Perching Above

A previously blocked off corner of Chase plaza now allows a new perspective of the cross street of Liberty and William streets.  Right across the street is the corner of the Federal Reserve building.  

Top of the StairsLiberty Crosses WilliamCrossing Liberty

Look from Below

Shooting from below looking up presents the power and height of the buildings in the backgrounds.  Here are two that would not look the same from eye level.  

Above the BikeMattress Delivery

Street Level

I used to use a point and shoot camera that had a viewfinder that tilted out so its view could be observed from above.  This worked well for taking pictures at low angles.  When I upgraded to a digital SLR though, it didn't have this capability so I need to pretty much have my eye near the camera's level to see what kind of shot will be coming.  For street photography, I do frequently just "shoot from the hip" and point in the general direction of the subject so the shot is discrete and the subject is more natural. 

For the main logo on my StreetObservations.com website though, I wanted to have a shot at street level.  Putting my head on the ground is not terrible convenient in Manhattan, so I started to think of alternatives.  I began to observe sunken locations, such as stairways, that would allow my eye to be at a lower level.   This angle and this perspective has given me some interesting shots. 

One of my favorite locations is an entry to a subway and also to a Subway restaurant.  Standing on the wide stairway down about 5 steps brings my eye just about to street level.