Look from Below

Shooting from below looking up presents the power and height of the buildings in the backgrounds.  Here are two that would not look the same from eye level.  

Above the BikeMattress Delivery

Standard Variations on a Backdrop

In the street photography practice of backdrop with variations, that is finding a nice background and then waiting for the actors to enter the scene.  Here is an example.  

Here is the backdrop.  I particularly liked the lights built into the scaffold being reflected.  

Wet Walk

Like most shots, there is an improvement when you add a focal point.  This is generally a person for my street shots.  The red shoes and the reflection add some pop.

Skirting the Wet

Then there is the black and white alternative.  

Avoidance

Sentry

Even though you can make a color picture look black and white, I was looking for some stimulus to my creativity.  So, I was taking pictures with the black and white "creative" effects mode of my NEX-7 camera.  This displays everything through the viewfinder as BW.  As it helped me envision the outcome I was accepting that the color would be lost.  However, since I was taking the pictures in RAW, and even though the pictures were showing in BW on the camera review, they were retained in color.  When I loaded them into Lightroom I converted them right back into BW, except for this series of the signman.  The BW version was interesting, but this is where having the option of keeping the color helped out.  

Sentry 

The Tree Box

A very bright summer's day.  The Plaza near Water Street had a wall of waterfall.  Rather refreshing on such a hot day.  I was fascinated by the juxtaposition of the box surrounding the vertical tree against the waterfall.  

The Tree Box

I tried many different exposure variations of just that composition.  The first one was a very fast shutter speed which froze the water pretty much.  Also, It was a bit tricky to get the light to match between the bright water and the dark box.  

One way to take pictures of waterfalls, is to use a slow shutter speed and a time exposure.  This smooths out the water over time.  On a bright day, you would need a neutral density filter to make it dark enough to get the time needed.  Oh yes, you would also really need a tripod, if you wanted the full effect.  I think I have used a tripod maybe twice in the last five years.  (Although I did pick up a Gorillapod recently, but you need something to attach it to).  

So, I did slow the shutter to 1/60 (from 1/1000) to get some motion, also had to move the ISO as low as it could go (100) on my camera.  It was OK, but not really what I was looking for.  

So, I waited for people to come into the shot to provide some variety.  Since the shutter speed was slow, there was a bit of a blur to these people.  

Tree Box Guy

Tried one then in black and white.

Tree Box Black and White

In the end, this guy came along and took a bite of his sandwich.  That was the end of my tree box session. 

The Bite

Making of a Street Photograph

Street photography doesn't always work the way you expect.  Some of the time, there is a degree of luck involved in making a good picture great.  Upon occasion, what you think is the picture, evolves into something quite different.  

Here is an example... in the winter this time of year, light is extreme... long shadows, bright direct lighting, rays of light create some drama.  I was parked at one end of the plaza shooting in the sun's direction.  It was so bright, people looked very much like silhouettes (although the camera rendered more detail).  I was following the guy in the center and was randomly taking shots.  I was trying to isolate a person to create a focal point for the picture.  The light created a ghosting effect.  Here's the first one in the series.... a throwaway.  

He continued on, and the woman to the left enters the shot, unbeknownst to me as I continued to follow the guy.  The pigeons moved closer to me.  

The man pauses, the woman faces forward, the birds move into position, the people shadows echo the bodies to balance out the photo.  I discover there is a different focus than what I thought I was shooting.  She became my subject, a bit off center, with the superb backlighting and angled rays of the sun.  She reminds me of Gloria Swanson in the movie "Sunset Boulevard".  She said, "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Demille".  

Ready for my Closeup

Of course, people may have different interpretations of a picture.  One of my Facebook friends, thought the guy looked like he was taking a pee.  Anyone can have their own interpretation of a street photograph.  And, in an instant the elements can change and make it become something else.  

Red Coat Night

Whenever I see someone in red, I try to grab a shot.  (That happens to be mostly women).  The color is a great focal point photographically.  In this case, I saw red and reflexively clicked... missing her face.  

My instinct is generally to keep everything within the frame.  But, in retrospect, the picture is much stronger without the face, it creates a sense of mystery.  This time from a miss, I learned the lesson that less can sometimes be more.  

Photo Spot

I was lining up for a shot looking east along 33rd Street.  I was noticing the long angles of the Post Office with Madison Square Garden and the Empire State building in the rear.  A passerby commented, "you can get a better shot if you go up to the entry bridge ahead, from there the lamp post is not in the way.... I know because I live here".  

