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Amazing drone photos of New York City looking straight down

In their December issue, the New York Magazine has published a number of amazing drone photos of iconic buildings and locations in New York City. The aerial photos, taken by Humza Deas, are all captured with the #straightdown perspective that we have come to appreciate so much.

The drone photos show the Statue of Liberty, The Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, the Unisphere, Stuyvesant Town, Columbus Circle, Port Authority Bus Terminal and more all taken by flying the drone straight overhead. The result is amazing and shows the city in ways few of us have ever seen.

Taking drone photos in NYC

The New York Magazine tells us that they got to know Humza Deas first, when he was taking photos of New York City from the top of buildings, an oftentimes illegal and dangerous activity also called “rooftopping”. One of his photos actually became the cover shot of the New York Magazine back in 2014. Now it seems that Deas has decided to trade in the risky business of rooftopping for another ‘easier’ but potentially still illegal way to capture jaw-dropping photos of the city, and has started to use a drone instead.

Flying drones in New York legally is very difficult as there are only a five parks where you are allowed to do so and they are all outside of Manhattan. Earlier this year, a new FAA imposed restriction had made it illegal to fly your drone over or close to major landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty. The only legal way to obtain these photos would be by either getting into a helicopter and fly over the city or by getting a waiver or permit to fly your drone in New York City legally. Something that has never stopped people like Casey Neistat from using a drone to capture footage of the city for his videos.

The article in the New York Magazine does not provide any information as to whether Humza Deas obtained a permit or waiver to obtain these amazing drone photos legally.

Statue of Liberty in New York City – by Humza Deas

Chrysler Building in New York City – by Humza Deas

Columbus Circle in New York City – by Humza Deas

Grand Central Station in New York City – by Humza Deas

Holland Tunnel in New York City – by Humza Deas

Hudson Yards in New York City – by Humza Deas

Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City – by Humza Deas

Stuyvesant Town in New York City – by Humza Deas

Unisphere in New York City – by Humza Deas

 

 

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Avatar for Haye Kesteloo Haye Kesteloo

Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at DroneDJ, where he covers all drone related news and writes product reviews. He also contributes to the other sites in the 9to5Mac group such as; 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys and Electrek. Haye can be reached at haye@dronedj.com or @hayekesteloo