The best picture of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is taken from Fifth Avenue, most of a block away. Stand between 49th and 50th Streets and look west down the Channel Gardens, where Valerie Clarebout's wire angels, a Christmas fixture since the 1950s, raise their trumpets and lead the eye to the tree. It is the strongest reason to bring a camera to New York City in December, when Midtown is lit for the season and the sun sets at about half past four.
The early sunset helps, up to a point. It comes earliest in the first half of the month, so the half hour when the sky behind the lights still holds some colour arrives in the evening rush, with the pavements at their fullest. The tree is lit by tradition on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving and usually stays up into early January, so skip the ceremony and come on a weekday, which is still easier than a weekend. Take the centre line of the gardens, use a fast shutter and leave the tripod at the hotel, because on that pavement it will only make enemies.
Turn round and Saks is directly behind you. The store has made a habit of a light show that plays across its facade through the season, and from inside the gardens the angels make a natural foreground for it. For the windows along Fifth Avenue, press the lens hood flat to the glass to kill reflections, and come back late in the evening, when the crowds have thinned. Rain falls on only around nine days, so most nights are dry enough for it. The cold is the bigger nuisance. Lows near -1°C drain batteries fast, so keep a spare in an inside pocket.
For something louder, take the long subway ride out to Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, where the houses between 83rd and 86th Streets and 11th and 13th Avenues disappear under lights, inflatables and animated figures. Bring the widest lens you own. These are people's homes, so stay on the pavement and keep the flash off.
Times Square on New Year's Eve is a poor trade for a photographer: hours on your feet in a pen for one fixed view of the ball. Entry is free and unticketed, and the pens open in the afternoon. Large bags and umbrellas are banned, and anyone who leaves loses their place for good. If you go anyway, approach from Sixth or Eighth Avenue, where the NYPD checkpoints are, and carry a small camera you can hold overhead with one hand.