A get together in 2014 for forum members FREEPORT, MAINE/MARCH 27-30, 2014

Rx4Photo

If you all are in the Maine area then the idea of a day's drive to Niagara Falls just came to mind. All depends on how much travelling you're willing to put up with from your "base" location. I just visited Niagara from the Canadian side and it's a phenomenal site for stills, slow shutter, and video, especially with a sunrise from the East. Will post a couple of photos on PAD some day soon.

proudgeek

I would agree with Adam that NYC is not exactly a wildlife mecca (unless you go to the Bronx Zoo, which is an amazing place). There is other "wildlife" in NYC, although it tends to move on two legs rather than four. Architectural opportunities abound, from old to new. The Brooklyn Bridge for example is a great subject that you could spend days on.
The downside of a NYC meeting is that it's so huge and unwieldy that it would be hard for people to find each other once they're separated. It's a big place and hard to coordinate. A plus to a NYC meeting is the opportunity for a field trip to B&H. We might lose Golf there.

Golf007sd

@proudgeek: See I told you, you know me. B&H/Adorama and my credit card in hand....yes very dangerous. God forbid the pure pressure those in attendance would place on me in getting a "big gun." LMFAO.

All the joking aside, NY is an amazing place and I would love to shoot that city. Talk about street photography, architecture, bridges, night photography...the list is long....yet I have to agree with some of the comments above as well. The city is all go...go..go..at time it is shear "madness." The cost of accommodations and over all mobility are key factors too if we have a good number of those attending and seek to keep their travel within a given budget.

michael66

@adamz

I don't think you're being fair to NYC. First, don't think that you need to stay in the City. It is very expensive and parking is horrid. Stay in Westchester, Jersey or even Long Island. Local whining aside, there is a very large and diverse mass transit system. And no, you will not get lost. You take a train on some days and drive on others.

I just pulled up Google and took a look at a 100-mile circle around Manhattan. Mountains so thick, you would think that civilization disappeared. There are hundreds of miles of coastal landscape from Mystic CT, to Manhattan, out around to Montauk and down again to the Jersey shore. Bikinis, man, bikinis! Just don't go too late into September.

Proudgeek mentioned the Bronx Zoo. Right across the street is the Botanical Garden. A walking tour of Brooklyn is a must.

BTW, the BEST shots of the City skyline would be from Roosevelt Island. You take the tram over from Manhattan.

Sick of NYC? Head over to Philly and further west to Amish country. You'll think you went back in time to the 1800's.

How many weeks do you have?

I have to stop, or I'll be banned for excessive gushing. Besides, I'm hoping for the Fall foliage tour of New England.

)

adamz

@michel66 - good point about all the places around NYC, but as u wrote they are around NYC I don't mind spending a day or two in big apple, but would love to see something apart from big cities... and honestly, show me second city in US that's more European than NYC.... Boston maybe...
anyway, flying to JFK is always a good option for me, as the flights tend to be cheaper than to other places in US but let the majority decide.

@golf007sd - will u take me to B&H for shopping daddy... I'm a good boy ... for sure the 18k on one lens will not ruin ur cc :P.... or maybe I should ask grandma

Msmoto

A very nice town in early spring or late fall is Newport, RI. The 'off season' may allow lower rates. New York State has multiple areas from the Niagara/Buffalo/Toronto area, Finger Lakes region, Saratoga each with its attractions.

My preference is to avoid large metropolitan areas unless it is like Buffalo venue. Actually, North Carolina has some spectacular spots from mountains to sea shore. The beach areas are very pleasant off season and near me is the NC Zoo. http://www.nczoo.org/

Benji2505

@Benji2505 - as much as I like big apple as much I wouldn't like to organise meeting there. I have to disagree with You about the greatness of this city. It's nice but it's neither a landscape or wildlife paradise.

