The Most Beautiful City at Night

A decade ago, I was traveling home from a business trip to California. It was a long flight from LAX to JFK and I dozed. I awoken to the voice of the captain announcing that we were beginning our initial descent. After the usual reminders to put up our seats and tray tables he signed off. Then out of the blue, he surprised me and came back on with a parting thought. He said, “I’ve flown all over the world and I have to say that New York is the most beautiful city at night.” There was a trace of awe in his voice that I haven’t forgotten even after all these years.

I know I am biased, but I totally agree with the pilot. I took some photos of the city that I’ve been meaning to post for a while. They were taken while I was traveling in a car on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was twilight, and a friend and I were headed home after New York Fashion week last summer. I was so captivated by the views I grabbed my camera and just started shooting.

The soft clouds were such a sharp contrast against all those steel buildings. As the sunlight caught the sides of the buildings and the East River, everything turned silver. I especially love the squares of yellow light in each of the buildings.

I was born in Manhattan and I know I am biased about the city. It’s so pretty!

The next series of photos were taken in Brooklyn. Same bridge as the sun is setting.

I did some searching on what the pilot may have been looking at while we were landing in New York. I came across some of the most breathtaking photos from photographer, Vincent Laforet. He published a book called AIR, which illustrates other cities at night. You can purchase the book or lithographs. Do yourself a favor and check out his website. Click HERE to see more of his photos that we featured in Esquire magazine. This is not sponsored, I just wanted to share his photos because they are crazy beautiful. Enjoy!