Going to NEW YORK !!!!

ARI_1969

ARI_1969

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Hello my friends

as I will travel to new york 2010 for private photographic reasons (was a birthday present from my wife :) ), I need some help/advice from your side. My plan is to stay for about 5 days in Manhattan only and will not take any taxi or underground ... (I am used to walk long distances)

1. When is the best time to go there (spring/summer/autumn/winter)?

2. Are there any holydays or something you would not recommend to go there?

3. Is it clever (in terms of accomodation) to stay there over the weekend or during the week?

4. Can you recommend a hotel (I am about to spend let's say 100$ a night)

5. areas not to enter :eek:

6. and finally, where to have the best steak? :D

many thanks in advance

achim
 
IMHO, there is not a single day of the entire year when you would not find more than enough to photograph in New York. I would avoid major US holidays though, esp. Christmas and New Year's. DEFINITELY New Year's.

Two affordable hotels that are actually kind of nice are the Broadway Plaza and The Larchmont.

Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. Visit as many neighborhoods as you can. People who actually live there can tell you if certain neighborhoods should be avoided, but it seems to me that most places are just fine during the day.

Enjoy! New York is awesome. And make a pilgrimmage to the insane Hasidic Oompa-Loompa land that is the B&H superstore on 34th.
 
Thought walking would help me to see more of the city... but if you say take the subway to see the more interesting places, I kindly will follow your best advice. But as I said, I do not mind walking 15 to 20 kilometers a day...
 
I just think that if you are only here for 5 days, you will be able to cover more ground by occasionally hoping on the train. You can still easily walk 20 km's a day!

Also, lots of great photo opportunities down there :)

My advice would be to visit at least some of the less touristy areas of NYC: Harlem and the rest of Upper Manhattan, Chinatown in Flushing Queens, Jackson Heights in Queens, Red Hook in Brooklyn, Little Italy in the Bronx, etc, etc...Many many many places to explore!
 
thanks mabelsound

the Larchmont seems affordable to me... Again about the weather... what do you think about may? My tourist guide says, that is the most beautiful time there?
 
Weather in May should be enjoyable. It's spring. April would be good, too, but with cooler temperatures, perhaps more rain.
 
New York is great for photography of all types! Like you, I love to walk around when I visit a new city (or even a much visited one) - you really do get a feel for the place and its topography. Andredossantos's idea to visit places off the beaten track is a great one, although if this is your first visit, just seeing the iconic buildings, bridges and landmarks for the first time is breathtaking.

I can recommend the circle line ferry tour which takes you right arond Manhattan - Walking over Brooklyn Bridge is great too - don't miss Jackson Heights either.

To be honest NY is such a vibrant, iconic, busy, photogenic place you never know what you are going to see from one day to the next!
 
ARI_1969 said:
thanks mabelsound

the Larchmont seems affordable to me... Again about the weather... what do you think about may? My tourist guide says, that is the most beautiful time there?
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We went in early June - hot and humid - I believe May is a bit cooler - but that's just the weather I guess ;)
 
ARI_1969 said:
Hello my friends

as I will travel to new york 2010 for private photographic reasons (was a birthday present from my wife :) ), I need some help/advice from your side. My plan is to stay for about 5 days in Manhattan only and will not take any taxi or underground ... (I am used to walk long distances)

1. When is the best time to go there (spring/summer/autumn/winter)?

2. Are there any holydays or something you would not recommend to go there?

3. Is it clever (in terms of accomodation) to stay there over the weekend or during the week?

4. Can you recommend a hotel (I am about to spend let's say 100$ a night)

5. areas not to enter :eek:

6. and finally, where to have the best steak? :D

many thanks in advance

achim
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Well, I grew up there so here's my take:

  1. Spring or Autumn for Good temperature. Changing color of leaves in Autumn is nice. Summer is just too hot for a lot of walking.
  2. St. Patrick's Day is as close as NY gets to a holyday. There's a parade and lots of drinking. Fun, but it might interfere with normal tourist sightseeing. Same with whenever the gay pride parade is. The American holiday of Thanksgiving in late November is best avoided as well. There's a parade and mobs of people shopping
  3. Saturday is the most expensive day for hotels, and Sunday is the cheapest.
  4. I'd stay at the Radisson Martinique. It's about as cheap as you can get without getting dodgy.... about $150/night. It's in midtown near a lot of attractions and within easy walking distance to about everything except Downtown.
  5. Harlem, Spanish Harlem. Don't go above 95th street. Don't go to the Bronx, most parts of the other boroughs.
  6. Best steak? Sparks Steak House. Peter Luger's is also top notch, but in Brooklyn. Ruth Chris Steak House is also very good.
 
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If you are considering coming to New York in May, check out a one day event called Bike New York, AKA The Five Borough Bike Tour. The event begins in Manhattan, ends in Staten Island, and is 42 miles long. Free passage back to Manhattan is provided via the Ferry.

This is the world's largest bike tour and around 35-40 thousand bicyclists take over the city. Do this tour if you really want to see the city in a very differant way. A great experiance and a good opportunity to meet a lot of bike freaks, fit people, and be part of New York. This is a one day event where they close half the Brooklyn Queens Expressway for cyclists. Also the Varrizano Narrows Bridge, the 59th Street Bridge...

