Artist Statement:
New York City – Sunset to Sunrise
Before COVID, New York City was known as the city that doesn’t sleep. I was fortunate to travel there before COVID altered how we all have lived since. As with most of my photographic trips, I did some pre-trip planning for photo locations. It had been 20 years since my last trip to the city. So many things occurred in those 20 years that changed New York: 9/11, the Hudson Yards redevelopment, and so many new towers adding to the skyline. Yet, there are still the iconic buildings we all love: the Chrysler building, the Empire State building, and the Guggenheim Museum to name just a few. I wanted to shoot NYC in the early morning and at night. I stayed in four different hotels in different areas so that I could be in walking distance from my hotel to photo locations at dawn and night.
The magic of New York at night begins at sunset. Building lights are coming on. Depending on the view, buildings are either backlit or the fading sun is illuminating glass exterior towers. As the evening progresses the city lights grow brighter with the progression from twilight, to dusk, then reaching its crescendo as the darkness of night envelopes the city. The city and buildings come alive in a light display. Finally, there is a quiet end to the night as dawn ushers in a new day. The light of the sky and city rapidly change. There is the sound of the city is coming to life. Lights of buildings are coming on, but noticeable for only a short time. Minutes later, after sunrise, the magic of the light symphony that is New York at night has ended.
Tom Vancisin
© The Photographer's Eye: A Creative Collective
