Denizens of the Street. Share a street story.

Calzone said:
Keith,

A nasty blow. Did he go down?

Cal
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No, unfortunately. But he yelped liked a small dog and staggered off. I didn't stick around much longer. It was a few years ago. The nastiest incident I ever had. He grabbed me and then started to get very rough. Accused me of photographing him when I didn't. He was one of those people that sell counterfeit goods. Second time I've had a run in with those guys. I stayed away from that area for awhile. Canal, just east of West Broadway.
 
Yeah, I had a pair of steel toed dress shoes-bought because they were $25 in the catalog and non-steel toed were $55 ! LOL!


Calzone said:
I twice worked at National labs, and one of the work requirements was steel toe shoes. Definately great weapons you can wear in plain sight. They would give me a chit for $100.00 to buy steel toes. Had a pair of steel toed cowboy boots, they even sold steel toed dress shoes to wear with a suit.

If you get a chance look up "Liver Punch." An easy way to end any fight. Worse than getting kicked in the jewels. Will stop any sized man.

Best way of course is to avoid any fight at all costs, but if you have to make sure you take the guy out decisively. Long fights are not in one's favor.

Cal
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kbg32 said:
No, unfortunately. But he yelped liked a small dog and staggered off. I didn't stick around much longer. It was a few years ago. The nastiest incident I ever had. He grabbed me and then started to get very rough. Accused me of photographing him when I didn't. He was one of those people that sell counterfeit goods. Second time I've had a run in with those guys.
Click to expand...

Keith,

Its a crazy world out there and basically anything can happen.

Funny things can happen too. I was uptown a bit from where I live in SpaHa with John and Pro-Mone. I was walking carrying a Pentax67II rigged with a 75/2.8 AL when this local yells to me, "How much does that camera cost?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, but the tone in my voice was more like, "Where do you want to go?" Both John and Pro-Mone were kinda taken back because I was going right back into 1970's mode when street fighting and me was familure. Back in the day I was an angry kid, and boy was I a hothead.

The other guy the loudmouth was with quickly picked up on the vibe. It was three against two and he did not want to take a beating for his friend. "Don't listen to him," he said, "He's an idiot." he continued. The new guy who was doing the talking was the rougher of the two. His upper body displayed mucho tatoo on arms chest and back and in a fight this is the guy who would be a handful, with no shirt displaying not only the tatoos but also a fit muscular body.

Somehow I broke the ice and learned that "Starsky" was the owner of a tattoo parlor on Second Avenue nearby. I complemented him on his display and then got permission to shoot him. One of the funny things is when I questioned him about his name, "Is that your real name?" he pulled out his driver's licence to show me his ID. I mentioned that he should be more careful about identity theft, but Starsky's response was, "I don't care, my credit is already ruined." LOL.

I blasted about a roll and a half of 120 shooting Starsky. I made a mistake of shooting totally wide open because I was so close. The DOF was way too shallow, but in only one shot the shallow DOF worked in my favor. I had focused on the Grim Reaper tattooed on Starskys back and in the one shot it seems like he is turning to look behind him in an evil manner to kill someone.

I paid to have contact sheets made, and I had a few 5x7's made to give Starsky. I figure I might be able to shoot some more, perhaps gain access into a tattoo parlor in Spanish Harlem. I still have his card and should call him and give him some prints. It would be really cool to get anther shooting opportunity.

Cal
 
kbg32 said:
He was one of those people that sell counterfeit goods. Second time I've had a run in with those guys. I stayed away from that area for awhile. Canal, just east of West Broadway.
Click to expand...

They are the worst...paranoid always. And truly believe that it's illegal to photograph them. It's usually not worth it.
 
Calzone said:
J,

I generally wear combat/construction boots most of the time when shooting, otherwise I'm wearing sneakers. With heavy boots I'm wearing weapons in plain sight, and flip-flops project vulnerability. I too often shoot with wides, but at least I'm prepared for the worse.

Also if someone grabbed me I know what I would do to defend myself which would of been kinda automatic. I think a more ready posture would of prevented the confrontation because you exposed yourself and promoted vulnerability.

You also have to understand that you did invade his space by getting in close and by using a 21. Might I suggest that a 28 is still wide, but safer. All I'm saying is that you kinda got in his face, and what do you expect? If you are a street shooter you have to be prepared for the worse and know how to respond to other people's aggression.

Cal
Click to expand...

Good advice. I happened to have the wrong mixture of things going on then. You live and you learn.

And I agree, I got in his face with a 21mm and he reacted, if you engage in this kind of behavior with different people, you're bound to have bad encounters.

What I do differently now is to only shoot street when I go out specifically for it. This is opposed to doing it "on the fly" or on the way to the office. I wear sneakers and rarely get into peoples space.

Overall, I refuse to allow the experience make me afraid of the street, or slow down with photography. I'll never want to stop wandering around. It's just too amazing of a world out there.
 
jkrumsick said:
Good advice. I happened to have the wrong mixture of things going on then. You live and you learn.

And I agree, I got in his face with a 21mm and he reacted, if you engage in this kind of behavior with different people, you're bound to have bad encounters.

What I do differently now is to only shoot street when I go out specifically for it. This is opposed to doing it "on the fly" or on the way to the office. I wear sneakers and rarely get into peoples space.

Overall, I refuse to allow the experience make me afraid of the street, or slow down with photography. I'll never want to stop wandering around. It's just too amazing of a world out there.
Click to expand...

J,

Very cool. NYC is a crazy place and anything can happen. Just be prepared...

Try a 28mm FOV. You still get a lot of DOF at F5.6 and the "kill zone" is about 5-7 feet for a tight shot, meaning a vertical. A little distance goes a long ways.

