Purple Rain

Somewhat in honor of Prince. 

Purple Rain

Wind Tunnel

It was a question of how long I would stand there in the rain waiting for someone to walk past who would create a picture for me.  Took only two minutes.  

Wind Tunnel

Above Wall Street

The swirling steam floats above the New York Stock Exchange.  

Above Wall Street

Storming Wall Street

Another rainy day on Wall Street, cold and damp.  I watched the activity from up the steps at Federal Hall.

Storming Wall StreetDancing in the RainNothing But YellowThe Blue Boys

Carless Night

A rare moment where there are no cars on Church Street next to the new World Trade Center buildings.  

Carless Night

Corner Wall Street

The steam heat escaping from the pipes seemed particularly atmospheric on this corner of Wall Street.  I was happily protected from the raindrops by the scaffold and watched the activity on the corner here.  This top shot was included in my Top 10 from last year, so I'm a bit late catching up to the sequences in this blog.  Better late than never.  

Corner Wall StreetWill StreetWhack-A-Mole

Married

Well, if these two are not married, their umbrellas, at least are married.  

Married

Masquerade

Behind the mask, but not hidden.

Masquerade

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

The Big Umbrella

Well protected with a big umbrella.

The Big Umbrella

Fifth Avenue Night

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

Center Stage

Three Corner

Rockefeller Surrealism

It was raining as I moved through Rockefeller Center.  The darkness and slow shutter speed created some surrealistic shots that look like paintings.  

30 Rock Slick

I was drawn to this solitary man looking down on the ice skating rink, at about the location where the Christmas Tree would be during the holidays.  

Observing the Rink

Neon Park Sign

I had a long walk back from an evening social event on a rainy evening.  Looking to the right as I walked down Fifth Avenue I spotted the neon "Park" sign.  I parked myself and gathered a few shots.  

Park Run

This one shows the motion of the car, and the group of girls are highlighted against the garage entrance.  

Enter Here

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

The Coffee Cart

Another rainy morning, this time I observed the activity at the coffee truck near Park Row, across from City Hall. I watched as various formations of people and umbrella made interesting patterns. It was windy and cold, shiny and bright.

Various people visited the cart for their breakfast, regulars mostly. Sometimes there are tourists but that is generally rare, and usually not on a rainy day during the morning commute. The tourists slow down the routine for the regulars.

As I took pictures, a construction worker stormed towards the truck. I could hear him even though I was fairly far away. He was steamed. "Look at this! Do you see what you did?" He held the bag up to display the contents to the coffee vendor, who looked puzzled. The coffee guy shook his head like he understood that the guy was complaining, but not what he was complaining about.

I was trying to think what was the issue? Was it the wrong order? In the end, I thought that it might be that they didn't put the coffee lids on tight enough and the pastries and rolls might have gotten wet. But, I really don't know. Any rate, it didn't matter if the vendor understood or not, as the customer is always right.

Some time passed while the order was fixed. It appeared to be a rather large order.

Finally, the construction worker left, appearing satisfied somewhat. He walked right up next to me, oblivious, and pulled out a walky talky and called his supervisor to explain why he was not yet back on the job with their food.

Under an Awning

Sometimes the best shots just happen as you're moving along... something catches your eye, you take a few shots and you're done. But, if you exhibit patience (hard to come by), you can stay in one spot, setup and hope something manifests itself.

In the rain the other day, I took the latter approach (because it was wet) and parked myself at a doorway and just shot as people walked past. I didn't realize it was an "active" doorway until the door behind me opened and pushed me out into the rain. I repositioned myself underneath the awning of a corner Sushi fast food restaurant. This spot was dry and I could look in multiple directions.

I waited and shot, and waited and shot. All together 117 shots. And, I considered these three of the most worthwhile.

"Wet"

"You Look So Relaxed"

"Jealous"

Rainy Corner

Rainy Corner
Originally uploaded by John Fraissinet

There are a couple of elements that I find interesting about this picture which makes it one of my new favorites.

Besides, the brightness of the light blue umbrella and the red Don't Walk sign, there is a surrealistic feel to it. I shot it with a slow shutter speed because it was dark, and this added to the blur of the image. But, you can see that the building and signs are sharp, so the motion is from street activity and not camera shake.

I find the "characters" in the picture are also expressive. The main somber woman with the blue umbrella. The elderly couple to the right who have come from shopping (and the rolled up newspaper or something in his back pocket). The center umbrella creates a triad of focal points above those two sets of characters. And, the rush of the figure approaching on the left adds a bit of clutter and dynamic.

When I took the picture, I was attracted to the light blue umbrella. Like most of my pictures, the core was not planned but was discovered after I got to review it.

Rainy

The conditions are not always the best to take pictures in the rain, but the resulting shots are far more interesting than when on dry land. Street lights, traffic lights, car taillights, neon lights all pop. The water reflection on the pavement creates a doubling and surrealistic effect. Umbrellas provide colorful elements that are a nice accessory. When it's raining, frequently I will go out and try to find a dry perch to that can give me a view of the street activity.

The problem is that its wet outside when it rains. It's a bit harder to take a picture when you're holding an umbrella. The lens gets wet. It can be cold. But, it's worth it.

Black and White in Color

I often turn color pictures into black and white to create mood. Classic street photography has this dreamlike sense and takes on another world feeling when it lacks color.

However, sometimes a color photograph can be absent of color as well. Usually it is a dark day, or a winter day with long shadows. The gray streets with white highlights and dark figures can look like a natural black and white picture. Sometimes just a trace of color can be noticed.

It was a rainy morning when this silhouetted figure passed by below my perch on the front porch of a church watching the umbrellas pass.