Top Deck, Top of the Rock – New York, New York

I’ve talked a lot about the third-level observation deck of the Top of the Rock. I recommended that photographers make a b-line to this level to have the cleanest skyline view. Here You don’t have to shoot through glass or try to wedge your lens through the gaps in the glass wall panels.

Upon retrospect, this third level is modest, as you can see, and t wasn’t overly crowded compared to the first two. There’s probably a natural winnowing mechanism where ignorance of the higher levels or non-interest keeps most of the visitors on the lower decks.

Other than a small elevator shaft and some antennas, you are at the top, which isn’t the case with most observatories, from my experience. I made a slow 1/9s exposure to capture the top deck action, the glorious blue hour, and the last sliver of sunset. Yesterday we looked north, and tomorrow we look south, but as you might have guessed, we are looking west today.

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