Check out johnwaller.co.uk for bigger and more pictures. Full travel report to follow shortly!

Day 1 - Times Square, Ellen’s Stardust Diner, Columbus Circle, Times Warner Center, Central Park, Wollman Rink, 5th Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Sy Katz Parade, Yum Yum Bangkok 3 

Day 2- Cafe Edison, Bryant Park, 5th Avenue, Flatiron Building, Madison Square Park, Chelsea, Empire Diner, B&H Photo, Macy’s, Madison Square Garden, New York Knicks, Empire State Building, John’s Pizzeria 

Day 3- Dean & Deluca, World Financial Center, Winter Garden, World Trade Center, Liberty Street, St Paul’s Chapel, Century 21, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, Charging Bull, Staten Island Ferry, Statue of Liberty, The View, Avenue Q 

Day 4- Brooklyn Diner, Central Park, Checkers Pavilion, Bow Bridge, The Boathouse, Guggenheim Museum, 5th Avenue, Carnegie Deli, Top of the Rock, Rainbow Room, Bubba Gump Shrimp 

Day 5- Dean & Deluca, Stonewall Inn, Bleecker Street, Soho, Tribeca, MOMA Design Store, China Town, Grand Sichuan, Brooklyn, River Cafe, DUMBO, Grimaldi’s, Brooklyn Bridge 

Day 6- Bryant Park, Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, Whispering Gallery, UN Headquarters, Museum of Modern Art, Wollman Rink, Hudson Bar, The Plaza, LOVE Statue, Gordon Ramsay at The London 

Day 7- FAO Schwarz, Tiffany & Co., MOMA Design Store, Times Square, Home… 

Galleries – Check out the full New York galleries 

Gear Guide – Details of the equipment used to take these photographs 

Day 1

Having flown direct from Edinburgh to Newark with Continental, we had no problems jumping straight into a taxi which took us to Manhattan and what would be our home for the next six days, the Paramount Hotel, just off Times Square. We chose to stay right next to Times Square because it seemed to be the most central and convenient location for exploring the whole of Manhattan and as a base for first-time tourists we did think it was ideal.  

We checked in to the hotel, dumped our bags and came straight back out for a wander. We had toyed with the idea of doing the hop on/hop off bus tour to try and get our bearings but it turned out to be a really warm, beautiful day so we decided to walk instead. Spent a while in Times Square just standing looking all around us and trying to take everything in – there was just so much to look at! We spent the afternoon doing a bit of a loop up to Columbus Circle and the Time Warner Center, along through the very bottom of Central Park (seeing the Wollman Rink with the low lying clouds covering the skyscrapers in the background was amazing) and back down 5th Avenue, passing by the Rockefeller Center and back to Times Square. Stopped at Ellen’s Stardust Diner for lunch (food ok, cheesy obviously but a great laugh and the singing waitstaff were very entertaining). 

First impressions of the city were absolutely fantastic - we loved the buildings, the bustle and the park was beautiful (it was nice to see that some leaves were still on the trees displaying their amazing autumnal colours). As we neared 5th Avenue it was getting dark and the streets and shop windows were all lit up and gorgeous – exactly how we imagined and hoped it would be. We just loved it and were so excited to finally be on holiday and in New York! 

Outside St Patrick’s Cathedral a band were getting ready to start a parade so we hung around for a bit to see them. It turned out to be Cornell University Sy Katz Parade, which was fascinating to watch. I know this sounds hugely stereotypical but to us it was all very ‘American’ - the red band uniforms, the cheerleaders, the baton-twirlers and the flags – I really can’t imagine a similar parade by the uni we went to (Glasgow)! Then, most bizarrely, I noticed that one of the band members was wearing a kilt with his uniform. I caught his eye and realised it was actually a friend of ours from uni who, it turns out, is at Cornell doing a Masters and, apparently, playing in the marching band… bizarre! 

