Photography trip to New York

Thank you Jeff for the links. I especially like your black and white images: nice grainy structure and some very original compositions.

 

regards

 

Jan

"Can anyone give me any tips on places I shouldn't miss? "

 

New York is full of galleries that show excellent photography - both traditional and avant garde. A few days before leaving on your trip, visit this web site for an updated list of current shows - http://www.photography-guide.com/. One gallery that I always make a point of visiting is the John Stevenson Gallery.

 

You can photograph just about anything anywhere in New York. Be aware of both your personal security (have your wife "watch your back"), and by all means don't try to stand in the street while photographing - traffic in New York doesn't stop for pedestrians!

 

If you plan to stay in New York City, you should plan to rely on public transportation. Renting a car would be both an unnecessary expense and a major hassle. But if you plan to leave the city to explore surrounding areas, you will need some form of transportation. Someone has mentioned the George Eastman House in Rochester (about a 6 hour drive from New York City). Two other good spots in the Northeastern US are the Valley Photographic Center in Springfield, MA (about 3 hours away) and the Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro, VT. Be sure to check their web sites to make sure they will be open the days you are there.

 

Also, is there any limitation as to entering and leaving the US with camera gear? I normally take 2 camera bodies and 2 to 3 lenses, plus a small flash. Do you foresee any problems with customs? And if I decided to buy some gear in NYC, would I need to declare it when leaving the country?

 

As this is my first trip to the US, I would like to portray NYC in all its aspects. Not just the typical postcard views, but something that would define 'New York City'. Also, are there any photography museums or photo exhibitions that are worth visiting? I will be travelling with my wife, who is a casual photographer, so I will need to combine photography with sight seeing.

 

"Also, is there any limitation as to entering and leaving the US with camera gear? I normally take 2 camera bodies and 2 to 3 lenses, plus a small flash. Do you foresee any problems with customs? And if I decided to buy some gear in NYC, would I need to declare it when leaving the country?"

 

I don't think you will encounter any problem entering the US with that amount of equipment. And there are essentially no formalities upon exiting the country. I would think that you might want to have some kind of formal documentation (a carnet) indicating that you owned the equipment prior to your trip to smooth the process for re-entering your home country.

Get the Michelin green guide to NYC.

 

http://www.photography-guide.com/l_ex_nyc_frame.html

 

http://www.virtualnyc.info/directory/museums/museum_list.htm

 

It's almost impossible to find a boring spot in NYC. Be prepared for night shots in Manhattan.<div></div>

Bryant Park (shades of Paris)

The official site for tourists is

 

http://www.nycvisit.com/home/index.cfm

 

 

Hope this helps.

Regarding getting around. Old NYC question: "It's about ten blocks away - do you want to walk or do we have enough time to take a cab?!"

 

Especially true when going cross town (like from 3rd Ave and 50th ST to 9th Ave and 50th St) or anyplace downtown (below like 8th St) where the streets start going every which way, rather than on a grid. Also, don't forget Central Park gets in the way above 59th St to 110th St, 5th Ave to 8th Ave for busses and cabs. Also makes walking prettier but less direct.

Since you will be in the area for 10 days, I strongly agree with some of the recommendations to rent a car and get out of the city for 2 or 3 days. My suggestion would be to drive up to the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.

 

I would get a room in Ithaca (about a 4 to 5 hr drive from NYC). There are wonderful state parks with gorges, waterfalls in the area, as well as the Finger Lakes themselves (Ithaca is at the southern tip of Caygua Lake). There are also a number of wineries - check out the reislings! I do suggest, however, that you avoid the area during Memorial Day weekend (last weeeknd in May). Cornell University normally holds its commencement during that weekend, and you will not be able to find a hotel room.

 

As far as NYC is concerned, I think everyone has indicated the major sights. I also recommend Top of the Rock; walk across the Brooklyn Bridge; take the Staten Island Ferry (free roundtrip, great views of lower Manhattan). Broadway and 21st St offers a great view of the Empire State Building, with Madison Square Park in the foreground. A 7-day subway pass is the cheapest and quickest way to get around.

 

You are picking a great time of the year to be here, before the heat and humidity kicks in. An even better time is late September through October.

 

Have fun!

Washington Square Park (I am impressed no one has mentioned it)...if you find a nice NYU student try to get them to sign you in to the "Kimmel Building" (60 Wash. Sq. S) wonderful views (I go there and this NYU building you have the skyline north of w 4th)

 

I would walk the Brooklyn Bridge near sunset to get all the wonderful color reflected on the buildings...then you can get dinner/pizza (Grimbali's -- some of the best in the city) or ice cream (Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory) in Dumbo...

 

The "Little Britain" area in the West Village is interesting.

 

I like walking down Second Ave (between 14th and Houston) if you can get in Marble Cemetery (4th I think) is worth see and also Veselka (8thish) is always interesting for people (24 hours a day).

 

Also Battery Park is wonderful too...

 

And if you want woods -- try Inwood (this part has caves which you can explore during the DAY and has artifacts from the Dutch and pre contact peoples) or Fort Tryon...when you are at Fort Tryon visit the Cloister (part of the Met -- not photography but worth visiting).

oh something I forgot to add -- don't photograph protesters without permission. I was at the RNC protests (in 04) and I saw one person's camera get destroyed.