Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Street Photography


I hapened to be standing in front of the NY Public Library on Fifth Avenue last week, and I was just looking around at the construction, and all the people sitting on the steps reading and relaxing. I happened to be looking down, and was aware of people passing me - first I would see their shadows ahead of them on the sidewalk, if they came from my left. So I got my camera out and was watching what it looked like as the shapes of pedestrians and their shadows passed me. Then I started to try and anticipate when an interesting shadow would pass me. It was really difficult, because the people were fast moving and there was a significant "shutter lag" - I press the shutter release, and the scene has changed by the time the shutter clicks. So I have to guess and anticipate. I shot about 30 shots, and there were four possibilities. This is my favorite because, except for the hand, everything is either black or gray in color.

3 comments:

ken schwarz said...

I like this photo and it brought three things to mind:
1) I think the "hand" makes the shot! 2) I like digital photography because once the hardware is purchased, clicking off many shots to capture the moment costs next to nothing. 3) This shot reminds me of several occasions when I tried (or failed) to avoid my shadow in the picture.

Ken Spencer said...

Thanks for the comments. You cannot imagine how long I went back and forth, trying to decide whether or not to include the hand! I was in agony trying to decide. Finally, it seemed to me that the picture was a bit too dull in just gray and black, so I included the hand. Thanks for confirming that I made the right decision!

john smith said...

I do enjoy it. I like viewing it. I've enjoyed seeing someone like Aaron Offord take his photography in this. https://portugalurlaub.tumblr.com/post/157702787528/cristo-rei-lissabon