NYC: The Other Story

[Calzinger]

NYC: The Other Story

I took this one around this time last year. I decided to post it to get feedback more on the content of the shot rather than the shot itself. There's a story behind how I got it, a personal story which I actually wrote my college essay about. It was a battle between me and myself, a split second battle of whether or not I was supposed to, according to traditional societal beliefs, take this shot.

taken in Manhattan along 7th ave somewhere between 58th and 55th

f/4.0 1/250" @ 70mm ISO400
http://calzinger.net/_sitecontent/_cache/_portfolio/nyc_candid/533.800._MG_4022.jpg

[BottomBracket]

Chris, it is great to see you back here! I like this photo, if I didn't know any better I would say this was shot on film.

I think I know what you are getting at, that is, should we take pictures of people who are at the nadir of their existence? At times I have struggled with the issue myself. I know that I have lost some interesting shots because I simply didn't want to take them, and i do so without remorse. I know that you know that i street photography sometimes there is that fleeting moment when you have to decide to take the picture, and if you hesitate you lose it. Some may say that this hesitation is an impairment that has no place in photography, I say it is what gives a street photographer his/her soul - it allows greater compassion and connection to his/her surroundings, which will ultimately translate to his/her photographs.

I think that your photo is very well done technically. As far as your struggle goes, I think that you have done the right thing - you captured the person's downtrodden look while giving him a measure of anonymity.

I do find it incredible that you posted this photo now, as I was just preparing a post that addresses the same conflict. Watch for it in the next few days.

Glad to see you're back, we should get together and shoot sometime.

[MDJAK]

Chris, great way to make a comback (if that's what it is instead of just a moment of boredom).

Great shot. I too have struggled with these type of pictures. What I now do, though it backfired recently, is give them a dollar or two first and then raise the camera to take the picture. I did that recently near Times Square, a homeless gentleman with a heavily lined face, perfect picture. I gave him two bucks, raised the camera, and he attempted to beat a hasty retreat so I couldn't take the picture. I just walked away.

mark

[Calzinger]

Chris, it is great to see you back here! I like this photo, if I didn't know any better I would say this was shot on film.

I think I know what you are getting at, that is, should we take pictures of people who are at the nadir of their existence? At times I have struggled with the issue myself. I know that I have lost some interesting shots because I simply didn't want to take them, and i do so without remorse. I know that you know that i street photography sometimes there is that fleeting moment when you have to decide to take the picture, and if you hesitate you lose it. Some may say that this hesitation is an impairment that has no place in photography, I say it is what gives a street photographer his/her soul - it allows greater compassion and connection to his/her surroundings, which will ultimately translate to his/her photographs.

I think that your photo is very well done technically. As far as your struggle goes, I think that you have done the right thing - you captured the person's downtrodden look while giving him a measure of anonymity.

I do find it incredible that you posted this photo now, as I was just preparing a post that addresses the same conflict. Watch for it in the next few days.

Glad to see you're back, we should get together and shoot sometime.
Thanks Pio. This was my first shot that really made me feel invasive, and it was also the first shot that I took very little time thinking about taking. I actually took it while walking which is why it isn't so sharp. I spotted him maybe thirty feet away while walking in a crowd and took the snap from maybe five feet away, clearly at an uncomfortable distance. Yeah, I spent some time arguing with myself as to whether or not I should take it before I took action, but to be honest, with this shot, it was almost never a question. I was inevitably going to take it. That's what made me think I didn't have a care in the world, and I guess in some sense, I didn't.

Yeah, we should definitely get together and shoot sometime, but you can ask Mark, I haven't had much time of late, or even this year. Hey, name a time and place and I'll let you know.

Chris, great way to make a comback (if that's what it is instead of just a moment of boredom).

Great shot. I too have struggled with these type of pictures. What I now do, though it backfired recently, is give them a dollar or two first and then raise the camera to take the picture. I did that recently near Times Square, a homeless gentleman with a heavily lined face, perfect picture. I gave him two bucks, raised the camera, and he attempted to beat a hasty retreat so I couldn't take the picture. I just walked away.

mark
Unfortunately we'll have to go with the moment of boredom.
The master of candids is now paying his clients!? :confused:

[Gordeez]

Raw emotion of how cruel the world can be to some...Great shot.
I like the PP done.