Issue 150 of the SNYC Newsletter
Greetings everyone! Drum roll to the 150th issue of the Shoot New York City newsletter! It all began in May of 2017. You can see all of the newsletters beginning on January 1, 2021 when I moved the newsletter to Substack.
Thank you to everyone who has subscribed. I realize that it’s not always easy to conquer all those emails in your inbox. You should see mine! And thank you to those people who read a number of them all at once to catch up! I notice :-) Binge reading.
I am so fortunate to have a job that I love providing workshops and tours to everyone of you. To be a teacher and a mentor and share my love and experiences about photography and New York City with you.
Welcome to all the new subscribers! Don’t be shy. You can comment on or make suggestions. I’d like to think that we can all share our experiences and learn something from that. So just hit reply and let me know what you think.
As always, Happy Shooting!
The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust
If you enjoy this newsletter you can buy me a coffee. Just click on the link Buy Me a Coffee page
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.
Minimalism
Minimalism is a favorite style in photography, art and maybe even life in general. That said, it doesn’t happen nearly as often. Perhaps it’s just distractions and the need to slow down that keeps us from not doing more of it.
Shadows are a good method of capturing minimalist photos. More and more people in workshops are commenting about my ability to see shadows and reflections. Then when they work on it for a little bit they’re surprised to see them and shoot them. It can be very satisfying.
I took the above photo 12 years ago AND I still like it! I believe it was the first really minimalist photo that I took and had an aha moment. It was wow, I can do this?
If you’ve been on a workshop with me on a sunny day you’ll see my obsession in action with shadows. I have hundreds of them. It’s not just the shadows. It’s the shadows of bicycle wheels as well. So minimalism doesn’t have to be difficult.
Silhouettes are another method of capturing minimalistic photos. The photo at the opening of the newsletter was taken during a visit to MoMA. I go to museums and galleries as often as possible as they are great for photographic opportunities.
I tend to capture silhouettes in the afternoon sun on a northern wall. In Manhattan you may very well notice this phenomenon of gorgeous light and shadows on northern walls and it can be relatively easy to determine that because much of Manhattan is on a grid pattern. And these walls will be next to avenues.
However the above photo was taken in the evening. Either way, you only need a backlit wall and no light between you and the subject. On a side note, I discovered how to make silhouettes by accident. Oh, if you’re an early bird it works in the morning as well.
Minimalism can also crossover into abstract street photography. But the above photo is nothing more that a puddle reflection of a building and a street lane line running through it. Abstract needn’t be scary.
I realize that many people wish they could be in New York City to take street photos. Yes, it’s a wonderful city for street photography and I hope that you’ll take a workshop with me when you’re here. BUT, I’d like to think that you can take many photos where you live as well.
The above photo is an example of a photo you can do almost anywhere unless you have no rainfall. Bicycle shadows and silhouettes are also possible anywhere. No need to wait for a trip.
Yes, minimalism can be achieved in many ways. By processing this photo in black and white it added to the minimalistic look and the lines and logo stand out. If I was going to be picky, I’d rather not have the H&M name in it. I could of course erase it. But I rarely spend that much time processing photos.
In fact, in the history of photography I’d be surprised if they were any of the greats that didn’t edit their photos to one degree or another. Whether it’s dodging, burning, cropping or even adding or subtracting from a photo.
So don’t worry if you have to do some form of editing after shooting. Yes, it’s always ideal to capture the photo perfectly whatever that is while shooting. But life isn’t always ideal.
Minimal color or one dominant color has a similar effect to monochrome as it minimizes the information that you see. Too many colors or objects can create a kind of noise that is the opposite of minimalism.
In part, minimalism merely causes the viewer to focus on what’s important in the frame. It eliminates those things that aren’t needed to have the photo work.
If I had to guess, I’d say that minimalism is a much smaller percentage of my street photography images. While I have a great appreciation for minimalism it’s not always possible and I have a few other things in my toolbox to occupy by shooting.
So, minimalism is many things from basic street to abstract street and it’s fun to capture. The examples that I’ve used are all of one person or a building. While I imagine it’s possible to have 2 people in a minimalist street photo, I haven’t been able to find one in my unorganized photo library.
So guess what the photo assignment will be!
I’d love to hear your comments or suggestions about minimalist street photography. It’s so easy to do.
The Favorite Photos of 2021 Assignment
So I've decided that I will be sending out a special issue of the newsletter that will have all the photos with the hashtag #2021favephotos in the Facebook group.
If you aren’t in the Facebook group you can email me your photos to be included. Please do so by February 20th.
Names will not be included with the photos. I think that anonymous is better.
You can vote for 5 photos.
There will be a few prizes that ship worldwide.
If you’re in the Facebook group and you haven’t submitted your favorites of 2021, you can post them by February 20th.
And, just in case you didn’t know, if you’ve taken a workshop with me or you’re a subscriber to the newsletter you can request to join the Facebook group for Shoot New York City.
Instagram Update
So I’m chugging along on my new Instagram account. I’m recreating it from scratch in a much more orderly manner. It seems that it was perhaps a good thing to really be more organized in my approach.
I think that perhaps, any social media account should be seen as an extension of your portfolio. But I see quite a few people on my street photography account for Shoot New York City post random photos of all kinds of things that are social/personal and outside of what they do photographically.
I’m no expert at social media and I really don’t know how to take advantage of all the bells and whistles that trendy people do. But if you want to do both you may want to start a second account.
As well, one of my favorite photographers systematically deletes all his posts and starts fresh. I’m not proposing that as a good idea. It’s a little radical for me. Certainly you can delete photos to clean up your account the same way that you would rotate photos on your website.
These are just my thoughts on it all. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what works, what doesn’t or even complaints about social media. That’s what the newsletter is here for.
My other website
Did you know that I also have a website with abstract photography and mixed media? I am doing many things in the creative realm. I have a shop on it as well.
You can check it out at
Biweekly Photo Assignment - Minimalism
So throughout this issue I’ve provided a few examples of the different methods that you can use to create minimalism. Also, lines and geometric shapes work well. Architecture too.
As usual, you can interpret this assignment and don’t be afraid to post creative photos. I think that it should really be an enjoyable exercise.
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 @shootnycity. If you're not a member of the Facebook group yet, all you have to do is request to join.
It would be great if as a group people would comment on photos submitted as well. Let's have fun! Happy shooting and sharing! And you can connect with other people that you share an interest with.
Further Viewing
I love it how often I am writing about something and Alex has a video that touches on a similar idea! Enjoy.
Upcoming Workshops:
Workshops are still a maximum of 3 people. Social distancing and masks are required. And with fewer people in each workshop everyone can gain even more individual attention.
Workshops are only being scheduled on a weekend day now. 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!
Hey Leanne. Minimalism is something I can really relate to. Shadows, silhouettes and reflections are timeless IMHO. Using light and shadow to true advantage. Breaking some rules - "don't point your camera towards the sun" - what? Utter nonsense when we now look at the results!
To conclude I just wanted to thank you for SNYC news and for Curious Frame. I'm a bit late coming to SNYC news for some reason - looks good - but always enjoy Curious Frame. Your contributions have been great in at least helping me to navigate the past 2 Covid years - I call 'em Plague Years! We've endured lockdowns here in Sydney as you know, including one that was 107 days long where for some of the time we were confined to a 5km radius of home - about 3 miles. My photo mojo has been sorely tested and I've "emerged" a couple of times only to be thwarted by another lockdown or other change. Anyway - enough Covid guff - thanks heaps again.