We were getting pretty tired with the time difference and relatively early start so decided to stay close to the hotel for dinner, headed along Restaurant Row and up 9th Avenue hoping to find somewhere quick and easy for a bite to eat. Ended up in Yum Yum Bangkok 3, a busy little Thai place where I had PenangCurry with Shrimp (as it seems to be called in the US) and John had Chicken Peanut Curry. Food was good and exactly what we needed that night. Home to bed around 10pm ready for our ‘proper’ first day…! 

Day 2

Not surprisingly we woke up pretty early and were keen to get out and about as soon as possible. Looking back on it this wasn’t one of our fuller days as the main focus was on getting to Madison Square Garden for the Knicks game at night, although we still managed to see quite a lot. We had breakfast at Cafe Edison and both loved it – it was busy and loud, pretty retro and we sat at the counter reading the Sunday papers and watching everything that was going on around us. Huge portions, John had banana & walnut pancakes and I had amazing eggs benedict. 

We walked to Bryant Park and watched the skaters for a bit, tried to see the public library but it was closed and then continued down 5th Avenue. We passed Lord & Taylor and the Empire State Building (which we were intending to come back to later) and got some interesting photos of the shop windows and also of some old-school murals on the side of one of the buildings there. Continued down to the Flatiron Building which is so iconic and, in my mind, a real ‘New York’ image. Spent a bit of time in Madison Square Park, mainly looking at the little tree-houses there. Have since googled these and found that they are an art installation by Tadashi Kawamata – we liked them. 

Time just seemed to pass us by as we wandered through Chelsea, we had no real timetable for that day and enjoyed just being out walking together and taking in the neighbourhoods we passed through. Things had been a bit crazy at work in the run up to our holiday so it was lovely to just have absolutely no commitments! We had lunch at the Empire Diner (chicken quesadillas and a BBQ burger for John) then headed up to B&H Photo. He loved it and spent ages looking at the (slightly better than his) Nikons! Bought a few bits and pieces (including a large gorillapod which was a great thing to be able to carry about with us for the rest of the week rather than having to lug a tripod about, well worth it) and then across to Madison Square Garden. Decided to pick up our tickets while we were passing in case there were bigger queues later, then coffee and a browse in Borders and Macy’s. 

We headed back across to the Garden about an hour before the game started and the doors opened just after. This was one of the real highlights of our trip! I’m not hugely into sports but John was pretty keen on basketball when he was younger and we both thought it would be a good atmosphere – and it really was. There was loads to see in the forty minutes or so before the game started - players warming up etc. and we both bought t-shirts (which we changed into) and a big foam hand. We had beers and hotdogs and cheered and chanted our way through the whole game – we probably looked like total tourists but unashamedly so, we had a total laugh and a great night! Magic Johnson was there which was pretty cool. The Knicks were leading all the way through the game then threw it away to the Dallas Mavericks in overtime - gutting but hey, it was a great experience. 

After the game we went up the Empire State Building, obviously knowing it would be dark but it seemed a sensible time to do it given we were in that area and we’d already decided to do the Top of the Rock at sunset time another day. It was pretty special but if I’m honest I preferred TOTR overall (and the pictures were better there) but there’s something about the ESB too, I guess the fact that we’ve seen it in so many movies and on TV all the time. There were no queues at that time and we managed to go straight up – it was still busy (and exceptionally cold) at the top though. 

Walked back to Times Square and went to John’s for pizza for supper – both very impressed – then back to the hotel. 

Day 3

Ate a quick muffin for breakfast at the Dean & Deluca in our hotel and then out to Times Square for our morning photo opportunity – by now we were in a bit of a routine which involved me standing with a coffee trying not to freeze while John stood for 20 minutes every morning desperate to get the right light/traffic/people for the perfect Times Square shot. It was, of course, worth it when he did…! 

