Jim Nutty Photography

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Iron Sights

If you have watched episodes of the television series Mr. Robot, there is a good chance you have seen this building. In the series, it is the corporate headquarters of E Corp (mostly referred to as Evil Corp by the characters).

In reality, it is a Post-Modern building in New York City on East 57th street. I took this image a few years ago before seeing it on TV. What I particularly liked about it was the tall, open ring supported by columns in front of the building. The ring ties in with the curved arc of the tower's facade and if you stand underneath, it allows dramatic, framed views through the opening.

The challenge is positioning yourself (and the camera) to capture the symmetry of the two structures. The combination of lines and curves will easily reveal imperfections in the composition, and I knew that just the slightest error in camera angle would be noticeable.

I did not have a tripod, so I shuffled back and forth while looking through the viewfinder trying to find the correct spot to stand and the proper angle for the camera. I have to admit, this was rather difficult and I made several failed attempts at capturing the symmetry I wanted. It felt a little bit like lining up the crosshairs of a large scope. Through trial and error, I was able to hone in on a position/angle combination that I was happy with and pulled the trigger.