If someone asked me to compile a list of my favorite places for photography, the number one spot on the list would be filled quickly. It’s New York City, without a doubt. At least it was before the pandemic and other issues.
What’s not to like? There are iconic locations like the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Station or the New York Stock Exchange. There’s Central Park, with its variety of photo treasures. There’s Times Square at night, with its lights and crowds. And there are multiple places to get shots of the city's skyline, shooting across the East River from Brooklyn, shooting across the Hudson River from New Jersey, or shooting from the Top of the Rock (the observation deck on top of Rockefeller Center).
Each neighborhood has its own uniqueness: Chinatown, the Financial District, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, the Garment District.
In years past, when I’ve been in New York City with free time for photography I would hop a subway and get off at a random stop, just to see what’s there. I would often find interesting things to shoot. But now I admit that I’d be hesitant to use that technique. The recent increase in crime on the New York City subway has forced city leaders increase the police presence on the system and supplement the additional city police officers with armed, uniformed National Guardsmen. I know the frequent news stories about subway crime scares off visitors. Heck, it probably scares off locals. And as a photographer I fear that my camera equipment or camera case would place a huge “Mug Me” sign on my chest.
This gallery includes some of my favorite photos of the city, all taken before the pandemic hit in 2020.
I usually carry three (and sometimes four) lenses when visiting a city: an ultra-wide-angle zoom (my Canon EF-S 10-22mm), a wide-angle zoom (the Canon EF 16-35mm) and a normal zoom (the Canon EF 35-70mm). The fourth, if I pack it, is the Canon EF 70-200 normal to telephoto zoom. Having lenses that cover everything from 10mm to 200mm gives me a lot of flexibility when composing shots of the city.