We took the subway to Chambers Street and had a walk in the area around the World Financial Centre, there were lovely views across the water (including the Statue of Liberty in the distance) and we also liked the winter garden. We also walked round a bit of the World Trade Centre site - in some ways it felt like it was wrong of us, a couple of tourists on their holidays, to be there but then at the same time it is of course a living, working area. Construction is underway and it was interesting to read about the plans for the new development. We passed a fire station on Liberty Street which had a bent and battered street sign on display as well as a memorial to the firemen from that station who died in the attack – it was extremely moving. We also went into St Paul’s Chapel which was really interesting and again very moving. Obviously we’re all aware of and have seen the media images of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the towers coming down and the amazing job done by the rescue workers but I hadn’t ever thought in any detail about the role of the many volunteers supporting them. 

After St Paul’s we popped into Century 21 as I wanted to buy some sunglasses (the weather while we were there was exceptionally cold but lovely, bright sunny winter days which was just perfect). My word, never again… How anyone can spend longer than 5 minutes in that place is beyond me. I’m sure there are some bargains to be had but it was just so busy and untidy! Didn’t buy anything in the end. I’ve seen this place described as TK Maxx on acid – fantastic description! 

We then walked along Broadway to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. We both found this whole area really interesting, I think because we’ve spent time working in the City and it was cool to see how the two financial areas compare. Have to admit though, it made a nice change not to be one of the people running for a quick sandwich on their lunch break! Instead we had lunch in a bar nearby and then headed across to Bowling Green to see the Charging Bull- very impressive and we love the fact that the artist, Arturo Dimodica, just dumped it in secret in the middle of the night! Then on to the Staten Island Ferry for amazing views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty from the water. 

Back to Times Square on the subway and bought tickets at the TKTS booth for Avenue Q – we had talked about maybe seeing a show but had no ‘must sees’ so decided to be spontaneous and if it fitted in, great. In the end we went for Avenue Q as I thought John would enjoy that more than a ‘regular’ musical and it was a great choice as it was absolutely hilarious. We both loved it, bought the CD and have been singing the songs pretty much constantly since we got home! 

Before it started we had time for a quick drink at The View - a revolving bar and restaurant in the Marriott Hotel - and a bite to eat (oh, and John grabbed a couple of night shots of Times Square!). After the musical we had had great plans of going to a piano bar but in the end we were just shattered and headed straight back to the hotel. Incidentally this scenario was repeated every night for the rest of the week and I’m sorry to say we never ever made it to our piano bar – but hey, it’s as good a reason as any to come back! 

Day 4

Had a big breakfast today at the Brooklyn Diner- chocolate chip pancakes for me and John had eggs and bacon with polenta (really enjoyed that incidentally). It was fairly expensive for a breakfast but the food was really good. We then walked up 5th Avenue to Central Park and spent the morning wandering around it. The sun was strong and it felt much warmer in the park than anywhere else. More leaves had come off the trees since our first day but there were still some very pretty colours. We saw a wedding taking place with the lake in the background. Highlights in the park were the checkers pavilion, the Bow Bridge and just the way it all looked in the beautiful light – we felt very lucky with the weather. 

We stopped for hot chocolate at The Boathouse and then continued up the east side of the park, past the Hans Christian Andersen and Alice sculptures. We came out onto 5th Avenue and walked past the Met up as far as the Guggenheim, purely to see the building as we both really like it and John wanted to get some shots in the lobby. Museum wise, we had decided just to go into MOMA on this trip so we then made our way back down 5th to the bottom of the park (we seriously underestimated how far that was - don’t think we’d realised how far we’d travelled while happily strolling in the park but we did feel it when walking down a long, straight street!). We had a late lunch at Carnegie Deli which we’d been recommended by a friend – we liked it and it was interesting to try the food (chicken soup with matzo balls and an enormous pastrami and corn beef sandwich) but I’m not sure I would rush back. 

Next was Top of the Rock which was just amazing – the whole experience is very swift and efficient (no queues) and the views are incredible. On one side you can see the whole of the park laid out in front of you (and I do think this is only way to really appreciate the scale of it) and on the other you have the Midtown skyline with the Empire State Building standing out and the Statue of Liberty off in the distance – very beautiful. We had timed it so that we could watch the sun go down from up there and took literally a million photos – although I have to admit I kept popping back down to the indoor observation level as it was absolutely freezing… Lovely to see the city in the changing light though. 

