Issue 194 of the SNYC Newsletter
Greetings everyone! With the holidays behind us, the new year sets in. I’m not very good and stopping and looking back. I am stealing moments here and there to see what I’ve done this year. I explain a little further on this in this issue.
Photographically, it has been a very good year for me. And it has been wonderful to meet so many people of all ages and from everywhere around the world. And I thank you!
Also, a very big thank you to all the subscribers, free and paid. Thank you for reading the newsletter and also for your comments. Yes, they are always welcome.
Happy Shooting New Year!
The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust
This newsletter is about my thoughts & experiences on street photography. I hope that you find it of use on 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.
Happy Shooting New Year
It’s a new calendar year and it seems that people are forever planning on the new you, as if you can only do that once a year. I gave up on making resolutions many years ago. They often fail by most people who try them as they are often too much in too little time.
Rather than making annual resolutions, I am always tweaking how I do things. Little steps eventually lead to a big shift. One step in front of another and all of the sudden it all comes together. And often it really seems effortless when done this way.
Some people get hooked on metrics. I am so uninterested in numbers. People have asked me about the percentage of keepers that I get after a day of shooting. I have no idea and it doesn’t even come into consideration.
Speaking of metrics, everyone is posting their top 9 photos of the year now. The numbers being based on how many likes that a photo received. Talk about a ridiculous metric! I know that many of my favorite photos received the least amount of likes of all of them.
I am so so far behind in going through my photo library that I don’t know what my favorite photos of the year are. I have found photos years after I took them that I really saw for the first time. Which is part of the reason I delete so few photos.
I can talk about how I feel about many aspects of photography, cameras, social media etc. But the thing that I focus on, the whole reason that I love street photography is for the activity. It’s the journey. It’s an activity.
My suggestion for photography resolutions are that you should strive to do something different from how you normally shoot. All of the photos in this issue were shot using the Fuji X T10 and a Chinese lens. The entire set-up cost me $300 and that’s out of the box with full warranty.
I used a film simulation recipe for Kodachrome 64. So the photos that you see are from the jpgs out of camera with some tweaks. The camera fits in my coat pocket. That is my set-up for when I’m shooting film. I don’t want to lug around 2 cameras.
At any rate, this is a new method for me and I’m liking it so far. I was interviewed awhile back by Street Badass about creativity and he was surprised at how I find it. Creativity comes to me from boredom. When I get bored doing the same thing over and over again, I know that it’s time for a change. This happens throughout the year. Not on the first day of the new year.
Less is definitely more. Different cameras are just different tools and provide different opportunities. I have 3 Fuji cameras and I love them all. I am finding ways to use each of them individually and take advantage of what they are best for.
If I was a painter, I would have many different brushes and mediums that I could use like oil or acrylic paints. Cameras and lenses are the same thing. I would only own one digital camera if they were all the same. That sounds brilliant. Right?
Another possible resolution is to learn about some of the things that your camera can do. I don’t mean to say that you need to learn your camera inside out. But eventually figure out if there other things that the camera does that you didn’t know about. I often discover things by accident. Happy accidents. I often show things to people on workshops that they didn’t know that their cameras would do.
The best new year’s resolution is one that is achievable and even more so fun! Yes, I always write happy shooting. And I mean it. I can’t imagine that you would produce much of interest if you weren’t having fun. Doesn’t compute.
To have fun shooting, you don’t need to spend money on new equipment. The fact is that when you don’t have the money to spend on gear is when you’re more likely to come up with creative ways to do things.
But perhaps the hardest thing is to give yourself permission to do things differently. To experiment. And even to fail at it. I take some terrible photos from time to time. And I also take a lot of average photos. And I share them. That of course takes courage. But what’s to lose? I’m not looking for everyone to like my photos. I am happy shooting and doubly happy when I capture photos that I like.
Happy Shooting!
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
Biweekly Photo Assignment -Framing
Framing is one of the coolest things you can do in photography. Use your imagination as creativity is always a plus. You can also continue to post your favorites from 2023.
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
This video is in 2 parts. It’s about the photography of Alexey Titarenko and it’s how to take photos like him. Well done.
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.
Happy new year and thank you for your piece of writing! Very nice pictures, I think that New York is a cool place for street photography! Are you developing your films by yourself?
Happy New Year. I, like many others, believed in doing resolutions. New year, fresh start. While noble, they are meaningless unless one is fully prepared to accept them as their new norm. Making a broader resolution, like you have suggested with practicing a new setting on a camera, makes it much more achievable and realistic. Hope you have a healthy and prosperous new year!