Issue 184 of the SNYC Newsletter
Greetings everyone! Originally I was publishing this newsletter on the 1st and 15th of each month. I’m now switching to twice a month around the beginning and middle of the month as a number of time constraints have arisen.
It is such a pleasure to meet so many new and returning customers from around the world. Sharing my love of photography and of New York City is wonderful. I thank everyone who has attended my workshops and to all the subscribers of the newsletter!
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Dialogue is the best thing for growing as a photographer. As always, Happy Shooting! If you’re not a happy shooter, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe there’s a way to change that.
The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust
I write this newsletter to share my thoughts & experiences on street photography. I hope that you find it of use in your journey. If you are able to, you can support me by buying me a coffee. 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. Mucho love.
Photography is a Reflection
What is photography if not a reflection? Photography can be both literally and metaphorically a reflection. A reflection is an image, a representation. It is with careful consideration and with thoughts on something that we take a photo and also reflect on that something.
Reflection is also literally light reflected on a surface. I love language and words as much as I love photography. It’s good to have a look at the words we use to remind ourselves of the full meaning of the word. It provides further insight into the way that we see and think.
Important rule in photography is to follow your vision. My vision is always attracted to reflections of all kinds. Capturing a photo of life reflected is after all what it’s all about.
If you’ve been out shooting with me you’ll notice that I am obsessed with reflections. But I have to say that they are fun. You never know when you might run into one and they are always changing depending on where you are standing and the time of day.
After a day of shooting, I try to keyword all my photos. I’m a little behind doing that. I can tell you that reflections is one of the top keywords in my photo library. I think that it helps to keyword your photos with your most common subjects that you shoot so you can create a smart collection of all of them.
The more you shoot, the more that you will notice themes appearing in the choice of things that you shoot. To be able to see a collection of them helps you to see how your photography has improved and ways that you can expand on the theme.
To reflect is to turn or bend back. It is the motion that I make when I am shooting and when I am reviewing. When a photo works well for you, you pause to reflect on it. When was the last time that you sat down and reflected on photography?
Do you spend time looking at photography books? I think it is the single most important thing for my photography after the physical act of shooting on a regular basis. There is so much to discover and be inspired by.
I’ve been working quite a bit lately and I haven’t really had the time to go through and reflect on the photos that I’ve taken. I’m planning on scheduling time every week to do just that. The long summer days and the heat are a perfect time to have a look and see what has been accomplished so that when autumn comes and the back to school/work feeling sets in you have a kind of focus of what you’d like to achieve.
As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
Sydney, Australia Street Photography Retreat 2024
I am so excited to announce that I will be giving a 4 day Street Photography Workshop in Sydney, Australia! I’ve never been there. Never been to the other side of the world. It will be taking place during the Vivid Sydney festival.
For more information you can see the link here with all the details. The event is hosted by Women in Photography but it is open to everyone. See you in Sydney!
The Substack app is a great method of reading this newsletter at your leisure and you can also read most of the archives there as well.
Biweekly Photo Assignment -Reflections
Following on the theme of this issue, the ever favorite reflections are what this assignment is about. Mirrors, windows, puddles etc all work. For bonus points you can even do a creative self portrait.
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.
Further Viewing
Right on cue, Alex is on the same wavelength with me in this video.
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!
I don’t have a lot of photo books but there are a few that I would really love to have. Genesis by Salgado being one of them.