Meeting Thomas Leuthard

Let's start with a little history. I have always loved photography, but it did not become part of my daily routine until about year ago. Last year I switched all my gear to micro four thirds system, which allowed me to bring the camera with me everywhere and I also discovered and read a book called Going Candid by Thomas Leuthard. After reading his book is why I actually started exploring street photography, I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys photography to read it. I was hoping one day to have the pleasure to meet with Thomas and last night I finally did meet with him over dinner and we took a nice photowalk together to Time Square. First I want to say thank you to him and second here are some pictures from our walk, please enjoy:

Thank you for Reading 

Year End Approaching

I took a little break from writing, partially due to Hurricane Sandy, but lets get back on that horse :)
Since my last entry I have switched my camera from Panasonic G3 to Olympus E-PL5 and I could not be happier. Picture quality from this camera is great.

Another quick update worth mentioning, I participated in the Profoti 2nd Annual Color of Gold competition and one of my pictures was selected as Merit Winner.

One more exciting news, I should be receiving my Press ID from Camerapixo shortly, which should allow me to do some more reports like  the ones you seen on this blog about Apple iPad and iPhone. If you are a street photographer or trying to do some freelance journalism this a great way to start, please take a look at their website for more information. The team at Camerapixo is great and always available to answer any questions.

Thank you for Reading and if you are interested in any of the pictures you see on this blog, please visit my website www.rkworld.com

Photowalk with Trey

I was part of Trey Ratcliff New York PhotoWalk a rare opportunity, first to meet him and second to go on the PhotoWalk with him. While I personally do not do any HDR work or much landscape photography, I do however follow Trey. What I like about Trey is how open he is about sharing online and not being worried about people stealing his pictures, please check out his site and blog at http://www.stuckincustoms.com/

There were supposed to be over 200 people on this PhotoWalk, I don't know if we actually reached or exceeded this number, but there was a lot of us. (Can you see Trey?)

We walked from Broadway & Cortland, down to the Battery Park, stopping at different places to take some pictures, imaging 200 photographers walking down the street LOL, that could be a start to a good joke :) Once in Battery park we waited for the sunset to take some pictures of it, so I decide to try my hand at HDR. This is my first attempt and it was educational.

All in all it was time well spent and I enjoyed the walk and people. Talking about people here are some shot of the photographers at the walk.

Thank you for reading!

Why?

Have you ever taken a picture and it is nothing special, but yet you cannot stop looking at it, because there is something about it. I recently took 2 of such pictures, there is nothing special about them at all, but yet I love them and not because I took them, trust me i am my worth critic. Have you ever came across such picture? Where you cant explain why you like it, you just do. Maybe it is the way it is processed, may be it is something else, let me know in the comments what you think.

My photography quote for today is:

“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” – Alfred Stieglitz

First Picture is man on the subway

Second Picture is people in the tunnel

Thank you for Reading!

Life Around Us

As photographer you notice things that others may not, because you stop to capture that moment in life and when you later look at that picture you realize how many things are happening at the same time. Life moves all around us and its wonderful being able to capture a moment of it.

Each one of us have a different vision about life, but being able to express that vision is very important and photography helps me do that. There is more to life then just you regular daily routine and I hope my pictures show that.

OK, enough of philosophy let's talk about something more exciting like m43 camera's. There has been a lot of development in that field, just look at Olympus OMD EM5 camera. Sigma finally came out with lenses for m43, so there is finally 3rd party support for both Panasonic and Olympus, which means more is on the way.
I am actually considering picking up Sigma 19mm F2.8 lens, the reviews on it are great and the price is right. 

All my shots that you see on this site are taken with Panasonic G3 paired with Olympus 45mm F1.8 Lens and Panasonic 14-45mm, which is a great setup for the money

Thank you all for reading!

Welcome to New York

Welcome to New York is the title of my new book, that I finished early. The book shows my vision of this great city. Book can be view and purchased @ Blurb. It comes in both digital and hard cover versions.

New York and New Yorkers are so full of life that taking pictures of the city and it's people is a pure pleasure. Life in the New York City never stops, at any time of the day or night there is something happening and there is always something to photograph as you will see in this book. The book consists of 3 chapters and each picture is accompanied by a quote.Chapter 1, in this chapter you will see your everyday people going about their daily routine. Chapter 2 is very different, it consists of people who actually live on the streets of New York. It shows you the not so pretty side of the city in the comparison to the fun and happy New York. Chapter 3 explores the subway system of the big city, specifically the multitude of the musicians that you see on the platforms.

Full Link to the book just in case the above does not work:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3362825?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=bookstore-share

Thank you for reading!

