Architectural photographer Evan Joseph has it made. Instead of peeking through the dirty windows of a skyscraper or a plane, Joseph hangs out of open helicopter doorways and perches on parapets and terraces waiting for the right angle and moment of light to capture his stunning images.
The naturally gifted artist leaped from charcoals and oils to a big camera and a career as a luxury lifestyle photographer. While he specializes in interiors, architecture, still lifes and street scenes, for the last eight years he has also taken his work up to the friendly skies.
The photographer of “New York at Night” and other NYC-focused tomes has a new coffee table book, “New York From Above” (9 Square Editions, $99.95). It provides a rare glimpse over and between the towers as dusk transforms the blue skies from daylight to glowing sunset and bright lights start twinkling over the big city.
There are plenty of images to go around, with the new One World Trade Center stepping out as its cover plate and a serial subject. One impressive image catches the sun sparkling off the top piece of its spire, a jewel-like space capsule that hosts its beacon. Its existence was first revealed in The Post prior to being hoisted to its final perch, some 1,776 feet above the world.
It is one of Joseph’s favorites as well. “I love that one because it is so unexpected and was challenging to make,” he said. To capture that one instant when the sun glints off a facet, he had to keep circling round and round in the helicopter.
The idea for the book began with a commission to take photos and videos for advertising, souvenirs and an iPad app for One World Observatory. When it is released on Feb. 2, the book will only be sold there and through its website.
Highlights include a shot from the tippy-top of the Woolworth Building, plus images of the Chrysler Building, Madison Square Garden, Central Park. the Statue of Liberty, colorful shipping containers and nightscapes only visible from above.
He even shot the Park from Tommy Hilfiger’s Plaza penthouse.
“It’s fun to be dangling over Times Square with a camera,” Joseph said, crediting two special pilots and ground support teams who understand how to work fast to catch the light he needs and to keep it safe when the skyscraper’s air currents start bumping the ’copter. “In the helo, I have to focus and make decisions more quickly; it’s a tripod that moves when I talk into the headset,” he added.
While $100 seems weighty for this equally weighty tome, the magnificent prints will ensure it becomes the center of attention on any coffee table.
“We wanted it made in the USA, and it was printed in Connecticut,” said Joseph of the costly job. “The press people were feeling very patriotic and they were proud to be a part of it. Everyone wanted to make it the best.”
