NYC_Last Sunrise of August

The last sunrise of the month of August 2020. A view of the New York City Skyline and Hudson River as the sun rises behind the two towers of the Time Warner Complex in the Columbus Circle area of Manhattan. The highest tower is the luxury residential tower named both Central Park Tower and Nordstrom Tower. The next highest is also a luxury residential building, built over the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art named 53W53. Both towers are under construction and due for completion by end of 2020. Central Park Tower, is the tallest residential building in the world and the second tallest building in the U.S. and Western Hemisphere.

Sunflower Farm Landscape Northern NJ

My last photo to process from a sunflower farm visit earlier in the month. A gorgeous summer day - the perfect time to visit the countryside of northern New Jersey to see this glorious scene of a sunflower field in bloom with farm in the background. topped off with a rich blue sky filled with drifting puffy white clouds.

Snowy Egret on Tree Trunk

A vertical format view of a Snowy Egret standing atop an old tree trunk watching patiently for a meal to swim by in incoming tide waters. The Egrets seem to be a popular subject this week. This is one of about 10 that I saw yesterday but the only one close enough to photograph. .Photographed at Mill Creek Marsh in the NJ Meadowlands.

Monarch Feeding on Butterfly Bush

A Monarch butterfly sipping nectar from the florets on a lavender hued butterfly bush blossom. Adding info as a result of a comment by a viewer. This image was shot in late afternoon muted sunlight with Nikon D7100 camera and Tamron 150 to 600 lens - hand held. Because the butterfly was very active, a high shutter speed and open aperture was used, resulting in out of focus background, Post processing included basic saturation, sharpening and a slight adjustment to the light spot on the right side of the frame in the background. Otherwise this is as captured.

Sunflower Duo in Sunlight and Shadows

Two sunflowers with the plants bent down highlighted by muted sunlight and deep shadows behind. The leaves at the bottom of the frame are dusted with fallen pollen. It's sunflower bloom time in NJ so hoping to get more opportunities to add to my sunflower image portfolio over the next month.

NY-NJ Riverside Sundown

A vertical format view of the coastal areas of the lower Hudson River with the city of Hoboken NJ in the foreground and lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center across the river.

Summer Zen-Mill Creek Marsh NJ

A landscape view taken during a Sunday afternoon walk at Mill Creek Marsh, N J Meadowlands. Late afternoon deep blue skies are reflected in the water contrasted with rich greens of the grasses, trees and shrubs. One of two images of similar subject, color and tone that work well together as a pair.

Summer Serenity-Mill Creek Marsh NJ

A landscape view taken during a Sunday afternoon walk at Mill Creek Marsh, N J Meadowlands. Late afternoon deep blue skies are reflected in the water contrasted with rich greens of the grasses, trees and shrubs.

NYC Saturday Sundown Special

A view of the New York midtown skyline and the Hudson River at sundown on a hazy, but lovely Saturday.

Snowy Egret on the Hunt

A lone Snowy Egret wading through the low tide marsh waters of the New Jersey Meadowlands in late afternoon sunlight. The tree trunk is an Atlantic White Cedar, hundreds of years old. During the early years of the first pioneers in the area, this section of the Meadowlands was a cedar forest. Many of the trees were cut to build homes and other structures including wood plank roads. The final demise of the forest came when it was burned - as the story goes - because pirates who flourished from cargo ships in the nearby river would hide in the forest. Today when the tide is low, one can see thousands of the old tree trunks which don't decay from the brackish water. It was great fun trying to watch and get some photos - and be as patient as this bird was as it waded back and forth waiting for a small fish to snatch.

Wading Snowy Egret and Reflection

A vertical format view of a Snowy Egret wading and stirring up water at low tide, searching for a late afternoon snack. New Jersey Meadowlands.

NYC A Sublime Summer Sundown

A colorful view of the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan and the Hudson River at sundown as a lone sailboat drifts through the scene. The twin towers of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle in NYC and the west side waterfront are transformed into a Lego-like creation in golds,yellows, and orange from the setting sun across to the west and the lights and shadows. The Intrepid Air and Space Museum can be seen at river edge.

