Apr-2009 05:19
Thanks, Emma, for coming to this image. I love your shot because it contrasts the work of man to the work of nature. I am delighted you find inspiration in my galleries, and I hope you will come often to comment.

Guest		11-Apr-2009 15:29
Hi, Phil. I'm a big fan of your work and love this shot. I thought you might like to see the country cousin version. Williams is a small SW Oregon town, but we get more than our share of contrails. http://www.pbase.com/fluzichik/image/104185431 I do like yours better, much more dramatic, but the volume of trails astounded me the day my shot was taken. Thanks for setting the bar.

Phil Douglis		31-Mar-2009 21:38
Thanks, Jack and Chris -- negative space and light are what gives energy to these buildings. I abstract all of them with light, and turn them to shadow, in order to call attention instead to the strands of sky reaching between the buildings, and the sky that provides a backdrop for the contrails. And yes, New York is a city of spectacular views -- so much depends on what we can make of them with the camera.

Chris Sofopoulos		31-Mar-2009 13:23
I like your use of negative space and light!

Guest		31-Mar-2009 11:35
The city has many inspiring views, this is magnificently one of them!!

Phil Douglis		31-Mar-2009 02:55
Thanks, Khalid. Sometimes photography offers us a gift, and such was the case here. I was having an early breakfast, and saw this happening from my window. I simply picked up the camera and made this image.

Guest		31-Mar-2009 01:22
Beautiful picture of NY City.

Phil Douglis		31-Mar-2009 00:22
Thanks, Susan and Carol for enjoying the energy here -- it does indeed open the gallery with a bang!

Carol E Sandgren		31-Mar-2009 00:08
Looks like the skyscraper is letting off some steam! Not surprising from within a hustle and bustle city. Great eye to get this one, Phil!

Susan Bowen		30-Mar-2009 23:42
Wonderful shot, Phil.

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