Calzone
 
Late spring early summer.
Best steak is Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, no question, no debate...
 
Damaso said:
Late spring early summer.
Best steak is Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, no question, no debate...
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I agree. Only one subway stop from Manhattan. Also in an interesting neighborhood, Williamsburg. Take the J,M or Z train to Luger's. Walk to the North Side, check out the neighborhood, and head back to Manhattan on the L train. The Northside is youthful and very much like a college town.

Also when you arrive pick up the Village Voice (free), and search the internet. With so many colleges and institutions there are all kinds of free cultural events. Its mind boggling.

Also note that an ultra wide is very useful in New York. The streets are crowded. Don't be shy shooting in the street.

Calzone
 
ARI_1969 said:
Peter Luger??? sounds somehow german or austrian ??? is he?
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I believe he was a Germain immigrant. They age their own meat to perfection. They are able to get away with the sometimes openly rude service, because the steak is that good. Make sure you buy some of their steak sause to bring home.

Don't waste your money on the sides. If you are with someone else, just buy "Steak for three."

When I went with my girlfriend (twice) the waitors behaved, but when I bought a guy friend we got the "treatment."

The waitor asked us if we wanted menus, and when my friend said, "yes," the waitor got annoyed.

He threw two menus on the table and asked, "Are you ready to order?"

When we ordered, the waitor asked in another annoying tone, "Is that all?"

I was laughing, my friend was not.

Calzone
 
street was/is my favourite ... thought about following lenses to bring with me:
21/2.8 Biogon
35/1.2 Nokton
50/1.5 Nokton
90/2.0 Summicron E55
....together with my Hexar RF
 
Just one set of answers

Just one set of answers

ARI_1969 said:
1. When is the best time to go there (spring/summer/autumn/winter)?
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Late spring is nice, from May to June. I like fall, though. September is usually a very nice month. Great, bright cool mornings.

ARI_1969 said:
2. Are there any holydays or something you would not recommend to go there?
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Certain parades can be a bit crazy to caught in the middle of, and Christmas time is a bit annoying near Rockefeller Center. The tourist spots are packed during the summer (July and August especially).

ARI_1969 said:
3. Is it clever (in terms of accomodation) to stay there over the weekend or during the week?
Click to expand...

You may save some money by getting hotel reservations not falling on a Friday or Saturday night, but I doubt by much.

ARI_1969 said:
4. Can you recommend a hotel (I am about to spend let's say 100$ a night)
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Sorry, but I can't. Just don't know. When family comes, they stay with me. Can't say I've ever stayed in a hotel in New York. The W series of hotels are nice but much more than $100 per night.

ARI_1969 said:
5. areas not to enter :eek:
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You'll be safe wherever you go. Or not. You don't have to come to NYC for something terrible to happen. ;) There aren't any neighborhoods that I wouldn't visit out of fear of the possible.

ARI_1969 said:
6. and finally, where to have the best steak? :D
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Peter Luger is pretty famous. I have had a good steak or two at the Strip House in the Village. Either place will get you a good steak.

Also, I would suggest taking the subway from time to time. If you're going to be shooting, it's a great place to find people and situations that are just begging to be captured. Plus, my experience with the police and the MTA (subway employees) has been positive. I've never had someone tell me not to take a photo, etc. Well, once I had a conductor on the 7 Train, after I had taken his photo, tell me he didn't want to see his photo on the Internet. Fortunately I am not famous so that was never going to be an issue.

Enjoy the city. It's a lovely place.
 
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If you are coming alone, just use couchsurfing.org, you could find a place to crash for the cost of a few nights of a few pints, Autumn and Spring are delightful, and being German the Winter may be unfelt and lovely. You can traverse the Bronx and northern Manhattan relatively unchecked and unchallenged during the day but above 95th is a well defined border.

I live a little ways up the Hudson Valley and whenever I stay in the city save my friend's apartments I stay at the Chelsea Hotel for kicks. The fare is reasonable and the art canvassing the walls is insurmountable in regards to the physical price you will pay.

The city is not dangerous, just a strange experiment.
 
Walking without a map is the best thing you can do to shoot NYC. (Do have a map to find your way back though). And visit the boroughs, much more interesting than most of Manhattan.

I've been all over (including NYC's poorest district in the Bronx) NYC since I moved here in 05 and the only place I felt a little weird was somewhere in East Brooklyn late nights.

NYC is safe, safer than my puny european hometown (Gruesse aus'm Elsass!).

Here are some things I am looking forward to: Polar Bears in Coney Island, Chinese New Year, Cherry Blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical.

There are so many places to see, maybe you should pick what side of New York interests you?

And forget steakhouses, eat on the street! Taco truck, Falafel truck, Anything Truck! (I even found a guy selling Turkish coffee on the street...). Steakhouses are stuffy overpriced waste of space. But then again, I'm vegetarian. Right close by Peter Luger are a slew of much more interesting places. Want a feel of "hip" Brooklyn? Cross the street and go to Broadway Diner. Like it Steampunk? Walk back up broadway and to the Marcy stop for Moto...There are way too many better options...

http://www.freenyc.net/
http://www.ny.com/museums/free.html
http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/Home
 
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