Street Photography is a genre in itself and comes second only to War Photography in its rawness and serendipity. It has always peeked my interest & curiosity because of its nature. I wanted to do this project in a place which was full energy and life. I decided that NYC was one of the best and closest place to go. Since this was my first attempt at Street Photography, I was quite nervous before my trip. I had studied the great Masters and knew what I was up to.
I had gone to NYC with the objective to photograph and capture the culture and vibrancy that this city brings. Give my audience a feel of how the city lives and breathes, not the usual touristy shots but real, everyday moments. I dont know, if I was successful in my project but I do know that I had a great time doing this project. Meeting amazing people and listening to some interesting stories. Due to the time constraint, I concentrated only on a few places like Harlem, Chinatown, Subways, Midtown and the Clubs.
I have divided this photo story into sections as I covered them, so will be posting them in the same order mentioned above. As part of the learning process, I am hoping when you go through the images you will post your comments.
This might sound strange but after visiting NYC it has reminded me more of my hometown Mumbai(Bombay). To add to this nostalgia was the Kaminey movie the weekend before my NYC trip, which has Mumbai backdrop. More than ever, I now have a strong urge to go back to Mumbai and explore the city in greater depths. Maybe do a similar project. I am sure it will be enlightening and enriching too.
Harlem
The best thing I did before my trip was to book my accommodation in the heart of Harlem. To those of you who have been to NYC but not visited Harlem, have missed an experience of a lifetime. Harlem is rich in culture, vibrant and touches your heart. It is an amalgamation of people from various parts of the world. You see Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Haitians, Ethiopians and many more, but it is primarily a African American neighborhood.
Harlem.
Chinatown
Subway
Manhattan
Night Clubs
Afro-Caribbean Music Festival
6 comments:
Chinatown images coming soon. Thanks for your patience.
I went through the photographs again Uday. I must say it's a very decent job given the fact that it's ur first time. My favourite shots are 5th from the bottom which has a nice combination of stillness and motion, 4th from the top where the child and mom are in action. 6th one from top is also great moment u've captured.
One thing I noticed is that most photographs have a strong sunlight-shadow contrast...maybe it's a good idea to choose an overcast day to reduce such a contrast...its just my opinion...not sure if u agree with it.
The cop questioning the chess players is also a dramatic shot which I liked and the guy selling photographs
Wonderful pics. I always wondered how street pictures were taken. As in, do you approach the "subject" and tell him/ her I want to take your picture? Do you just click away and run from the place in case they chase me for offending them? How do you do it?
Actually, comparing NYC to Bombay is not uncommon. The fast pace of the city and multicultural background makes the two something similar. While were on the train in Bombay this time, Ajay was telling me stories of things happening in the train like bhajan groups, card players...and I thought that would be something very interesting for you to work on - capturing the day to day life in trains.
As I said yesterday, your blog is on my favorites in Delicious and I will check it out more often. Good luck with all your projects. I am sure I will one day proudly tell my friends that the famous photographer Uday Khambadkone is my brother-in-law.
Thanks for those kind words. Actually even I was very apprehensive doing this project as I had never done Street Photography. Actually it is very different from other genres of Photography where your subject is generally not aware of you taking the pictures. This is done purposefully to create a sense of being in the midst of a regular street without losing the moment and straight forwardness. It is very hard to explain, there are a few pics in this lot where I was successful. If you would ask someone, then you are actually setting up the scene, that defeats the purpose. If you don’t and if the person/persons are aware that you are taking the picture, then they become conscious and again you have lost the truthfulness of scene. A lot of people, I mean photographers don’t like this aspect, because they think it is sneaking up on someone without their knowledge and invading their privacy. But I don’t agree, as I am in a public place and everything that I am documenting is in public, by me taking a snapshot of things/people in time and place does not invade anyone’s privacy. Plus I am only sharing the experience through my pictures.
The things you talked about Mumbai trains, I would love to photograph them…someday.
Post a Comment