While we were in New York City I took hundreds of photos capturing the city at different times of day during the holiday period. What I didn’t capture in photos, I captured in video for my live vlogging while in NYC. The below photos are from four days of exploring the city just before Christmas day, we used the Big Bus Company to get around for two days and the other days just walked or took the subway. It was a brilliant mix of how to explore the city although I totally missed out on capturing the iconic New York subway – which always gives me the chills no matter how many times I’ve rode it.
50 Photos of NYC
Times Square at 9am is very different to other parts of the day, it feels quiet and empty with the lights not dazzling you quite as much. Having visited at all times of day this early visit completely fascinated me.
Night time in Times Square is something you have to experience for yourself, it never feels dark and all those dazzling lights make you feel like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car.
Head south from the Empire State building and you’ll find the Flatiron Building but also perfect views of the Empire State against the rest of midtown Manhattan.
The New One World Trade Centre is also home to the footprints of the fallen towers and a memorial. The grounds feel very sombre with many people laying flowers and looking for loved ones names unfortunately the memorial is also a huge tourist attraction and there were a lot of people taking selfies by the waterfalls – something I felt was disrespecting.
Not all of the architecture is as impressive as the building above, in New York and some areas are becoming abandoned and run down. This is all to do with which areas are popular among the a-list celebrities and which areas used to be popular but are now being abandoned for ‘better’ areas. This corner of Chinatown certainly looks like it’s seen better days.
The Statue of Liberty in all her glory, despite two trips to NYC I am yet to take a trip across to her and experience just how big she is, up close – maybe next time.
Compared to my visit in September 2011 I found the Brooklyn Bridge to be much quieter at this time of year. I also found it as impressive as last time despite its iconic status, don’t forget to enjoy the view of the city from here too.
The High Line is a new area in New York City built on very old ground – the rail tracks of the meat packing train which stopped running in the 60’s and had become an abandoned part of the city. Instead of spending millions of dollars demolishing it all they choose to model a project in Paris and turn it into a park for the city.
Probably my favorite image of the city, this captures just how small you feel in this concrete jungle.
New York knows how to get dressed up for Christmas and there is no other iconic place to visit during this time than the Rockefeller Centre with its tall Christmas Tree and oversized decorations. The atmosphere here is magical but unfortunately the huge crowds that gather spoilt that for me a little. Go at night when the lights look more magical but go early if like me you can’t stand the crowds.
Photos of NYC via Instagram
Hope you’ve enjoyed these photos of NYC and have a real feel for how the city dresses up for Christmas but how other areas look no different all year round. Manhattan is an island full of surprises and New York continues to surprise me each time I visit.
Which photos are your favourite?
Tags: NYC Photo Essay Travel Inspiration USA
