Postcards From New York City – Part 2
Words by Dalene Heck / Photography by Pete Heck
This is our last post from our time in New York.
We feel as sad to hit “publish” today as we did when we left the city.
To experience New York City for a prolonged period is something we never imagined we’d do. And we didn’t love it just for the amazing sights we saw or the friends we made – it was also thoroughly educational. It is the undisputed epicenter of western society and a microcosm of the world at large. We learned a lot about life as an American and had a glimpse into our own heritage as well. Every day we went beyond our front door we were pleasantly surprised with the big city’s quirks and charms, and were drawn to many beautiful displays of the human spirit.
New York – you have turned this small town couple into big-city-lovers. But we only have eyes for you….
What’s not to love?
Okay, well, maybe your financial system could use some work.
But you’ve got lots of pretty things to keep us distracted…
Like all your gorgeous churches (seen here: Cathedral of St John the Divine).
Riverside Church.
The architecture is so varied and stunning, there is always something to look at.
The Flatiron Building.
The Guggenheim Museum.
Grand Central Station.
The understated and iconic Empire State Building.
The Empire State Building again, framed by the Manhattan Bridge.
It was impossible for us to pass by Rockefeller Center and not hum the theme to “30 Rock”.
There is only one Broadway.
Thank you New York. We hope we served you as well as you served us.
You can find all of our “Postcard” Collections below:
Postcards from New York – Part 1
For a lot more photos, travel inspiration and other fun stuff join us our Facebook fan page! 🙂
I love the Grand Central Station photo – capturing both the clear stillness and the blurred movement of the people.
Thanks Ter, me too! I also tried to make a tilt-shift out of this shot and it worked out pretty well but I didn’t post it. I will probably post in our flickr feed…
Holy crap those are amazing photos! I wish we didn’t have just our point and shoot when we were there.
Love the shot of the Empire State building being framed by the bridge!
Thanks Cole! I’m surprised how perfect this spot is for this shot with the ESB framed.
BEYOND AMAZING!!!!! The 1st one took my breath away.
Thanks Andi. I’m happy the way they turned out because of the effort it took to get them. I practically froze on the pier taking these as I had a 3 minute shutter and took about 30 different shots that night. The wind off the East River is COLD!!
Again, gorgeous. The one outside St John the Devine is so dramatic.
Cheers Jeff, I was really happy how that one turned out.
New York City is loved. Your photos make me sad not to be there!
I’m kinda sad not to be there anymore as well.
Inspiring photos–thanks!
I love the warm tones you captured in the Brooklyn skyline, and in Riverside Church. Seriously kick ass job Pete!
Thanks so much Leah!! We miss you, come to Turkey!!
Beautiful pictures again guys, but did everybody leave town while you were there? Other than a sparse Grand Central, it looks deserted.
My thoughts were exactly the same. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to get a good shot. But I set up the tripod at the top of the Apple Store and shot away. I even like how the guys with mobiles stayed still in the bottom of the frame.
Incredible photos again. Love two of the churches in particular, the Brooklyn Church with the gnarly tree and the one with the angel outside. Great photos 🙂
Thanks Laurence! That Brooklyn Church I think is my favorite. We were aimlessly just wandering in Brooklyn when we came upon this, lucky find…. If anyone knows the name of this church, let us know!!
I’ve loved all your New York posts. It seems like you both had some pretty great experiences there, and isn’t that what travel is about?
The photos are fantastic. So many creative shots, but I love that one of the Empire State Building and the Manhattan bridge.
Thanks Alouise. Both Dalene and I try to be as creative as possible when it comes to the photography. And NYC didn’t disappoint us. And you are certainly right about experiences and travel.
Great shots! The churches are my favs.
Thanks so much Hogga! Inside the Riverside was pretty incredible. And luckily I got there when nobody was inside so I could take a few photos.
Love the pics! Went to the top of Rockefeller Center (30 Rock!) and saw the whole city from up there.. pretty amazing place and a great view for sure!
Thanks Derek. We loved the views of Manhattan from 30 Rock.
I just pinned this to my Photos I Wish I Took board!
Thanks for the pin Stephanie!! I’ve now followed your boards 🙂
Beautiful Photos! Really enjoyed all your posts from New York and am looking forward to reading about Turkey.
Really appreciated Claire. We are definitely enjoying our time here in Turkey and really looking forward to get some posts published.
Aaah, these photos make me want to return to one of my favorite cities in the world so bad!! Great photos, Pete 🙂
Thanks Dani, but I can’t take all the credit 🙂 Dalene plays a big part of the photography as well.
How in the world did they let you set up a tripod in Grand Central? Or did you spend the night in jail?!
Uh oh. Did we just get away with something criminal?? Good thing we fled the country… 🙂
Nice photos – I like the Grand Central interior and the cathedral with the statue in front. If you get a chance to swing down to Philly, you should check out 30th St Station – amazing architecture.
Thanks Don! We’re long gone now…not sure when we’ll be back that way…
Breathtaking pics. Wow. Thank you Pete and Dalene for sharing them with us.
Thank you Laura!
Again such amazing pictures! I especially love the first one, beautiful!
Thanks so much Ali!
I knew I would love part two before I even saw it. Now that I’ve seen it…well, no surprise that I think I it’s fantastic. Really glad you guys chose to go to NYC!
Thanks Cherina!! WE are very happy that we chose to go as well. We just miss it now 🙂
You’re making me miss NYC again. Love that city, even though it made me crazy while living there.
We miss it too. I don’t think we were there long enough for it to drive us crazy. How come it made you crazy?
We lived there for 5 years and I swear we didn’t have a single full night’s sleep. Bad neighbours etc…And then there’s the day in and day out bombardment of stimuli, the cranky rush hour on the train, we sometimes joke that we’ve lived out every Seinfeld episode there is. Whether you like it or not, living there changes you, I definitely speak my mind now 🙂
I now see how it drove you crazy… That’s funny about living out the Seinfeld episodes. I agree with your quote in that living anywhere changes you. Thanks for your comments 🙂
Rewatch the episode where the barking dog keeps Elaine up all night… not so funny 🙂
So many NY stories we could tell. I feel a blog post coming on…
Your photos are unreal.
No, they’re real. I promise 😉
Great pics – love the one of Grand Central Station. New York is just such a photogenic city (even the gritty parts!)
Thanks! I love the gritty parts too.
Great photos, as always.
What do you use to make your “postcards”? I may or may not want to steal the idea… 😉
Steal away! 🙂 Pete does it in photoshop, just applying a drop shadow and then the border and text. Really easy!
It amazes me how much there is too see in this city, and i love finding posts like this which offer visual galleries of some of New York’s best features and things to do. My favourite place for art and architecture, certainly.
Your shot of the Riverside church, WOW. You make New York look like an amazing work of art. Which it sort of is. Great job as always!
My all time favorite place on earth!
Seeing those (really great) pictures makes me want to go there again….