what to take to New York

In the end I thought about how I was going to be using my camera.

As it was my daughter's first time there, we revolved the trip around her, so I figured I wouldn't have much time to faff about holding people up with taking pictures. So the only two lenses I took were the 24-70 2.8 (which I had on most days) and an 18-135 Canon which I took when we did a bus tour as I figured it would give me a little more each end - even if the quality wasn't as good.

I was only ever planning to take one lens out per day rather than swap them about, but I did definitely feel like at times I could have done with something wider AND something longer. (Fnar fnar.)

I've not had a chance to look through my shots properly yet, but I don't think I've captured anything special - other than memories for my daughter which is what it was all about for me.
 
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Just to add, I had my camera on a sling and didn't find it too weighty. I also had a backpack most days for other bits and bobs (non-camera related), but liked having my camera to hand to catch any 'spur-of-the-moment' stuff.

As for traveling about, we did 10.5km the first day (and we didn't get there till 2pm), 12.32km the second, 12.5km the third, 6.9km the fourth (but this was the day we hired bikes to go round Central Park), and then 13.9km the last day. A total of 68,561 steps.

I was too chicken to take any pics of New Yorkers, but there were some great opportunities if you've got more balls than me.

5th, 6th and 7th Avenue all felt very safe.

9th Avenue was a marked departure with lots of down and outs and not very photogenic, but I think 10th Avenue had loads of cool restaurants and much more of an old-school New York feeling and plenty of photo opps. Unfortunately, o nthe day we walked up there, I didn't have my camera.

Things we did:
Day one.
Spend ages queuing to get through immigration and then for a taxi. It's been 15 years since I was in New York and I'd forgotten just how s*** their immigration is.
Once we got out, we walked to the Highline and then walked along it. Found a restaurant. Collapsed exhausted.

Day two:
Walked up through Times Square to pick up our bus tour. This was a sit-on coach rather than open-top, but stopped at a few locations to get pics. Notably, Central Park where the Dakota is and then time to go over into Strawberry Fields.
Then to the Rockefeller Centre for a wee break, down to ground zero, then lunch and a boat trip out to the Statue of Liberty.
Then back to the hotel and on the Subway to catch a Yankees game (got tickets through a website - $90 face value tickets for $38.

Day three:
Woodbury Commons shopping. Not really the place it used to be. No camera that day.

Day four:
Cycle ride around Central Park - managed to get a Groupon deal on the bike hire so got three bikes for the full day for $42 for us all. Rather than £120 which was the usual price.
Ellen's Stardust diner just off Times Square. Fun evening.

Day five: Top of the Rock. We'd done the Empire state last time, and my missus didn't fancy the new WTC. Then subway down to Katz's deli where we were given 'that' table. Then a walk across the Manhattan bridge for an hour looking around DUMBO before having to race back to pick up our bags.

As mentioned above, there are no cheap things to do anymore, so I gave up worrying and just accepted it. Beers at Yankee stadium for example were $11.89 for Heineken on draft, or if you got a can from a vendor it was $14.10 for Bud Light and $15.10 for Stella. FOR ONE CAN!!

My missus was on it though and got groupon deal on nearly everything we wanted to do.
 
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Kell said:
I've not had a chance to look through my shots properly yet, but I don't think I've captured anything special - other than memories for my daughter which is what it was all about for me.
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And thats what it should be about, creating memories. There's sometimes too much pressure to produce the same sort of shots seen online, when actually the images reminding you of your personal moments of the trip are the really important thing.
 
9th and 10th ave are quite cool. We found 3rd ave especially 42nd street upwards very good for bars (especially irish) and food.
 
Great shots, I went twice, second time on my own, did some miles on foot. Love it there, heading back again this year.
 
LBJNBA said:
Great shots, I went twice, second time on my own, did some miles on foot. Love it there, heading back again this year.
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I would love to go on my own for a photography trip but couldn't see that one flying with SWMBO lol. That said she is pretty understanding with the camera side of things so long as i at least try to keep things moving, if i started uttering noises about waiting for the right light etc then i think her patience would run out quickly
 
I must admit, I felt this time it felt less like 'New York' and more like any big city.

There was tonnes of construction work going on, plus iconic things like the classic Crown Vic taxis have all been replaced by Prius(es) and other non-descript Japanese cars.

While I loved the trip, for the amount it cost, we could probably do at least two European city breaks. Or one European city and some new camera stuff...
 
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