Hi All
This time last year I asked about where in Snowdon to go and had some great advice. This year for our birthdays and wedding anniversary we're off to New York. SWMBO hits the big 40 so we have upped the ante a little. So although there will be lots of shopping and such I'll have more than a few hours for taking pics.
Any polite suggestions on where to go would be much appreciated. Also any dos and don'ts would be good.
Cheers
Simon
How many days have you got? Intrepid Museum, Statue of Liberty on the Liberty Island/Ellis Island "round trip" (leave early in the day to make sure you get time to fit everything in), Maceys from the outside, Empire State Building and/or the Rockerfeller Tour for fantastic views across the city, don't forget the free Staten Island ferry for a close-up view of the Statue. When I went in Sep 2006, a weekly pass on the Subway was just over USD20 from memory, and I certainly got value for money from it (as well as walking miles and miles)
Too many cameras, too many lenses.......
Hi, thanks for your reply. We have about five days in all, but I'd imagine I'll get no more than a couple of 4 hour sessions with the camera. Looking at the pass idea we'll probably go for that as it makes a lot of sense. Also we're considering going for a Helicopter ride but they're not cheap.How many days have you got? Intrepid Museum, Statue of Liberty on the Liberty Island/Ellis Island "round trip" (leave early in the day to make sure you get time to fit everything in), Maceys from the outside, Empire State Building and/or the Rockerfeller Tour for fantastic views across the city, don't forget the free Staten Island ferry for a close-up view of the Statue. When I went in Sep 2006, a weekly pass on the Subway was just over USD20 from memory, and I certainly got value for money from it (as well as walking miles and miles)
Cheers
Simon
Hi Simon,
Keep a camera on you at all times! There is so much to shoot around every corner, whether it is architechure or street photography.
Go to 30 Rock/Rockafeller towers/Rockafeller Centre or whatever it is currently being called. The view from the top is awesome as you get to see the Empire State Building and the queue is always a lot shorter than the ESB. Get there about an hour before sunset, that way you get an aerial view of NY by both day and night, and you may get a superb sunset.Here's an idea of what to expect
New York 2009
Bronx Zoo is great and set in a HUGE park. It must cover about 6 times the area of London Zoo and has some great exhibits, building and scenery.
If you get tired of Manhattan get a train upstate towards Poughkeepsie. The trains follow the Hudson river and you get some fanatstic views. I have a relative who lives in Beacon, which is about an hour on the train. There are some really picturesque colonial towns set against the backdrop of the Hudson and 'mountains' (read as 'big hills').
Town near Beacon on the Hudson river
I would suggest walking as much as you can. It can be tiresome, but you really get a sense of exloration that you simply don't get travelling underground or in a cab. I walked from 51st to Battery Park, via Union Square and through China town and past the WTC site... it was a long ol'walk (opted for the subway to get back!) and took all day. However, it gave me a chance to stop a few coffee shops, find a few buildings and streets that are off the tourist trail.
Best bit of advice though: don't get hung up on making sure you take plenty of great/stunning/award winning photographs. Take the photographs for yourself as memories of the holiday. I sometimes come back feeling like I spent much of the time behind a camera concentrating rather than relaxing and enjoying myself.
Oh and don't try and do everything... I've been to NY twice now and you simply cannot EVER see everything the guidebook will tell you, or that you will want to see.
Richard and Richard
Cracking set of images Mr Sibley! If I come back with anything like that I'll eb chuffed!
Thanks for the advice. I imagine I'll have both a DSLR (EOS 7D) and a Compact (G9) with me. So on specific photo times I'll take the DSLR and all other times I'll make sure I have the G9.
We're both looking forward to the trip, I've only been to more "laid back" areas of the USA before (LA, San Francisco and Florida). So I imagine NY to be a bit more up tempo.
I'll post any decent images I get on our return, although we don't go for a couple of months yet.
