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Ned's Street Photography.


NB23

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Just came back from nyc.

 

Wow. Is it me or is it one helluva boring city to shoot in? Besides shooting people walking up and down the sidewalks, which has been done to death, there is nothing else.

I'm really surprised by your comment Ned.  Surely there's a lot to see, and photograph, in one of the world's most popular cities.

Perhaps you are being facetious... ;)

 

all best..

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I'm really surprised by your comment Ned. Surely there's a lot to see, and photograph, in one of the world's most popular cities.

Perhaps you are being facetious... ;)

 

all best..

I may sound facetious but I am serious.

 

I love NY, who doesn't. People, shopping, museums, the energy, so on.

 

But IMO, it is a only a beginner shooter's paradise. Beginners like to shoot people next to posters, next to ads and walking up and down a sidewalk. The fun part is that you can be in people's faces and they won't complain.

 

But that is essentially street photography 101.

 

The NY of the 70's is gone. No more gangs to document, no more modern living to document, no real issues. Absolutely nothing going on except people rushing aomewhere. Not even a backalley. There's not even a public toilet except the dirty ones in McDonald's. You better wear diapers in NYC if you're planning a long walk. And don't be scared of being robbed: that 22,595$ camera kit around one's neck is extra safe.

 

The only (silly) social behaviourI could see myself documenting in NY is the people eating while walking and, especially, people carrying their paper cup of coffee while walking. I have never seen something so poor as to having to drink a coffee on the street because the café is too cheap to offer you a comfortable seat.

 

Paris, London, Lisbon, Belgrade, any big city, will offer you a better street experience photography-wise once you get past the 3 usual NYC photos: that is a person's big face, a person in the strong 5th avenue light, and a person walking fast going nowhere or so (while holding a sandwich or a silly paper cup filled with extremely bad tasteless coffee).

 

I loved the Opera at the Met. But I widely prefered any of my cafe au lait on any given Parisian terrace where you see so much more interesting scenes developing in front of you, in a single minute, than the proverbial "new york minute" in New York.

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But I want to add that I am extremely harsh when judging photography in general. Other's work and mine. Especially other's.

 

The masters of photography really show us how it must be done. Even McCurry, whom I always suspected to stage the shots, delivers the goods in a spectacular way. Movies too. There are true masters out there. But I personally seek 100% purity (purity as in film, and as the catching the fleeting unadulterated moment). NYC is missing some of these things, especially the soul that India, Europe and other places do offer. There is that missing depth. Too much surface, too little depth.

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Wow, some interesting thoughts on NYC.

Since I'm a raw rookie in terms of street photography, the experience for me would be equivalent to a chocoholic in a chocolate factory. I must go before time runs out.

You're going to love it!

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...Even McCurry, whom I always suspected to stage the shots, ...

 

Your do not need to suspect this. It is very well documented.

 

Regards,

Steve

Yes!

 

I notice a lot of staged street shots in general. The best ones, usually. With people jumping around or doing things with such synchronicity.

Such serendipity, in real life, is never encounteted. Not even in NYC with its dense population...

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As a very old man the "pontifex maximus" not only allowed photos of himself to be published, but was also tongue-in-cheek (wordlessly):

STERN porfolio, Bibliothek der Fotografie #13, Landschaften / Landscapes (google it, or look on ebay)

Very interesting photograph on the cover!

 

Vittorio de Sica, Rossellini or even Fellini would have needed a big crew and at least half a morning to create such a heavenly harmonious image. Beforehand with a script, location-scouts, drawings etc.

 

Luckily that's how it really happened: Sir Henri casually walked by, instantly lifted the little black box from which all magic was ever since passed on to millions of rangefinders...and made one "click"

Voila!

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As a very old man the "pontifex maximus" not only allowed photos of himself to be published, but was also tongue-in-cheek (wordlessly):

STERN porfolio, Bibliothek der Fotografie #13, Landschaften / Landscapes (google it, or look on ebay)

Very interesting photograph on the cover!

 

Vittorio de Sica, Rossellini or even Fellini would have needed a big crew and at least half a morning to create such a heavenly harmonious image. Beforehand with a script, location-scouts, drawings etc.

 

Luckily that's how it really happened: Sir Henri casually walked by, instantly lifted the little black box from which all magic was ever since passed on to millions of rangefinders...and made one "click"

Voila!

Very nice.

 

In what city did this happen? :D

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