The weekend of Memorial Day, summer of 2018, the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, I decided to spend the weekend in New York City.
As part of the trip, I had planned to ride my motorcycle to Brooklyn Bridge Park and take a couple of pictures late at night using the Manhattan skyline in the background.
I tend to watch the weather channel constantly to monitor for rain, I am always worried about getting wet. Riding a motorcycle in the rain can get dangerous real quick.
That particular Friday night I was late heading to NYC. For the first time in a long time, the ride northbound on Interstate 95 was smooth sailing. Even though there is always a traffic jam at the Holland Tunnel, I was pleasantly surprised that for a Friday night on a three day holiday weekend, I encounter no traffic congestion.
It could be dangerous riding a motorcycle in any big city; New York City is no exception. The New York metro region roads and highways are known for being in bad condition, lots of potholes. And taxi drivers are the worst of the worst, they move into your lane with little disregard for others. They stop in the middle of the street, and customers open their doors and exit. A few weeks prior to my trip a motorcyclist was killed after slamming into the rear of a car in Brooklyn, …. but I digress.
The plan was to ride to Brooklyn Bridge Park Saturday morning at 4:00 a.m. Why so early you may ask? Due to the hundreds of tourists that visit the location every day, the park is guarded by overzealous security guards; they don't allow motor vehicles in the waterfront area. At 4:00 a.m. the Brooklyn Bridge Park is deserted, and completely pitch dark. It's like walking into the lion's den.
When I arrived at about 4:00 a.m. to the waterfront in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, the only person in the area was a homeless man sleeping on a park bench. To ensure my safety first and foremost, and to get out of Dodge, I quickly set up my tripod and Nikon D7000, composed the scene and started shooting. About 20 minutes later, hoping to succeed in getting one good image, I had taken two dozen pictures.
I am very happy with the final result.
[Click here to view the image in it's original size....]