art museum

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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

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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.

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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.

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One of the benefits of living in the DC area is being able to do quick little weekend getaways to New York. It’s only 4 hours away but a totally different atmosphere and vibe than living in the Capital City.

A few weeks ago, Andrew and I spent a nice weekend in New York City. It was one weekend where we didn’t have any plans and just wanted to spend some time to ourselves. It was so great. But this trip was no different than any other place we go to. Meaning, I planned all our activities while Andrew planned all the food we eat.

Since neither one of us had ever been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I figured this was the perfect time to go. We don’t go to museums often as a couple so since I was the person planning, we were going to go to an art museum 🙂

We spent a good 3 hours in the museum, taking our time to go through all the exhibits. It was beautiful, a little overwhelming and kind of confusing. The museum is huge! And to get from one wing to the other, there can be a lot of backtracking. Or at least we had to. Maybe we just weren’t doing it right. But we both agreed that our favorite exhibit was the Egyptian ones. It was so cool seeing the hieroglyphics in real life. I mean you learn about them in school all the time, but it’s just so much more impressive when you actually see it carved in these massive temples and coffins.

My camera settings for this image are F2.2 at 1/500th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 35mm prime lens.

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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:

 

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Whenever people ask me about places to photograph in Washington DC, I always have to ask follow up questions because there is just so much to see in our little city. If you wanted sunsets, visit the National Mall. If you want cool interiors, visit the Library of Congress. If you want to know my favorite museum? It’s is hands down the National Gallery of Art. I think it is one of the most beautiful spaces we have in the district. Every time I walk in, I feel so refreshed and so excited about what I’m going to see.

The gallery is so large that it is actually divided into two separate buildings and my favorite is definietly the east building. There you’ll see the more modern art, it’s the side of the gallery that changes out more often, but I also love the BEAUTIFUL light you get through the windows while you’re walking around the concourse. And of course, you can’t forget that NGA wall! It’s a staircase that is just so beautiful and minimal, it’s been photographed a million times. But each time I see an image from here, it’s like I forgot how beautiful it is and fall back in love.

And if you do get a chance to visit the gallery, don’t forget to check out Multiverse by Leo Villareal. It’s a moving walkway that sort of connects the East and the West but it’s will probably be the coolest moving walkway you’ve been on. NOTHING like what you see in airports. HAHA.

I really wish I could have included museums in Snap DC. This would have been the very first place I would have mentioned to go visit. I just can’t express how much I love the National Gallery of Art.

My settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/8th of a second at ISO 100 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

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A little break from cherry blossoms for a photo of me 🙂 LOL

I was with my family at the National Museum of Natural history the other day when I decided to take a little breather and go for a quick walk around the National Gallery of Art. I love how these two museums are right next to each other because they are my favorites at the National Mall. It’s so easy to hop from one beautiful museum to the next.

I love the purple wisteria that grow along side of NGA and I had every intention of capturing them on my walk. I only saw a couple of them so I think I was a bit too early for that this year. But in a surprising turn of events it was the glass pyramids outside the east building that caught my attention. I’ve never paid too much attention to them before but when I got closer up to them, I noticed how they are the windows that bring in so much light to the cafeteria part of the gallery. Right next to them are water fountains that trail down to the interior of the building. It was so cool. So as I was kneeling down low to try to capture different angles, I noticed my reflection in the pyramids and decided to take a quick selfie.

I was really surprised by the way that it turned out. First of all, I had no idea that there were so many water stains on the glass. LOL. But for being such a quick click, I really like how it turned out. I imagine this is what I look like to most people when I’m out shooting so it was a very different perspective to see me like this. Pretty, pretty interesting. LOL.

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1/80th of a second at ISO 200 with my Sony a7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

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A couple of weeks ago, I was planning on meeting a friend for a quick get together. Something informal but still fun. So when it came down to picking the place to meet, I chose the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art. For real, if you’re in the DC metro area and you need a good place to talk, I’d definietly recommend this place. We sat at the benches right around the water fountain under some shade and it was perfect. The meeting ended quickly and I still had time on my parking meter so I decided to walk around the National Gallery of Art for a little bit.

The East Wing has always been my favorite. It’s the modern art part of the gallery and every time I go, I fall more and more in love with this space. It is just so beautiful. The light that comes in through the glass roof in the middle of the day along with all the shadows they create are so amazing. Just every corner of this wing is spectacular.

It has come to the point where I come to the gallery so often that I never try to see it all at once. I’ll pick a floor and take my time there. Really soaking in everything the exhibit has to offer. Then I’ll probably go to the rooftop terrace if it’s a really nice day and then head home. I never feel rushed and it makes it feel brand new every time I visit if I see something new. Regardless, it’s always inspiring and a great way to spend an hour or so.

The settings for this image is F7/.1 at 1/125th of a second ISO 160. Obviously it was a nice and sunny day out so I was able to capture everything with a low ISO.