I need to credit my friend Jimmy Denham for this one.He recently posted an image of a forest with a blur effect applied to the top half of the image. I wanted to try it on an urban skyline. So I took this image, changes the crop, and applied the exact same effect. I think it creates a very different feel from Jimmy’s forest shot. There, the application of the blur to organic subjects evokes, for me, a somewhat magical blending of reality and imagination. When applied to the lower Manhattan skyline, shot here from Brooklyn Bridge Park at night, with a set of abandoned pylons in the foreground, it seems more like something created by real world technology, which it is. 

Though I like the effect as applied here, I don’t think this effect will work with many urban subjects. I will experiment with it on a case-by-case basis going forward.