I was walking towards Chelsea to find The Highline this particular morning. I was quite a ways from the Empire State Building, camera on my shoulder when, waiting for the pedestrian signal to change, an elderly woman standing next to me struck up a conversation. As we talked she noticed my camera and pack and insisted I walk back a block where there was a great place to view and shoot the Empire State Building. She was very insistent I see this particular spot so we walked and talked until we came upon the spot you see in the photo with the partial tree. I think her point was that shooting the building with a tree in the foreground would give a softer or less harsh glimpse of Manhattan; New York was more than steel, glass and cement. So, that is the story of the shot with the tree in it. She placed me right in a spot on the sidewalk that would catch the view she enjoyed sharing.