To Bayonne.
Yes, Bayonne.
I wanted to have a view of the Statue of Liberty with Manhattan as a backdrop. There are a few places you can get this from New Jersey. I looked over my map and figured out that Bayonne would actually work. There's this road called Port Jersey Blvd, and if I could just find a place to set up along the way, everything would be great.
So I meandered my way through the Newark/Elizabeth area during rush hour (I think Linden was in there too), and found my way to I-78. I was in Bayonne. I drove along until I found Port Jersey Blvd. It was as industrial and desolate as you'd expect. But there were little brown signs pointing to a "Waterfront Observation Area." This was promising.
I drove past a bunch of big rigs, past what seemed like miles of high fencing, and over some disused railway tracks. Finally, near the end of the road, I found the observation area. It was just a wooden stand you could climb and see the waterfront. It was completely desolate. I got out of the car and was greeted by some stray dogs.
I climbed through some brush and over some paved-over tracks, and set up on a small pathway right next to the water. An occasional car would drive by, turn around, and leave. It was cold. The big lens was heavy. I nevertheless got off a series of shots, including the one you see here.
The lens was OK. It was actually sharper than I thought it would be at 470mm. The only problem I had was its weight, which caused a touch of motion blur (which you can see if you click on the picture and view it at a larger size).
I may even have to go back to Bayonne to try this shot again - and to go on a wonderful shopping junket down Broadway!