Where to shoot car trails near NYC?

Does anyone know a good spot to shoot car trail lights in the NY/NJ metro area?

puggle wrote in post #17949803
Does anyone know a good spot to shoot car trail lights in the NY/NJ metro area?

Seriously?

Man, with the traffic there is in that area I would think you'd have your choice of thousands of good places.

saea501 wrote in post #17950378
Seriously?

HA, agreed!

Just walk outside your hotel room and you'll find car and foot traffic within seconds!

I bet the poster is looking for a special spot with awesome background or for ground. Street scenes are boring. Traffic outside your building has been done a million times.

ericcrazyman wrote in post #17950569
I bet the poster is looking for a special spot with awesome background or for ground. Street scenes are boring. Traffic outside your building has been done a million times.

.....but car light trails are so new and unique.

ericcrazyman wrote in post #17950569
Street scenes are boring. Traffic outside your building has been done a million times.

everything in photography has been done "a million times" every photogenic scenery in New York has been done "a million times"

"boring" is subjective!

1. Yes, it's been done a million times, but I've never shot one and wanted to try. So has photographing El Capitan, or Arches, but people still go there and enjoy photographing them, right?

2. I don't plan on renting a hotel room in NYC to do this. I live in central NJ and I'm pretty sure there are photographers here that know great locations in this area, that have views of traffic locations that would be great to photograph, and are happy to help. And, offer no judgmental criticism of my intention to try.

3. Yes, I'm looking for a good spot with a good background. Thank you!

4. Car trails are not unique. Boring. Done a million times. So, we should ban all photography of car trails from now on, because you're all right, it's not unique.

5. What's the purpose of this Forum? Share knowledge or be ridiculed?

6. I'm not looking to win any awards, or get pats on the back for shooting brilliant photographs. I just want to learn, enjoy photography, and try things I have not done before. Am I in the wrong forum for that?

What is this forum for?

puggle wrote in post #17951891
What is this forum for?

The forums are for learning and sharing about photography; but, it IS on the internet and you're always going to get a few folks that aren't particularly helpful. One thing you may want to do is duck over into the automotive discussion forums. The actual "car guys" might be able to give you a few more, useful pointers. Don't let a few folks push you away from the overall crew here, man.

I'd also suggest that you post these types of questions in the Discussion forums rather than the photo sharing forums; that will tend to get better responses, as well. I know nothing at all of the area really, but I'd start with some purely iconic places and then sort out your own "special" locations later. Times Square, etc...or, if NY/NJ have any major interchanges, with skylines in the b/g, go shoot those. The I-5/I-90 interchange here in Seattle is one of the most heavily photographed locations in the state; e.g this shot from Wikipedia

Good luck,
-E

PS. Will request a Mod move this to the discussion forums for ya

Thanks, good advise and greatly appreciated.

Please forgive for posting in the wrong section, that was my error.

A couple locations came to mind. First one is Times Square on top of the stairs (above the ticket counters) and second is near the Flatiron building (you can have either the Flatiron bldg or Empire state as the background). Good luck!!!

Thanks! Good idea! I'm thinking, something more along a highway, interchange or clover leaf, so that you see lots of lights around curves.

I also thought the Helix by the Lincoln Tunnel might be a good spot, but I don't know exactly where I can do this.

Open to specific locations, if you or anyone knows one

Lincoln tunnel helix is hard because most of the curve is elevated. No surprisingly, close access is going to be hard and if you have a lot of gear its going to be hard not looking suspicious, especially with the recent world events.

On the lincoln map, I identified two areas which are elevated enough so that you can get shots of cars. the "nice houses" should actually be alittle more to the left. I accidentally put it on the riverfront properties. I havent been up there myself, and assume that the best views are in some rich people's yards, so you might not have access, but would give you the best vantage for sunset/dusk and car trails. The "cliff" site in weekhauken looks down on the entire helix. the "soccer field" is for the high school. there may be some pedestrian access around there.


George Washington has no curves, but some interesting vantage point. "palisades park" is a park leading from the cliff to the river edge with a road that goes through it (henry hudson drive). You can get some nice under the bridge shots. morning sunrise could be included with cars from the right angle. "high rises" are some buidlings that have to have a great view of traffic. Wont see much from ground level. GW brdige also has a bike path so you could just walk out and shoot some close ups.

From new york side, I do not know the fort washington area well enough to help. I used to live on top of the lincoln tunnel entrance. again need access to bulding and you would be getting more looking down on traffic shots. (i used to get calls to give live traffic updates and best way to approach the tunnel).

Just depends on what you are looking for, but there are definitely some shots to be had.

Thank you! Excellent, and I appreciate this.

I like the Lincoln Tunnel idea, and it may be worth a scouting trip to that area. Perhaps somewhere from Park Ave., above, looking down at the helix.

I'm not sure about the GW bridge, though. A good friend has photographed it a lot from the Jersey side, and I never saw a shot that I liked. It's just a tough area, the entrance is congested with roads, and it will be hard to find a good, safe place to setup and shoot from. Down below, there's no view for car trails. I am familiar with it, living in NJ and have driven over the bridge hundreds of times. It would be very tough to photograph from on top the bridge, the vibration will prevent any long exposures from working out. I've shot a lot from waling accross the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, and the vibration is too much for long exposures.

I will look into the Lincoln tunnel helix shot as a possibility.

Much appreciated, thanks for your thoughts and generosity in researching the area. So kind of you to do so.

You redeemed my faith that there are decent people here on POTN willing to share information.

good luck and post any nice shots!