New York nights
A street scene from NYC taken while strolling around there one evening…
Just a quick snap one evening in NYC as I was wandering along. I used to not like NYC that much, but now I just adore it. So much to see and shoot, you can never tire of it!
Street photography in Greenwich Village
Follow along as I photograph my way through Greenwich Village!
Follow along as I vlog and photograph my way through Greenwich Village in NYC. I find so many interesting and beautiful streets to shoot and have a great time doing it. Enjoy!
The streets of New York
Staring down some traffic in New York...
I love street shots like this one, and there's no place better than New York for capturing them!
One of my favorite things to do in New York is just to wander around the streets and somewhat randomly take shots. I love street scenes, regardless of where I am, but in NYC there is just so much to capture that it is quite honestly exhausting.
Even when I am tired, I feel like I need to push myself and capture more because who knows when I will return? Plus what if I find something really magical? So I keep going and going. It's tiring but fun.
Usually I find myself stopping in a crosswalk, having positioned myself in front of the other pedestrians so that I can get a clean view of the traffic that is facing me. Ideally I can pull off a quick handheld shot or two, but they don't always work out. This one did though!
New York Public Library
A gorgeous reading room in the New York Public Library...
I tried several times to get in here, and it finally happened.
One several of my visits to NYC, I wanted to visit this reading room in the public library, but it was under construction. It felt like I would never get in. But finally on one of the trips, all the construction work was finished and I finally got my chance to see it.
It's pretty wonderful to see in person. I definitely think it's a must see when you visit NYC. For more tips on where to shoot in NYC, check out my list of the Top Photo Spots in NYC.
Central Park scene
A quiet but beautiful little scene in Central Park...
So much beauty in Central Park!
Whenever I visit NYC, I try and make at least a quick visit in Central Park. Although it's a huge park with a lot to explore, I have really one seen the south end of it, up to just around the Bethesda Fountain area. I've never had time to go further.
Nonetheless, there is a lot of beauty in the parts I have seen and I always come away with shots that I like. I captured this one while there last Fall. There was a lot of great color in the park and I was firing away pretty much constantly!
Boating in Central Park
A boat on the lake in Central Park, under cloudy skies on a glorious Fall afternoon...
One from the archives, but I love it!
On a trip to NYC a little over a year ago, I spent some time wandering in Central Park. Usually when I pick a spot, I am specific about it, but Central Park just compels me to wander. It's just a beautiful open space and a nice break from the hyper activity of the city.
When there, I usually wander up The Mall and around Bethesda Fountain and make my way over to the lake nearby (and the Bow Bridge). While that's just a fraction of the entire park, it sure is a beautiful part of it.
It was late Fall when I was there, and the trees were showing off their beautiful color, and despite the cooler temps, there were still plenty of folks out rowing a boat. Click!
Afternoon on the Brooklyn Bridge
A winter afternoon on the Brooklyn Bridge, firing away happily...
This is a great place to shoot when you are in NYC!
I love bridges, and the Brooklyn Bridge is a pretty fantastic looking one. I first shot it a few years ago, and try and make it there on each trip to the city. Last time we were there I was able to squeeze in a visit one afternoon. It's not exactly prime photo time, but it's fun nonetheless.
My daughter and I took a cab to the Brooklyn side of the bridge, and then walked the whole thing, shooting as we went. It was pretty awesome, despite the bright light of a winter afternoon.
In today's shot, I had to wait a few moments for pedestrians and bicycles to clear a little, and then I just stepped into the middle and fired away. I gave it a little bit of a vintage/faded look in Luminar, just to do something a little different. While I love my big colors, I also love to experiment with different looks. I don't always like what I come up with, but I do like the result in this one.
On the streets of New York
Two photos from NYC, showing different sides of this amazing city...
So much to shoot and always so little time!
New York is just an incredible place to shoot, although that's not exactly a revelation. I have grown to really love visiting there. Even returning to the same spots, I always find new stuff to shoot. It's just an insanely rich photographic environment.
Being a big city, New York really comes to life at night. I think if I lived there I would be out with the camera every night. There is literally something at every turn. I don't know how I would ever get any sleep. I would constantly feel like I was missing something!
When there, I love taking photos of the little things I come across, such as the photo below. It's a simple kebab stand on a corner, but little scenes like this are interesting to me. For these quick snaps in low light, I usually shoot at about f/2 with a higher ISO and go handheld. There's something to be said about leaving the tripod at home, even at night.
