New York, New York

photocat

As I am in the process of becoming an real american, I get to pick up my green card on the 24th of August 2007... I will be in New York for four days.
Would it be far fetched to ask d-grinners for some nice locations there, I don't aim for the big touristy things, I like to take journalism and people shots.
Ellis Island, Central Station, Brooklyn bridge, Central Park and the tenements museum on Orchard Street are already on my list. I am still doubting about Coney Island and the board walk... I am also hugely interested in the jewish quarters wherever I go...

Anybody having suggestions?

Thanks in advance...

Photocat, looking forward to my first New York visit

jdryan3

If you like photojournalism/people shots, I always like the parks: Central Park, Washington Square, Union Square, Thompkins Square. Canal Street (Chinatown), Greenwich Village. Also try and get in the Empire State Building.

Port Authority Bus Terminal has great people shots (not exactly your normal tourist spot), as does Grand Central Station, and, of course, Times Square. I know Andy will pipe in here at some point with other less obvious opportunities.

m8o

New York, New York ...a city so nice they named it twice...

I'm in agreement with the last post. I was going to say "Thompkins Square" and "Washington Square" parks myself. You'll get a lot of color there; not meant ethnically, thought that too, but more like "tatooy" and "unusually" .

For Jewish quarters you really need to go to Brooklyn IMO; however the "Lower East Side" south of Thompkins Square across Houston St. is still somewhat so ; my wife's grandparents grew up there. Perhaps there some shots to be had of people on line on the sidewalk at Guss's Pickles on Essex St.

Chinatown would be very interesting too (South of Canal St, both east and west of Broadway). Very interesting stylings there.

There's just -sooo- much life on the streets in the summer, you can almost go anywhere!

BTW, if you like to eat Mediteranian too (or are Kosher) go eat @ Murray's on 1st Ave bt'wn 15th and 16th St. Best Falafels you will ever have in your life. Everything else is fantastic too. You can take that to the bank.

photocat

Thanks Guys... I have heard about Guss Pickles... Sounds nice. I will definitely go to Brooklyn, I watched Ken Burns building of the Brooklyn Bridge, so I want to see it with my own eyes.
I am very exited to go, two camera's to be sure, grin...

So the parks are good spots huh? Do you guys think it is worth going all the way to Coney Island to see the boardwalk and what is it called, Little Odessa?

Central Station is definitely on my to do list too, and Ellis Island, I am fascinated by the history of the people who have gone before us to the States, I will be an immigrant soon enough, except my conditions are a lot better then the people who came into the 1980's..

One of my guru's is Jacob Ruiis, and his book "How the other half lived", so that explains my interest in the East side...
Any more suggestions are very welcome. I have a book at hand, and all the suggestions go in there!

Thanks, all the help is very much appreciated! I need to narrow it down as we only have four days...

Catherine

jamesl

I've only been there once, but we found photo opportunities everywhere we went. There is a great shot for Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side, just below the bridge. This is great at either sunrise or sunset. Central Park is also a must. Make sure that you make the trip to see the B&H Photo Store: http://tinyurl.com/2xlmjq. Give yourself a few hours, and bring your credit card.

Have fun!

James

photocat

Give yourself a few hours, and bring your credit card.

Have fun!

James[/QUOTE]


My husband does NOT like you... He does not like the mentioning of the credit card. I am lusting badly for the Nikon D2X, but that might be greedy...
I need to find a way to make more money first... Always the same lousy problem, more lust then money! I have ordered with B&H before, it would be interesting to see their store at least once...
Thanks for the tips!

m8o

Just don't go on Sunday ... I don't know if in your country it's crazy in stores in December for Christmas|Hanukkah as it is here in the US ... but it's that crazy @ B&H -every- Sunday!

Shima

If you'll be in NYC... make sure you stop at the B&H store and be in photog equiptment heaven. Finally got to go to the store itself for the first time on my husband and my first anniversary (we were spending the whole day in NYC and we made it a "must see" my parents live an hour away from the city and were back there visiting for the week)... and yeah I'm in awe and can't wait to go back to that store. It was hectic but amazing

As for pictures, I recommend going to the Lake in central park. There's always some fun shots to be had around / on it.

Chinatown and Little Italy are also fun spots for colorful pics.

moose135

Enjoy your trip to the Big Apple. It's a great city to shoot, I need to spend more time there! I think most of the usual spots have been mentioned already. Downtown, around Battery Park and the South Street Seaport are also good spots for people watching/shooting. The spot James mentioned for shots of the Brooklyn Bridge is actually called Brooklyn Bridge Park, I've gotten some nice sunset & night shots there.

One reminder about visiting B&H - they close early Fridays, and all day Saturdays. Check their schedule, as they are also closed on Jewish Holidays as well.

Justiceiro

Hey Photocat!

Congrats on the green card. I remember the nightmare it was to get that taken care of for my wife, and that was pre-9/11 shenanigans. I'm sure its a real picnic now.

I know some really nice spots to shoot Manhattan from the Jersey City side (where I live). It's pretty easy to catch a ferry from the financial center (that's near the WTC on the Hudson river) over to exchange place, which is a nice locale to shoot Lower Manhattan from. Also, my favorite spot for Brooklyn Bridge photos is near Pier 17 at the old fish market. It's great at dawn, the sun rises just behind the bridge, and predawn shots can be cool. You can also see the watchtower building and the Domino sugar mill.

