interior

All photos available for print and licensing >

The city that never sleeps offers so many amazing places to photograph. Whether you like architecture, interiors, or street photography, New York City is home to so many possible photo opportunities. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the possibilities, my biggest tip is to not plan so much in a day and take your time at each location. Each place is stunning and unique in its own way. It would be a shame to rush and miss some amazing experiences and photos. This probably means you should extend your stay now because NYC is honestly one of the best cities in the world.

So here’s my list of the 15 best places to photograph in New York City:

Central Park

A visit to New York is not complete without a stop at Central Park, and it is HUGE. This particular image was captured in Bethesda Terrace in Central Park and is just one part of the 1.3 miles long park that spreads across 51 city blocks. There’s also an ice skating rink, zoo, views of the city and so much more. If anything, grab some takeout and have a nice picnic on a park bench. There’s no other place in the city like it.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Close to Central Park is the Metropolitan Museum of Art also known as the Met. A place where celebrities dress up in wild costumes for the Met Gala once a year and where you can see one-of-a-kind art. One of the largest fine art museums in the world, The Met offers many fantastic photo opportunities inside the museum.

Times Square

New York City, Times Square, rain, reflection, the line, cartoon, japan, buildings, puddle, photographers, visiting times square, new york, travel, visit, camera settings, lights,

How can there be a list of places to photograph without Times Square? It’s a must-see when visiting the big apple, especially at night. It’s like the whole city lights up. I like to go after it rains. The reflections that are found can make your images really pop with color.

New York City, rooftop, times square, manhattan, visit, travel, rooftop bar, scenic, best pics, views, hyatt centric, lower manhattan, Chrysler building, rain, storm, clouds, buildings, architecture,

Or experience Times Square in a totally different way by visiting a rooftop. I created this from a hotel rooftop bar in Times Square. There are plenty of them, depending on what view you want to get but it can be absolutely breathtaking.

Click here to read more

All photos available for print and licensing >

The main reading room in the Library of Congress is only open to the public on two days out of the entire year. Once on President’s Day and the other on Columbus Day. So I took advantage of this 3 day weekend to try to visit it as soon as it opened. I ended up showing up about 30 minutes early and I was shocked to see that there was a huge line from the front door, going all the way down to the steps. I guess I wasn’t the only one who had the idea to show up early.

It was great though. I ended up running into a bunch of friends while I was wandering around the library. More images coming soon.

But this image was captured when I was standing on the second floor. You can’t really tell in this image, but right below is a staircase that leads you to an elevated view of the reading room. This is where you would go to see it on all the other days if you aren’t a student or government official.

My camera settings for this image are F5.6 at 1/25th sec and ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

All photos available for print and licensing >

Since the new year has started, I’ve been trying to go out with my camera as much as I can. I’m not sure what kicked my butt into high gear like this, but I’m grateful to live in a place where I can never get tired of exploring and documenting. In the past two weeks, I may have visited the Lincoln Memorial at least 5 times. Each time is different and I am still not tired of it.

But over the weekend, we had surprisingly beautiful weather. For the middle of January, I will take temps in the high 60s any day! So I was even more excited to be out with my camera. On Sunday morning, as I was walking towards the Lincoln Memorial, I got a text from my friend, Jarrett asking if I was out shooting. He had already been there for a while so he had already scoped out the scene. The rain we got Saturday evening left a huge puddle inside the Lincoln Memorial. After catching up a bit, Jarrett took me inside and my mind was blown by how clear and reflective the puddle was. I took a few shots and then had to ask Jarrett to step in for a few.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/4th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

All photos available for print and licensing >

 

Confused by what sights to see on your short visit to Washington DC?

There are so many monuments, memorials, and museums. Where do you even start?

If want to know the absolute best of the best things to see in Washington DC, keep on scrolling. This guide is for you!

I’ve lived in the Washington DC area my entire life and in that time I’ve gotten to know the city very well. It has changed so much in the past few years that it may be hard to keep up with all the new and fun things to see. Sometimes I even think it’s hard to keep up with all that is going on. There have been new museums, memorials and points of interest that would be fun for a solo traveler as well as families all at the same time.

So in this guide, I will share some highlights of my favorite sights as a Washington DC native and photographer.

My 7 Favorite Must-See Sights in Washington DC:

 

Click here to read more

All photos available for print and licensing >

Oh yea, and then there was that time Sue and I went to Spain. That was an amazing trip. It was my first time in Spain and I loved every minute of it. We were only in Barcelona and it was beautiful but I knew right from the beginning of planning the trip that I had to go to La Sagrada Familia. Just looking up images online, I was blown away. Seeing it in person, with all the detail was incredible. It’s one of those places that’s hard to describe because there are so many details to look at. The best was when the light came pouring into the stained glass windows and basically created a rainbows everywhere. If you ever find yourself anywhere close to Barcelona, you gotta check out La Sagrada Familia and the other buildings created by Gaudi. All of them are so unique and so interesting to look at.

So while we were in Barcelona, Sue, our friend Chonteau’ who was also in Spain with us made a pact to go back again once the completion of the La Sagrada Familia was complete. From that time we were there it was supposed to be 10 more years. So now technically 7 more years to go! LOL I wonder if I’ll still be blogging at that time. If I am, it would be so fun to look back on these images.

The funny part about it is that when we were making the pact, it was over bottle of wine on this rooftop bar we just randomly went to. We started pinkie promising our pact, but our waiter saw us and joined in on our pinkie promise. I know he didn’t know what we were promising to each other but it was funny because he wanted to get in on the action and turned our pinkie promise into a star.

My camera settings for this image is F5 at 1/6th of a sec at ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

 

All photos available for print and licensing >

One of my new favorite places in the world is the CEB Tower in Rosslyn, VA. I’ve found myself recommending it to people without them even asking. LOL thats how you know it’s a great place to be. Not only is there a great view of Washington DC, but the observation deck itself is very beautiful. The first time I visited, I was blown away by the interior and the windows, paneling, everything. It’s floor to ceiling windows and it’s just breathtaking at sunset.

But my favorite part is when you go outside to the little deck area and you’re literally standing 31 floors up in the air with nothing but beauty around you. That is what my friend, Albert was experiencing in this image. He’s sitting outside on the deck, posing for his own pictures when I saw him perfectly framed by the window panels while standing inside. It was right around sunset time so the sky was working in our favor as well. I love that he is being silhouetted by the colors.

So if you’re planning a visit to the CEB Tower, definietly enjoy the view but the interior is something to appreciate as well. Also, there’s a bar inside so what can be better than some nice views and a little drinky drink. You know what I’m saying? LOL.

My camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 1/15th sec at ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

By the way, currently working on the follow up to this blog post about sunrises in Washington DC with one about sunsets. Obviously the CEB Tower will be included, but if you have any other places that you think are good for sunsets in Washington DC, please let me know! I would love to add your input.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend 🙂