Planning a trip to NYC over Thanksgiving break

[996GT2]

Hi all,

Since I'm too far away from home to go back for Thanksgiving break, I'm planning to go to NYC with some friends. Part of the reason for this trip is to get some nice shots of Times Square for my photography project (landscapes/city photography).

Here's the gear I'm planning to take along:

-D200
-Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX (borrowed from a friend)...this is the widest lens available to me right now, so I guess I'll have to make do without a 12-24 or 11-16 🙁
-50mm f/1.8D
-Manfrotto 718B tripod with 3 way head

Anything else that would be useful for long (4-5 second) exposures of Times Sq. at night? Any advice for where/how to set up the shots?

I'm going for a result like this, but with more light trails from a longer exposure time.

Also, can I just set up and shoot or do I need to get some kind of permission to take pictures (since I'm presuming security is heightened after 9/11).

 

[Kaido]

Get a Gorillapod:

http://www.joby.com/

These things are super handy around big cities because you can attack them to anything or just use them as a mini-tripod. I don't know if I'd carry a full-blown tripod in Times Square because it's usually pretty busy, but you could probably get away with it if you have a compact one. A cheapie with super-long legs so you can shoot above the crowd would probably be a good idea. Most people are nice and will get out of your way for a picture, but there are simply too many people milling around for everyone to notice that you're trying to take a shot (that's why I recommend getting a tall tripod).