Gritty city
A gritty urban shot from NYC. Have you been here?
A gritty shot from Times Square in NYC!
I actually enjoy Times Square. Many people hate it because of the crowds, but it's kind of an interesting place. There are a million different things you can shoot and I have generally enjoyed being there. I wonder if locals hate it?
I took this shot on one of my trips to NY. I am a fan of gritty, grungy city shots anyway, so this was sort of the plan when I arrived. This is a 3 exposure HDR, which helped balance out the neon and stuff, and I had to wait for that bus to start moving so I could capture the light trails. But there's always something to look at, so waiting is not a big deal.
In addition to amping up the details, I reduced the saturation considerably to accentuate the gritty urban look. Too much saturation makes it "prettier", sorta of. Just a few minutes in Aurora HDR and it's done!
A different look at New York
Today I share 3 photos from my recent visit to NYC, though these are not photos of the "big stuff" there. These are slices of the everyday, edited in a "gritty city" sort of style. Enjoy!
Though it took me a long time, I have fallen for NYC.
I spent years not being a big fan of NYC. I'm not sure why, other than the noise, traffic, congestion and general busyness of the place. It just didn't appeal to my senses, I guess. But over time, it got to me and I am now a big fan.
One of the many great things about NYC is the variety of photos you can take there. Central Park offers up some great natural scenes, the skyline is simply the best in the world, and of course there are a million other things too.
On my last visit there - which was a stop while on our way home from France - I spent less time shooting the "big stuff" and more time trying my hand at street photography and the like. You know, instead of chasing monuments I worked on capturing more of the day to day.
I used to be all about the big stuff, but as my photographic tastes expand I have been dabbling in more things like this. But no, still not interested in portraits. :-)
So today's post is a few shots from that recent trip, captured while doing what I like to do best in NYC - just wandering around with a camera. These aren't monuments or even well-known locations. They are just things I saw that I thought looked interesting. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.
I also changed up my processing a bit on these, especially the first two images. Instead of bright, bold colors like I normally use, I went for a more muted, grungy style of shot. That's the beauty of post-processing your photos - so many options!
Empire sunset
Here's a shot from the Top of the Rock in NYC, and a video showing how I edit the photo - enjoy!
A lovely evening at The Top of the Rock in NYC!
On our last trip to NYC, I made a point to get up here for sunset. Having seen so many pics from here over the years, I had to bag my own. It turned out to be a decent sunset - not magical - but I walked away feeling satisfied.
Recently, Luminar from Macphun came out and I have been really enjoying using it to process my images. It's easy and intuitive and yet very powerful. Between Luminar and Aurora HDR, that's all I use now. Below is a video outlining how I processed this photo in Luminar. I was able to give it quite a bit of punch, which I love to do. Enjoy!
If you are interested in learning more about Luminar, you can read my review right here, or click the banner ad below to be taken to the Macphun site. Let me know if you have any questions!
Fall in Central Park
A lovely Fall image from Central Park in New York City...
I love Central Park - it's just so beautiful!
I was never much of a NYC kind of guy, but having been there several times over the last couple of years has changed my opinion on the place. While I would not want to live there, I have a great appreciation for it now that I never had before. It's truly one of the world's great cities.
It's also a great place for photography. Being a fan of urban scenes and cityscapes, it's hard for me to get anywhere when I am there because I am always distracted by something else I want to shoot. It's a good problem to have I guess.
Central Park is really a gorgeous place and it's sure nice to have a slice of nature to escape to. On our last visit (a year ago) we were there during some excellent fall foliage so as you can imagine I was firing away pretty much non-stop.
However, I will admit that I enhanced the fall look in this photo. I did this in Luminar, the new app by Macphun which is coming out this week. I used the "Foliage Enhancer" filter and then I also went into the HSL filter and changed the hue on the yellow a bit. Just a couple of clicks and you have an amazing Fall color photo. It doesn't get easier than that!
If you are going to New York City, here is my list of the best places to take photos there. That ought to give you a few ideas!
Sunset at The Top of the Rock
Here's a rather beautiful sunset that I captured last fall in New York, from the top of Rockefeller Center. It's an incredible view of the city, and topping it off with some great light was like icing on the cake!
What a view from up here!
I have used this photo as my blog header/background photo for a few months (I just changed it to what you see up there now, which is from Leadenhall Market in London), and I recently realized that although it was featured up there, I never actually shared it as a post here on the blog.