Friends had said we absolutely had to go to The Rainbow Room for a drink so we popped in there - the views are good although a little obstructed from where we were sitting and the drinks are very expensive – not unexpected, but still… We both agreed that it was nice and we had a nice time there but if you’re looking for a drink with an outlook I would go to The View out of those two. 

By now it was pretty late but we (well, I…) had wanted to go skating so we walked back to Central Park to try and do that. I know we could have done it right there at the Rockefeller Center but I had fallen in love with the Wollman Rink earlier in the day so we decided to head back there. Unfortunately the rink was closed for a private function and only opened to the public the next night so we just watched for a bit (took photos, surprise surprise…) and enjoyed the atmosphere. 

Again pretty tired by this time so had a quick dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp and then back to the hotel. I’m not sure if Bubba Gump Shrimp is a US chain (it certainly felt like it could be) but it was a bit of a novelty to us and the food wasn’t bad - cheap and cheerful and it was fine for what it was. No piano bar again – I think on the whole we did less at night than we had thought we would but we walked so much during the days that we were ready for bed at the back of 10 most nights. It was worth it though and meant we were ready to go again the next day… 

Day 5

We had another quick Dean & Deluca breakfast and then jumped on the subway down to Christopher Street. We wandered around there for a bit, unexpectedly seeing Stonewall Inn which was interesting and then walked down Bleecker Street towards Soho and Tribeca. We spent the morning just walking around, checking what any interesting buildings were in our guidebook and doing a bit of shopping. In Soho we spent quite a bit of time in the MOMA Design Store which we both really loved – we’d gone there because John wanted a particular type of watch which they apparently stocked. They didn’t have it in the Soho branch (although we did eventually buy it on our last day in the shop which is actually opposite MOMA) but what a find, we could have bought the entire shop! Lots of really interesting and quirky home and gift type items. We could have spent far longer in these areas and would like to have been there at night as well – another thing to come back for. 

We continued down to Chinatown and walked along Canal Street – this was one area which I wished I’d done a bit more research on as our guidebook wasn’t great and I knew we were probably seeing the tourists’ Chinatown but anyway, it was still interesting . A little tacky but again I would put that down to us being on the tourist trail. We had lunch at a little place called Grand Sichuan - we weren’t convinced when we sat down but it was busy, it was freezing outside and we were starving… and the food (aside from the Pork Dumplings….) ended up being very good - a great find! 

The subway took us across to Brooklyn where the first thing we did was stop for a glass of wine at the River Cafe. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to just go in for a drink but we asked and they said it was no problem. It was after lunch time and there were only a couple of tables finishing up so I think that helped – I’m not sure if you could do it at a peak-time though. 

We wanted to spend a bit of time in DUMBO so John could take photos of street scenes and graffiti and I had been under the impression that there would be quite a bit around there. Not sure where I picked that up from or if we were just on the wrong streets as it wasn’t quite what I expected but was still a really interesting area to see. 

We headed to the start of the bridge for some daytime views (and photos…) then back down to the waterfront to watch the sun go down. This would have been an absolutely lovely way to spend an hour if it wasn’t so absolutely baltic so in the end we gave up and went to Grimaldi’s for a pizza – perfect! Both loved the food and there was no problem at all getting a table at that time although it wasn’t exactly peak lunch or dinner time. We then went back up to the bridge and walked across to Manhattan – it was just gorgeous, what a view. The bridge itself is amazing too, never mind the backdrop, and it was well worth doing. 

We took the subway back to Times Square with a view to dropping off our shopping at the hotel and making our second attempt to skate in Central Park. Once we were back at the hotel we made the fatal mistake of having ‘a quick lie down’…. and woke up in the middle of the night fully clothed, having both fallen sound asleep at about 8.30pm. We were annoyed at ourselves for basically wasting a night of our trip but then again, we had walked miles and obviously needed it. Felt like some wee old couple though who couldn’t hack the pace! 

