The Last Word: Time and Place

Every photographer has heard the term “right time, right place.” So, what exactly is right time, right place? For a while, I thought I knew what it was: after sunrise and before sunset, of course. Some days are better than others. I once traveled 30 minutes for 13 different days, to create an image of the Miami skyline with my 4 x 5 camera. Finally, on that 13th day, I captured what I had envisioned. I have heard of photographers sitting in one spot for a month to create an image. For me though, it wasn’t until after I snapped this shot of New York City’s Empire State Building that I truly understood what right time, right place was.

Two years ago, I thought it would be a good experience to take a helicopter tour of New York City with my camera. As we departed it was a little cloudy; the light was nice, but not extraordinary. We started by circling the Statue of Liberty. I got a couple of decent shots, but I wasn’t so concerned about the images I was capturing, I was truly just enjoying the experience of being in a helicopter flying around New York City. I figured I would be ecstatic with any image I returned with.

After circling Lady Liberty, the pilot began to fly up the Hudson River low and slow, and I took some shots of the city. We continued along and the sun’s rays began to peek through the storm clouds, creating areas of golden light that illuminated the city buildings. I suddenly realized there might be a chance of something extremely special occurring.

The George Washington Bridge was now ahead, and the pilot informed us that we would execute a right turn as we passed it, bringing us near Central Park. Now, over Central Park heading south, we were bearing down on the Empire State Building. I absorbed the overwhelming cityscape and began to prepare myself, as I knew that there would be only one chance to capture this great building with the breathtaking backdrop. The moment had passed as soon as it came, and I was able snap off three shots. I lowered my camera, and took a moment to appreciate what was before me: It was absolutely the most dramatic city scene I’d ever seen.

People often ask me if this image is real. I assure you it is. The image had been exposed for the sky, so I made a curve adjustment and masked the sky in Photoshop. I also increased the contrast a bit, which helped the surrounding buildings become more accentuated. Lastly, I made a lens correction adjustment to ensure that the building appeared as it does when seen with the naked eye, along with a hint of sharpening.

The image was made with a Nikon D100, Nikon 28–70mm f/2.8 AFS lens at ISO 200. The exposure was 1/125 at f/6.3.

Christopher Razoyk is from Galloway, NJ. See more of his work at his website: www.christopher-photography.com.