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LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2023
Top of the World:
Scouting the Skyscrapers of NYC
by Les Fincher
Be it Spider-Man, Batman, Cat Woman or Ghostbusters, super vistas of NYC
skyscrapers are part of the performance. Each project documents the nostalgic
cityscape for the world to know.
What is it about that vast view from a skyscraper? You step out onto a rooftop to
a horizon of shapes sculpted by light, shadow and reflection, both breathless and
awed—it's like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
Manhattan rooftops and terraces instantly deliver a geometric landscape of
engineering marvels. The camera finds opportunities to visually travel between
the buildings, past endless office windows to streets below. At dusk, window lights
randomly appear as night stars with moments of galactic semblance. Sunset renders
building silhouettes in a golden glow.
You look for the classics: the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings, both