Cheers
Simon
Never having stayed in Manhattan I can't comment on night life but I can recommend a small store one block West of Penn Station (Madison Square Garden). I think you will find it a good counter to the stores your wife will want to visit. It is called B&H.
On a more realistic note, what month are you planning to go?
On my trip back in August, my two favourite pics were of the Guggenheim, but you really can't go wrong wherever you go. Must say I was very pleasantly surprised by the Hudson valley - it's very impressive.
Anywhere in and around Central Park is excellent for photography. Amazing contrast between nature and skyscrapers. Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Centre) is also a must.
There is a circular boat cruise starting from a pier on the Hudson, near 42nd Street, that gives superb views of bridges and buildings all around Manhattan.
Chris
My memory is getting worse . . . and my conscience clearer
New York ...mmmmm London with dirt Go to Hong Kong instead.
Cavyslave
New York ...mmmmm London with dirt Go to Hong Kong instead.
Really? I was really underwhelmed by Hong Kong. I suppose it is different if you go there with someone who knows the place, but the same goes for any city. New York is nothing like London, with Dirt or not, except for the fact that they are both huge cosmopolitan melting pots.
It's been so long since I went to New York that the advice I got before I travelled was don't bother going up to the observation deck at the World Trade Center, just go to the bar a few floors below as the view is much better from the Empire State building. As it turned out, the cloud was so low we could see nothing from the WTC anyway.
As with any island, coastal or river based city, it's worth getting a ferry ride, or one of the organised boat tours. If I went back I'd take a helicopter ride too.
"Wrong on so many different levels."
Blog - Contre Dour - Capturing the ordinary for posterity.
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Must say I enjoyed both HK and NYC - great cities.
I`m reminded of M-in-Law some years ago on an excursion to New York while on holiday in Toronto.
When asked by my wife what she thought of it she said it looked run down like Tredegar(her home town).
She went all round Macys and bought nothing at all!!
Dave NRIPN
If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all - Albert King
Blues is a healer - John Lee Hooker
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All thanks for the advice, we're both looking forward to it. I mentioned to SWMBO about B&H and Adorama and she said she'd probably bring a book or an iPod and find somewhere to sit.
I do find it amusing that when I go shopping with SWMBO I'm expected to comment and view all items. Whereas if we go somewhere that's of interest to me as in Photo Stores or the Apple Store she's almost yawning as we go through the doors on the way in.
Anyway thanks again, I will post Pics on our return sometime in mid-late March.
Cheers
Simon
My solution to that is to leave her with her sister and go in on my own. B&H is only a few minutes walk from Penn Station and Macy's is equally close but to the East. Trouble is that it is much easier to get lost in Macy's!All thanks for the advice, we're both looking forward to it. I mentioned to SWMBO about B&H and Adorama and she said she'd probably bring a book or an iPod and find somewhere to sit.
I do find it amusing that when I go shopping with SWMBO I'm expected to comment and view all items. Whereas if we go somewhere that's of interest to me as in Photo Stores or the Apple Store she's almost yawning as we go through the doors on the way in.
Hey Simon,
We just got back from New York in December and managed to take about 1200 pictures. It is a photographers paradise. I made a list of all the pictures I wanted before we went and managed to tick off most of them. The most productive sessions for me though were early (ish) morning walks without any real set ideas. I got some great candids of the city without the tourist angle.
The Top of the Rock observation deck is well worth the effort - it is only a little lower than the Empire State and you get the added bonus of having the ESB in your pictures.
Also, B and H is photographers paradise - I could have spent the 8 days we were there just in the shop, although the employees were on the rude side!!
Have fun and keep the camera ready for the off the cuff opportunities.
Paul
I am sorry you found B&H staff rude, they have always been fine with me, I have been in about once a year for the last 7 or 8 years. They do seem to have a highish staff turnover.
B and H is photographers paradise - I could have spent the 8 days we were there just in the shop, although the employees were on the rude side!!
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