BTW I also shoot with a 21/3.4 Super Elmar and have a dedicated MD-2 just for that lens with a Zeiss VF'er.

Over the weekend I was post processing and printing some shots I took with an 18/3.8 Super Elmar that I bought at Adorama. 18mm I found to be crazy wide, but an interesting FOV. I ended up returning the 18mm and then ended up buying the 21/2.4 Super Elmar as my ultra-wide because it was the right FOV for me. 18mm was extreame, but I wanted to go there, and had the opportunity to try one.

Be safe.

Cal
 
photomoof said:
When I was actually trying to make a living shooting what now seems to be called "street" for social change mags and the like (who sent out want lists for article) I used a [permanently] borrowed Leica 21 a lot. I found if I moved just close enough and paid attention to the background I could shoot quite well with it.

Photos looked quite natural, if I was careful, not much different than a 28, and one could really work in tight, literally right on top of people. I personally have never had problems with close shots, especially in NYC it has always been someone in the background or not even in my photos who has gone ballistic - 90% male street denizens. But I have found in most cases compensation and a friendly attitude has worked.
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Fred,

Many times when confronted I lighten up the situation by a comment like, "If I asked I would of missed the shot. BTW you looked really cool in my viewfinder." Often this turns a bad situation into good where my street shot is then followed by a "street portrait."

Another funny thing is somehow I get mistaken as a working pro. Frequently people ask me who I am shooting for. Once in the Bronx some local asked me, "Where is the crime scene?" LOL.

Then again my Nikon F3P once was mistaken as a hand gun in Queens Plaza because of the way I carry my camera in my right hand dangling from my side, and another time my Gossen Luna Pro light meter was mistaken as a detective's badge holder by a truck driver in LIC. Perhaps being in the wrong place at the wrong time is more dangerous than taking a street shot. The truck driver had called 911, and when he saw me he said, "Took you long enough to get here?" Only later through engagement did I discover that he had been waiting for the police for a while.

In NYC anything could happen. BTW I was evacuated from work due to an airplane crashing into a highrise on 72d Street. The pilot was a Yankee pitcher. Definately had an AP photo opportunity, but no camera.

Cal
 
Cal you must be the "most interesting man with a camera in NYC." If your photography is as interesting to view as your adventures while on the streets, you are quite the man.🙂
 
I have another story.

One late evening, early morning, around 2am, a friend and I were walking north on the Bowery to our respective apartments. As we were crossing Bleecker Street, we were coming up onto a man walking towards us carrying a large 24 roll pack of toilet paper. I immediately recognized him. Even though I had my camera, plus we were slightly inebriated, I felt it would be better if we kept walking on.

When we were safely passed I turned to my friend and asked him,
"Did you recognize the guy who just walked by?"
To which he replied, "Ya mean the guy with all that toilet paper?"
"Yes", I said.
"No. Who was he?"
"That was Robert Frank."

I thought my friend would pass out from the excitement, but I kept laughing to myself about all the toilet paper...
 
I have a couple...

I once saw a very cool, very old man slowly shuffling down the street in the jewelery district..downtown Los Angeles. He was dressed to the 9's in a three piece suit, had dark sunglasses and a hat on and was using a cane. I had actually seen him weeks earlier, and this time I just decided to ask him for a portrait. He was probably in his late eighties and his voice was deep and heavily accented. He actually sounded like the godfather in his later years! "No, no...I'm sorry" he said. "Mafioso...no photos.....mafioso." Haha and away he went, shuffling on. It was pretty cute, but who knows?

Another time I was biking through skid row and I would just snap at things of interest with my M6. I came across a police car with lights flashing and two cops had a couple african americans cuffed against a fence. I pulled over and took a shot, as I usually liked to document any police activity I came across. I remember the cops yelling at me that I couldn't be photographing in the street, so I picked up my bike and put in on the sidewalk. The guys under arrest were looking at me like I was crazy. Anyway I thought nothing of it and a month later I was biking down the same street on my commute to work when a big black guy started yelling at me from an alley. Its a bit of a wild neighborhood and it wasn't unusual for someone to yell at me but he seemed very persistent so I pulled a U and peddled over to the guy. He explained that he was the guy that was arrested and he saw me taking pictures. The police apparently beat him up pretty bad and he wanted to know if he could buy a print to use in his upcoming court case. Talking to him I kind of realized I had seen him many times before and I had him pegged as a local dealer since he was always on the same corner. I told him I would have to develop the film, but I could make him a few prints and that I didn't think I had any good evidence for him. After all, I didn't' catch any action, or a beating...
I made a couple prints and kept them in my messenger bag in case I would come across him again. It took a few weeks but eventually I came across him and he asked how much I wanted for the prints. "$20" I said. "$20!? for a photograph?!! I'll give you $10." "Ok" I said..keep in mind I'm on my bike, on a curb in skid row. Just as he is handing me a wad of ones a LAPD cruiser slowly rides right past us and the cops make eye contact but keep rolling. Then it hit me that they could have easily got the wrong idea! Thankfully, they kept on with their business, and so did I.
About a month later I was rounding a corner a few blocks away, snapping a photo of someone as I went. I only got a few feet away when I hear him whistle and start yelling to his friends ahead of me. It all happened so fast and next thing you know I have like a small gang of homeless guys and other rough characters running to surround this tall white guy on a bike. They were all yelling and swearing at me and I thought I was in for some serious trouble when all of the sudden I hear a voice yell out, "YO!! THATS MY BOY!!" Everyone immediately stopped! It was him! He walked right up through everyone laughing at me "Our local SKID ROW WHITE-BOY PHOTOGRAPHER!"

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