I thanked him (I don't generally react well to people telling me what to shoot but he had good intentions).  I took my original shot (top one below), and then went to examine the location he pointed to.  

I had mixed thoughts.  The spot was better from a classic post card perspective.  It was more compositionally correct, and was the perfect location to capture all the key components of the shot (and the lamp post wasn't blocking the Empire State).  But, it seemed to me that it was sort of like a "Photo Spot" sign at Disney World.  Did I want the same picture as a million tourists (and he obviously thought I was a tourist).  In almost all cases, I would say no, at least in my own home town, (although as a tourist at other places, a beautiful common shot would be OK).  

In the end, I prefer my shot anyway, even with the lamp post, because it allowed the sidewalk activity to be included.  

 Post Office with LampPost Office without Lamp

The Panning Technique in the Night

I was out shooting in the evening and it got a little darker than I was ready for.  I prefer not to use flash when doing street photography so to get enough light, I was shooting with a slow shutter speed.  The long exposure leads to blurred action but when combined with panning in synch with the subject it can provide a nice focal point with a streaky background.   I like the impressionistic sense of the subject this creates. 

Here's the first shot.

Here's another.

Then there is this series of a bicyclist quickly going uptown moving faster than the taxis around him.  The third one is my favorite.  

And then this was the final one which is the best one.

Cafe Gaga

Sometimes with a little bit of imagination, a crappy crooked out-of-focus picture can be repurposed to be presented as an arty impressionist photo.  Sometimes it is universally appreciated, sometimes not.  But, I find the effort of changing the shot and improving it to be a creative activity.  

Here's an example:

This is the original, taken in Split, Croatia, I noticed her coming out of the alley holding her coffee firmly.  I rattled off a shot but as you can see it is nothing close to being a good photograph. 

So, I straightened it, cropped it, lightened the exposure, add some fill light, boosted the color, and removed some of the "noise" (although I did experiment with adding grain also). 

And, this is what I ended up with.  I like it, but some people... maybe not.  But, it is certainly better than the original.  By the way, you can now make out the letters GAGA on the awning behind. Thus the title "Cafe Gaga".

Color or Colorless

While I pretty much only take photographs in color, I frequently convert them to black and white.  This is a stylistic/artistic decision.   As a matter of fact, generally, unless color is a key part of the photo, I will make them colorless.  Black and white pictures just seem a bit further removed from reality to me, and more satisfying artistically. 

Here's one photograph where I had problems deciding.  I liked this shot for a few reasons.  Iwas struck by how alike these girls seemed, in particular their sunglasses.  Also, the bored looks as they seemingly are waiting for something or someone (they are seated outside of the Millenium Hotel across from the World Trade Center site).  An online friend pointed out the reflection of their legs against the wall behind is interesting.  And, the girl on the left is looking off, almost like she has been startled by something off camera. 

Sunglasses and Pouts (color)

Argument for color:  This shot was taken at dusk, so the the light had an orange tinge to it.  The trees created a somewhat natural vignetting effect.  The purple dress and red scarf kind of pop and helps center your attention on them.  Also, the purple dress ties together with the purple flowers on the left side.  It works well in color but there is not a lot of color here. 

Sunglasses and Pouts (black and white)

Argument for black and white:   This version is much more contrasty.  The girls look more comic-bookish and are less realistic.  Their sunglasses are even more prominently noticed.  I like this version as well, maybe better.

You be the judge, look below as the picture converts back and forth. 

Oasis Stitching

So, I was headed out on a cruise from Ft. Lauderdale, headed towards Mexico. The port there had a number of ships waiting to take off. There were all quite large, but the shuttle bus driver pointed out one that was especially huge. It was "Oasis of the Seas", which I learned was the largest ship in the world. Some other passengers were getting off to take a trip on Oasis. They were travel agents from Canada. They were taking a one day ride to nowhere so they could review it. The ship has not yet taken its maiden voyage (hope their are enough lifeboats).

After getting on my own ship, "Enchantment of the Seas" (which was 11 decks itself). I got a view of the Oasis right across the pier. It was too large to get in one frame, so I took a series of pictures from one end to the next. The pieces looked like this.

I loaded them into my picture editor, and stitched them together to make the ship whole again. And, this is what I got. Looks a bit smaller, but it's all there. You can click the picture to get a larger view of the picture and get a better sense of its size.

