December 10, 2012

I finally got around to organizing some of the photos I took during the Hurricane Sandy blackout. Except for the power going out in my neighborhood, I don’t have any stories of hardship. I just had to walk to work and walk back in pitch dark every day that week. So I didn’t see any of Sandy’s real devastation, but walking around the deserted downtown Manhattan was enough craziness for me.

Note: If you’re viewing this on the Tumblr dashboard, click here to see all the photos attached to this post.

Virtually all of them were shot with my Sony NEX-7 and 24mm lens. No clever skill to them or heavy-post-processing…just bumped the ISO and aperture to the max and held my breath. All of these photos are on my Flickr account and available through Creative Commons, along with the metadata and original sizes.

Feel free to re-use the photos (with attribution). So if you were interested in purchasing a print, donate instead to post-Sandy efforts: Coney Recovers | Staten Island Advance’s list | FEMA Donation Info


And then suddenly, everyone remembered how much they loved traffic lights.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS.


This was fun for the first few blocks of the walk. But unsettling and unnerving after twenty.


Astor Place.


Too bad the skies were mostly cloudy that week. We might have been able to see the stars from lower Manhattan for the first time since Edison (or the last blackout, I guess).


Here’s what lower Manhattan looked like from the Top of the Rockefeller. Just kidding, that’s way more lighting than lower Manhattan had (this is Central Park)


Lights were mostly out from the ESB to the WTC


I applaud their bravery, but this looks like the four-wheel death ride to hell.


Cop cars would go down the side streets every so often, flooding the area with blue and red lighting. Still, it was a mugger’s dream, considering victims wouldn’t be able to call 911 on their cell phones.


NYU apparently had their own generators.


I’d never thought I’d live to see Veselka closed.


In the last days of the blackout, the Flatiron building provided a striking divide between the have-lights and the have-nots.


A light tower in Chelsea on 8th Avenue.


Dawn at the Meatpacking district


It was actually nice to take bus rides for a change.


Below 23rd Street near Broadway


Pizza by flashlight.


The value of a hot meal could not be overstated.



This was my living room after the power went back on. Apparently we never bothered to turn off the TV.


Wine was one of the few staples of life that remained uninterrupted. Just like during Prohibition


Sixth Avenue

Taking the stairs (with the dog) became terrifying.

Walking down Broadway, just south of Union Square

This photo is of 1st Ave., right after the generator blew

This neon outpost in Union Square was the only hot meal for blocks

Just how are they planning to power that iMac exactly?

I'll never take traffic lights for granted again

8:53am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZNFL8yZ3Io59
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Filed under: NYC Manhattan New York City landscape blackout Sandy Hurricane Sandy black 
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