If you have your Picture This Photography Calendar this is your February 2024 image “View from the Top”
New York City comes alive in technicolour with the lights, noise, energy and excitement by night. There is no better night time view than from a rooftop or tall building viewing platform to soak in those New York Nights.
This image was captured from The Top of The Rock one summer evening during blue hour looking south downtown. The iconic Empire State Building stands proud in statement red front & centre with The Manhattan Bridge, Statue of Liberty & One World Trade lit up fighting for attention.
Top of The Rock has one of the best views of NYC & surrounding areas in my option as it is centrally positioned & has close-up views of The Empire State Building. It has multiple unobstructed viewing floors including the 70th floor open air roof deck of The Comcast Building at 30 Rock (former G E Building) at Rockefeller Plaza in the heart of Rockefeller Centre in Midtown.
North views of Central Park are regularly adjusted as Billionaires Row at 57th St grows its tall, thin, soulless glass pencil buildings. The GW Bridge can be seen on The Hudson and the gorgeous architecture of UWS & UES.
West views include Columbus Circle, Hudson Yards and the buildings of midtown including Bank of America’s Tower & Bank of China around Bryant Park. Amazing sunsets gives the skyline a firey horizon and the colours seen from the 70th floor are breath taking.
South views show the crazy density of buildings & the grid system of Manhattan. The Empire State Building is front & centre supported by One World Trade in Lower Manhattan and Summit, The Met Life & top of The Chrysler Building just in peripheral vision. By day, The Brooklyn & Manhattan Bridges can be seen connecting over The East River and Lady Liberty in the distance guarding over the city.
East shows One Vanderbilt at Grand Central and views over to Brooklyn & Queens across the river. The Met Life stands tall and The Chrysler sits behind proudly representing the Art Deco style. Look to The 59th St Bridge to draw your eye to Roosevelt Island and Queens.
Completed in 1933 it forms the centre piece of Rockefeller Centre. The Art Deco style is instantly recognisable. It is the 28th tallest building in NYC & 65th in The USA. When built in 1933 was the third tallest building in the world!
The main tenant in the building was The Radio Corporation of America from 1933 until 1988 when General Electric took over: the current owner is Comcast and it also houses the headquarters & studios of NBC
📷Location - Top of The Rock, Rockefeller Centre observation deck facing south
Time of Day- Early evening
Camera Settings- Long Exposure 1s, camera balanced on a wall (no tripods allowed) f/8 at 70mm to allow for lowest ISO
Insider Tip-Book for late afternoon viewing and stay for the sunset colours, wow!
See New York from a different view and fall in love with it all over and over again while breathing in “The View from the Top”