Hudson Yards NYC Sundown Light

A vertical format view of the skyscrapers of the Hudson Yards area of midtown Manhattan at sundown. At the center of the compound, is a public space where the Vessel is located and can be clearly seen in this image. Vessel is a 150-foot-tall structure of connected staircases, the height of 16 stories. It has 80 landings, 2,500 steps and 154 flights. The total length of the 'hike' up the stairs is a little more than one mile. Ramps and an elevator are available for those who cannot climb the stairs. At the top of the tallest building, the "Edge" - a open air, glass-sided platform is located on the 100th floor. At 1,100 feet it is the highest viewing platform in the Western Hemisphere. The NYC High Line Park can be accessed on the south side of Hudson Yards where one can then walk along the elevated railway line park southward through Chelsea and other west side areas. Aternately,one could walk Eastward to find the Macy's flagship 34th street store and the nearby Empire State Building.

Blue Prelude to the Rain NYC

A blue sundown last eveneing in the skies over NYC, reflected in the Hudson River, a signal of rain to come later in the evening.

Silver-spotted Skipper Butterfly

A little Silver-sptted Skipper butterfly on a butterfly bush flower with a muted green grass background. Typically there would be many of this Skipper family butterflies, in several varieities, seen here at this time of year. So far, however, i don't think I've seen more than 5 or 6 of them. Wikipedia: "Epargyreus clarus, the silver-spotted skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is claimed to be the most recognized skipper in North America.. It is usually found in fields, gardens, and at forest edges and ranges from southern Canada throughout most of the United States to northern Mexico, but is absent in the Great Basin and western Texas".

Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia Flower

A beautiful, fresh new male monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a butterfly bush (Buddleia) flower. Photographed in the New Jersey Meadowlands.

Sunflower and Swallowtail Butterfly

A close up view of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly sipping nectar from a fresh and beautiful new sunflower.

NYC - Low-lying Rainbow

An usual low-lying rainbow after a thunderstorm over the New York metropolitan area. Started very faintly just above the Hudson River, then rose slowly picking up more color. It quickly began fading in color just after this shot and rose only slightly higher before it disappeared.

Sunflower Nirvana - New Jersey

It just could not have gotten any better than this combination of sky and clouds, flower field and a hint of country farm. My visit started out with hazy blue-gray skies and intermittent cloud cover. Every landscape shot tht I took looked dull and lifeless. I decided to work on a few flower closeups and then give it up and go home. Fortunately I didn't I remembered by trusty old polizer that I rarely use, pulled it out and when the skies began to clear and show some blue, this was the result.

Sunflower Days in NJ

It's sunflower bloom time in New Jersey and this is the first field to open to visitors here in the northwest part of the state. A hot, humid, but wonderful day to get out to the countryside and enjoy a walk around the field. With the crazy weather that we've had all Spring and Summer, the sunflower plants were much shorter than is typical, and the flower heads a bit smaller. But...there was a profusion of bloom and it was a cheerful, uplifting sight to view the large field filled with them. This is one sunflower that stood taller than the others so of course it deserved to have its photograph taken.

Monarch on Purple Butterfly Bush Flower

YAY - my first Monarch butterfly photo opportunity of the season. Hope that the storm last week did not destroy the cocoons and that more of them will show up soon. I followed this one around for quite a while and it kept choosing landing spots where the light was behind . Finally got to a flower bush with the light directly on it. and the flowers.

Pink Mandevilla Flower Portrait

A close up view of a pair of pink mandevilla flowers and bud. Mandevilla (rock trumpet ) is a tropical and subtropical flowering vine of the family family Apocynaceae. It is native to the Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America.

Unnamed

A battered sign, a black iron lamp and a cherubic statue - a trio of welcoming icons at the entryway to a vintage stucco home with layers and years of white paint. Cloudy, gray skies turned this scene into a natural monochrome image. Suggestions for a title are welcome.

The Pink House

A style and color combination that is out of the ordinary in my local urban area of homes in brick or muted neutal colors. I photographed it many years ago when it was paijnted in peach with a purple blue entryway. Each time that I was nearby and drove past it over the past year I've been wanting to get a current photo with the new paint job. It always makes me smile when I see it.