NYC: Street Shots and Sunsets

Hello All,

My name is Michael and I am new both here and to Digital Photography. I just picked up a Canon 400d and I love it. Below are some pictures that I took during my first two weeks of ownership.

Canal and Varick, view from my office

Holland Tunnel Traffic (6th ave)

6th and Grand, mural before the flip flop

The Fountain @ City Hall Park

The Fountain @ City Hall Park w/ Municipal Building in Background

Random Chelsea Twilight Shot

Sunset on the West Side Highway...Chelsea

Think these are good starting shots!

I'm not the best person to comment on urban shots, as i havn't really doen much urban shooting, but i'll try and help lol.

Shot 1
I think tecnically the shot is ok, think this is ok

Shot 2
With a tripod think this woudl be good, another think is that when you shoot pictures try lots of different angles of the same picture, i find this way you can delete the worst and keep the best.
For example the yellow box in the top right slightly distracts the eye

Shot 3
Again without the signpost in the image, i think this would be a really good shot! Instead of just looking and taking a picture, think for a second about the composition

Shot 4
I like this shot! Only thing i could suggest would be a slower shutter speed, to make the water smooth etc... But thats only beacuse i like water under slow shutter speeds

Shot 5
Think if you stood directly infront of the foundatin, to make all the edges square, and remove the person from the images, this woudl again be a good one, possiable again slow shutter speeds

Shot 6
The sky is too bland, if there was lots of colour then this type of shot would be ustified, but due to lack of colour/interest i'm not a fan

Shot 7
Again with a tripod and slow shutter speed i think you could have a really good shot hear


I hope this helps, as i said i'm prob not the best person to comment, but i hope this helps you. It's a very good start, so all i can say is keep shooting, you can only get better!!

Hey Mike. I don't know where you are from but you said you had a view from your office. So i'm taking that atleast you are IN NYC during the week. Well, to be honest when I viewed these photos I immediatly thought tourist. but shoot.. its only your 2nd week. Just get out and shoot some more and keep psoting! Welcome to POTN

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum! I like #6 most of all as it is very moody and foreboding and quite different from the other photos. I am glad that there is another NYC photographer here, and your stomping grounds are very near the places where I usually go to. Thanks for sharing! By the way, next time you post, please keep the photo under 800 pixels on the long end as per forum rules. This will will help in easing the viewability of your photos. Cheers!

Thank you for all of the positive energy gang. I personally hate using tripods as the way I see it, life is unbalanced, I don't see my pictures should be I'm going to take a few tripod shots and see how they come out, I appreciate all of the help gang.

Hey

I like the last shot the best, the exposure and composition seems right for the mood that I'm assuming you were trying to convey.

The first one could use a little straightening.

The fountain pictures are interesting but they seem underexposed, what mode are you shooting in? Manual? Av?

With a tripod i can guarantee that your shots will look 100times better.

crackaonrice wrote in post #3414152
Hey

I like the last shot the best, the exposure and composition seems right for the mood that I'm assuming you were trying to convey.

The first one could use a little straightening.

The fountain pictures are interesting but they seem underexposed, what mode are you shooting in? Manual? Av?

I usually shoot in Manual. I've just recently began to experiment with TV and AV

willy b wrote in post #3415740
With a tripod i can guarantee that your shots will look 100times better.

Pulling out a tripod on a busy NYC street can be a risky proposition. I think I will try it this weekend though.

Well, I certainly would not be in the middle of the street! Anyway, your 2nd shot is the only one that really needed a tripod. Had you used a tripod on any other of those shots, I don't think they would look any different. The issue here is how you expose for the scene when you are using the tripod. Most of those shots (except 2) had a fast enough shutter speed that handheld was fine. If, on the other hand, you want a brighter exposure for those twilight shots, or a more whispy look on the water, you would have to slow down the shutter which would necessitate the tripod. Or you could increase your ISO or open up the aperture a little more to get faster shutter speeds.

Anyway, I do not know how much you know about exposure, so if you already know this, sorry. My main point is that there is a reason to use a tripod and you need to understand it's purpose - or else you will be wasting your energy. Plus risk getting hassled by cops with a tripod in the city.

Stefan

Hey Mike! Nice to see you here too! Here are my observations:

1 - good but the dust spot just bothers me, and its right there around the center
2 - slightly OOF, maybe leaning against a pole and setting on selftimer would have improved the shot
3 - again, slightly OOF. nice subject though.
4 - a slower shutter speed would have made a differene here. maybe set the camera on the concrete, set to selftimer and use a slow one to capture the motion of the water
5 - same as 4. polarizing filter to maybe bring up more contrast in the sky
6 - a little too plain. maybe boost the hints of color in the sky and burn the foreground more to complete the silhouette feel.
7 - i agree with the tripod useage here. it would have been nice to get a longer exposure and get some light trails and brighten up the shot. leaning against a pole or wall+selftimer is an alternative that I use if I dont have a tripod handy.

overall not bad bro!

sixsixfour wrote in post #3426801
Hey Mike! Nice to see you here too! Here are my observations:

1 - good but the dust spot just bothers me, and its right there around the center
2 - slightly OOF, maybe leaning against a pole and setting on selftimer would have improved the shot
3 - again, slightly OOF. nice subject though.
4 - a slower shutter speed would have made a differene here. maybe set the camera on the concrete, set to selftimer and use a slow one to capture the motion of the water
5 - same as 4. polarizing filter to maybe bring up more contrast in the sky
6 - a little too plain. maybe boost the hints of color in the sky and burn the foreground more to complete the silhouette feel.
7 - i agree with the tripod useage here. it would have been nice to get a longer exposure and get some light trails and brighten up the shot. leaning against a pole or wall+selftimer is an alternative that I use if I dont have a tripod handy.

overall not bad bro!

I shot that 1st pic through a window :lol2: The dust spot was on the window, I hadn't even noticed it I will try to use the tripod on the street this week, I am just nervous about getting my XTi knocked over by some ahole purposefully...seen it happen before. Most folks using tripods here have someone standing in the way of people so that this can't happen, I usually shoot alone.

Typically using a tripod requires the use of a permit if shooting within city limits....so be advised!

Quick tip, almost all your shots seem to teeter a bit to the right. It's a common thing, usually when starting out folks will tend to hold the camera a little too much clockwise.

Otherwise you are off to a good start, welcome aboard.