Felt a bit mean taking this one, but I was happy to at least see and respond quickly enough to capture this photo. Feel even meaner putting it here but could not help it, particularly after an earlier post (*).
A quote from Matt Weber (*), which I read just now (*), seems to capture what I feel about this photograph:
A really funny moment sometimes seems cruel when photographed or not as funny when you look at it as a photograph.
More of Matt's insights into street photography to follow (*)
Manhattan Bridge (1 of 2) - Dumbo / Brooklyn / New York (Fri 12 Aug 2011)
It might be a boring midday photo with not too much interest. I like it because of the depth of the photo ...
Brooklyn Bridge on ramp foreground, Dumbo and East River middle ground, Manhattan Bridge background and the Empire State Building distant background.
... and the zig-zagging nature of the key elements that lead you through the photo. And besides some weathered yellow and a little bit of orange never goes astray.
Yarn Bicycle - Agata Olek (*) - Brooklyn Bridge (*) / New York (Fri 12 Aug 2011)
Rachel, Rob and I decided to cross the Brooklyn Bridge (*) from the Brooklyn side. This Agata Olek (*) yarn bicycle (*) is what greeted us at the base of the steps that take you up and onto the Brooklyn Bridge (*). Like the touch of orange in the crochet and the converging support beams of the Brooklyn Bridge above us.
Picasa Contact Sheet - eljeiffel - New York (Fri 12 Aug 2011)
Picasa Contact Sheet - eljeiffel - New York (Wed 17 Aug 2011)
Just a couple of screen shots of some virtual contact sheets (*) from recent trip to New York. Will put a few more over the coming days as (the following youtube clip reveals) I think they reveal something about how I see when I travel.
From his film Contacts Vol.1 (*), William Klein (*) reveals some great insights into the working processes of a photographer.
It does not matter if you are great or unknown, if you care when you press the shutter to take a photo, we pretty much all go through the same thoughts and steps.
Some of the more interesting insights from the clip follow:
A sheet of contacts. 36 exposures. 6 strips of 6 photographs, taken one after the other. You read them from left to right like a text. It the diary of a photographer. You see what he sees through the viewfinder. His hesitations. His hits. His misses. His choices. He choses one moment. One angle. Another moment. Another angle. He insists. He stops.
You rarely see the contacts of a photographer. You only see the picture chosen. You don't see the before or the after like you do on proof sheet. [..]
Ok, the contacts. You see the before and after. Why one picture is taken rather than the other. And then why one is chosen rather than another. [..]
A wall in New York 20 years ago. Ciaro. Probably the name of a gang. Torn paper. A ready made photo. A kind of ??. All you have do is frame and click. You can do a hundread on that wall no sweat. It's there for the taking. There are pictures like that all over, you just have to look.
This picture is maybe better than that one. Or this one. Or that one.
Found the Klein clip from a Jonathan Walker (*) post (*). Always lots of good information on photography (*) there. Thanks Jonathan.
Red - Financial District - New York City (Fri 12 Aug 2011)
As the following posts will show, I was drawn to the graffiti on the temporary construction barrier fence.
Some times you get lucky.
In this photo I had noticed the fence graffiti and was just starting to move over to photograph it, when I saw the first man in the red shirt emerge from the subway. I quickly noticed the yellow and orange paint and then framed my shot.
Decided to wait just a moment to see if anything would become more obvious to my visual filter. In waiting for this brief moment I got lucky with another man with a red shirt emerging from the subway and a passerby with a red shoulder bag coming into frame. That was the moment to press the shutter. I did not notice the red flavoured drink of the passerby until reviewing the photo.
For me travel photography is not about landmarks but colour, combination and lines. This photo seems to make all the failed efforts worthwhile.
This is all described brilliantly by Henri Cartier-Bresson (*) here
