Travel Photography - Is Staten Island the Best Ferry Ride in the World?

Best FREE Ferry ride.. Well I don't actually know if there are many free ferry rides so that narrows down the list quite a lot. Google tells me there is also one in British Colombia, the Kootenay Lake ferry. But that's like in the bush someplace.. in Canada. And I'm thinking a bit more metropolitan/urban transport really (like Sydney's terrific harbour crossing Manly Ferry - but it's not free) so that leaves the Staten Island Ferry. It's certainly a ferry ride I have wondered about making, and now having made it I can honestly say, this is a bucket list New York thing to do. At least if you have more than a couple of days in the city. Vivienne and I (thank you White Caviar Life) made the short 30 min each way journey at around midday, so we managed to avoid commuter crush. That said, in big cities you still have reasonable crowds, and hey it's free and it's New York! Did I mention it's free? Once onboard, if you plan to take pictures you will want to grab your spot on some open railing or you will be shooting over peoples heads while trying to make your own masterpiece of Lady Liberty; or a selfie.. details continue below.

When leaving from Manhattan that means going over to the right, or starboard side of the boat. As you pull out of the ferry terminal and begin your journey toward Staten Island the Hudson river and the vast expanse of water that is Manhattan Harbor slowly comes into full view with the east river too, suddenly making it quite clear that Manhattan really is an island. Albeit one with a lot of spiky towers sticking up all over it. Curiously this is a view and a landscape you know from years of TV and movies and, well just being inundated by the lore of New York. Though as we made way the experience for me took on on a kind of hyper reality; the motion of the craft on the water, the sounds, the salt in the air and all the other tourists like me, jostling for a place on the rails so they too can capture the view with their cameras. The round trip to Staten Island and back to lower Manhattan, catching the next ferry back; took only 90 minutes. We then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the immediate area including the financial district; but I will save those stories and pictures for another time. And next time; I want to try taking the ferry at twilight, I think that would be brilliant too! - Want to see the pictures bigger, simply click on them. 

Photographed on assignment for White Caviar Life - Call or email to book your editorial travel photography today.
http://www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au/Travel/

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Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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