People, please! Enough postcard shots. Get them at Google Images and Photoshop yourself. New York has more things to point your lens at per square block than some cities have, total. So, Weekend in New York asked nine prominent New York City-based photographers to recommend where to shoot the ultimate in vacation photos; you know, ones that people will actually want to look at.
THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM FOUNTAINS
“I believe they're musical, but who knows, maybe I was imagining the music. They spring up like bushes or trees or grasses, except they are water. They keep changing, very high or lower, and the children are allowed in to jump and squeal. You can spend a whole day there.”
SYLVIA PLACHY, whose “Out of the Corner of My Eye” is on exhibit at the PhotoEspaña festival in Madrid this month.
FIFTH AVENUE AND 57TH STREET
“Fifth Avenue is the most dynamic boulevard in the world. It's got high and low, rich and poor, models and bike messengers, an incredible array of humankind that flows like a river in both directions. As an artist, working in the one-thousandth of a second, I hone my instincts so I can try to see in the disappearing moment something that is worth holding onto forever.”
JOEL MEYEROWITZ, a Bronx native, was the rare photographer with full access to ground zero after the Sept. 11 attacks.
FORT TRYON PARK
“It has wonderful vantage points of the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge; you can look down on paths from overpasses above. Just an hour before sunset, the light is wonderful; it becomes muted and soft and pastel.”
LIBRADO ROMERO, a staff photographer for
The Times.
HELL'S KITCHEN
“O.K., it's changed a lot in the last 11 years since I've moved there, but it's still very much New York. I'm a little bit of a romantic guy: I love the old buildings and fire escapes, and you still have that here. Of course, I love taking pictures of people, because I am a person. I'd rather take a picture of my neighbor than of Madonna.”
BERND OBERMANN, whose “New York Moments” was published by daab in 2005.
THE NORTH END OF CENTRAL PARK
“Enter from West 100th Street, start at the Pool, go through the Loch, and come out at Lasker skating rink, or at the Conservatory Garden, or at the Blockhouse. If you walk that path, particularly in the morning, you will be pretty much alone. There is no gazebo, hot dog vendor, or anything there that reminds you of the city. You're in the silence of the wilderness. You are in the wilderness of your mind.”
BRUCE DAVIDSON, who had a new edition of his “East 100th Street” published in 2003 (St. Ann's Press), has an exhibition on Central Park at PhotoEspaña.
TRIBECA AT NIGHT
“Its very moody, very like Paris. I'm always wandering around at the wrong hours of the night or day. People who are a little bit reclusive and live in their own fantasy world like to come to TriBeCa because it's like the land of the invisibles. It's more sexy, more secretive here.”
DONNA FERRATO has documented domestic violence with three books, including her 1991 “Living With the Enemy” (reprinted by Aperture, 2000).
CONEY ISLAND
“People go out there to have a good time for the day. They picnic, they're loose, they're pretty cool, there's a lot of energy — and in early June the light is beautiful. I like the exodus from the subway to the beach, and coming back.”
BRUCE GILDEN, a Brooklyn native whose books include “A Beautiful Catastrophe” (powerHouse, 2005) and “Coney Island” (Trebuk, 2002).
THE SKATE CIRCLE IN CENTRAL PARK
“You've got all kinds of weirdos there, good music, and if you want to have a hot dog it's not far away. Nearby, in the Sheep Meadow, you have the background of the city, which is quite dramatic, and you have all these people with not many clothes on and it's a nice contrast.”
ELLIOT ERWITT, based in New York City since the 1950s, whose most recent book is “Personal Best” (Te Neues, 2006).
WANDER
“When I walk out, I very often have no idea which way I'm going, because it depends on the light, my mood, what errands I have to run. I'm looking for density of people. I don't go out and say I'm going to do this today. Whatever happens, happens.”
JAY MAISEL, a commercial photographer whose career has spanned four decades, will be giving workshops this summer across the nation, including at Santa Fe, N.M., and Rockport, Me.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Brooklyn Museum: No. 2 or 3 trains to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum.
Fifth Avenue and 57th Street: N, R or W trains to Fifth Avenue/59th Street or the E or V to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street.
Fort Tryon Park: The A train to 190th Street, then the elevator up to Fort Washington Avenue. (The M4 bus also goes there.)
Hell's Kitchen: A, C or E trains to 42nd Street/Port Authority or the C or E to 50th Street and Eighth Avenue and walk west.
TriBeCa: The No. 1 train to Canal or Franklin Streets, or the 1, 2, 3 or 9 to Chambers Street.
Central Park, West 100th Street entrance: The B or C to 96th or 103rd Streets.
Coney Island: D, F, N or Q to Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue.
