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Photo Tip #23: Does the Sun Set on Manhattan? No!

... And it does not rise either. Unless you are near the water in Manhattan you will not see a sunrise or sunset in Manhattan. Why? Because there are too many buildings casting shadows; as a result there is no true sunrise or sunset in most parts of NYC. However, there are two days out of the year where you will actually see a sunset in most parts of the city. It's called Manhattenhenge (for more information click here: Mahattanhenge). As for the rest of the year, depending on the season and atmospheric conditions you may still benefit from the amazing colors that happen during magic and golden hour, but just no sunset. If you would like to see a sunset your best bet is to be on the far west side of the city or on the west side of certain parts of Brooklyn.

Click here for the sunrise and sunset times for New York City (NYC).

Cheap Tricks #30: Get Viber!

If you find yourself traveling out of the country and lot or even a little, you might consider downloading Viber on your smart phone. Viber is a free app for your smartphone and is similar to Skype, except that it's better in some ways. With viber you will be able to to send texts and make calls to anyone else who has Viber. Although like Skype the person on the other end also needs to be on viber, unlike Skype it pushes so they don't need to be logged in.

http://viber.com/

Cheap Tricks #29: Carry 2 Wet Wipes in Your Camera Bag.

Always carry two wet-wipes in your camera bag. Aside from cleaning out wounds (see Cheap Trick #27), we photographers like to get down on our hands and knees to get that perfect shot. When you’re done you’ll probably want something to wipe the sticky stuff off of your camera, because you can’t douse it with your water bottle! That you use on your hands!

[Also be sure to replace these once a year, nothing like a dry wet-wipe.]

Cheap Tricks #28: Carry 2 Band Aids in Your Camera Bag.

Always carry two large band aids in your bag. Let's all admit, when we really get into our photography we sometimes take risks we shouldn't take and which lends itself to scraps and bruises. And we’re usually no where near a drug store. Aside from being used for wounds, band aids are great if you need some tape. Let's say you drop your point and shoot camera (because heaven knows a “real” photographer we would never drop our DSLR!) and the battery door is broken and won’t stay shut. Just pull out your band aid and tape it! So why two band aids? Because whatever you did to break your camera means that you'll probably need one for yourself too! [Be sure to replace these once a year, band aids do go bad]

Now that’s a cheap trick!