See New York From Above in New Stunning Photos

3 minute read

New York’s iconic landmarks and street panoramas have become familiar characters for people around the world, even those who have never stepped foot on its soil, thanks to the thousands of films, television shows and commercials that take place in the Big Apple.

Yet, George Steinmetz’s new photo book, New York Air: The View From Above, presents an unparalleled visual feast of this well-known metropolis. Every photo offers a new perspective and a level of detail that turns familiar places into never-seen-before spectacles. Popular views are transformed, and an exclusive, secretive New York is revealed: the curvy contours of Central Park’s trails encircling baseball fields blanketed with snow; the contrast of old and new as the glowing Freedom Tower competes with the iconic Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges; or the privilege of looking into Lady Liberty’s neoclassical eyes.

A self-proclaimed “air junkie,” Steinmetz was looking for a short aerial project in the winter and started hovering over the five boroughs last February, eager to captured an unusual New York under a fresh blanket of snow.

As seasons followed, the landscape’s metamorphosis as well as New Yorkers’ seasonal activities presented a different visual appeal, which prompted Steinmetz to prolong his work and capture new scenes: snaps of people frolicking on rooftops, the serpentine tracks of go-karts at Coney Island’s Luna Park, and the pale tones of Victorian row houses lined up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area. “I felt as if we were cruising through an extraordinary reef stocked with the most diverse forms of urban flora and fauna,” Steinmetz writes in the introduction of his book.

One of the challenges he faced was in capturing the landscape of a city that changes constantly. “As I flitted about the five boroughs by helicopter, I began to understand that in a city as dynamic as this one, I could never make the definitive photographing document, because by the time it was done, the city would [have] already changed,” Steinmetz confessed.

 

George Steinmetz is an independent photographer and a frequent contributor to National Geographic and GEO. He lives in in Glen Ridge, N.J. His latest book, New York Air: The View From Above, has been published in October 2015 by Abrams.

Marie Tobias is TIME Associate Photo Editor.

Lucia De Stefani is a writer and contributor at TIME LightBox. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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At twilight, Manhattan resembles a vast living organism with ribbons of energy pulsing through its streets and up into its hundred thousand buildings.
At twilight, Manhattan resembles a vast living organism with ribbons of energy pulsing through its streets and up into its hundred thousand buildings.George Steinmetz
The New Yorker Hotel and view down West 34th Street towards the Empire State Building on an early evening in spring in New York City.
The New Yorker Hotel and view down West 34th Street towards the Empire State Building on an early evening in spring in New York City. George Steinmetz
The North Meadow baseball fields in Central Park on a Sunday morning in early spring.
The North Meadow baseball fields in Central Park on a Sunday morning in early spring.George Steinmetz
Sam Querrey is serving to Novak Djokovic in the third round of the men’s singles at the 2014 U.S. Open.
Sam Querrey is serving to Novak Djokovic in the third round of the men’s singles at the 2014 U.S. Open. George Steinmetz
Sam Querrey is serving to Novak Djokovic in the third round of the men’s singles at the 2014 U.S. Open.
Evening view of One World Trade Center in New York City on a spring evening.George Steinmetz
The Statue of Liberty in New York city on an early summer morning.
The Statue of Liberty in New York city on an early summer morning.George Steinmetz
Sunbathers and picnickers in the area between the pathway that encircles Central Park's Great Lawn, on a warm afternoon of spring.
Sunbathers and picnickers in the area between the pathway that encircles Central Park's Great Lawn, on a warm afternoon of spring. George Steinmetz
Moviegoers enjoying Saturday Night Fever on the lawn in Bryant Park at the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival.
Moviegoers enjoying Saturday Night Fever on the lawn in Bryant Park at the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival.George Steinmetz
The Golf Club driving range at Chelsea Piers in New York City on an spring afternoon.
The Golf Club driving range at Chelsea Piers in New York City on an spring afternoon. George Steinmetz
Beachgoers soak in the sun in Coney Island, Brooklyn, on Labor Day Weekend.
Beachgoers soak in the sun in Coney Island, Brooklyn, on Labor Day Weekend. George Steinmetz

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