Iwan Baan, Architectural Photographer

An aerial shot, taken from the Standard Hotel. Photo by Iwan Baan.

This weekend, the New York Times ran a profile of international architectural photographer Iwan Baan. Iwan took a beautiful series of High Line photos in our first season, and we agree that there’s something groundbreaking about his style. Fred Bernstein of the Times writes:

Mr. Baan sees buildings as backdrops for his photographs of people, he said during a recent visit to New York. Looking at a picture of the new Cooper Union building in the East Village, designed by Mr. Mayne, Mr. Baan said, “It’s about the woman shuffling down the street.” His work owes as much to Diane Arbus and Henri Cartier-Bresson as to Julius Shulman or Ezra Stoller, the pre-eminent architectural photographers of the late 20th century.

Structural Integrity and People, Too [New York Times]

Click through for some of Iwan’s shots of the High Line.

2009 in Pictures

Dear Friends,

2009 has been a remarkable year for the High Line. After spending the spring working on the final stages of construction, we opened the first section of the park in June. Since then, we estimate that nearly 2 million people have visited. We hope you were among these first visitors to the High Line, and that you return again and again in 2010.

The High Line’s first year as a public park has been truly amazing. We’ve pulled together some of our favorite pictures from this incredible, historic year. We hope you enjoy them!

We hope you’ll continue to support the High Line as we prepare for 2010.

Many thanks, and happy New Year,

Park visitors stroll and relax on the Diller – von Furstenberg Sundeck between 14th and 15th Streets. The Sundeck is one of the High Line’s most popular gathering spots, especially for sunbathers on bright summer days, and as a place to watch the sunset. Photo by Iwan Baan

“…The High Line is a hit, and not just with tourists but with New Yorkers who are openly relishing a place where they can reflect and relax enough to get a new perspective on Manhattan.”

—Diane Cardwell, For High Line Visitors, Park is a Railway Out of Manhattan, New York Times

1948 Aerial Photo

The West Side, from about West 15th Street to West 10th Street. Courtesy Nick Jones. Click to Enlarge.

High Line supporter Nick Jones recently sent this great aerial shot our way. He tells us it was taken in 1948, and that the aircraft  (from left to right a Stinson SR-10, Grumman Widgeon, and Grumman Goose) are all NYPD planes.

Wet is Beautiful

From Don Juan Tenorio's Flickr

Dreary weather in the city is an opportunity to experience the High Line in an altogether different way. If you’re bold enough  to venture up despite the rain, you’ll be rewarded with stillness, solitude, and strange beauty as surfaces sparkle and plant colors pop.

Photo by Rick Darke. Click to enlarge.

Going up on a rainy night is still another adventure — we love this photo set taken Friday night by landscape photographer Rick Darke. The wet grasses are luminous, and the surrounding skyline and streets below show vibrant streaky colors.

The Abstract Line

While the High Line may look pretty cool from far away, it seems it looks just as good up close and personal. Adrian Gaut, a photographer whose work has been featured in the likes of GQ, recently turned his lens on the High Line and came away with some beautiful abstract shots. For a quick game, see if you can find where on the High Line each of these shots was taken!

Check out his Web site here.

Help Our Little Flickr Grow!

via shinya's flickr

Our flickr pool, now well past its infancy and into its chubby adolescence, is a great repository of High Line visitor photos. It’s a fun browse, but it needs your help to grow big and strong.

If you’re on flickr, please take a moment to add your best High Line shots to our pool. You’ll be glad you helped  expand the prettiest little corner of the internet.

High Line flickr Pool

Night Walk With Gothamist

Images Courtesy of Katie Sokoler

Katie Sokoler over at Gothamist took some amazing night shots of the High Line a few weeks ago. Though the Line makes for a great stroll or hangout during the day, it becomes an altogether different experience by night. For those of you who haven’t checked it out after dark yet, these pictures are worth a look.

Also be sure to check out the ever-evolving, ever-amazing High Line flickr pool to see more photos and to add your own.

More images after the break

Ribbon Cut: High Line Open!

Ribbon cutting ceremony with children from P.S. 11. Photo courtesy of Spencer Tucker, Office of the Mayor

The High Line in Bloom: Pt. 2

Back in March we gave you a taste of the young flora growing up on the High Line. As we anxiously await both the Summer season (which should be here any day now) and the impending High Line opening (same), we thought we’d share some pictures, courtesy of Ashley Burke, of other plants and flowers that have grown since.

Allium obliquum twisted-leaved garlic
Knautia macedonica ‘Mar’s Midget’
 

More images after the break.

Aloha, Friends of the High Line!

That’s right, we’re on flickr!

Need your High Line fix? Check out more than 1,700 photos– including tons of historical and construction photos,  and many shots from Friends of the High Line events, on our new photostream.

Visit Friends of the High Line on flickr