A few days ago, one of the coolest photographers from New York at Instagram asked me about a tfp shooting. Of course, I did not hesitate for a second and directly agreed. From the tallest skyscrapers he photographed the New York skyline, climbed on rooftops to capture the sunset and shot the most expensive sports cars from Manhattan.
I will never forget yesterday’s day: we met in front of my apartment and then went to 5th Avenue. We stopped before a rather inconspicuous, but high-rise building. In the tower there were only apartments, so we had to wait until someone came out or came in. Then the adventure started. Up to the 30 floor we could drive with the elevator, from there we had to walk 5 more floors. At the top, a metal door led directly to the roof of the building. When I took the first step out, almost a few tears came on my face. The view over New York was so beautiful! Everything looked so incredibly small and far away from here. For a brief moment, I felt so free, so careless and indifferent. I certainly stood for a few minutes just before the parapet and looked down on New York City. I will never forget this moment!
Then we wanted to start shooting and where should I sit? Right, on the approximately 1 meter high, only 30 cm narrow boundary of the roof. Hundreds of meters away from the ground, a wrong movement and ..
But at this moment you do not think, either you do it or you miss the perhaps best picture of your life! So I put myself very carefully on the wall – and off we go! I have completely forgotten time and space. My head was filled with fear, freedom, pride, and a lot of adrenaline. When we had the pictures in the box, I couldn’t stop grinning. What an overwhelming experience.
From there we walked to location number 2, a chic hotel directly in Manhattan. Again we drove with the elevator to the top, but only to the 20 floor. This time everything was even more exciting: at the top, we entered the staircase through a narrow passage. I should wait downstairs and change my outfit while he “opened” the door with a card. Once again five floors above we reach the outside through a small door. From the abyss, only a narrow lattice of ground led me up a staircase above a metal staircase. Already at the sight of the small staircase ran a cold shower over my back. But when I learned above that I had to cautiously cross over from the one roof to the neighbors roof, I was completely overcome by just fear! So I stood for a few minutes at windy height, wondering how I could best climb over the 1 meter wide gap between the roofs. Again, the view was unforgettable, so I didn´t think too long, took of my shoes and jumped over the gap.
This time, the roof had no boundary at the edge, but led directly into the depth. Personally I feel much more comfortable and so we started directly with the pictures. Up there my favorite picture was made: I simply took off my shirt, sat on the corner of the roof and my feet dangled into the infinite depth. Behind me, the infinite New York skyline shines in a light fog. Unforgettable!
