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.

Rainy Illusions

StreetObservations.com - Through the bus' window in a rainy Corfu, Greece, these images seemed to create a dreamy impressionistic quality. 

The Red Cube

So, on the corner of Broadway and Liberty Place is this huge red cube. It is an art work, which is called "The Red Cube", done by the artist Isamu Noguchi.

It's kind of out of place amongst the tall black buildings. And, it is in a tourist location, near Wall Street and the World Trade Center site. People like to pose with it, pretending they are holding it up from afar (like the Leaning Tower of Pisa). It's also interesting in various types of weather. In the winter, it's kind of like a square igloo on its side.

In rainy weather, if you stand in the right place you can be kind of protected from the elements.

But the main reason I'm writing about this is because of this abstract picture I took through the center with perfect positioning to see this reflection of the building across the street.

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.