This was our second trip to NYC. The first was in 1997, and we immediately noticed the big differences. Everywhere there were a lot of people, mainly tourists. If something is good, it will also attract people, so you can’t expect to be alone with the locals.

The USA, or perhaps especially NYC, is a paradise for street photographers. Everything is legal; you can use your photos for whatever you want, and the subjects are close to eachother, so you just have to be ready. Of course, you have to be ethical and have a sense of what you can do. Most of the people you photograph just smile at you kindly. I will tell you about some of the things we experienced.

There are a lot of pictures to take on the NY Subway, both in the trains, on the platforms and at the stations. The busiest station is Grand Central Terminal, where a lot of lines intersect. There are a lot of people crossing the large hall and going on to the next train, but you may also be lucky to meet someone you know.

In 1997 we didn’t manage to get to Rockefeller Center. We did now, and a truly wonderful sunset unfolded before our eyes and lenses. All the famous skyscrapers were lit by warm evening light.

Times Square is almost mandatory for tourists. You can meet a (nearly) Naked Cowboy, body-painted young beautiful women, Mexicans dressed as Disney characters taking a coffee break; people advertising Jesus, pizzas, or poor people asking for help. And then there’s the guy who’s just taking a nap, and much more. A big mess of signs, neon signs, and limousines that are as long as buses in the side streets fulfill the experience.

When you say NYC, you don’t immediately think of cycling, but we rented bikes and rode around Central Park, and on bikes we crossed Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn and rode back over Brooklyn Bridge – a really nice photo tour.

When it’s the weekend, many New Yorkers escape the city. One Sunday we went to Coney Island on the southern tip of Long Island. There is a real amusement park with a funfair, a lovely beach and the opportunity to just get some fresh air away from the stress of the big city. There was a big ball going on, where people were dancing until they were sweating.

The NY Public Library has an absolutely wonderful reading room with complete peace. You can almost hear a pin drop. It’s so calming to look at. Unfortunately, my camera didn’t work at the time. Much noisier was the Guggenheim Museum. I don’t know what they were doing, but there were a lot of people, and the music was loud. But the architecture inside is beautiful and returning some beautiful images to the memory card.

We saw the current exhibition at MOMA – Museum Of Modern Art and had a drink in the garden afterwards to wash down the experience.

And we went to a basketball game at Madison Square Garden and visited Wall Street, the famous statue of George Washington, and the Charging Bull / Bull of Wall Street, whose testicles childless couples rub on in the hope of having children. But I think more has to be done than that.