Walk about a third of the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn or Manhattan; point an iPhone or camera through a man-made hole ripped in the chain link fence; capture a striking visual of the Manhattan skyline or the Brooklyn Bridge.
These steps are played out daily by tourists, college students and New York street photographers in training. Some stumble on the man-made gaps. Others walk the span with them in mind. But all of the Instagram-happy shutterbugs take advantage of the perfect frame they make above a Brooklyn Bridge spire or the lower Manhattan skyline.
“This is kind of the perfect view,” Swedish tourist Robert Tennisberg, 42, said after he snapped a few frames with his Sony HX90V camera Wednesday afternoon. It was his first time on the bridge.
“I like Manhattan. I like the bridge. I like the skyline, especially with the new 1 World Trade Center,” Tennisberg said as he pivoted from left to right to capture various New York architecture staples. “Maybe I’ll come back, in another light.”
“Look, it frames the city. You got the whole southern end of the city,” said Joe, a 24-year-old amateur lensman from upstate New York. “I’ve shot the bridge a couple times. These [holes] have only popped up more. There’s a correlation with the rise in street photography on Instagram.”
Shots through the gaps pop up daily on Instagram and other social media (below are some of our favorites). They’re so popular that the Department of Transportation has noticed, and may take steps to repair the chain links.
“The safety of every New Yorker is DOT's priority. We are aware of the situation and facilitating repairs,” a DOT spokesperson told NBC 4 New York.
