On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
On the Road: Week of July 27 (5 am)
Albatrossity – Denali, Alaska
Auntie Anne – Chateau de Blois
?BillinGlendaleCA – NEOWISE
dmbeaster – Little Lakes Valley, Sierra Nevada and other spots
feloniousferb – Zurich, SwitzerlandOn the Road After Dark: Week of July 27 (10pm)
This week we have the final 4 posts from frosty’s coronavirus adventures on the road.
And now, on to pandemic pics, Phase 4 with ema. I don’t know the city, but it still looks much quieter than I would normally expect NYC to look. It’s not like when you build a deck, and you can take before and after pictures. With the pandemic, we blissfully unaware that we were in a “before” time, and that “after” would soon be very different. ~WaterGirl
ema
According to Fortitude and friends, the city is doing OK when it comes to wearing masks. People are close to 100% compliance when out and about. However, at any given time, there will be one or two people who are either wearing it incorrectly (I so wish I never saw that certain [NSFW] cartoon!) or on a food/drink/smoke mask break. The overall activity, both human and traffic, is still depressed but it does look like the city is slowly returning to life. Let’s look at our markers, shall we?
First the Avenues, Park, Madison, and 5th (N/S, looking S), then the cross streets, 79th and Central Park S (E/W, looking E for 79th St., and E and W for CPS).
Fortitude to the N side of the NY Public Library on 5th Ave./42nd St.| USS Maine National Monument at Central Park’s SW Merchants’ Gate | M12 MTA bus at Columbus Circle
Park Ave. and Madison Ave.
5th Ave.
79th St.
CPS looking E and W, at 6th Ave. The previous CPS shots were at 7th Ave. (see red arrow) but it was just so hot today and I didn’t think the change of location would skew the results too much.
Moving on to Central Park, unfortunately the lawn was closed, probably because of the heat advisory. I took all three pictures in succession with the same cell phone, slightly varying the perspective. Not sure why the colors came out so different.
CP’s Sheep Meadow, looking E
Last, but not least, here is the pretty boy duck from the June set patiently waiting for his girlfriend to finish her day at the rock office and join him, which she, finally, does and they glide away all lovey-dovey.
All pictures, except the duck ones, taken over two days, 7/18 and 7/20/20, a Monday and the first day of phase 4-ish reopening in the city (again, the last region in the state to go to phase 4). It’s not a full reopening, with most indoor activities – dining, museums, malls – still banned. Duck pictures are stills from a video shot on 4/6/2020 with a Sony a5100.
It’s Photoshopped: Contractors From ZTI Are Not Deployed In Portland
Yutsano
Annnd STOMP!!!
I REALLY need to go back to NYC. I also need to see if my buddy who works at Carnegie Hall can sneak me onto a stage. Just one. To sing one song.
J R in WV
Sweet pictures…
I spent a week in NYC with friends in the fall. Nothing like this scenery at all!
Streets were jammed almost all the time, until late night when they calmed down. Sunday was quiet, but the rest of the time it was just jammed!
John Revolta
I was a bike messenger in NYC in the ’80s and ’90s. Needless to say it would have been a much easier (if less exciting) job if the streets had looked like this!
Major Major Major Major
Automated white balance is a harsh mistress.
Nice shots!
Benw
NYC looks lovely. I went to the NY Botanical Garden today, then drove down from the Bronx to Bkn. Just spectacular
?BillinGlendaleCA
Auto White Balance and probably metering. When you have Auto White Balance and auto exposure metering on, the settings are optimized for that individual shot. If possible, set White Balance to Daylight and set the exposure manually.
Amir Khalid
With the pandemic, everywhere in the world is still in the during time. The before time is a distant memory now, and the after time is a year or more in the future.
I was last in NYC in autumn 1996, and it was seriously crowded then even for someone used to a hectic Asian city. The light traffic in these pictures makes it feel more like a smallish town or a suburb.
ema
@Major Major Major Major
@?BillinGlendaleCA
Thank you. I’ll read up on white balance and go practice.
ema
@J R in WV:
@John Revolta
@Amir Khalid
If you visit now you would definitely notice the difference. There is some traffic but, quite often, you glance down a street and it’s empty for blocks. It’s borderline disorienting.
JAFD
At some point when worst of summer heat is over, we should have another NYC Meetup.
Mayhaps on the Great Lawn ’twill be enuf room for social distancing ???
arrieve
@JAFD: I’m in for a meetup. We can hold up signs, a la Love Actually.
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: For the record, I don’t think you can call it a STOMP when a post is scheduled for a certain time and someone else puts up a post 7 minutes before that.
Laura Too
@John Revolta: Serious props to you! We did a 25 mile guided ride around Manhattan and watched some of the messengers as we went. Fearless in the face of danger. :) One of my fondest memories of the city, something I will always cherish. Ema, thanks for these, the whole series has been so interesting.
ema
@Laura Too:
Thank you!
Elizabelle
@ema: Gorgeous. I actually love the panoramic collection with the 3 different tones. Makes for a more interesting photo, IMHO. David Hockney would forgive you.
NYC looks enchanting, and disturbingly empty.
My 5100 arrived this week! Excited to have it. Have not used it yet, but maybe tonight. It’s beautiful, all charged, and arrived with a full set of accessories (extra lenses, filters, tripod, etc.) Now to learn how to use it!
Thank you for mentioning the camera last Sunday. It became my birthday present. Ordered within 30 minutes of seeing your beautiful flower photos.