Like many gorgeous, massive cities, New York City is one that is arguably best viewed from above. With its many buildings, textures, and landscapes, Manhattan and the other four boroughs make for some spectacular aerial photographs. This is proven by the work of George Steinmetz, and independent photographer that lives in New Jersey. Steinmetz’ work is frequently published in National Geographic and NatGeo magazines, and he’s parlayed that success into a new book. Entitled New York Air: The View From Above, Steinmetz’ work is nothing short of eye-popping. See some examples from his social media below.
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety One of the most impressive things about New York City is the amalgamation of architectural styles. Here you can see over 80 years of architecture: from the 1931 green mansard roofs of Parc Vendome apartments, to 2014 with the soaring ninety-story One57, which is too tall to be contained in the image, and 432 Park on the way up. #March2014 A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Jul 13, 2015 at 4:53am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz A steady flow of runners passes through a re-hydration zone lined with green-jacketed volunteers on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn during last year’s NY Marathon. 2.3 million paper cups were stocked to make sure the runners were sufficiently hydrated over the 26.2 mile course that winds its way through all five boroughs. An exhibit of prints from the book New York Air will be opening 6:30 – 8:30 on Tuesday night, Nov 3rd, at Anastasia Photo, 143 Ludlow, NYC. Book signing, beverages, etc. Please come! A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Nov 1, 2015 at 5:13am PST
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety Half court basketball games are the thing in the Martin Luther King Jr. Playground on Malcolm X Boulevard and West 113th Street in #Harlem. The upper court is regulation NBA size and the lower one is high school size. From #NewYorkAirBook #UrbanLegend #HalfCourtHeroes A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Apr 22, 2015 at 3:12am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz Snow blowers are the only defenders left on the ramparts of the Statue of Liberty, and they had to start early this morning. The statue and its pedestal rest on a base adapted from an early nineteenth-century fort on the site, which was built in the form of an eleven-point star. The design permitted troops to fire down on the backs of attackers seeking to scale the walls. From the book New York Air pub fall 2015 #notadrone @thephotosociety A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Jan 24, 2015 at 8:10am PST
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz The first wave of 50,000 runners crossing the Verrazano Narrows Bridge at the start of last year’s NY Marathon. An exhibit of prints from the just-released book New York Air will be opening 6:30 – 8:30 on Tuesday night, Nov 3rd, at Anastasia Photo, 143 Ludlow, NYC. Book signing, beverages, etc. Please come! A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Oct 30, 2015 at 10:04am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety The IAC Building on the waterfront in Manhattan’s Chelsea district is one of the New York’s most unusual buildings. When I first saw this Frank Gehry-designed building from the air I thought: “Wow, it would be great to photograph it with some people out on the patio!” So I called up IAC, and asked when somebody might be out there. “Well, that’s Mr. Diller’s private patio….” Like many of the New York’s spectacular perches, this one never seems to be used. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Sep 22, 2015 at 6:14am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety For seventy years, Sheep Meadow in Central Park was home to a picturesque flock of sheep, until they were kicked out in 1934. From then, through the 1970s, it was anything goes on the meadow—including memorable peace rallies and be-ins—until the park commissioners came to their senses and restored a measure of control to the fragile patch of green. Today it was a great place for two-legged creatures to catch the last rays of summer. @centralparknyc #TagMe! A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Sep 7, 2015 at 12:48pm PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz on assignment for @natgeo Times Square got its latest face-lift courtesy of Michael Bloomberg, who turned sections of Broadway into pedestrian plazas. Originally opposed by local merchants, the mayor’s experiment was a huge success, and has attracted even more foot traffic with café tables and chairs. On the right is the elevated plaza of 4 Times Square. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Sep 10, 2015 at 5:21am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety Crowds swarm the new #WhitneyMuseum in Manhattan’s fashionable Meatpacking District. Almost as good as the art is the view from the four different levels of patios that look out on the High Line. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Sep 12, 2015 at 7:12am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz on assignment for @natgeo. At twilight on a clear night, Manhattan resembles a vast living organism, with ribbons of energy pulsing through the streets and up into its hundred thousand buildings. