Lingering on the Brooklyn Bridge

One of the most memorable parts of my trip to NYC was the time I spent on the Brooklyn Bridge. Yes, I spent time on it. It wasn’t just a means to cross the river. It wasn’t just part of the journey...it was the journey itself. So, I did not look at it from afar. I walked on it. I did not walk briskly across the bridge. I lingered. I took in the moment in its entirety. The architecture was a riot of patterns − hypnotizing, quite mesmerizing. Then there were the details. Love locks. Rusted bolts. Trodden snow. Graffiti on rotting wood. Honking cars. The sky that day was like a sandy beach during low tide. Grooves formed by slivers of blue sky peering through a blanket of clouds mimicked the sandy grooves of the shore. I remember its smell. The smell of winter’s crisp frosty breath. And with camera in hand I tried to capture the moment as I felt it. 

        
There was the chill, there was the crowd...but ah, there was the sunset as well! I watched the sun descend behind the Statue of Liberty. It was like a defiant glow of light against the coolness of the day. There were birds too. A great many sea gulls soaring ahead. But I never heard them. I could see them cry out and I could imagine their shrill voices, but all was lost in the air. 

          
At the other side of the bridge, there was a park in Brooklyn. I sat on a bench and quietly watched the sun finally disappear beneath the waters. But the grand finale was yet to come. I waited as the shades of the sky turned darker. Then slowly, across the river, the lights of Manhattan shone ever brightly against the pressing night. And as the rest of the world fell asleep, Manhattan awakened in its shining glory. 

TIP: Walk an hour or so before sunset from Manhattan towards Brooklyn. By the time you reach the park on the other side, you can see the sun set behind the Statue of Liberty and take shots of the Manhattan skyline at dark. There are also benches on the Brooklyn Bridge, so you could also sit there and enjoy the view. 

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Live in the Moment

New York...New York...where do I start? I could tell you about its insane skyscrapers, about those classic NYC yellow cabs, maybe mention something about that pulsing rush that sweeps you up in the crowd. I could show you pictures of the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty and all those other New York landmarks but no...not just yet.  Somehow I want you to see another side of New York. 

There are places you visit that leave a lasting impact on you. It’s not another vacation, not just another trip. It becomes a catalyst of change. New York was that to me. For the last years I’ve been living on the fast lane. Work hard. Play even harder. I was one of those millions caught up in a rat race. So when I went to New York and literally saw the fast pace of life in a grand scale it placed things into perspective.

Standing still in the middle of Grand Central station, I watched as people rushed by. A sea of faces. A blur of life. Just approaching and then already gone. While I just stood there in the midst of the crowd, New York taught me this lesson: take time to be still. It’s ironic, I know, but one of the busiest cities in the world taught me the value of being still. The importance of taking a breather. Life was never meant to be a rat race; it was meant to be enjoyed day by day, moment by moment. And that message resonated throughout my stay. 

I heard the message in that short dedication on a bench in Central Park. There it was again in a large mural seen from the Highline. To just stop and take in the moment. 

I particularly loved crossing the Brooklyn bridge and discovering that in all that hard metal construction there were love locks. I wouldn’t have been surprised to find love locks in European cities, but I didn’t expect a city like New York, in all its Wall Street toughness, to have them. 

I wanted a picture of a completely empty Bethesda Terrace but people that briskly walked in, slowed their pace to admire it, making it impossible for me to get my shot. But then I realized this wasn’t just about the terrace. This was about the message New York had given me. So when a woman stopped to take in the beauty of the place, I knew I had to capture it this way...with her just standing still and taking time to appreciate the beauty. So what do you say? Time out anyone? Let us pause to actually live in the moment. 

Here are a few of the classic travel photos I took. 

Thanks for reading!