To see or not To see, that is the Question

A little Shakespeare in today's title, but something I observed of myself today that I wanted to share. I took a shot today of something I see everyday, but until today I did not see it. I stand on that subway stop every morning in the same spot, maybe I am just not awake or my mind is elsewhere, but until today it did not click. The more pictures I take the more things I see, I think that is the explanation for this photo. Take you camera or your mobile phone with you everywhere, as you never know what your mind may see at any given moment, that you will want to capture.

Thank you for reading

The Book!

Good day to all, in my previous post I mentioned about working on the book and it is coming along nicely. The book will consist of 3 chapters, and it will be about 50 pages give or take a few depending on the images I decide to put in there, each page of the book will also have a quote about photography. I will announce the book here on my blog, followed by Google + and twitter, so please follow me if you want to stay updated on the release. Book will be available in both hard cover for your coffee table or office and as an eBook for you mobile device/reader.

Thank you again fro reading and as the image above illustrates i now need some coffee :)

Changes & Thoughts

I decided to change the Title of the blog, I think it better reflect my thoughts on photography and where I am going as a photographer. As I think about it, I realize that what interested me in street photography and photography in general is that a a photo can convey so many messages, it can tell story of someones life, it can open up your imagination. Once you see that photo that will move you, that speaks to you, then you will understand why I changed the title.

My next project will be a photo book of New York and the people in it. Yes there are plenty out there already, but I promise you it will be different than others. I am still working on the material that will go into the book, but I am hoping it will be ready towards the end of the summer.

As always thank you for reading and your comments.

Photowalk with Iesha & John

Back Story, Iesha found me via my blog and contacted me saying she will be on vacation in NY this week and asked if i had some time for a photowalk. I was happy to make some time, I always enjoy meeting new people who are like minded and love photography, we met today in midtown and took a train to Union Square. There are always plenty of weird and fun people and  things to shoot in that area. 

We walked around the area for about an hour as we were waiting for one more person to join us. 

Here is a picture of Iesha.

John sent us a text at around 5pm and we went back to Union Square to meet with him and continue our photowalk. We took Broadway down toward China Town, talking and doing some shooting on the way. During our walk we run into another photographer his name is Rameen, he was showing his work, lots of great jazz picture and a few others, i will provide a link to his work later.

Once we got to China Town I had to take the train home as it was getting late, and i needed to go home so i can spend some time with my kids and family. This was a fun afternoon walking around New York, meeting new people and photographing New York City and its people.

Iesha can be found on her blog One Life, many Shots

Rameen Gasery can be found at his website

John Can be found on Instagram @rottenronin

Thank you for reading!

Summer on the Streets of New York

It almost 90% degrees out and the humidity is about the same, welcome to New York City summers. The city comes alive during the summer with so many interesting people, not to say that city is ever boring, or other seasons are not fun, but summer is just more cheerful and photo opportunities triple. Do you have a favorite season for photography?, let me know by leaving a comment below.

Few other things worth mentioning:
1.  The deadline for photo submission to plus one magazine is May 31st. For more information about the magazine and how to submit, please read this Google plus post.
2. I came across an interesting kickstarter project called photoville, please take a look.
3. If you have not heard or seen Humans of New York, i highly suggest you take a look.
4. Google + One Year Anniversary Photowalk is approaching, click here for more info and to find information for your city/location

Thank you for reading

Seinfeld Episode or Street Photography

As i was taking picture's on my way home from work on Friday night i was thinking about street photography and how many photographers concentrate on taking a street portrait vs an actual street photograph. Warning this is purely my opinion it is neither right or wrong just what i think, which i hope was reflected by the humor of today's title :)

Many street photographers concentrate on taking a portrait shot on the street, yes it takes some "brass" to come and ask can i take your picture, but to me it somewhat looses the element of the street as all you see in the picture is that person, the picture itself looses the story. Step back show some buildings, show more people, give the picture some life, so the reader/audience can see something else except a strangers face. I guess to me there are really 2 genres, street photography and street portraits.

Thank you for reading, all comments are always welcome :)

Fallen Riders

This post is slightly off my usual photography nature, but i hope you like it none the less.

Today(5/6/2012) was a special day, "First Annual Ride In Memory of Eddie.T". The Ride was organized by 2 clubs, Bikers of Brooklyn and BRATVA, all the proceeds from the Ride went to Eddies family. It was very dear to my heart to see all this people come out and show their support, the only way this day could be better if Eddie was with us, instead of watching over us. His family was there and i know they appreciated everything that was and is being done. It was a difficult day for many, but we pulled though it as one big family that supports each other. Talking about support, it has been  nothing short of amazing.

