I recently got a little break from work and got together on this clear night with family and good friend & photographer Clarence Holmes to photograph the New York City skyline from Top Of The Rock. Although I am a native New Yorker I had never visited the observation tower in Rockefeller Center until Clarence brought it to my attention. After viewing his images from 70 floors above, it went right into my things to do list. 
I have arrived at the conclusion that I am always in a New York State of mind… I have photographed the New York City skyline and the NYC area more times than I can remember. But it keeps on drawing me back and I always find that after each shoot I return with a different view or perspective than the time before.

Tripods are not allowed at Top of the rock and I knew I wanted to do some HDR (high dynamic range) images from up above, so I had to improvise. I had recently purchased an F Plate in order to be able to place a camera or flash unit and pocket wizard in a strategic position and be able to fire the camera remotely while photographing events. Little did I know that I would be using it for anything else and I honestly have to say it worked like a charm.

I screwed on my Really Right Stuff ball head on the plate and my camera on the ball head. The bottom of the plate has a non slip surface which is great for stability, even on un-even surfaces and helps protect delicate flooring if need be. Best of all it is compact and lightweight. It allowed me to angle my camera precisely, just as I would if I was using my tripod. I am very pleased with the results and more so because I found another beneficial use for it. For more info and images you can visit the website here.

I got a good deal of a variety of images from Top of the Rock that I hope to be able to process soon as quickly as I can catch up with editing my images from 2003 going forward. LOL