Advice on photography in NYC pls!

S

SuperCNJ

Suspended / Banned
Messages
364
Edit My Images
Yes
Going to New York for the first time with the missus in a few weeks time and was wondering if I could get some advice from those of you who have been before. :)

Where are the best places to go and photograph and whats the law/etiquette for photography over there?

Also, any advice on where to go, eat, see etc would be much appreciated too! :thumbs:

Cheers

SuperCNJ
 
I can't give you much on the law or photography advice, but I recommend the Rockefeller centre for high level photography, better views than the Empire State and you can get a pic of the Empire State too.

Another great thing to do is the Staten island Ferry. It is free and offers great views of the statue of liberty and the City.
 
In my experience, New York is full of tourists so, like London, they take little notice of cameras. Of course if you start shooting federal buildings then you may draw attention to yourself.

as for what to shoot, well you can do the whole tourist bit - from the top of the Empire State - where you can also shoot down onto the chrysler tower, the chrysler tower itself, there's also Grand central Station (ask a security guy where to go to get a permit), The flat iron building, central park, the aircraft carrier/museum. loads of stuff - or head out of manhattan
 
deffo go to grand central really nice place to shoot but low light
 
SuperCNJ

Go to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn bridge, some beautiful night shots of Manhatten from the other side of the river.
Time square at dusk is a lovely oppertunity shots.

Here's some i took without a tripod (and i' only a beginner) and i was very happy with them.

DSC_0167.jpg


DSC_0126-1.jpg


DSC_0107-1.jpg


DSC_0187.jpg


Hope this helps

J.
 
What I recommend, take several gigabytes worth of cards.
I only had 4gb, and I was shooting in RAW, and it wasn't enough.

I'd ideally want about 20gb of memory, alternatively a laptop/media viewer to upload onto.
 
SuperCNJ said:
Going to New York for the first time with the missus in a few weeks time and was wondering if I could get some advice from those of you who have been before. :)

Where are the best places to go and photograph and whats the law/etiquette for photography over there?

Also, any advice on where to go, eat, see etc would be much appreciated too! :thumbs:

Cheers

SuperCNJ
Click to expand...


Ive got a piece of advice!

Take me instead of the missus:lol: Id do anything to go and do some street photography in NY!:D
 
actually one REAL piece of advice is to look at others work (of some true NY street togs etc) and have a look at how their shots look. Try and get an idea about how to shoot like that! you can be great at street 'tography in the uk, but terrible in the US because of the way different people act.
 
trapper501 said:
I can't give you much on the law or photography advice, but I recommend the Rockefeller centre for high level photography, better views than the Empire State and you can get a pic of the Empire State too.

Another great thing to do is the Staten island Ferry. It is free and offers great views of the statue of liberty and the City.
Click to expand...

I was going to say both of those things! Great advice :thumbs:

I would do Rockefeller centre during the day then Empire at night.
 
Mr.Orb said:
I was going to say both of those things! Great advice :thumbs:

I would do Rockefeller centre during the day then Empire at night.
Click to expand...

We did the rockefeller late in the day and stayed until it got dark. When we started going to NYC it wasn't open, so we had already done the Empire State Building.

You can book the Rockefeller online to save time, check the weather forecast to pick the best day out of your trip.

We go most years for a few days so we have gradually worked our way around a lot of the points of interest and worked outwards to places like Coney Island with New Brighton (little Russia), the Coney Island Aquarium, and going the other way up to the Bronx zoo.
 
Depends on how long you have, but definately go one night to watch the sunset over Manhattan from Brooklyn as someone else suggested. I'd also get yourself (maybe not your camera gear) up to Harlem if you have time - not as bad (well wasn't 6 years ago!) as you'd think and some wonderful people and architecture.

One bit of advice you shouldn't ignore - take a wide angle (wider than 17mm on a crop body). The buildings are quite tall....
 
I'm a Brit living just outside of NYC and so go quite often. There is a lot of bait and switch camera stores to avoid in the city, if you want any Photo equipment then B and H are reliable, reasonable and to go into the store and watch their ceiling conveyor belt system is an experience in itself. I read a post somewhere about taking photos in Grand Central, you need to find the station managers office and get a permit as far as I remember but apparently though it took a little while to sort was a good experience. Central park, South Sea ferry port and Canal street are all great places to take candids.

as for eating http://www.stoutnyc.com/ is a block from penn station/madison square garden and has a great selection of draft and bottled beers and does irish food at a reasonable cost.

This place is expensive but the sandwiches have to be seen to be believed and is not far from times square http://www.carnegiedeli.com/ its an experience in itself. Theres a lot of delis to pick up a sandwich, NYC is famous for its pizza, these guys have the best reputation https://rayspizza.rapidorders.com/default.php There are plenty of good BBQ pits around time square area to such as spanky's plus the heartland brewery has a few venues and they are good too. Security will give you grief if you try and take photos in the foyer of madison square garden. Hope this helps, drop me a pm if you need to know anything else
 
trapper501 said:
We did the rockefeller late in the day and stayed until it got dark. When we started going to NYC it wasn't open, so we had already done the Empire State Building.

You can book the Rockefeller online to save time, check the weather forecast to pick the best day out of your trip.

