Where to Photograph in NYC — New York City Photo Opportunities
Best Places to Photograph in NYC

NYC Skyline
NYC has amazing photo opportunities around every corner. From skylines and night photography, to portraits, architecture, street photography, and even wildlife, NYC has it all.
This guide to the best places to photograph in NYC will highlight many of the popular locations so you can capture that magic image.
Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn Bridge Park

Brooklyn Bridge, NYC
Brooklyn Bridge Park is one of the very best places to photograph the Brooklyn Bridge with the NYC skyline in the background. It’s very easy to get there via subway. You can also walk right over the bridge from Manhattan. Be sure to take your wide-angle lens and your tripod. Sunset and "blue hour" are fantastic times for photos. Blue hour is the brief period right after sunset, but before it's fully dark. The photo above was taken shortly after sunset.
As an added bonus for this location, the Manhattan Bridge can be photographed from here.
Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange
Wall Street and the area around the NYSE area can be a great place to capture the hustle and bustle of life in the city. The subway goes right to Wall St., so this is another area that is easy to get to. The photo below was taken from a set of stairs across the street from the NYSE.

New York Stock Exchange -- Wall Street
Rockefeller Center & Radio City Music Hall
The Rockefeller Center / Radio City area in midtown provides many great photo opportunities.
The photo below of the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink and Christmas Tree was taken during the holiday season in New York.

Rockefeller Center Ice Skating, NYC
This photo of Radio City Music Hall was taken from a tripod at 6th ave and 50th street.

Radio City Music Hall, NYC
This is the statue of Atlas at Rockefeller Center, with St. Patrick's Cathedral, taken from 5th ave between 50th and 51st streets.

Statue of Atlas, Rockefeller Center, NYC
The following is a street scene in the Rock Center area:

Rockefeller Center and Radio City, NYC
From this area, you can also take an elevator to the "Top of the Rock" observation deck which provides incredible views of the city.
Skyline from Gantry Plaza State Park
If you’re looking to a get a super-wide skyline shot, Gantry Plaza State Park right across the East River is a great place to do it. You can take the subway (#7 train or G train) to the park. The following NYC skyline photo was taken from Gantry Plaza State Park just after sunset during "blue hour".

NYC Skyline
South Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport is a fascinating place with endless photographic opportunities, from the pier to the ships to the river.

South Street Seaport, NYC
The photo below of the South Street Seaport was taken from the pedestrian walkway on the Brooklyn Bridge.

South Street Seaport, NYC
You can also take photos of the Brooklyn Bridge from the South Street Seaport. The following photo was taken from the Seaport during the "Waterfalls" art installation.

Brooklyn Bridge, "Waterfalls" art installation
Times Square
Times Square is of course one of the iconic locations in NYC. There are countless photo opportunities here, so take your time and explore.
In this more “abstract” shot, my goal was to capture the energy of Times Square. This was a panning shot...

Times Square Taxi, NYC
Grand Central Station
Grand Central Station is one of the major transportation hubs of New York City. 750,000 people pass through every single day! While tripods are not allowed to be set up in Grand Central, there is a short wall by one of the sets of stairs where you can rest your camera to take a long exposure such as the one below.

Grand Central Station, NYC
Empire State Building
There are many places to photograph the Empire State Building, which is located at 34th st and 5th ave. This photo is taken from Brooklyn through the structure of the Manhattan Bridge. You can also get great photos from up close, or from up high such as from the observation deck at “Top of the Rock”, Rockefeller Center.
This photo was taken with a telephoto lens from Brooklyn, near Brooklyn Bridge Park which was discussed above.

Empire State Building through Manhattan Bridge
Central Park
There are so many wonderful photo opportunities in Central Park.
One of my favorites is of “Literary Walk”.

Central Park, NYC
Bow Bridge on "The Lake" provides a peaceful scene to photograph, and is a great place to relax.

Bow Bridge, Central Park, NYC
The Ramble in Central Park is one of my most favorite places to go, both for photography and for relaxation. You wouldn't think you could find scenes like this right in the middle of NYC!

The Ramble, Central Park, NYC

The Ramble, Central Park, NYC
Some other great places to photograph in Central Park are:
* Central Park Boathouse on “The Lake”, where Venetian-style gondoliers transport guests over the lake
* The Great Lawn is a fantastic place to photograph people enjoying the outdoors
* Bethesda Fountain
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is a place where you can get great skylines and bridge photos. You get to Roosevelt Island via the Roosevelt Island Tramway, which is a short “gondola” ride over the East River. The following photo of the 59th Street Bridge and the Tramway was taken from Roosevelt Island facing Manhattan.

Roosevelt Island Tramway, NYC
The photo below of the East River was taken from the Roosevelt Island Tramway as it crossed the river.

East River Sailboats, NYC
Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, East Village
Washington Square Park is in the heart of the "Village" area of NYC. Walking west takes you right into Greenwich Village, while walking east takes you into the East Village. Both present great photo opportunities. The photo below is of the arch in Washington Square Park.

Washington Square Park, NYC
Columbus Circle
Columbus Circle is on the southwest corner of Central Park, and marks the beginning of the Upper West Side. The photo below is of the fountains in Columbus Circle.

Columbus Circle, NYC
Central Park Zoo
If you want to capture some wildlife photos, the Central Park Zoo provides plenty of opportunities. As you can see below, even the NYC monkeys are cool.

Central Park Zoo, NYC
Other Photo Opportunities
The locations presented above highlight some of the more popular photo opps. There are of course so many other opportunities in NYC, including the Statue of Liberty and the rest of the boroughs. The photos below are some additional images from around the city.
If you can get up high, you can capture fantastic photos of the rivers and skylines.

East River Sunrise, NYC
This is a photo of the skyline reflected in a wine glass.

NYC Skyline in Wineglass
This photo of lightning over the East River was taken from a tripod.

Lightning over East River, NYC
The following two photos of the Brooklyn Bridge were taken from from Brooklyn Bridge Park and from standing on the bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge, NYC

Brooklyn Bridge, NYC
And lastly, the sun sets over NYC.

NYC Sunset
There are so many photo opportunities in New York City, you can explore for a lifetime. I've provided just a sampling of photo opps as inspiration for you own photos, and to highlight some of the more popular locations.
For those looking to improve your photography, I've also created an app for iPhone / iPad / Android which teaches photography and how to get photos like these while you're out taking pictures. It's perfect for when you're traveling. Click here:
Photography Trainer for iOS and Android
Photography Trainer iPhone app
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Thanks for reading, and best regards,
Paul
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Copyright 2014, Paul Timpa