On the side note there were so many photographers there today, It must have been some organized photo-walk, if it was i hope the word will spread and more people will attend next year. The ride is not only in the memory of our fallen, brother and friend, but also to raise awareness that people should be tested after certain age, if they should continue to drive. Please Click on the link and sign this petition!

Once again i want to thank on behalf of myself and his family, all the clubs and people who came out to show their support, words can not describe how much it means.

Thank you all for reading and your continued support.

Another Magazine

Good news my subway series have been published by Dodho Magazine, you can take a look at the article here. This is my 3rd publishing, kind of a big deal for me. I appreciate all the support i have received so far.

I have submitted my work to a few more places, so stay tuned for more.

Some other news to share I have been trying a slightly different approach to street shooting with a wider lens instead of my 45mm, and slowly getting a hang of it, I can't say I like one better then the other, but it is something different and does produce different results, but I let you be the judge, so please leave me a comment let me know what you think of the following pictures

Thank you all for reading

Late Afternoon NYC

Manhattan during lunch hours is fun to photograph, so many interesting people going about their business.

Some are meeting friends and some are just busy reading their emails or Facebook. The City is full of life if only you stop for a minute to observe it.In recent years there has been a big change from people reading a book at lunch time to people checking their smart phones, which makes it for fun photography no one is paying attention. Most people are to busy with their own things to notice anything else outside of what they doing, like to see that someone is taking a picture of them :).

Today instead of walking around looking for that perfect shot, i just sat outside enjoying my lunch and let the photos come to me.

Inspiration

Some Days i  go out to take pictures and it just do not seems to work, don't know what it is i will take plenty of pictures but i get home and see they just don't work so i delete them all. and then there are days that i may only take 2-3 shots and they all seem to be perfect. There are also days where i walk around and i don't see anything that i even want to take a picture of, nothing speaks to me.

With street photography everyday is different just because it is not working for you one day you should not get discouraged, tomorrow is another day you never know what you may see. That's the beauty of street photography in the morning you have people rushing to work, in the evening you have people going home, there is always something to take a picture of. Some days our eyes and minds are just more open.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the pictures.

6 Degrees of Separation or Small World

Interesting day today. Back in  March i did a report about new iPad launch event. The report was published by camerapixo and you can see it here  and in my earlier blog post. I also posted this report to my 500px profile and today someone from 500px community recognized a few people on that report, i believe they were his friends.

Both of his friends registered with 500px and then proceeded to comment on the story saying it was them and also contacting me on twitter. This was pretty exciting for them to be published and for me to have that reach, but this just shows we live in the small world no matter how large it seems. 

I hope to capture more stories like that in the future, so stay tuned :) and thank you for reading!

Color VS. Black and White Part 2

Today was a perfect spring day, the temperatures hit over 80 degrees and with temperatures like that i had to go and take some pictures. As i was processing them later at night i could not help myself, but notice how much nicer they look in color instead of black and white.

I typically prefer b/w photos as it shows the subject better without  distracting the viewer by all the color, but today i guess due to weather color just worked better. The picture below just would not work in B/W.

But one picture does work better in black and white, please let me know if you agree?

As always thank you for reading and all the comments

State of Affairs

Good Day to all my readers!

First a little self promotion my pictures got published by Camerapixo, you can register on their website for free and look for me in the Issue 18, Page 165. You can also read it here. I am also in talks with another online magazine about possibly publishing some of my subway series pictures.

So what's next, last few weeks have been rough due to the loss of my friend, you can read all about it in my march blog entry, but what is great is how many people came together to help. A big Thank you goes out to all those people, you know who you are. How is any of this related to photography, well photography is helping me to deal with all of this, its relaxing and it helps to see the life around you. Other things worth mentioning new Google + interface is a nice step in the right direction I do think they need to utilize the white space better, but I still like the looks fresh. On the same note recent changed to 500px navigation and addition of statistics are awesome.

Well i think this is all i have for today, thank you for reading and if you want to help out a little click on one of those Google ads :)

Color VS. Black And White

This post is not about which one is better, each one serves its purpose, while many street photographers strictly use black and white, i think there is room for color. Take a look at the below picture, it works and works well in color. Before i got into street photography i always wondered why 95% of it is black and white, but as i started taking pictures and found my rhythm i realized it does not have to be, there is room for color. I guess to each its own right?

Now we take a look at the same picture in Black ans White and while it does work as well and adds that dramatic character, i don't think it works as well as the color above, but you tell me. Please post your opinion in comments, always happy to hear what others think. 

Thank you for reading and commenting, please remember to leave your opinion about the previous blog entry, i am still waiting for more input :)