So, I'm correcting that right now.
As you can guess from the super-original blog post title, this was a sunset that I photographed from the top of Rockefeller Center in NYC. I was there back in late October and early November, and it was a perfect time to be there. Cool temps and great fall colors. Man, I was HAPPY.
I was traveling light that week, so I just had the lovely 28mm f/2 lens on my Sony. It's great for nearly everything that I shoot, plus it's small and easy to lug around all day, so it's doubly effective as a great travel lens.
I arrived about an hour before sunset, thinking that would be plenty of time to find myself a great spot ahead of the crowds. WRONG! There were photographers all over the place, and some two deep in spots. Well, there went my plans. I thought I might be able to wander all over and take a bunch of shots from different spots, but it was not to be.
So, plan ahead if this is on your list of NYC spots (and it should be - though a cliche, it's still awesome). By the way, here's my NYC list if you want to see it.
Nonetheless, I did find a couple of spots that I was satisfied with, and coming away with this image still made me happy. It's hard to do something original up there, due to both the limited space and the copious amount of great shots already taken there. But hey, I'm always a fan of just taking the shot anyways. It satisfies that mental checklist we all have, and you may still come away with something you like. So take the shot, and have fun out there!
New York by night
How do you define street photography? Today I share a collection of evening shots from NYC and wonder a bit whether it fits the typical definition of street photography. It fits mine, but let me know what YOU think. Either way, the streets of NY are beautiful at night!
Doesn't New York City just sparkle at night?
I have to admit - I am not much for shooting at night. Many people love to do so, and do a great job with it, but it hasn't really ever been "my thing". Golden hour? You bet! Blue hour? You bet! Sunrise or sunset? Yes and Yes! But evening shooting? Nah, I'll pass.
I'm not really sure why either, but that has sort of been my method. I will happily shoot deep into blue hour, but once it gets dark, I usually pack it up in search of a meal or a beer. But on my trip to New York a while back, I was with my wife and daughter, and we would wander all over the city, which also meant we were out at night (usually returning from dinner). I had my camera.
Since I was traveling with only my Sony 28mm f/2 prime lens, I figured I may as well give it a shot at night. After all, that's a perfect time to use the f/2, right? And since I didn't even bring the tripod on the trip, everything had to be handheld (another reason I wanted that prime - being able to travel without a tripod at times). There's something very freeing about shooting handheld. I love using my tripod most of the time, but boy is it nice to just let loose at times!
What I discovered is that it is actually very fun to be out shooting in a city at night. I probably already knew that - and you did too - but sometimes I have to do something contrary to my habits to actually learn it. You know?
So today's pics are a collection of shots from some of my evening wanderings in New York. Even without a camera, it's a fantastic place to wander, and doubly so at night when all the lights are on and it takes on a bit more magical of a quality.
You might even classify some of this as "street photography", at least in some respects. Then again, you may not. I assume we each hold our own definition of what street photography really is, and these shots may not fits yours (but they do fit mine).
What do you consider street photography?
Central Park colors
I found some incredible color in Central Park on my recent trip to New York - my timing was excellent. And I covered about 20 miles on foot while photographing it - isn't it crazy how much walking you can do in that city?
Wow, I found some fabulous color in New York!
On my recent trip to New York, I knew I would spend some time in Central Park at least once. It's not just a big beautiful park, but it's a great way to escape the city without leaving. You literally feel like you are somewhere else, which can come in handy when you spend a full week there.
But I didn't go to Central Park just to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, or the noise (though you can escape both there). I went there looking for Fall color, and I found it.
You see, living in central Texas has a lot of advantages, but watching the leaves change with the seasons isn't really one of them. Sure, we have some nice trees in some spots that will change, and some nice State Parks not too far away that might do so as well, but it isn't a "thing" here.
So I made a couple of visits to Central Park in search of color, and simply put, I didn't have to look too hard. This was late October and while I think the peak color was a couple of weeks later, it still worked out very well.
You can see my first post on this subject here.
So I wandered and shot and then wandered and shot some more. It was pretty excellent, actually. And according to the step counter app on my iPhone, I covered about 20 miles over the weekend on foot! That's crazy! My feet were tired and sore but I had no idea at the time that I was walking so much. So there you have it - proof that photography is good for you! Go take some shots and live a healthy life! :-)