New York was good, although overall I think I preferred Chicago (possibly because I've been to NY before). For photography and sightseeing I think NY is a little disappointing - I went up the Empire State building, but the queue is deceptively long and when you get to the top it's very crowded so it's really difficult to get good photos. Also you can't see the biggest landmark in Manhattan because you're kinda... standing right on top of it, lol.
I was a lot more impressed by the "Top of the Rock" - you can go to the Observation deck of the Rockerfeller Center which has way shorter queues and a much better view. You get an unobstructed view of pretty much the whole city, including a great view of the Empire State and Central Park. I definitely recommend going there instead of the Empire State - there is a recessed top deck with no full-height railings or glass panels, which is ideal for taking photos. I went at sunset and got a few nice shots (I'll post a couple of them below), although I wish I'd brought my telephoto lens for some close-ups.
I also went on a boat tour which went around the whole of Manhattan - it's a great way to see the city (especially if you want to see the Statue of Liberty), although we got the 3hr tour which goes full circle and was kinda tl;dr because the last hour was mainly just getting back to the start point, the 2hr tour would have been better. Anyways, got some decent close-ups of the Statue of Liberty which is always nice.
One of the best things about NY is definitely the museums - I think it's fair to say NY boasts some of the best museums and art galleries in the world. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but if you're a bit of a geek like me there's a TON of stuff to see. The AMNH has an impressive collection of animal exhibits and although I generally think Modern Art is super pretentious/ridiculous, I though MoMA was well worth seeing.
So since getting back, I've been taking it easy, played a bit of the internet pokers and won a few hundo, but nothing that notable to speak of. Tomorrow I'm off to Cardiff which I'm really looking forward to, probs better go pack now and I'll post another update once I've settled in a bit.
- HappyPixel
4 comments:
Pixel- Where are you in UK? I'm going to Farnborough in January... You close by for a meet up?
Some good snaps there mayte, what camera do you use?
LOL at the word verification being "heater", maybe its an omen!
@ Poker Meister, I actually live really close to Farnborough although I'm currently at uni in Cardiff which is a lot further away. I should be back home over New Year though so will def be able to make it in early Jan
@ Pud, I have a Canon 500D - the first 2 photos were using my 50mm lens, the other 2 with my 18-55mm. I tweaked the colour balance a bit in Photoshop. Have fun with the heater, lol
Very cool. It looks like I'll be there around Jan 17-20th. Maybe we can hit up Empire in Leceister Sq? Do you know Amatay? He's the one who recommended that place, though I don't know anything about it.
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