Photographing New York City Skyline?

Question

I will be traveling to New York City in September and would like to do some sunset and night photography of the cityscape skyline from a distance.

I've never been to NYC before and don't know where to go. Can anyone point me to some specific areas that I can go to to photograph the city skyline that aren't too dangerous to be in at night?

Thank You

Answer 1

Hi.  If you want the sunset in the image, then I suggest Brooklyn because then you'll be facing west looking at the city.  The Fulton Ferry Landing is a safe beautiful spot; it's just south of the Brooklyn Bridge.  Here's a panoramic photo/video thingy of it: http://360vr.com/fultonlanding/

How to get there?  Well, this link is for a place right at the ferry landing called Bargemusic.  They had the best directions: http://www.bargemusic.org/directions.htm...

There is also a water taxi that goes directly to the ferry landing from Manhattan.  Their website is not the easier to understand -- having trouble myself and I live in NY!  Looks like they have a commuter schedule: http://www.nywatertaxi.com/commuters/eas... so, in the afternoon/evening they only go TO Brooklyn, so you'd have to find another way back.  But there's also a weekend tourist schedule that would take you both ways: http://www.nywatertaxi.com/schedule-popu...

It's definitely worth figuring out how to get there (you can always just take a taxi!).  I live a mile from the Ferry Landing and it is one of my favorite spots anywhere.  It's magic.  

EDIT: Oh, also: My favorite ice cream in the world is right there literally on the ferry landing -- The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.  And some of the best pizza in NY is steps away on Fulton St.  And the famous ritzy River Cafe is just a few feet north of the ferry landing.  Hope this isn't too much information.  It's just that this is pretty much my neighborhood and I've spent many many hours there.

Answer 2

if you go to the hudson river you get great lights to photograph and you get a really nice reflection on the river

another place is Weehawken,New Jersey

you get a panoramic skyline of midtown manhattan

Answer 3

Can't help you with "safe" places to go.

Can definitely help with the settings for the city skyline in the distance though. You will definitely need a tripod and a cable release. Referring to my FotoSharp (http://www.fotosharp.com) Day & Night Exposure Guide we see, for "City skyline in distance"

ISO 100

f4 @ 8 sec.

f5.6 @ 15 sec.

f8 @ 30 sec.

f11 @ 60 sec.

ISO 200

f4 @ 4 sec.

f5.6 @ 8 sec.

f8 @ 15 sec.

f11 @ 30 sec.

Floodlit buildings, fountains

ISO 100

f4 @ 1 sec.

f5.6 @ 2 sec.

f8 @ 4 sec.

f11 @ 8 sec.

ISO 200

f4 @ 1/2 sec.

f5.6 @ 1 sec.

f8 @ 2 sec.

f11 @ 4 sec.

As you can easily see there is no need for very high ISO settings or to shoot wide-open or to mess around with several different shutter speeds.

I recommend buying the Day & Night Exposure Guide.