Day 6

Our last full day… Trying not to think about that, we headed along to Bryant Park with a view to seeing the library this time (although it wasn’t to be, we clearly should learn to check opening hours…) and then Grand Central Station- what a building. We were both hugely impressed - the architecture itself is obviously lovely but it was more the combination of the building, the ceiling, the atmosphere and the fact that it’s such a hub that made it fascinating. Spurred on by Griff Rhys Jones we talked to each other across the whispering gallery – very cool. 

We continued down to the UN Headquarters (stopping to gaze at the Chrysler Building which I absolutely love) and took the public tour there: this was something we hadn’t really intended to do but thought we may as well as we had time for it and it turned out to be really interesting. I’d been to the UN in Geneva previously and it was good to be able to compare the two. There was a session going on in the main chamber so we got to see some of that as well. 

We grabbed some lunch at an Irish pub on the way back to 5th Avenue and then headed up to MOMA, stopping first in the design store across the street. There was great excitement as we discovered they sold the brand of watches John was looking for although typically it proved to be too big a decision for that moment in time and we left ‘thinking about it’… (Clearly just so we could go back there – his favourite shop – the next day…) MOMA was good although much of the photography section (the main attraction for us) was taken up with an exhibition on printing techniques. Not that it wasn’t interesting but just not what we’d expected. Overall though it was very good. 

Up to the Wollman Rink in Central Park where we (finally!) managed to get our skates on and dazzle the crowds with our ice-dance routines. Or, in reality, spend half an hour trying not to fall flat on our faces in the presence of the eight year old figure skaters and ice hockey players whizzing past us… Such a beautiful location to do it though. We had to stop for a warm apple cider halfway through and the lights in the buildings were all starting to come on – just gorgeous. Really glad we persevered and managed to skate eventually as it was a total laugh if nothing else! 

We headed back to the hotel to change for dinner (via the Hudson for a drink) as we had reservations at Gordon Ramsay at The London. This was, again, based on a friend’s recommendation and was the only table we booked in advance. It was our last night and we wanted to make the most of it so got a taxi to The Plaza first of all for drinks. The main reason we wanted to go there (other than the fact that it’s the Plaza!) was that a friend had got married there some years ago and we’d heard many tales of that trip. We had drinks in the Oak Bar which was really lovely - there was a pianist and the place was pretty much full so the atmosphere was great. Drinks were expensive (as expected) but it was a lovely place to go when we were all dressed up and a great start to the evening. 

We walked from there to The London (passing the LOVE statue by chance) and were taken straight to our table. We absolutely loved it, from start to finish. We had the tasting menu which is 7 courses (plus amuse bouches and a choice from the bon bon trolley with coffee) and a nice bottle of red so suffice to say we practically rolled home a few hours later… Highlights were the scallops with braised veal cheeks, the sablefish, the main courses in general (I had the duck and John had the beef) and also the pumpkin panna cotta – but it was all excellent. Service was impeccable and while it’s obviously an expensive night out, it was worth it and a lovely way to end our trip. 

Day 7

Well, we did have a few more hours to enjoy… Today was to be our shopping day so we started off at FAO Schwarz and then continued down 5th Avenue. We only had a couple of shops we really wanted to go into, namely Tiffany & Co. and – as expected – the MOMA Design Store, but we browsed in a couple of others. We had had a running joke ever since we booked our trip that if a boy takes a girl to New York, it’s the law that he buys her something in a little blue and white box while they’re there… John had been very good at going along with this at home and to be fair, didn’t flinch at all when I excitedly pointed it out on our first day! Well I can’t complain at all as I left with a beautiful diamond necklace which has been round my neck constantly since we got home and reminds me of our wonderful trip every time I touch it. Cheesy, but true. He also got the much-thought about watch in the MOMA Design Shop so we both headed back to the hotel extremely happy. 

