modusoptimus

Columbus Circle is usually full of traffic and crowds, but I managed to find it empty during this cold evening. The second picture is a view on Midtown business district from Helena building on west side.

I end the New York 2008 album with a more classical walk in the East Midtown. First we have the grungy skyscrapers at 57th St. and Park Av. with the odd steel pipe going up to the top of the building. The ovalloid Lipstick Building picture is a vertical panorama composed of four landscape pictures stitched together (maybe it’s time for an ultra wide lens?).

See also these white balloons completely fill the interior of a building on Park Avenue.

from Spider Man and myself… Both pictures were taken inside Sony Building (former AT&T Building) plaza. The Sony Christmas decoration is not a real tree but a high-tech version composed of many reflective balls together.

Rockefeller Center (just near my workplace) is a major tourist attraction especially during holidays when hordes of people wander in the area. The holiday decorations never change here: the twelve herald angels (since 1954) and the 70-80 feet tall Norwegian spruce.

After 4 years I have finally noticed the frieze above the main entrance of the GE Building done by Lee Lawrie. Half a block west we can see the huge Christmas tree decorations on 6th Avenue.

Since the new camera arrived, I have found more motivation to virtually take it anywhere with me. See the men at work at a construction site Midtown and a silhouette under the tree inside Time Warner Center.

The ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center during a snow storm…

After several months of decision making, I finally got the Nikon D700 with the 24-70 F2.8 lens. So far so good, it really shines in low light (as expected and seen on the web) and it is a lot better than my old Canon 350D (the only comparison I can make with) in most of the ways. The only downsides I can think of are price and weight. I also have some mixed opinions about automatic white balance in incandescent light which is more yellowish on Nikon and more on the red side on Canon and about JPG output which is too punchy trimming shadows and highlights (but the RAW files have full of details).

I took again a picture of the Christmas tree at the Trump Tower as the picture in the previous post and also an ISO 2500 picture inside St. Patrick’s cathedral.

The Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue is the setting for The Apprentice reality show. The lobby contains a seven-story waterfall.

Financial reporters from major television news networks deliver live updates from the Nasdaq Market Site Studio in Times Square. It’s time for “Fast Money” series which is broadcasted on CNBC at 5PM.

The US presidential election polls are not closed yet, but the Rockefeller Center has been transformed into the “Election Plaza”.