This image of Manhattan, Central Park and the Hudson River was taken a few years ago from the top of Rockefeller Center (aka 30 Rock). It is a wonderful view and well worth the wait in any lines. In this case, there was not much of a line at all. Why, you may ask? Well it was early in the morning right after they opened and it was in the middle of January. In fact, the temperature at the time we reached the observation deck was -2 degrees with a brisk wind (I have no idea what the wind chill was - just trust me, it was cold).
As you can see, the day was really clear and the rising sun gave the buildings a great warm color (the only thing that was warm that day). While the traditional shot from 30 Rock is looking south at the Empire State Building, the sun in that direction had a terrible glare and nothing that I shot was anything close to decent. Sometimes, you have to take what the scene gives you and, while I wanted that southern looking shot, there was no way I was going back up there later that day. I would save that view for another (warmer) day.