Issue 160 of the SNYC Newsletter
Greetings everyone! We’ve been in a crazy heatwave in New York City and it has also affected many of you around the world. Always take care in extreme hot or cold temperatures when out shooting and remember that your camera and batteries don’t function as well as they normally do. Stay hydrated and don’t overdo it!
July and August are typically slower months for me as are January and February. But September is booking up fast. Having some down time is good for catching up on all those things that I don’t normally have time for. Like the ongoing process of organizing my photo library which is only one workshop away from hitting 400,000 images. I’ll be discussing photo library organization in an upcoming issue.
Thank you to all the new and returning customers! And thank you to everyone for writing a TripAdvisor review. It really helps people to know if I’m a good fit for what they’re looking for. It’s never too late to write a review and if you don’t use TripAdvisor you can write a review and email it to me as well. You can see some of those reviews on my site.
As always, Happy Shooting!
Comments and suggests are always welcome. Let’s dialogue!
The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust
I love coffee and I love it when I get treated to one :-) But no sweat if you’re unable to contribute. The newsletter is free for all. Thanks to everyone who has bought me a coffee!!! Maybe one day we’ll be able to have a coffee in person again. Mucho love.
Photographer Profile - David Vestal (1924-2013)
To me my work has always seemed self-evident and easy to see. The whole thing is simpler than people make out. You have to look or you see nothing, but that’s not hard. - David Vestal quoted in The New York School Photographs 1936-1963 by Jane Livingston.
David Vestal’s photography is not nearly as well-known as most of the other New York School photographers. But his photography is no less worthy of recognition. Many of the photographers and artists that we know about also had a knack for promoting themselves.
Pursuing a creative path is all encompassing. To be able to also promote yourself while doing so is not something that everyone can do or do well. We know of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Pablo Picasso because they were able to create and to create a buzz around their work.
Vestal, like many of the photographers in The New York School, studied painting before taking up photography. That likely had more of an effect on how they viewed the world rather than actually influencing their photographic style.
Composition is often, though not always, apparent. Sometimes you have the luxury to wait for your subject to be where you want them to be in the frame and others you just snap and hope.
In the Man Under Sign photo (above) you can see the limitations of film cameras in the 1950s. The photo is grainy and soft focus. Early digital cameras were also very limited when it came to ISO. I’m not certain that I would like this photo as much if it was shot with a new digital camera and it was sharp. That said, Vestal likely didn’t see this as a problem. Creativity is always about working within limitations.
Vestal is perhaps better known as a teacher and a writer. He taught at many of the well-known schools that taught photography and published a few books. I would love to have been in one of his classes or to hear from some of his students about how he taught. I will have a look at one of his books when I get the chance to.
Jane Livingston wrote in The New York School Photographs 1936-1963 that Vestal “tended to take one picture at a time instead of doing series or “essays” with his camera.” If you have a look at famous photographers, you will likely see that a large majority of their works are in series. That could explain why his photography is less known than it should be. Publishers and curators tend to like neat packages to work with.
One of the things that really stands out for me in his work is how we are provided with a ‘privileged’ view. In the photo From the Automat (above) we see the two men talking on the street, the ladies eating at the table and the window shoppers. There are multiple stories included in one frame.
Many of Vestal’s photos feature strong lines, framing, angles and views of people in their environment with a ‘privileged’ view. With the exception of the first photo, it’s as if Vestal wanted to remain invisible. To not interfere with the photo.
Without seeing his contact sheets it’s difficult to know for certain, but I’d say that he probably waited for everything to fall into place. I’ve been known to call myself a backwards painter. Perhaps that is a good way to look at the photography of David Vestal as well.
Vestal was very much influenced by the work of Cartier-Bresson, the master of disappearing into his own work. Of course, we are always in our photography no matter how much we try not to be. And Vestal’s style tends to demand more of our attention when viewing it. But it is not without its rewards for doing so.
Spend some time getting lost in photos. Let me know what you think of Vestal or other photographers that capture your attention.
Biweekly Photo Assignment - Motion
Motion can be illustrated in many different ways including blur, garments or hair flowing, legs extended in stride and you can even use gestures that suggest motion.
This is a voluntary assignment if you want to take part. You can submit your photos to the Facebook group for Shoot New York City and also on Instagram tag @shootnewyorkcity. If you're not a member of the Facebook group yet, all you have to do is request to join.
My Instagram account was hacked awhile back and I just wanted to mention that if you were following me on my old account that my account is now @ShootNewYorkCity If you can unfollow me on the old account, follow me on the new account and dm so I know to follow you, that would be great. Thanks
Further Viewing
Tatiana has some good suggestions for different ways of looking at a composition.
Upcoming Workshops:
Workshops are a maximum of 5 people Workshops are only scheduled on weekend days. If you would like to have a weekday workshop or a workshop in other areas of NYC, let me know with some lead time and I’ll see if others want to also attend it. Otherwise I continue to provide private workshops on weekdays and in other neighborhoods.
For those who haven't done a workshop or photo tour with me in the past I have a number of reviews on my website and also on TripAdvisor! Workshops are both for people who live here and also travelers, as are photo tours.
Photo tours are one-on-one and arranged on an individual basis for both neighborhood and photographic style and can be designed as a workshop as well. They are customized to your interests and level. Thank you for your patience and Stay Safe! The new Substack App is a very cool way to access this and many other newsletters.
Yesss, thank you for the suggestions!