Summer Streets is a series of special days in New York City when certain streets are completely closed to traffic. This allows people to use entire streets for biking, jogging and walking.
There are also many interesting events along the way such as live music, giveaways of food and clothing, and even dance and yoga classes.
Continue reading “Summer Streets 2024 – The Manhattan Route Goes Underground!”For people who have yet to visit New York City, I’d like to point out that the Brooklyn Bridge is actually a nice place to just hang out. The City encourages people to stay up there and relax — there are many benches on the bridge along the walkway. You can sit and look at the Manhattan skyline, look over the water, people-watch, pose for pictures, and gaze at the sunset (or sunrise if you get up early enough).
Continue reading “Hanging Out on the Brooklyn Bridge”SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan that is known for art galleries, lofts, shopping and a few interesting restaurants and bars. The pandemic has of course dampened the vibrance of the area and caused it to be littered with what we will refer to as “outdoor dining structures”. These shacks have definitely reduced the attractiveness of the area, but SoHo is still a nice destination to visit for an afternoon or evening.
Continue reading “A Visit to SoHo, NYC”New York City has one of the most beautiful and iconic skylines in the world, thanks to all of the tall and unique buildings on the island of Manhattan.
But of course, you can’t photograph the full skyline while on the island — you have to travel outside of Manhattan to do it.
While there are many spots to photograph the skyline, I feel one place is much better than all of the rest to do it, and in this article I’ll explain where that is and why.
Continue reading “The Best Spot to Photograph the New York City Skyline” The Vessel is a new structure built as part of the revitalization of the Hudson Yards area of the West Side of Manhattan. Construction of The Vessel began in April of 2017 and it opened to the public in March 2019.
The Vessel consists of a series of interconnected staircases and tiers designed to allow visitors to walk from the bottom to the top of the structure easily. The Vessel is 16 stories tall and consists of 154 flights of stairs totaling 2,500 steps.
Looking down from the top tier, one can see how elaborately designed and constructed The Vessel is. For those that can’t or don’t wish to walk up and down the stairs, there is also an elevator, which you can see on the right side of the photo above.
The Vessel offers great views of the Hudson River and the distant New Jersey skyline. In the photo above, visitors wait on the top tier facing West to catch the sunset. Below you can see the rail yard – that’s where Hudson Yards gets its name.
As the sun sets it brings out amazing colors in the sky. It’s best to plan a trip to the Vessel around sunset time. Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance. Reservations fill up quickly, so be sure to reserve them a week or two ahead.
After the sun sets, the revitalized Hudson Yards area is a great place to hang out at night. It’s still under construction, but so far a shopping mall and arts center have been built in the area and more attractions are planned.
Have you visited The Vessel at Hudson Yards? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments, and follow me on Instagram.
If you’d like an NFT of my sunset photo of The Vessel for your collection, visit here.
I was coming back from photographing an event in Manhattan, and wanted to add money to my MetroCard because I had a few more places to go to that day by subway and bus. When I tried to add more cash to the card, the machine gave an error, and took the twenty dollar bill without putting anything on the MetroCard. It spit out a receipt that showed an error code. The MTA had just stolen the money.
Robbed in the New York City subway.
I thought no big deal, I’ll just show this to the MTA employee working in the booth and get my money back. But of course, we are dealing with the MTA here: even though it just happened, even though I was holding the card that caused the error, and even though I had the freshly printed error receipt from the machine in my hand, the dude told me he could not refund me the money or even just electronically put the twenty bucks I lost onto the card. He said I had to contact the MTA for a refund. By writing them.
Luckily that wasn’t my last twenty bucks; I had more cash on me. But what if I didn’t? I guess I’d hop the turnstile like everyone else. Anyway, I spent another $20 getting a totally new card from the booth attendant and got on the next train.
The process of getting a refund from the MTA is, naturally, a pain in the ass. First, make sure you keep that receipt AND the MetroCard associated with the messed up transaction. You will have to mail both of them to the MTA as proof of what happened. So even if you think the MetroCard is busted, don’t toss it out, and don’t try to use it again anywhere else. Maybe put a small mark on it with a Sharpie so you don’t get it mixed it up with another card.
You will have to print out and fill out the form located here:
http://web.mta.info/metrocard/pdfs/form.pdf
The form is, of course, badly designed — I found it hard to write the letters of my address and all the other stuff inside those stupid little boxes. Then there’s a section of the form where you’ll have to write in all of the information that’s already on the receipt, because why not.
When you’re done, put the form along with the receipt and the MetroCard into an envelope and mail it off to the address on the form. And wait — it took about three months for the MTA send me back a new MetroCard.
Real New Yorkers simply call it the Central Park Reservoir, but officially it’s called The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. The Reservoir stretches from 86th to 96th street, and from 5th avenue to Central Park West.
I wanted a specific shot of some particular Upper West Side buildings, so I entered Central Park at 90th street and 5th avenue and walked up a few steps to the gate surrounding the Reservoir.
Whenever I think of the Reservoir, I’m reminded of the movie Marathon Man with Dustin Hoffman. To this day, there is a constant stream of joggers around the Reservoir, and the path around it is a sort of loose, sandy gravel to facilitate running. I wonder how many of those joggers have seen that movie.
I didn’t know the Reservoir was decommissioned in 1993. That explains the lack of security around it and the low gate. I assume that if the Reservoir did supply New York City with water, no one would be allowed anywhere near it in this day & age.
