Patience, Grasshopper.

You may have all the skill in the world. You may have the most ideal camera body and lens combination. You may even be shooting in Paris, New York, Tokyo or any other iconic city; but without patience, you have nothing. You have to be able to sit and wait somewhere for the shot you’ve envisioned. Of course we all get lucky at times, but for those photos where you’ve got something specific in mind, you’ve got to sit tight. 

Wandering around one day, I came upon this ray of light and knew I wanted a shot here. I wanted the shot to have a contrast of light and shadow and wanted someone to be walking through the light. Being a Saturday, in lower Manhattan, on a nice summer day,  there weren’t many people in the area so I waited, and waited, and waited. I remember a person with a cart came by but it wasn’t what I was looking for. Some more time went by and a woman walked across the street and towards the light and by this time, the light was widening and the look I was going for, would soon be gone. I took the shot and was happy with it. Patience, pays off. 

Don’t Force It.

When something works, it works. You know when it’s right and you know when it’s wrong. With art, it’s a feeling; you either have the spark at that moment, and you’re able to make something or you try and force it and never get that creative satisfaction. 

I really wanted this photo to work; I knew it felt off, I knew it wasn’t a strong photo and still, I forced it. I found myself going back and adjusting tones over and over trying to satisfy my eye, eventually admitting that it just didn’t work. I didn’t have that “feeling” you get when you’ve created something and you know it’s right. So, while not a photo that I’ll share from an artistic standpoint, it is a photo I can share as a lesson. If you don’t feel it, don’t force it. 

The Moment.

Every day, we pass through the scenes of our daily lives. We walk down the street to work in the morning, we wait for the bus or the train, we sit outside for lunch, and eventually we head back home. Each of these moments, from the right angle, in the right light and at the right time, can be captured and made into something more. 

I got down to the station just as the train was pulling in; these two women were standing almost shoulder to shoulder and appeared to be together. As the doors were about to open, they both split and headed towards different doors. In that instant, it made me think about how people take different paths and make different choices in life, even if they’re headed in the same general direction. Not every scene of the day is this deep, but for me, in the moment, it was. 

A Photos Worth Vol 1.

Everyone knows the saying, and in many ways it's true. A photo captures so much emotion or can bring back so many memories, that a thousand words isn't enough to describe the moment frozen in a single frame. 

I've taken over one hundred thousand photos since I began shooting, and while I don't remember the details to each one; those that I do find as interesting, have stayed in my mind.

I went shooting early on a Saturday in February; it was cold, very cold. I had been in the shadows waiting for someone interesting to walk by this slice of light for some time and was ready to head to another location when I saw a woman walking on the sidewalk holding a cup of ice water.

I managed just two photos before the person behind her entered the frame and was lucky enough to capture what I'd envisioned. After that, the sun continued to rise, the sliver of light expanded, and the moment was gone. In just a few minutes, this slice of sunlight became just another sidewalk in the city. 

Choosing Your Shot Vol 2.

Many things can influence how you process a photo or photos that you're working on. It may not even happen as you're working on a shot, but only after you've finished and think you're happy with an image. This blue bench caught my eye and I thought the pop of color was perfect; until I finished processing it. 

I'd finished with the photo, had highlights and shadows where I wanted them, and the pop of color was how I envisioned it. Something happened though, and my mind focused only on a single word; "colored." My mind went back to thinking about the white supremacists march in Charlotteville and how so many minds are focused only on color, which made me see the photo in a different light and thought it would work better as black and white. 

All of a sudden I felt that the photo had more weight to it, and when I shared the photo I also shared a bit on how I felt about the march and the mindsets. Sometimes a photo is black and white because it just works, sometimes not focusing strictly on color, is the message itself. 

The Hand You're Dealt.

Capturing what you see, especially in an urban setting, is never easy. With an SLR or DSLR, a person, or people may get in your way, your subject may move or the moment may slip away; it happens.  

Shooting on the fly using your phone at times, may come with its own set of issues. You may get a phone call while framing your shot, your phone may freeze or you may not have it out fast enough to capture what your eye had just seen.

This photo is 100% not what I envisioned; I was riding the escalator up when I saw a group of people walking down, they were backlit perfectly and when I went to grab my phone, they had passed. Although the moment was gone, I chose to still shoot and see what I could work with. While it's not what I had in mind, it's not horrible. Whether it be film, digital or mobile photography, at times you just have to play the hand you're dealt. 

Choosing Your Shot Vol 1.

Few people take a shot and nail it on their first try. The eye can be tricky, and something may or may not be captured in just one shot. I always take multiples; sometimes adding something into the frame or subracting. By moving the frame of your shot by just a foot or two can change the entire feeling of what you'll capture. 

This image was my first shot, it's also the one I had in mind to be "The one." 

After taking it though, I took an extra second to adjust the framing and included the trash bags on the sidewalk for some real life contrast.  

After going back and forth between both versions, I chose to work on them while still leaning towards using the first shot. As I finished the second shot though, I realized that I liked the trash bags, and that the sliver of blue denim added a pop of extra color. The differences between these two are slight and choosing between one or the other is a matter of eye. Under different light, and on another day, I may have stuck with my first choice and gone with the non-trash bag version. It's all a matter of how you choose your shot. 

First Things First.

When I first started shooting, I didn't have anything in mind that I wanted to capture; I'd go out and take photos of everything, hoping I'd capture something. I didn't even know how to use my camera at the time (Canon T1i) but I just wanted to see what I could create. I didn't know about aperture or ISO, I only knew about shutter speed, so that was all that I'd adjust. As a result, my photos were flat, lifeless, and really nothing to talk about; but at the time, I loved them.  

This is one of my first photos, from when I began shooting "city scapes" in January of 2011. Full of noise, over exposed, blurry and even crooked although I was using a tripod. Looking back on it now, it wouldn't be something I'd share with anyone (until now)  as I clearly see the flaws; but I also see where I started from. I didn't know what I was doing really, but who ever does when they try something for the first time?