New York

New York City is often described as a place of opportunities. Television and different movies periodically show people from all over the world willing to start their carrier or to get a proper education in New York. Not only did it seem to be a place of hope in the past, when Lady Liberty used to welcome approaching immigrants, but also it is still today. Driven by their ambitions people usually rent small, overpriced apartments or rooms in groups of a few persons, all of them hoping one day to live their American Dream. Nobody is surprised that this metropolis was a stepping-stone for famous jazz musicians, who used to perform in various city jazz clubs. By the way, there are still numerous music clubs in New York, which offer diverse shows in order to hold the attention of a demanding audience.

In foreign countries New York is known as the metropolis of tallest skyscrapers. For me, who is used to rural green surrounding, overcrowded New York City always seemed to be a concrete jungle, not a very attractive place to live. Nevertheless, when I was visiting it, I was impressed by the typical skyline of Manhattan, which I had only seen on TV or in the movies. The colourful huge screen advertisement on Time Square, especially at night, enchanted me. I was amazed at unexpected architectural style combinations in the city, for instance, a Gothic church surrounded by modern houses. I do associate skyscrapers of New York with modern life, futurism, prosperity, enthusiasm, determination and Gothic, in  contrast, is associated with aged, old-fashioned attitude, the Middle Ages or at least Renaissance, or underground forbidden activities. Somehow the church did not fit to the modern city scenery. It appeared as the island of loneliness surrounded by tall, cold concrete creatures.

SoHo

In my opinion, the most impressive place is SoHo, located in the southern part of Manhattan. I liked it because of its neat colourful houses, the pattern of fire escape ladder on their facade. It gave me an impression of quietness and cosiness on a small tidy island surrounded by a busy city.

Another day, I was walking along a narrow street in the southern Manhattan. Surprisingly, like in a scene from a movie, at the end of this street I saw a small block of two or three floor houses surrounded by imposing skyscrapers. I found it fascinating. I think, using this picture I could describe the USA as it occurs to me: people have to use opportunities on occasion in order to realise apparently unachievable goals. It doesn’t matter what targets are chosen, everybody should firmly move farther, up to the very top.

 

I still do not think New York could be a great place for me to settle down, but I would like to visit it again and look for another photographic scene. I am sure there are more places I have not visited yet, where past, present and future are placed together in front of the camera eye.