The Central Park Reservoir is great to visit and watch the sunset on a nice day, or to jog around it if that’s your thing. There are many great views of the city and photographic opportunities to be had there.
The photos in this story were taken with an Olympus EM-10 and Lumix 14mm f2.5 & Lumix 25mm f1.7 lenses.
The World Trade Center Station is a transportation hub that connects New Jersey trains to New York trains. The centerpiece, called the Oculus, can be thought of as the main station house.
Inside the Oculus is what’s technically the Westfield Mall. There are said to be over 100 retail stores and restaurants in the Mall, including an Apple Store, Banana Republic and an Eataly.
Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the whole structure is supposed to resemble “a bird being released from a child’s hand.” I found it to feel more like being inside of some kind of futuristic dinosaur, since the curved beams reminded me of bones or ribs. It did have a very organic feel to it, and I did like the overall look of the place. It’s a bright, open space and if you enjoy shopping and dining out you can surely spend a lot of time inside of it.
From a commuting standpoint, the Station lets you access the PATH system to get to New Jersey, as well as many (the 2, 3, A, C, E, N, R, W) New York City Subway trains.
If you’re vacationing in New York City, you might as well check the Oculus out while you’re here. You’ll probably stumble into it after you’ve visited the One World Trade Center Observatory anyway. If you’re a New Yorker you can skip this place until you, for some reason, have to take a PATH train to New Jersey and can’t do it from Penn Station.
The photos in this story were all taken with an Olympus OMD EM-10 and the Olympus 14-42 RII kit lens.
Standard Admission for adults to the Empire State Building’s 86th Floor Observation Deck is $34. Remember, don’t buy the tickets from the street vendors outside the building — it’s likely a scam. Buy them inside the Empire State Building on the second floor.
Much like at One World Trade Center, there will be very long lines and you’ll be subject to a security screening. Once that’s done, you’ll walk through winding Art Deco corridors until you reach the elevators.
The first elevator will take you to the 80th floor. During the ride, you’ll see that the ceiling of the elevator is a screen depicting the construction of the Empire State Building, with steel beams flying overhead and the sounds of hammers and drills. Wisecracking construction workers with overdone “New Yawk” accents make jokes and comments as the beams come together.
Once on the 80th floor, you’ll be able to see downtown Manhattan through the windows. You can see such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty, the Flatiron Building, and most notably One World Trade Center. You can spend as much time as you like looking out of the windows on the 80th floor and taking pictures. Just be sure to take care while photographing since you’re shooting through thick glass.
Next you’ll line up to get on to a second elevator. The line stretches past the gift shop, which you’ll later exit through on the way out of the building.
The second elevator will take you to the 86th floor and the Observation Deck. Here you’ll be outside and have the full experience, with quite a few amazing views. Even better, your photographs will look great since you’re outside and there are no windows, just the iron bars which you can shoot through.
You can spend as much time as you want on the Observation Deck as well, but it’s usually rather crowded. Expect to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with others, and brace yourself for the inevitable bumps and jostles. Be careful if you’re toting a big camera and long lens.
Once you’re done taking in the sights, you’ll exit through the gift shop I mentioned before, which has all sorts of Empire State Building-related souvenirs.
I didn’t like the experience at the Empire State Building as much as I did at One World Trade Center Observatory. However, at least from a photography standpoint, the views are much better from the Empire State Building because you’re not behind glass.
Because of the spectacular views, I recommend giving the Empire State Building a visit. Try to time your visit so that you’re on the 80th floor around sunset for the most spectacular sights, and hang around to get some good night shots.
Photos in this story taken with an Olympus EM-10, Panasonic 25mm f1.7 and the Olympus 14-42RII kit lens.
Standard Admission to the One World Observatory is $37 dollars per adult if you buy the tickets inside at the window. Keep in mind that the lines are always long and you’ll have to go through a security screening process. You’ll be required to remove any jackets, bags, belts, phones, and electronics and place them in a bin to be scanned while you step through a metal detector.
Once that’s done, you’ll walk along a tunnel-like corridor lined with presentation screens that display short movies about One WTC and Ground Zero. This corridor eventually leads to the elevators.
Once inside an elevator, you’ll find that the elevator walls are actually screens that show an animation of how New York City has changed over the decades. This is done in a way that gives you the sensation of rising above the city while it builds up below you. The elevator ride ends with a depiction of the construction of One WTC itself as you see steel beams assemble overhead.
You’re then brought into a theater-like area and treated to a movie projected onto a large wall showing all sorts of scenes from around NYC.
When the presentation ends, the wall itself lifts up revealing huge windows and a taste of the amazing views that One WTC offers.
After a brief orientation from one of the staff members, you’re given the chance to take in the views of the city via One WTC’s two-level observatory.
Through the large windows you can see many landmarks including the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building.
You have as much time as you want in the Observatory. There’s even a cafe that serves coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches, and so on. So relax, hang out, enjoy the views – and take lots of pictures.
Whether you’re visiting New York City or are a long-time New Yorker, I highly recommend visiting. All of the presentations were excellent, the staff was very friendly, and the overall experience was inspiring and uplifting with a very positive statement about New York and the city’s resiliency.
Photos in this story taken with an Olympus EM-10, Panasonic 25mm f1.7 and the Olympus 14-42RII kit lens.
