Issue 138 of the SNYC Newsletter
Greetings everyone! Summer is ripping by at lightning speed. I could never understand how it is that winter drags on and summer flies by. Somethings will always be a mystery to me.
Good news! I’ve been getting more people in workshops. Things are kind of picking up here. But still the borders are mostly closed to international travelers coming to the US. It will be incredible when the borders open again.
Now that I’m getting more people in workshops I’m hearing some of the same issues that people are having. So I’m starting a new section of the newsletter about your issues.
I invite you to send me your issues with street photography and I’ll see if I can come up with any ideas or solutions about it. I imagine that most issues people come across when shooting street photography will be true for a number of people and even just printing them here in the newsletter can be helpful to know that you’re not alone.
As always, happy and safe shooting!
The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust
Caution
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Did you know?
You can like the newsletter at the top and at the bottom of this issue? You can also share it on all of the usual platforms. And, best yet, you can comment! Yes, your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Dialogue is cool
Questions & Issues
A reader responded to the last issue about my new camera, the Fuji X 100V. He’s still trying to figure out this camera and asked if I would share some of my preferred settings?
So here it is and I hope that this information is in some way helpful for everyone even though it is about a Fuji camera.
The camera settings for this photo are as follows. ISO 250 - I use Auto ISO and I like how I am able to control within the Auto ISO function the highest ISO that I would like (typically 800 depending on light) and even more importantly I set it so that the Shutter Speed won’t go below 1/200th of a second.
I mostly shoot Aperture Priority and I typically start at f/5.6 and then adjust based on the available light and situation. As well, f/5.6 tends to be the sweet spot with most of the lenses I use.
Next, the Shutter Speed is 1/200th of a second. That is what the camera chose based on my choosing Auto ISO and the Aperture. When getting ready to shoot I go through and set ISO and Aperture do a test and then unless the lighting changes in a big way, I mostly forget about the settings.
I also shoot RAW and I “preview” my images in Acros which is a very cool black and white processing. I purchased a filter for it to weather seal the camera. It is very cool working with a fixed focal length lens and a camera that has a fixed lens on it. The funny thing is that I kept looking for the setting to clean the sensor. With a fixed lens that is no longer necessary.
Anyway, if you’re still looking for information on Fuji cameras, I suggest having a look at Rocky Nook books. They also publish books about many other camera makes as well.
I welcome your questions and comments and I hope that I answered the question here. Next issue will be more issues.
Another Question
A few issues back, a reader asked why I was holding a workshop on a weekday. So here’s my answer. Once upon a time, way back in 2019, I was holding somewhat regular group workshops on weekends around my availability when I didn’t have private workshops.
Of course, the pandemic changed that as I lost a good 85% of business which was mostly international travelers. So it wasn’t as obvious that I was in fact holding workshops on weekdays.
The fact is, street photography isn’t only for weekends or even so-called ideal weather. I do this all year round. Depending on the day of the week, the neighborhood and the season or weather, you’ll capture different kinds of street photography and in some cases you will have more people on the streets or fewer. We work with what we have.
It’s easy for us to set up mental boundaries based on some kind of ideal for capturing street photography. Of course, we all have our preferred times and places to shoot.
For me, since it is also my business and I can’t afford to close shop for a season, I’ve learned to be somewhat weatherproof. I am always fascinated by photography and the elements and environment.
Yes, I do have limits. But there have been very few times when I’ve rescheduled a workshop as a result of weather. As well, there was a time many years ago when the idea of shooting street photography in Midtown Manhattan didn’t even occur to me as a good place to find it. Street photography is everywhere and pretty much all of the time.
Sharpness is a bourgeois concept
Yes, that is an often quoted line from Henri Cartier-Bresson by photographers who prefer photos with soft focus or even a degree of blur. I am not much of a sports enthusiast and I even lost interest in the Olympics many years ago.
So I was flipping through The New York Times, looking at the photos when this one jumped off the page at me. WTF? Seriously? They printed a blurry photo. I think it’s kind of an interesting composition but I question why would they would print this photo? Is this the best that they could do?
What am I missing? My thought is that photojournalism is about photos that are documentary, that is to say, they provide an image that would look like being there.
That’s my thought on this photo. As an abstract photo it is another story. Yes, I’d love to hear your comments about this photo whether you like it or not.
I have an article in the latest issue of Inspired Eye magazine. This article is about photography as a language. I really like Inspired Eye as every issue has interviews and photos by a number of photographers from around the world.
The photographers featured aren’t the big names in the industry. I wouldn’t learn of many of them otherwise since some don’t really do social media. And their photographic styles and subjects are very diverse. There’s only one ad in the entire 87 page issue.
I always find some inspiration reading Inspired Eye and seeing the photos and reading about the photographers.
Biweekly Photo Assignment - Body Language
Body language is fun. The photo of the woman giving me the finger shown earlier, also works for this assignment. Eye contact is another, a person hailing a cab, smiles, holding hands etc etc.
You can interpret this assignment and don’t be afraid to post creative photos. As well, it’s good to know why you chose the photos you did and it’s maybe best to post them individually so they don’t get buried.
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.
Are You Curious?
The new issue of Curious Frame is about how photography has influenced beauty and our notion of it.
Beauty is mysterious. There is something under the surface. It is more than a facade. We are compelled to look deeply at beauty. There is a quality to beauty that we can’t quite grasp.
Curious Frame is a newsletter for my thoughts on photography. In a world that is bombarded with images, how do we make sense of it all? And how do we look at photography and decide if a photo is good or if we just fall for images that appeal to our interests and preferences?
You can subscribe and take part in the dialogue.
Further Viewing:
William Klein is an amazing photographer. I love how he painted on his photos and how he accidentally became a fashion photographer. I watched it with closed captioning as some of the audio is difficult to understand.
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.
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!