The Award Award Showcase The Gallery Publications Gears University Expeditions About Us Career Learning & AI Future Curriculum Curiosity & Consciousness Sign In Submit Your Work →

Tickling Manhattan by Nancy Sámano

Captured on a crisp December morning from the vantage point of Liberty Island, this photograph frames the Manhattan skyline through a unique, playful perspective. The photographer utilizes a solitary, leafless tree in the foreground to create the illusion of it 'tickling' the distant skyscrapers, transforming a classic urban vista into a whimsical narrative. By balancing the stark, clean winter sky with the intricate geometry of the city, the image captures a moment of quiet humor amidst the grandeur of New York, earning its place as an award-winning example of artistic observation.

Tickling Manhattan by Nancy Sámano
Canon PowerShot G11 | Exposure 1/800sec @ f/4.5 | ISO 100 | Focal Length 8.9mm
Copyright © Nancy Sámano
Light & Composition Photo of the Day

Nancy Sámano

REGISTERED PHOTOGRAPHER

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1981, Nancy Sámano Velázquez is a multifaceted cultural producer and artist whose creative journey spans cinema, screenwriting, and photography. After honing her craft through cinema direction studies in Barcelona and screenwriting in New York City, she developed a keen, observant eye that defines her photographic work. Currently based in her hometown of Guadalajara, she continues to exhibit her evocative imagery in galleries internationally while balancing her ongoing pursuits in film and narrative storytelling.

Profile View Full Profile
13.6/20
RESONANCE
SCORE
315/500
SHARE
SUBMISSION
Award Reach | Reviews
16,258 views | 8 Reviews
Award Winner Photo of the Day
Award Date March 15, 2011
64.0
AWARD SCORE
Value 12.0
Clarity 12.0
Composition 15.0
Style 13.0
Skill 12.0
Photograph Location
New York, The United States

AWARD SEGMENT | TAGS

Artistic Photography
Nancy Sámano Photography

Resonance Score Breakdown

Transparency in Award Scoring

Transparency Note: The resonance score (13.3/20) is calculated based on social engagement metrics collected before the award announcement.

Social Shares
5.0/5 points
2,025/1,000 Social Share
Page Views
5.0/5 points
16,258/2,500 Page View
Reviews
0.1/5 points
2/100 Review
Submissions
3.2/5 points
315/500 Submission
Jury Score: 64.0/80
Resonance Score: 13.3/20
Total Award Score: 77.3/100

Expert Photography Reviews · 6

Isabelle Fontenay Colour Harmony, Tone & Atmospheric Light Expert Review
That pale, wintry sky, a shade of bruised periwinkle fading into the brittle white of a Vermeer highlight, makes one’s heart ache with its cold, crystalline clarity. It’s a fragile, shivering palette that turns the city’s steel into a mere suggestion of form, and honestly, I’m quite undone by how the tree’s dark, skeletal charcoal branches scrape against that vast, icy void, creating a chromatic tension that feels like a whispered, secret joke.
Thomas Hargreaves Earned Photographs, Craft Discipline & the Long Wait Expert Review
One suspects the G11 was a chilly companion on Liberty Island that December morning. It’s a clever bit of framing, using that skeletal branch to tease the skyline. I’ve stood in similar winds waiting for the light to align, and it’s rarely this cooperative on the first attempt. Sámano clearly lingered until the geometry clicked. It’s a whimsical observation, and honestly, it made me smile—a rare feat for a Manhattan vista. She earned this one.
Eleanor Voss Composition & Visual Structure Expert Review
The foreground branch disrupts the skyline’s rigidity, creating a necessary spatial tension. It’s a clever intersection of organic chaos and urban grid. The negative space of the winter sky provides the required ballast for the distant, dense massing of Manhattan. While the narrative conceit is slight, the structural alignment holds. I’ve grown weary of such whimsy, yet the geometry here doesn't collapse. It’s a disciplined frame that manages to justify its own playfulness.
Yusuf Al-Hamdan Landscape, Light as Presence & the Spiritual Dimension Expert Review
It’s a crisp December morning, and I can almost feel the biting cold that must have settled into her bones on Liberty Island. She didn’t rush the frame; she waited for the city to soften. That leafless branch reaching toward the steel giants feels like a gentle, human breath against the skyline’s cold geometry. It makes me smile, honestly. It’s a quiet, playful conversation between the organic and the built, held in the stillness of winter light.
Dmitri Kasakov Contrast, Shadow Drama & the Metaphysics of Light Expert Review
The leafless branches clawing at the skyline don’t tickle; they interrogate. By placing that skeletal silhouette against the rigid, indifferent geometry of Manhattan, Sámano forces a confrontation between organic decay and steel permanence. I’ve stared at these shadows until my eyes ached, feeling the cold weight of a winter that refuses to yield. It’s a haunting, jagged intrusion. Why must we insist on finding whimsy where the darkness is clearly trying to tell us something else?
Clara Whitfield Award Criteria, Legacy & What Makes an Image Endure Expert Review
Most urban shots of Manhattan are cold, ego-driven monuments to steel. I’ve seen thousands, and they’re usually forgettable. What separates this is the audacity to treat a skyline like a toy. Using that spindly branch to tickle the skyscrapers turns a sterile vista into a human moment. It’s charming, and honestly, it made me laugh out loud. Thirty years from now, people won't remember the architecture, but they’ll remember the playfulness of this tree.
Reflections on this Photograph
By Clara Menezes

The Architecture of Play

We often mistake the city for a monument of stone and iron, a rigid skeleton that demands our solemnity. We forget that even the most towering ambition is subject to the whims of the wind.

Read the reflection →
By Sven Lindqvist

The Weight of Distance

We build our monuments to touch the sky. We stack steel and glass until the horizon is no longer a line, but a jagged edge of human ambition. From a distance, it looks solid.

Read the reflection →

Reviews & Comments

Share your thoughts about this award-winning photograph. Your reviews contribute to the community engagement score.

8 replies
  1. Mark Smith says:

    This picture immediately said cold, clear, clean , winters day.
    Love the shot. It conveyed the message and is beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Loren says:

    i absolutely love this picture. great angle AND eye of capturing a huge city under a tree…could have some great symbolism if you wanted it too.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Weight of the PathYak Caravan Crosses the North Sikkim Plateau, by Sujoy Das - Adventure Photography, Photojournalism, Sikkim, Sujoy Das, Award-Winning PhotographyWinter Wonderland, by James L. Brown - Nature Photography, Photography Awards, Photo of the Day, Winter Photography, Online Photography CoursesThe Silence of White