Taken from top of the Empire State Building, NYC, 10:00 PM, sometime in July of early 1990's… all that was missing was the Batman logo reflecting off the overcast sky, and strains of Gershwin melodies riding on the wind.
In fact it was so windy up there I had to jam my lightweight tripod against the wall with my knee to keep everything still. Out of 8 takes from 4 different views, this was the only one to come out sharp enough to use...

Originally shot on Fuji 100 ISO color print film with a Canon EOS-100 SLR and EF 28-80 USM lens, scanned to digital on a Canon FS-2710 negative scanner, then seriously edited in Photoshop. Converting the color image to BW amplified the discreet effect that the evening smog put on the various light sources and increased the overall dynamic.

Aside from the BW conversion (simply destaurated the master), I have to admit this take has been seriously tweaked, mainly using level and contrast tools in Photoshop in selected areas… kind of like the way a dark room technician would dodge and burn a BW print from a negative a gazillion years ago…

Recently I decided to make a final edit and straightened the inward slope of the outer buildings resulting from the 28 mm focal length used for the shot.

I have sold more of this image than all the rest of my portfolio put together.