I'm going to NYC this weekend and would like to bring my photography gear. Any suggestions on where I should go to take photos (I've never spent much time in the city before)? I'm staying in the East Village. Also, are there any safety concerns of which I should be aware?
I live in nyc. there are, of course, tons of options. what do you usually take photos of?
Landscapes. I might like either green spaces with buildings in the background, or historic buildings with lots of old detail. Skyline views would also be nice.
okay.well then central park is a must. I'd suggest sheep's meadow to get the landscape with the city in the background. if you want a little height and a historic building too, then head to castle belvedere (also in central park). there are numerous historic bridges in the park that make for beautiful photos. info on them is easily available online.
another area of interest is fort tryon park and the cloisters museum (which is in the park) in northern manhattan. you can get some significant height to shoot sweeping vistas of jersey across the the hudson and also manhattan. the cloisters is also just really cool to walk around in.
across the east river from where you're staying is dumbo, where you can get some classic shots of the brooklyn and manhattan bridges. the park in between the two allows for you to get them both in one shot if you have a wide enough angle lens.
for classic buildings, you can just walk around the east village where you're staying. plenty of interest there. maybe start at tompkins square park and circle around. that's mostly from the late 1800s.
if you want older, head downtown to the financial district. if you want 1930s, try rockefeller center, which is one of the premier art deco destinations in the world. for newer buildings, you might try in chelsea along the highline (an elevated train line that is now a park).
for another area with unusual landscapes, you might try governor's island. they have some former military housing and bases that you can shoot.
hope that helps. let me know if you want more info.
regarding safety, these days NYC is pretty safe. I never feel unsafe anywhere in manhattan during the day. at night, use some basic caution, and ideally have a partner with you.
cheers, a
Thanks for the suggestions. Those are all really helpful. Do you know any good aerial viewpoints (not behind glass) that allow you to see lots of buildings, like this one by tbeaman: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...dscapes/page23.
B&H Superstore.
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
top of the rock at rockefeller center has aerial views without glass.Originally Posted by nimo956
I dont know what the current status of this issue is, but dont forget that the city doesn't like seeing tripods in general. There were some laws passed in NYC a few years ago that required shooting permits for everyone, regardless of it being a professional shoot or not, but maybe that has changed.
Several years ago, I was assisting a photographer on an editioral shoot on the plaza of Lincoln Center, with hardly anyone areound, where the only equipment we had was a tripod and a Hasselblad. Nothing else. Literally seconds after I extended the tripod legs a security guard came up and said we couldn't shoot here.
Another incident was at Bryant Park, behind The New York City Public Library. I was teaching on photographing architecture. The second the students set up their tripods (maybe one or two tripods at the most), once again we were told the only way we could shoot here was with a permit. It didnt matter that I had permission to shoot at the library; these are two completely different things.
I think in both these incidents there are two things behind it: liability if someone trips on a tripod leg and in many cases, money.
Obviously, if you go shooting in lower Manhattan on some old street and its quiet at the time, it will probably not be an issue. Its mainly midtown. I do know that you will need a permit to shoot in Central Park. That would be a great place to shoot at and worth getting the permit.
Flatiron building.
Yup, this is still the case and I've been hassled quite a few times, I was however once able to convince one officer that it was OK so long as I balanced a single pole leg on my toe, and did not extend the other two using my tripod as a mono pod, by keeping it on my toe I was within my own personal perimeter and therefore was not "risking others lives from tripping and hurting themselves" the world is a strange and frustrating place, we now have to look out for klutzes who can't watch what they're doing and instead are using their cell phones and not paying attention to their surroundings, and win a trip they blame us for hurting themselves, ruining our good time, with their stupidity. Anyway yea this still happens all the time. I never heard anything about needing a permit for a public park, I don't think they could stop you if you were just shooting hand held, it's kind of ridiculous when everyone has cell phones anyway, but if that's true, it's a shame, and another way for the city to make a buck no doubt.
OK I'm bordering on political here so I will stop.
Bob, unfortunately this definitely falls under the tripod isn't allowed rule, and there's no place where you would be able to set up a large format camera near the flat iron building unfortunately. Unless you were able to gain access to somebody's apartment and could shoot out of their window somehow I suppose.
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