Landscape might be Cityscape and wildlife might spell wild life. There is a lot of variety in the light and great street photography. NYC has the plus that it is easily reachable for everybody from Westcoast to Europe - no rental car needed. Not sure I understand the organizational issue either, just name some meeting points with time and that takes care of it. Enough variety in hotels and food for everybody to choose from. You can also take photos in Museums as a plan B for rainy days. We could drive up to Kris in Coastal CT and see him shoot Ospreys for 2-3 hours. Maybe Nikon themselves wants to say hi for an hour and gives us a tour?

I am not married to the idea, but I thought it might make a lot of sense.

Benji2505

A very nice town in early spring or late fall is Newport, RI. The 'off season' may allow lower rates. New York State has multiple areas from the Niagara/Buffalo/Toronto area, Finger Lakes region, Saratoga each with its attractions.
. http://www.nczoo.org/

Newport is nice. One should go there when the boats are still in the water so until Mid-September. Indian Summer is usually between 2nd and 4th week of October. BOS is about 1.25 hrs away, Cape Cod about 1hr. Buffalo, Rochester and the Finger Lake Region have some spectacular views, especially in the fall.

The drive from Maine to Niagara Falls is 7-9 hours, depending on where you start in Maine, so probably not an option to combine this.

cowleystjames

If you guys make it Boston or close by then I'd come along all the way from England. I have family in Boston and try to get over yearly.

DavidJaan

Buffalonian here and I can attest to the great variety in New York state outside of NYC. While NYC is great, it can be overwhelming and too much of the same.

Here in Buffalo we have downtown for the city folks, Niagara Falls for the scenery/slow shutter folks, on Lake Erie near a nature preserve for the birders and the countryside for shooting cows and landscapes all of which can be reached within 30-60 minutes of each other. I think a great variety out of a location is a plus for all the different things the PAD members like to capture.

Boston is a great city for historical themes and the ocean is close by. Pittsburgh has some great bridges and an awesome downtown. Philadelphia is also a great option. I think there's quite a few great options on the east coast. The best bet would be to focus on the Northeast I think unless you want to shoot sand, sunsets and gators.

Msmoto

Maybe we need to think in categories.....

Do we want historical sites, e.g., Williamsburg, VA?
Ocean...Atlantic Coast....
Animals....zoos in the US...
Special landscape opportunities like this year with the Sand Dunes, Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods in Colorado
Street people as in a medium city....
Large city.....means much higher costs...e.g., Chicago is about $250+ per day, New York more.
Museums/Aquariums....

If we choose an "off season" site, like fall in the northern hemisphere we may be able to obtains a special rate for "NRF Members"

Of course we could do this at a race track....LOL cars or bikes.....

In any case, for the next month we will keep dropping thoughts on this thread and then the mods and Peter can decide....maybe by the end of September.

Pickerel

If you guys wound up doing NYC I could tag along for some of the side-trips out of NYC since I live in New Jersey, but I probably wouldn't linger too long in NYC itself. Too much city for me. Not from Maine but I can find you plenty of out-of-the-way photo ops in Maine and some in New Hampshire and Vermont. The latter would mostly be nifty spots near the Appalachian Trail corridor. I can also find cheap lodging AKA motels and stealth camping. :P

rmp

Hi, I always seem to run short of time on every trip I take. So, I really appreciate having a local-guide. Someone who knows where a rising sun looks best through a bridge, or when the animals in the zoo will be fed. Does this type of guide fit into the planning?

Golf007sd

@rmp: Given the level of professional enthusiasts we have here, once a destination is picked out, I have a feeling we will have a plethora info of where to go, what to see/do and times to make the most of our gathering. From what we experienced last gathering, their are time limitation for each shooter and they might have things that he or she would like to do that just may not fit in to the schedule planed of the day. The agenda for the day will be their to participated in but some will not. Thus, having a hired guide does add to the cost and perhaps this is worth exploring on an individual bases vs as a group.

michael66

While I'm in favor of a trip to Yankee territory... Oh, wait, to y'all, I'm a Yankee. Well, I mean further up north; Boston to Maine. Real Yankees.

