For my trip to New York last month, I used my Fujifilm X-E4, which has now become my only camera choice for travel. I had limited myself to only the 35mm f/2 to travel lighter and make my composition and photography choices easier. In addition, I was also able to utilize two film simulations, the same ones I had used in London the week before this.

I like the Kodachrome recipe for film simulations, which I used for my colour JPEG photos and the Ilford HP5 Plus 400 simulation for black and white. For all photos, I captured both RAW and JPEG, and for the ones processed from a RAW file, the Astia simulation was used as the starting point via Lightroom. I’ll post the recipes at the end of this post for reference.

Edits to the JPEGs, as always, are minor, with slider adjustments on the highlights and shadows being the majority of what was done, with some minimal adjustments to add some blue to the shadows.

New York Locations

As I’ve been to New York numerous times, I am familiar with and have photographed some locations in the city more than once, although I still enjoy visiting and spending time in those spots. Here are some of the main places I visited and experienced.

Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central is iconic. With over 100 years in operation, the terminal has become synonymous with New York and contains probably the most famous concourse in the world. The 35,000 sq ft main concourse has been featured in numerous TV shows and movies. As it features iconic architectural features and endless foot traffic, the main concourse is a popular spot for taking photos.

I spent over an hour here walking around, attempting to capture people within the light from the triple windows. A new concourse also opened in late 2020, connecting One Vanderbilt to Grand Central, speaking of which…

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt

One Vanderbilt is a 93-storey building that opened in 2020 after three years of construction. It is located directly beside Grand Central and can be accessed underground from GCT. It features an observation deck above the 73rd floor called SUMMIT One Vanderbilt. The experience of SUMMIT One is split into chapters of immersive art. It begins with ascension in a high-speed, mirrored elevator with lights and audio that mimic the experience of passing each floor. After arriving at the observation deck, the experience opens up into a transparent and mirrored observation deck. The experience overall was incredible, although there were many people there; this is a huge spot for social posting, and it’s not hard to find photos of the summit on Instagram. When booking your visit, you select which hour you want to visit with a small premium cost on prime times such as sunset. We booked at 5 pm, which, in my opinion, was perfect as the sun was setting on the city’s expansive skyline and by the time we were leaving, all the lights were coming on in the city, including the Chrysler Building. I recommend SUMMIT One.

The Oculus/One World Trade

The 9/11 memorial and the adjacent Oculus are locations I visit every time I am in New York. In my opinion, the twin waterfalls in the footprints of the original towers are a perfect memorial and tribute to the victims of 9/11. One World Trade has become a defining feature of New York’s skyline since its completion in 2014.

There is also an Irish Pub nearby called O’Hara’s, which has an interesting history and perseverance surrounding the attacks. Located a block from where the South Tower stood, O’Hara’s was originally a pub frequented by workers from around and within the World Trade Centre complex. On Sept 11th, when the towers fell, the location was severely damaged and was closed for seven months. Upon reopening, it became a familiar place for workers at ground zero, and interestingly, if you visit today, you will be treated to the view of thousands of patches of police precincts, fire stations, and paramedic outfits from all over that are stapled in almost every available space within the interior. The story goes that on the first anniversary of the attacks in 2002, and with a surrounding crowd of patrons, a construction worker set down his beer, grabbed the shoulder of a New York firefighter, ripped off his patch, and stapled it above the bar. And so the idea began, and today, over 6,000 are included.

Summary

The above were the key areas where I had taken photos, although we did do other things where photography wasn’t a priority, including attending the Knicks/Hornets game. I pretty much skipped doing any photography crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, as I have done quite a bit in previous visits, and I did pass through Times Square as I made my way to Radio City Music Hall and captured a few. But as a slightly impromptu trip, I’m pleased that we got to do what we did in the time we had there. It was a lot of fun.

As noted, here are the two Fujifilm recipes I used in New York.

Kodachrome

• Classic Chrome

• Dynamic Range: Auto

• Highlight: +4

• Shadow: -2

• Colour: +4

• Noise Reduction: -4

• Sharpening: -2

• Clarity: +1

• Grain Effect: Strong, Small

• Colour Chrome Effect: Strong

• Colour Chrome Effect Blue: Weak

• White Balance: Auto, +2 Red & -4 Blue

• ISO: Auto

Ilford HP5 Plus 400

• Monochrome

• Dynamic Range: DR400

• Highlight: -1

• Shadow: +1

• Noise Reduction: -4

• Sharpness: -2

• Clarity: 0

• Grain Effect: Strong, Large

• Colour Chrome Effect: Off

• Colour Chrome Effect Blue: Off

• White Balance: Daylight, +1 Red & -8 Blue

• ISO: Auto