We go most years for a few days so we have gradually worked our way around a lot of the points of interest and worked outwards to places like Coney Island with New Brighton (little Russia), the Coney Island Aquarium, and going the other way up to the Bronx zoo.
Click to expand...

The bronx zoo is fantastic. Unless you were in NYC for a couple of weeks I'd give Coney Island a miss, the funfair shut at the end of the year for redevelopment as housing and the boardwalk was rotting. he aquarium is average is best and not a great place for photography. I feel safe in the majority of Manhattan but Coney Island is a very high crime area and I wouldn't be wandering far with my camera.
 
Don't Miss B&H photo Its the biggest dedicated Photo store in the US. Go early to avoid the crowds... three floors and anything you want...
I have a gallery of some shots from last year http://davidsolo.com
I recommend a helicopter flight if your budget allows.. Go at lunchtime as you might be luck and get the chopper to yourselves ( we did).. And this is a bit of a cliche but, buy the three day pass for the tour bus. Its a great platform to see everything from. There is an excellent steakhouse upstairs at South street seaport where there is a tall ship moored. You will have a great time... I would LOVE to go back. there is LOADS to see and do.
 
Wow, so much advice and so much to remember! lol thanks guys!

I'll be taking note of all this. :thumbs:

we11ingon, I didn't know about the B&H Photo store, wasn't even thinking about getting more gear... but now I know about it....hehehe thanks for that!

Still scratching my head about what camera gear to bring with me... I'm only going for about 5 days, then to Las Vegas for another 3, is it worth lugging around my tripod? I'm thinking if I bring my battery grip or the spare battery I wouldn't need to bring the charger? Risky? :shrug:
 
SuperCNJ said:
Wow, so much advice and so much to remember! lol thanks guys!

I'll be taking note of all this. :thumbs:

we11ingon, I didn't know about the B&H Photo store, wasn't even thinking about getting more gear... but now I know about it....hehehe thanks for that!

Still scratching my head about what camera gear to bring with me... I'm only going for about 5 days, then to Las Vegas for another 3, is it worth lugging around my tripod? I'm thinking if I bring my battery grip or the spare battery I wouldn't need to bring the charger? Risky? :shrug:
Click to expand...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/NYSuperStore08.jsp Check out their opening hours, closed friday afternoons, saturdays and Jewish holidays
 
I'll second the Staten Island Ferry! Best free ride in the world:thumbs: Great photo Ops and perfect if you're packing coffee and fresh donuts (The Donut Pub around W14th and 6/7 th is the business).

The Brroklyn Bridge is ace as a vantage point but also makes a great subject with all the reinforcement.

The other usual places have all been said. I'd also suggest walking around SoHo and Greenwich Village (Spring St, etc) if you get a sunny day. The combination of buildings/shops and varied people is brilliant for candids.

Sandwiches @ S'nice in the village are excellent - but then food in NYC is pretty good everywhere.

Keep an eye out for film sets too! Whilst I was there I saw them making "I am Legend" and "The Bourne Ultimatum". Excellent photo ops!

Have fun :)
 
I wouldn't go without the charger... ! I guarantee you will flatten a battery a day... at least...;-)
 
I'm a newbie so won't offer any photography advice.

However, I did used to live upstate NY and one of my favourite places to eat was called Dinosaur BBQ and I have heard they have since opened one in NYC, so I'd certainly recommend going there at least once. I recommend the ribs, and if they are doing it on the day see if you can get Dirty Rice on the side. Oh how I miss it!!

johnnyflash - those are fantastic photos! Really great!

STARRIDER - Yours too - I love pic 36 with the building reflecting the clouds.
 
When wifey and I went a couple of years ago we did this round island boat trip: -

http://www.circleline42.com/

Brilliant for photo opportunities.

Pete
 
Highly recommend Top of the Rock (some of my shots, amazing view, loads of room and far far better than the ESB Observatory.

Coney Island is beautiful (in a weird and wonderful way) and well worth a $2 (45min) subway ride, you could shoot all day there easily.

Other than that, anywhere around the Brooklyn Bridge at night is amazing. Just travel light and go everywhere, millions of photo opportunities in NYC, and in my opinion, a very safe place to enjoy.
 
ukaskew said:
Highly recommend Top of the Rock (some of my shots, amazing view, loads of room and far far better than the ESB Observatory.

Coney Island is beautiful (in a weird and wonderful way) and well worth a $2 (45min) subway ride, you could shoot all day there easily.

Other than that, anywhere around the Brooklyn Bridge at night is amazing. Just travel light and go everywhere, millions of photo opportunities in NYC, and in my opinion, a very safe place to enjoy.
Click to expand...

Astroland closed at the end of last year, boardwalk is rotting and about to be replaced. Their was lots of apartment buildings going up last time I was there. I might try and go in the next few weeks to see what is happening but even the decay should be a photographers dream.
 
Zebedee101 said:
Astroland closed at the end of last year, boardwalk is rotting and about to be replaced. Their was lots of apartment buildings going up last time I was there. I might try and go in the next few weeks to see what is happening but even the decay should be a photographers dream.
Click to expand...

Yep, I was there in Feb of this year (those pics are from then) so it was as you described. Fascinating place - and we've been in February on 4 different occasions so have never seen it open - still love it though!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top