Tripod Work

Most of my picture taking is hand held. These are at places with a lot of light. Mostly outside. Fast moving people on the street. I don't often have the luxury of using a tripod. And I don't really like the overhead of carrying one around, although I do have a little tiny mini one that I occasionally don't use either.

But, I had an assignment to photograph the inside of a fabulous old church. I don't usually care much for churches, but this one was kind of special. It was built in 1914 and was just incredibly interesting with its stain glasses and multiple balconies. I had the place completely to myself.

I was left to my own devices pretty much for lighting and had to hunt down where the switches were. I finally found an electric panel in a back room. But, they control only a little bit of light. This meant, that I would need the tripod that I had brought along with me to take time exposures of the interior. This would be the first time I used it in years.

Even though it was very dark inside, taking these long shots made it look fully lit. Each shot would take 20 or 30 seconds in addition to the time to setup. But, it helped challenge me to think about the pictures differently. (I'm not usually that patient when I shoot).

Because it was pouring rain outside, I will need to take exteriors on a different trip. I won't need a tripod (but just may bring one anyway).

Tilt

So, I was about to leave work for the evening and saw the light shining in from the west here. I continued on towards the elevators, then thought I should go back and grab a shot. Took the shot, and as I was taking a second, a co-worker magically appeared (below). With the body in there, it showed the importance of having a focal point in a photograph.

But, then when I started to edit the shot, I mistakenly twisted it a bit too much, adding a tilt to the picture. It kind of intrigued me, and I think the result made it a bit unique and added a little spice.

Creating Art

Interpreting and appreciating art is a personal experience. What one person may love, another may dislike, or "not get". When I post my pictures on the flickr website, I get immediate feedback and it allows me to ponder what others might see in the pictures. While I only post pictures that I think have some merit, sometimes the reaction is out of synch with my own opinion of the shot.

Here's what I'm reacting to... last week in a poring rain storm I parked myself underneath a building portico and took a lot of pictures of wet people. Since it was dark, I used a high ISO, this meant that the pictures would be brighter but also grainier. Here is the picture that I started working with. Not a great picture, but with some post-processing, it looked to have some potential.

The main appeal to me in the composition was the positioning of the cab turning onto Park Row. So, I cropped it and straightened it. It was OK, but nothing special to me. So, I started playing around with some of the values in Lightroom, a tool I use to manage my photo library. I finally settled on posting this version of the picture.

I thought it was good, and fairly interesting, but those on flickr responded in a way that was out of synch with how I saw the picture. They made it by marking it with the most "favorites" of any picture I have ever put up there, and in the shortest amount of time. As a matter of fact, when I saw it online, I wasn't completely happy with it. I was going to replace it with a version that I had worked with before posting it, which was this one.

I do think this one is the best, but I won't replace it since people liked the other one so much. In any case, it is ultimately a creation of art, using only the building blocks of what was there. And, I'm quite happy with that result.

In the end though, while I think it's a very good picture, I do not think it is great. (There are others I've taken that I think are great which have barely gotten a reaction). But that's just what I think, and what do I know, I'm only one person.

Street Photography Cropping

Pretty much all of my pictures are cropped in some way. Sometimes I pull out a little detail from a large picture. Sometimes I balance the composition. Sometimes I'm emphasizing something in particular.

One of the street photographers I follow on Flickr is highly popular. He has won awards and he has many people who comment on his pictures. He is generous in the way he interacts with other photographers. He is complimentary and insightful, which I think is part of his appeal.

When I look at his pictures though, sometimes I don't see anything special. Yet there are glowing responses from his admirers. He has become a superstar of street photography, to the point where I'm not sure his photos are being looked at objectively. He does however capture a reality and the grittiness of the street but not really that much of the art.

I've been trying in some ways to emulate his work, not because I think his pictures are that good, but due to the response he gets. There was a recent discussion about one of his photos, where it was suggested that he crop a picture that I did think was good, fantastic in fact. It was a bit more stylistic than his usual shots. He responded that he rarely crops his pictures because that distorts the reality of the situation, and life is not perfect.

This pointed out to me that his approach was in recording the scene, almost like a journalist, not making aesthetically pleasing photos, although that might occasionally be a byproduct.

A recent picture I took made me think of the two styles. Both versions I present here are of the same subject: an Indian family who were sharing a moment with their eyes. My ultimate version (above) cropped down to the core subjects, although reluctantly I needed to cut out a man who was watching from the far right. I would have included him if he was closer to the family, but aesthetically he was too removed and would have removed the focus from the family and made it harder to appreciate their eyes. Also, I thought there was a nicer balance in the cropped version with the boy becoming much more prominent.