What was I saying? Oh, yeah, if you do decide on a more Southern, Yankee locale ( huh? ), then I'm willing to help out; scout locations, make arrangements and whatnot. How many New Yorkers do we have on here?

I would urge widening the circle to include things beyond the concrete valleys of Manhattan. There is so much around here that I didn't know existed until some visitor pointed it out.

@Msmoto I just took a look at some non-Manhattan hotels and found many good ones closer to $125. Think Best Western, not Waldorf.

Golf007sd

@michael66: When I came to the USA back in 1977, my family and I stayed at the Waldorf for about a week. Been there a few other times over the years but not as a photographer.....would love to shoot that hotel and have dinner there.

michael66

@Golf007sd Well, you are looking at $400-500 a night. @-) $20 discount with AARP. These days, it seems that the Waldorf has been going through the motions and living off their name. The lobby and restaurant decor, however, is incredible. Maybe a few drinks at that mahogany bar.

Now, for dinner, you can not say no to Uncle Jack's. The best steak house, bar none. And none of that dainty portion nonsense. I prefer the one in Queens, it actually has an old west feel.

proudgeek

Good luck getting everyone to agree on a NY restaurant. We can't even agree on the specs for the D400.

Beso

Good luck getting everyone to agree on a NY restaurant. We can't even agree on the specs for the D400.

LOL!

Golf007sd

@michael66: Uncle Jack's...ding ding ding....winner winner chicken dinner. 35 days dry age is right up alley...good lord I can taste it right now. Sign me up for a table right now. With three locations I'm sure we will get us a table. As for staying at the hotel...I think I can do better for my money given that I will not be in the room that much...after all I have an entire city to shoot.

@proudgeek: LMFAO....so long as the restaurant in not "vigan" I'm in. As for the D400, I have avoid that topic till we see what-is-what. Lets hope it is here by the time we all meet in our next NRF gathering. I was very pleased with the performance of the D600 that played with.

Msmoto

What are our priorities? Photo venues? Historical sites? Sunrises/sets? Big city streets? Local folks images? Super landscapes? Amusement parks?

And, the prices....e.g., Wednesday through Sunday, (4 nights) $400? $600? or more?

My thoughts are to avoid the larger cities for many reasons... and almost any other location is great. But, I can go out and capture the locals in a heart beat....

On the Atlantic Ocean the sunrises are phenomenal...unless cloud cover is present. The beaches have many opportunities. North Carolina's Outer Banks have the Wright Brother's Museum and lots of sand/surf possibilities.

proudgeek

I'd love to go to Maine. I think you'll get great scenery, cool architecture (not modern), great faces, etc. Access is a little dicey, but for those flying in there's a train that runs from Boston to Portland. You could then rent cars in Portland.

New York is fun and I go there a lot (for work and play) and in fact used to live there. The only negative thing I would say about NY is that it's unwieldy, especially for first-time visitors. There's almost too much to see.

adamz

@proudgeek - I know that I'll be a little bit arrogant over here but except Central Park and B&H what else is interesting in this city? ... maybe apart from some nice opportunities with snapping people walking around as Tommie suggested.
anyway, if it would be up to me Main and Halifax are my choices.

Msmoto

Nova Scotia gets pricey in a heart beat....having been up there on a motorcycle with my son in about 2008. Baddeck is nice, Digby the former scallop capital of the world, but as i remember, meals were very expensive, and the highlight of the trip was actually Yarmouth on the west end and the high speed catamaran ride to Portland, Maine.

bland

Sorry I wasn't able to make Colorado. Hopefully the next one I can make.

Just a thought, maybe we could have a couple of get togethers during the year. One venue being landscape and the other being an event.

For an event maybe the Daytona 500? Florida in February sounds like a good way to jump start 2014. Plus the Daytona 500 has a week of other racing events associated with it. Anyways, just some food for thought.