I was down in Bryant Park in New York City a little while ago. It was the second Saturday in August so “Summer Streets” was going on in NYC. Street photography is one of the things I like to do in the big city and in and around Bryant Park is one of my favorite places to go to take photos. I used to take a bus down to the city but in recent years (heck all the way back in 2008) they cut the bus schedule in half and it became unreliable. Luckily at the same time they built a new train/transfer station in Secaucus NJ cutting down the time it takes me by train to get there. I drive to the train station in Nanuet NY, take the train to Secaucus, and then catch another train from there to Penn Station in NYC. It would actually be a lot easier just to drive in the to the city (it’s only about 40 miles) but would cost too much in tolls and parking. So the train it is.
People on 5th Avenue walking, biking, and roller blading.
I pull my camera out after I get to Penn Station and start taking street photos as I walk uptown to Bryant Park. It’s not easy taking street photos because everyone is walking and moving fast. It’s mostly looking for a good photo and burst shooting. That means pressing the button and the camera takes half a dozen photos in a row. It the world of photography you have to make the law of averages your friend. I realized the other day that I got my first film camera back in 1985 when I was in college and then got my first digital camera in 2000 (I was an early adopter). I’ve almost been shooting digital as long as I shot film. Another year and I’ll pass my film days. I wouldn’t have guessed that. Time flies.
Three women sitting on the library steps.
I don’t miss film at all. I’m not nostalgic for it in the least. If I had to go back to shooting on film I’d be disappointed. Digital has taken over because it’s so much more convenient. I can shoot stuff and look at what I’ve done not only right away but as I’m doing it. And it’s so much cheaper. On a typical morning and afternoon in Bryant Park I can take a thousand photos (with burst shooting the numbers really add up quickly). I could never afford to do that with film. If a roll of film cost five bucks with another five for processing and twenty five exposures per roll that would be four hundred bucks of one afternoon of shooting. Instead it costs nothing. No wonder so many more people take photos these days.
I didn’t make it to Bryant Park right away that Saturday because it was a Summer Streets day. From 7AM to 1PM they close Park Avenue to cars and let people ride their bikes, jog, rollerblade, and walk up the avenue. I decided to take some photos up and down the street of all the goings on. It’s not easy taking pictures of moving cyclists. At least not good pictures. But I made the Law of Averages my friend and took a lot of them. Some of them came out okay but my batting average was lower than other street photos. The faster everybody is moving the tougher it is to find and take the photo. You have to be patient and quick. Not an everyday combination.
The bicycles roll.
After 1PM rolled around I made my way over to Bryant Park. I’ve been making short afternoons out of my Bryant Park trips and catching a 3PM train back home so that gave me two hours to take photos. Bryant Park is a good place to take photos because of its wide open lawn in the center with trees and chairs all around it. A couple of different environments. Plus on the Fifth Avenue side of the park is the Midtown Library with its famous steps and giant sculptures of lions so there are always tourists stopping there to take photos. And I like to take pictures of people taking pictures. Weirdly that’s a common subject matter for photographers.
Often I take pictures of whatever tourist is posing in front of the library or I’ll take a picture of whatever tourist is taking the photo but on some occasions I can get both in one photo. I managed to do that on that day because they lined up in a nice composition with the stairs behind them. I try to make myself as unobtrusive as possible when taking street photos and the library steps is a good place for that. Not only are there a dozen people taking pictures at any moment in the day but there is a lot of space to stand back and then use a zoom lens to get closer. I’ve always liked photos of people going about their every day business.
It was a sunny day as I walked around to the park side of Bryant Park and there were lots of people milling about the place. It was a little strange arriving there after having already been taking photos for hours since it’s usually the first place I go. I was a little out of sorts so I sat down and had a snack. I had just been walking while taking photos for over two hours and sometimes I forget how tiring that is. Baby carrots and granola bars are my usual out taking photos food and that’s what I had. After I got settled in a little I started walking around the park looking for a photo to take.
Roll your own cigarette.
What do I take photos of? I’d say I end up photographing women about two thirds of the time because, well, I’m a guy. But what I’m looking for are faces, expressions, interesting stances, body language, and gestures. I’ve noticed behavior and gestures changing over the years too. Like these days almost everyone is looking at a phone or some such device. It used to be books. And there is definitely a photo taking ritual that is nearly universal these days. Two people are standing there, one moves off and poses, the other takes a photograph, and then the subject of the photo runs over to the photographer and they both huddle around the camera to view the picture. It happens over and over. I take pictures of them huddled around the camera.
Finally I leave myself some time to walk back to Penn Station and take some photos along the way. Once again patience and quickness. One of my favorite type of street photos to take is at the corners of the big streets where a lot of people gather. Sometimes there are too many on my side of the street but if I catch it just right and traffic cooperates I can get a nice shot of anywhere from ten to thirty people across the street waiting to cross the road. Or even better just as they start walking. All the different shapes and sizes of people in all their different poses and walking stances makes for a nice photo. And then they all disperse never to be gathered in the same place again. Another ephemeral every day moment.
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