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Sep 17, 2015 at 1:21pm PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety The new Luna Park on Coney Island comes alive in the summer, with new rides mixed in the with the old, and with a spirit retained from the original park that opened in 1903. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Jul 5, 2015 at 7:17am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz /@thephotosociety Times Square on a Saturday night. When I look at this photo I can’t help but think of Jimi Hendrix, whose time in Manhattan inspired him to write Crosstown Traffic. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Aug 17, 2015 at 6:54am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety McCarren Pool was the eighth of eleven giant pools built by the #WorksProgressAdministration and opened in 1936. The city’s first outdoor public swimming pools were attached to baths and dated from the turn of the twentieth century; before that, there were floating baths in the Hudson and East Rivers. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Aug 5, 2015 at 6:41am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety It’s a long wait for a good fare at JFK’s Central Taxi Hold lot. According to the 2014 Taxi Factbook, people traveling to and from the city’s airports represent 5% of all taxi trips, and about 10% of all passengers arriving at and departing from #JFK use a taxi. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Jul 28, 2015 at 12:21pm PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety The rooftop pool gets crowded at #SohoHouse, a members-only club in Manhattan’s former meatpacking district. A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Jul 16, 2015 at 5:16am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety A wedding is underway beneath the canopy of the Cherry Esplanade in the #Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Flanking the cherries are liberty oaks, planted in remembrance of 9/11. This is the only part of the Garden where visitors can sit on the grass. From #NewYorkAirBook #notadrone A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on May 3, 2015 at 7:35am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety Free Monday movies bring many New Yorkers to the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. As they wait for the show to start, picnickers are probably not reflecting on the long history of this urban oasis. In the 1820s and 1830s it was the city’s potter’s field, which was moved to Randalls Island and then to Hart Island. The site first became a park in 1847, but by the late 20th Century it was a troubled, and at times dangerous, place. It was rescued in 1992 by an innovative plan led by Andrew Heiskell and Dan Biederman that led to its renaissance as a popular gathering place. @bryantparknyc A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Jun 29, 2015 at 6:11am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety Who says you can’t get good Yankee tickets for under $20? You can on Coney Island, where the carousel glows behind behind the outfield of MCU Park during a game between the #BrooklynCyclones and the #StatenIslandYankees. #NewYorkCity A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Jun 20, 2015 at 5:04am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz 230 Fifth Avenue is an elevated oasis above the streets of Manhattan. It claims to be the largest outdoor rooftop bar and restaurant in the city, which seems to be true. In winter months it’s partially heated, and customers are given hooded red fleece robes to stay warm. The management has even experimented with inflatable heated igloos. #bookparty? A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on May 29, 2015 at 6:31am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinnmetz / @thephotosociety New York is not a city known for its ruins, but it does have the New York State Pavilion designed by Philip Johnson and Lev Zetlin for the 1964 New York World’s Fair in #FlushingMeadow, Queens. New Yorkers seem to like it and the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated it a National Treasure, so while it was allowed to subside into a wreck, no one had the heart to tear it down. In its brief heyday, visitors milled under the “Tent of Tomorrow” and rode the “Sky Streak capsule elevators” to the top of the “Observation Towers.” Now the tent has no roof and the elevators are frozen in place. Let Johnson have the last word about his own creation: “In a way, the ruin is even more haunting than the original structure.” A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on May 15, 2015 at 6:31am PDT
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz / @thephotosociety Row houses, apartment buildings, and churches make a pleasant mosaic between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Malcolm X Boulevard. This was one of the first areas in Harlem to be settled by African-Americans. Many of Central Harlem’s significant landmarks are within a few blocks of this spot. From #NewYorkAirBook #notadrone A photo posted by @newyorkairbook on Apr 29, 2015 at 5:35am PDT