Topic: Midtown Manhattan

[02Pilot]

I was in NYC a few weeks ago. I shot several rolls of film (Kentmere 100 through my FED-2 with FED 50/3.5, stand developed in Caffenol) wandering around midtown; the long shadows and the late autumn light were pretty darn good. Here's a few of the better shots for your viewing pleasure.

[Verian]

BAH! So many images are blocked at work. Can't see anything, so I will very much look forward to seeing these when I get home

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I like the two of chess players in particular

[irv_b]

Great set  of shots. The first one is my fave, closely followed by the chess shots and I think they give a real sense of Manhattan.

[02Pilot]

Thanks guys - I appreciate it. I tried to pick an interesting and diverse selection for the photo essay.

FWIW, there will be more of the series posted on my blog over the coming weeks, in case anyone's interested.

[ManuelL]

Beautiful shots! I like the chess players and the reflections in the building.

[Indofunk]

How did you get those shots of the chess players?? They're notorious about not wanting their pictures taken. Just a couple of weeks ago I tried a very nonchalant hipshot of a chess player in Washington Square park and he immediately yelled at me "you think you're so smart!! Well, you're NOT!!" and chased me with the intent of I guess beating me down? Although I'm much older and bigger than he was...

[02Pilot]

Just walked up, framed them, shot, and moved on. All the exposure settings were in place, so all I had to do was focus and shoot. I was working with a relatively unobtrusive rangefinder, so there wasn't any giant lens pointing at them. I'm hardly an old hand at street photography, but the more I do it, the more I realize that being quick and appearing confident makes a big difference - if you look like you know what you're doing you get away with a lot more than if you try to sneak up slowly.

All that said, there were a fair number of people with cameras wandering about (this was Bryant Park, so more tourist traffic than Washington Square), so I probably had pretty good cover.

[Indofunk]

Well done. Also looks like a relatively long lens (I usually use a 40mm Canonet). I also haven't gotten the knack of focusing really quickly so I'll tend to stand there with the camera to my eye for a good 10 seconds before actually snapping the shot.

Are you not from NYC? I like seeing non-New Yorkers' perspectives of my city

[02Pilot]

Those were shot with a FED 50mm f/3.5. I zone focus a lot for street photography, so it was pretty quick.

I'm about an hour north of NYC. I come in every now and again, but I'm more a country sort than a city sort. The city is a pretty great place for photography, though.

[imagesfrugales]

A fine series indeed. I didn't know that playing chess in public seems to be quite common in NY and other us-american cities.

A pity that publishing street pictures with identifiable people as the main subject is not legally possible here in Germany and afaik many other countries. But I understand that many people do not want to be photographed unasked by strangers nowadays. That's the downside coming from internet abuse in a voyeristic and humiliating sense. Too many ugly examples on facebook, youtube etc. And people are tired beeing watched and "overwatched" (= spied) always and everywhere by authorities who should protect the privacy of their citizens instead. That is poisoning extremely the athmosphere.

[02Pilot]

I understand that street photography does fall under considerable restriction in other countries, and I am very sympathetic to personal privacy concerns, both from other individuals and (especially) state institutions. Midtown Manhattan, however, has perhaps a higher concentration of cameras - private as well as state-run - than anywhere in the world; trying to limit street photography there would be an exercise in futility. Publication of those photos later is, of course, another matter.