New images: Timberland

July 24, 2017 in Architecture, my pictures, New York, Fashion

Timberland's latest designs have a contemporary high-tech look. It felt like a great match to bring them to the World Trade Center Oculus for test shots. The footwear utilizes Timberland's Sensorflex and Aerocore technology. In addition to the various shoe colorways, the shoot stylings also featured many Timberland accessories.

The Oculus, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is a soaring space that contrasts nicely with the classic architecture of the iconic Grand Central station to the north. Ever since the transit hub debuted last year, I've been exploring it photographically. It was amazing to bring these two models into a new futuristic space for this fashion story.

Credits:
Models: Nicasio Fernandez and Adrian Michna, Team shooting with Fernandez included:
Producer: Kara Packouz, Digital Tech: Michael Cardiello, Stylist: Young-ah Kim, Assistant: Erik Bernstein, Retouching: Harlan Erskine.

My contrabution, Spring Arboretum Reflection, folded into a pinwheel at the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
Image © harlan erskine

The Connective Project in Prospect Park

July 14, 2017 in Brooklyn, my pictures, New York, design, Architecture

The Connective Project is a collaborative public art project which consists of 7,000 pinwheels installed in the often overlooked Rose Garden in Prospect Park. Commissioned by the Prospect Park Alliance, conceived and produced by Rory McEvoy and Grainne Coen from the experiential marketing agency AREA4 with spatial design by Architect Suchi Reddy of Reddymade Design, the Connective Project activated a forgotten space of the park and celebrated the park's the 150th anniversary.

Included in the project is my image Spring Arboretum Reflection (below) a landscape photo I made in the park on a wet spring day. The installation is only up until Monday, July 17, so head over to the park soon and enjoy my images of the installation below!

Spring Arboretum Reflection, © harlan erskine

Overview of the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Three Adirondack chairs at the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Three stump chairs at the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Walkway at the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Overview of the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Twilight at the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Nightlight over the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Evening at the Connective Project in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Image © harlan erskine

Siegel Cooper Co., 1896 by the Byron Company via MCNY (left) & 632 Sixth Avenue, 2014 by Harlan Erskine.
Click here for the then and now image.

A Walk Through Gilded New York — Gilded Age re-photography project

March 14, 2017 in Architecture, Interactive, my pictures, New York, Technology, MCNY

The Gilded Age in New York City, much like contemporary New York, was full of opulence, power, and wealth. A Walk Through Gilded New York is a mobile app I worked on with the Museum of the City of New York. We visited 16 key locations throughout New York City, and I rephotographed them, doing my best to match the angle and perspective of the archival images.

Download the app A Walk Through Gilded New York from the Apple Store or Google Play, and you’ll learn about how the famous families such as the Astors, Carnegies, the Fricks and the Vanderbilts held lavish parties, financed iconic buildings and mansions and founded cultural institutions. Some of the structures are long gone, but most are among the treasures of New York City architecture that make the city a vibrant place to explore. In addition to the app, you can view all of my images here or click on the locations below.

I chose to capture all of the images digitally with a tilt shift lens mounted onto my Nikon. Then in post, I worked to warp the images over the vintage photographs to match the perspective and angle more closely.

It's fascinating to see all the differences in the city but also how so much would be recognizable to a person of that era. It's precisely this layering of histories that makes the experience of walking in a city like New York so pleasurable. In spending so much time with each location, it was great to slow down and notice the differences all the while imagining the photographers of that era lugging around their large cameras, setting them up and making the pictures.

Actress Grace Gummer narrates the tour. The app curated and written by Jessica Lautin and produced by Acoustiguide for the Museum of the City of New York.