The story

This series of original photographs presents New York City from the air, as captured from a helicopter. It was an exceptional experience itself to fly above the greatest city in the world, approaching its landmarks at high altitudes while sitting in the aircraft with the door removed. As a photographer, however, I had a very particular task to accomplish and there was no time for enjoying the spectacular views. Photographing from a helicopter is especially dynamic and spontaneous. I took a few flights and probably hardly ever have I shot anything I had actually planned before. Up in the air everything happens incredibly quickly. This requires focus, making instant decisions and controlling camera parameters, as the light changes along with perspective and the setting sun.

The "Manhattan Island in Blue" presents one of the most iconic and widely recognized perspectives to New York. I took the shot during my first ever helicopter flight at twilight. Having no experience whatsoever with photographing from air at the time, even adjusting technical parameters was hectic and almost random for me during the flight. The extremely limited amount of light and instability of the aircraft enforced using quick exposure and very high ISO even at high aperture.

This angle can be approached in a variety of manners, which I tried later on (check out my other aerial works). I chose higher focal length so that the landmarks in Midtown Manhattan appeared slightly closer to the World Trade Center and Wall Street, even though it increased the probability of receiving a shaken image. I took a long series of shots though and one out of five came out perfectly sharp.

Location: New York, New York

Additional info

Posters by Wojtek Zagorski present unique, original photographs, many of which were awarded in international photography contests, published in prestigious magazines or disseminated worldwide commercially. Posters in Pearl variant are printed on a high quality satin paper with white margins and branded with the author's logo in the bottom. Depending on the size, we ship them to you in a cardboard/foil package or a tube. Posters larger than 100cm on the longer edge are printed on forex board and packed securely for shipping. Additionally, the Crystal variant (UV print on a highest grade crystal clear acrylic glass) is available for sizes of 60cm x 40cm (24" x 18") and larger. For more information about variants and materials see the Buyer's Guide section.

*In the United States posters (Pearl) are printed on archival photo paper.