A quick stop on Times Square for some ‘I heart NY’ t-shirts (well, who doesn’t buy them….) and then a final pizza at John’s. We headed to the airport in our taxi exhausted, elated, refreshed and even more in love with NYC than we’d expected to be. It was a fabulous trip and we can’t wait to go back. 

Galleries

The images above are only a selection of the thousands of photos I took while in New York. You can see my full collection on my johnwaller.co.uk site. I’ve split them into two galleries – Part I shows the ‘classic’ New York shots, whereas Part II shows an alternative view. Please stop by and have a look around! 

Gear Guide

All of the shots above and in my New York galleries were taken with the following equipment: 

Camera: 

• Nikon D200

Lenses: 

• Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 G DX AF-S IF-ED
• Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6 D AF VR
• Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM

Other: 

• Sandisk 8GB Extreme III Compact Flash Card (x2)
• Gorillapod SLR-ZOOM
• Nikon AH-4 Leather Hand Grip
• Fingerless gloves – essential!

The shot itself was taken at the square beside the National Galleries of Scotland – a popular spot for street performers during the festival. This man wasn’t part of festival though – just an onlooker who was really enjoying the music. I found him much more entertaining though so focused my shots on him!

The Edinburgh Festival is the biggest arts festival in the world so there is something there for everyone. There’s always a great atmosphere when the festival is on and perfect if you’re into street photography. I always try and get out at least a couple of times when the festival is on (it’s basically on for the whole of  August) but that’s not always possible. Looking forward to this year’s one!

It’s amazing how time slows down when you’re absolutely freezing and today’s experience reminded me how hard you’ve got to work sometimes to get a good night shot. In my opinion, the best night shots are single exposures taken at the exact moment the ambient light from the sky and the artificial light from the street lights (or whatever other source of light there is) are perfectly balanced (see another couple of examples here and here). And that, unfortunately, often necessitates a long wait in the cold which my girlfriend can certainly testify to! I’ve posted below a variety of frames from this evening of the same scene to show what happens to the overall exposure of a shot as the sun goes down and how it’s easy to think, prematurely, that the best light has passed.

3:42pm (Nikon D200 @ 55mm, 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100)

3:55pm (Nikon D200 @ 55mm, 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200)

4:05pm (Nikon D200 @ 55mm, 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 280)

4:15pm (Nikon D200 @ 55mm, 1/30 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200)

4:25pm (Nikon D200 @ 55mm, 1/5 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200)

4:34pm (Nikon D200 @ 55mm, 1/3 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200)

As you can see from the shots, the lighting isn’t very interesting at 3:42pm but at 3:55pm and 4:05pm you’ve got some nice colours. You could perhaps walk away at this point as you’ve got (with a little photoshop tweaking) a half decent sunset silhouette image. It’s then very easy to wait another ten minutes, at 4:15pm, and think that the colours are disappearing so it’s definitely time to pack your bags. But I wouldn’t always be in such a hurry to do that.

As you’ll know, in this situation I was getting a silhouette of the buildings because I was shooting towards the sun (which was bright) but the sun was too low to light up the foreground (which was dark). That makes sense. However, as the sun went down even further, my exposures were getting longer and so I was starting to get some colour back into the sky and, more importantly, the foreground. This period doesn’t last for long though and so you’ve got to make sure you don’t miss your chance. The images at 4:25pm and 4:34pm (which is the one my final image is based on) are both nice and you get a good balance of ambient and artificial light. The final image I took at 4:45pm (which isn’t posted) came out ok but the sky was starting to get too dark so it was time to pack up my gear and get the blood circulating in my hands again.

Night photography is difficult and quite frustrating at times, particularly since an outing will (for me at least) usually only end up with you being able to capture one scene where you get those lovely colours in the sky that long(er) exposures can produce. Once you miss that you’ve got to start thinking about multiple exposures and/or HDR images (for example, have a look at this one). Otherwise your shots will probably have black skies in them (which is not to say that they won’t be nice).

So, the moral of the story when you’re after that perfect night shot is to wrap up warm and be patient. Unfortunately, that’s easier (and less painful) said than done!