Layers of a City

^{1/200th at F16, ISO 400 (105mm).}

The East Village is the neighborhood in Manhattan that is currently undergoing the fastest rate of change and gentrification in New York (and also where I live). Beginning in the 1960s the area became a haven for artists and musicians and became the center of the subculture of New York and the birthplace of punk rock. Now rents are rising and sleek high-rises and subway sandwich shops are taking over.

This photo shows the layers of a city, from the gritty underbelly to the polished skyline. It also represents the rapid change that is occurring in the neighborhood of the East Village, from its 'seedier' past to a very fast approaching, sleek and sterile future.

This is an example of how a street photograph can show much more than just a fleeting moment. A narrow, telephoto view can sometimes describe an entire neighborhood or city. Moments like this come very few and far between but are the reason that I get up in the morning.

Technically, this was a large construction truck parked in front of a construction scene. I waited for the cab signs to come into view and was fortunate enough that the "Gentlemen's Club" and "Ciroc" cabs parked simultaneously at the right spots while waiting for the light. I could have waited a lot longer for this shot then I ended up having to.

It was shot at F16 because I wanted to keep as much sharpness throughout the different layers of the photo. The focus specifically was put on the middle-ground area of the graphic of the buildings.

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