The tranquil beauty of New York's waterways

The tranquil beauty of New York's waterways
Flow of the city — Photographer Susannah Ray explores the shores and waterways that New Yorkers use all year-round to fish, swim, sit and daydream.

Walt Whitman, in his 1856 poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”, ecstatically invokes New York City’s waterways. Passionately, deliriously, Whitman calls out to the tides, the gulls, the ferry passengers, the light, the clouds, the ships, the sailors, the waves, the cities on the far shore. All humans are divine in his eyes, their reflected faces anointed by “fine spokes of light” in the passing waters. “Suspend,” he cries, celebrating these moments unmoored from the sure time of the city.

A Train, Jamaica Bay, Queens Dessert Table, Barretto Point Park, The Bronx

Inspired by the unfettered humanism of Walt Whitman and by the shifting light and reflective waters of American Luminism, I have gathered these images of life upon and alongside New York City’s waterways.

The distant spires of Manhattan appear from across bays and harbours, rivers and creeks. These photographs ferry the viewer to the far reaches of the outer boroughs: Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. There, time moves according to season, ceaselessly circling back upon itself, eschewing the forward march of the grid.

Daylight lengthens, the water warms and resounds with voices and motors. Daylight shortens, the waters cool into icy silence. Shoreline remnants tangle into fictive histories. Bridges arc from shore to shore, steel longings drawn between boroughs, eternally crossing the tides below.

Ferry Window (Brooklyn Bridge) Lori, The Staten Island Ferry Marsh, Bay, Skyline, Jamaica Bay, Queens Reynolds Channel, Queens Rondi, 8 Bridges Swim Organizer, The Hudson River Sisters, Jamaica Bay, Queens NYWW Cover

New York Waterways by Susannah Ray is published by Hoxton Mini Press.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Latest on Huck

Bobby Gillespie: “This country is poisoned by class”
Culture

Bobby Gillespie: “This country is poisoned by class”

Primal Scream’s legendary lead singer writes about the band’s latest album ‘Come Ahead’ and the themes of class, conflict and compassion that run throughout it.

Written by: Bobby Gillespie

Vibrant photos of New York’s Downtown performance scene
Photography

Vibrant photos of New York’s Downtown performance scene

‘Balloons and Feathers’ is an eclectic collection of images documenting the scene for over two decades.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Picking through the rubble: Glimpses of hope in the US election results
Activism

Picking through the rubble: Glimpses of hope in the US election results

Clambering through the wreckage of the Harris campaign, delving deeper into the election results and building on the networks that already exist, all hope is not gone writes Ben Smoke.

Written by: Ben Smoke

US Election night 2024 in Texas
Photography

US Election night 2024 in Texas

Photographer Tom “TBow” Bowden travelled to Republican and Democratic watch parties around Houston, capturing their contrasting energies as results began to flow in.

Written by: Isaac Muk

In photos: “Real life is not black and white” – Polaroid x Magnum Open Call winners
Photography

In photos: “Real life is not black and white” – Polaroid x Magnum Open Call winners

See pictures from the competition organised by two titans of contemporary photography, which called upon artists to reject the digitalisation and over-perfectionism of our modern world, technology and image-making.

Written by: Huck

In photos: Rednecks with Paychecks
Photography

In photos: Rednecks with Paychecks

‘American Diesel’ is a new photo series that looks at the people, places and culture behind the stereotypes of rural America.

Written by: Ben Smoke

Sign up to our newsletter

Issue 81: The more than a game issue

Buy it now