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.  

Brooklyn Bound... not

I noticed the sign before anything else.  Closures continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Sometimes maintenance is being done in the off hours and weekends, which means no trains.  Where commuters might have neglected these signs in earlier days, they are impactful now.  

I decided to just concentrate on the sign and use that for the photographic focal point as people flowed by descending to and emerging from the trains below.  

Affect Me?

I liked the balance and flow of this picture, the curve of the girl as she swings around along with the single figure of the man on the sidewalk.  

No Brooklyn

This guy is reading one of the free newspapers that are given to commuters.  It's not that hard to read and walk at the same time.  There are channels of pedestrian traffic that can help guide.  

Engrossed

I know this particular headline is talking about the man who was pushed in front of a subway train.  A photographer took his picture on the tracks before he was hit and killed.  This sparked a debate as to whether the photographer should have (or could have) helped save the guy.  There are different interpretations.  This guy was a professional photographer working for newspapers and probably it was his instinct to snap something like that.  He said he was using his flash to signal to the conductor that someone was down there.  He went on news shows to tell his side of the story.  

He is a different type of photographer and I will give him the benefit of the doubt.  But, even if I was not in a position to help, and my camera was ready, my normal inclination would be to not shoot something like that.  I've passed by accidents where people are lying on the ground injured.  In those cases, it does seem to me to be an invasion of privacy.  

Revolving Glass

The front of Seven World Trade Center provides all kinds of glass, reflections and angles.  The mix of angles, architecture, and people sometimes makes a nice contrast.  

TrudgeGrand Entrance

The Tower Tree

I've previously mentioned the brilliant view my office has overlooking the World Trade Center site.  We've witnessed visits from the President and the Queen, and watched as the site develops into its future look.  

The growing One World Trade Center, now the largest building in New York City, even before it has been completed, now has a seasonal look.  Mixed lights now capture the holiday spirit.  It resembles something like a Christmas Tree.  

I hooked up my Gorillapod tripod to handle the low light, blocked out much of the window reflection, and took these shots.

The reflecting pool memorials, in the footprint of the former twin towers, create a third presence reflected in the glass of the new building being built at Four World Trade Center.  

Later I went down to the street and took this shot.  It's a time exposure, so some of the moving figures on the street create a ghosting effect.  

The Herd

Commuters coming and going using New York City as a destination...  This is a look up the passage way from the PATH train from/to New Jersey leading up to Church Street.  This happens to be the evening rush hour, but it would look the same in the morning.  

There are many people, but they are not as close together as they may appear here.  You would get this type of superimposed compression with a telephoto lens.  In this case, however, it is a wide angle that has been cropped closer.  

I think it is interesting to see some of the individual expressions on these faces (click the photo and you will see it larger).  None of them are smiling.  They do smile, but in this picture, they just aren't.  Reminds me of another photo a took a few years ago "Grim Faces".  There is a certain drudgery in mood.  Maybe it's the weather, just starting to be cold.  Maybe its the season?  The holidays are coming quickly, and there is much to do.  And, there are people everywhere.  Sometimes that gets to you too.   

Herd

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.  

Caption Fun

Here's one... a creation of a moment that didn't exist (at least I don't think it existed).  

Here's a caption, "Huh....!???  We've been working the same beat, standing side by side for five years, and NOW you're calling me for a date?"

Beat Call

From The Covered Spot

I had a short time at lunch time to go out and grab some shots.  It was a light drizzle and I was without an umbrella so I wore a cap.  I circled the block behind my building and stood on the steps of the former AT&T building within the doorway.  I stood where the man to the rear is standing in this picture.  The shots further below were taken from from that covered spot.  Just changing the angle and a little bit of tweaking and the pictures transform you to different worlds.  

Spy vs. Spy 

Make WayPelted

Rainfree Emergence

Out of the subway, but there is no rain.

Rainfree Emergence

Lucky Brand

Another Soho night shot.  I've been interested in the architectural geometry of the scaffolding around the city (seems like more than ever).  You can see this is my last post also "Coffee on the Run".  It adds a bit to the composition, I think.  Most cameras let you superimpose a grid to help you with the "Rule of Thirds" which is supposed to help you in composing photos.  The scaffold seems to do much the same but in the real world.  

Lucky Brand

Photo Today - Coffee on the Run

I liked the way the scaffolding separated the two sides of the sidewalk here.  I held the camera high and let the people come to me.  

This shot caught a number of things.  I thought about turning it to black and white, but I liked the pop of the girl's yellow scarf.  I lightened the red jacket behind the coffee drinkers head as I found it distracting. 

I got three shots of the man, only vaguely realizing he was drinking coffee.  This was the decisive moment in the series.  Also, the poster behind - "Skyfall" - will date the scene, although it is a generic term which could have been the title of this photo.  In fact, though, we will know that it is the current James Bond film.  

Coffee on the Run

Soho Night Lights

One night, on a long walk from the World Trade Center to Washington Square Park, I passed through Soho.  

Soho Night Lights

Men Amongst Giants

A bit of a Where's Waldo in today's (or should I say "tonight's") pictures.  This construction wall is decorated with large photos of people.  I don't think its an advertisement, more like art.  The setting alone was worth a picture, but grabbing a snippet of real people doesn't hurt.  

Man Amongst the Giants

A Figure Besides Figures

Walker Street Night

Continuing on with my experimentation with night photography.  I spotted the light and doorway and thought that was enough of a picture, but then thought to wait while several people passed.  I was short on a title for the shot, so thought to look up the name of the street (as this is an unfamiliar area to where I usually shoot).  Looking it up on Google Streetview, I found the exact spot.   

The name of the street is Walker Street.  But, when I took a look again at the title of this shot when uploading it, it read to me as "Street Walker Night".  Guess it was a Freudian slip of sorts.  

Also, whenever they took the Streetview, there was no graffiti. I'm thinking no graffitti and this would be no picture.  

Walker Street Night

Window by the Subway

I noticed this guy absorbed in work sitting in a window corner of a Starbucks.  You can see the subway lines and entrance reflected.  He would look down at the laptop and then up off into space.  I had an easy time lining up the shot, he was in no way awares of my presence.  

Window by the Subway