Sunday, March 29, 2009

Millionaire's Girl

It was one of the first nice days of the spring and the street was full of people.

This girl had a certain walk as she moved quickly through the crowd walking east on Wall Street. She attracted attention from all sides, with her sunglasses and stylish boots. As she slipped past some guys standing in front of 44 Wall Street, a voice called out, "Hey Sweetheart!" She was obviously experienced in avoiding street interaction and kept her quick pace without a comment.

Ten seconds later, the same guy said, "Next time a MILLIONAIRE talks to you, answer him back!".

She continued on for about 5 seconds, and then paused, turned around and gawked back with a look of disbelief... huh? She shook her head and mouthed the word, "Asshole" and then continued on.

That would have been the decisive moment for this series of pictures. I saw it and was shooting, but missed the shot.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Perspective


Cab Trio
Originally uploaded by John Fraissinet
With a "long" lens, things that are far apart can look like they are on top of each other. This shot is with a 135mm lens.

I took this shot from about a quarter mile away from the cabs down around Bowling Green park at the end of Broadway. The real distance, though, is from the taxis all the way back to the Chrysler Building behind. It looks fairly close but actually the Chrysler is all the way up at 42nd street which is about 4 miles further up the road (I looked the distance up on Google maps).

It still amazes me how close everything appears, and I really like how the three cabs line up so nicely.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Arm Crossed Couple

Sometimes grabbing a quick shot on the street ends up with a pleasing blur effect. Depending on the colors and subject, this can turn into a surrealistically abstract piece of work. Like a painting.

This one is of a couple strolling near the World Trade Center site. The woman's coat is what caught my eye. I later learned they were German. They were walking with their crossed arms for a while, but by the time I was rattled off the one shot they were disconnected.

Monday, March 9, 2009

James Dean



I originally titled this picture - Marlboro Man. But, upon reflection, there is something about this picture that made me think of the coolness of James Dean with his dangling cigarette. It's not the looks, it's the style and energy.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Rainy Corner


Rainy Corner
Originally uploaded by John Fraissinet
There are a couple of elements that I find interesting about this picture which makes it one of my new favorites.

Besides, the brightness of the light blue umbrella and the red Don't Walk sign, there is a surrealistic feel to it. I shot it with a slow shutter speed because it was dark, and this added to the blur of the image. But, you can see that the building and signs are sharp, so the motion is from street activity and not camera shake.

I find the "characters" in the picture are also expressive. The main somber woman with the blue umbrella. The elderly couple to the right who have come from shopping (and the rolled up newspaper or something in his back pocket). The center umbrella creates a triad of focal points above those two sets of characters. And, the rush of the figure approaching on the left adds a bit of clutter and dynamic.

When I took the picture, I was attracted to the light blue umbrella. Like most of my pictures, the core was not planned but was discovered after I got to review it.