Empire- Manhattan, New York by: Peter Lik

The most amazing building in the capital city of the world - the shot had to be epic, no matter what. The passion was on. Finding the right angle was a bloody nightmare! – There’s not many rooftops in New York. I spent days, hour after hour, searching the streets, rooftops – talking to cops, construction workers, FedEx blokes, maintenance guys, cleaners – anyone – just to get to that vantage point. Security was my big drama, it was off the charts. But my drive and tenacity, as usual, kept driving me even harder. I couldn’t do the tourist traps for this shot, it had to be totally unique.

Finally, on day 10, my contact pulled thru. I got the call I wanted from a high rollin New York banking guru, I was bloody stoked. I couldn’t fuck this up. He gave me only one chance. “Meet me at 5:30 am sharp”the voice mail message said – brief, concise and to the point – New York style. All I needed was Mother Nature to cooperate.

David escorted me through security, passes, getting photographed and to the top. This was it. “You got 30 minutes here”– David. The pressure was on. I set up on the rooftop and watched a mild glowing sunrise perform in front of me. I was blown away. I felt like I was on top of the world, my whole body was tingling. I got the shot!