Letting Off Steam
Happy Belated New Year! I just want to take this opportunity to send a BIG thank you to all of you who have followed my Substack journey over the past year. I’m very grateful for your ongoing support and really appreciate you taking the time to like, comment and provide feedback on my posts. This has been a whole new way for me to share my photos and it also allows me to step out of my comfort zone and do a bit of writing as well. It’s been a very fulfilling experience and I’m really enjoying being a part of the Substack community. Stay tuned for more posts coming out over the coming year and I hope you continue to follow along on the journey - Mark
I’ve always been fascinated by the steam vents in Manhattan. To me, they're as much a part of the city as Times Square, the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. There’s barely a New York-based movie or TV series that doesn’t, at some point, have at least one shot of steam emanating from a vent in the street. The reason for the iconic vapours is that New York uses a very old (built in 1882) steam system for much of its heating and cooling requirements. Six commercial steam power plants take huge amounts of water and, by using giant boilers, turn it into steam that reaches temperatures in excess of 400F. The steam is then sent around Manhattan via 142 miles of underground pipes. The vapour that rises from the vents is usually caused by leaks or condensation created by cold water coming into contact with the hot pipes.
Toronto also has some steam systems in parts of the city but, because they are much smaller and more modern than the one in New York, they’re not as leaky so we don’t get to see large plumes of steam rising up in the air. However, a couple of years ago I came across a solitary steaming vent in Toronto’s downtown core that was almost as impressive as the ones in New York. Unfortunately, the light and photographic opportunities were not great but I did manage to get a couple of somewhat decent shots.
I call the photo below, “The photographer taking a photo of the photographer taking a photo of the photographer”.
After a few months, I eventually went back to the same location to see if I could get some better photographs. This time, the lighting and the opportunities did not disappoint. It was also a much colder day than my first visit and that definitely helped me get the type of images I was looking for.
Unfortunately, since I took these, there has been some construction at that location and the amount of steam now coming from that vent is much reduced and way less impressive. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have go back to New York if I want more photos of steam vents.
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Hi Mark. I followed you here from a link you left on Tom Schroder's post about steam in NYC. It's been a while since I visited that amazing city, but I always wondered about the steam (which, as you say, has featured in many movies). I lived in Toronto for years before moving to New Zealand. I was disappointed we didn't have NYC's steam in TO. None here in New Zealand, either. We sometimes get dramatic fog, but it just isn't the same. I love your high contrast images here, which really suit the subject well. I hope the snow clears where you are soon, if it hasn't already.
Someone coming from Europe I always wondered what this phenomenon was, but never cared enough to oook into it. So, thanks for clarifying! :) And props to the pics!