New York Pier 76 and Manhattan Skyline Black and White Photography

Low Waterfront Buildings Beneath a Cluster of Tall Towers

Pier 76 stretches across the waterfront beneath a dense group of Manhattan buildings. Its long, low roofline forms a steady horizontal base for the taller structures behind it. I photographed this New York City view in 2015, before the pier’s renovation. The older waterfront building and the rising skyline make a distinctive pairing, with the Hudson River providing an open foreground beneath their closely packed forms.

The central towers carry repeated rows of windows, balconies and vertical edges. Their different heights give the skyline a varied outline, while smaller buildings fill the gaps on either side. I like the way those upright shapes gather above the pier’s simpler facade. Below them, a series of dark openings and pale wall sections runs along the water’s edge, creating a rhythm at a much lower level.

A broad sky leaves space above the buildings. Near the bottom of the photograph, a light streak across the water interrupts the finer ripples and adds another horizontal line. Those open areas make the architecture easier to read, from the low waterfront frontage to the tallest central roofs.

Black and white brings the different structures into a common palette while keeping their surfaces distinct. Window grids, weathered walls and the river each have a separate texture within the scene. As a print, this photograph offers a detailed view of Manhattan’s waterfront at a particular moment, suited to a collection of New York architecture or urban river landscapes.

© Dan Kosmayer, 2015