I went back and reviewed this shot again and then looked at the uncropped version (below) with the man in it. I like this version also, and realized the star street photographer would have gone with that version. It captures the moment on the street, but I'm not sure that the story is as strong and the composition and focal points are different.

In the end, I come to realize that my style is different and while both approaches are valid, and he is obviously extremely successful by measure of the attention he gets, I will not try to emulate him anymore and will be true to what seems right to me.

Perspective

Cab Trio
Originally uploaded by John Fraissinet

With a "long" lens, things that are far apart can look like they are on top of each other. This shot is with a 135mm lens.

I took this shot from about a quarter mile away from the cabs down around Bowling Green park at the end of Broadway. The real distance, though, is from the taxis all the way back to the Chrysler Building behind. It looks fairly close but actually the Chrysler is all the way up at 42nd street which is about 4 miles further up the road (I looked the distance up on Google maps).

It still amazes me how close everything appears, and I really like how the three cabs line up so nicely.

Arm Crossed Couple

Sometimes grabbing a quick shot on the street ends up with a pleasing blur effect. Depending on the colors and subject, this can turn into a surrealistically abstract piece of work. Like a painting.

This one is of a couple strolling near the World Trade Center site. The woman's coat is what caught my eye. I later learned they were German. They were walking with their crossed arms for a while, but by the time I was rattled off the one shot they were disconnected.

Below the Waist

I've noticed that a good number of the pictures that I favor tend to cutoff people around the waist and focus on their lower extremities. There seems to me to be a certain action and harmony, especially when combined with the geometric elements found in the streets.... the vertical lines of the crosswalks, the circles of the manhole covers.

I looked through my collection and pulled out the ones that fall into the "Below the Waist" category.

Artistic or Blurry?

Orange Scarf
Originally uploaded by jfraissi

I saw the woman in the orange scarf as she was about to cross the street. I thought the scarf would be an interesting element and rushed to get into some sort of position to get a shot off. It was evening rush hour and a low light situation, so the shutter speed needed to be a bit slow. I didn't have time to settle down and rushed the shot. This picture was the result.

When I saw it on the computer, I was a bit disappointed the shot wasn't a bit more stable, but then I started to appreciate the impressionism the colors and composition. It is a bit like a painting. But, as I stared at it still longer, I then thought it just looked blurry. Perhaps if I had pre-planned the out of focus artistic take of the shot, I might feel a bit better about it.

But, now... as I'm looking at it again, in a smaller size. It captures a certain dreamy mood. And, I kind of like it again. I might even love it, or maybe not.

Cropping Decisions

I was wandering at lunch time and headed towards a school on the lower west side. In the shot below, I first noticed the woman hunched over the baby carriage (think she's on a cell phone). I rattled off about 5 shots and noticed an interesting number of elements, each of which could be a picture. As a whole, however, this shot seems to hinge on the man in the center, not the baby carriage woman. He's the hub of the photo but not really what I wanted to emphasize. So, it made sense to do a little cropping.

Besides the woman to the right, there is some interest on the left side if you draw attention there. The guy with the sunglasses is still the main draw, but there is a balance. The school bus is a nice background piece, the little crosswalk symbol saying to walk is a nice element. There could be a pleasing composition if it was done like this (right).

You could even take this same shot of the grouping on the left and move in closer, drawing attention to the guy even further behind. He seems to be inspired and looking off into space. Being out of focus kind of adds to his mood of thoughtfulness. Also the little crosswalk man could be what is in his imagination.

Getting back to the original focus on the right side of the shot... The look of happiness on the woman with the baby carriage seems like it should be emphasized. But, looking above her to the rear, there are two guys speaking. Another nice compositional balance. They could also be a focal point (right).

In the end though, to emphasize the woman in the baby carriage, the balance needs to be redistributed on the right to minimize the prominence of the man in the center. To do this, the left side of the picture needs to be eliminated completely. After cropping for this, I found a shadow on the sidewalk to be distracting and removed that. Also the backlighting is dramatic but made the buggy woman's face a bit hard to see, so I isolated her and brightened very slightly.

That could be enough, but classic street photography tends to be more gritty if it is rendered in black and white. To do that though, the trade-off was to lose the attraction of the yellow school bus in the rear. As I find the color of the bus draws your eye away from the woman in the buggy, the black and white tends to help to meet the original objective of the original street observation. The final shot looks like this below.