New York 1985: Discovering Manhattan Through Photography
In January 1985, I left for the United States with the idea of travelling from New York to Los Angeles. I arrived in New York in the middle of winter, but ultimately made it only halfway across the country. I stopped in Nacogdoches, a university town in Texas, where I stayed for six months, took film and photography classes and made friends who are still part of my life today. Before returning to France, I spent four days in New York. The photographs featured in this article were taken during these two stays with the equipment I used at the time, a Fujica STX-1N fitted with a 50 mm f/1.9 lens.
Two stays in New York in 1985
My first stay took place in January. After arriving from France, I spent a few days in New York before continuing towards Texas, first by bus and then by hitchhiking. I explored Manhattan on foot, from Battery Park to Central Park, discovering a city I had previously known only through books, magazines and films.
My plan to travel to the United States had been taking shape since March 1984. At first, I wanted to buy a camera simply to bring back photographs from the journey, but photography quickly became a genuine passion. After working for six months in a warehouse at La Redoute, I had saved enough to buy a Fujica STX-1N with a 50 mm lens, pay for a return ticket from Brussels to New York and set aside a travel budget of $1,100.
The camera had cost the equivalent of about €150 and the return flight about €450. The exchange rate made my $1,100 budget particularly tight. When I arrived in New York in January 1985, one US dollar was worth almost ten French francs, more than twice its value ten years earlier. By comparison, it would fall back to around five francs in the summer of 1992.
My resources were limited, but by the time I arrived in New York, my ambition to become a photographer was already well advanced. Working with a single camera and a 50 mm lens forced me to understand my equipment thoroughly and make deliberate choices about what entered the frame. I took relatively few photographs, without trying to create a coherent series, but with a growing interest in composition, light and the places I was discovering.
I returned to New York in July, at the end of my stay in the United States. For four days, I rediscovered the city in a different light. The days were longer, the streets more lively and my approach to photography had already evolved. I paid more attention to façades, reflections and the lines created by the buildings.
Second Avenue at dusk
A vertical photograph taken in January shows a broad avenue viewed from an elevated position. The cars recede into the distance, their rear lights gradually appearing in the cold light at the end of the day. The buildings form a dark corridor around the traffic.
The photograph was most likely taken from the Roosevelt Island Tramway above Second Avenue, although I can no longer be completely certain. More importantly, the composition conveys the impression I felt when confronted with this dense, vertical city in constant motion.
The pronounced grain and deep shadows reflect the limitations of shooting on film in fading light. Today, they also contribute to the atmosphere of the image.
The Chrysler Building and the façades of Manhattan
In Midtown, I photographed the Chrysler Building from the street. Its spire rises above the surrounding buildings, isolated against a clear sky. The vertical framing accentuates the height of the architecture and the narrowness of Manhattan’s streets.
Another photograph shows the Empire State Building reflected in a glass façade. The architecture is no longer seen directly. It is distorted by the irregular surfaces of the windows and transformed into a succession of undulating lines.
This image reveals an early interest in reflections and in the way a façade can alter our perception of a building. The subject is no longer only the photographed structure, but also its transformation through light and the materials surrounding it.
A telephone booth in Chinatown
In Chinatown, a person is using a telephone booth topped by a small roof inspired by Chinese architecture. Red, green and blue details stand out against the surrounding façades and shops.
This photograph differs from the architectural views. It captures an ordinary scene noticed while walking through the neighbourhood. The telephone booth, the public phone, the signs and the clothing immediately place the image in its period.
I did not try to dramatise the scene or construct a particular visual effect. I simply photographed what caught my attention, from the distance imposed by the 50 mm lens.
The lines of the Brooklyn Bridge
On the Brooklyn Bridge, I placed one of the towers at the centre of the composition. The cables converge towards the stone structure and naturally organise the image. The blue cast strengthens the presence of the metal lines and the cold atmosphere of the scene.
This photograph already reflects my attraction to structures whose function creates a visible geometry. The cables, arches and deck are not merely technical elements. They determine the entire composition.
The Statue of Liberty under scaffolding
Seen from the water, the Statue of Liberty appears wrapped in scaffolding. At dusk, the monument is reduced almost to a dark silhouette against a red and orange sky.
The photograph does not show the statue as visitors would normally expect to see it. Its shape is partly concealed by the metal structure surrounding it. Photographed in this way, it becomes a fragile and temporary landmark in the landscape of New York Harbor.
Manhattan at nightfall
On several occasions, I photographed the skyline from the opposite shore or during a crossing. The lights in the office buildings gradually came on as the buildings turned into silhouettes.
At the time, the two towers of the World Trade Center dominated Lower Manhattan. Their particular place within these archives, together with photographs taken from the top of the towers and around the plaza, is explored in the article World Trade Center, New York 1985.
Rediscovering my film archives
These photographs remained in my archives for many years before being digitised. Some display pronounced grain, very dense shadows or colour casts caused by the film, exposure and lighting conditions.
Their appearance belongs to their time and to the equipment available to me. Their interest also lies in these imperfections and in what they reveal about the way I was learning to work with the resources at my disposal.
These images form a visual notebook of my two stays in New York in 1985. They record my discovery of Manhattan, its architecture and its atmosphere, while showing how this early experience helped shape my lasting interest in architecture and the urban landscape.
About the author
Sebastien Desnoulez is a photographer, author and image maker based in Paris. His work spans architectural photography, landscape photography and travel photography, with particular attention to composition, lines, light, blur and visual accidents. Trained in photography in the mid-1980s, he covered Formula 1 and reported from around the world before developing a fine art photography practice built around the tension between graphic rigour and visual instability. He also shares his technical experience through practical articles for passionate photographers, drawing on a strong visual culture acquired in both film and digital photography.
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