"Empire o'lantern," New York, October 2009

Empire o'lantern

Every block seems to contain a symbol of New York, especially those that include a view of the Empire State Building.

"High Line photographer," New York City, November 2009

307: Photographer

Choosing my Best shot of 2009 is a daunting task. I've uploaded 1,658 photos so far this year and taken dozens more than that.

I settled on this one because it is one of my best, for one thing. But it was also taken up on the High Line, which opened this year and has given me a pleasant alternative route to work each afternoon. I was hoping to choose one that I hadn't used as a photo of the day, but the reality is that the best pictures throughout the year were part of that project, so it was unavoidable.

The other finalists, in reverse chronological order:

• The new alignment at Washington Square Park
• Autumn at High Point
• Another amazing Springsteen show
• Sunset at Shake Shack in Queens
• A trip to West Quoddy Head, finally
• Fenway in May
• The new Citi Field

Day 307 of 365

Photographer

This guy and I had the same idea. Only he was on a photo walk and was well-equiped with a tripod. I was on my way to work with only a point-and-shoot. But I managed.

Day 299 of 365

All lit up

I made my first trip to the remodeled Washington Square Park on my way back across town from the East Village to Chelsea. While it's definitely more polished and doesn't seem to have the same atmosphere as it used to (though I'm admittedly basing this on one visit), and the offset fountain in relation to the arch and Fifth Ave. was a nice quirk, the fountain's new position does seem to provide for some nice fountain-arch-Empire shots that I'm not sure would've been a possibility before the renovations.

Day 236 of 365

Empire from Hudson

"Empire on a wet night," Manhattan, September 2008

Empire on a wet night

I don't take too many cameraphone shots anymore now that I have a useful, compact point-and-shoot for everyday images. But this one was my phone's screensaver for about half a year after I took it.

Day 101 of 365

Empire x2

Not the prettiest of days in Manhattan, but the cold, wet weather meant no line at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. And then it provided this dual image.

"NYC glow," November 2007

NYC glow

I didn't want just a street scene as my urban landscape. I considered something that's more of a landscape than urban, even if it's technically in the city. So then I settled on this shot, one of my personal favorites, in which, with just a little imagination, those aren't buildings bathed in the light of sunset but trees against a deep blue sky or leaves aflame in the colors of fall.

OK, or it's just sunset on Manhattan.

Day 6 of 365

Crossing 15th St.

As I walked to work last night and spotted the red-and-green top of the Empire State Building, it occurred to me that it was the first night I'd seen the city's tallest spire bathed in the colors of the season. And that's when I remembered why it was still red and green -- it was Twelfth Night. A few houses in our neighborhood have also kept their holiday lights on through today (I unplugged ours on Sunday), but next year, I think, I'll leave them lit through the sixth.

Having already decided to use an image of my train ticket for yesterday's photo, I saved my shot of the holiday-adorned ESB for Epiphany itself. That proved to be a fortuitous decision. The light rain gave the streets a reflective sheen, yet the skies were clear enough for a good look at the tower 18 blocks and a couple of avenues away.

"NYC, 5:30 in the a.m.," June 2008

NYC 5:30 in the a.m.

There's something special about walking out of the office and standing on the streets of New York "finishing" your day while the majority of the city's residents are just about to start theirs.