The brooklyn botanical garden is cool. The queens botanical garden is a waste of time. Also nice is to ride the Staten Island ferry from Lower Manhattan to Staten island and back. It's free, and you should get some good statue of liberty shots.

photocat

Justiceiro wrote:

Hey Photocat!

Congrats on the green card. I remember the nightmare it was to get that taken care of for my wife, and that was pre-9/11 shenanigans. I'm sure its a real picnic now.

I would not say that it is a picnic... It is first of all expensive, and the amount of paper work is horrific. I am 51 years old and they wanted to know which kindergarten school I went to. Sjeesh...
I needed different papers stating that I have no criminal record, I needed a humiliating medical examination, and was forced to undergo an aids test...
But hey, I passed it, America here I come... With all the rain in UK, I wished we could come sooner... We will not really have time for meetups as we are in New York for a very short time, but I will hold you to your word for another visit to the big pear...

m8o

Congrats ... any photo opportunities like you were hoping?

photocat

m8o wrote:

Congrats ... any photo opportunities like you were hoping?

yes, plenty... I think I have my final list down... thanks to all of you who answered to my question of locations...

Justiceiro

photocat wrote:

I would not say that it is a picnic... It is first of all expensive, and the amount of paper work is horrific.

Ahhh, a trip down memory lane. They asked my wife, born in 1976, if she had been a member of the Nazi party between 1933 and 1945. Not real smart folks down there at the INS.

I recall the following phone exchange regarding the med exam.

ME: Hey, where is an INS approved doctor in Newark?

INS guy: You need to get form XJ-27 for that info.

ME: OK, how do I get that?

INS Guy: we will send it to you in 6-8 weeks.

Ten weeks pass, and I get form XJ-27 (or whatever) in the mail. It says I should call the INS to get a list of doctors.

ME: Hey, where is an INS approved doctor in Newark?

INS guy: You need to get form XJ-27 for that info. We'll send it to you in 6-8 weeks.

ME: Well, I'm looking at form XJ-27 right now, and it says I should ask you.

INS: Oh.... Well, here's the list, do you have a pencil handy?

Long and short, I have the sneaking suspicion that they are trained to be actively obstructive.

I love it when we are talking about illegal immigration in the US, and people ask "why can't people just follow the normal procedures?"

Only people who have never dealt with the INS ask that question.

m8o

photocat wrote:

yes, plenty... I think I have my final list down... thanks to all of you who answered to my question of locations...

My mistake, I thought you came and went already. I just went back to your 1st post and see you're still to come.

Justiceiro

PhotoCat,

My friend Vitoria and I are occasionally known to make the 4 AM photosafari to lower manhattan and Chinatown. Chinatown from 2-4 AM is very interesting. If you are interested in making such a safari, let me know. I live on the other side of the river from Manhattan.

davalistudios

Also, if you are going to Ellis Island or Statue of Liberty, then Battery Park(where you can get the ferries) is a cool place. There are a bunch of street performers including some with pretty amazing acrobatic skills.

esc2476

Justiceiro wrote:

PhotoCat,

My friend Vitoria and I are occasionally known to make the 4 AM photosafari to lower manhattan and Chinatown. Chinatown from 2-4 AM is very interesting. If you are interested in making such a safari, let me know. I live on the other side of the river from Manhattan.

I would be very interested in this as well.

dogwood

Save your money and just go to Las Vegas. That way you can see New York, Paris, and Venice. Oh yeah, and an Egyptian pyramid.

Just kidding! Congrats on the green card and sorry, but I really do know New York New York in Vegas better than the real New York.

Earthwatcher

New York ideas
I just had a nice time in New York. One of my favourite pics was sunset at the fountains in Battery Park. I wasn't particularly taking shots of people but I found this little girl walked in to the frame. There's something I really like about it.

http://www.dickdonkin.smugmug.com/gallery/3279781#P-2-9

There are some nice chairs I found at MOMA on the same page. I got interested in the street furniture too - the sprinkler valves, that kind of thing. I suppose it's whatever floats your boat.

I took a few like this in a souvenir shop:

http://www.dickdonkin.smugmug.com/gallery/3279781#182177069

moose135

That's a great set you have from New York, Richard (and DC too!) That is a terrific photo of the girl in the fountain. I also really liked the shot of Radio City at night (for some reason, I'm a fan of shooting up at buildings like that). I see what you mean about sprinkler valves - looks like you got quite a selection of them. Thanks for sharing!

Earthwatcher

moose135 wrote:

That's a great set you have from New York, Richard (and DC too!) That is a terrific photo of the girl in the fountain. I also really liked the shot of Radio City at night (for some reason, I'm a fan of shooting up at buildings like that). I see what you mean about sprinkler valves - looks like you got quite a selection of them. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Moose. What I like about them is that they are a collection taken by all the family. I started taking the sprinkler valve pictures to try and get the kids (not kids really at 15,20 and 23) to look at details - the stuff that makes one place different from another. It's often the street furniture: the plastic cones, the stop/go signs, the man-hole covers. I took quite a lot of textures too that I haven't yet put on the site.