For my birthday, to celebrate myself indulging on my interest and passion of photography at my own pace, I went on a NYC photo walk. Visiting NYC was not only a photo excursion, but more of a way to celebrate my birthday in one of my favorite cities in the world. Crowded locations often prohibit tripods for several reasons. The Rockefeller Center Top of the Rock observation deck is no exception. On this photo walk I took with me the old trusty Platypod Ultra since I know tripods are not allowed at Top of the Rock.
This was one of those rare occasions where I was able to remember to take a couple of "behind the scene" images. The only difference is that this time I used a smartphone to do it. I hate to admit, but I was in the group of people who always denigrated smartphones as a tool to take photos. That way of thinking changed for me that day.
On my way to the exit elevator, I took four or five pictures handheld using my cell phone. The images were captured through glass windows. Glass can be one of the hardest things to take photos through. Out of those images, I blended three pictures and created a panorama image of NYC. Some of these smartphone images can rival those taken by my digital Nikon DSLR.
The moral of the story is, don't knock it until you've tried it. Let me humbly say that I learned a valuable lesson.
