Watching the Rain

Today the rain falls, spoiling the beginning of the weekend.  But there is a bit of beauty in the reflections and glossyness of the wet street.  

Watching the Rain

Last Light

Between the buildings, the last glimmer of the sun works it way up to the top of a brownstone.  It is the last light of the day.  

Last Light

The Proposition

This is another "Norman Rockwell"-esque photograph with body language telling a story to add to my collection of similar shots.  

The Proposition

Crossed Observer

There are many scaffolds around the city, and I find they create an interesting structural element to street photography.  

Crossed Observer

Cloud Ceiling

As I have mentioned before, my office view directly overlooks the developing World Trade Center site.  Here are some prior posts with views.  

Now that One World Trade Center has reached it's full height of 1776 feet, it is truly in the clouds.  This view from my office window was pointed out to me by a co-worker (lucky me having a camera nearby).  It's interesting to me that the lower buildings are both slanted inwardly as I did not expect that kind of bending with my wide angle lense, but I like the perspective.  

Cloud Ceiling

Left Brain, Right Brain

This picture is more of a concept than a realistic depiction.  As I was working on a title, it seemed to me that the two sides of the photograph were so different, that they could represent the workings of the brain.  The creative side versus the analytical side.  I thought I had the title, "Left Brain, Right Brain" but then I needed to confirm which side was which.  

Unfortunately, I learned the left side was the technical side, and the right was conceptual side.  My picture was the opposite.  I could have left it at that and came up with another title.  But, I decided to flip the picture to match the brain sides.  So, in the real world, the clouds were actually on the left, but in this representation, we can match the image with the proper brain layout so the title works.  

Left Brain, Right Brain

The Big Umbrella

Well protected with a big umbrella.

The Big Umbrella

Work in Progress

I've been piecing together a series of my favorite shots as I work to create my first book of street photography. 

One of the things I've pretty much decided on is the cover.  Here's what it looks like.  

Street Observations book cover

I also have the majority of the photos selected and placed.   I decided to leave out other favorites which didn't match the style, so there are no landscapes, and no street photography from other countries.  While almost all the pictures are from New York City, there are some that are from Los Angles and Philadelphia.  

The draft book sample I received pointed out a few things to me:  

• I need to add a foreward.  There should be a bit of explanation as to what I have in mind for the book and why I wanted it to exist.
• Online samples or PDFs do not look exactly like a real book.  That may be obvious, but when you have something tangible it becomes clearer.  
• Seeing a photograph at a larger size on paper makes good use of details.  It semed to me that simple, perhaps artistic photography may not be as interesting and can be a quick page flipper. I'm going to swap out a few in favor of those that might be a bit more complex. 
• Looking at a picture by itself is a good experience, but adding words beyond simple captions helps embellish the thoughts behind the photo.  I have a lot of words to create.  I expect this will take the most time.  It seems counter-intuitive in a book of photography that I need text, but looking at other books as an example makes this clear to me.  

So, I will continue with this work in progress until it cannot be improved any more.  That may take more time, but decades have passed without a book from me.  A few more weeks shouldn't be an issue.  I want it to be as good a book as it an be.  

The Garage

Another bit of neon on a slick rainy evening.  

The Garage

Chinatown Hydrant

It was nice that someone went to the trouble of painting a brick wall red.  This was in Chinatown and the light came down in a pattern caused by a fire escape.  

Chinatown Hydrant

Shadowed

The shadow of the man kind of reminds me of the Alfred Hitchcock shadow on his show.  

Shadowed

Snow Dust

Just a touch of snow on the New York streets... at the cemetery:

Snow Stake

Some slushy streets... (where's her head)?

Duomo

By the cones of the Post Office.

Dusting

The Court

The New York Criminal Courts building has an imposing colonnade that have been shown in many movies.  I have taken many pictures from the front down the steps.  But, I always found those shots rather routine.  I took a different approach this time and went up the steps behind the columns.  

I thought of an admired photographer friend in Rome, Enzo De Martino, and his success in isolating individuals within the geometrics of the Roman architecture.    This was the result.  

I'm sure many times the influences of photographers through the years has subliminally influenced me, but at this moment, I was think of a specific style and tried to emulate it.  

Check out Enzo's work at enzodemartino.com. 

Court Spot

Shadowed Patterns

Bright days and patterns creating rhythmic shadows.  The first is a protective scaffolding on Barclay Street.  The second is the promenade along the Hudson River.  

Barclay Patterns

Hudson Comb

Candy and Eye Candy

I frequently take pictures of newsstand, but I rarely get anything which is of any interest.  I was transfixed by this guy's gaze though, and wanted to see what I could do here.  It was afterwards that it occurred to me that his sales were totally advertising candy and magazines with attractive women on it.  This is especially relevant since this was the week of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.  So, we have "candy and eye candy".  

Candy and Eye Candy

Faux Vintage

The are observations that sometimes just suggest days of yesteryear.  Adding a treatment or tone can help point that out.  I was originally just going to focus on the man with the coffee cup on the mail box with this shot, but the other workers and their distracted looks I think adds to it.  

Mail Men

I pass this abandoned factory every day in Harrison, New Jersey.  I think this particular day, the motorcycle pointed out a composition to me.  

The Factory that Was

Cherry Lollipop

Here's one in the "Decisive Moment" category.  I was really focused on the sign's shadow, so sharp and mirrored by the shadow edge of a building to the left of it.  I was just looking for various people to be well positioned for the shot with the shadow.   I always like red on people as it pops, so I grabbed a couple of this woman.  But, when she landed right one the shadow, I was just lucky.  

Cherry Lollipop

The Castle

Here's another one with a backdrop of the Federal Reserve building.  Maybe a solo version of "The Encounter". I've used this for many pictures, the blocks create the look of a castle.  

Below the Castle

I'm still a bit timid about taking pictures in the building's direction, as I reported in my post "Click Away" since I was stopped one time, but this is a bit further down.  Lots of great patterns in this building.  

Barrier Smoke

Rockette Dreams

This one was a gift.  I thought it was a nice composition with the man sitting alone on the benches.  Then, suddenly he start lifting his legs one at a time.   Guess it was some kind of exercise.  But, it gave me plenty of time to get a shot at just the right moment.  

Rockette Wannabe

Fifth Avenue Night

Some shots down Fifth Avenue on a rainy night....

Center Stage

Three Corner